Biological evaluation of materials for cardiovascular application: the role of the short-term inflammatory response in endothelial regeneration.

Because of their suitable bio-mechanical properties, polymeric materials, such as Poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA), and poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA), are often used in the biomedical field, in particular for cardiovascular applications. Implanted materials induce several events related to the inflammatory reaction, such as macrophage adhesion and activation with following cytokine release. This work considered the effect of macrophage adhesion and related cytokine release on endothelial cells (PAOEC) proliferation and migration.

Circulating tumor cells as a diagnostic test for malignant pleural mesothelioma.

The detection of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) may have important prognostic and therapeutic implications; therefore, we expect a broader range of tumor types in which CTC detection and count will routinely be conducted in the coming years. This article evaluates the application of CTC as a potentially useful diagnostic and prognostic test in malignant pleural mesothelioma (MMe). MMe is a rare but increasingly prevalent, highly aggressive asbestos exposure-related tumor.

Meningococcal vaccine evolution.

Neisseria meningitidis is a leading cause of bacterial sepsis and meningitis worldwide. Invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) can develop rapidly and is associated with high mortality and morbidity. Case fatality in developed countries averages 10% and higher rates are reported in less prosperous regions.

PARP1 inhibition affects pleural mesothelioma cell viability and uncouples AKT/mTOR axis via SIRT1.

Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma (MMe) is a rare but increasingly prevalent, highly aggressive cancer with poor prognosis. The aetiology of MMe is essentially a function of previous exposure to asbestos fibres, which are considered to be an early-stage carcinogen. Asbestos is toxic to human mesothelial cells (HMCs), that activate the nuclear enzyme poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP1) to repair DNA.

The effect of mechanical strain on soft (cardiovascular) and hard (bone) tissues: common pathways for different biological outcomes.

Mechanical stress plays a pivotal role in developing and maintaining tissues functionalities. Cells are constantly subjected to strain and compressive forces that are sensed by specialized membrane mechanosensors and converted in biochemical signals able to differently influence cellular behavior in terms of surviving, differentiation and extracellular matrix remodeling. This review focuses on the effects of mechanical strain on soft and hard tissues.

Delayed carotid pseudoaneurysm: a life-threatening complication after endoscopic sinus surgery.

Internal carotid artery pseudoaneurysm is a rare but potentially lethal complication of sinus surgery. We present 2 cases of delayed carotid pseudoaneurysm development after internal carotid laceration during functional sinus surgery for chronic sinusitis to emphasize the need to follow up the patients with profuse bleeding perioperatively and to identify when to suspect iatrogenic vascular malformations.

De novo computer-aided design of novel antiviral agents.

Computer-aided drug design techniques have become an integral part of the drug discovery process. In particular, de novo methodologies can be useful to identify putative ligands for a specific target relying only on the structural information of the target itself. Here we discuss the basic de novo approaches available and their application in antiviral drug design.

Agarose gel as biomaterial or scaffold for implantation surgery: characterization, histological and histomorphometric study on soft tissue response.

Maxillofacial, orthopedic, oral, and plastic surgery require materials for tissue augmentation, guided regeneration, and tissue engineering approaches. In this study, the aim was to develop and characterize a new extrudable hydrogel, based on agarose gel (AG; 1.5% wt) and to evaluate the local effects after subcutaneous implantation in comparison with collagen and hyaluronic acid.

The phytoestrogen 8-prenylnaringenin inhibits agonist-dependent activation of human platelets.

Background: Phytoestrogens are plant-derived polyphenolic compounds that exert beneficial effects on human health, mostly related to their estrogen mimetic activity. In particular a strong correlation between phytoestrogens intake and a lower risk of cardiovascular diseases has been reported. The flavanone 8-prenylnaringenin, extracted from hop flowers, has been identified as a novel phytoestrogen, unique with respect to estrogen receptors specificity and potency.

Effects of heavy metals and arbuscular mycorrhiza on the leaf proteome of a selected poplar clone: a time course analysis.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi establish a mutualistic symbiosis with the roots of most plant species. While receiving photosynthates, they improve the mineral nutrition of the plant and can also increase its tolerance towards some pollutants, like heavy metals. Although the fungal symbionts exclusively colonize the plant roots, some plant responses can be systemic.

