Malnutrition-Related Liver Steatosis, CONUT Score and Poor Clinical Outcomes in an Internal Medicine Department.

Fatty liver disease has been identified as a marker of malnutrition in different clinical settings. Recently, the COntrolling NUTritional status score (CONUT score) emerged as a promising tool for malnutrition assessment. Our aim was to evaluate short-term outcomes among patients with malnutrition-related liver steatosis in an Internal Medicine department.

Targeting DNA2 overcomes metabolic reprogramming in multiple myeloma.

DNA damage resistance is a major barrier to effective DNA-damaging therapy in multiple myeloma (MM). To discover mechanisms through which MM cells overcome DNA damage, we investigate how MM cells become resistant to antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) therapy targeting Interleukin enhancer binding factor 2 (ILF2), a DNA damage regulator that is overexpressed in 70% of MM patients whose disease has progressed after standard therapies have failed. Here, we show that MM cells undergo adaptive metabolic rewiring to restore energy balance and promote survival in response to DNA damage activation.

Barotrauma in Coronavirus Disease 2019 Patients Undergoing Invasive Mechanical Ventilation: A Systematic Literature Review.

Objective: There are concerns of a high barotrauma rate in coronavirus disease 2019 patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome receiving invasive mechanical ventilation. However, a few studies were published, and reported rates were highly variable. We performed a systematic literature review to identify rates of barotrauma, pneumothorax, and pneumomediastinum in coronavirus disease 2019 acute respiratory distress syndrome patients receiving invasive mechanical ventilation.

Antibodies to EGF Receptor Family Members Can Upregulate Tumor Immunity.

Immunologic mechanisms influence how a cancer patient responds to therapy. Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to the epidermal growth factor receptor are clinically approved, and a lung cancer vaccine inducing antibodies to epidermal growth factor (EGF) has some beneficial clinical effects. We tested the hypothesis that mAbs to epidermal growth factor receptor, EGF, and tumor growth factor alpha (TGF-α), in addition to any other effects, can facilitate the generation of a tumor-destructive immunologic response.

Role of 1q21 in Multiple Myeloma: From Pathogenesis to Possible Therapeutic Targets.

Multiple myeloma (MM) is characterized by an accumulation of malignant plasma cells (PCs) in the bone marrow (BM). The amplification of 1q21 is one of the most common cytogenetic abnormalities occurring in around 40% of patients and 70% of relapsed/refractory MM. Patients with this unfavorable cytogenetic abnormality are considered to be high risk with a poor response to standard therapies.

Application of Next-Generation Sequencing for the Genomic Characterization of Patients with Smoldering Myeloma.

Genomic analysis could contribute to a better understanding of the biological determinants of the evolution of multiple myeloma (MM) precursor disease and an improved definition of high-risk patients. To assess the feasibility and value of next-generation sequencing approaches in an asymptomatic setting, we performed a targeted gene mutation analysis and a genome-wide assessment of copy number alterations (CNAs) by ultra-low-pass whole genome sequencing (ULP-WGS) in six patients with monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance and 25 patients with smoldering MM (SMM). Our comprehensive genomic characterization highlighted heterogeneous but substantial values of the tumor fraction, especially in SMM; a rather high degree of genomic complexity, in terms of both mutations and CNAs, and inter-patient variability; a higher incidence of gene mutations and CNAs in SMM, confirming ongoing evolution; intraclonal heterogeneity; and instances of convergent evolution.

Anatomical meningo-orbital band evaluation and clinical implications: a cadaveric dissection study.

Background: The meningo-orbital band (MOB) is a dural structure which runs around the superior orbital fissure (SOF) tethering the frontotemporal basal dura to the periorbita, through the SOF. MOB division is important to expose and remove the anterior clinoid process, to access to proximal carotid artery and cavernous sinus area. The aim of this study was to measure how the MOB could be safely incised without cranial nerves and cavernous sinus injuries.

Haploidentical hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in adults using the αβTCR/CD19-based depletion of G-CSF-mobilized peripheral blood progenitor cells.

In patients with hematological malignancies at high risk for relapse, a mismatched hematopoietic stem cells transplants can be offered with no undue delay between decision-making and transplantation as virtually all patients have a full-haplotype mismatched member who could serve immediately as a donor. Using a T-cell depletion approach, these patients can benefit from a graft-vs-leukemia effect in the absence of both acute and chronic graft-vs-host disease. Over the past decade, efforts have concentrated on developing new conditioning regimens, optimizing the graft processing and improving the posttransplant immunological recovery.

