Gold Nanobipyramids for Near-Infrared Fluorescence-Enhanced Imaging and Treatment of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer.

There is an imminent need for novel strategies for the diagnosis and treatment of aggressive triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Cell-targeted multifunctional nanomaterials hold great potential, as they can combine precise early-stage diagnosis with local therapeutic delivery to specific cell types. In this study, we used mesoporous silica (MS)-coated gold nanobipyramids (MS-AuNBPs) for fluorescence imaging in the near-infrared (NIR) biological window, along with targeted TNBC treatment.

Patient-derived podocyte spheroids reveal new insights into the etiopathogenesis of Alport syndrome.

Alport syndrome (AS) is a rare disease characterized by defective glomerular basement membranes, caused by mutations in COL4A3, COL4A4, and COL4A5, which synthesize collagen type IV. Patients present with progressive proteinuria, hematuria and podocyte loss. There is currently no cure for Alport syndrome, and this is mainly due to its complex and variable pathogenesis, as well as the lack of models that can faithfully mimic the human phenotype.

Observational study of health utilities in adult primary ciliary dyskinesia patients: preliminary data on associations with molecular diagnosis, clinical phenotype and HRQOL measures.

Background: Primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) is a congenital disorder characterized by chronic respiratory morbidity. To date, there is no information on PCD-specific preference-based quality of life measures such as health utilities (HU). We cross-sectionally assessed HU in adult PCD patients and explored relationships with genotype, phenotype and quality of life (QOL)-PCD scales.

Relative validity and reproducibility of the CyFFQ semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire for assessing dietary intake in Cypriot adults.

Background: Assessment of dietary intake is fundamental for evaluating the interrelationships between diet and disease. The present study aimed to develop and validate the semiquantitative Cypriot food frequency questionnaire (CyFFQ).

Methods: A 171-item paper-and-pencil semiquantitative interview-administered FFQ was developed, including local foods and culturally specific meals commonly consumed among Cypriot adults.

Common variants in breast cancer risk loci predispose to distinct tumor subtypes.

Background: Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified multiple common breast cancer susceptibility variants. Many of these variants have differential associations by estrogen receptor (ER) status, but how these variants relate with other tumor features and intrinsic molecular subtypes is unclear.

Methods: Among 106,571 invasive breast cancer cases and 95,762 controls of European ancestry with data on 173 breast cancer variants identified in previous GWAS, we used novel two-stage polytomous logistic regression models to evaluate variants in relation to multiple tumor features (ER, progesterone receptor (PR), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) and grade) adjusting for each other, and to intrinsic-like subtypes.