Cardiovascular biomaterials: when the inflammatory response helps to efficiently restore tissue functionality?

The evaluation of biological host response to implanted materials permits the determination of the safety and biocompatibility of biomedical devices, prostheses and biomaterials. Once a biomaterial is introduced into the body to a corresponding implant site, a sequence of events occurs promoting the activation of inflammatory mediators such as leukocytes and the release of signaling molecules such as cytokines and growth factors, evoking an inflammatory and wound healing process. This review examines the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in the foreign body reaction, especially how cytokines impact the overall inflammatory response to devices.

A novel ubiquitin mark at the N-terminal tail of histone H2As targeted by RNF168 ubiquitin ligase.

Ubiquitination of histones plays a critical role in the regulation of several processes within the nucleus, including maintenance of genome stability and transcriptional regulation. The only known ubiquitination site on histones is represented by a conserved Lys residue located at the C terminus of the protein. Here, we describe a novel ubiquitin mark at the N-terminal tail of histone H2As consisting of two Lys residues at positions 13 and 15 (K13/K15).

Perifosine as a potential novel anti-cancer agent inhibits EGFR/MET-AKT axis in malignant pleural mesothelioma.

Background: PI3K/AKT signalling pathway is aberrantly active and plays a critical role for cell cycle progression of human malignant pleural mesothelioma (MMe) cells. AKT is one of the important cellular targets of perifosine, a novel bio-available alkylphospholipid that has displayed significant anti-proliferative activity in vitro and in vivo in several human tumour model systems and is currently being tested in clinical trials.

Methods: We tested Perifosine activity on human mesothelial cells and different mesothelioma cell lines, in order to provide evidence of its efficacy as single agent and combined therapy.

α2δ ligands act as positive modulators of adult hippocampal neurogenesis and prevent depression-like behavior induced by chronic restraint stress.

Although the role of adult hippocampal neurogenesis remains to be fully elucidated, several studies suggested that the process is involved in cognitive and emotional functions and is deregulated in various neuropsychiatric disorders, including major depression. Several psychoactive drugs, including antidepressants, can modulate adult neurogenesis. Here we show for the first time that the α2δ ligands gabapentin [1-(aminomethyl)cyclohexaneacetic acid] and pregabalin (PGB) [(S)-(+)-3-isobutyl-GABA or (S)-3-(aminomethyl)-5-methylhexanoic acid] can produce concentration-dependent increases in the numbers of newborn mature and immature neurons generated in vitro from adult hippocampal neural progenitor cells and, in parallel, a decrease in the number of undifferentiated precursor cells.

The biological response of poly(L-lactide) films modified by different biomolecules: role of the coating strategy.

The interactions between the surface of synthetic scaffolds and cells play an important role in tissue engineering applications. To improve these interactions, two strategies are generally followed: surface coating with large proteins and surface grafting with small peptides. The proteins and peptides more often used and derived from the extracellular matrix, are fibronectin, laminin, and their active peptides, RGD and SIKVAV, respectively.

Genotoxicity assessment in Eisenia andrei coelomocytes: a study of the induction of DNA damage and micronuclei in earthworms exposed to B[a]P- and TCDD-spiked soils.

Earthworms are useful indicators of soil quality and are widely used as model organisms in terrestrial ecotoxicology. The assessment of genotoxic effects caused by environmental pollutants is of great concern because of their relevance in carcinogenesis. In this work, the earthworm Eisenia andrei was exposed for 10 and 28 days to artificial standard soil contaminated with environmentally relevant concentrations of benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) (0.

Selective release of cytokines, chemokines, and growth factors by minced skin in vitro supports the effectiveness of autologous minced micrografts technique for chronic ulcer repair.

