Bacteremia and Ectopic Ileal Varices in Underlying Chronic Portal and Superior Mesenteric Vein Thrombosis: Report of a Rare Case.

Ischemic bowel disease is considered a high-risk factor for infection from anaerobic bacteria, as the ischemic bowel is the perfect ground for their development. Herein, we present the case of an advance stage colon cancer patient with a rare cause of gastrointestinal bleeding and bacteremia due to , a rare anaerobic Gram-positive bacterium. The patient had presented with several episodes of hematochezia in the context of chronic superior mesenteric-portal vein tumor thrombosis and rupture of ectopic varices, and the bacteremia was an unexpected complication of the bowel ischemia due to a combination of arterial ischemia and venous congestion.

Single-cell and spatial transcriptomics analysis of non-small cell lung cancer.

Lung cancer is the second most frequently diagnosed cancer and the leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. Tumour ecosystems feature diverse immune cell types. Myeloid cells, in particular, are prevalent and have a well-established role in promoting the disease.

Single-cell transcriptomic analysis of hematopoietic progenitor cells from patients with systemic lupus erythematosus reveals interferon-inducible reprogramming in early progenitors.

Introduction: Immune cells that contribute to the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) derive from adult hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) within the bone marrow (BM). For this reason, we reasoned that fundamental abnormalities in SLE can be traced to a BM-derived HSPC inflammatory signature.

Methods: BM samples from four SLE patients, six healthy controls, and two umbilical cord blood (CB) samples were used.

Acquisition of epithelial plasticity in human chronic liver disease.

For many adult human organs, tissue regeneration during chronic disease remains a controversial subject. Regenerative processes are easily observed in animal models, and their underlying mechanisms are becoming well characterized, but technical challenges and ethical aspects are limiting the validation of these results in humans. We decided to address this difficulty with respect to the liver.

Growth deregulation and interaction with host hemocytes contribute to tumor progression in a Drosophila brain tumor model.

Tumors constantly interact with their microenvironment. Here, we present data on a Notch-induced neural stem cell (NSC) tumor in Drosophila, which can be immortalized by serial transplantation in adult hosts. This tumor arises in the larva by virtue of the ability of Notch to suppress early differentiation-promoting factors in NSC progeny.

Dataset for the van-drone routing problem with multiple delivery drop points.

The distribution of parcels is one of the most complex and challenging processes in supply chain execution. Lately, the development of both electronic and quick commerce has driven carriers and courier operators to identify more effective methods for express parcel delivery. To this end, the development of efficient distribution networks that aim in increasing customer experience while maintaining low operating costs is significant importance both for researchers as well as for practitioners.

Loss of Kmt2c in vivo leads to EMT, mitochondrial dysfunction and improved response to lapatinib in breast cancer.

Deep sequencing of human tumours has uncovered a previously unappreciated role for epigenetic regulators in tumorigenesis. H3K4 methyltransferase KMT2C/MLL3 is mutated in several solid malignancies, including more than 10% of breast tumours. To study the tumour suppressor role of KMT2C in breast cancer, we generated mouse models of Erbb2/Neu, Myc or PIK3CA-driven tumorigenesis, in which the Kmt2c locus is knocked out specifically in the luminal lineage of mouse mammary glands using the Cre recombinase.

Tracing the First Days of the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic in Greece and the Role of the First Imported Group of Travelers.

The first SARS-CoV-2 case in Greece was confirmed on February 26, 2020, and since then, multiple strains have circulated the country, leading to regional and country-wide outbreaks. Our aim is to enlighten the events that took place during the first days of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in Greece, focusing on the role of the first imported group of travelers. We used whole-genome SARS-CoV-2 sequences obtained from the infected travelers of the group as well as Greece-derived and globally subsampled sequences and applied dedicated phylogenetics and phylodynamics tools as well as in-house-developed bioinformatics pipelines.

Real-world management patterns in -mutant advanced non-small-cell lung cancer before first-line adoption of osimertinib: the REFLECT study in Greece.

