New frontiers for platelet CD154.

The role of platelets extends beyond hemostasis. The pivotal role of platelets in inflammation has shed new light on the natural history of conditions associated with acute or chronic inflammation. Beyond the preservation of vascular integrity, platelets are essential to tissue homeostasis and platelet-derived products are already used in the clinics.

Protection of lung epithelial cells from protease-mediated injury by trappin-2 A62L, an engineered inhibitor of neutrophil serine proteases.

Neutrophil serine proteases (NSPs), including elastase, proteinase 3 and cathepsin G, play critical roles in the pathogenesis of chronic inflammatory lung diseases. The release of excess NSPs leads to the destruction of lung tissue and an overexuberant, sustained inflammatory response. Antiproteases could be valuable tools for controlling these NSP-mediated inflammatory events.

SLPI and trappin-2 as therapeutic agents to target airway serine proteases in inflammatory lung diseases: current and future directions.

It is now clear that NSPs (neutrophil serine proteases), including elastase, Pr3 (proteinase 3) and CatG (cathepsin G) are major pathogenic determinants in chronic inflammatory disorders of the lungs. Two unglycosylated natural protease inhibitors, SLPI (secretory leucocyte protease inhibitor) and elafin, and its precursor trappin-2 that are found in the lungs, have therapeutic potential for reducing the protease-induced inflammatory response. This review examines the multifaceted roles of SLPI and elafin/trappin-2 in the context of their possible use as inhaled drugs for treating chronic lung diseases such as CF (cystic fibrosis) and COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease).

One-pot synthesis of 5-phenylimino, 5-thieno or 5-oxo-1,2,3-dithiazoles and evaluation of their antimicrobial and antitumor activity.

We here report the synthesis and biological evaluation of rare 4-substituted-5-phenylimino, 5-thieno- and 5-oxo-1,2,3-dithiazoles. Dithiazoles were selectively obtained in moderate to high yields (25-73%) via a one-pot reaction from various ethanoneoximes with sulfur monochloride, pyridine in acetonitrile followed by treatment by corresponding nucleophiles (aniline, thioacetamide and formic acid). All the synthesized compounds were screened for their antibacterial (against bacteria Escherichia coli, Salmonellaenterica serovar Typhimurium, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, Bacillus cereus and Listeria inocua), antifungal (against pathogenic strains Candida albicans, Candida glabrata, Candida tropicalis and Issatchenkia orientalis) and antitumor (on human cell lines MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231) activity.