Limb-girdle muscular dystrophy autosomal recessive 8 (LGMDR8) is a rare clinical manifestation caused by the presence of biallelic variants in the gene. We present the clinical, molecular, histopathological, and muscle magnetic resonance findings of a novel 63-years-old LGMDR8 patient of Italian origins, who went undiagnosed for 24 years. Clinical exome sequencing identified two missense variants, c.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLafora disease is a rare genetic disorder characterized by a disruption in glycogen metabolism. It manifests as progressive myoclonus epilepsy and cognitive decline during adolescence. Pathognomonic is the presence of abnormal glycogen aggregates that, over time, produce large inclusions (Lafora bodies) in various tissues.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGlioblastoma, isocitrate dehydrogenase-wildtype (GB), is the most common and aggressive primary brain malignancy with poor outcome. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have been tested in GB and, despite disappointing results, the identification of a small subgroup of responders underlies the need to improve our understanding of the tumour microenvironment (TME) immunity. This study aimed to determine whether the expression of selected immune checkpoints on tissue-resident memory T cells (Trm) may predict patient outcome.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA maternal vaccine to protect neonates against Group B Streptococcus invasive infection is an unmet medical need. Such a vaccine should ideally be offered during the third trimester of pregnancy and induce strong immune responses after a single dose to maximize the time for placental transfer of protective antibodies. A key target antigen is the capsular polysaccharide, an anti-phagocytic virulence factor that elicits protective antibodies when conjugated to carrier proteins.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNumerical simulations of seismic site response require the characterization of the nonlinear behaviour of shallow subsoil. When extensive evaluations are of concern, as in the case of seismic microzonation studies, funding problems prevent from the systematic use of laboratory tests to provide detailed evaluations. For this purpose, 485 shear modulus reduction, G\G(γ) and damping ratio, D(γ) curves were collected from multiple literature sources available in Italy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn recent years, the international community has been strongly committed to promoting energy transition due to the various challenges presented by the global energy market. In this context, renewable sources have increasingly assumed a significant role, representing a viable solution to accelerate decarbonization and promote diversification of energy mix. This paper examines Italian energy profile, its status, and future prospects.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGeneralized Modules for Membrane Antigens (GMMA) are outer membrane vesicles derived from Gram-negative bacteria that can be used to design affordable subunit vaccines. GMMA have been observed to induce a potent humoral immune response in preclinical and clinical studies. In addition, in preclinical studies, it has been found that GMMA can be exploited as optimal antigen carriers for both protein and saccharide antigens, as they are able to promote the enhancement of the antigen-specific humoral immune response when the antigen is overexpressed or chemically conjugated to GMMA.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Ovarian cancer is a highly aggressive disease that is frequently diagnosed in advanced stages. Melatonin, with its numerous antitumor properties, holds great promise in cancer treatment. Herein, we investigated the effects of melatonin on apoptosis, cell migration, and kinase levels in human ovarian carcinoma SKOV-3 cells and determined whether these effects are mediated by the activation of the MT1 receptor.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObesity in adolescents has reached epidemic proportions and is associated with the inflammatory response and viral infections. The aim of this study was to understand the profile of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines associated with the inflammatory response and metabolic syndrome (MetS) in obese adolescents with positive serology for adenovirus 36 (ADV36). Thirty-six overweight, 36 obese, and 25 severe obesity adolescents aged 10 to 16 years were included in the study.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Enzyme Inhib Med Chem
December 2023
Background: Propolis exhibits huge potential in the pharmaceutical industry. In the present study, its effects were investigated on dendritic cells (DCs) stimulated with a tumor antigen (MAGE-1) and retinoic acid (RA) and on T lymphocytes to observe a possible differential activation of T lymphocytes, driving preferentially to Th1 or Treg cells.
Methods: Cell viability, lymphocyte proliferation, gene expression (T-bet and FoxP3), and cytokine production by DCs (TNF-α, IL-10, IL-6 and IL-1β) and lymphocytes (IFN-γ and TGF-β) were analyzed.
Around one third of epilepsies are drug-resistant. For these patients, seizures may be reduced or cured by surgically removing the epileptogenic zone (EZ), which is the portion of the brain giving rise to seizures. If noninvasive data are not sufficiently lateralizing or localizing, the EZ may need to be localized by precise implantation of intracranial electroencephalography (iEEG) electrodes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDifferent propolis samples can be obtained in Brazil, such as green, brown and red. Studies related to Brazilian red propolis (BRP) have increased in the last few years, so the aim of this study was to investigate its effects on the prostate cell lines LNCaP and PC-3 and on human monocytes. BRP chemical composition was analyzed by HPLC-DAD, the viability of monocyte and cancer cell by MTT assay.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWorkload Control (WLC) is a production planning and control system conceived to reduce queuing times of job-shop systems, and to offer a solution to the lead time syndrome; a critical issue that often bewilders make-to-order manufacturers. Nowadays, advantages of WLC are unanimously acknowledged, but real successful stories are still limited. This paper starts from the lack of a consistent way to assess performance of WLC, an important burden for its acceptance in the industry.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGenome size (GS) or DNA nuclear content is considered a useful index for making inferences about evolutionary models and life history in animals, including taxonomic, biogeographical, and ecological scenarios. However, patterns of GS variation and their causes in crustaceans are still poorly understood. This study aimed to describe the GS of five Neotropical non-gambarelloides shrimps (, and ) and compare the C-values of all Caridea infraorder in terms of geography and phylogenetics.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGMMA are outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) released from Gram-negative bacteria genetically modified to enhance OMVs formation that have been shown to be optimal systems to enhance immunogenicity of protein antigens. Here, we selected factor H binding protein (fHbp) and used the conjugation chemistry as a tool to alter antigen orientation on GMMA. Indeed, fHbp was randomly linked to GMMA or selectively attached via the N-terminus to mimic native presentation of the protein on the bacterial surface.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSemiology describes the evolution of symptoms and signs during epileptic seizures and contributes to the evaluation of individuals with focal drug-resistant epilepsy for curative resection. Semiology varies in complexity from elementary sensorimotor seizures arising from primary cortex to complex behaviours and automatisms emerging from distributed cerebral networks. Detailed semiology interpreted by expert epileptologists may point towards the likely site of seizure onset, but this process is subjective.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt Immunopharmacol
August 2022
Preeclampsia (PE) is a multifactorial disease that is characterized by inflammation. Some of the factors responsible for this inflammation are the cells of the innate and adaptive immune systems and their interactions. The use of natural products, such as silibinin (SB), can contribute to the control of this inflammation and gestational success.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Inflam
February 2022
AIRmax and AIRmin mice strains were selected according to the intensity of their acute inflammatory responsiveness. Previous studies have shown that AIR mice differ in their resistance to chemically induced skin tumors and in the development of melanoma metastases, in addition to differences in neutrophil and NK cells activity. In the present work, we aimed to evaluate whether the difference of susceptibility to murine melanoma is associated with NK cytotoxic activity against Yac.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRes Vet Sci
July 2022
The canine transmissible venereal tumor (CTVT) is a transplantable cancer with the ability evade the immune system, despite strict immune surveillance of the host; in this context, the relationship between inflammatory infiltrate and CTVT prognosis is not entirely understood. Natural canine transmissible venereal tumors of 22 dogs were evaluated for tumor/host interaction through clinical and epidemiological data, cyto-histopathological and cytogenetic findings and, mainly, cell-mediated immune response. We performed analysis on dogs with naturally acquired disease to provide information from the study of CTVT biology in its natural course, as the clinical evolution of the natural tumor in the host is not yet as well known as in the laboratory.
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