CD26 Is Differentially Expressed throughout the Life Cycle of Infantile Hemangiomas and Characterizes the Proliferative Phase.

Infantile hemangiomas (IHs) are benign vascular neoplasms of childhood (prevalence 5-10%) due to the abnormal proliferation of endothelial cells. IHs are characterized by a peculiar natural life cycle enclosing three phases: proliferative (≤12 months), involuting (≥13 months), and involuted (up to 4-7 years). The mechanisms underlying this neoplastic disease still remain uncovered.

MET alterations as resistance mechanisms of dabrafenib-trametinib in BRAF p.V600E mutated non-small cell lung cancer patient.

The combination of BRAF and MEK inhibitors demonstrated significant clinical benefit in patients with BRAF-mutant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, the molecular mechanisms of acquired resistance to BRAF and MEK inhibition in NSCLC are still unknown. Herein, we report a case of a 76-year-old man with a history of smoking who was diagnosed with BRAF V600E-mutant lung adenocarcinoma (PD-L1 > 50%) and subsequently candidate to first-line therapy with pembrolizumab.

Time-course transcriptome analysis of a double challenge bleomycin-induced lung fibrosis rat model uncovers ECM homoeostasis-related translationally relevant genes.

Background: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is an irreversible disorder with a poor prognosis. The incomplete understanding of IPF pathogenesis and the lack of accurate animal models is limiting the development of effective treatments. Thus, the selection of clinically relevant animal models endowed with similarities with the human disease in terms of lung anatomy, cell biology, pathways involved and genetics is essential.

Mesenchymal stromal cells loaded with Paclitaxel (PacliMES) a potential new therapeutic approach on mesothelioma.

Malignant pleural mesothelioma is an asbestos-related tumor originating in mesothelial cells of the pleura that poorly responds to chemotherapeutic approaches. Adult mesenchymal stromal cells derived either from bone marrow or from adipose tissue may be considered a good model for cell-based therapy, a treatment which has experienced significant interest in recent years. The present study confirms that Paclitaxel is effective on mesothelioma cell proliferation in 2D and 3D in vitro cultures, and that 80,000 mesenchymal stromal cells loaded with Paclitaxel inhibit tumor growth at a higher extent than Paclitaxel alone.

Micro-fragmented Fat Inhibits the Progression of Human Mesothelioma Xenografts in Mice.

Background: Malignant pleural mesothelioma is a pathology with no effective therapy and a poor prognosis. Our previous study demonstrated an in vitro inhibitory effect on mesothelioma cell lines of both the lysate and secretome of adipose tissue-derived Mesenchymal Stromal Cells. The inhibitory activity on tumor growth has been demonstrated also : five million Mesenchymal Stromal Cells, injected , produced a significant therapeutic efficacy against MSTO-211H xenograft equivalent to that observed after the systemic administration of paclitaxel.

Β-blockers activate autophagy on infantile hemangioma-derived endothelial cells in vitro.

Unlabelled: The mechanisms underlying the success of propranolol in the treatment of infantile hemangioma (IH) remain elusive and do not fully explain the rapid regression of hemangiomatous lesions following drug administration. As autophagy is critically implicated in vascular homeostasis, we determined whether β-blockers trigger the autophagic flux on infantile hemangioma-derived endothelial cells (Hem-ECs) in vitro.

Material And Methods: Fresh tissue specimens, surgically removed for therapeutic purpose to seven children affected by proliferative IH, were subjected to enzymatic digestion.

Integrated MRI-Immune-Genomic Features Enclose a Risk Stratification Model in Patients Affected by Glioblastoma.

Background: The aim of the present study was to dissect the clinical outcome of GB patients through the integration of molecular, immunophenotypic and MR imaging features.

Methods: We enrolled 57 histologically proven and molecularly tested GB patients (5.3% IDH-1 mutant).

GCN5 contributes to intracellular lipid accumulation in human primary cardiac stromal cells from patients affected by Arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy.

Arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM) is a genetic disease associated with sudden cardiac death and cardiac fibro-fatty replacement. Over the last years, several works have demonstrated that different epigenetic enzymes can affect not only gene expression changes in cardiac diseases but also cellular metabolism. Specifically, the histone acetyltransferase GCN5 is known to facilitate adipogenesis and modulate cardiac metabolism in heart failure.

and Amplifications as Synergistic Resistance Mechanisms to Different Generation ALK Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors in Advanced NSCLC: Brief Report of Clinical and Preclinical Proofs.

Introduction: ALK tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) are the standard treatment for advanced ALK-positive NSCLC. Nevertheless, drug resistance inevitably occurs. Here, we report a case of a patient with metastatic ALK-positive lung adenocarcinoma with an impressive resistance to sequential treatment with ALK TKIs mediated by and amplification in a contest of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and high progressive chromosomal instability.

Inhibition of Human Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma Growth by Mesenchymal Stromal Cells.

Background: Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma (MPM) is an aggressive tumor that has a significant incidence related to asbestos exposure with no effective therapy and poor prognosis. The role of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) in cancer is controversial due to their opposite effects on tumor growth and in particular, only a few data are reported on MSCs and MPM.

Methods: We investigated the in vitro efficacy of adipose tissue-derived MSCs, their lysates and secretome against different MPM cell lines.

Validation of a radiomic approach to decipher NSCLC immune microenvironment in surgically resected patients.

Radiomics has emerged as a noninvasive tool endowed with the potential to intercept tumor characteristics thereby predicting clinical outcome. In a recent study on resected non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), we identified highly prognostic computed tomography (CT) -derived radiomic features (RFs), which in turn were able to discriminate hot from cold tumor immune microenvironment (TIME). We aimed at validating a radiomic model capable of dissecting specific TIME profiles bearing prognostic power in resected NSCLC.

Afatinib therapy in case of EGFR G724S emergence as resistance mechanism to osimertinib.

Osimertinib is a third-generation epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKI) used both as the first-line treatment of EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung cancer patients and in second-line after T790M-positive disease progression to first- or second-generation TKIs. Unfortunately, patients unavoidably experience disease progression to osimertinib and the current research is focused on resistance mechanisms and the relative therapeutic strategy. We report the case of a patient with advanced EGFR-mutated (exon 19 deletion and T790M-positive) non-small cell lung cancer who developed disease progression to osimertinib characterized by the loss of T790M concurrently with the emergence of G724S EGFR mutation, which was tackled by subsequent afatinib treatment.

Development of Biomimetic Alginate/Gelatin/Elastin Sponges with Recognition Properties toward Bioactive Peptides for Cardiac Tissue Engineering.

In recent years, there has been an increasing interest toward the covalent binding of bioactive peptides from extracellular matrix proteins on scaffolds as a promising functionalization strategy in the development of biomimetic matrices for tissue engineering. A totally new approach for scaffold functionalization with peptides is based on Molecular Imprinting technology. In this work, imprinted particles with recognition properties toward laminin and fibronectin bioactive moieties were synthetized and used for the functionalization of biomimetic sponges, which were based on a blend of alginate, gelatin, and elastin.

IGF-1 loaded injectable microspheres for potential repair of the infarcted myocardium.

The use of injectable scaffolds to repair the infarcted heart is receiving great interest. Thermosensitive polymers, polymerization, cross-linking, and self-assembling peptides are the most investigated approaches to obtain injectability.Aim of the present work was the preparation and characterization of a novel bioactive scaffold, in form of injectable microspheres, for cardiac repair.

Dataset on the identification of a prognostic radio-immune signature in surgically resected Non Small Cell Lung Cancer.

The immune regulation of cancer growth and regression has been underscored by the recent success of immunotherapy. The possibility that immune microenvironmental factors may impact on clinical outcome and treatment response still requires intense investigations. Hereby, supporting data of the research article "Integrated CT Imaging and Tissue Immune Features Disclose a Radio-Immune Signature with High Prognostic Impact on Surgically Resected NSCLC" [1], are presented.

