Publications by authors named "Diego Assis Goncalves"
Objective: Bariatric surgery not always results in satisfactory excess weight loss (EWL) in severe obesity. Given the economic and clinical costs of bariatric surgery failure, defining predictors of successful EWL represents a relevant clinical issue for the health system to select patients benefiting from operation.
Methods: By ELISA and Western blot analyses, we assessed the predicting value of pre-operative adiponectin (APN) locally produced in abdominal visceral (VAT) and subcutaneous (SAT) adipose tissue versus plasma levels as a novel sex-linked biomarker of EWL at different time points of follow up (6-24 months) after bariatric surgery in 43 patients (56% females) affected by severe obesity undergoing a small pilot observational study.
Cutaneous melanoma emerges from the malignant transformation of melanocytes and is the most aggressive type of skin cancer. The progression can occur in different stages: radial growth phase (RGP), vertical growth phase (VGP), and metastasis. Reactive oxygen species contribute to all phases of melanomagenesis through the modulation of oncogenic signaling pathways.
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- * Dysfunction in the endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) leads to the production of harmful superoxide anion, contributing to a pro-oxidant environment that facilitates melanoma growth and resistance to treatment.
- * Research indicates that restoring eNOS activity can reduce tumor growth and enhance the effectiveness of chemotherapy, suggesting that targeting eNOS dysfunction could be a promising strategy for melanoma therapy.
Article Synopsis
- Cancer development involves several critical changes such as uncontrolled cell growth, genetic instability, and evasion of immune responses due to alterations in genes responsible for maintaining cell health.
- Reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS, RNS) generated by various enzymes contribute to the transformation of normal cells into cancerous ones by altering DNA, proteins, and lipids.
- Nitric oxide synthase (NOS) is significant in cancer progression, with overexpression of its isoforms linked to tumor growth; however, the role of its cofactor, tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4), is debated as it can either promote or inhibit tumor development.
Brazil has the second highest number of deaths due to COVID-19. Obesity has been associated with an important role in disease development and a worse prognosis. We aimed to explore epidemiological data from Brazil, discussing the potential relationships between obesity and COVID-19 severity in this country.
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- Melanoma is a highly aggressive skin cancer linked to high mortality rates, partly due to its ability to spread (metastasize) and elevated reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, like superoxide anion.
- Nitric oxide synthase (NOS) can become dysfunctional (uncoupled), producing more ROS when there's a lack of its cofactor tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4), which is crucial for its proper function.
- Treating melanoma cells with BH4 restores NOS function, increasing nitric oxide production, reducing harmful ROS, and ultimately leading to decreased cell growth, reduced ability to form tumors, and increased sensitivity to programmed cell death (apoptosis).