The Burden of Comorbidity Is Associated with Antibiotic Resistance Among Institutionalized Elderly with Urinary Infection: A Retrospective Cohort Study in a Single Italian Nursing Home Between 2009 and 2014.

Urinary tract infections (UTIs), which are common among nursing home patients, are associated with adverse outcomes and increased healthcare costs. Antibiotic resistance is an emerging problem, associated with excess morbidity and mortality; it has been suggested that this condition might be more prevalent among subjects with comorbid conditions. The aim of this study was to assess the association, if any, of antibiotic resistance with the burden of comorbidity in elderly with UTIs.

The burden of comorbidity is associated with symptomatic polymicrobial urinary tract infection among institutionalized elderly.

Background: Urinary tract infections (UTIs), often sustained by polymicrobial flora (p-UTIs), are a common finding among nursing home patients, and associated with adverse outcomes and increased healthcare costs. P-UTIs have been extensively studied with regard to microbiological aspects. However, little is known about the characteristics of the host.

Carbapenem resistance and mortality in institutionalized elderly with urinary infection.

Objectives: The emergence of antibiotic-resistant urinary pathogens represents a public health care concern. We aimed to detect antibiotic-resistance in elderly nursing home residents with urinary tract infection (UTI) and to assess the impact of carbapenem resistance on mortality.

Methods: This cohort study of 196 patients with UTI confirmed by a positive urine culture was conducted in a nursing home in Italy.

Clinical validation of combined serological biomarkers for improved hepatocellular carcinoma diagnosis in 961 patients.

Background: Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), the only serological marker currently available for the detection of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), is unsatisfactory because of its poor sensitivity, as are other recently proposed markers. Therefore new biomarkers are badly needed. Squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCCA), a serine protease inhibitor physiologically present in the skin, has recently been reported to be present in HCC patients, as also the immunocomplexed (IC) forms of SCCA and AFP: SCCAIC and AFPIC, respectively.

Clinical outcomes of bosentan in pulmonary arterial hypertension do not correlate with levels of TIMPs.

Background: Matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) and their inhibitors, tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMP), are involved in tissue inflammation and fibrotic processes. Treatment with bosentan has been shown to improve the clinical outcome of patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) with and without association with systemic sclerosis (SSc), and also to modulate the serum levels of matrix metalloproteases-9. We measured TIMP-1 and TIMP-2 in the serum of patients with SSc with and without PAH treated with long-term bosentan compared with healthy donors (HD).

Antifibrogenic effect of IFN-alpha2b on hepatic stellate cell activation by human hepatocytes.

Liver fibrosis commonly occurs in patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection as a consequence of the chronic liver damage, thus leading to the development of liver cirrhosis. When hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) become active, they play an essential role in liver fibrogenesis. In this study, interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), commonly elevated in chronic C hepatitis, stimulate the production of matrix metalloprotease-9 (MMP-9) by human hepatocytes at a transcriptional and translational level, but the addition of recombinant interferon-alpha2b (rIFN-alpha2b) hampers this effect.

Infliximab therapy does not modify MMP-2 and MMP-9 serum concentrations in chronic arthritis.

Objective: Matrix metalloprotease-2 (MMP-2) and matrix metalloprotease-9 (MMP-9) play a key role in tissue remodelling after processes such as joint destruction in rheumatoid arthritis. Their expression may reflect the disease activity and they could therefore represent a useful marker to assess the efficacy of therapy. In this study MMP-2 and MMP-9 serum were evaluated in patients with chronic arthritis during therapy with the anti-TNFalpha mAb, infliximab.

Clinical role of serum and tissue matrix metalloprotease-9 expression in chronic HCV patients treated with pegylated IFN-alpha2b and ribavirin.

In chronic hepatitis C, the main goal of antiviral therapies is to block viral replication and to slow down the development of fibrosis. In this study, a decrease in matrix metalloprotease-9 (MMP-9) but not of MMP-2 and the tissue inhibitors of MMP (TIMP-1 and TMP-2) was observed in the plasma of chronic hepatitis C patients at the end of the follow-up period after ribavirin plus interferon-alpha2b (PEG-IFN-alpha2b) treatment in sustained virologic responders but not in nonresponders. Consistently, similar results are observed by immunofluorescence and real-time PCR in tissue specimens collected before and after therapy from the same patients in whom both Kupffer cells and hepatocytes express MMP-9.

SCCA antigen combined with alpha-fetoprotein as serologic markers of HCC.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most common cancer in the world. Because of its increased incidence in the last decade and the estimated further increase in the next 2 decades, HCC is arousing great interest. In Europe and North America, it commonly develops on cirrhotic livers, and surveillance programs have therefore been suggested to identify early HCC, at a stage when it remains suitable for surgical therapy and has a better clinical outcome.

Clinical role of tissue and serum levels of SCCA antigen in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most frequent cancer in the world and a common occurrence in patients with liver cirrhosis in western and North American countries. Ultrasound screening is a powerful technique for HCC diagnosis, whereas the only available serologic test, alpha-fetoprotein, has poor reliability. It has been reported that the squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCCA) is overexpressed in HCC tissue.

The effect of bosentan on matrix metalloproteinase-9 levels in patients with systemic sclerosis-induced pulmonary hypertension.

Objective: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is an autoimmune disease that can potentially involve all tissues and organs of the human body. Based on the extent of the disease and organ involvement, different subsets of patients and organ involvement, different subsets of patients have been identified and several classifications proposed have been identified and several classifications proposed aiming to better stratify affected patients. The occurrence aiming to better stratify affected patients.

Matrix metalloproteinase imbalance in muscle disuse atrophy.

