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Topic Review
Phytoremediation of Cadmium
Cadmium (Cd) is one of the most toxic metals in the environment, and has noxious effects on plant growth and production. Cd-accumulating plants showed reduced growth and productivity. Therefore, remediation of this non-essential and toxic pollutant is a prerequisite. Plant-based phytoremediation methodology is considered as one a secure, environmentally friendly, and cost-effective approach for toxic metal remediation. Phytoremediating plants transport and accumulate Cd inside their roots, shoots, leaves, and vacuoles. Phytoremediation of Cd-contaminated sites through hyperaccumulator plants proves a ground-breaking and profitable choice to combat the contaminants. 
  • 906
  • 05 Aug 2021
Topic Review
Risk Factors for PJI following Primary TKA
Periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) is a major adverse event of primary total knee arthroplasty (TKA) from the patient’s perspective, and it is also costly for health care systems. Knowing the risk factors for PJI after TKA, especially those that are avoidable or controllable, is critical to minimizing (ideally preventing) this complication.
  • 902
  • 02 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Soluble Programmed Cell Death Ligand-1
The interaction of programmed cell death ligand-1 (PDL1) with its receptor PD1 inhibits T-cell responses. Blockade of this interaction with monoclonal antibodies leads to major antitumor effects. However, not all cancer patients respond well to anti-(PD-1/PD-L1) immunotherapy. The PD-L1 protein is expressed at the cell plasma membrane (mPD-L1), at the surface of exosomes (exoPD-L1), in cell nuclei (nPD-L1) and as a soluble circulating protein (sPD-L1). The aim of our analysis was to highlight the multiple variants of sPD-L1 generated either by the proteolytic cleavage of m/exoPD-L1 or by the alternative splicing of PD-L1 pre-mRNA. The objective was also to underline the presence and role of circulating sPD-L1 isoforms in multiple cancer indications and many other diseases (including chronic inflammatory and viral diseases), and under non-pathological conditions (pregnancy). sPD-L1 often represents a general marker of an inflammatory status. The pool of sPD-L1 proteins is an integral part of the highly dynamic PD-1/PD-L1 signaling pathway.
  • 901
  • 30 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Lemna Is Productive and Nutritious in Low Light
Land plants adjust growth rate, protein content, and antioxidant content in response to their environment. These acclimatory adjustments in plant form and function may require several days and development of a new leaf. An apparent lesser need for such acclimation is demonstrated here for the floating aquatic plant Lemna minor with a focus on its response to the growth light environment. Relevant features of L. minor include unusually high growth rates, photosynthetic capacities, and protein content coupled with the ability to produce high levels of photoprotective xanthophylls (which are essential human micronutrients) across a wide range of growth light environments without compromising photosynthetic efficiency.
  • 900
  • 26 May 2023
Topic Review
18 kDa Translocator Protein
Neuroactive steroids are potent modulators of microglial functions and are capable of counteracting their excessive reactivity. This action has mainly been ascribed to neuroactive steroids released from other sources, as microglia have been defined unable to produce neurosteroids de novo. Unexpectedly, immortalized murine microglia recently exhibited this de novo biosynthesis; herein, de novo neurosteroidogenesis was characterized in immortalized human microglia. The results demonstrated that C20 and HMC3 microglial cells constitutively express members of the neurosteroidogenesis multiprotein machinery—in particular, the transduceosome members StAR and TSPO, and the enzyme CYP11A1. Moreover, both cell lines produce pregnenolone and transcriptionally express the enzymes involved in neurosteroidogenesis. The high TSPO expression levels observed in microglia prompted us to assess its role in de novo neurosteroidogenesis. TSPO siRNA and TSPO synthetic ligand treatments were used to reduce and prompt TSPO function, respectively. The TSPO expression downregulation compromised the de novo neurosteroidogenesis and led to an increase in StAR expression, probably as a compensatory mechanism. 
  • 899
  • 06 May 2021
Topic Review
Atypical p38
The mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) p38 is an essential family of kinases, regulating responses to environmental stress and inflammation. There is an ever-increasing plethora of physiological and pathophysiological conditions attributed to p38 activity, ranging from cell division and embryonic development to the control of a multitude of diseases including retinal, cardiovascular, and neurodegenerative diseases, diabetes, and cancer. Despite the decades of intense investigation, a viable therapeutic approach to disrupt p38 signaling remains elusive. A growing body of evidence supports the pathological significance of an understudied atypical p38 signaling pathway. Atypical p38 signaling is driven by a direct interaction between the adaptor protein TAB1 and p38α, driving p38 autophosphorylation independent from the classical MKK3 and MKK6 pathways. 
  • 897
  • 22 Apr 2021
Topic Review
Pterostilbene and Cancer Epigenetics
Epigenetic aberrations are linked to sporadic breast cancer. Interestingly, certain dietary polyphenols with anti-cancer effects, such as pterostilbene (PTS), have been shown to regulate gene expression by altering epigenetic patterns. Our group has proposed the involvement of DNA methylation and DNA methyltransferase 3B (DNMT3B) as vital players in PTS-mediated suppression of candidate oncogenes and suggested a role of enhancers as target regions. 
