Transcriptional and epigenetic characterization of a new in vitro platform to model the formation of human pharyngeal endoderm.

Background: The Pharyngeal Endoderm (PE) is an extremely relevant developmental tissue, serving as the progenitor for the esophagus, parathyroids, thyroids, lungs, and thymus. While several studies have highlighted the importance of PE cells, a detailed transcriptional and epigenetic characterization of this important developmental stage is still missing, especially in humans, due to technical and ethical constraints pertaining to its early formation.

Results: Here we fill this knowledge gap by developing an in vitro protocol for the derivation of PE-like cells from human Embryonic Stem Cells (hESCs) and by providing an integrated multi-omics characterization.

Relationship between sonorheometry parameters and laboratory values in a critical care setting in Italy: a retrospective cohort study.

Purpose: This preliminary retrospective cohort study analyzed the relationship between the parameters provided by sonorheometry device Quantra and the coagulation values obtained from standard venous blood samples in patients admitted in intensive care unit (ICU).

Methods: We reviewed medical charts of 13 ICU adult patients in whom at least one coagulation study with Quantra was performed. The relationship between Quantra and laboratory data was analyzed with the Spearman rank correlation coefficient (rho).

Advance in hyperbaric oxygen therapy in spinal cord injury.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a severe lesion comporting various motor, sensory and sphincter dysfunctions, abnormal muscle tone and pathological reflex, resulting in a severe and permanent lifetime disability. The primary injury is the immediate effect of trauma and includes compression, contusion, and shear injury to the spinal cord. A secondary and progressive injury usually follows, beginning within minutes and evolving over several hours after the first ones.

Intronic Determinants Coordinate Charme lncRNA Nuclear Activity through the Interaction with MATR3 and PTBP1.

Chromatin architect of muscle expression (Charme) is a muscle-restricted long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) that plays an important role in myogenesis. Earlier evidence indicates that the nuclear Charme isoform, named pCharme, acts on the chromatin by assisting the formation of chromatin domains where myogenic transcription occurs. By combining RNA antisense purification (RAP) with mass spectrometry and loss-of-function analyses, we have now identified the proteins that assist these chromatin activities.

The Noncoding Side of Cardiac Differentiation and Regeneration.

Large scale projects such as FANTOM and ENCODE led to a revolution in our comprehension of the mammalian transcriptomes by revealing that ~53% of the produced RNAs do not encode for proteins. These transcripts, defined as noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs), constitute a heterogeneous group of molecules which can be categorized in two main classes, namely small and long, according to their length. In animals, the first-class includes Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs), small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) and microRNAs (miRNAs).