Muscle atrophy commonly occurs as a consequence of prolonged muscle inactivity, as observed after cast immobilization, bed rest or space flights. The molecular mechanisms responsible for muscle atrophy are still unknown, but a role has been proposed for altered permeability of the sarcolemma and of the surrounding connective tissue. Matrix metallo-proteinases (MMPs) are a family of enzymes with proteolytic activity toward a number of extracellular matrix (ECM) components; they are inhibited by tissue inhibitors of MMPs (TIMPs).

MMP-2, MMP-9, TIMP-1 and TIMP-2 levels in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis.

Objective: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and psoriatic arthritis (PA) are both chronic rheumatic inflammatory diseases characterized by disruption of the extra-cellular matrix (ECM) protein of the cartilage, likely induced by proteolytic enzymes such as matrix metalloproteases (MMPs). The goal of this study was to quantify the expression of MMPs such as MMP-2 and MMP-9, and their physiological tissue inhibitors TIMP-2 and TIMP-1, respectively, in serum and synovial fluid.

Methods: Serum and synovial fluid from 24 RA patients and 17 PA patients were studied to determine the levels of MMP-2 and MMP-9 proteolytic activity using a modified gelatin zymography procedure.

Laminin-5 chains are expressed differentially in metastatic and nonmetastatic hepatocellular carcinoma.

Purpose: The purpose of this work was to study the expression of the extracellular matrix protein laminin-5 (Ln-5) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), which is the fifth most frequent cancer and the third most common cause of tumor-related death in the world. The occurrence of metastasis is the main problem in HCC patients. Ln-5 is an extracellular matrix component that promotes adhesion and migration; it is present at the basement membrane and has recently been associated with cancer metastasis.

Occurrence of portal vein tumor thrombus in hepatocellular carcinoma affects prognosis and survival. A retrospective clinical study of 150 cases.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignancies in the world. Despite improvements in diagnostic and therapeutic interventions, prognosis and survival are still poor. To identify factors influencing survival, we retrospectively examined 150 consecutive patients with HCC from the time of first diagnosis of cirrhosis to death.

Transforming growth factor-beta1 triggers hepatocellular carcinoma invasiveness via alpha3beta1 integrin.

Metastasis occurrence in the course of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) severely affects prognosis and survival. We have shown that HCC invasive cells express alpha3beta1-integrin whereas noninvasive cells do not. Here we show that transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta1 stimulates alpha3-integrin expression at a transcriptional level in noninvasive HCC cells, causing transformation into a motile and invasive phenotype.

Gelatinase expression at positive patch test reactions.

Matrix metalloproteases (MMPs) are proteolytic enzymes involved in tissue remodelling and extracellular matrix (ECM) turnover. They are secreted in a latent form and activated at the cellular surface by a membrane type-1 MMP (MT1-MMP) and a tissue inhibitor of MMP-2 (TIMP-2) that is also responsible for striking a balance between the proteolytic enzymes and TIMP-2. In allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) patients, MMP-2 and MMP-9, two members of the MMPs family, were increased during the challenge phase, in involved but not uninvolved skin.

Gelatinase levels in male and female breast cancer.

Breast cancer is a common disease in females but very rare in males, in whom it shows a more metastatic behavior, and a worse prognosis. Matrix metalloprotease-2 (MMP-2) and MMP-9 are proteolytic enzymes balanced by tissue inhibitor of MMP-2 (TIMP-2), commonly involved in cancer metastasis. This is the first study on gelatinolytic activity in male breast cancer patients, compared to that in female patients.

Altered expression of integrins and basement membrane proteins in malignant and pre-malignant lesions of oral mucosa.

Integrins are transmembrane receptors that regulate cell-cell and cell-extracellular matrix (ECM) contact. In epithelial tissues, they interact with ECM components of the basement membrane (BM) to maintain the homeostasis and the architecture of the tissue. This interaction controls several cell functions such as adhesion, migration, proliferation, differentiation, and therefore has a key role in cancer development and metastasis.

Clinical role of MMP-2/TIMP-2 imbalance in hepatocellular carcinoma.

An imbalance between the proteolytic activity of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) and the tissue inhibitor of MMP-2 (TIMP-2) is responsible for degradation of extracellular matrix (ECM) components and plays a critical role in tumor invasion and in metastasis formation. The occurrence of intra-hepatic metastasis, which severely affects prognosis and long-term survival, is commonly observed in the course of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We investigated the expression of MT1-MMP in tissues, whereas both MMP-2 and TIMP-2 were evaluated in the sera and tissues (primary and metastatic nodules) of HCC patients with and without metastasis, whose clinical outcome was followed over a 2-year period.

Human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells require both alpha3beta1 integrin and matrix metalloproteinases activity for migration and invasion.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most frequent malignant tumor of the liver; prognosis depends on the tendency to metastasize. Cancer cell invasion is regulated by proteolytic remodeling of extracellular matrix components and by integrin expression. We have shown that matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) and membrane-type-1 matrix metalloproteinase (MT1-MMP) cleave Laminin-5 (Ln-5), stimulating cell migration.

Transforming growth factor beta1 and soluble Fas serum levels in hepatocellular carcinoma.

In this study we assessed the usefulness of serum Transforming Growth Factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1) and soluble Fas (sFas) in distinguishing liver cirrhosis (LC) with and without hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) as compared with alpha-fetoprotein (AFP). Serum TGF-beta1 and sFas levels were measured by ELISA in 51 LC patients, 54 patients with HCC and 30 healthy donors. Considering as a cut-off limit (mean+1SD of controls) 74 pg/ml and 637 pg/ml for TGF-beta1 and sFas, respectively, we computed serum concentrations of TGF-beta1 and sFas as a score (mean+/-SD).