Serum MicroRNAs as Predictors of Diagnosis and Drug-resistance in Temporal Lobe Epilepsy: A Preliminary Study.

Objective: Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is the most common form of refractory focal epilepsy, and the current clinical diagnosis is based on EEG, clinical neurological history and neuroimaging findings.

Methods: So far, there are no blood-based molecular biomarkers of TLE to support clinical diagnosis, despite the pathogenic mechanisms underlying TLE involving defects in the regulation of gene expression. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as important post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression.

A Comprehensive Examination of the Role of Epigenetic Factors in Multiple Sclerosis.

According to various research, the risk of multiple sclerosis (MS) is strongly influenced by genetic variations. Population, familial, and molecular studies provide strong empirical support for a polygenic pattern of inheritance, mainly due to relatively common allelic variants in the general population. The strongest MS susceptibility locus, which was unmistakably identified in tested populations, is the major histocompatibility complex on chromosome 6p21.

A Novel Strategy for Glioblastoma Treatment by Natural Bioactive Molecules Showed a Highly Effective Anti-Cancer Potential.

Glioblastoma (GBM) is a severe form of brain tumor that has a high fatality rate. It grows aggressively and most of the time results in resistance to traditional treatments like chemo- and radiotherapy and surgery Biodiversity, beyond representing a big resource for human well-being, provides several natural compounds that have shown great potential as anticancer drugs. Many of them are being extensively researched and significantly slow GBM progression by reducing the proliferation rate, migration, and inflammation and also by modulating oxidative stress.

Extracellular Vesicles in Multiple Sclerosis: Their Significance in the Development and Possible Applications as Therapeutic Agents and Biomarkers.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are "micro-shuttles" that play a role as mediators of intercellular communication. Cells release EVs into the extracellular environment in both physiological and pathological conditions and are involved in intercellular communication, due to their ability to transfer proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids, and in the modulation of the immune system and neuroinflammation. Because EVs can penetrate the blood-brain barrier and move from the central nervous system to the peripheral circulation, and vice versa, recent studies have shown a substantial role for EVs in several neurological diseases, including multiple sclerosis (MS).

Characterization of cell cycle, inflammation, and oxidative stress signaling role in non-communicable diseases: Insights into genetic variants, microRNAs and pathways.

Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) significantly impact global health, contributing to over 70% of premature deaths, as reported by the World Health Organization (WHO). These diseases have complex and multifactorial origins, involving genetic, epigenetic, environmental and lifestyle factors. While Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS) is widely recognized as a valuable tool for identifying variants associated with complex phenotypes; the multifactorial nature of NCDs necessitates a more comprehensive exploration, encompassing not only the genetic but also the epigenetic aspect.

The biological interplay between air pollutants and miRNAs regulation in cancer.

Air pollution, especially fine particulate matter (PM2.5, with an aerodynamic diameter of less than 2.5 μm), represents a risk factor for human health.

Computational analysis of five neurodegenerative diseases reveals shared and specific genetic loci.

Neurodegenerative diseases (ND) are heterogeneous disorders of the central nervous system that share a chronic and selective process of neuronal cell death. A computational approach to investigate shared genetic and specific loci was applied to 5 different ND: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD), Multiple sclerosis (MS), and Lewy body dementia (LBD). The datasets were analyzed separately, and then we compared the obtained results.

Metabolic and Molecular Rearrangements of Sauvignon Blanc ( L.) Berries in Response to Foliar Applications of Specific Dry Yeast.

Dry yeast extracts (DYE) are applied to vineyards to improve aromatic and secondary metabolic compound content and wine quality; however, systematic information on the underpinning molecular mechanisms is lacking. This work aimed to unravel, through a systematic approach, the metabolic and molecular responses of Sauvignon Blanc berries to DYE treatments. To accomplish this, DYE spraying was performed in a commercial vineyard for two consecutive years.

From genetic correlations of Alzheimer's disease to classification with artificial neural network models.

Sporadic Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a complex neurological disorder characterized by many risk loci with potential associations with different traits and diseases. AD, characterized by a progressive loss of neuronal functions, manifests with different symptoms such as decline in memory, movement, coordination, and speech. The mechanisms underlying the onset of AD are not always fully understood, but involve a multiplicity of factors.

CMA mediates resistance in breast cancer models.

Background: Breast cancer (BC) is the most common malignancy in women and the second leading cause of cancer-related death; chemoresistance is still a clinical challenge mainly because of the different molecular features of this kind of tumour. Doxorubicin (Doxo) is widely used despite its adverse effects and the common onset of resistance. Chaperone-Mediated Autophagy (CMA) has been identified as an important mechanism through which chemotherapeutics can exert their cytotoxic effects and, in this context, LAMP-2A, the key player of CMA, can be a useful biomarker.

Proton boron capture therapy (PBCT) induces cell death and mitophagy in a heterotopic glioblastoma model.

Despite aggressive therapeutic regimens, glioblastoma (GBM) represents a deadly brain tumor with significant aggressiveness, radioresistance and chemoresistance, leading to dismal prognosis. Hypoxic microenvironment, which characterizes GBM, is associated with reduced therapeutic effectiveness. Moreover, current irradiation approaches are limited by uncertain tumor delineation and severe side effects that comprehensively lead to unsuccessful treatment and to a worsening of the quality of life of GBM patients.

L-lactate production in engineered Saccharomyces cerevisiae using a multistage multiobjective automated design framework.

The design of alternative biodegradable polymers has the potential of severely reducing the environmental impact, cost and production time currently associated with the petrochemical industry. In fact, growing demand for renewable feedstock has recently brought to the fore synthetic biology and metabolic engineering. These two interdependent research areas focus on the study of microbial conversion of organic acids, with the aim of replacing their petrochemical-derived equivalents with more sustainable and efficient processes.