  • 897
  • 24 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Pin1 involvement in Vascular Diseases
The vascular endothelium, the active inner layer of the blood vessel, releases a wide array of biologically active molecules acting in an autocrine or paracrine fashion, thereby controlling arterial structure and vasodilatory, thrombolytic, and vaso-protective functions. By controlling the change of the backbones of several cellular substrates, the peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase Pin1 acts as key fine-tuner and amplifier of multiple signaling pathways, thereby inducing several biological consequences, both in physiological and pathological conditions. Data from the literature indicate a prominent role of Pin1 in regulating vascular homeostasis. 
  • 897
  • 08 Dec 2021
Topic Review
Characteristics, Biogenesis and Functions of CircRNAs
Circular RNA (CircRNA), a single-stranded closed-loop RNA that lacks terminal 5′ caps and 3′ poly (A) tails, is more stable than linear RNA. CircRNA was first discovered in plant-infected viroids and was later observed in eukaryotes, although it was not produced via the back-splicing mechanism.
  • 896
  • 19 Oct 2023
Topic Review
Two-Pore Domain TASK Potassium Channels
TWIK-related acid-sensitive K+ (TASK) channels, including TASK-1, TASK-3, and TASK-5, are important members of the two-pore domain potassium (K2P) channel family. TASK-5 is not functionally expressed in the recombinant system. TASK channels are very sensitive to changes in extracellular pH and are active during all membrane potential periods. They are similar to other K2P channels in that they can create and use background-leaked potassium currents to stabilize resting membrane conductance and repolarize the action potential of excitable cells. TASK channels are expressed in both the nervous system and peripheral tissues, including excitable and non-excitable cells, and are widely engaged in pathophysiological phenomena, such as respiratory stimulation, pulmonary hypertension, arrhythmia, aldosterone secretion, cancers, anesthesia, neurological disorders, glucose homeostasis, and visual sensitivity. Therefore, they are important targets for innovative drug development. 
  • 896
  • 19 Dec 2022
Topic Review
Use of Native Versus Modified Hyaluronan in Products
Hyaluronan (HA) plays a fundamental role in maintaining the homeostasis on skin health. ative HA has a half-life of only 24–48 h in tissue and skin due to a fast-enzymatic degradation, making it unsuitable for internal use. The use of chemically modified HA improves stability, shelf-life, and viscoelasticity. Chemical derivatization and crosslinking impart appropriate mechanical properties and create an adequate macromolecular architecture.
  • 895
  • 23 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Melatonin Treatment of Pomegranate Trees
With the aim to study the effect of melatonin treatment of pomegranate trees on crop yield and fruit quality at harvest and during storage, two experiments were carried out in two consecutive years: 2017 and 2018. In the first year, trees were treated with melatonin (at 0.1 and 1 mM) along the developmental growth cycle and fruit quality parameters were evaluated at harvest and during storage at 10 °C for 90 days. Treatments with melatonin led to an increase of crop yield (number of fruits per tree and kg per tree), as well as higher fruit quality attributes, such as fruit size (diameter and weight), color, total soluble solids (TSS), and total acidity (TA), especially with the 0.1 mM dose. Then, in the second year, melatonin at 0.1 mM was selected for repeating the pre-harvest treatments with similar results in terms of crop yield and fruit quality parameters. During storage, pomegranate fruit treated with 0.1 mM melatonin maintained higher quality attributes than controls, such as TSS, TA, and firmness and lower weight losses were observed in fruit from treated trees, in both trials. In addition, the content of the major sugars (glucose and fructose) and organic acids (malic, succinic and ascorbic acid) were higher in melatonin-treated than in non-treated fruit. These results suggest that pre-harvest melatonin treatment could be a useful tool to increase pomegranate crop yield as well as fruit quality parameters at harvest and their maintenance during storage due to an effect of melatonin on reducing the postharvest ripening process.
  • 894
  • 25 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Life’s Mechanism
The state of ‘being alive’ is difficult to characterize because ‘life’ is currently defined using superficial features or long-term processes, rather than a single physical property unique to living things. Here, a mechanistic theory and definition of life is outlined, based on the observation that a disparate range of biomolecules share the principle of uniplanar conformation state changes that direct thermodynamic disequilibria into progressive motion to perform work.
  • 894
  • 24 Aug 2023
Topic Review
STAT6
Inflammation is the main driver of tumor initiation and progression in colitis-associated colorectal cancer (CAC). Recent findings have indicated that the signal transducer and activator of transcription 6 (STAT6) plays a fundamental role in the early stages of CAC, and STAT6 knockout (STAT6−/−) mice are highly resistant to CAC development. Regulatory T (Treg) cells play a major role in coordinating immunomodulation in cancer; however, the role of STAT6 in the induction and function of Treg cells is poorly understood. To clarify the contribution of STAT6 to CAC, STAT6−/− and wild type (WT) mice were subjected to an AOM/DSS regimen, and the frequency of peripheral and local Treg cells was determined during the progression of CAC. When STAT6 was lacking, a remarkable reduction in tumor growth was observed, which was associated with decreased inflammation and an increased number of CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ cells. STAT6 has a direct role in the induction and function of Treg cells during CAC development.  