Characterization of ABC Transporters in EpiAirway™, a Cellular Model of Normal Human Bronchial Epithelium.

The ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters P-glycoprotein (MDR1/), multidrug resistance-associated protein 1 (MRP1/), and breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP/) play a crucial role in the translocation of a broad range of drugs; data about their expression and activity in lung tissue are controversial. Here, we address their expression, localization and function in EpiAirway™, a three-dimensional (3D)-model of human airways; Calu-3 cells, a representative in vitro model of bronchial epithelium, are used for comparison. Transporter expression has been evaluated with RT-qPCR and Western blot, the localization with immunocytochemistry, and the activity by measuring the apical-to-basolateral and basolateral-to-apical fluxes of specific substrates in the presence of inhibitors.

Integrated CT imaging and tissue immune features disclose a radio-immune signature with high prognostic impact on surgically resected NSCLC.

Objectives: Qualitative and quantitative CT imaging features might intercept the multifaceted tumor immune microenvironment (TIME), providing a non-invasive approach to design new prognostic models in NSCLC patients.

Materials And Methods: Our study population consisted of 100 surgically resected NSCLC patients among which 31 served as a validation cohort for quantitative image analysis. TIME was classified according to PD-L1 expression and the magnitude of Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes (TILs) and further defined as hot or cold by the tissue analysis of effector (CD8-to-CD3/PD-1-to-CD8) or inert (CD8-to-CD3/PD-1-to-CD8) phenotypes.

Spatial architecture of tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes as a prognostic parameter in resected non-small-cell lung cancer.

Objectives: Tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) are critically implicated in the clinical outcome and response to immunotherapy in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. The functional competence of lymphocyte subpopulations is strongly conditioned by their spatial arrangement within the tumour immune microenvironment. The aim of this study was to determine whether the tissue localization of specific TIL subpopulations might have an impact on the risk of recurrence in surgically resected NSCLC.

Clinico-Immunological Profile of a 67-Year-Old Woman Affected by HER2-Positive Breast Cancer and Autoimmune Dermatomyositis.

A patient with HER2-positive early breast cancer (BC) developed dermatomyositis (DM), which disappeared after the first administration of adjuvant trastuzumab. No HER2 overexpression/amplification was observed in DM skin biopsies. Both BC and skin immune infiltrates were composed mostly of CD3+ T-lymphocytes.

Optimizing PD-L1 evaluation on cytological samples from advanced non-small-cell lung cancer.

Programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) predicts response to immune checkpoint inhibitors in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. Most NSCLCs are diagnosed at an advanced stage and using minimally invasive diagnostic procedures that yield small biopsies or cytological samples. Cytological smears and paired histological samples from 52 advanced NSCLC patients were tested for PD-L1 expression by immunocyto/histochemistry (ICC/IHC) and for gene status by FISH.

High levels of Notch intracellular cleaved domain are associated with stemness and reduced bevacizumab efficacy in patients with advanced colon cancer.

δ‑like ligand 4 (DLL4)‑Notch signaling is associated with tumor resistance to anti‑vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) therapy. Furthermore, Notch signaling is critical for the maintenance of colon cancer stem cells (CSCs), which are relevant in drug resistance and tumor angiogenesis. CD44 is a transmembrane glycoprotein and is considered a putative marker of CSCs.

Third generation EGFR inhibitor osimertinib combined with pemetrexed or cisplatin exerts long-lasting anti-tumor effect in EGFR-mutated pre-clinical models of NSCLC.

Background: The third generation Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor (TKI) osimertinib has been initially approved for T790M positive Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) and more recently for first-line treatment of EGFR-mutant T790M negative NSCLC patients. Similarly to previous generation TKIs, despite the high response rate, disease progression eventually occurs and current clinical research is focused on novel strategies to delay the emergence of osimertinib resistance. In this study we investigated the combination of osimertinib with pemetrexed or cisplatin in EGFR-mutated NSCLC cell lines and xenografts.