Efficacy of Anti-Cancer Immune Responses Elicited Using Tumor-Targeted IL-2 Cytokine and Its Derivatives in Combined Preclinical Therapies.

Effective cancer therapies must address the tumor microenvironment (TME), a complex network of tumor cells and stromal components, including endothelial, immune, and mesenchymal cells. Durable outcomes require targeting both tumor cells and the TME while minimizing systemic toxicity. Interleukin-2 (IL-2)-based therapies have shown efficacy in cancers such as metastatic melanoma and renal cell carcinoma but are limited by severe side effects.

Gut Microbiota and Immune System Dynamics in Parkinson's and Alzheimer's Diseases.

The gut microbiota, a diverse collection of microorganisms in the gastrointestinal tract, plays a critical role in regulating metabolic, immune, and cognitive functions. Disruptions in the composition of these microbial communities, termed dysbiosis, have been linked to various neurodegenerative diseases (NDs), such as Parkinson's disease (PD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). One of the key pathological features of NDs is neuroinflammation, which involves the activation of microglia and peripheral immune cells.

Anion Competition at Positively Charged Surfactant Monolayers.

Interactions of anions with hydrophobic surfaces of proteins and water-soluble polymers depend on the ability of the ions to shed their hydration shells. At positively charged surfactant monolayers, the interactions of anions are less well understood. Due to the interplay of electrostatic surface forces, hydration effects, and ion-ion interactions in the electrostatic double layer, a comprehensive microscopic picture remains elusive.

The Urinary Microbiome in Health and Disease: Relevance for Bladder Cancer.

Bladder cancer (BC) constitutes one of the most diagnosed types of cancer worldwide. Advancements in and new methodologies for DNA sequencing, leading to high-throughput microbiota testing, have pinpointed discrepancies in urinary microbial fingerprints between healthy individuals and patients with BC. Although several studies suggest an involvement of microbiota dysbiosis in the pathogenesis, progression, and therapeutic response to bladder cancer, an established direct causal relationship remains to be elucidated due to the lack of standardized methodologies associated with such studies.

Regulatory T Cells in the Pathogenesis of Graves' Disease.

Maintaining a delicate balance between the prompt immune response to pathogens and tolerance towards self-antigens and commensals is crucial for health. T regulatory (Treg) cells are pivotal in preserving self-tolerance, serving as negative regulators of inflammation through the secretion of anti-inflammatory cytokines, interleukin-2 neutralization, and direct suppression of effector T cells. Graves' disease (GD) is a thyroid-specific autoimmune disorder primarily attributed to the breakdown of tolerance to the thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor.

Neutrophils' Contribution to Periodontitis and Periodontitis-Associated Cardiovascular Diseases.

Neutrophils represent the primary defense against microbial threats playing a pivotal role in maintaining tissue homeostasis. This review examines the multifaceted involvement of neutrophils in periodontitis, a chronic inflammatory condition affecting the supporting structures of teeth summarizing the contribution of neutrophil dysfunction in periodontitis and periodontal-related comorbidities. Periodontitis, a pathological condition promoted by dysbiosis of the oral microbiota, is characterized by the chronic inflammation of the gingiva and subsequent tissue destruction.

The Potential Role of the T2 Ribonucleases in TME-Based Cancer Therapy.

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in developing innovative anticancer therapies targeting the tumor microenvironment (TME). The TME is a complex and dynamic milieu surrounding the tumor mass, consisting of various cellular and molecular components, including those from the host organism, endowed with the ability to significantly influence cancer development and progression. Processes such as angiogenesis, immune evasion, and metastasis are crucial targets in the search for novel anticancer drugs.

Adipose mesenchymal stem cell-derived soluble factors, produced under hypoxic condition, efficiently support in vivo angiogenesis.

Tissue regeneration or healing both require efficient vascularization within a tissue-damaged area. Based on this concept, a remarkable number of strategies, aimed at developing new tools to support re-vascularization of damaged tissue have emerged. Among the strategies proposed, the use of pro-angiogenic soluble factors, as a cell-free tool, appears as a promising approach, able to overcome the issues concerning the direct use of cells for regenerative medicine therapy.

Immunomodulatory role of vitamin D and selenium supplementation in newly diagnosed Graves' disease patients during methimazole treatment.

Introduction: Methimazole (MMI) represents the conventional therapeutic agent for Graves' disease (GD) hyperthyroidism, but MMI efficacy is limited since it marginally affects the underlying autoimmune process. In a previous study, we randomly assigned 42 newly diagnosed GD patients with insufficient vitamin D (VitD) and selenium (Se) levels to treatment with MMI alone (standard) or combined with selenomethionine and cholecalciferol (intervention) and observed a prompter resolution of hyperthyroidism in the intervention group.

Methods: In the present study, we aimed to explore changes in peripheral T regulatory (Treg) and circulating natural killer (NK) cell frequency, circulating NK cell subset distribution and function, during treatment.

How Does Vitamin D Affect Immune Cells Crosstalk in Autoimmune Diseases?

Vitamin D is a secosteroid hormone that is highly involved in bone health. Mounting evidence revealed that, in addition to the regulation of mineral metabolism, vitamin D is implicated in cell proliferation and differentiation, vascular and muscular functions, and metabolic health. Since the discovery of vitamin D receptors in T cells, local production of active vitamin D was demonstrated in most immune cells, addressing the interest in the clinical implications of vitamin D status in immune surveillance against infections and autoimmune/inflammatory diseases.

