E-Cigarettes induce expression of procoagulant tissue factor in cultivated human endothelial cells.

Background: E-cigarettes (ECIG) are proposed as an alternative for regular tobacco users with less dangerous effects for health. Several studies demonstrated that ECIG exert deleterious cardiovascular effects and promote platelet dependent thrombosis. However, ECIG role on Tissue Factor-dependent thrombosis is still unknown.

The Impact of Inadequate Exposure to Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor-Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors on the Development of Resistance in Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer Cells.

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-mutant non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients treated with EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) inevitably develop resistance through several biological mechanisms. However, little is known on the molecular mechanisms underlying acquired resistance to suboptimal EGFR-TKI doses, due to pharmacodynamics leading to inadequate drug exposure. To evaluate the effects of suboptimal EGFR-TKI exposure on resistance in NSCLC, we obtained HCC827 and PC9 cell lines resistant to suboptimal fixed and intermittent doses of gefitinib and compared them to cells exposed to higher doses of the drug.

CDK9-55 guides the anaphase-promoting complex/cyclosome (APC/C) in choosing the DNA repair pathway choice.

DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) contribute to genome instability, a key feature of cancer. DSBs are mainly repaired by homologous recombination (HR) and non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ). We investigated the role of an isoform of the multifunctional cyclin-dependent kinase 9, CDK9-55, in DNA repair, by generating CDK9-55-knockout HeLa clones (through CRISPR-Cas9), which showed potential HR dysfunction.

A Pilot Study of the Adoption and Guardianship Enhanced Support (AGES) Program: Preventing Discontinuity by Walking Alongside Adoptive and Guardianship Families Who are Struggling.

Purpose: There is a strong preference for evidence-based child welfare services, however, there are few well-researched programs for families that struggle post-permanence. Following adoption or guardianship, some families experience significant challenges, struggle to find effective programs, and run the risk of family instability. This study described the process used to develop the Adoption and Guardianship Enhanced Support (AGES) intervention and explored: 1) the needs of families participating in the program and 2) how AGES worked with families to address those challenges.

Uric Acid Induces a Proatherothrombotic Phenotype in Human Endothelial Cells by Imbalancing the Tissue Factor/Tissue Factor Pathway Inhibitor Pathway.

Background:  Several evidence show that elevated plasma levels of uric acid (UA) are associated with the increased risk of developing atherothrombotic cardiovascular events. Hyperuricemia is a risk factor for endothelial dysfunction (ED). ED is involved in the pathophysiology of atherothrombosis since dysfunctional cells lose their physiological, antithrombotic properties.

Vitamin D Inhibits IL-6 Pro-Atherothrombotic Effects in Human Endothelial Cells: A Potential Mechanism for Protection against COVID-19 Infection?

Background: Thrombosis with cardiovascular involvement is a crucial complication in COVID-19 infection. COVID-19 infects the host by the angiotensin converting enzyme-2 receptor (ACE2r), which is expressed in endothelial cells too. Thus, COVID-related thrombotic events might be due to endothelial dysfunction.

Lysosome purinergic receptor P2X4 regulates neoangiogenesis induced by microvesicles from sarcoma patients.

The tumor microenvironment modulates cancer growth. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have been identified as key mediators of intercellular communication, but their role in tumor growth is largely unexplored. Here, we demonstrate that EVs from sarcoma patients promote neoangiogenesis via a purinergic X receptor 4 (P2XR4) -dependent mechanism in vitro and in vivo.

Colchicine inhibits the prothrombotic effects of oxLDL in human endothelial cells.

Background: Tissue Factor (TF) plays a pivotal role in coronary thrombosis. Oxidized low-density lipoproteins (oxLDL) are crucial in development of atherosclerosclerosis. Moreover, oxLDL are known to induce TF expression on several cell types including endothelial cells.

Vitamin D inhibits Tissue Factor and CAMs expression in oxidized low-density lipoproteins-treated human endothelial cells by modulating NF-κB pathway.

Epidemiologic studies have clearly demonstrated the correlation existing between Vitamin D (Vit. D) deficiency and increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease, suggesting that it might have a protective role in this clinical setting. Although many experimental studies have investigated the molecular mechanisms by which Vit.

Conditioned medium of primary lung cancer cells induces EMT in A549 lung cancer cell line by TGF-ß1 and miRNA21 cooperation.

The epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) plays a key role in tumor progression, drug resistance and metastasis. Recently, numerous microRNA (miRNA) have been described to regulate EMT in tumor progression. In this study, we found that conditioned medium from the LC212 non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cell line (LC212-CM) induces morphological changes and overexpression of Vimentin, CD90, SMAD 2/3, SLUG and TWIST in A549 NSCLC cells, consistent with a mesenchymal phenotype.

Programmed Death Ligand 1 (PD-L1) Expression in Primary Angiosarcoma.

Angiosarcomas are rare malignant endothelial-cell tumors of vascular or lymphatic origin, and are among the most aggressive subtypes of soft-tissue sarcomas. The prognosis is poor and treatment is challenging in many cases. PD-1/PD-L1 pathway plays a critical role in immune escape of tumor cells.

HOTAIR role in melanoma progression and its identification in the blood of patients with advanced disease.

The molecular mechanisms responsible for the metastatic progression of melanoma have not been fully defined yet. We have recently shown that an important role in this process is certainly played by HOX genes, whose regulation is under control of particular non-coding RNAs, some of which are present within the HOX locus. HOTAIR is the most studied among them, whose aberrant expression is associated with the metastatic progression of many malignancies.