A new effective surgical procedure to repair chronic ulcers called minced micrografts technique has been recently reported. The technique consists in spreading a finely minced skin sample upon the wound bed. In this study, we investigate the in vitro release of cytokines (interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1α, and granulocyte-colony stimulating factor), chemokines (monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 and growth-related oncogene-α), and growth factors (platelet-derived growth factor, basic fibroblast growth factor, vascular endothelial growth factor, hepatocyte growth factor, and nerve growth factor) by minced (referred to as the minced sample) vs.

Predictors of attack severity and duration in multiple sclerosis: a prospective study.

Objective: To evaluate predictors of severity and duration of early Multiple Sclerosis (MS) attacks.

Methods: We analyzed 248 attacks in 95 patients in a prospective study. Severity: the difference between the EDSS score at the day of maximum worsening and the EDSS score before the onset of the attack.

High mobility group box protein-1 in wound repair.

High-mobility group box 1 protein (HMGB1), a member of highly conserved non-histone DNA binding protein family, has been studied as transcription factor and growth factor. Secreted extracellularly by activated monocytes and macrophages or passively released by necrotic or damaged cells, extracellular HMGB1 is a potent mediator of inflammation. Extracellular HMGB1 has apparently contrasting biological actions: it sustains inflammation (with the possible establishment of autoimmunity or of self-maintaining tissue damage), but it also activates and recruits stem cells, boosting tissue repair.

Dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate inhibits thrombin-induced platelet aggregation.

Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and its sulfated form, DHEA-S, are the most abundant steroids circulating in human blood. DHEA stimulates endothelial cells to release high amounts of nitric oxide in the circulation. Nitric oxide activates guanylyl cyclase in platelets thus decreasing the responsiveness of these cells to physiological agonists.

“Opposite semilunar” variant of Burow triangle in rotation and advancement flaps.

The Burow triangle is an expedient suitably conceived either to facilitate sliding of the flap and avoid folds due to differences in skin distension or to correct coaptation of 2 cutting edges with a different length. In some cases, the triangle cannot be drawn in the right position either because of a particular anatomic site, for example, in proximity to commissures and openings, or because it is contraindicated to avoid unwelcome scar lines. In these cases, a semilunar ablation opposite to the direction of Burow triangle could be a valuable alternative.

SAP-mediated inhibition of diacylglycerol kinase α regulates TCR-induced diacylglycerol signaling.

Diacylglycerol kinases (DGKs) metabolize diacylglycerol to phosphatidic acid. In T lymphocytes, DGKα acts as a negative regulator of TCR signaling by decreasing diacylglycerol levels and inducing anergy. In this study, we show that upon costimulation of the TCR with CD28 or signaling lymphocyte activation molecule (SLAM), DGKα, but not DGKζ, exits from the nucleus and undergoes rapid negative regulation of its enzymatic activity.

Isolated GHD: investigation and implication of JAK/STAT related genes before and after rhGH treatment.

Isolated GH deficiency (IGHD) is a rare disorder that occurs as an idiopathic form in most cases. The pathway JAK/STAT promotes cellular growth and it could be implicated in this condition. In order to characterize IGHD in the pediatric population and identify genes differently expressed before and after GH therapy, we performed a quantitative evaluation of 84 genes related to the JAK/STAT pathway which, by promoting cellular growth.

Coordinated sumoylation and ubiquitination modulate EGF induced EGR1 expression and stability.

Background: Human early growth response-1 (EGR1) is a member of the zing-finger family of transcription factors induced by a range of molecular and environmental stimuli including epidermal growth factor (EGF). In a recently published paper we demonstrated that integrin/EGFR cross-talk was required for Egr1 expression through activation of the Erk1/2 and PI3K/Akt/Forkhead pathways. EGR1 activity and stability can be influenced by many different post-translational modifications such as acetylation, phosphorylation, ubiquitination and the recently discovered sumoylation.

Macrophages in cancer and infectious diseases: the 'good' and the 'bad'.

Macrophages are crucial orchestrators of host defence and tissue homeostasis. Macrophages are heterogeneous and plastic cells that in response to different microenvironmental signals can mount a broad spectrum of different programs of polarized activation. In different pathological contexts including cancer and infectious diseases, macrophages diversity and plasticity may act as a double-edged sword.