Microbiome and Prostate Cancer: A Novel Target for Prevention and Treatment.

Growing evidence of the microbiome's role in human health and disease has emerged since the creation of the Human Microbiome Project. Recent studies suggest that alterations in microbiota composition (dysbiosis) may play an essential role in the occurrence, development, and prognosis of prostate cancer (PCa), which remains the second most frequent male malignancy worldwide. Current advances in biological technologies, such as high-throughput sequencing, transcriptomics, and metabolomics, have enabled research on the gut, urinary, and intra-prostate microbiome signature and the correlation with local and systemic inflammation, host immunity response, and PCa progression.

The tumor innate immune microenvironment in prostate cancer: an overview of soluble factors and cellular effectors.

Prostate cancer (PCa) accounts as the most common non-cutaneous disease affecting males, and as the first cancer, for incidence, in male. With the introduction of the concept of immunoscore, PCa has been classified as a cold tumor, thus driving the attention in the development of strategies aimed at blocking the infiltration/activation of immunosuppressive cells, while favoring the infiltration/activation of anti-tumor immune cells. Even if immunotherapy has revolutionized the approaches to cancer therapy, there is still a window failure, due to the immune cell plasticity within PCa, that can acquire pro-tumor features, subsequent to the tumor microenvironment (TME) capability to polarize them.

Subcapsular Sinus Macrophages Promote Melanoma Metastasis to the Sentinel Lymph Nodes via an IL1α-STAT3 Axis.

During melanoma metastasis, tumor cells originating in the skin migrate via lymphatic vessels to the sentinel lymph node (sLN). This process facilitates tumor cell spread across the body. Here, we characterized the innate inflammatory response to melanoma in the metastatic microenvironment of the sLN.

A potential role of human RNASET2 overexpression in the pathogenesis of Graves' disease.

Genetic variation of the gene encoding for the only human enzyme of the T2 ribonucleases family (RNASET2) emerged in genome-wide association studies as a putative risk hotspot for Graves' disease (GD). T2 ribonucleases activities include immune regulation, induction of cell apoptosis and differentiation. Several reports supported the hypothesis that RNASET2 represents a "danger" message addressed to the innate immune system in peculiar conditions.

Host-Related Factors as Targetable Drivers of Immunotherapy Response in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients.

Despite some significant therapeutic breakthroughs leading to immunotherapy, a high percentage of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) do not respond to treatment on relapse, thus experiencing poor prognosis and survival. The unsatisfying results could be related to the features of the tumor immune microenvironment and the dynamic interactions between a tumor and immune infiltrate. Host-tumor interactions strongly influence the course of disease and response to therapies.

Add-On Effect of Selenium and Vitamin D Combined Supplementation in Early Control of Graves' Disease Hyperthyroidism During Methimazole Treatment.

Prompt and stable control of hyperthyroidism is fundamental to avoid the detrimental effects of thyroid hormone excess, and antithyroid drugs, mainly methimazole (MMI), represent the first-line treatment for Graves' disease (GD) hyperthyroidism. Decreased serum concentrations of selenium (Se) and calcifediol (25(OH)D, VitD) have been reported in newly diagnosed GD patients in observational studies. Low Se levels might exacerbate oxidative stress by compromising the antioxidant machinery's response to reactive oxygen species, and low VitD levels might hamper the anti-inflammatory immune response.

Biomedicine and traditional Chinese medicine: a fruitful scientific and cultural interaction.

Over the years, the approach of traditional Chinese medicine has changed, as has the concept of the health status. Particularly in this article we will focus on the importance of some techniques that we can define millennial, as acupuncture. We will highlight the relationship between a millenary system and the principles of modernity, emphasizing the relevance of a technique that appears to be in line with the latest scientific research and numerous studies of effectiveness, proposing therapeutic integration as a usable way.

When a Friend Becomes Your Enemy: Natural Killer Cells in Atherosclerosis and Atherosclerosis-Associated Risk Factors.

Atherosclerosis (ATS), the change in structure and function of arteries with associated lesion formation and altered blood flow, is the leading cause of cardiovascular disease, the number one killer worldwide. Beyond dyslipidemia, chronic inflammation, together with aberrant phenotype and function of cells of both the innate and adaptive immune system, are now recognized as relevant contributors to atherosclerosis onset and progression. While the role of macrophages and T cells in atherosclerosis has been addressed in several studies, Natural Killer cells (NKs) represent a poorly explored immune cell type, that deserves attention, due to NKs' emerging contribution to vascular homeostasis.

Neutrophil and Natural Killer Cell Interactions in Cancers: Dangerous Liaisons Instructing Immunosuppression and Angiogenesis.

The tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) has largely been reported to cooperate on tumor onset and progression, as a consequence of the phenotype/functional plasticity and adaptation capabilities of tumor-infiltrating and tumor-associated immune cells. Immune cells within the tumor micro (tissue-local) and macro (peripheral blood) environment closely interact by cell-to-cell contact and/or via soluble factors, also generating a tumor-permissive soil. These dangerous liaisons have been investigated for pillars of tumor immunology, such as tumor associated macrophages and T cell subsets.

Immune-Mediated Mechanisms in Patients Testing Positive for SARS-CoV-2: Protocol for a Multianalysis Study.

Background: The novel coronavirus has a high mortality rate (over 1% for patients older than 50 years). This can only be partially ascribed to other comorbidities. A possible explanation is a factor that assures a prompt response to SARS-CoV-2 in younger people, independent from the novelty of the virus itself.