Lenalidomide increases human dendritic cell maturation in multiple myeloma patients targeting monocyte differentiation and modulating mesenchymal stromal cell inhibitory properties.

The use of Lenalidomide (LEN), to reverse tumor-mediated immune suppression and amplify multiple myeloma-specific immunity is currently being explored. Particularly, LEN effects on dendritic cells (DCs) are still unclear. In this study, we investigated the potential effect of LEN on DC differentiation and activity.

Five-year retrospective Italian multicenter study of visceral leishmaniasis treatment.

The treatment of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is poorly standardized in Italy in spite of the existing evidence. All consecutive patients with VL admitted at 15 Italian centers as inpatients or outpatients between January 2004 and December 2008 were retrospectively considered; outcome data at 1 year after treatment were obtained for all but 1 patient. Demographic characteristics, underlying diseases, diagnostic procedures, treatment regimens and outcomes, as well as side effects were recorded.

Rheumatic symptoms in patients with human immunodeficiency virus are related to levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha but not to viral load.

Infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) can lead to osteoarticular involvement, usually in the late stages. The pathogenesis of these symptoms has usually been attributed to viral load or to dysregulated cytokine production. We evaluated the presence of rheumatic symptoms and levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha viral load and CD4 count in 46 patients with HIV from southern Italy.

Enzymatic degradation of 2,6-dichlorophenol by horseradish peroxidase: UV-visible and mass spectrometry characterization of the reaction products [corrected].

The reaction mechanism of the oxidation of 2,6-dichlorophenol (2,6-DCP) by horseradish peroxidase (HRP) and H2O2 has been investigated and the reaction products have been characterized by UV-visible and mass spectrometry. Evidence for the dimerization of 2,6-DCP to 3,3',5,5'-tetrachloro-4,4'-dihydroxybiphenyl and the subsequent fast oxidation of this product to the corresponding 3,3',5,5'-tetrachlorodiphenoquinone have been collected. The reaction rate was found to decrease markedly as soon as the pH was raised, with a clear inflection point at pH congruent with 6.

Inhibition of macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) tautomerase and biological activities by acetaminophen metabolites.

The cytokine macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) has emerged to be an important regulator of the inflammatory response and is critically involved in the development of septic shock, arthritis, and glomerulonephritis. Although the biological activities of MIF are presumed to require a receptor-based mechanism of action, the protein is also a tautomerase and has a catalytically active N-terminal proline that is invariant in structurally homologous bacterial isomerases. This observation raises the possibility that MIF may exert its biological action via an enzymatic reaction.

Molecular cloning and chromosomal localization of a pseudogene related to the human acyl-CoA binding protein/diazepam binding inhibitor.

The acyl-CoA binding protein (ACBP) and the diazepam binding inhibitor (DBI) or endozepine are independent isolates of a single 86-amino-acid, 10-kDa protein. ACBP/DBI is highly conserved between species and has been identified in several diverse organisms, including human, cow, rat, frog, duck, insects, plants, and yeast. Although the genomic locus has not yet been cloned in humans, complementary DNA clones with different 5' ends have been isolated and characterized.

The role of amphiregulin in breast cancer.

Amphiregulin (AR) is an epidermal growth factor (EGF)-related peptide that operates exclusively through the EGF receptor and that can bind to heparin. AR also possesses nuclear localization sequences in the extended NH2-terminal region suggesting an additional intracellular site of action. AR mRNA and protein expression have been detected in primary human mammary epithelial cell strains, nontransformed human mammary epithelial cell lines, several human breast cancer cell lines, and primary human breast carcinomas.

The genes for oncostatin M (OSM) and leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) are tightly linked on human chromosome 22.

Oncostatin M (OSM) and leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) are members of a family of cytokines that regulate the proliferation and differentiation of a variety of cell types. In this report, cDNA probes specific for OSM and LIF were hybridized to DNA from somatic cell hybrids containing defined regions of human chromosome 22, and the gene for human OSM was found to segregate with that of LIF. Southern analysis of high-molecular-weight DNA that had been digested with rare-cutting restriction enzymes and analyzed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis showed identical hybridization patterns with both probes.