Richter Syndrome With Plasmablastic Lymphoma at Primary Diagnosis: A Case Report With a Review of the Literature.

Richter syndrome (RS) is considered as the rare development of an aggressive lymphoid malignancy in a preexisting small lymphocytic lymphoma/chronic lymphocytic leukemia. The most common aggressive lymphoma developing in this setting is diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, but classical Hodgkin lymphoma and other much rarer entities such as prolymphocytic lymphoma and dendritic cell sarcoma are also described, most frequently in the progression of the disease over time. A clonal relation between the 2 neoplastic proliferations can be frequently found, whereas clonally unrelated cases are commonly considered as independent tumors, probably due to a variable combination of multiple causes, responsible independently for the 2 neoplasms.

Melanoma and immunotherapy bridge 2015 : Naples, Italy. 1-5 December 2015.

MELANOMA BRIDGE 2015 KEYNOTE SPEAKER PRESENTATIONS Molecular and immuno-advances K1 Immunologic and metabolic consequences of PI3K/AKT/mTOR activation in melanoma Vashisht G. Y. Nanda, Weiyi Peng, Patrick Hwu, Michael A.

Long non-coding RNA containing ultraconserved genomic region 8 promotes bladder cancer tumorigenesis.

Ultraconserved regions (UCRs) have been shown to originate non-coding RNA transcripts (T-UCRs) that have different expression profiles and play functional roles in the pathophysiology of multiple cancers. The relevance of these functions to the pathogenesis of bladder cancer (BlCa) is speculative. To elucidate this relevance, we first used genome-wide profiling to evaluate the expression of T-UCRs in BlCa tissues.

LncRNA HOTAIR as Prognostic Circulating Marker and Potential Therapeutic Target in Patients with Tumor Diseases.

In the recent years the importance of the role played by non-coding RNA on the regulation of gene expression was increased by numerous studies. The research mainly focused on small ncRNAs, such as miRNAs, while the functions of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) have been much less studied. lncRNAs can be transcribed from intergenic, intragenic or specific chromosomal regions.

Immune-phenotypical markers for the differential diagnosis of melanocytic lesions.

For specific subsets of melanocytic proliferations, there are morphologic limitations in the histological diagnosis, especially for borderline melanocytic tumors. In particular, Spitzoid proliferations can be difficult to diagnose. For these reasons, in the last years, clinic research has focused attention on discovery of new diagnostic markers.

Atypical amplification of chromosome region 22q12 in melanoma: A case report.

Morphological, ultrastructural and immunohistochemical characteristics of clear cell sarcoma (CCS) of the soft tissue frequently overlap with those of malignant melanoma. Thus, the differential diagnosis between the two lesions represents an important diagnostic dilemma. However, a number of genetic factors can be used to differentiate the two tumors; in particular, the t(12;22)(q13;q12) chromosomal translocation is typical of CCS, resulting in fusion of the gene on chromosome 22q12 and the gene on chromosome 12q13.

IMRT-SIB with concurrent and neo-adjuvant platinum-based chemotherapy for locally advanced head and neck squamous cell cancer: analysis of clinical outcomes in a retrospective series of a single institution.

Aims And Background: To evaluate results of an intensity-modulated radiotherapy with simultaneous integrated boost schedule with concurrent and neo-adjuvant platinum-based chemotherapy for the definitive treatment of locally advanced head and neck cancer in a retrospective series.

Methods And Study Design: Between May 2007 and February 2010, 28 consecutive patients with locally advanced head and neck cancer (stage II, 11%; III, 18%; IV, 71%) received intensity-modulated radiotherapy with simultaneous integrated boost with concurrent and neoadjuvant (20/28 patients) chemotherapy, at 1.8 G/die to 54 Gy to the elective volume and 66 Gy (2.

Borderline Brenner tumor of the ovary: a case report with immunohistochemical and molecular study.

Background: Borderline Brenner tumor of the ovary is a rare entity characterized by papillary structures with a fibro-vascular core, covered by a transitional epithelium, and by the absence of stromal infiltration. It is associated, by definition, with a benign component of Brenner tumor.

Case: We report a case of a 68-year-old woman, with a right ovarian mass, whose morphology and immuno-profile were consistent with the diagnosis of a borderline Brenner tumor.

SPARC/osteonectin is involved in metastatic process to the lung during melanoma progression.

The existence of a "metastasis gene signature" that predisposes primary breast cancer cells to metastasize to the lungs has been recently highlighted by gene expression profiling studies. The combination of genes responsible for this process includes genes encoding several metalloproteinases as well as the gene encoding SPARC (secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine)/osteonectin. SPARC is involved in normal tissue remodeling as it regulates the deposition of extracellular matrix, but also plays a role in neoplastic transformation.

Molecular strategies for detecting chromosomal translocations in soft tissue tumors (review).

Approximately one third of soft tissue tumors are characterized by chromosomal aberrations, in particular, translocations and amplifications, which appear to be highly specific. The identification of fusion transcripts not only supports the diagnosis, but provides the basis for the development of novel therapeutic strategies aimed at blocking the aberrant activity of chimeric proteins. Molecular biology, and in particular, cytogenetic and qualitative and quantitative polymerase chain reaction technologies, allow with high efficiency and specificity, the determination of specific fusion transcripts resulting from chromosomal translocations, as well as the analysis of gene amplifications.