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Topic Review
Multiple Neurosyphilitic Maladies
Treponema pallidum (Tp) subspecies pallidum causes syphilis, a sexually transmitted disease that infects more than 2.1 million pregnant women every year. Due to its maximum death rates of neonates, augmented risk of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, and continued morbidity particularly in low-income countries as well as in high-income countries, such as Japan, where the rate of cases is increasing at an alarming level in heterosexual men and women, syphilis is a disease of worldwide concern, the disease is still a matter of debate in many low- and high-income countries. The infection has three stages that lead to several complications if left untreated and can lead to many tertiary complications in the brain, eyes, ears, heart, and pregnancy. Principally, the infection is transmitted through sexual contact, exceptionally with blood transfusion and blood products, and transmits vertically from mother to child (Syphilis Transmission from Mother-to-Child (MTCT)) during pregnancy. The Tp spirochete transmits vertically to the fetus, leading to congenital syphilis infections in poorly treated or utterly treated pregnant women, and causes multiple clinical manifestations, including stillbirth and neonatal death, skin and visceral manifestations, and other asymptomatic infections. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a recently published study estimating the burden of congenital syphilis showed more than half a million (almost 661,000) cases of congenital syphilis in 2016, consequently facing 200,000 stillbirths and neonatal deaths. Congenital syphilis is the second leading cause of preventable stillbirth globally, preceded only by “Malaria”. Neurosyphilis (NS) is also known as the clinical result of infection of the central nervous system by Tp subspecies pallidum. It can evolve at any time and from any stage of syphilis exposure. NS involves all neurological disorders related to nervous system invasion by the Tp and can be seen during the primo-secondary (early NS) or tertiary stages. Importantly, NS has two forms: an early form often strikes the CSF, meninges, and vasculature; the late form hits the brain and spinal cord parenchyma, and in several cases, it goes unnoticed or unidentified, leading to multifarious neurological complications.
  • 830
  • 28 Jun 2022
Topic Review
T-2054
Osteoarthritis (OA), a degenerative joint disorder, has been reported as the most common cause of disability worldwide. The production of inflammatory cytokines is the main factor in OA. Previous studies have been reported that obeticholic acid (OCA) and OCA derivatives inhibited the release of proinflammatory cytokines in acute liver failure, but they have not been studied in the progression of OA. In our study, we screened our small synthetic library of OCA derivatives and found T-2054 had anti-inflammatory properties.
  • 829
  • 06 May 2021
Topic Review
Gastric Stump Cancer after Partial Gastrectomy
Distal gastrectomy for benign gastroduodenal peptic disease has become rare, but it still represents a widely adopted procedure for advanced and, in some countries, even for early distal gastric cancer.
  • 829
  • 25 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Effects of Chemical/Physical Parameters on Embryo Development
In the field of assisted reproductive technology (ART), human embryo culture plays a pivotal role in the success of in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments. During human embryo culture, chemical and physical parameters play a crucial role in embryo development and viability.
  • 829
  • 10 Nov 2023
Topic Review
The Phenomenon of Ash Dieback
Common ash F. excelsior is a species with demanding soil requirements, needing fertile, moist sites with neutral pH. For many years, common ash was considered a species resistant to diseases, including pathogenic oomycetes of the genus Phytophthora. 
  • 827
  • 15 Nov 2023
Topic Review
Informational Perspective on Evolutionary Theory
Countless informational proposals and models have explored the singular characteristics of biological systems: from the initial choice of information terms in the early days of molecular biology to the current bioinformatic avalanche in this “omic” era. Herein we propose an enlarged informational perspective, grounded on the information flow and coding mechanisms in the living cell, and extended along the complexity growth in the evolutionary process.
  • 825
  • 12 Nov 2021
Topic Review
TRPA1 Role in Inflammatory Disorders
The transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 (TRPA1), a member of the TRP superfamily of channels, is primarily localized in a subpopulation of primary sensory neurons of the trigeminal, vagal, and dorsal root ganglia, where its activation mediates neurogenic inflammatory responses. The TRPA1 pathway could be a protective mechanism to detect and respond to harmful agents in various pathological conditions, including several inflammatory diseases.
  • 825
  • 09 May 2022
Topic Review
A Challenging Story of Schizophrenia and Glutathione
Schizophrenia (SZ) is a devastating mental illness with a complex and heterogeneous clinical state. Oxidative stress, and in particular glutathione (GSH) dysregulation, has been demonstrated to play a crucial role in SZ pathophysiology. In fact, glutathione is a leading actor of oxidative-stress-mediated damage in SZ and appears to reflect the heterogeneity of the disease.
