Identifying Hub Genes and miRNAs Associated with Alzheimer's Disease: A Bioinformatics Pathway to Novel Therapeutic Strategies.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that mainly affects the elderly population. It is characterized by cognitive impairment and dementia due to abnormal levels of amyloid beta peptide (Aβ) and axonal Tau protein in the brain. However, the complex underlying mechanisms affecting this disease are not yet known, and there is a lack of standardized biomarkers and therapeutic targets.

Comparative Blood Profiling Based on ATR-FTIR Spectroscopy and Chemometrics for Differential Diagnosis of Patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis-Pilot Study.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a motor neurodegenerative disease characterized by poor prognosis. Currently, screening and diagnostic methods for ALS remain challenging, often leading to diagnosis at an advanced stage of the disease. This delay hinders the timely initiation of therapy, negatively impacting patient well-being.

Differentially expressed lncRNAs in SOD1 mice skeletal muscle: H19, Myhas and Neat1 as potential biomarkers in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a devastating neuromuscular disease characterized by progressive motor function and muscle mass loss. Despite extensive research in the field, the underlying causes of ALS remain incompletely understood, contributing to the absence of specific diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers and effective therapies. This study investigates the expression of long-non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in skeletal muscle as a potential source of biomarkers and therapeutic targets for the disease.

Proteomic profiling of human plasma extracellular vesicles identifies PF4 and C1R as novel biomarker in sarcopenia.

Background: Sarcopenia, the gradual and generalized loss of muscle mass and function with ageing, is one of the major health problems in older adults, given its high prevalence and substantial socioeconomic implications. Despite the extensive efforts to reach consensus on definition and diagnostic tests and cut-offs for sarcopenia, there is an urgent and unmet need for non-invasive, specific and sensitive biomarkers for the disease. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are present in different biofluids including plasma, whose cargo reflects cellular physiology.

Sporadic Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Skeletal Muscle Transcriptome Analysis: A Comprehensive Examination of Differentially Expressed Genes.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) that comprises sporadic (sALS) and familial (fALS) cases, is a devastating neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive degeneration of motor neurons, leading to muscle atrophy and various clinical manifestations. However, the complex underlying mechanisms affecting this disease are not yet known. On the other hand, there is also no good prognosis of the disease due to the lack of biomarkers and therapeutic targets.

Sex differences on constitutive long non-coding RNA expression: Modulatory effect of estradiol and testosterone in muscle cells.

Introduction: Despite the growing awareness of sexual dimorphism between males and females under pathological and physiological conditions, sex bias in biomedical research in animal models and patients is still present nowadays. The main objective of this work was to investigate sex differences in constitutive long non-coding RNA expression in spinal cord and skeletal muscle from wild-type mice.

Materials And Methods: To assess the influence of gender on long non-coding RNAs, we extracted RNA from tissues of male and female mice and analyzed the expression on nine long non-coding RNAs, selected for being among the most commonly studied or exerting an important role in muscle, at 50, 60, and 120 days of age.

Intermediate Repeat Expansion in the Gene as a Risk Factor in the ALS and FTD Spanish Population.

Intermediate CAG expansions in the gene ataxin-2 () are a known risk factor for ALS, but little is known about their role in FTD risk. Moreover, their contribution to the risk and phenotype of patients might vary in populations with different genetic backgrounds. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship of intermediate CAG expansions in with the risk and phenotype of ALS and FTD in the Spanish population.

New Insights into Endogenous Retrovirus-K Transcripts in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.

Retroviral reverse transcriptase activity and the increased expression of human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) are associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). We were interested in confirming overexpression in the ALS brain, its use as an accessory diagnostic marker for ALS, and its potential interplay with neuroinflammation. Using qPCR to analyze expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and in postmortem brain samples from ALS patients, no significant differences were observed between patients and control subjects.

Analysis of Plasma-Derived Exosomal MicroRNAs as Potential Biomarkers for Canine Idiopathic Epilepsy.

Epilepsy is one of the most prevalent complex neurological diseases in both the canine and human species, with the idiopathic form as its most common diagnosis. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small, noncoding RNA molecules that play a role in gene regulation processes and appear to be a promising biological target for convulsion control. These molecules have been reported as constituents of the internal content of exosomes, which are small extracellular vesicles released by cells.

Repaglinide Induces ATF6 Processing and Neuroprotection in Transgenic SOD1G93A Mice.

The interaction of the activating transcription factor 6 (ATF6), a key effector of the unfolded protein response (UPR) in the endoplasmic reticulum, with the neuronal calcium sensor Downstream Regulatory Element Antagonist Modulator (DREAM) is a potential therapeutic target in neurodegeneration. Modulation of the ATF6-DREAM interaction with repaglinide (RP) induced neuroprotection in a model of Huntington's disease. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disorder with no cure, characterized by the progressive loss of motoneurons resulting in muscle denervation, atrophy, paralysis, and death.

Hemizygous Granzyme A Mice Expressing the hSOD1G93A Transgene Show Slightly Extended Lifespan.

Granzyme A (gzmA), a serine protease involved in the modulation of the inflammatory immune response, is found at an elevated level in the serum from ALS patients. However, the influence of gzmA on the progression of ALS remains unclear. The aim of our work was to assess whether the absence of gzmA in an ALS murine model could help slow down the progression of the disease.

Lessons to Learn from the Gut Microbiota: A Focus on Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.

The gut microbiota is able to modulate the development and homeostasis of the central nervous system (CNS) through the immune, circulatory, and neuronal systems. In turn, the CNS influences the gut microbiota through stress responses and at the level of the endocrine system. This bidirectional communication forms the "gut microbiota-brain axis" and has been postulated to play a role in the etiopathology of several neurodegenerative diseases, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Encapsulation of Large-Size Plasmids in PLGA Nanoparticles for Gene Editing: Comparison of Three Different Synthesis Methods.

