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Topic Review
Allograft Inflammatory Factor-1 in Metazoans
Allograft inflammatory factor-1 (AIF-1) is a calcium-binding scaffold/adaptor protein often associated with inflammatory diseases. Originally cloned from active macrophages in humans and rats, this gene has also been identified in other vertebrates and in several invertebrate species. Among metazoans, AIF-1 protein sequences remain relatively highly conserved. Generally, the highest expression levels of AIF-1 are observed in immunocytes, suggesting that it plays a key role in immunity. In mammals, the expression of AIF-1 has been reported in different cell types such as activated macrophages, microglial cells, and dendritic cells. Its main immunomodulatory role during the inflammatory response has been highlighted. Among invertebrates, AIF-1 is involved in innate immunity, being in many cases upregulated in response to biotic and physical challenges. AIF-1 transcripts result ubiquitously expressed in all examined tissues from invertebrates, suggesting its participation in a variety of biological processes, but its role remains largely unknown. 
  • 701
  • 17 May 2021
Topic Review
Metformin and Breast Cancer
Interest has grown in studying the possible use of well-known anti-diabetic drugs as anti-cancer agents individually or in combination with, frequently used, chemotherapeutic agents and/or radiation, owing to the fact that diabetes heightens the risk, incidence, and rapid progression of cancers, including breast cancer, in an individual. In this regard, metformin (1, 1-dimethylbiguanide), well known as ‘Glucophage’ among diabetics, was reported to be cancer preventive while also being a potent anti-proliferative and anti-cancer agent. While meta-analysis studies reported a lower risk and incidence of breast cancer among diabetic individuals on a metformin treatment regimen, several in vitro, pre-clinical, and clinical studies reported the efficacy of using metformin individually as an anti-cancer/anti-tumor agent or in combination with chemotherapeutic drugs or radiation in the treatment of different forms of breast cancer. 
  • 701
  • 26 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Bacteria-Mediated Modulatory Strategies for Colorectal Cancer Treatment
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common tumors worldwide, with a higher rate of distant metastases than other malignancies and with regular occurrence of drug resistance. Therefore, scientists are forced to further develop novel and innovative therapeutic treatment strategies, whereby it has been discovered microorganisms, albeit linked to CRC pathogenesis, are able to act as highly selective CRC treatment agents. Consequently, researchers are increasingly focusing on bacteriotherapy as a novel therapeutic strategy with less or no side effects compared to standard cancer treatment methods. With multiple successful trials making use of various bacteria-associated mechanisms, bacteriotherapy in cancer treatment is on its way to become a promising tool in CRC targeting therapy.
  • 701
  • 25 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Nanomedicine for Targeted Endothelium Treatments
The term nanomedicine indicates a specific targeted treatment, which can enhance the delivery of targeted drugs and their bioavailability, as well as reduce the associated toxicity or side-effects and costs, using nanoparticles (NPs). Thus, they constitute specialized carriers with the potential to facilitate the delivery of drugs and efficient molecular targets into desired tissues, such as the endothelium.
  • 701
  • 15 Jul 2022
Topic Review
Neuroimaging and Mitochondrial Dysfunction
Mitochondrial dysfunction is a pathophysiological hallmark of most neurodegenerative diseases. Several clinical trials targeting mitochondrial dysfunction have been performed with conflicting results. Reliable biomarkers of mitochondrial dysfunction in vivo are thus needed to optimize future clinical trial designs.  Neuroimaging methods could map in vivo changes of oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) and oxidative stress, which are based on various physical phenomena to generate molecule-specific image contrasts. 
  • 700
  • 08 Jul 2022
Topic Review
Facultative Annual Life Cycles in Seagrasses
Plant species usually have either annual or perennial life cycles, but facultative annual species have annual or perennial populations depending on their environment. In terrestrial angiosperms, facultative annual species are rare, with wild rice being one of the few examples. 
  • 699
  • 19 Sep 2023
Topic Review
Phytohormones and Pheromones
Plant hormones and pheromones are natural compounds involved in the growth, development, and reproductive processes. There is a plethora of studies on hormones and pheromones in terrestrial plants, but such investigations are few in the phycological literature. There are striking similarities between the chemical diversity, biosynthetic processes, roles, and actions of hormones and pheromones in both higher angiospermic plants and algae.
  • 699
  • 17 Dec 2024
Topic Review
Risk Factors of Surgical Morbidity and Mortality
Despite advances in surgical techniques, surgical morbidity and mortality remain important public health problems. Postoperative complications often lead to greater morbidity and mortality, as well as increased length of hospital stay and medical costs. Therefore, a reduction in postoperative complications is particularly important with regard to positive long-term outcomes in patients with cancer. To improve patients’ postoperative prognosis, it is necessary to screen for and focus on modifiable risk factors and their subsequent resolution. It was reported that nutritional status, inflammation and surgical approaches are related to postoperative morbidity and mortality.
