Insulin-like growth factor type 1---friend or foe?

Insulin-like growth factor type 1--friend or foe?

Fibroblast growth factor 23: friend or foe in uremia?

Uremia is a complex metabolic state marked by derangement of many signaling molecules and metabolic intermediates; of these, the massively increased levels of FGF23 are among the most striking. It has remained unclear whether FGF23 is directly implicated in the pathogenesis of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and its complications, a consequence of other dysregulated pathways, or perhaps an adaptiv...

Dendritic Cell Subsets in Type 1 Diabetes: Friend or Foe?

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a T cell mediated autoimmune disease characterized by immune mediated destruction of the insulin-producing β cells in the islets of Langerhans. Dendritic cells (DC) have been implicated in the pathogenesis of T1D and are also used as immunotherapeutic agents. Plasmacytoid (p)DC have been shown to have both protective and pathogenic effects and a newly described merocyti...

Type I interferon: friend or foe?

Although the role of type I interferon (IFN) in the protection against viral infections has been known and studied for decades, its role in other immunologically relevant scenarios, including bacterial infections, shock, autoimmunity, and cancer, is less well defined and potentially much more complicated.

Caveolin-1 in sarcomas: friend or foe?

Sarcomas represent a heterogeneous group of tumors with a complex and difficult reproducible classification. Their pathogenesis is poorly understood and there are few effective treatment options for advanced disease. Caveolin-1 is a multifunctional scaffolding protein with multiple binding partners that regulates multiple cancer-associated processes including cellular transformation, tumor grow...