To retrospectively characterize real-world therapeutic strategies, clinical outcomes and attrition rates with EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), before first-line osimertinib approval, in -mutated advanced/metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer patients in Greece. Among 160 patients, the discontinuation rate for first-line first- or second-generation EGFR-TKIs was 85%; among these patients, 43% did not receive any second-line therapy and 9.4% died during an 18.

Cross-species transcriptome analysis for early detection and specific therapeutic targeting of human lupus nephritis.

Objectives: Patients with lupus nephritis (LN) are in urgent need for early diagnosis and therapeutic interventions targeting aberrant molecular pathways enriched in affected kidneys.

Methods: We used mRNA-sequencing in effector (spleen) and target (kidneys, brain) tissues from lupus and control mice at sequential time points, and in the blood from 367 individuals (261 systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients and 106 healthy individuals). Comparative cross-tissue and cross-species analyses were performed.

Radiomics/Radiogenomics in Lung Cancer: Basic Principles and Initial Clinical Results.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, and elucidation of its complicated pathobiology has been traditionally targeted by studies incorporating genomic as well other high-throughput approaches. Recently, a collection of methods used for cancer imaging, supplemented by quantitative aspects leading towards imaging biomarker assessment termed "radiomics", has introduced a novel dimension in cancer research. Integration of genomics and radiomics approaches, where identifying the biological basis of imaging phenotypes is feasible due to the establishment of associations between molecular features at the genomic-transcriptomic-proteomic level and radiological features, has recently emerged termed radiogenomics.

Cell adhesion tunes inflammatory TPL2 kinase signal transduction.

Signaling through adhesion-related molecules is important for cancer growth and metastasis and cancer cells are resistant to anoikis, a form of cell death ensued by cell detachment from the extracellular matrix. Herein, we report that detached carcinoma cells and immortalized fibroblasts display defects in TNF and CD40 ligand (CD40L)-induced MEK-ERK signaling. Cell detachment results in reduced basal levels of the MEK kinase TPL2, compromises TPL2 activation and sensitizes carcinoma cells to death-inducing receptor ligands, mimicking the synthetic lethal interactions between TPL2 inactivation and TNF or CD40L stimulation.

Treatment pathways and associated costs of metastatic colorectal cancer in Greece.

Objectives: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second leading cause of cancer in Europe, with 1.931.590 people newly diagnosed in 2020.

Protein tyrosine phosphatase receptor-ζ1 deletion triggers defective heart morphogenesis in mice and zebrafish.

Protein tyrosine phosphatase receptor-1 (PTPRZ1) is a transmembrane tyrosine phosphatase receptor highly expressed in embryonic stem cells. In the present work, gene expression analyses of and mice endothelial cells and hearts pointed to an unidentified role of PTPRZ1 in heart development through the regulation of heart-specific transcription factor genes. Echocardiography analysis in mice identified that both systolic and diastolic functions are affected in compared with hearts, based on a dilated left ventricular (LV) cavity, decreased ejection fraction and fraction shortening, and increased angiogenesis in hearts, with no signs of cardiac hypertrophy.

Generation of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patient-Derived Xenografts to Study Intratumor Heterogeneity.

Recent advances in sequencing technologies have allowed the in-depth molecular study of tumors, even at the single cell level. Sequencing efforts have uncovered a previously unappreciated heterogeneity among tumor cells, which has been postulated to be the driving force of tumor evolution and to facilitate recurrence, metastasis, and drug resistance. In the current study, focused on early-stage operable non-small cell lung cancer, we used tumor growth in patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models in mice as a fast-forward tumor evolution process to investigate the molecular characteristics of tumor cells that grow in mice, as well as the parameters that affect the grafting efficiency.

Analysis of endothelial-to-haematopoietic transition at the single cell level identifies cell cycle regulation as a driver of differentiation.

Background: Haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) first arise during development in the aorta-gonad-mesonephros (AGM) region of the embryo from a population of haemogenic endothelial cells which undergo endothelial-to-haematopoietic transition (EHT). Despite the progress achieved in recent years, the molecular mechanisms driving EHT are still poorly understood, especially in human where the AGM region is not easily accessible.

Results: In this study, we take advantage of a human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC) differentiation system and single-cell transcriptomics to recapitulate EHT in vitro and uncover mechanisms by which the haemogenic endothelium generates early haematopoietic cells.

