Publications by authors named "Lotti R"

Article Synopsis
  • The RNA binding protein HuR is crucial for regulating the innate immune response, and blocking it can have positive anti-inflammatory outcomes.
  • A new series of small molecules, Tanshinone Mimics (TMs), were developed to disrupt HuR-RNA binding, with furan-containing compound 5/TM11 proving to be the most effective in inhibiting this interaction.
  • Compound 5/TM11 not only enhances solubility but also selectively decreases cell proliferation in macrophages at certain doses, leading to a significant reduction in proinflammatory cytokines in response to LPS.
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Article Synopsis
  • In the interfollicular epidermis, keratinocyte stem cells (KSC) produce transit amplifying (TA) cells that eventually differentiate; a new type called "early" TA (ETA) cells has been identified with unique characteristics.
  • Research shows that as children grow from infancy to childhood, their skin becomes less susceptible to UV damage, with an increase in differentiation gene expression and a decrease in stemness gene expression.
  • Additionally, KSC and ETA cells derived from infants have a higher proliferation rate and regenerative capacity compared to those from young children, highlighting significant changes in skin cell characteristics as children age.
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Sildenafil citrate is an approved drug used for the treatment of erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation. Despite a widespread application, sildenafil citrate shows numerous adverse cardiovascular effects in high-risk patients. Local transdermal drug delivery of this drug is therefore being explored as an interesting and noninvasive alternative administration method that avoids adverse effects arised from peak plasma drug concentrations.

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Pemphigus is a life-threatening, chronic, autoimmune bullous disease affecting both the skin and the mucous membranes. Based on the mainstream concept that blister formation occurs upon binding of autoantibodies to their antigen proteins (desmoglein1, DSG1 and desmoglein3, DSG3), current therapies mostly aim to suppress the immune system. To avoid the severe side effects associated with the chronic use of immunosuppressive treatments, we have developed PC111, a fully human monoclonal antibody targeting human Fas ligand (FasL).

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Background: Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) is the second most prevalent form of skin cancer, showing a rapid increasing incidence worldwide. Although most cSCC can be cured by surgery, a sizeable number of cases are diagnosed at advanced stages, with local invasion and distant metastatic lesions. In the skin, neurotrophins (NTs) and their receptors (CD271 and Trk) form a complex network regulating epidermal homeostasis.

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Pemphigus is a life-threatening blistering autoimmune disease. Several forms, characterized by the presence of autoantibodies against different autoantigens, have been described. In Pemphigus Vulgaris (PV), autoantibodies target the cadherin Desmoglein 3 (DSG3), while in Pemphigus foliaceous (PF) autoantibodies target the cadherin Desmoglein 1 (DSG1).

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In the interfollicular epidermis (IFE), stem cells (KSC) generate transit amplifying (TA) cells that, after symmetric divisions, produce differentiating daughters. Here, we isolated and characterized the highly proliferative interfollicular epidermal basal cell population "early" TA (ETA) cells, based on their capacity to adhere to type IV collagen. Proliferation and colony-forming efficiency in ETA cells are lower than in KSC but higher than in "late" TA (LTA).

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Pemphigus is a life-threatening autoimmune disease. Several phenotypic variants are part of this family of bullous disorders. The disease is mainly mediated by pathogenic autoantibodies, but is also directed against two desmosomal adhesion proteins, desmoglein 1 (DSG1) and 3 (DSG3), which are expressed in the skin and mucosae.

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Melanoma is the deadliest type of skin cancer characterized by high cellular heterogeneity, which contributes to therapy resistance and unpredictable disease outcome. Recently, by correlating reflectance confocal microscopy morphology with histopathological type, we identified four distinct melanoma subtypes: dendritic cell, round cell, dermal nest, and combined-type melanomas. In this study, each reflectance confocal microscopy melanoma subtype expressed a specific biomolecular profile and biological behavior in vitro.

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Background: Long-term effects of Coronavirus Disease of 2019 (COVID-19) are of utmost relevance. We aimed to determine: 1) the functional capacity of COVID-19 survivors by cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET); 2) the characteristics associated with cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) performance; 3) the safety and tolerability of CPET.

Methods: We prospectively enrolled consecutive patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 from Azienda Sanitaria Locale 3, Genoa.

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Echocardiographic evaluation of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) provides important information regarding both myocardial function and prognosis. This parameter presents various limitations and does not allow early detection of myocardial dysfunction. LVEF may be related to hemodynamic load, geometric assumptions, to image quality, and it does not reflect myocardial contractility.

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Background: Emollients capable of restoring the skin barrier function would extend their role beyond basic maintenance therapy in atopic dermatitis (AD).

Objectives: Investigate the effect of a novel emollient plus cream (EC; Dermoflan®) on the skin barrier in vitro and in patients with mild-to-moderate AD.

