Low plasma PD-L1 levels, early tumor onset and absence of peritoneal carcinomatosis improve prognosis of women with advanced high-grade serous ovarian cancer.

Background: The most common subtype of ovarian cancer (OC) showing immunogenic potential is represented by the high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC), which is characterized by the presence of tumor-infiltrating immune cells able to modulate immune response. Because several studies showed a close correlation between OC patient's clinical outcome and expression of programmed cell death protein-1 or its ligand (PD-1/PD-L1), the aim of our study was to investigate if plasma levels of immunomodulatory proteins may predict prognosis of advanced HGSOC women.

Patients And Methods: Through specific ELISA tests, we analyzed plasma concentrations of PD-L1, PD-1, butyrophilin sub-family 3A/CD277 receptor (BTN3A1), pan-BTN3As, butyrophilin sub-family 2 member A1 (BTN2A1), and B- and T-lymphocyte attenuator (BTLA) in one hundred patients affected by advanced HGSOC, before surgery and therapy.

Can circulating PD-1, PD-L1, BTN3A1, pan-BTN3As, BTN2A1 and BTLA levels enhance prognostic power of CA125 in patients with advanced high-grade serous ovarian cancer?

The most common subtype of ovarian cancer (OC) is the high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma (HGSOC), accounting for 70%-80% of all OC deaths. Although HGSOC is a potentially immunogenic tumor, clinical studies assessing the effectiveness of inhibitors of programmed death protein and its ligand (PD-1/PD-L1) in OC patients so far showed only response rates <15%. However, recent studies revealed an interesting prognostic role of plasma PD-1/PD-L1 and other circulating immunoregulatory molecules, such as the B- and T-lymphocyte attenuator (BTLA), butyrophilin sub-family 3A/CD277 receptors (BTN3A), and butyrophilin sub-family 2 member A1 (BTN2A1), in several solid tumors.

EVOO's Effects on Incretin Production: Is There a Rationale for a Combination in T2DM Therapy?

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a serious public health concern as it is one of the most common chronic diseases worldwide due to social and economic developments that have led to unhealthy lifestyles, with a considerable impact both in terms of morbidity and mortality. The management of T2DM, before starting specific therapies, includes cornerstones such as healthy eating, regular exercise and weight loss. Strict adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) has been related to an inverse association with the risk of T2DM onset, as well as an improvement in glycaemic control; in particular, thanks to the consumption of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO).

The clinical impact of an extra virgin olive oil enriched mediterranean diet on metabolic syndrome: Lights and shadows of a nutraceutical approach.

For years it has been established that the only truly effective treatment of metabolic syndrome (MS) is lifestyle modification to prevent its cardiovascular (e.g., coronary artery disease and atherosclerosis), metabolic (e.

Iron-Sensitive Prodrugs That Trigger Active Ferroptosis in Drug-Tolerant Pancreatic Cancer Cells.

Persister cancer cells represent rare populations of cells resistant to therapy. Cancer cells can exploit epithelial-mesenchymal plasticity to adopt a drug-tolerant state that does not depend on genetic alterations. Small molecules that can interfere with cell plasticity or kill cells in a cell state-dependent manner are highly sought after.

The NUPR1/p73 axis contributes to sorafenib resistance in hepatocellular carcinoma.

The multikinase inhibitor sorafenib was the first drug approved by the FDA for treating patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, sorafenib resistance remains a major challenge for improving the effectiveness of HCC treatment. Previously, we identified several genes modulated after sorafenib treatment of human HCC cells, including the stress-inducible nuclear protein 1 (NUPR1) gene.

TNF-α induces endothelial-mesenchymal transition promoting stromal development of pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

Endothelial-mesenchymal transition (EndMT) is an important source of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), which facilitates tumour progression. PDAC is characterised by abundant CAFs and tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). Here, we show that TNF-α strongly induces human endothelial cells to undergo EndMT.

Prognostic Role of Plasma PD-1, PD-L1, pan-BTN3As and BTN3A1 in Patients Affected by Metastatic Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors: Can Immune Checkpoints Act as a Sentinel for Short-Term Survival?