  • 824
  • 03 Jan 2024
Topic Review
Questionable Boundaries between Biological Disciplines
Recent and ongoing debates in biology and in the philosophy of biology reveal widespread dissatisfaction with the current definitions or circumscriptions, which are often vague or controversial, of key concepts such as the gene, individual, species, and homology, and even of whole disciplinary fields within the life sciences. To some extent, the long growing awareness of these conceptual issues and the contrasting views defended in their regard can be construed as a symptom of the need to revisit traditional unchallenged partitions between the specialist disciplines within the life sciences. I argue here that the current relationships between anchor disciplines (e.g., developmental biology, evolutionary biology, biology of reproduction) and nomadic concepts wandering between them is worth being explored from a reciprocal perspective, by selecting suitable anchor concepts around which disciplinary fields can flexibly move. Two examples are offered: a generalized anchor concept of generation that may suggests new perspectives on development and reproduction) and a species concept as unit of representation of biological diversity that may lead to a taxonomic pluralism to be managed with suitable adjustments of current nomenclature rules.
  • 823
  • 08 Oct 2021
Topic Review
Apoptosis Inhibitor 5 and Cancer
Apoptosis, or programmed cell death, is a fundamental process that maintains tissue homeostasis, eliminates damaged or infected cells, and plays a crucial role in various biological phenomena. The deregulation of apoptosis is involved in many human diseases, including cancer. One of the emerging players in the intricate regulatory network of apoptosis is apoptosis inhibitor 5 (API5), also called AAC-11 (anti-apoptosis clone 11) or FIF (fibroblast growth factor-2 interacting factor). While it may not have yet the same level of notoriety as some other cancer-associated proteins, API5 has garnered increasing attention in the cancer field, as elevated API5 levels are often associated with aggressive tumor behavior, resistance to therapy, and poor patient prognosis.
  • 822
  • 18 Feb 2024
Topic Review
Human PCNA
Proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) is an essential factor in DNA replication and repair. It forms a homotrimeric ring that embraces the DNA and slides along it, anchoring DNA polymerases and other DNA editing enzymes. It also interacts with regulatory proteins through a sequence motif known as PCNA Interacting Protein box (PIP-box). We here review the latest contributions to knowledge regarding the structure-function relationships in human PCNA, particularly the mechanism of sliding, and of the molecular recognition of canonical and non-canonical PIP motifs. The unique binding mode of the oncogene p15 is described in detail, and the implications of the recently discovered structure of PCNA bound to polymerase δ are discussed. The study of the post-translational modifications of PCNA and its partners may yield therapeutic opportunities in cancer treatment, in addition to illuminating the way PCNA coordinates the dynamic exchange of its many partners in DNA replication and repair.
  • 821
  • 08 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Ebola Virus Disease Vaccines
The global outgoing outbreaks of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in different regions of Sudan, Uganda, and Western Africa have brought into focus the inadequacies and restrictions of pre-designed vaccines for use in the battle against EVD, which has affirmed the urgent need for the development of a systematic protocol to produce Ebola vaccines prior to an outbreak. There are several vaccines available being developed by preclinical trials and human-based clinical trials. The group of vaccines includes virus-like particle-based vaccines, DNA-based vaccines, whole virus recombinant vaccines, incompetent replication originated vaccines, and competent replication vaccines. The limitations and challenges faced in the development of Ebola vaccines are the selection of immunogenic, rapid-responsive, cross-protective immunity-based vaccinations with assurances of prolonged protection.
  • 821
  • 25 May 2023
Topic Review
Selective Vulnerability to Neurodegenerative Disease
Neurodegenerative diseases (NDs) manifest a wide variety of clinical symptoms depending on the affected brain regions. Gaining insights into why certain regions are resistant while others are susceptible is vital for advancing therapeutic strategies. While gene expression changes offer clues about disease responses across brain regions, the mixture of cell types therein obscures experimental results. 
  • 820
  • 23 Feb 2024
Topic Review
Rosmarinus officinalis in Cutaneous Diseases
The rosemary plant, Rosmarinus officinalis L., one of the main members of the Lamiaceae family, is currently one of the most promising herbal medicines due to its pharmaceutical properties. Rosmarinic acid, beyond its anti-infectious, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties, has been extensively investigated for its anti-cancer activity on various apparently functionally disconnected molecular targets leading to various types of cancer.
