PURPOSE OF REVIEW The purpose of the review is to review the pathophysiology, available data, and our current recommendations for calcineurin inhibitor (cyclosporine and tacrolimus) treatment in antihistamine refractory chronic idiopathic urticaria (CIU) patients. RECENT FINDINGS Low-dose cyclosporine (<5  mg/kg per day) may have unique immunological modulating properties beyond mast cell and...

The introduction of the calcineurin inhibitors cyclos porine and tacrolimus in the immuno suppressive regimens for kidney transplant has been associated with substantial reductions in the incidence of acute rejection, with a subsequent improvement in 1-year graft survival. However, this has not directly correlated with improvements in long-term allograft survival. Immunosuppressive medications ...

BACKGROUND The calcineurin inhibitors cyclosporine and tacrolimus are used as primary immunosuppressive drugs in transplant patients. Measuring calcineurin phosphatase (CaN) activity is a proposed pharmacodynamic approach to optimize dosing of these drugs. METHODS Whole blood samples were obtained from 10 patients treated with calcineurin inhibitors and 20 healthy volunteers and frozen at -80...

The systemic effects of physical activity are mediated by the release IL-6 and other myokines from contracting muscle. Although muscle has been extensively studied, information on cellular mechanisms is fragmentary scarce, especially regarding role Ca2+ signals. aim this study was to characterize main components signals in human skeletal cells during secretion stimulated mobilizing agonist ATP....

Ca2+ release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) by the IP3 receptors (IP3Rs) crucially regulates diverse cell signalling processes from reproduction to apoptosis. Release from the IP3R may be modulated by endogenous proteins associated with the receptor, such as the 12 kDa FK506-binding protein (FKBP12), either directly or indirectly by inhibition of the phosphatase calcineurin. Here, we repo...

Ciprofloxacin, a fluoroquinolone antibiotic, has been linked to an increased risk of acute cellular rejection and drug interactions with the calcineurin inhibitors in renal transplant recipients. Little is known about the effects of levofloxacin. We report our evaluation for pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic interaction between levofloxacin and the calcineurin inhibitors. A retrospective revi...

Experimental evidence suggests that the protein phosphatase calcineurin mediates the action of amyloid-β (Aβ) oligomers, the most toxic amyloid species thought to drive initial cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, there is currently no evidence that inhibition of calcineurin could prevent the onset of AD in humans. Here, we report for the first time that individuals chronical...

The genus Malassezia includes yeasts that are commonly found on the skin or hair of animals and humans as commensals and are associated with a number of skin disorders. We have previously developed an Agrobacterium tumefaciens transformation system effective for both targeted gene deletion and insertional mutagenesis in Malassezia furfur and M. sympodialis In the present study, these molecular ...

Calcineurin phosphatase plays a crucial role in T cell activation. Dephosphorylation of the nuclear factors of activated T cells (NFATs) by calcineurin is essential for activating cytokine gene expression and, consequently, the immune response. Current immunosuppressive protocols are based mainly on calcineurin inhibitors, cyclosporine A and FK506. Unfortunately, these drugs are associated with...

The calcineurin/NFAT (nuclear factor of activated T-cells) signalling pathway is essential for many aspects of vertebrate development and is the target of the widely used immunosuppressive drugs FK506 and cyclosporine A. The basis for the therapeutic specificity of these drugs has remained unclear, as calcineurin is expressed ubiquitously. By inactivating calcineurin during haematopoietic devel...