Abstract: Insufficient concentrations and very short residence time of the anti-retroviral agents at the cellular and anatomical sites are among major factors that contribute to the failure of eradicating HIV from reservoirs and the development of multidrug resistance against antiretroviral agents. In recent years, nanotechnology-based drug delivery systems have shown remarkable ability to overcome many of the same anatomical and physiological barriers and deliver the therapeutic agents locally at the site of systemic diseases such as cancer. ... Read more

Abstract: Gene therapy holds a great promise to prevent allograft rejection or to induce transplant tolerance. Many achievements in vector development have allowed the progression of this therapy to become more attainable in clinical transplantation. In this articles, the authors examine the exciting development in various vector technologies that allows this form of therapy to take the central stage of clinical transplantation. Also highlighted are various therapeutic strategies that might ultimately result in the realization of gene-based treatment in clinical transplantation. ... Read more

Abstract: It has been known for a long time that memory CD8+ T cells are the main players in conferring long-lasting and effective protection against infection with intracellular pathogens. The generation of instantly protective memory cells, so-called effector memory T cells, represents the basic principle of T cell-based vaccination strategies. Therefore, the understanding of the exact mechanisms required for in vivo generation of distinct CD8+ memory T cell subtypes will become the crucial rationale for enhancing the efficiency and quality of vaccine-induced protective immunity. ... Read more

Abstract: Neurodegenerative diseases, such as Huntington's disease, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), are progressive neurological diseases that affect millions of people worldwide. Recent identification and advances in our understanding of multi-potent neural stem cells/progenitors in the mature CNS has raised the possibility that these discoveries can be translated into an effective therapy for degenerative neurological disease. ... Read more

Abstract: Molecular Trojan horses are genetically engineered proteins that cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB) via endogenous receptor-mediated transport processes. Molecular Trojan horses provide a brain drug targeting technology that allows for the non-invasive delivery of large molecule therapeutics to the human brain. The development of BBB drug targeting technology is an arcane area of discovery medicine that suffers from chronic under-development. ... Read more