Publications by authors named "Angelo Raggioli"
Article Synopsis
- * Researchers created PeptiVAX, a novel vaccine platform using PeptiCRAd technology, which targets broader T-cell responses by focusing on conserved regions across coronaviruses instead of just the SPIKE protein.
- * Initial tests in human immune cells and mice showed that PeptiVAX effectively stimulated specific T-cell responses, suggesting it could be a fast and flexible solution for enhancing vaccine efficacy against SARS-CoV-2.
Article Synopsis
- Development of new vaccines for SARS-CoV-2 aims to improve availability in low-income areas, despite existing effective vaccines.
- A study tracked immune responses in young and old volunteers after receiving the GRAd-COV2 vaccine, showing strong antibody and T-cell responses that were maintained for 3 months but declined by 6 months.
- GRAd-COV2 demonstrated good safety and immune response, making it a promising candidate for further clinical development as part of the COVID-19 vaccination strategy.
Sleeping Beauty (SB) is the first DNA transposon employed for efficient transposition in vertebrate cells, opening new applications for genetic engineering and gene therapies. A transposon-based gene delivery system holds the favourable features of non-viral vectors and an attractive safety profile. Here, we employed SB to engineer HEK293 cells for optimizing the production of a chimpanzee Adenovector (chAd) belonging to the Human Mastadenovirus C species.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- * A phase 1 clinical trial involved 90 healthy participants from two age groups (young and older adults), testing the safety and immune response of a single-dose vaccination.
- * Results showed that the vaccine was generally safe, with mostly mild side effects, and effectively generated immune responses, including the production of neutralizing antibodies and a strong T cell response in nearly all participants, supporting further development of GRAd-COV2.
Article Synopsis
- The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, has highlighted the urgent need for effective vaccines to ensure global public health safety.
- Researchers have developed a new vaccine candidate, GRAd-COV2, which uses a modified gorilla adenovirus to deliver the Spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, showing strong immune responses in both mice and macaques.
- The study indicates that GRAd-COV2 can produce highly effective neutralizing antibodies and is currently progressing to a phase I clinical trial to assess its safety and efficacy in humans.
Genetic factors play a significant role in risk for mood and anxiety disorders. Polymorphisms in genes that regulate the brain monoamine systems, such as catabolic enzymes and transporters, are attractive candidates for being risk factors for emotional disorders given the weight of evidence implicating monoamines involvement in these conditions. Several common genetic variants have been identified in the human serotonin transporter (5-HTT) gene, including a repetitive sequence located in the promoter region of the locus called the serotonin transporter-linked polymorphic region (5-HTT-LPR).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMicroglia are highly motile glial cells that are proposed to mediate synaptic pruning during neuronal circuit formation. Disruption of signaling between microglia and neurons leads to an excess of immature synaptic connections, thought to be the result of impaired phagocytosis of synapses by microglia. However, until now the direct phagocytosis of synapses by microglia has not been reported and fundamental questions remain about the precise synaptic structures and phagocytic mechanisms involved.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFβ-Catenin mediated Wnt-signaling is assumed to play a major function in embryonic stem cells in maintaining their stem cell character and the exit from this unique trait. The complexity of β-catenin action and conflicting results on the role of β-catenin in maintaining the pluripotent state have made it difficult to understand its precise cellular and molecular functions. To attempt this issue we have generated new genetically modified mouse embryonic stem cell lines allowing for the deletion of β-catenin in a controlled manner by taking advantage of the Cre-ER-T2 system and analyzed the effects in a narrow time window shortly after ablation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMicroRNAs of the miR-302 cluster are involved in early embryonic development and somatic cell reprogramming. Expression of the miR-302 gene is regulated by the binding of the pluripotency factors Oct4, Sox2 and Nanog to the miR-302 promoter. The specific expression pattern of the miR-302 gene suggested that additional transcription factors might be involved in its regulation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCanonical Wnt signaling is repeatedly used during development to control cell fate, and it is often implicated in human cancer. β-catenin, the effector of Wnt signaling, has a dual function in the cell and is involved in both cell adhesion and transcription. Nuclear β-catenin controls transcription through association with transcription factors of the TCF family and the recruitment of epigenetic modifiers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTelomerase activity controls telomere length and plays a pivotal role in stem cells, aging, and cancer. Here, we report a molecular link between Wnt/β-catenin signaling and the expression of the telomerase subunit Tert. β-Catenin-deficient mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells have short telomeres; conversely, ES cell expressing an activated form of β-catenin (β-cat(ΔEx3/+)) have long telomeres.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) is the primary means to distinguish benign from malignant nodules and select patients for surgery. However, adjunctive diagnostic tests are needed because in 20-40% of cases the FNAB result is uncertain.
Objective: We investigated whether a search for the oncogenes RET/PTC, TRK and BRAF(V600E) in thyroid aspirates could refine an uncertain diagnosis.