Phenome-wide genetic-correlation analysis and genetically informed causal inference of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Leveraging genome-wide association statistics generated from a large study of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS; 29,612 cases and 122,656 controls) and UK Biobank (UKB; 4,024 phenotypes, up to 361,194 participants), we conducted a phenome-wide analysis of ALS genetic liability and identified 46 genetically correlated traits, such as fluid intelligence score (r = - 0.21, p = 1.74 × 10), "spending time in pub or social club" (r = 0.

Fundamental Role of Pentose Phosphate Pathway within the Endoplasmic Reticulum in Glutamine Addiction of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Cells.

Cancer utilization of large glutamine equivalents contributes to diverging glucose-6-P flux toward the pentose phosphate shunt (PPP) to feed the building blocks and the antioxidant responses of rapidly proliferating cells. In addition to the well-acknowledged cytosolic pathway, cancer cells also run a largely independent PPP, triggered by hexose-6P-dehydrogenase within the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), whose activity is mandatory for the integrity of ER-mitochondria networking. To verify whether this reticular metabolism is dependent on glutamine levels, we complemented the metabolomic characterization of intermediates of the glucose metabolism and tricarboxylic acid cycle with the estimation of proliferating activity, energy metabolism, redox damage, and mitochondrial function in two breast cancer cell lines.

Consequences of exposure to pollutants on respiratory health: From genetic correlations to causal relationships.

Modern society grew rapidly over the last few decades and this led to an alarming increase in air pollutants and a worsening of the human health, especially in relation to the respiratory system. Indeed, chronic respiratory diseases were the third main cause of death in 2017, with over 3 million of deaths. Furthermore, the pollution has considerable consequences both for burden medical expenses and environmental.

Radiogenomics, Breast Cancer Diagnosis and Characterization: Current Status and Future Directions.

Breast cancer (BC) is a heterogeneous disease, affecting millions of women every year. Early diagnosis is crucial to increasing survival. The clinical workup of BC diagnosis involves diagnostic imaging and bioptic characterization.

Molecular Tools for Leveraging the Potential of the Acid-Tolerant Yeast Zygosaccharomyces bailii as Cell Factory.

Microorganisms offer a tremendous potential as cell factories, and they are indeed been used by humans since the previous centuries for biotransformations. Among them, yeasts combine the advantage of a unicellular state with a eukaryotic organization. Moreover, in the era of biorefineries, their biodiversity can offer solutions to specific process constraints.

Secreted miR-153 Controls Proliferation and Invasion of Higher Gleason Score Prostate Cancer.

Prostate cancer (PC) is a male common neoplasm and is the second leading cause of cancer death in American men. PC is traditionally diagnosed by the evaluation of prostate secreted antigen (PSA) in the blood. Due to the high levels of false positives, digital rectal examination and transrectal ultrasound guided biopsy are necessary in uncertain cases with elevated PSA levels.

Diagnostic Circulating miRNAs in Sporadic Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease characterized by the neurodegeneration of motoneurons. About 10% of ALS is hereditary and involves mutation in 25 different genes, while 90% of the cases are sporadic forms of ALS (sALS). The diagnosis of ALS includes the detection of early symptoms and, as disease progresses, muscle twitching and then atrophy spreads from hands to other parts of the body.

Polystyrene micro and nano-particles induce metabolic rewiring in normal human colon cells: A risk factor for human health.

Polystyrene is a thermoplastic polymer widely used in commercial products. Like all plastics, polystyrene can be degraded into microplastic and nanoplastic particles and ingested via food chain contamination. Although the ecological impact due to plastic contamination is well known, there are no studies indicating a carcinogenic potential of polystyrene microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs).

SKIOME Project: a curated collection of skin microbiome datasets enriched with study-related metadata.

Large amounts of data from microbiome-related studies have been (and are currently being) deposited on international public databases. These datasets represent a valuable resource for the microbiome research community and could serve future researchers interested in integrating multiple datasets into powerful meta-analyses. However, this huge amount of data lacks harmonization and it is far from being completely exploited in its full potential to build a foundation that places microbiome research at the nexus of many subdisciplines within and beyond biology.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: A Diet Review.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal disease related to upper and lower motor neurons degeneration. Although the environmental and genetic causes of this disease are still unclear, some factors involved in ALS onset such as oxidative stress may be influenced by diet. A higher risk of ALS has been correlated with a high fat and glutamate intake and β-methylamino-L-alanine.

Conversion of sugar beet residues into lipids by Lipomyces starkeyi for biodiesel production.

Background: Lipids from oleaginous yeasts emerged as a sustainable alternative to vegetable oils and animal fat to produce biodiesel, the biodegradable and environmentally friendly counterpart of petro-diesel fuel. To develop economically viable microbial processes, the use of residual feedstocks as growth and production substrates is required.

Results: In this work we investigated sugar beet pulp (SBP) and molasses, the main residues of sugar beet processing, as sustainable substrates for the growth and lipid accumulation by the oleaginous yeast Lipomyces starkeyi.

meal hydrolysate as sustainable biomass for the production of carotenoids by .

Background: As the circular economy advocates a near total waste reduction, the industry has shown an increased interest toward the exploitation of various residual biomasses. The origin and availability of biomass used as feedstock strongly affect the sustainability of biorefineries, where it is converted in energy and chemicals. Here, we explored the valorization of meal, the leftover residue from oil extraction.

Copper homeostasis as a target to improve Saccharomyces cerevisiae tolerance to oxidative stress.

The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is widely used as a cell factory for the biotechnological production of various industrial products. During these processes, yeasts meet different kinds of stressors that often cause oxidative stress and thus impair cell growth. Therefore, the development of robust strains is indispensable to improve production, yield and productivity of fermentative processes.