Calcium-Sensing Receptor and Regulation of WNK Kinases in the Kidney.

The kidney is essential for systemic calcium homeostasis. Urinary calcium excretion can be viewed as an integrative renal response to endocrine and local stimuli. The extracellular calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR) elicits a number of adaptive reactions to increased plasma Ca levels including the control of parathyroid hormone release and regulation of the renal calcium handling.

Oxidative Stress and Advanced Lipoxidation and Glycation End Products (ALEs and AGEs) in Aging and Age-Related Diseases.

Oxidative stress is a consequence of the use of oxygen in aerobic respiration by living organisms and is denoted as a persistent condition of an imbalance between the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the ability of the endogenous antioxidant system (AOS) to detoxify them. The oxidative stress theory has been confirmed in many animal studies, which demonstrated that the maintenance of cellular homeostasis and biomolecular stability and integrity is crucial for cellular longevity and successful aging. Mitochondrial dysfunction, impaired protein homeostasis (proteostasis) network, alteration in the activities of transcription factors such as Nrf2 and NF-B, and disturbances in the protein quality control machinery that includes molecular chaperones, ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS), and autophagy/lysosome pathway have been observed during aging and age-related chronic diseases.

Increased Pain Sensitivity in Obese Patients After Lung Cancer Surgery.

Obesity and cancer are recognized worldwide health threats. While there is no reported causal relationship, the increasing frequency of both conditions results in a higher incidence of obese patients who are being treated for cancer. Physiological data indicate that there is a relationship between obesity and susceptibility to pain; however, currently, there are no specific pharmacological interventions.

How Cancer Cells Resist Chemotherapy: Design and Development of Drugs Targeting Protein-Protein Interactions.

Background: Resistance toward chemotherapeutics is one of the main obstacles on the way to effective cancer treatment. Personalization of chemotherapy could improve clinical outcome. However, despite preclinical significance, most of the potential markers have failed to reach clinical practice partially due to the inability of numerous studies to estimate the marker's impact on resistance properly.