  • 820
  • 16 Jun 2023
Topic Review
Cold Acclimation in Brachypodium
As sessile organisms, plants are at the mercy of an array of abiotic stresses, and, as winter approaches in mid- to high-latitudes and altitudes, one such stress is low temperature. Plants employ various strategies that allow them to recognise and cope with the cold. As autumn progresses, perennials undergo a period of cold acclimation, which in a few days of low temperature exposure allows them to physiologically prepare for freezing conditions. Such preparations include changed levels of hundreds of proteins, the accumulation of fatty acids, lipid remodelling for plasma membrane protection, increased production of cryoprotective metabolites, such as soluble sugars and amino acids, as well as chaperones and reactive oxygen scavengers. The perennial grass and model cereal, Brachypodium distachyon (hereinafter, Brachypodium), is capable of cold acclimation, reaching peak freezing tolerance after two days at 4 °C, and is associated with changes in the abundance of multiple plasma membrane proteins at 2–6 days
  • 817
  • 04 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Metabolomics in Hyperuricemia and Gout
Urate is one of the key metabolites of purine metabolism, and the overproduction of urate in the liver or decreased excretion in the kidney in humans may lead to elevated levels of urate in the circulation, termed hyperuricemia (HU). The formation of monosodium urate (MSU) crystals in the joint or surrounding tissues may trigger inflammatory responses and gout attacks, which is the most common inflammatory arthritis. In addition to gout, HU has also been associated with many other metabolic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes, fatty liver diseases, kidney diseases, hypertension, and various cancers. Overwhelming evidence indicates that HU and gout lead to systematic metabolic alterations underlying these metabolic disorders. As one of the most powerful omics techniques, metabolomics systematically analyzes all small-molecule metabolites in a biological system that directly reflect the physiological and pathological conditions. Metabolomics has been increasingly employed in clinical and experimental research in HU and gout. Emerging studies have developed predictive models to differentiate HU from gout based on metabolomics and machine-learning algorithms.
  • 817
  • 18 Apr 2023
Topic Review
Transcription/Replication Conflicts in Myelomagenesis
Multiple myeloma is a hematologic cancer characterized by the accumulation of malignant plasma cells in the bone marrow. It remains a mostly incurable disease due to the inability to overcome refractory disease and drug-resistant relapse. Oncogenic transformation of PC in multiple myeloma is thought to occur within the secondary lymphoid organs. However, the precise molecular events leading to myelomagenesis remain obscure. Here, we identified genes involved in the prevention and the resolution of conflicts between the replication and transcription significantly overexpressed during the plasma cell differentiation process and in multiple myeloma cells. We discussed the potential role of these factors in myelomagenesis.
  • 816
  • 26 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Inflammatory Biomarkers and Gait Impairment in Older Adults
Peripheral inflammation and gait speed alterations are common in several neurological disorders and in the aging process, but the association between the two is not well established. Biomarkers play an important role in the decision-making process, and IL-6 can be an effective biomarker in establishing the diagnosis of slow gait speed. Further longitudinal research is needed to establish the use of molecular biomarkers in monitoring gait impairment.
  • 814
  • 23 Feb 2024
Topic Review
Extracellular Vesicles and Cancer Therapy
Oxidative stress plays a significant role in cancer development and cancer therapy, and is a major contributor to normal tissue injury. The unique characteristics of extracellular vesicles (EVs) have made them potentially useful as a diagnostic tool in that their molecular content indicates their cell of origin and their lipid membrane protects the content from enzymatic degradation. In addition to their possible use as a diagnostic tool, their role in how normal and diseased cells communicate is of high research interest. The most exciting area is the association of EVs, oxidative stress, and pathogenesis of numerous diseases. 
  • 812
  • 01 Jul 2022
Topic Review
TP53 in Germ Cell Tumours
The cure rate of germ cell tumours (GCTs) has significantly increased from the late 1970s since the introduction of cisplatin-based therapy. The exquisite cisplatin sensitivity has been mainly explained by the over-expression in GCTs of wild-type TP53 protein and the lack of TP53 somatic mutations; however, several other mechanisms seem to be involved, many of which remain still elusive. The findings about the role of TP53 in platinum-sensitivity and resistance, as well as the reported evidence of second cancers (SCs) in GCT patients treated only with surgery, suggesting a spectrum of cancer predisposing syndromes, highlight the need for a deepened understanding of the role of TP53 in GCTs. 
  • 810
  • 27 Jul 2021
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