The development of new gene-editing technologies has fostered the need for efficient and safe vectors capable of encapsulating large nucleic acids. In this work we evaluate the synthesis of large-size plasmid-loaded PLGA nanoparticles by double emulsion (considering batch ultrasound and microfluidics-assisted methodologies) and magnetic stirring-based nanoprecipitation synthesis methods. For this purpose, we characterized the nanoparticles and compared the results between the different synthesis processes in terms of encapsulation efficiency, morphology, particle size, polydispersity, zeta potential and structural integrity of loaded pDNA.

Therapeutic Assay with the Non-toxic C-Terminal Fragment of Tetanus Toxin (TTC) in Transgenic Murine Models of Prion Disease.

The non-toxic C-terminal fragment of the tetanus toxin (TTC) has been described as a neuroprotective molecule since it binds to Trk receptors and activates Trk-dependent signaling, activating neuronal survival pathways and inhibiting apoptosis. Previous in vivo studies have demonstrated the ability of this molecule to increase mice survival, inhibit apoptosis and regulate autophagy in murine models of neurodegenerative diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and spinal muscular atrophy. Prion diseases are fatal neurodegenerative disorders in which the main pathogenic event is the conversion of the cellular prion protein (PrP) into an abnormal and misfolded isoform known as PrP.

Supramolecular Frameworks Based on Rhenium Clusters Using the Synthons Approach.

The reaction of the K[{ReS}(OH)]·8HO rhenium cluster salt with pyrazine (Pz) in aqueous solutions of alkaline or alkaline earth salts at 4 °C or at room temperature leads to apical ligand exchange and to the formation of five new compounds: [{ReS}(Pz)(OH)(HO)] (), [{ReS}(Pz)(OH)(HO)] (), (NO)[{ReS}(Pz)(OH)(HO)](Pz)·3HO (), [Mg(HO)][{ReS}(Pz)(OH)(HO)]·8.5HO (), and K[-{ReS}(Pz)(OH)(HO)]·8HO (). Their crystal structures are built up from - or -[{ReS}(Pz)(OH)(HO)] cluster units.

Inflammasome in ALS Skeletal Muscle: as a Potential Biomarker.

Since NLRP3 inflammasome plays a pivotal role in several neurodegenerative disorders, we hypothesized that levels of inflammasome components could help in diagnosis or prognosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Gene and protein expression was assayed by RT-PCR and Western blot. Spearman's correlation coefficient was used to determine the linear correlation of transcriptional expression levels with longevity throughout disease progression in mice models.

Drug adulteration of sexual enhancement supplements: a worldwide insidious public health threat.

Worldwide, the consumption of dietary supplements for the enhancement of sexual performance is common. Consumers are generally fond of these products because they often want to avoid drugs, preferring "natural" than "chemical" solutions. This is challenging, as many of these supplements labelled "herbal" or "natural" are actually adulterated with drugs, mainly phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors.

Competing Endogenous RNA Networks as Biomarkers in Neurodegenerative Diseases.

Protein aggregation is classically considered the main cause of neuronal death in neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs). However, increasing evidence suggests that alteration of RNA metabolism is a key factor in the etiopathogenesis of these complex disorders. Non-coding RNAs are the major contributor to the human transcriptome and are particularly abundant in the central nervous system, where they have been proposed to be involved in the onset and development of NDDs.

[AFU and SALF recommendations for the evaluation of male infertility].

Background: The aim of these Association Française d'Urologie (AFU) and Société d'Andrologie de Langue Française (SALF) common recommendations are to provide practice guidelines for the French Urological and Andrological community regarding the evaluation of infertile men.

Material And Methods: Literature search in PubMed using the keywords "male infertility", "diagnosis", "management" and "evaluation" limited to clinical articles in English and French prior to 1/01/2020. To inform the level of evidence, the HAS grading system (2013) was applied.

What skeletal muscle has to say in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: Implications for therapy.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is an adult onset disorder characterized by progressive neuromuscular junction (NMJ) dismantling and degeneration of motor neurons leading to atrophy and paralysis of voluntary muscles responsible for motion and breathing. Except for a minority of patients harbouring genetic mutations, the origin of most ALS cases remains elusive. Peripheral tissues, and particularly skeletal muscle, have lately demonstrated an active contribution to disease pathology attracting a growing interest for these tissues as therapeutic targets in ALS.

COVID-19 and andrology: Recommendations of the French-speaking society of andrology (Société d'Andrologie de langue Française SALF).

SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) metamorphosed our medical practice. In early June 2020, more than 6,400,000 COVID-19 (coronavirus-19 disease) cases were diagnosed across the world and more than 380,000 deaths were linked to COVID-19. Many medical symptoms of COVID-19 were reported.

MicroRNA Alterations in a Tg501 Mouse Model of Prion Disease.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) may contribute to the development and pathology of many neurodegenerative diseases, including prion diseases. They are also promising biomarker candidates due to their stability in body fluids. We investigated miRNA alterations in a Tg501 mouse model of prion diseases that expresses a transgene encoding the goat prion protein ().

Neuroprotective Fragment C of Tetanus Toxin Modulates IL-6 in an ALS Mouse Model.

Neuroinflammation plays a significant role in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) pathology, leading to the development of therapies targeting inflammation in recent years. Our group has studied the tetanus toxin C-terminal fragment (TTC) as a therapeutic molecule, showing neuroprotective properties in the SOD1G93A mouse model. However, it is unknown whether TTC could have some effect on inflammation.