Studying cells from parents who are NPC disease carriers may allow for better understanding of how changes to the NPC1 gene affect Ebola risk.Findings from Zhang et al. suggest that NPC is a late endocytic trafficking disease resulted, at least in part, from disruption of communication within late endocytic (LE) compartments and possibly between LE and other subcellular organelles. Crosstalk between the late endocytic compartment and other organelles such as mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum, plasma membrane, as well as early endocytic compartments has become one of the most interesting frontiers in neurondegenerative disease research including Alzheimers disease, Parkinsons disease, as well as lysosomal storage disorders. References
External links
PubMed
Society and culture
Plerixafor has orphan drug status in the United States and European Union for the mobilization of hematopoietic stem cells. It was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for this indication on 15 December 2008. In the European Union, the drug was approved after a positive Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use assessment report on 29 May 2009. The drug was approved for use in Canada by Health Canada on 8 December 2011. Research
Anti-cancer properties
Plerixafor was seen to reduce metastasis in mice in several studies. It has also been shown to reduce recurrence of glioblastoma in a mouse model after radiotherapy. In this model, the cancer cells that survived radiation critically depended on bone marrow derived cells for vasculogenesis, and the recruitment of the latter was mediated by SDF-1 CXCR4 interactions, which are blocked by plerixafor. Use in stem cell research
Researchers at Imperial College have demonstrated that plerixafor in combination with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) can mobilise mesenchymal stem cells and endothelial progenitor cells into the peripheral blood of mice.In double‐blind, randomized, placebo‐controlled trial, stem cell mobilization with plerixafor did not improve healing of ischemic diabetic wounds. Neurologic
Blockade of CXCR4 signalling by plerixafor has also unexpectedly been found to be effective at counteracting opioid-induced hyperalgesia produced by chronic treatment with morphine, though only animal studies have been conducted as yet. References
External links
"Plerixafor". Drug Information Portal. U.S. National Library of Medicine. MeSH JM+3100