ChemBioServer 2.0: an advanced web server for filtering, clustering and networking of chemical compounds facilitating both drug discovery and repurposing.

Summary: ChemBioServer 2.0 is the advanced sequel of a web server for filtering, clustering and networking of chemical compound libraries facilitating both drug discovery and repurposing. It provides researchers the ability to (i) browse and visualize compounds along with their physicochemical and toxicity properties, (ii) perform property-based filtering of compounds, (iii) explore compound libraries for lead optimization based on perfect match substructure search, (iv) re-rank virtual screening results to achieve selectivity for a protein of interest against different protein members of the same family, selecting only those compounds that score high for the protein of interest, (v) perform clustering among the compounds based on their physicochemical properties providing representative compounds for each cluster, (vi) construct and visualize a structural similarity network of compounds providing a set of network analysis metrics, (vii) combine a given set of compounds with a reference set of compounds into a single structural similarity network providing the opportunity to infer drug repurposing due to transitivity, (viii) remove compounds from a network based on their similarity with unwanted substances (e.

Clinical feasibility of NGS liquid biopsy analysis in NSCLC patients.

Background: Analysis of circulating tumor nucleic acids in plasma of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) patients is the most widespread and documented form of "liquid biopsy" and provides real-time information on the molecular profile of the tumor without an invasive tissue biopsy.

Methods: Liquid biopsy analysis was requested by the referral physician in 121 NSCLC patients at diagnosis and was performed using a sensitive Next Generation Sequencing assay. Additionally, a comparative analysis of NSCLC patients at relapse following EGFR Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor (TKIs) treatment was performed in 50 patients by both the cobas and NGS platforms.

Three- versus six-month adjuvant FOLFOX or CAPOX for high-risk stage II and stage III colon cancer patients: the efficacy results of Hellenic Oncology Research Group (HORG) participation to the International Duration Evaluation of Adjuvant Chemotherapy (IDEA) project.

Background: The International Duration Evaluation of Adjuvant Chemotherapy (IDEA) aimed to investigate whether a 3 months (3M) of oxaliplatin/fluoropyrimidine-based adjuvant chemotherapy (CT) is non-inferior to the 6-month (6M) administration in 3-year disease-free survival (3yDFS) in high-risk (HR) stage II or stage III colon cancer (CC).

Methods: Hellenic Oncology Research Group (HORG)-IDEA randomized patients between 3M and 6M of CT with FOLFOX4 or CAPOX.

Results: In total 1115 patients, 413 with HR stage II and 702 with stage III CC, were randomized.

Single-cell RNA-sequencing uncovers transcriptional states and fate decisions in haematopoiesis.

The success of marker-based approaches for dissecting haematopoiesis in mouse and human is reliant on the presence of well-defined cell surface markers specific for diverse progenitor populations. An inherent problem with this approach is that the presence of specific cell surface markers does not directly reflect the transcriptional state of a cell. Here, we used a marker-free approach to computationally reconstruct the blood lineage tree in zebrafish and order cells along their differentiation trajectory, based on their global transcriptional differences.

Vascular inflammation and metabolic activity in hematopoietic organs and liver in familial combined hyperlipidemia and heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia.

Background: Familial dyslipidemias of either heterozygous (heFH) or combined (FCH) type lead to accelerated atherogenesis and increased cardiovascular risk.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate in statin-naïve adult patients with familial dyslipidemias whether inflammatory activation and liver, spleen and bone marrow metabolic activity differ compared with normolipidemic subjects and between dyslipidemic groups.

Methods: Fourteen patients with FCH, 14 with heFH, and 14 normolipidemic individuals were enrolled.

Tumor molecular profiling of NSCLC patients using next generation sequencing.

Non‑small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the most common type of lung cancer and a tumor with a broad spectrum of targeted therapies already available or in clinical trials. Thus, molecular characterization of the tumor using next generation sequencing (NGS) technology, has become a key tool for facilitating treatment decisions and the clinical management of NSCLC patients. The performance of a custom 23 gene multiplex amplification hot spot panel, based on Ion AmpliSeq™ technology, was evaluated for the analysis of tumor DNA extracted from formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues.