AcGly-Phe-Asn(OH) and AcGly-Phe-Asn(NH) tripeptides selectively affect the proliferation rate of MDA-MB 231 and HuDe cells.

There is increasing interest in the bioactivity of peptides carrying out antiproliferative, antihypertensive, antimicrobial, antioxidant, anticholesterolemic, opioid, and antidiabetic activities. The bioavailability of peptides depends on how readily they are digested by endopeptidases and their ability to pass through cell membranes, features that are determined by the peptide's chemical and physical structure. On the basis of structures present in peptides that have biological activity, particularly antiproliferative activity, the tripeptides AcGly-Phe-Asn(OH) and AcGly-Phe-Asn(NH) have been designed and synthesized, then tested for their antiproliferative activity on human breast adenocarcinoma cells (MDA-MB 231) and human dermal fibroblasts (HuDe).

Critical role of lysosomes in the dysfunction of human Cardiac Stem Cells obtained from failing hearts.

Unlabelled: The in vivo reparative potential of Cardiac Stem Cells (CSC), cultured from explanted failing hearts (E-), is impaired by cellular senescence. Moreover, E-CSC are characterized, with respect to CSC obtained from healthy donors (D-), by an arrest in the autophagic degradation. Although the lysosome plays a pivotal role in cellular homeostasis and defects of this organelle may be associated with aging and heart failure, the lysosomal function of CSC has never been investigated.

Glucose is a key driver for GLUT1-mediated nanoparticles internalization in breast cancer cells.

The mesenchymal state in cancer is usually associated with poor prognosis due to the metastatic predisposition and the hyper-activated metabolism. Exploiting cell glucose metabolism we propose a new method to detect mesenchymal-like cancer cells. We demonstrate that the uptake of glucose-coated magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) by mesenchymal-like cells remains constant when the glucose in the medium is increased from low (5.

Ex vivo molecular rejuvenation improves the therapeutic activity of senescent human cardiac stem cells in a mouse model of myocardial infarction.

Cardiac stem cells (CSC) from explanted decompensated hearts (E-CSC) are, with respect to those obtained from healthy donors (D-CSC), senescent and functionally impaired. We aimed to identify alterations in signaling pathways that are associated with CSC senescence. Additionally, we investigated if pharmacological modulation of altered pathways can reduce CSC senescence in vitro and enhance their reparative ability in vivo.

The redox function of APE1 is involved in the differentiation process of stem cells toward a neuronal cell fate.

Unlabelled: Low-to-moderate levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) govern different steps of neurogenesis via molecular pathways that have been decrypted only partially. Although it has been postulated that redox-sensitive molecules are involved in neuronal differentiation, the molecular bases for this process have not been elucidated yet. The aim of this work was therefore to study the role played by the redox-sensitive, multifunctional protein APE1/Ref-1 (APE1) in the differentiation process of human adipose tissue-derived multipotent adult stem cells (hAT-MASC) and embryonic carcinoma stem cells (EC) towards a neuronal phenotype.