AGO2-RIP-Seq reveals miR-34/miR-449 cluster targetome in sinonasal cancers.

Sinonasal tumours are heterogeneous malignancies, presenting different histological features and clinical behaviour. Many studies emphasize the role of specific miRNA in the development and progression of cancer, and their expression profiles could be used as prognostic biomarkers to predict the survival. Recently, using the next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based miRNome analysis the miR-34/miR-449 cluster was identified as miRNA superfamily involved in the pathogenesis of sinonasal cancers (SNCs).

A pilot study to evaluate the expression of microRNA‑let‑7a in patients with intestinal‑type sinonasal adenocarcinoma.

Despite its histological resemblance to colorectal adenocarcinoma, there is little information about the molecular events involved in the pathogenesis of intestinal-type sinonasal adenocarcinoma (ITAC). The present study investigated the possible role and clinical value of microRNA (miR)-let-7a, a head and neck squamous cell carcinoma-related miR, in a well-characterized and homogeneous cohort of patients with ethmoidal ITAC associated with occupational exposure, treated by primary surgery. miR-let-7a expression levels were analyzed in 23 pairs of ethmoidal ITAC and adjacent normal formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues by reverse transcription-quantitative PCR.

ATG5 as biomarker for early detection of malignant mesothelioma.

Objectives: Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is an aggressive disease with grim prognosis due to lack of effective treatment options. Disease prediction in association with early diagnosis may both contribute to improved MPM survival. Inflammation and autophagy are two processes associated with asbestos-induced transformation.

Force-feeding malignant mesothelioma stem-cell like with exosome-delivered miR-126 induces tumour cell killing.

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is an aggressive tumour resistant to treatments. It has been postulated that cancer stem cells (CSCs) persist in tumours causing relapse after multimodality treatment. In the present study, a novel miRNA-based therapy approach is proposed.

Effects of Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT) in Alzheimer's Disease: A Case Study.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder, characterized by cortical dementia and irreversibly progressive developments leading to a vegetative state and, finally, to death. Although many aspects of its etiology, diagnosis and treatment still remain obscure and the current approach to the disease mostly suffers from limited and low-efficiency therapeutic means, nevertheless, recent interventions have aimed at improving patients' quality of life through nonpharmacological approaches, including animal-assisted therapy (AAT), arousing growing interest. In order to assess the physiological and neuropsychological effects of AAT on AD, 24 residents of a rest house in northern Italy were enrolled.

BRCA-associated protein 1 (BAP1) and miR-31 combination predicts outcomes in epithelioid malignant pleural mesothelioma.

Background: Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is an aggressive disease, with few available treatment options. Identification of novel prognostic and predictive biomarkers is a priority. In MPM patients, BRCA-associated protein 1 (BAP1) alterations are detected in about 60% of cases and miR-31 seems to be involved in BAP1 regulation at post-transcriptional level.

NGS-based miRNome identifies miR-449 cluster as marker of malignant transformation of sinonasal inverted papilloma.

Objective: identification of the miRNA expression profile in sinonasal inverted papilloma (SNIP) as a tool to evaluate the risk of transformation into sinonasal squamous cell carcinoma (SNSCC).

Materials And Methods: paired tumour tissues and adjacent normal tissues were obtained from SNIP and SNSCC patients who had undergone surgical resection and used for next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based miRNome analysis. SNIP tissues with concomitant dysplasia (SNIP-DISP) were used as malignant transition samples.

MiRNome analysis identifying miR-205 and miR-449a as biomarkers of disease progression in intestinal-type sinonasal adenocarcinoma.

Background: Patients with intestinal-type sinonasal adenocarcinoma (ITAC) have an unfavorable prognosis, and new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches are needed to improve clinical management.

Methods: Next-generation sequencing-based miRNome analysis was performed on 43 ITAC patients who underwent surgical resection, and microRNA (miRNA) data were obtained from 35 cases. Four miRNAs were identified, and their expression levels were detected by reverse-transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction and related to the relevant patient outcome.

Mitochondrial Function as Related to Psychological Distress in Health Care Professionals.

Objective: The present study evaluated the association of psychological distress and radiation exposure as a work-related stressor with mitochondrial function in health care professionals.

Methods: Health care professionals at a regional hospital in Italy were evaluated for physical health and psychological measures using self-report questionnaires (n = 41; mean age = 47.6 [13.

A Priori Activation of Apoptosis Pathways of Tumor (AAAPT) technology: Development of targeted apoptosis initiators for cancer treatment.

Cancer cells develop tactics to circumvent the interventions by desensitizing themselves to interventions. Amongst many, the principle routes of desensitization include a) activation of survival pathways (e.g.

Questioning the prognostic role of BAP-1 immunohistochemistry in malignant pleural mesothelioma: A single center experience with systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: The prognostic role of BRCA1 associated protein-1 (BAP1) expression in malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a matter of debate. We aimed to clarify whether MPM patients with loss of BAP1 expression have better overall survival (OS) compared to BAP1 positive patients.

Methods: BAP1 immunohistochemical staining of tumor samples from 60 MPM patients treated at our institution with first-line chemotherapy was evaluated.

Mechanism of miR-222 and miR-126 regulation and its role in asbestos-induced malignancy.

MiR-222 and miR-126 are associated with asbestos exposure and the ensuing malignancy, but the mechanism(s) of their regulation remain unclear. We evaluated the mechanism by which asbestos regulates miR-222 and miR-126 expression in the context of cancer etiology. An 'in vitro' model of carcinogen-induced cell transformation was used based on exposing bronchial epithelium BEAS-2B cells to three different carcinogens including asbestos.

Epigenetic Regulation of miRNA Expression in Malignant Mesothelioma: miRNAs as Biomarkers of Early Diagnosis and Therapy.

