ddPCR Overcomes the CRISPR-Cas13a-Based Technique for the Detection of the BRAF p.V600E Mutation in Liquid Biopsies.

The isolation of circulating tumoral DNA (ctDNA) present in the bloodstream brings about the opportunity to detect genomic aberrations from the tumor of origin. However, the low amounts of ctDNA present in liquid biopsy samples makes the development of highly sensitive techniques necessary to detect targetable mutations for the diagnosis, prognosis, and monitoring of cancer patients. Here, we employ standard genomic DNA (gDNA) and eight liquid biopsy samples from different cancer patients to examine the newly described CRISPR-Cas13a-based technology in the detection of the BRAF p.

Non-Adherence to Peripheral Venous Catheter Care Protocols Significantly Decreases Patient Safety and Impacts Costs: A Retrospective Observational Study.

In the healthcare field, the effective implementation of clinical protocols is crucial to ensuring patient safety and well-being. In this context, this study evaluates nurses' adherence to the maintenance and replacement protocol of peripheral venous catheters (PVCs) in a university hospital in Spain, examining the impact of compliance with the protocol on the loss of PVCs and on patient safety in addition to analyzing the related costs. A retrospective observational study was conducted with 590 patients who were admitted in 2018 and 2019.

A novel TAp73-inhibitory compound counteracts stemness features of glioblastoma stem cells.

Glioblastoma (GB) is the most common and fatal type of primary malignant brain tumor for which effective therapeutics are still lacking. GB stem cells, with tumor-initiating and self-renewal capacity, are mostly responsible for GB malignancy, representing a crucial target for therapies. The TP73 gene, which is highly expressed in GB, gives rise to the TAp73 isoform, a pleiotropic protein that regulates neural stem cell biology; however, its role in cancer has been highly controversial.

The Impact of A3AR Antagonism on the Differential Expression of Chemoresistance-Related Genes in Glioblastoma Stem-like Cells.

Glioblastoma (GB) is the most aggressive and common primary malignant tumor of the brain and central nervous system. Without treatment, the average patient survival time is about six months, which can be extended to fifteen months with multimodal therapies. The chemoresistance observed in GB is, in part, attributed to the presence of a subpopulation of glioblastoma-like stem cells (GSCs) that are characterized by heightened tumorigenic capacity and chemoresistance.

Impact of Magnetite Nanowires on In Vitro Hippocampal Neural Networks.

Nanomaterials design, synthesis, and characterization are ever-expanding approaches toward developing biodevices or neural interfaces to treat neurological diseases. The ability of nanomaterials features to tune neuronal networks' morphology or functionality is still under study. In this work, we unveil how interfacing mammalian brain cultured neurons and iron oxide nanowires' (NWs) orientation affect neuronal and glial densities and network activity.

Suppressor of fused associates with dissemination patterns in patients with glioma.

Gliomas are the most common brain tumors, which present poor prognosis, due, in part, to tumor cell migration and infiltration into distant brain areas. However, the underlying mechanisms causing such effects are unknown. Hedgehog (HH)-Gli axis is one of the signaling pathways involved, with a high number of molecular mediators.

The low affinity A2B adenosine receptor enhances migratory and invasive capacity and angiogenesis of glioblastoma stem-like cells.

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common and deadly malignant brain tumor, with a median survival of 15 to 17 months for a patient. GBM contains a cellular subpopulation known as GBM stem-like cells (GSCs) that persist in hypoxic niches and are capable of infiltrating into healthy brain tissue. For this reason, GSCs are considered one of the main culprits for GBM recurrence.

Proteomics and metabolomics approach in adult and pediatric glioma diagnostics.

The diagnosis of glioma is mainly based on imaging methods that do not distinguish between stage and subtype prior to histopathological analysis. Patients with gliomas are generally diagnosed in the symptomatic stage of the disease. Additionally, healing scar tissue may be mistakenly identified based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as a false positive tumor recurrence in postoperative patients.

