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Topic Review
Leptin in NAFLD
NAFLD is a worldwide health problem due to its increasing prevalence, so the research on its diagnosis, follow-up, and subsequent treatment has become essential. Moreover, NAFLD requires a multidisciplinary approach given its high risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.
  • 709
  • 07 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Significant Cell Populations for Regenerative Skin Wound Therapies
Considerable progresses have been accomplished in cell biology fields, and the existing evidence has revealed the effectiveness of cell therapy for pathologic wounds. Transplantation of keratinocytes, fibroblasts, platelets, and more recently, stem cells (SCs) can promote wound healing through de-novo synthesis, secretion, and release of a wide range of cell signaling molecules such as growth factors (GFs) and cytokines.
  • 708
  • 16 Dec 2022
Topic Review
Metabolic Dysfunction Biomarkers as Predictors of Early Diabetes
Lifestyle interventions must be made with considerable involvement of clinicians, and it should be considered that not all patients will respond in the same manner. Individuals with a high risk of diabetic progression will present compensatory metabolic mechanisms, translated into metabolic biomarkers that will therefore show potential predictive value to differentiate between progressors/non-progressors in T2D. Specific novel biomarkers are being proposed to entrap prediabetes and target progressors to achieve better outcomes.
  • 706
  • 15 Dec 2021
Topic Review
Gut–Vascular Barrier in Intestinal and Extraintestinal Diseases
The intestinal barrier, with its multiple layers, is the first line of defense between the outside world and the intestine. Its disruption, resulting in increased intestinal permeability, is a recognized pathogenic factor of intestinal and extra-intestinal diseases. The identification of a gut–vascular barrier (GVB), consisting of a structured endothelium below the epithelial layer, has led to new evidence on the etiology and management of diseases of the gut–liver axis and the gut–brain axis, with recent implications in oncology as well. The gut–brain axis is involved in several neuroinflammatory processes. In particular, the recent description of a choroid plexus vascular barrier regulating brain permeability under conditions of gut inflammation identifies the endothelium as a key regulator in maintaining tissue homeostasis and health.
  • 705
  • 27 Feb 2023
Topic Review
Perinatal Factors Disturbing MEX miR-Regulated β Cell Homeostasis
The perinatal period is a time of fast physiological changes dependent on epigenetic programming. Adverse events may lead to epigenetic changes, with implications for health and disease. Epigenetic alterations have been linked to early life environmental stressors, including mode of delivery, famine, psychosocial stress, severe institutional deprivation and childhood abuse. Recent evidence points to an intensive exosome cross-talk between pancreatic β-cells and towards β-cells by transmitted exosomes from adipocytes, skeletal muscle cells, macrophages and T-lymphcytes. It is thus conceivable that milk exosomes (MEX) of human breast milk and their microRNA (miR) cargo also affect postnatal β-cells and promote their proliferation and mass expansion. Translational evidence indicates that human MEX miRs enhance mTORC1/c-Myc-driven β-cell proliferation. It is a matter of concern that maternal obesity, gestational diabetes, caesarean delivery and especially MEX-deficient infant formula feeding disturb physiological MEX miR signalling during the postnatal period thereby increasing the risk of type 2 diabetes later in life. In all mammals, MEX miR signalling fades after weaning. However, humans, who regularly consume pasteurized cow milk are continuously exposed to bioavailable bovine MEX miRs, which are identical in nucleotide sequence with human MEX miRs. Circumstantial evidence supports the view that bovine MEX miRs promote β-cell dedifferentiation back to the mTORC1-driven neonatal immature phenotype with reduced glucose-stimulated insulin secretion. MEX miR signalling, beneficial for the immature postnatal β-cell, turns into a pathogen for the mature adult β-cell. The human consumer should not be exposed to diabetogenic MEX and their miRs after the weaning period. Thus, the elimination of bovine MEX and their bioactive miRs is a promising approach for the prevention of type 2 diabetes and other MEX-related diseases of civilization.
  • 704
  • 19 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Atypical Femoral Fractures Related to Bisphosphonate Treatment
Atypical femoral fractures (AFF) are rare fragility fractures in the subtrocantheric or diaphysis femoral region associated with long-term bisphosphonate (BP) treatment. The etiology of AFF is still unclear even though a genetic basis is suggested. 
