Publications by authors named "Scharffetter-Kochanek K"

The European Federation of Societies for Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology (EFSUMB) has been publishing guidelines, position papers and also technical reviews. In addition, comments have been published for illustration of such papers including the hepatobiliary system, pancreas, lung and other organs. In the current paper, we aim to summarize the typical sonographic findings of the most commonly seen cutaneous neoplasms.

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The distribution of biomolecules within cells changes upon aging and diseases. To quantitatively determine the spatial distribution of components inside cells, we built the user-friendly open-source 3D-cell-image analysis platform Cell Detection and Analysis of Intensity Lounge (CellDetail). The algorithm within CellDetail is based on the concept of the dipole moment.

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Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have gained tremendous interest due to their overall potent pro-regenerative and immunomodulatory properties. In recent years, various in vitro and preclinical studies have investigated different priming ("licensing") approaches to enhance MSC functions for specific therapeutic purposes. In this study, we primed bone marrow-derived human MSCs (hMSCs) with an inflammation cocktail designed to mimic the elevated levels of inflammatory mediators found in serum of patients with severe injuries, such as bone fractures.

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Oocytes play a crucial role in transmitting maternal mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), essential for the continuation of species. However, the effects of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) on mammalian oocyte maturation and mtDNA maintenance remain unclear. We investigated this by conditionally knocking out the Sod2 gene in primordial follicles, elevating mitochondrial matrix ROS levels from early oocyte stages.

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Article Synopsis
  • Cockayne syndrome (CS) is a genetic disorder causing developmental delays, multiple organ issues, and symptoms resembling premature aging.
  • The study found that CS shares significant gene expression characteristics with neurodegenerative diseases, particularly Huntington's disease (HD), highlighting disruptions in ribosomal biogenesis and protein stability in CS patient cells.
  • Research using cell models demonstrated that the mutant form of the Huntingtin protein in HD leads to similar problems in ribosomal function and overall protein homeostasis, suggesting a common pathway in neurodegeneration between CS and HD.
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  • * New research tools are helping scientists study senescence more effectively, but identifying senescent cells remains challenging because of a lack of clear markers.
  • * The "minimum information for cellular senescence experimentation in vivo" (MICSE) guidelines offer a comprehensive resource on senescence markers in different organisms and types of tissues to enhance the study of senescent cells.
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  • - Atypical fibroxanthoma (AFX) and pleomorphic dermal sarcoma (PDS) are rare tumors that require careful differentiation, as PDS can spread while AFX does not infiltrate beyond the dermis.
  • - A study involving 13 patients found that preoperative sonography accurately distinguished between AFX and PDS in all cases, even changing the diagnosis in 3 patients, which was confirmed post-surgery.
  • - Using ultrasound can enhance the clinical diagnosis, speed up treatment, and improve patient care, as AFX can be treated with micrographic surgery while PDS requires more extensive surgical approaches and lymph node evaluation.
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Ultrasound and high-frequency ultrasound assessment of melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer in the pre-therapeutical setting is becoming increasingly popular in the field of dermatosurgery and dermatooncology, as it can provide clinicians with relevant, "in vivo" parameters regarding tumor lateral and depth extension as well as potential locoregional spread, cancelling the need of more extensive imaging methods and avoiding a delay in diagnosis. Furthermore, preoperative sonography and color Doppler can aid in orienting the clinical diagnosis, being able in numerous situations to differentiate between benign and malignant lesions, which require a different therapeutic approach. This preoperative knowledge is of paramount importance for planning an individualized treatment regimen.

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  • * An in vitro model was created by coculturing skin-derived ABCB5 MSCs with M1-polarized macrophages to measure the secretion of interleukin 1 receptor antagonist (IL-1RA) as a marker of anti-inflammatory potency, using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for analysis.
  • * The study successfully established a reproducible assay that confirms effective MSC stimulation in an inflammatory environment, demonstrating low failure rates in product testing and providing useful data for clinical efficacy comparisons.
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Background And Objectives: The knowledge of depth infiltration in non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) using pre-operative ultrasound could enable clinicians to choose the most adequate therapeutic approach, avoiding unnecessary surgeries and expensive imaging methods, delaying diagnosis and treatment. Our single-center retrospective study determined the usefulness of high-frequency ultrasound (HFUS) for depth infiltration assessment in auricular and nasal NMSC and assessed the subsequent change in therapeutic approach.

Patients And Methods: In 60 NMSC cases, we assessed the accuracy of HFUS in cartilaginous/bone infiltration detection as well as the correlation of sonographic and histological parameters.

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The naked mole-rat (NMR) Heterocephalus glaber (from the Greek/latin words ἕτερος, heteros = divergent, κεφαλή, kephalē = head and glabra = hairless) was first described by Rüppell (Fig. 1) and belongs to the Hystricognath (from the Greek words ὕστριξ, hystrix = porcupine and γνάθος, gnathos = jaw) as a suborder of rodents. NMR are characterized by the highest longevity among rodents and reveal a profound cancer resistance.

