Mollusk allergy in shrimp-allergic patients: Still a complex diagnosis. An Italian real-life cross-sectional multicenter study.

Introduction: Shellfish allergy is an important cause of food allergies worldwide. Both and diagnostics failure nowadays is caused by the poor quality of the extracts associated with the scarce availability of allergenic molecules in the market. It is known that not all patients with shellfish allergies experience adverse reactions to mollusks.

A qualitative and quantitative comparison of IgE antibody profiles with two multiplex platforms for component-resolved diagnostics in allergic patients.

Background: Clinically complex phenotypes require more and more sophisticated and comprehensive diagnostic approaches, able to discriminate genuine sensitizations from cross-reactivity. Interpretative complexity of multiplex diagnostic arrays has somewhat limited their diffusion. This study compares two currently available methods, namely ISAC test and ALEX2 test.

May Bacterial Infections Trigger Bullous Pemphigoid? Case Report and Review of Literature.

Bullous pemphigoid (BP) is an autoimmune blistering skin disease, mainly observed in the elderly. Infections have been suggested as possible disease triggers. However, infections may even heavily influence the disease clinical course and mortality.

Impact of Mediterranean Diet on Disease Activity and Gut Microbiota Composition of Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disorder in which gut and oral microbiota play a crucial role. Diet is a modifiable factor that can influence both microbiota composition and arthritis outcome; previous studies have suggested associations between dietary habits and RA, with contrasting results. We investigate the protective effect of the Mediterranean diet (MD) on disease activity and the gut microbiota profile in RA patients.

Comparison of the performance of Skin Prick and ISAC Tests in the diagnosis of allergy.

The recent European Union and Italian regulations in the matter of in vivo test could strongly impact on current diagnostic approach, increasing the usage of in vitro tests in daily clinical practice. We evaluated 506 patients with both skin prick test and a microarray system (ImmunoCAP ISAC 112). The overall evaluation between ImmunoCAP ISAC SPT showed a moderate agreement (k=0.

β-1,3-glucanase rOle e 9 and MnSOD rAsp f 6 IgE reactivity are the signature of atopic dermatitis in the Mediterranean area.

Background: Atopic dermatitis (AD) represents a chronic skin disorder seriously affecting patients' QoL and is often associated with immunological imbalance, disorders of the skin barrier function and environmental factors.

Objective: We extensively studied the proteomic IgE sensitization profile in a large AD Mediterranean cohort.

Methods: A total of 588 individuals with moderate-severe (70.

Tumor-Stroma Mechanics Coordinate Amino Acid Availability to Sustain Tumor Growth and Malignancy.

Dysregulation of extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition and cellular metabolism promotes tumor aggressiveness by sustaining the activity of key growth, invasion, and survival pathways. Yet mechanisms by which biophysical properties of ECM relate to metabolic processes and tumor progression remain undefined. In both cancer cells and carcinoma-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), we found that ECM stiffening mechanoactivates glycolysis and glutamine metabolism and thus coordinates non-essential amino acid flux within the tumor niche.

An atlas of IgE sensitization patterns in different Italian areas. A multicenter, cross-sectional study.

The development of recombinant technology supported the allergy diagnostic work-up in the daily clinical practice, representing a useful tool for epidemiological studies. An atlas of the IgE sensitization profiles found throughout Italy was prepared from a nationwide, multicenter, cross-sectional study. 6052 unselected consecutive individuals, belonging to North-West [NW], North-East [NE], Centre [C], South [S], and Islands subset [Is] were evaluated by means of the ImmunoCAP ISAC test.

Anti-polysaccharide and anti-diphtheria protective antibodies after 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccination in rheumatoid arthritis patients under immunosuppressive therapy.

Immunogenicity of 13-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide (PnPS) conjugate vaccine (PCV13) was evaluated in 38 rheumatoid arthritis patients under immunosuppressive treatment and 20 healthy controls (HC). Antibodies to all PnPS and diphtheria-toxin analogue conjugate protein were measured pre- (T0), 1 (T1), 6 (T2), 12 (T3) months post-immunization. Patients and HC had similar response to individual PnPS.

Matrix Stiffening and EGFR Cooperate to Promote the Collective Invasion of Cancer Cells.

In squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), tissue invasion by collectively invading cells requires physical forces applied by tumor cells on their surrounding extracellular matrix (ECM). Cancer-related ECM is composed of thick collagen bundles organized by carcinoma-associated fibroblasts (CAF) within the tumor stroma. Here, we show that SCC cell collective invasion is driven by the matrix-dependent mechano-sensitization of EGF signaling in cancer cells.

Ultrasound detection of subclinical synovitis in rheumatoid arthritis patients in clinical remission: a new reduced-joint assessment in 3 target joints.