Asbestos exposure leads to epigenetic and epigenomic modifications that, in association with ROS-induced DNA damage, contribute to cancer onset. Few miRNAs epigenetically regulated in MM have been described in literature; miR-126, however, is one of them, and its expression is regulated by epigenetic mechanisms. Asbestos exposure induces early changes in the miRNAs, which are reversibly expressed as protective species, and their inability to reverse reflects the inability of the cells to restore the physiological miRNA levels despite the cessation of carcinogen exposure.

Biological Effects of Ciliary Neurotrophic Factor on hMADS Adipocytes.

Administration of ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) to experimental animals exerts anti-obesity effects by acting on multiple targets. In white adipose tissue CNTF reduces lipid content, promotes fatty acid (FA) oxidation and improves insulin sensitivity. This study was performed to establish whether CNTF exerts similar effects on human white adipocytes.

Exosomal transfer of miR-126 promotes the anti-tumour response in malignant mesothelioma: Role of miR-126 in cancer-stroma communication.

MiR-126 has been shown to suppress malignant mesothelioma (MM) by targeting cancer-related genes without inducing toxicity or histopathological changes. Exosomes provide the opportunity to deliver therapeutic cargo to cancer stroma. Here, a tumour stromal model composed of endothelial cells (HUVECs), fibroblasts (IMR-90 cells), non-malignant mesothelial cells (Met-5A cells) and MM cells (H28 and MM-B1 cells) was used.

Effect of different anaesthetic techniques on gene expression profiles in patients who underwent hip arthroplasty.

Objectives: To investigate the modulation of genes whose expression level is indicative of stress and toxicity following exposure to three anaesthesia techniques, general anaesthesia (GA), regional anaesthesia (RA), or integrated anaesthesia (IA).

Methods: Patients scheduled for hip arthroplasty receiving GA, RA and IA were enrolled at Rizzoli Orthopaedic Institute of Bologna, Italy and the expression of genes involved in toxicology were evaluated in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) collected before (T0), immediately after surgery (T1), and on the third day (T2) after surgery in association with biochemical parameters.

Results: All three anaesthesia methods proved safe and reliable in terms of pain relief and patient recovery.

Four-miRNA Signature to Identify Asbestos-Related Lung Malignancies.

Background: Altered miRNA expression is an early event upon exposure to occupational/environmental carcinogens; thus, identification of a novel asbestos-related profile of miRNAs able to distinguish asbestos-induced cancer from cancer with different etiology can be useful for diagnosis. We therefore performed a study to identify miRNAs associated with asbestos-induced malignancies.

Methods: Four groups of patients were included in the study, including patients with asbestos-related (NSCLC) and asbestos-unrelated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) or with malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM), and disease-free subjects (CTRL).

MiR-126 in intestinal-type sinonasal adenocarcinomas: exosomal transfer of MiR-126 promotes anti-tumour responses.

Background: Intestinal-type sinonasal adenocarcinomas (ITACs) are aggressive malignancies related to wood dust and leather exposure. ITACs are generally associated with advanced stage at presentation due to the insidious growth pattern and non-specific symptoms. Therefore, biomarkers that can detect the switch from the benign disease to malignancy are needed.

DNA damage response in workers exposed to low-dose ionising radiation.

Objective: Medical personnel using radiation for diagnosis and therapeutic purposes are potentially at risk of cancer development. In this study, the effect of ionising radiation (IR) exposure was evaluated as DNA damage response (DDR) in the circulating cells of occupationally exposed subjects.

Methods: The study population consisted of IR-exposed workers included both in group B (effective dose ranging between 0.

Mechanism underlying the effect of long-term exposure to low dose of pesticides on DNA integrity.

Pesticides, including herbicides, insecticides and fungicides, are widely used in intensive agriculture. Recently, the long-term effects of pesticide exposure were found to be associated with many diseases. In this study, we evaluated the long-term effect of low-level exposure to a mixture of pesticides on DNA damage response (DDR) in relation to individual detoxifying variability.

Exosomal miR-126 as a circulating biomarker in non-small-cell lung cancer regulating cancer progression.

Lung cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths. It is diagnosed mostly at the locally advanced or metastatic stage. Recently, micro RNAs (miRs) and their distribution in circulation have been implicated in physiological and pathological processes.

Exosome-derived microRNAs in cancer metabolism: possible implications in cancer diagnostics and therapy.

Malignant progression is greatly affected by dynamic cross-talk between stromal and cancer cells. Exosomes are secreted nanovesicles that have key roles in cell-cell communication by transferring nucleic acids and proteins to target cells and tissues. Recently, MicroRNAs (miRs) and their delivery in exosomes have been implicated in physiological and pathological processes.

Circulating epigenetic biomarkers in lung malignancies: From early diagnosis to therapy.

Lung cancer (LC) and malignant mesothelioma (MM) are malignancies linked to environmental/occupational exposure, which are increasing in incidence. Despite advances in chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgical management of LC and MM, the median survival remains less than 12 months. Early detection represents one of the most promising approaches to reducing the growing cancer burden by increasing chemotherapy treatment efficiency.

MicroRNA in Metabolic Re-Programming and Their Role in Tumorigenesis.

The process of metabolic re-programing is linked to the activation of oncogenes and/or suppression of tumour suppressor genes, which are regulated by microRNAs (miRNAs). The interplay between oncogenic transformation-driven metabolic re-programming and modulation of aberrant miRNAs further established their critical role in the initiation, promotion and progression of cancer by creating a tumorigenesis-prone microenvironment, thus orchestrating processes of evasion to apoptosis, angiogenesis and invasion/migration, as well metastasis. Given the involvement of miRNAs in tumour development and their global deregulation, they may be perceived as biomarkers in cancer of therapeutic relevance.