It is estimated that only 0.02% of disseminated tumour cells are able to seed overt metastases. While this suggests the presence of environmental constraints to metastatic seeding, the landscape of host factors controlling this process remains largely unclear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiochim Biophys Acta Gene Regul Mech
September 2024
Brucellosis is a critical zoonotic disease impacting humans and animals globally, causing symptoms like fever and arthritis in humans and reproductive issues in animals. The disease stems from the Brucella genus, adept at evading the immune system and proliferating within host cells. This study explores how Brucella abortus manipulates host cellular mechanisms to sustain infection, focusing on the interaction with murine macrophages over 24 h.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEpithelial integrity and function must be maintained in a dynamic healthy equilibrium, keeping unaltered the oxidative and inflammatory conditions and the microbiome of the cutaneous layers. Beside the skin, other mucous membranes can be injured, such as the nasal and anal ones, because of the contact with the external environment. Here, we detected the effects of RIPACUT, a combination of Iceland lichen extract, silver salt and sodium hyaluronate that individually act in diverse biological ways.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPeripheral 5-hydroxytryptamine 2A receptor (5-HT2AR) could be a new pharmacological target for NASH, an evolution of NAFLD characterized by hepatic steatosis, cytoskeletal alterations, and hepatic inflammation that can arise with or without fibrosis. SJT4a is a synthetic β-carboline antagonist for 5-HT2AR developed by SJT molecular research to treat NASH. We performed a combined in silico/in vivo study on this potential drug to elucidate its activity and possible mechanism of action.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChronic infection is the leading cause of intestinal-type adenocarcinoma, as prolonged colonization triggers chronic active gastritis, which may evolve into adenocarcinoma of the intestinal type. In this environment, cytokines play a significant role in determining the evolution of the infection. In combination with other factors (genetic, environmental and nutritional), the pro-inflammatory response may trigger pro-oncogenic mechanisms that lead to the silencing of tumour-suppressor genes, such as trefoil factor 1 (TFF1).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFront Cell Infect Microbiol
November 2022
spp. represent the third most frequent worldwide cause of infection in Intensive Care Units with a mortality rate of almost 40%. The classes of antifungals currently available include azoles, polyenes, echinocandins, pyrimidine derivatives, and allylamines.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAsymmetric subcellular mRNA localization allows spatial regulation of gene expression and functional compartmentalization. In neurons, localization of specific mRNAs to neurites is essential for cellular functioning. However, it is largely unknown how transcript sorting works in a sequence-specific manner.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe extensive use of ophthalmic antibiotics is contributing to the appearance of resistant bacterial strains, which require prolonged and massive treatments with consequent detrimental outcomes and adverse effects. In addition to these issues, antibiotics are not effective against parasites and viruses. In this context, antiseptics could be valuable alternatives.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMicrobial infections are sensed by the host immune system by recognizing signature molecules called Pathogen-Associated Molecular Patterns-PAMPs. The binding of these biomolecules to innate immune receptors, called Pattern Recognition Receptors (PRRs), alerts the host cell, activating microbicidal and pro-inflammatory responses. The outcome of the inflammatory cascade depends on the subtle balance between the bacterial burn and the host immune response.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe identification of novel strategies to control ()-associated chronic inflammation is, at present, a considerable challenge. Here, we attempt to combat this issue by modulating the innate immune response, targeting formyl peptide receptors (FPRs), G-protein coupled receptors that play key roles in both the regulation and the resolution of the innate inflammatory response. Specifically, we investigated, in vitro, whether Caulerpin-a bis-indole alkaloid isolated from algae of the genus -could act as a molecular antagonist scaffold of FPRs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEpistaxis is one of the most frequent hemorrhages resulting from local or systemic factors. Its management without hospitalization has prompted an interest in locally applied hemostatic agents. Generally, the therapy approaches involve sprays or creams acting as a physical barrier, even used as tampons or gauze.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProc Natl Acad Sci U S A
September 2021
