Purpose: To uncover the underpinnings of acquired resistance (AR) to immunotherapy (IO), we determined whether distinctive clinico-pathological, radiomic and peripheral blood (PB) immune-inflammatory features reflect oligo- and systemic (sys)-AR in advanced NSCLC patients undergoing immune checkpoints inhibitors.
Experimental Design: On 105 consecutive IO-treated advanced NSCLC, PB immunophenotypes, cytokines and CT-derived radiomic features (RFs), extracted from primary and merged metastatic lesions, were prospectively collected at baseline (T0) and first disease assessment (T1, 9-12 weeks), and their delta (Δ) variation [(T1-T0)/T0] computed. AR, defined as progression after initial response (complete/partial) or stable disease ≥ 6 months, was subdivided according to the number of new and/or progressive lesions in oligoAR (≤3) and sysAR (>3).
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.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn our continuing effort devoted at developing agents targeting the EphA2 receptor by means of protein-protein interaction (PPI) inhibitors, we report here the design and synthesis of a new class of l-β-homotryptophan conjugates of 3-β-hydroxy-Δ-cholenic acid bearing a set of arylsulfonyl substituents at the indole nitrogen atom. An extensive structure-activity relationship (SAR) analysis indicates that the presence of a bulky lipophilic moiety at the indole nitrogen is fundamental for improving potency on the EphA2 receptor, while abrogating activity on the EphB1-EphB3 receptor subtypes. A rational exploration, guided by the combined application of an experimental design on σ and π physicochemical descriptors and docking simulations, led to the discovery of UniPR1454, a 1-(4-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)sulfonyl derivative acting as potent and competitive EphA2 antagonist able to inhibit ephrin-A1 dependent signals and to reduce proliferation of glioblastoma (U251) cell line at micromolar concentration.
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