  • 894
  • 22 Sep 2021
Topic Review
RhoA Signaling in Immune Cell/Cardiac
One of the key proteins involved in stress-mediated cardiomyocyte signal transduction is a small GTPase RhoA. Importantly, the regulation of RhoA activation is critical for effective immune cell response and is being considered as one of the potential therapeutic targets in many immune-cell-mediated inflammatory diseases.
  • 893
  • 27 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Metabolic Lipid Mediators in Apoptosis
Apoptosis is the physiological mechanism of cell death and can be modulated by endogenous and exogenous factors, including stress and metabolic alterations. Reactive oxygen species (ROS), as well as ROS-dependent lipid peroxidation products (including isoprostanes and reactive aldehydes including 4-hydroxynonenal) are proapoptotic factors. These mediators can activate apoptosis via mitochondrial-, receptor-, or ER stress-dependent pathways. Phospholipid metabolism is also an essential regulator of apoptosis, producing the proapoptotic prostaglandins of the PGD and PGJ series, as well as the antiapoptotic prostaglandins of the PGE series, but also 12-HETE and 20-HETE. The effect of endocannabinoids and phytocannabinoids on apoptosis depends on cell type-specific differences. Cells where cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB1) is the dominant cannabinoid receptor, as well as cells with high cyclooxygenase (COX) activity, undergo apoptosis after the administration of cannabinoids. In contrast, in cells where CB2 receptors dominate, and cells with low COX activity, cannabinoids act in a cytoprotective manner. Therefore, cell type-specific differences in the pro- and antiapoptotic effects of lipids and their (oxidative) products might reveal new options for differential bioanalysis between normal, functional, and degenerating or malignant cells, and better integrative biomedical treatments of major stress-associated diseases.
  • 891
  • 30 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Body Fluid Biomarkers in Alzheimer’s Disease
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is an irreversibly progressive neurodegenerative disease afflicting the elderly, accompanied by devastating cognitive and memory impairment caused by characteristic neuronal and synaptic loss and cortical and hippocampal atrophy. It is hallmarked by the accumulation of extracellular amyloid plaques and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles. The underlying mechanisms contributing to the development of the disease remain elusive and controversial. Despite the advancement in understanding the mechanism of pathogenesis, clinical trials have been unsuccessful and provided no relief from disease progression, only slowing the progression. Recent FDA-approved anti-amyloid therapy aducanumab highlights that it is effective for patients with very mild, biomarker-proven AD. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop a more accessible biomarker screening test using less invasive and cost-effective body fluid biomarkers. These diagnostics will serve as the first line of effective AD therapies before extensive pathophysiological brain devastation occurs.
  • 891
  • 05 Aug 2022
Topic Review
Type 2 Diabetes Optimal Treatment
Insulin, via a series of kinase activations and transductions, causes the glucose type 4 transporter channels to become embedded in the cellular membrane, allowing an exponential increase of glucose entry into the cell. T2D is characterized by failure of the insulin receptors to respond to insulin, thus preventing glucose uptake from the bloodstream. Later in the disease, the production of insulin by pancreatic islet cells is also curtailed. The vast preponderance of diabetes cases (95%) in the United States constitute T2D.
  • 890
  • 02 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Simulation of Human Colonic Fermentation
Regardless the complexity in the design, the fermentation process is performed with a faecal inoculum and a culture medium. Moreover, the compounds submitted to assay, or the non-absorbed compounds in the digesta resulting from previous digestion stages (oral, gastric, and small intestine), are incorporated into the reactor, leading to colonic fermentation. In some studies, the colonic fermentation is used to assay the effect of specific compounds (e.g., polysaccharides or oligosaccharides) on gut microbiota growth or the relative abundance of species and genera.
  • 890
  • 07 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Exosomes and Acute Pancreatitis-Associated Acute Lung Injury
Acute pancreatitis (AP) is a prevalent clinical condition of the digestive system, with a growing frequency each year. Approximately 20% of patients suffer from severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) with local consequences and multi-organ failure, putting a significant strain on patients’ health insurance. According to reports, the lungs are particularly susceptible to SAP. Acute respiratory distress syndrome, a severe type of acute lung injury (ALI), is the primary cause of mortality among AP patients. Controlling the mortality associated with SAP requires an understanding of the etiology of AP-associated ALI, the discovery of biomarkers for the early detection of ALI, and the identification of potentially effective drug treatments. Exosomes are a class of extracellular vesicles with a diameter of 30–150 nm that are actively released into tissue fluids to mediate biological functions. Exosomes are laden with bioactive cargo, such as lipids, proteins, DNA, and RNA. During the initial stages of AP, acinar cell-derived exosomes suppress forkhead box protein O1 expression, resulting in M1 macrophage polarization. Similarly, macrophage-derived exosomes activate inflammatory pathways within endothelium or epithelial cells, promoting an inflammatory cascade response. On the other hand, a part of exosome cargo performs tissue repair and anti-inflammatory actions and inhibits the cytokine storm during AP. 
  • 890
  • 03 Jan 2023
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