  • 702
  • 07 Feb 2022
Topic Review
Medulloblastoma Diagnosis
Medulloblastoma is a common malignant brain tumor in children. A recent paradigm shift in the diagnostics of medulloblastoma allowed the distinction of four major groups defined by genetic data rather than histology.
  • 702
  • 17 Sep 2024
Topic Review
Anti-Islet Autoantibodies in Type 1 Diabetes
Anti-islet autoantibodies serve as key markers in immune-mediated type 1 diabetes (T1D) and slowly progressive T1D (SPIDDM), also known as latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA). Autoantibodies to insulin (IAA), glutamic acid decarboxylase (GADA), tyrosine phosphatase-like protein IA-2 (IA-2A), and zinc transporter 8 (ZnT8A) are currently employed in the diagnosis, pathological analysis, and prediction of T1D. GADA can also be detected in non-diabetic patients with autoimmune diseases other than T1D and may not necessarily reflect insulitis. Conversely, IA-2A and ZnT8A serve as surrogate markers of pancreatic β-cell destruction. A combinatorial analysis of these four anti-islet autoantibodies demonstrated that 93–96% of acute-onset T1D and SPIDDM cases were diagnosed as immune-mediated T1D, while the majority of fulminant T1D cases were autoantibody-negative. 
  • 701
  • 31 Jul 2023
Topic Review
Cyclodextrins in Cancer Immunotherapy
Tumor immunotherapy holds great potential for the future of advanced tumor therapy. The application of Cyclodextrin (CD) for immunotherapy provides new opportunities for overcoming various obstacles.
  • 698
  • 05 Sep 2023
Topic Review
Thyroid Autoimmunity and SARS-CoV-2 Infection
The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the etiological culprit of COronaVIrus Disease 19 (COVID-19), can enter the cells via the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor, which has been found in several tissues including in endocrine organs, such as the ovaries, testes, pancreas, and thyroid. Several thyroid disorders have been associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection [subacute thyroiditis (SAT), thyrotoxicosis, and non-thyroidal illness syndrome (NTIS)] and, in part, they are believed to be secondary to the local virus replication within the gland cells. However, as documented for other viruses, also SARS-CoV-2 seems to interfere with several aspects of the immune system, inducing the synthesis of autoantibodies and triggering latent or new onset autoimmune disease (AID), including autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD), such as Hashimoto Thyroiditis (HT) and Graves’ disease (GD). Several mechanisms have been hypothesized to explain this induction of autoimmunity by SARS-CoV-2 infection: the immune system hyper-stimulation, the molecular mimicry between self-antigens of the host and the virus, neutrophils extracellular traps, and finally the virus induced transcriptional changes of the immune genes; nonetheless, more evidence is needed especially from large long-term cohort studies involving COVID-19 patients, to establish or reject this pathogenetic relationship.
  • 698
  • 12 Oct 2023
Topic Review
Molecular Biomarkers for Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Diagnosis and prognosis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)—a chronic inflammation that affects the gastrointestinal tract of patients—are challenging, as most clinical symptoms are not specific to IBD, and are often seen in other inflammatory diseases, such as intestinal infections, drug-induced colitis, and monogenic diseases. Laboratory testing of blood or feces has the advantage of being non-invasive, rapid, cost-effective, and standardizable. Although the specificity and accuracy of laboratory testing alone need to be improved, it is increasingly used to monitor disease activity or to diagnose suspected IBD cases in combination with endoscopy and/or imaging. 
  • 696
  • 27 Jul 2022
Topic Review
Human Papillomavirus E6&E7 Oncoproteins for Cervical Cancer
Cervical cancer is recognized as a serious public health problem since it remains one of the most common cancers with a high mortality rate among women despite existing preventative, screening, and treatment approaches. Since Human Papillomavirus (HPV) was recognized as the causative agent, the preventative HPV vaccines have made great progress over the last few years. However, people already infected with the virus require an effective treatment that would ensure long-term survival and a cure.
