Immunogenicity and Safety of the Recombinant Adjuvanted Herpes Zoster Vaccine in Patients with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia and Multiple Myeloma.

Background/objectives: Patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and multiple myeloma (MM) are susceptible to viral infections, including varicella-zoster virus (VZV) reactivation due to both disease-related and treatment-induced immunosuppression. The recombinant adjuvanted herpes zoster vaccine (RZV) has shown high efficacy in immunocompetent adults, but immunogenicity data in CLL and MM patients are limited. This study evaluates the immunogenicity and safety of RZV in this population.

Central nervous system multiple myeloma: A real-world multi-institutional study of the Greek Myeloma Study Group.

Central nervous system (CNS) involvement is a rare and aggressive complication of multiple myeloma (MM). We identified 54/4352 MM patients (1.2%), who developed CNS-MM between 2000 and 2022.

Fetal hemoglobin induction in azacytidine responders enlightens methylation patterns related to blast clearance in higher-risk MDS and CMML.

Background: As new treatment options for patients with higher-risk myelodysplastic syndromes are emerging, identification of prognostic markers for hypomethylating agent (HMA) treatment and understanding mechanisms of their delayed and short-term responses are essential. Early fetal hemoglobin (HbF) induction has been suggested as a prognostic indicator for decitabine-treated patients. Although epigenetic mechanisms are assumed, responding patients' epigenomes have not been thoroughly examined.

Expression of CD44 is associated with aggressiveness in seminomas.

Background: Testicular germ cell tumors (TGCTs) exhibit diverse biological and pathological features and are divided in two main types, seminomas and nonseminomatous germ cell tumors (NSGCTs). CD44 is a cell surface receptor, which is highly expressed in malignancies and is implicated in tumorigenesis affecting cell-matrix interactions and cell signaling.

Methods And Results: Here, we examined the expression of CD44 in tumor cell lines and in patients' material.

Single domain von Willebrand factor type C "cytokines" and the regulation of the stress/immune response in insects.

The single domain von Willebrand factor type C (SVWC) appears in small secreted peptides that are arthropod-specific and are produced following environmental stress or pathogen exposure. Most research has focused on proteins with SVWC domain that are induced after virus infection and are hypothesized to function as "cytokines" to regulate the innate immune response. The expansion of SVWC genes in insect species indicates that many other functions remain to be discovered.

Real-Life Multicenter Experience of Venetoclax in Combination with Hypomethylating Agents in Previously Untreated Adult Patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia in Greece.

Background: The landscape of first-line treatment for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients ineligible for intensive chemotherapy has changed remarkably after venetoclax approval. Accumulating real-world data further apprises us with more knowledgeable use. To assess the efficacy and safety challenges in the real-life setting of the combination of hypomethylated agent (HMA) and venetoclax, we conducted a multi-center retrospective study.

Analysis of dsRNA production during baculovirus infection of Hi5 cells: RNA hairpins expressed by very late promoters do not trigger gene silencing.

The baculovirus expression vector system (BEVS) has become an important platform for the expression of recombinant proteins and is especially useful for the production of large protein complexes such as virus-like particles (VLPs). An important application for VLPs is their use as vehicles for targeted delivery of drugs or toxins which requires the development of methods for efficient loading with the intended cargo. Our research intends to employ the BEVS for the production of VLPs for the delivery of insecticidal dsRNA molecules to targeted insect pests (as "dsRNA-VLPs").

High Frequency of Post-Transfusion Microchimerism Among Multi-Transfused Beta-Thalassemic Patients.

Background: Transfusion-associated microchimerism implies the presence of allogeneic hematopoietic cells in an individual, following the transfusion of a blood product. It is a transfusion-related adverse effect/long-term consequence, which has not been well-investigated among regularly transfused patients with thalassemia.

Patients And Methods: We investigated 64 regularly transfused, homozygous β-thalassemic patients and 21 never-transfused healthy volunteer blood donors (controls) for the presence of microchimerism in their sera, using real-time PCR targeting circulating allogeneic, both, Human Leukocyte Antigen-DR isotype (HLA-DR) and non-HLA alleles.

Choroidal Thickness Evaluation in a Transfusion-Dependent Beta-Thalassemia Greek Population.

Purpose: To evaluate choroidal thickness in a group of beta-thalassemia patients as assessed by enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography.

Patients And Methods: This single-center, observational study involved transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia (TD-β-thal) patients and healthy controls. One eye of each participant was included in the study.

Antimicrobial Peptides as Potential Antiviral Factors in Insect Antiviral Immune Response.

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) with antiviral activity (antiviral peptides: AVPs) have become a research hotspot and already show immense potential to become pharmaceutically available antiviral drugs. AVPs have exhibited huge potential in inhibiting viruses by targeting various stages of their life cycle. Insects are the most speciose group of animals that inhabit almost all ecosystems and habitats on the land and are a rich source of natural AMPs.