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) represent 1% of all primary gastrointestinal tumors. Immune surveillance is often overcome by cancer cells due to the activation of immunoregulatory molecules such as programmed death protein (PD-1) and its ligand PD-L1, and butyrophilin sub-family 3A/CD277 receptors (BTN3A). Because several studies demonstrated that tumor PD-1 and PD-L1 expression may have a prominent prognostic function, this investigation aimed to discover if soluble forms of these molecules may be useful in predicting survival of metastatic GIST (mGIST) patients.

A "Lymphocyte MicroRNA Signature" as Predictive Biomarker of Immunotherapy Response and Plasma PD-1/PD-L1 Expression Levels in Patients with Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma: Pointing towards Epigenetic Reprogramming.

Introduction of checkpoint inhibitors resulted in durable responses and improvements in overall survival in advanced RCC patients, but the treatment efficacy is widely variable, and a considerable number of patients are resistant to PD-1/PD-L1 inhibition. This variability of clinical response makes necessary the discovery of predictive biomarkers for patient selection. Previous findings showed that the epigenetic modifications, including an extensive microRNA-mediated regulation of tumor suppressor genes, are key features of RCC.

Baseline plasma levels of soluble PD-1, PD-L1, and BTN3A1 predict response to nivolumab treatment in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma: a step toward a biomarker for therapeutic decisions.

Despite a proportion of renal cancer patients can experiment marked and durable responses to immune-checkpoint inhibitors, the treatment efficacy is widely variable and identifying the patient who will benefit from immunotherapy remains an issue. We performed a prospective study to investigate if soluble forms of the immune-checkpoints PD-1 (sPD-1), PD-L1 (sPD-L1), pan-BTN3As, BTN3A1, and BTN2A1, could be candidate to predict the response to immune-checkpoint blockade therapy. We evaluated the plasma levels in a learning cohort of metastatic clear cell renal carcinoma (mccRCC) patients treated with the anti-PD-1 agent nivolumab by developed ELISA's.

Can the plasma PD-1 levels predict the presence and efficiency of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes in patients with metastatic melanoma?

Background: The immune response in melanoma patients is locally affected by presence of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), generally divided into brisk, nonbrisk, and absent. Several studies have shown that a greater presence of TILs, especially brisk, in primary melanoma is associated with a better prognosis and higher survival rate.

Patients And Methods: We investigated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) the correlation between PD-1 levels in plasma and the presence/absence of TILs in 28 patients with metastatic melanoma.

The regenerating family member 3 β instigates IL-17A-mediated neutrophil recruitment downstream of NOD1/2 signalling for controlling colonisation resistance independently of microbiota community structure.

Objective: Loss of the Crohn's disease predisposing gene results in an intestinal microenvironment conducive for colonisation by attaching-and-effacing enteropathogens. However, it remains elusive whether it relies on the intracellular recruitment of the serine-threonine kinase RIPK2 by NOD2, a step that is required for its activation of the transcription factor NF-κB.

Design: Colonisation resistance was evaluated in wild type and mutant mice, as well as in ex-germ-free (ex-GF) mice which were colonised either with faeces from -deficient mice or with bacteria with similar preferences for carbohydrates to those acquired by the pathogen.

Role of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes in patients with solid tumors: Can a drop dig a stone?

In recent years, multiple strategies for eliciting anti-tumor immunity have been developed in different clinical studies. Currently, immunotherapy was clinically validated as effective treatment option for many tumors such as melanoma, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Some surface receptors of immune cells, called immune checkpoint receptors, may inhibit activity of proinflammatory lymphocytes, following binding with specific ligands.

Collagen-derived proline promotes pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma cell survival under nutrient limited conditions.

Tissue architecture contributes to pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) phenotypes. Cancer cells within PDAC form gland-like structures embedded in a collagen-rich meshwork where nutrients and oxygen are scarce. Altered metabolism is needed for tumour cells to survive in this environment, but the metabolic modifications that allow PDAC cells to endure these conditions are incompletely understood.