  • 695
  • 24 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Gut Microbiota-Derived Metabolites
The tumor microenvironment (TME) comprises various non-malignant cells and soluble factors that surround cancer cells and which have mostly a pro-tumorigenic role. Growing evidence indicates that commensal bacteria are involved in the pathogenesis and progression but also in the suppression of various human cancers.
  • 695
  • 15 Mar 2023
Topic Review
Oncology Vaccines
Oncology vaccines represent a breakthrough in oncology, using the principles of immunotherapy to stimulate the body's immune system to fight cancer, providing a more targeted approach with fewer side effects than traditional treatments such as surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy.
  • 695
  • 27 Oct 2023
Topic Review
Educating Extracellular Vesicles to Improve Bone Regeneration
The incidence of bone-related disorders is continuously growing as the aging of the population in developing countries continues to increase. Although therapeutic interventions for bone regeneration exist, their effectiveness is questioned, especially under certain circumstances, such as critical size defects. This gap of curative options has led to the search for new and more effective therapeutic approaches for bone regeneration; among them, the possibility of using extracellular vesicles (EVs) is gaining ground. EVs are secreted, biocompatible, nano-sized vesicles that play a pivotal role as messengers between donor and target cells, mediated by their specific cargo. Evidence shows that bone-relevant cells secrete osteoanabolic EVs, whose functionality can be further improved by several strategies. This, together with the low immunogenicity of EVs and their storage advantages, make them attractive candidates for clinical prospects in bone regeneration. However, before EVs reach clinical translation, a number of concerns should be addressed. Unraveling the EVs’ mode of action in bone regeneration is one of them; the molecular mediators driving their osteoanabolic effects in acceptor cells are beginning to be uncovered. Increasing the functional and bone targeting abilities of EVs are also matters of intense research.
  • 694
  • 22 Feb 2022
Topic Review
Actionable Mutations Detected via ddPCR
Liquid biopsies are considered a good alternative and complementary tool for cancer management. The study of specific biomarkers by high throughput techniques could guide clinicians in the monitoring of disease evolution during the administration of targeted therapies. Although ddPCR has demonstrated its high sensitivity and specificity rates for detecting rare actionable mutations, further studies are required to implement it in all clinical laboratories for precision medicine.
  • 693
  • 02 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Fat Pad-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells
Cartilage is frequently damaged with a limited capacity for repair. Current treatment strategies are insufficient as they form fibrocartilage as opposed to hyaline cartilage, and do not prevent the progression of degenerative changes. There is increasing interest in the use of autologous mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) for tissue regeneration. MSCs that are used to treat articular cartilage defects must not only present a robust cartilaginous production capacity, but they also must not cause morbidity at the harvest site. In addition, they should be easy to isolate from the tissue and expand in culture without terminal differentiation. The source of MSCs is one of the most important factors that may affect treatment. The infrapatellar fat pad (IPFP) acts as an important reservoir for MSC and is located in the anterior compartment of the knee joint in the extra-synovial area.   
  • 693
  • 30 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Hypoxia in Cancer Progression
A clear association between hypoxia and cancer has heretofore been established; however, it has not been completely developed. In this sense, the understanding of the tumoral microenvironment is critical to dissect the complexity of cancer, including the reduction in oxygen distribution inside the tumoral mass, defined as tumoral hypoxia. Moreover, hypoxia not only influences the tumoral cells but also the surrounding cells, including those related to the inflammatory processes.
  • 693
  • 19 May 2022
Topic Review
Trans-Regulatory KLF14 Gene
Krüpple-Like family of transcription factor-14 (KLF14) is a master trans-regulatory gene that has multiple biological regulatory functions and is involved in many pathological mechanisms. It controls the expressions of several other genes which are involved in multiple regulatory functions. 
  • 693
  • 28 Jun 2023
Topic Review
Dietary Advanced Glycation End Products and Insulin Resistance
Insulin resistance (IR) is commonly observed during aging and is at the root of many of the chronic nontransmissible diseases experienced as people grow older. Many factors may play a role in causing IR, but diet is undoubtedly an important one. Whether it is total caloric intake or specific components of the diet, the factors responsible remain to be confirmed. Of the many dietary influences that may play a role in aging-related decreased insulin sensitivity, advanced glycation end products (AGEs) appear particularly important.
  • 693
  • 28 Jun 2023
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