Publications by authors named "F Leva"

Iron homeostasis is strictly related to numerous physiological pathways including cell cycle progression and cell growth. The newest anticancer strategies focus on either depleting the cells with a suitable chelator or increasing their loading by administering iron complexes to induce ferroptosis. Iron depletion inhibits cell proliferation, while iron overload induces the damage of guanine nucleobases in G-quadruplex structures via ROS generation, leading to genome instability.

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Article Synopsis
  • Loss-of-function mutations in the CHD8 gene are linked to Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), leading to significant molecular and cellular changes relevant for developing new therapies.
  • Synthetic SINEUP-CHD8, a type of long non-coding RNA, can increase the production of the CHD8 protein in cells lacking it, and reverse associated negative effects in cells from patients with CHD8 mutations.
  • In zebrafish models, SINEUP-CHD8 not only alleviated symptoms caused by CHD8 suppression, like macrocephaly and excessive neuron production, but also suggests potential for RNA-based treatments for various neurodevelopmental disorders.
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Background: The myelin sheath ensures efficient nerve impulse transmission along the axons. Remyelination is a spontaneous process that restores axonal insulation, promoting neuroprotection and recovery after myelin damage. There is an urgent need for new pharmacological approaches to remyelination and to improve the most effective molecules.

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Despite progress in the prevention and diagnosis of cancer, current technologies for tumor detection present several limitations including invasiveness, toxicity, inaccuracy, lengthy testing duration and high cost. Therefore, innovative diagnostic techniques that integrate knowledge from biology, oncology, medicinal and analytical chemistry are now quickly emerging in the attempt to address these issues. Following this approach, here we developed a paper-based electrochemical device for detecting cancer-derived Small Extracellular Vesicles (S-EVs) in fluids.

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NOD1 and NOD2 are members of the pattern recognition receptors involved in the innate immune response. Overactivation of NOD1 is implicated in inflammatory disorders, multiple sclerosis, and cancer cell metastases. NOD1 antagonists would represent valuable pharmacological tools to gain further insight into protein roles, potentially leading to new therapeutic strategies.

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