REG3β modifies cell tumor function by impairing extracellular vesicle uptake.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs), including exosomes and microvesicles, are nano-sized membrane vesicles containing proteins and nucleic acids, which act as intercellular messengers. They play an important role in a variety of physiological processes, as well as in pathological situations such as inflammation or cancer. Here, we show that in the case of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), the healthy pancreatic tissue surrounding the tumor releases REG3β, a lectin that binds to the glycoproteins present in the surface of EVs, thus interfering with their uptake and internalization by target cells.

Regulation of NUB1 Activity through Non-Proteolytic Mdm2-Mediated Ubiquitination.

NUB1 (Nedd8 ultimate buster 1) is an adaptor protein which negatively regulates the ubiquitin-like protein Nedd8 as well as neddylated proteins levels through proteasomal degradation. However, molecular mechanisms underlying this function are not completely understood. Here, we report that the oncogenic E3 ubiquitin ligase Mdm2 is a new NUB1 interacting protein which induces its ubiquitination.

Stress Response Gene Nupr1 Alleviates Cyclosporin A Nephrotoxicity In Vivo.

Acute tubular damage is a major cause of renal failure, especially at the early phase of kidney transplant when ischemia-reperfusion injury and cyclosporin A toxicity may coexist. The mechanisms of the latter are largely unknown. Using an mRNA microarray on microdissected tubules from a rat model of cyclosporin A toxicity to describe the related epithelial-specific transcriptional signature in vivo, we found that cyclosporin A induces pathways dependent on the transcription factor ATF4 and identified nuclear protein transcriptional regulator 1 (Nupr1), a stress response gene induced by ATF4, as the gene most strongly upregulated.

Long-term survivors after pancreatectomy for cancer: the TNM classification is outdated.

Background: According to knowledge, patients with resectable pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PA) should receive adjuvant gemcitabine-based chemotherapy. Thus, the tumour node metastasis (TNM) classification is not used to determine post-operative treatment but rather only to establish patient prognosis. However, the TNM classification does not include strong factors influencing survival, such as perineural invasion or margin status.

Germline copy number variation in the YTHDC2 gene: does it have a role in finding a novel potential molecular target involved in pancreatic adenocarcinoma susceptibility?

Objective: The vast majority of pancreatic cancers occurs sporadically. The discovery of frequent variations in germline gene copy number can significantly influence the expression levels of genes that predispose to pancreatic adenocarcinoma. We prospectively investigated whether patients with sporadic pancreatic adenocarcinoma share specific gene copy number variations (CNVs) in their germline DNA.

Identification of new mechanisms of cellular response to chemotherapy by tracking changes in post-translational modifications by ubiquitin and ubiquitin-like proteins.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a very aggressive malignancy characterized by an excessive resistance to all known anticancer therapies, a still largely elusive phenomenon. To identify original mechanisms, we have explored the role of post-translational modifications (PTMs) mediated by members of the ubiquitin family. Although alterations of these pathways have been reported in different cancers, no methodical search for these kinds of anomalies has been performed so far.

Pancreatitis-associated protein does not predict disease relapse in inflammatory bowel disease patients.

Background: The pancreatitis-associated protein (PAP) is increased in the serum of active inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients and its levels seem to be correlated with disease activity. Our aim was to evaluate the usefulness of serum and fecal PAP measurements to predict relapse in patients with inactive IBD.

Materials And Methods: We undertook a 12-month prospective study that included 66 Crohn's disease (CD) and 74 ulcerative colitis (UC) patients.

Pancreatic tumor cell metabolism: focus on glycolysis and its connected metabolic pathways.

Because of lack of effective treatment, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the fourth leading cause of death by cancer in Western countries, with a very weak improvement of survival rate over the last 40years. Defeat of numerous conventional therapies to cure this cancer makes urgent to develop new tools usable by clinicians for a better management of the disease. Aggressiveness of pancreatic cancer relies on its own hallmarks: a low vascular network as well as a prominent stromal compartment (desmoplasia), which creates a severe hypoxic environment impeding correct oxygen and nutrients diffusion to the tumoral cells.