Pharmacological Advances in Opioid Therapy: A Review of the Role of Oliceridine in Pain Management

Problems with the treatment of acute pain may arise when a patient is opioid-tolerant, such as those on chronic therapy with opioids or opiate replacement therapy, those who misuse opioids, and those who are in recovery. While some of the adverse effects of opioid medications are well known, it is also important to recognize the roles of tolerance and hyperalgesia. Oliceridine can target and modulate a novel μ-receptor pathway. The G protein-biased agonism of oliceridine allows for effective re-sensitization and desensitization of the mu-opioid receptor, which decreases the formation of opioid tolerance in patients. Oliceridine has been demonstrated to be an effective and relatively safe intravenous analgesic for the treatment of postoperative pain and is generally well tolerated with a favorable side effect profile when compared to morphine. As the prevalence of pain increases, it is becoming increasingly important to find safe and effective analgesics

In Vivo Bioluminescent Imaging (BLI): Noninvasive Visualization and Interrogation of Biological Processes in Living Animals

In vivo bioluminescent imaging (BLI) is increasingly being utilized as a method for modern biological research. This process, which involves the noninvasive interrogation of living animals using light emitted from luciferase-expressing bioreporter cells, has been applied to study a wide range of biomolecular functions such as gene function, drug discovery and development, cellular trafficking, protein-protein interactions, and especially tumorigenesis, cancer treatment, and disease progression. This article will review the various bioreporter/biosensor integrations of BLI and discuss how BLI is being applied towards a new visual understanding of biological processes within the living organism

Investigating the role of mitochondria in type 2 diabetes lessons from lipidomics and proteomics studies of skeletal muscle and liver.

Mitochondrial dysfunction is discussed as a key player in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2Dm), a highly prevalent disease rapidly developing as one of the greatest global health challenges of this century. Data however about the involvement of mitochondria, central hubs in bioenergetic processes, in the disease development are still controversial. Lipid and protein homeostasis are under intense discussion to be crucial for proper mitochondrial function. Consequently proteomics and lipidomics analyses might help to understand how molecular changes in mitochondria translate to alterations in energy transduction as observed in the healthy and metabolic diseases such as T2Dm and other related disorders. Mitochondrial lipids integrated in a tool covering proteomic and functional analyses were up to now rarely investigated, although mitochondria]. lipids might provide a possible lynchpin in the understanding of type 2 diabetes development and thereby prevention. In this chapter state-of-the-art analytical strategies, pre -analytical aspects, potential pitfalls as well as current proteomics and lipidomics-based knowledge about the pathophysiological role of mitochondria in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes will be discussed