Excessive production of viral glycoproteins during infections poses a tremendous stress potential on the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) protein folding machinery of the host cell. The host cell balances this by providing more ER resident chaperones and reducing translation. For viruses, this unfolded protein response (UPR) offers the potential to fold more glycoproteins.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInterferon (IFN) induction of IFN-stimulated genes (ISGs) creates a formidable protective antiviral state. However, loss of appropriate control mechanisms can result in constitutive pathogenic ISG upregulation. Here, we used genome-scale loss-of-function screening to establish genes critical for IFN-induced transcription, identifying all expected members of the JAK-STAT signaling pathway and a previously unappreciated epigenetic reader, bromodomain-containing protein 9 (BRD9), the defining subunit of non-canonical BAF (ncBAF) chromatin-remodeling complexes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSkin wound repair represents an important topic for the therapeutic challenges. Many molecules are commonly used as active principles of topical devices to induce the correct tissue regeneration. Among these molecules, mesoglycan, a mixture of glycosaminoglycans, and the lactoferrin have recently aroused interest.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe unfolded protein response plays an evolutionarily conserved role in homeostasis, and its dysregulation often leads to human disease, including diabetes and cancer. IRE1α is a major transducer that conveys endoplasmic reticulum stress via biochemical signals, yet major gaps persist in our understanding of how the detection of stress is converted to one of several molecular outcomes. It is known that, upon sensing unfolded proteins via its endoplasmic reticulum luminal domain, IRE1α dimerizes and then oligomerizes (often visualized as clustering).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGastric cancer is considered one of the most common malignancies in humans and infection is the major environmental risk factor of gastric cancer development. Given the high spread of this bacterium whose infection is mostly asymptomatic, colonization persists for a long time, becoming chronic and predisposing to malignant transformation. The first defensive barrier from bacterial infection is constituted by the gastric mucosa that secretes several protective factors, among which is the trefoil factor 1 (TFF1), that, as mucin 5AC, binds the bacterium.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study aimed to test the effectiveness of a solution of chlorhexidine (CHX) and D-α-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol succinate (Vitamin E TPGS or TPGS) in the treatment of keratitis (AK) via a prospective, interventional case series study. Twenty-nine consecutive patients with AK were enrolled. At baseline, best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), slit lamp examination, confocal microscopy, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were performed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn pancreatic cancer (PC) progression the protein Annexin A1 (ANXA1) has been described as oncogenic factor. Thus, the need to inhibit its action, mainly the extracellular form, has become an appealing cue for the anti-cancer research. Heparan sulfate (HS) is a glycosaminoglycan of the extracellular matrix known to bind several molecules, as growth factors and cytokines, generating a kind of reservoir in the extracellular environment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDiuron [3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea] is a substituted urea herbicide, carcinogenic for the rat urinary bladder. It has been hypothesized that Diuron cytotoxicity, resulting in regenerative proliferation, leads to urothelial hyperplasia and, finally, to bladder tumors, but molecular mechanisms of carcinogenesis have not still fully investigated. Here, we report the results of a study aimed at verifying the involvement of BAG3, an intracellular protein expressed in several tumors, in the Diuron-induced carcinogenesis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFKeratitis is a severe condition characterized by inflammation of the cornea following a local trauma. The most common ocular disease is the bacterial one, which requires an antibiotic treatment. The major limitation of this therapy is the resistance of the antibiotic.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPterostilbene, the 3,5-dimethoxy derivative of resveratrol, is a well-known polyphenolic compound, mainly found in blueberries, grapevines, and heartwood, which has recently attracted a great deal of attention due to its wide bio-pharmacological profile. Moreover, pterostilbene is more lipophilic than resveratrol, with a consequently better bioavailability and a more interesting therapeutic potential. In this work, a chemoproteomic approach, based on affinity chromatography, was applied on pterostilbene in the attempt to identify the biological targets responsible for its bioactivity.
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