A multicenter cross-sectional study of the quality of life and iron chelation treatment satisfaction of patients with transfusion-dependent β-thalassemia, in routine care settings in Western Greece.

Purpose: To evaluate health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and satisfaction with iron chelation therapy (ICT) of patients with transfusion-dependent β-thalassemia (TDT) managed under routine care conditions.

Patients And Methods: This was an observational, multicenter, cross-sectional study conducted in three hospital-based Thalassemia Units of Western Greece. Patients confidentially completed the 36-item short-form (SF-36) and the "satisfaction with ICT" (SICT) instruments to assess HRQoL and ICT satisfaction respectively.

Overexpression of an alternative allele of carboxyl/choline esterase 4 (CCE04) of Tetranychus urticae is associated with high levels of resistance to the keto-enol acaricide spirodiclofen.

Background: Spirodiclofen is an acaricide that targets lipid biosynthesis by inhibiting acetyl-coenzyme A carboxylase. Spirodiclofen resistance in spider mites has been previously documented and was associated with overexpression of CYP392E10, a cytochrome P450 mono-oxygenase that metabolizes spirodiclofen. However, additional mechanisms have been suggested in several studies and a carboxyl/choline esterase gene, CCE04, was shown to be overexpressed in two genetically different strains, SR-VP and SR-TK, both exhibiting high spirodiclofen resistance levels.

Transcriptional response of immune-related genes after endogenous expression of VP1 and exogenous exposure to VP1-based VLPs and CPV virions in lepidopteran cell lines.

In insects, RNAi is considered the major antiviral immune defense pathway. DsRNAs produced during viral infection are processed by Dicer enzymes into small RNAs that function as specificity determinants to silence viral genes. By contrast, in mammals, recognition of molecules associated with viral infection, such as dsRNA, by pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) initiates a signaling cascade that culminates in the production and release of signaling proteins with antiviral function such as interferons.

Real-world data on prognosis and outcome of primary plasma cell leukemia in the era of novel agents: a multicenter national study by the Greek Myeloma Study Group.

We have studied the efficacy and the prognostic impact of novel agents in 50 primary plasma cell leukemia (pPCL) patients registered in our database. Eighty percent of patients were treated upfront with novel agent-based combinations; 40% underwent autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT). Objective response rate was 76; 38% achieved at least very good partial response (≥vgPR) and this correlated significantly with bortezomib-based therapy plus ASCT.

Persistent RNA virus infection of lepidopteran cell lines: Interactions with the RNAi machinery.

RNAi is broadly used as a technique for specific gene silencing in insects but few studies have investigated the factors that can affect its efficiency. Viral infections have the potential to interfere with RNAi through their production of viral suppressors of RNAi (VSRs) and the production of viral small RNAs that can saturate and inactivate the RNAi machinery. In this study, the impact of persistent infection of the RNA viruses Flock house virus (FHV) and Macula-like virus (MLV) on RNAi efficiency was investigated in selected lepidopteran cell lines.

Construction, complete sequence, and annotation of a BAC contig covering the silkworm chorion locus.

The silkmoth chorion was studied extensively by F.C. Kafatos' group for almost 40 years.

Increased Expression of Serglycin in Specific Carcinomas and Aggressive Cancer Cell Lines.

In the present pilot study, we examined the presence of serglycin in lung, breast, prostate, and colon cancer and evaluated its expression in cell lines and tissues. We found that serglycin was expressed and constitutively secreted in culture medium in high levels in more aggressive cancer cells. It is worth noticing that aggressive cancer cells that harbor KRAS or EGFR mutations secreted serglycin constitutively in elevated levels.

A comprehensive analysis of the chorion locus in silkmoth.

Despite more than 40 years of intense study, essential features of the silkmoth chorion (eggshell) are still not fully understood. To determine the precise structure of the chorion locus, we performed extensive EST analysis, constructed a bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) contig, and obtained a continuous genomic sequence of 871,711 base pairs. We annotated 127 chorion genes in two segments interrupted by a 164 kb region with 5 non-chorion genes, orthologs of which were on chorion bearing scaffolds in 4 ditrysian families.

Serglycin: at the crossroad of inflammation and malignancy.

Serglycin has been initially characterized as an intracellular proteoglycan expressed by hematopoietic cells. All inflammatory cells highly synthesize serglycin and store it in granules, where it interacts with numerous inflammatory mediators, such as proteases, chemokines, cytokines, and growth factors. Serglycin is implicated in their storage into the granules and their protection since they are secreted as complexes and delivered to their targets after secretion.

Serglycin is implicated in the promotion of aggressive phenotype of breast cancer cells.

Serglycin is a proteoglycan expressed by some malignant cells. It promotes metastasis and protects some tumor cells from complement system attack. In the present study, we show for the first time the in situ expression of serglycin by breast cancer cells by immunohistochemistry in patients' material.