Ceramide Composition in Exosomes for Characterization of Glioblastoma Stem-Like Cell Phenotypes.

Glioblastoma (GBM) is one of the most malignant central nervous system tumor types. Comparative analysis of GBM tissues has rendered four major molecular subtypes. From them, two molecular subtypes are mainly found in their glioblastoma cancer stem-like cells (GSCs) derived : proneural (PN) and mesenchymal (MES) with nodular (MES-N) and semi-nodular (MES-SN) disseminations, which exhibit different metabolic, growth, and malignancy properties.

Behavioural immune landscapes of inflammation.

Transcriptional and proteomic profiling of individual cells have revolutionized interpretation of biological phenomena by providing cellular landscapes of healthy and diseased tissues. These approaches, however, do not describe dynamic scenarios in which cells continuously change their biochemical properties and downstream 'behavioural' outputs. Here we used 4D live imaging to record tens to hundreds of morpho-kinetic parameters describing the dynamics of individual leukocytes at sites of active inflammation.

Unravelling glioblastoma heterogeneity by means of single-cell RNA sequencing.

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most invasive and deadliest brain cancer in adults. Its inherent heterogeneity has been designated as the main cause of treatment failure. Thus, a deeper understanding of the diversity that shapes GBM pathobiology is of utmost importance.

Influence of Coating and Size of Magnetic Nanoparticles on Cellular Uptake for In Vitro MRI.

Iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) are suitable materials for contrast enhancement in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Their potential clinical applications range from diagnosis to therapy and follow-up treatments. However, a deeper understanding of the interaction between IONPs, culture media and cells is necessary for expanding the application of this technology to different types of cancer therapies.

Metabolic therapy and bioenergetic analysis: The missing piece of the puzzle.

Background: Aberrant metabolism is recognized as a hallmark of cancer, a pillar necessary for cellular proliferation. Regarding bioenergetics (ATP generation), most cancers display a preference not only toward aerobic glycolysis ("Warburg effect") and glutaminolysis (mitochondrial substrate level-phosphorylation) but also toward other metabolites such as lactate, pyruvate, and fat-derived sources. These secondary metabolites can assist in proliferation but cannot fully cover ATP demands.

Intraoperative brain mapping during awake surgery in symptomatic supratentorial cavernomas.

Background: Complete resection of symptomatic supratentorial cavernoma (SCA) and removal of the surrounding gliotic area is recommended to minimize the risk of persistent seizures or (re)bleeding. Surgery of SCA located in an eloquent area, can carry out severe postoperative neurological morbidity. We report a study aimed to assess feasibility, extent of resection and outcome after surgical removal of CA by cortico-subcortical intraoperative brain stimulation (ioBS) in the awake patient.

Clinical Utility of Liquid Biopsy-Based Actionable Mutations Detected via ddPCR.

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide and remains a major public health challenge. The introduction of more sensitive and powerful technologies has permitted the appearance of new tumor-specific molecular aberrations with a significant cancer management improvement. Therefore, molecular pathology profiling has become fundamental not only to guide tumor diagnosis and prognosis but also to assist with therapeutic decisions in daily practice.

Value of KI-67/MIB-1 labeling index and simpson grading system to predict the recurrence of who grade I intracranial meningiomas compared to who grade II.

Simpson grading of resection has been used as a predictor of intracranial meningioma (IM) recurrence. Histopathological findings, like the Ki-67/MIB-1 labeling index, may be useful in the assessment risk of recurrence. Our objective was to analyze the predictive value of meningioma recurrence using both parameters.

Beyond the Warburg Effect: Oxidative and Glycolytic Phenotypes Coexist within the Metabolic Heterogeneity of Glioblastoma.

