Targeting hyaluronic acid synthase-3 (HAS3) for the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma.

Background: Hyaluronic acid (HA) promotes cancer metastasis; however, the currently approved treatments do not target HA. Metastatic renal carcinoma (mRCC) is an incurable disease. Sorafenib (SF) is a modestly effective antiangiogenic drug for mRCC.

Braille literacy as a human right: A challenge to the "inefficiency" argument against braille instruction.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) affirms a right to education for disabled persons and aims to ensure braille instruction for blind individuals. However, there is evidence that braille instruction is often circumvented or abandoned early in CRPD nations because it is perceived as an inefficient learning medium for blind students. This perception persists despite insufficient empirical evidence and a lack of understanding of the efficiency of reading versus listening for learning in sighted individuals.

HYAL4-V1/Chondroitinase (Chase) Drives Gemcitabine Resistance and Predicts Chemotherapy Failure in Patients with Bladder Cancer.

Purpose: Gemcitabine-based chemotherapy regimens are first-line for several advanced cancers. Because of better tolerability, gemcitabine + cisplatin is a preferred neoadjuvant, adjuvant, and/or palliative chemotherapy regimen for advanced bladder cancer. Nevertheless, predicting treatment failure and overcoming resistance remain unmet clinical needs.

A Novel Splice Variant of HYAL-4 Drives Malignant Transformation and Predicts Outcome in Patients with Bladder Cancer.

Purpose: Poor prognosis of patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer that often metastasizes drives the need for discovery of molecular determinants of bladder cancer progression. Chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans, including CD44, regulate cancer progression; however, the identity of a chondroitinase (Chase) that cleaves chondroitin sulfate from proteoglycans is unknown. HYAL-4 is an understudied gene suspected to encode a Chase, with no known biological function.

High-sensitivity cardiac troponins: sex-specific values in clinical practice. Precision or confusion?

Cardiac troponins are pivotal in the evaluation of patients who suffer from acute chest pain, and the introduction of the high-sensitivity cardiac troponins (hs-cTn) has shown that there are differences between male and female patients. Recent recommendations from experts point out that an appropriate evaluation must take into account the patients' sex, but there is no clear evidence of the implementation of this recommendation in the clinical practice, and the matter has sparked controversy. If the same cutoff value is used for both sexes, myocardial infarction in men might be overdiagnosed, especially in the elderly, who have relatively higher values, and might be underdiagnosed in most women.

Hyaluronic acid family in bladder cancer: potential prognostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets.

Background: Molecular markers of clinical outcome may aid in designing targeted treatments for bladder cancer. However, only a few bladder cancer biomarkers have been examined as therapeutic targets.

Methods: Data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and bladder specimens were evaluated to determine the biomarker potential of the hyaluronic acid (HA) family of molecules - HA synthases, HA receptors and hyaluronidase.

Antitumor activity of sulfated hyaluronic acid fragments in pre-clinical models of bladder cancer.

Tumor cell-derived hyaluronidase HYAL-1 degrades hyaluronic acid (HA) into angiogenic fragments (AGF: 10-12 disaccharides). AGF support tumor growth and progression. Urine and tissue HAase/HYAL-1 levels are sensitive markers for high-grade bladder cancer (BCa) and its metastasis.

Dietary supplement 4-methylumbelliferone: an effective chemopreventive and therapeutic agent for prostate cancer.

Background: Prevention and treatment of advanced prostate cancer (PCa) by a nontoxic agent can improve outcome, while maintaining quality of life. 4-methylumbelliferone (4-MU) is a dietary supplement that inhibits hyaluronic acid (HA) synthesis. We evaluated the chemopreventive and therapeutic efficacy and mechanism of action of 4-MU.

External validation of a multiplex urinary protein panel for the detection of bladder cancer in a multicenter cohort.

Background: Because of the faltering sensitivity and/or specificity, urine-based assays currently have a limited role in the management of patients with bladder cancer. The aim of this study was to externally validate our previously reported protein biomarker panel from multiple sites in the United States and Europe.

Methods: This multicenter external validation study included a total of 320 subjects (bladder cancer = 183).

[A mathematical model for controlling the spread of dengue].

Objective: A mathematical model is presented in this paper showing the dynamics of dengue transmission. The goal was to studyAedes aegyptipopulation behaviour and that of affected people to scientifically support the decision-making involved in surveillance and control programmes.

Methods: The proposed mathematical model involved eight differential equations having constant delays; each represented each population's variation either in humans or the mosquito vector.

Reinforced Portland cement porous scaffolds for load-bearing bone tissue engineering applications.

Modified Portland cement porous scaffolds with suitable characteristics for load-bearing bone tissue engineering applications were manufactured by combining the particulate leaching and foaming methods. Non-crosslinked polydimethylsiloxane was evaluated as a potential reinforcing material. The scaffolds presented average porosities between 70 and 80% with mean pore sizes ranging from 300 μm up to 5.

Portland cement for bone tissue engineering: Effects of processing and metakaolin blends.

The need for a suitable scaffolding material for load bearing bone tissue engineering still has yet to be met satisfactorily. In this study, Portland cement and Portland cement/metakaolin (MK) blends were processed to render them biologically and mechanically suitable for such application. Portland cement was mixed with MK at different ratios.

Targeting hyaluronidase for cancer therapy: antitumor activity of sulfated hyaluronic acid in prostate cancer cells.

The tumor cell-derived hyaluronidase (HAase) HYAL-1 degrades hyaluronic acid (HA) into proangiogenic fragments that support tumor progression. Although HYAL-1 is a critical determinant of tumor progression and a marker for cancer diagnosis and metastasis prediction, it has not been evaluated as a target for cancer therapy. Similarly, sulfated hyaluronic acid (sHA) has not been evaluated for biological activity, although it is an HAase inhibitor.

Housekeeping gene stability influences the quantification of osteogenic markers during stem cell differentiation to the osteogenic lineage.

Real-time reverse transcription PCR (RT-qPCR) relies on a housekeeping or normalizer gene whose expression remains constant throughout the experiment. RT-qPCR is commonly used for characterization of human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (hBMSCs). However, to the best of our knowledge, there are no studies validating the expression stability of the genes used as normalizers during hBMSCs differentiation.

Antitumor activity of hyaluronic acid synthesis inhibitor 4-methylumbelliferone in prostate cancer cells.

4-Methylumbelliferone (4-MU) is a hyaluronic acid (HA) synthesis inhibitor with anticancer properties; the mechanism of its anticancer effects is unknown. We evaluated the effects of 4-MU on prostate cancer cells. 4-MU inhibited proliferation, motility, and invasion of DU145, PC3-ML, LNCaP, C4-2B, and/or LAPC-4 cells.

Epigenetic regulation of HYAL-1 hyaluronidase expression. identification of HYAL-1 promoter.

HYAL-1 (hyaluronoglucosaminidase-1) belongs to the hyaluronidase family of enzymes that degrade hyaluronic acid. HYAL-1 is a marker for cancer diagnosis and a molecular determinant of tumor growth, invasion, and angiogenesis. The regulation of HYAL-1 expression is unknown.