Objectives: The ability of ultrasound (US) to identify subclinical joint inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients in remission has been already reported. Nonetheless, current studies present a lack of homogeneity in patient's characteristics and number of joints assessed by US. The aim of this study was to identify a reduced set of target joints to be scanned in RA patients in clinical remission in order to detect subclinical synovitis.

Aedes communis Reactivity Is Associated with Bee Venom Hypersensitivity: An in vitro and in vivo Study.

Mosquito bite is usually followed by a local reaction, but severe or systemic reaction may, in rare cases, occur. Allergic reactions to Aedes communis (Ac) may be underestimated due to the lack of reliable diagnostic tools. In this multicenter study, 205 individuals reporting large local reactions to Ac were enrolled and studied for cutaneous or IgE reactivity to Ac, Blattella germanica, Penaeus monodon, and Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus.

Storage molecules from tree nuts, seeds and legumes: relationships and amino acid identity among homologue molecules.

The families of seed storage proteins, together with profilins, oil-bodies-associated oleosins, and pathogenesis-related (PR) proteins like PR-10 (Bet v 1-like), PR-12 (defensins) and PR-14 (non-specific lipid transfer protein), are the main causes of IgE sensitization to tree nuts, legumes and seeds. All these allergens, with the exclusion of profilins and of PR-10, are heat-stable and possibly responsible for fatal or almost fatal adverse reactions to such foods. In this short review, we will discuss the relationship and amino acid identities among some of the seed storage homologue molecules identified to date from tree nuts, seeds and legumes.

Membrane-bound ICAM-1 contributes to the onset of proinvasive tumor stroma by controlling acto-myosin contractility in carcinoma-associated fibroblasts.

Acto-myosin contractility in carcinoma-associated fibroblasts leads to assembly of the tumor extracellular matrix. The pro-inflammatory cytokine LIF governs fibroblast activation in cancer by regulating the myosin light chain 2 activity. So far, however, how LIF mediates cytoskeleton contractility remains unknown.

Identification of two rare and novel large deletions in ITGB4 gene causing epidermolysis bullosa with pyloric atresia.

Epidermolysis bullosa with pyloric atresia (EB-PA) is a rare autosomal recessive hereditary disease with a variable prognosis from lethal to very mild. EB-PA is classified into Simplex form (EBS-PA: OMIM #612138) and Junctional form (JEB-PA: OMIM #226730), and it is caused by mutations in ITGA6, ITGB4 and PLEC genes. We report the analysis of six patients with EB-PA, including two dizygotic twins.

Epigenetic switch drives the conversion of fibroblasts into proinvasive cancer-associated fibroblasts.

Carcinoma-associated fibroblasts (CAF) mediate the onset of a proinvasive tumour microenvironment. The proinflammatory cytokine LIF reprograms fibroblasts into a proinvasive phenotype, which promotes extracellular matrix remodelling and collective invasion of cancer cells. Here we unveil that exposure to LIF initiates an epigenetic switch leading to the constitutive activation of JAK1/STAT3 signalling, which results in sustained proinvasive activity of CAF.

LIF mediates proinvasive activation of stromal fibroblasts in cancer.

Signaling crosstalk between tumor cells and fibroblasts confers proinvasive properties to the tumor microenvironment. Here, we identify leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) as a tumor promoter that mediates proinvasive activation of stromal fibroblasts independent of alpha-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) expression. We demonstrate that a pulse of transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) establishes stable proinvasive fibroblast activation by inducing LIF production in both fibroblasts and tumor cells.

[Carcinoma-associated fibroblasts in cancer: the great escape].

Cellular and molecular crosstalks between cancer and non-cancer tumor-associated cells result in tumor growth and metastatic spreading. During carcinoma development, tumor cells secrete signaling molecules that influence the surrounding non-cancer cells, which, in return, favor tumor cell growth, survival, migration and metastasis. Carcinoma-associated fibroblasts (CAF) are the most abundant population of non-cancer cells found in tumors, and their presence is often associated with poor clinical prognosis.

miR-193b/365a cluster controls progression of epidermal squamous cell carcinoma.

Incidence of cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas (cSCCs) constantly increases in the Caucasian population. Developing preferentially on precancerous lesions such as actinic keratoses due to chronic sunlight exposure, cSCCs result from the malignant transformation of keratinocytes. Although a resection of the primary tumor is usually curative, a subset of aggressive cSCCs shows a high risk of recurrence and metastases.

Aplasia cutis congenita with dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa: clinical and mutational study.

Background: Aplasia cutis congenita (ACC) has been associated with all clinical forms of inherited epidermolysis bullosa (EB), including dominant and recessive dystrophic EB (DDEB and RDEB). To date, only a few patients with DEB specifically combined with ACC have been described and genotyped and almost all cases represent dominant forms of the condition.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to describe new mutations of COL7A1 in patients with DEB and ACC and investigate possible genotype-phenotype correlations.