Fibroblast growth factor 23: friend or foe in uremia?

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...

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

Antioxidants - friend or foe?

Particularly in the field of advertising and in popular scientific journals, antioxidants such as β-carotene (from carrots) or lycopenes (from tomatoes) and the vitamins C and E are one-sidedly portrayed as substances capable of offering protection against cancer or ageing because they diminish or prevent the effects of free radicals. However, free radicals should by nomeans be considered as be...

Friend or foe

For many years, β-defensins were best known for their antimicrobial activity. However, β-defensins also exert immunomodulatory functions, such as the chemotactic recruitment of immune cells via chemokine receptors. We demonstrated that mouse β-defensin 14 recruits CCR6(+) B cells into fibrosarcomas, resulting in enhanced angiogenesis and tumor development.

Nanofibers: Friend or Foe?

Alke Petri-Fink 1, Barbara Rothen-Rutishauser 1 and Martin J. D. Clift 1,2,* 1 BioNanomaterials, Adolphe Merkle Institute, University of Fribourg, Rte de l’Ancienne Papeterie, Marly 1, 1723 Fribourg, Switzerland; [email protected] (A.P.-F.); [email protected] (B.R.-R.) 2 Swansea University Medical School, Singleton Park Campus, Swansea University, Swansea, Wales SA2 8PP, UK * Corresponde...