Browsing pathways

Azithromycin, a semisynthetic antibiotic belonging to the macrolide subgroup of azalides, is used to treat STDs due to chlamydia and gonorrhea, community-acquired pneumonia, pelvic inflammatory disease, pediatric otitis media and pharyngitis, and Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) in patients with advanced HIV disease. Similar in structure to erythromycin, azithromycin reaches higher intracellular concentrations than erythromycin, increasing its efficacy and duration of action. Azithromycin binds to the 50S subunit of the 70S bacterial ribosomes, and therefore inhibits RNA-dependent protein synthesis in bacterial cells.

The renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) is a homeostatic mechanism for regulating hemodynamics, water and electrolyte balance. During sympathetic stimulation or when renal blood pressure or blood flow is reduced, renin is released from granular cells of the juxtaglomerular apparatus in the kidneys. In the blood stream, renin cleaves circulating angiotensinogen to angiotensin I (ATI), which is cleaved by angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) to angiotensin II (ATII). ATII increases blood pressure using a number of mechanisms. First, it stimulates the secretion of aldosterone from the adrenal cortex. Aldosterone travels to the distal convoluted tubule (DCT) and collecting tubule of nephrons where it increases sodium and water reabsorption by increasing the number of sodium channels and sodium-potassium ATPases on cell membranes. ATII also stimulates the secretion of vasopressin (also known as antidiuretic hormone or ADH) from the posterior pituitary gland. ADH stimulates further water reabsorption in the kidneys via insertion of aquaporin-2 channels on the apical surface of cells of the DCT and collecting tubules. Second, ATII increases blood pressure through direct arterial vasoconstriction. Stimulation of the Type 1 ATII receptor on vascular smooth muscle cells leads to a cascade of events resulting in myocyte contraction and vasoconstriction. In addition to these major effects, ATII induces the thirst response via stimulation of hypothalamic neurons. ACE inhibitors inhibit the rapid conversion of angiotensin I to angiotensin II and antagonize RAAS-induced increases in blood pressure. ACE (also known as kininase II) is also involved in the enzymatic deactivation of bradykinin, a vasodilator. Inhibiting the deactivation of bradykinin increases bradykinin levels and sustains its effects causing increased vasodilation and decreased blood pressure (mechanism not shown). Benazepril is an ACE inhibitor prodrug that is hydrolyzed by liver esterases to its active form, benazeprilat. Benazeprilat competes with angiotensin I for binding to ACE and effectively blocks the conversion of angiotensin I to angiotensin II. The resulting decreased concentration of angiotensin II confers blood pressure lowering effects to benazepril. Increased bradykinin levels resulting from decreased bradykinin inactivation may also contribute to the effects of benazepril. Benazepril may be used to treat hypertension, congestive heart failure and chronic renal failure.

Bendroflumethiazide, a thiazide diuretic, inhibits water reabsorption in the nephron by inhibiting the sodium-chloride symporter (SLC12A3) in the distal convoluted tubule, which is responsible for 5% of total sodium reabsorption. Normally, the sodium-chloride symporter transports sodium and chloride from the lumen into the epithelial cell lining the distal convoluted tubule. The energy for this is provided by a sodium gradient established by sodium-potassium ATPases on the basolateral membrane. Once sodium has entered the cell, it is transported out into the basolateral interstitium via the sodium-potassium ATPase, causing an increase in the osmolarity of the interstitium, thereby establishing an osmotic gradient for water reabsorption. By blocking the sodium-chloride symporter, bendroflumethiazide effectively reduces the osmotic gradient and water reabsorption throughout the nephron.

Benzocaine exerts its local anaesthetic effect by blocking voltage-gated sodium channels in peripheral neurons. Benzocaine diffuses across the neuronal plasma membrane in its uncharged base form. Once inside the cytoplasm, it is protonated and this protonated form enters and blocks the pore of the voltage-gated sodium channel from the cytoplasmic side. For this to happen, the sodium channel must first become active so that so that gating mechanism is in the open state. Therefore benzocaine preferentially inhibits neurons that are actively firing.

