Viewpoints:

Dispatches from the Frontlines of Research - edited by John W. Nelson

Anthony M. Rush and Theodore R. Cummins

Painful Research: Identification of a Small-Molecule Inhibitor that Selectively Targets Na_v1.8 Sodium Channels
Mol. Interv. 2007 7: 192-195. [Summary] [Full Text] [PDF]  

Leo Timmers, Gerard Pasterkamp, and Dominique P.V. de Kleijn

Microsomal Prostaglandin E₂ Synthase: A Safer Target than Cyclooxygenases?
Mol. Interv. 2007 7: 195-199. [Summary] [Full Text] [PDF]  

Andrei Goga and Christopher Benz

Anti-Oncomir Suppression of Tumor Phenotypes
Mol. Interv. 2007 7: 199-202. [Summary] [Full Text] [PDF]  

R E V I E W S:

Sunil Laxman and Joseph A. Beavo

Cyclic Nucleotide Signaling Mechanisms in Trypanosomes: Possible Targets for Therapeutic Agents
Mol. Interv. 2007 7: 203-215. [Summary] [Full Text] [PDF]  

Trypanosomatid parasites cause numerous human diseases, including African sleeping sickness and Chagas disease, affecting millions of people worldwide. There are few effective therapeutic options presently available to treat these diseases, and new anti-trypanosomal drugs are urgent needed. The adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cAMP) signaling pathway in these parasites appears to be an attractive target for new therapeutics, as the enzymes that create and destroy cAMP are regulated differently from their mammalian counterparts. This review briefly summarizes the current knowledge of cAMP signaling in trypanosomes and highlights studies of enzymes in the cAMP signaling pathway that are crucial for the survival of the parasite and are, therefore, good targets for new anti-trypanosomal drugs.

Lawrence D. Mayer and Andrew S. Janoff

Optimizing Combination Chemotherapy by Controlling Drug Ratios
Mol. Interv. 2007 7: 216-223. [Summary] [Full Text] [PDF]  

Cancer chemotherapy treatments typically employ drug combinations in which the dose of each agent is pushed to the brink of unacceptable toxicity; however, emerging evidence indicates that this approach may not be providing optimal efficacy due to the manner in which drugs interact. Specifically, whereas certain ratios of combined drugs can be synergistic, other ratios of the same agents may be antagonistic, implying that the most efficacious combinations may be those that utilize certain agents at reduced doses. Advances in nano-scale drug delivery vehicles now enable the translation of in vitro information on synergistic drug ratios into improved anticancer combination therapies in which the desired drug ratio can be controlled and maintained following administration in vivo, so that synergistic effects can be exploited. This "ratiometric" approach to combination chemotherapy opens new opportunities to enhance the combinatorial effectiveness of existing and future therapeutic agents across a spectrum of human diseases.

D E P A R T M E N T S:

Speaking of Pharmacology:

John S. Lazo

Pharmacology Goes Phlat: Molecular Interventions Feels the Impact
Mol. Interv. 2007 7: 178. [Full Text] [PDF]  

Reflections:

Science in the cultural context

A Career in Pharmacology: In Search of Beauty and Joy
Mol. Interv. 2007 7: 183-189. [Summary] [Full Text] [PDF]  

Nascent Transcripts:

Emerging concepts from the recent literature
Mol. Interv. 2007 7: 226. [Full Text] [PDF]  

Significant Deciles:

Dayle Houston

1921–1930
Mol. Interv. 2007 7: 190-191. [Full Text] [PDF]  

Beyond the Bench:

Representations of pharmacology and science in the media

Christie Carrico

A Sewage Treatment
Mol. Interv. 2007 7: 224-225. [Full Text] [PDF]  

Net Results:

Sites of interest on the World Wide Web

Sites of interest on the World Wide Web—edited by David Roman
Mol. Interv. 2007 7: 227. [Full Text] [PDF]  

Outliers:

Cartoon

Outliers
Mol. Interv. 2007 7: 232. [Full Text] [PDF]  

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