Methods: The effect of EC on the skin barrier recovery was evaluated using a tape-stripping (TS) model.

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The mRNA-destabilizing protein tristetraprolin (TTP), encoded by the gene, is known to be able to end inflammatory responses by directly targeting and destabilizing mRNAs encoding pro-inflammatory cytokines. We analyzed its role in psoriasis, a disease characterized by chronic inflammation. We observed that TTP is downregulated in fibroblasts deriving from psoriasis patients compared to those deriving from healthy individuals and that psoriatic fibroblasts exhibit abnormal inflammasome activity compared to their physiological counterpart.

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In recent years there has been growing interest in sp-carbon chains as possible novel nanostructures. An example of sp-carbon chains is the so-called polyyne, characterized by the alternation of single and triple bonds that can be synthesized via pulsed laser ablation in liquid (PLAL) of a graphite target. In this work, by using different solvents in the PLAL process, e.

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The Wnt/CTNNB1 pathway is often deregulated in epithelial tumors. The gene, encoding the mRNA binding protein Tristetraprolin (TTP), is downregulated in several cancers, where it has been described to behave as a tumor suppressor. By this report, we show that Wnt/CTNNB1 pathway is constitutively activated, and expression is downregulated in Squamous Cell Carcinoma (SCC) cell lines compared to normal keratinocytes.

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Pemphigus vulgaris (PV) is a life-threatening mucocutaneous autoimmune blistering disease. It is often associated with autoantibodies to the desmosomal adhesion proteins Desmoglein 3 (DSG3) and Desmoglein 1 (DSG1). Recently, auto-antigens, such as desmocollins and others have been described in PV and in atypical pemphigus forms such as Pemphigus Herpetiformis (PH), Pemphigus Vegetans (PVeg), and Paraneoplastic Pemphigus (PP).

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Pemphigus is a blistering disease characterized by pemphigus autoantibodies (PVIgG) directed mostly against desmogleins (Dsgs), resulting in the loss of keratinocyte adhesion (acantholysis). Yet, the mechanisms underlying blister formation remain to be clarified. We have shown previously that anti-Fas ligand (FasL) antibody (Ab) prevents PVIgG-induced caspase-8 activation and Dsg cleavage in human keratinocytes, and that sera from pemphigus patients contain abnormally increased levels of FasL.

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This viewpoint highlights major, partly controversial concepts about the pathogenesis of pemphigus. The monopathogenic theory explains intra-epidermal blistering through the "desmoglein (Dsg) compensation" hypothesis, according to which an antibody-dependent disabling of Dsg 1- and/or Dsg 3-mediated cell-cell attachments of keratinocytes (KCs) is sufficient to disrupt epidermal integrity and cause blistering. The multipathogenic theory explains intra-epidermal blistering through the "multiple hit" hypothesis stating that a simultaneous and synchronized inactivation of the physiological mechanisms regulating and/or mediating intercellular adhesion of KCs is necessary to disrupt epidermal integrity.

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CD271 is a neurotrophin receptor variably expressed in melanoma. Although contradictory data are reported on its role as a marker of tumor-initiating cells, little is known about its function in tumor progression. CD271 expression was higher in spheroids derived from freshly isolated cells of primary melanomas and in primary WM115 and WM793-B cell lines, and it decreased during progression to advanced stages in cells isolated from metastatic melanomas and in metastatic WM266-4 and 1205Lu cell lines.

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Phosphodiesterases 4 (PDE4) act as proinflammatory enzymes via degradation of cAMP, whereas PDE4 inhibitors play an anti-inflammatory role in vitro and in vivo. In particular, apremilast has been recently approved for the treatment of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. However, little is known on the expression pattern of PDE4 in psoriasis.

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Squamous Cell Carcinoma-derived Stem-like Cells (SCC-SC) originate from alterations in keratinocyte stem cells (KSC) gene expression and sustain tumor development, invasion and recurrence. Since survivin, a KSC marker, is highly expressed in SCC-SC, we evaluate its role in SCC-SC cell growth and SCC models. Survivin silencing by siRNA decreases clonal growth of SCC keratinocytes and viability of total, rapidly adhering (RAD) and non-RAD (NRAD) cells from primary SCC.

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Article Synopsis
  • The Notch signaling pathway plays a crucial role in determining whether cells differentiate or remain undifferentiated, with this study focusing on its expression in normal human keratinocytes.
  • Notch1 is found in all layers of the skin, decreasing significantly with age, and its intracellular domain (N1ICD) levels drop as keratinocyte stem cells transition to other cell types, influenced by calcium levels.
  • Manipulating Notch1 affects cellular outcomes; overexpressing N1ICD enhances survivin and promotes proliferation, while inhibiting Notch1 lowers survivin levels, triggers differentiation, and decreases cell growth, highlighting its role in maintaining the stem cell state.
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