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Background: Cellular senescence is the main cause of skin and organ aging and is associated with a wide range of aging-related diseases.

Objectives: To understand which senolytics, senomorphics, and cell-based therapies have been developed to alleviate and even rejuvenate skin aging and reduce cellular senescence.

Methods: Basic literature for the mode of action of senolytics and senomorphics and their clinical perspectives in daily routine are discussed.

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Skin is the largest human organ with easily noticeable biophysical manifestations of aging. As human tissues age, there is chronological accumulation of biophysical changes due to internal and environmental factors. Skin aging leads to decreased elasticity and the loss of dermal matrix integrity via degradation.

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Mutations in a broad variety of genes can provoke the severe childhood disorder trichothiodystrophy (TTD) that is classified as a DNA repair disease or a transcription syndrome of RNA polymerase II. In an attempt to identify the common underlying pathomechanism of TTD we performed a knockout/knockdown of the two unrelated TTD factors TTDN1 and RNF113A and investigated the consequences on ribosomal biogenesis and performance. Interestingly, interference with these TTD factors created a nearly uniform impact on RNA polymerase I transcription with downregulation of UBF, disturbed rRNA processing and reduction of the backbone of the small ribosomal subunit rRNA 18S.

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The preoperative assessment of infiltration depth in melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer by means of high-frequency ultrasound (≥18 MhZ) is essential for optimizing the therapeutic approach in our patients. Often, histologically confirmed skin tumors are directly referred to surgical departments for resection, and sonography is increasingly helping us identify those subjects who are no longer candidates for extensive surgical interventions. In cases of deep tumor infiltration, with potential surgical failure e.

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TFIIH is a complex essential for transcription of protein-coding genes by RNA polymerase II, DNA repair of UV-lesions and transcription of rRNA by RNA polymerase I. Mutations in TFIIH cause the cancer prone DNA-repair disorder xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) and the developmental and premature aging disorders trichothiodystrophy (TTD) and Cockayne syndrome. A total of 50% of the TTD cases are caused by TFIIH mutations.

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Article Synopsis
  • Diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) often resist standard treatments, leading to severe health risks; ABCB5 mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) could serve as a promising new option due to their healing and anti-inflammatory properties.* -
  • The study investigated the angiogenic capabilities of ABCB5 MSCs, showing that they can express factors necessary for blood vessel formation and enhance healing in animal models with ischemia.* -
  • A clinical trial demonstrated the safety and effectiveness of applying ABCB5 MSCs to hard-to-treat DFUs, potentially offering a new treatment avenue for those suffering from chronic wounds.*
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Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a neuroendocrine skin cancer of the elderly, with high metastatic potential and poor prognosis. In particular, the primary resistance to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) in metastatic (m)MCC patients represents a challenge not yet met by any efficient treatment modality. Herein, we describe a novel therapeutic concept with short-interval, low-dose Lutetium (Lu)-high affinity (HA)-DOTATATE [Lu]Lu-HA-DOTATATE peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (SILD-PRRT) in combination with PD-1 ICI to induce remission in patients with ICI-resistant mMCC.

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Ultrasonography (US) is a modern, in vivo imaging method, which is increasingly being used in dermatology as a complementary tool to clinical examination and dermoscopy. At higher frequencies (15 MHz and above), US is an established method for assessing benign and malignant skin lesions, locoregional staging, monitoring the therapeutic efficacy in various inflammatory skin conditions, and patient follow-up. One field, which may increasingly benefit from performant imaging techniques such as US is dermatologic surgery.

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Osteoporosis is a systemic metabolic skeletal disease characterized by low bone mass and strength associated with fragility fractures. Oxidative stress, which results from elevated intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and arises in the aging organism, is considered one of the critical factors contributing to osteoporosis. Mitochondrial (mt)ROS, as the superoxide anion (O2-) generated during mitochondrial respiration, are eliminated in the young organism by antioxidant defense mechanisms, including superoxide dismutase 2 (SOD2), the expression and activity of which are decreased in aging mesenchymal progenitor cells, accompanied by increased mtROS production.

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Melanoma is the most dangerous skin malignancy due to its strong metastatic potential with high mortality. Activation of crucial signaling pathways enforcing melanoma progression depends on phosphorylation of distinct tyrosine kinases and oxidative stress. We here investigated the effect of a -coumarin derivative [3, 3'- ((3″, 5'-Dichlorophenyl) methylene) (4-hydroxy-2-chromen-2-one)] [3, 3'- (3, 5-DCPBC)] on human melanoma cell survival, growth, proliferation, migration, intracellular redox state, and deciphered associated signaling pathways.

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