Betaxolol selectively blocks catecholamine stimulation of beta(1)-adrenergic receptors in the heart and vascular smooth muscle. This results in a reduction of heart rate, cardiac output, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and possibly reflex orthostatic hypotension. Betaxolol can also competitively block beta(2)-adrenergic responses in the bronchial and vascular smooth muscles, causing bronchospasm.

Bevacizumab is a humanized anti-VEGF monoclonal antibody used in the treatment of cancer. Cancer cells tend to overexpress VEGF, which stimulates angiogenesis, facilitating cancer growth and metastasis. The majority of VEGF’s effects are mediated through its binding to the VEGFR-2 receptor on endothelial cell surfaces. Upon binding, the receptor autophosphorylates and initiates a signalling cascade, starting with the activation of CSK. CSK phosphorylates Raf-1, which subsequently phosphorylates MAP kinase kinase, which phosphorylates MAP kinase. The activated MAP kinase enters the nucleus and stimulates the expression of angiogenic factors resulting in increased cell proliferation, migration, permeability, invasion, and survival. Binding of VEGF to VEGFR-2 also activates phospholipase C PIP2 into DAG and IP3. DAG may be involved in the activation of Raf-1 leading to angiogenesis, while IP3 activates PI3K and triggers calcium release from the endoplasmic reticulum. This ultimately leads to the activation of nitric oxide synthase and the production of nitric oxide, which stimulates vasodilation and increases vascular permeability. In cancer, VEGF has also been shown to bind to the VEGFR-1 receptor. However, its effects on angiogenesis are unclear at the moment. There are some evidence to show that VEGFR-1 may cross-talk with VEGFR-2 and initiate the signalling cascades described above. Bevacizumab exerts its effect by binding to extracellular VEGF and preventing its binding to receptors on the endothelial cell surfaces. This in turns inhibits the MAP and IP3 and supresses angiogenesis.

Bisoprolol selectively blocks catecholamine stimulation of beta(1)-adrenergic receptors in the heart and vascular smooth muscle. This results in a reduction of heart rate, cardiac output, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and possibly reflex orthostatic hypotension. Bisoprolol can also competitively block beta(2)-adrenergic responses in the bronchial and vascular smooth muscles, causing bronchospasm.

Bivalirudin directly inhibits thrombin by specifically binding both to the catalytic site and to the anion-binding exosite of circulating and clot-bound thrombin. Thrombin is a serine proteinase that plays a central role in the thrombotic process, acting to cleave fibrinogen into fibrin monomers and to activate Factor XIII to Factor XIIIa, allowing fibrin to develop a covalently cross-linked framework which stabilizes the thrombus; thrombin also activates Factors V and VIII, promoting further thrombin generation, and activates platelets, stimulating aggregation and granule release.

The mechanism of action of Bromfenac is thought to be due to its ability to block prostaglandin synthesis by inhibiting cyclooxygenase 1 and 2 (COX-1 and -2), also called prostaglandin G/H synthase 1 and 2. COX-1 and -2 catalyze the conversion of arachidonic acid to prostaglandin G2 and prostaglandin G2 to prostglandin H2. Prostaglandin H2 is the precursor to a number of prostaglandins (e.g. PGE2) involved in fever, pain, swelling, inflammation, and platelet aggregation. Bromfenac antagonizes COX by binding to the upper portion of the active site, preventing its substrate, arachidonic acid, from entering the active site. Prostaglandins have been shown in many animal models to be mediators of certain kinds of intraocular inflammation. In studies performed in animal eyes, prostaglandins have been shown to produce disruption of the blood-aqueous humor barrier, vasodilation, increased vascular permeability, leukocytosis, and increased intraocular pressure. The analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects of bromfenac occurs as a result of decreased prostaglandin synthesis.

Bumetanide, a loop diuretic, inhibits water reabsorption in the nephron by blocking the sodium-potassium-chloride cotransporter (NKCC2) in the thick ascending limb of the loop of Henle. This is achieved through competitive inhibition at the chloride binding site on the cotransporter, thus preventing the transport of sodium from the lumen of the loop of Henle into the basolateral interstitium. Consequently, the lumen becomes more hypertonic while the interstitium becomes less hypertonic, which in turn diminishes the osmotic gradient for water reabsorption throughout the nephron. Because the thick ascending limb is responsible for 25% of sodium reabsorption in the nephron, bumetanide is a very potent diuretic.