Publications by authors named "Roberta F Chiavetta"

It is reported that about 10% of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients worldwide have nonsense (stop) mutations in the CFTR gene, which cause the premature termination of CFTR protein synthesis, leading to a truncated and non-functional protein. To address this issue, we investigated the possibility of rescuing the nonsense mutation (UGA) by sequence-specific RNA editing in CFTR mutant CFF-16HBEge, W1282X, and G542X human bronchial cells. We used two different base editor tools that take advantage of ADAR enzymes () to edit adenosine to inosine (A-to-I) within the mRNA: the REPAIRv2 () and the minixABE ().

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Induced senescence could be exploited to selectively counteract the proliferation of cancer cells and target them for senolysis. We examined the cellular senescence induced by curcumin and whether it could be targeted by fisetin and quercetin, flavonoids with senolytic activity. Cell-cycle profiles, chromosome number and structure, and heterochromatin markers were evaluated via flow cytometry, metaphase spreads, and immunofluorescence, respectively.

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The centromere is a fundamental chromosome structure in which the macro-molecular kinetochore assembles and is bound by spindle microtubules, allowing the segregation of sister chromatids during mitosis. Any alterations in kinetochore assembly or functioning or kinetochore-microtubule attachments jeopardize chromosome stability, leading to aneuploidy, a common feature of cancer cells. The spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) supervises this process, ensuring a faithful segregation of chromosomes.

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