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most aggressive primary brain tumor, with a median survival at diagnosis of 16-20 months. Metabolism represents a new attractive therapeutic target; however, due to high intratumoral heterogeneity, the application of metabolic drugs in GBM is challenging. We characterized the basal bioenergetic metabolism and antiproliferative potential of metformin (MF), dichloroacetate (DCA), sodium oxamate (SOD) and diazo-5-oxo-L-norleucine (DON) in three distinct glioma stem cells (GSCs) (GBM18, GBM27, GBM38), as well as U87MG.

Brain Arteriovenous Malformations: Impact of Neurologic Status, Bleeding, and Type of Treatment on Final Outcome.

Background:  Well-designed studies assessing the treatment outcome of brain arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) are infrequent and have not consistently included all of the available treatment modalities, making their results not completely generalizable. Moreover, the predictors of poor outcome are not well defined.

Methods:  We performed an observational retrospective study of AVM patients.

Intraoperative brain mapping of language, cognitive functions, and social cognition in awake surgery of low-grade gliomas located in the right non-dominant hemisphere.

Objective: The aim of our study was to evaluate the usefulness of cortical-subcortical intraoperative brain mapping (ioBM) in resective awake surgery of low-grade gliomas (LGG) of the right non-dominant hemisphere (RndH). It was estimated how ioBM may affect both the extent of resection and postoperative outcome of language, spatial cognition, social cognition, and executive functions including attention and working memory.

Patients And Methods: Fifteen patients that underwent ioBM in resective awake surgery of LGG located on the RndH, were included.

Oncolytic Virotherapy in Glioma Tumors.

Glioma tumors are one of the most devastating cancer types. Glioblastoma is the most advanced stage with the worst prognosis. Current therapies are still unable to provide an effective cure.

Intraoperative brain mapping during awake surgery in symptomatic supratentorial cavernomas.

Background: Complete resection of symptomatic supratentorial cavernoma (SCA) and removal of the surrounding gliotic area is recommended to minimize the risk of persistent seizures or (re)bleeding. Surgery of SCA located in an eloquent area, can carry out severe postoperative neurological morbidity. We report a study aimed to assess feasibility, extent of resection and outcome after surgical removal of CA by cortico-subcortical intraoperative brain stimulation (ioBS) in the awake patient.

Potential Therapeutic Effects of the Neural Stem Cell-Targeting Antibody Nilo1 in Patient-Derived Glioblastoma Stem Cells.

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most devastating and least treatable brain tumor with median survival <15 months and extremely high recurrence rates. Promising results of immune checkpoint blockade obtained from pre-clinical studies in mice did not translate to clinic, and new strategies are urgently needed, particularly those targeting GBM stem cells (GSCs) that are held responsible for drug resistance and tumor recurrence. Patient-derived GSC cultures are critical for finding effective brain tumor therapies.

Decreased Equilibrative Nucleoside Transporter 1 (ENT1) Activity Contributes to the High Extracellular Adenosine Levels in Mesenchymal Glioblastoma Stem-Like Cells.

Glioblastoma multiforme is one of the most malignant types of cancer. This is mainly due to a cell subpopulation with an extremely aggressive potential, called glioblastoma stem-like cells (GSCs). These cells produce high levels of extracellular adenosine which has been associated with increased chemoresistance, migration, and invasion in glioblastoma.

Normal tissue content impact on the GBM molecular classification.

Molecular classification of glioblastoma has enabled a deeper understanding of the disease. The four-subtype model (including Proneural, Classical, Mesenchymal and Neural) has been replaced by a model that discards the Neural subtype, found to be associated with samples with a high content of normal tissue. These samples can be misclassified preventing biological and clinical insights into the different tumor subtypes from coming to light.

Newcastle Disease Virus (NDV) Oncolytic Activity in Human Glioma Tumors Is Dependent on CDKN2A-Type I IFN Gene Cluster Codeletion.

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most aggressive and frequent primary brain tumor in adults with a median overall survival of 15 months. Tumor recurrence and poor prognosis are related to cancer stem cells (CSCs), which drive resistance to therapies. A common characteristic in GBM is gene loss, located close to the cluster of genes at Ch9p21.