  • 697
  • 14 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Oxytocin in Early-Life-Stress-Related Neuropsychiatric Disorders
Early-life stress during critical periods of brain development can have long-term effects on physical and mental health. Oxytocin is a critical social regulator and anti-inflammatory hormone that modulates stress-related functions and social behaviors and alleviates diseases. Oxytocin-related neural systems show high plasticity in early postpartum and adolescent periods. Early-life stress can influence the oxytocin system long term by altering the expression and signaling of oxytocin receptors. Deficits in social behavior, emotional control, and stress responses may result, thus increasing the risk of anxiety, depression, and other stress-related neuropsychiatric diseases. Oxytocin is regarded as an important target for the treatment of stress-related neuropsychiatric disorders. 
  • 697
  • 21 Aug 2023
Topic Review
In Utero Origins of Acute Leukemia in Children
Acute leukemias, mainly consisting of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML), comprise a major diagnostic group among hematologic cancers. Due to the early age at onset of ALL, particularly, it has long been suspected that acute leukemias of childhood may have an in utero origin. 
  • 697
  • 23 Feb 2024
Topic Review
Modeling of Neurodegenerative Diseases
Neurodegenerative diseases have acquired the status of one of the leading causes of death in developed countries, which requires creating new model systems capable of accurately reproducing the mechanisms underlying these pathologies. Each model has unique properties that make it the optimal tool for modeling certain aspects of neurodegenerative disorders. It is necessary to combine models into complexes that include organisms and artificial systems of different organizational levels. Such complexes can be organized in two ways. The first method can be described as “step by step”, where each model for studying a certain characteristic is a separate step that allows using the information obtained in the modeling process for the gradual study of increasingly complex processes in subsequent models. The second way is a ‘network’ approach. Studies are carried out with several types of models simultaneously, and experiments with each specific type are adjusted in conformity with the data obtained from other models.
  • 696
  • 18 Jan 2023
Topic Review
BCMA-Targeting Antibody-Drug Conjugates in Multiple Myeloma
Multiple myeloma (MM) is an incurable cancer of the plasma cells. Over the years, treatment strategies have evolved toward targeting MM cells—from the shotgun chemotherapy approach to the slightly more targeted approach of disrupting important MM molecular pathways to the immunotherapy approach that specifically targets MM cells based on protein expression. Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) are introduced as immunotherapeutic drugs which utilize an antibody to deliver cytotoxic agents to cancer cells distinctively. Recent investigations of ADCs for MM treatment focus on targeting B cell maturation antigen (BCMA), which regulates B cell proliferation, survival, maturation, and differentiation into plasma cells (PCs). Given its selective expression in malignant PCs, BCMA is one of the most promising targets in MM immunotherapy. Compared to other BCMA-targeting immunotherapies, ADCs have several benefits, such as lower price, shorter production period, fewer infusions, less dependence on the patient’s immune system, and they are less likely to over-activate the immune system. 
  • 693
  • 23 Apr 2023
Topic Review
GJB2 Missense Variants
The GJB2 gene is the most common gene responsible for hearing loss (HL) worldwide, and missense variants are the most abundant type. GJB2 pathogenic missense variants cause nonsyndromic HL (autosomal recessive and dominant) and syndromic HL combined with skin diseases.
  • 693
  • 08 May 2023
Topic Review
Antiviral Gene Expression
Influenza A virus (IAV) is a respiratory virus that alone or in combination with secondary bacterial pathogens can contribute to the development of acute pneumonia in persons >65 years of age.
  • 692
  • 01 Dec 2021
Topic Review
Impact of Cytokines on Sepsis
Sepsis is an overwhelming inflammatory response to infection, resulting in multiple-organ injury. Neutrophils are crucial immune cells involved in innate response to pathogens and their migration and effector functions, such as phagocytosis and neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) formation, are dependent on cytokine presence and their concentration. In the course of sepsis, recruitment and migration of neutrophils to infectious foci gradually becomes impaired, thus leading to loss of a crucial arm of the innate immune response to infection. 
  • 692
  • 04 Jul 2022
Topic Review
Transmission and Clinical Manifestations of Zika
Zika virus (ZIKV) is an arthropod-borne virus that belongs to the Flaviviridae family, genus Flavivirus and was first isolated 1947 in Uganda, Africa, from the serum of a sentinel Rhesus monkey. Since its discovery, the virus was responsible for major outbreaks in several different countries, being linked to severe complications in pregnant women, neonatal birth defects and the congenital zika syndrome. Maternal–fetal transmission of ZIKV can occur in all trimesters of pregnancy, and the role of the placenta and its cells in these cases is yet to be fully understood. The decidua basalis and chorionic villi, maternal–fetal components of the placenta, contain a rich immunological infiltrate composed by Hofbauer cells, mastocytes, dendritic cells and macrophages, primary cells of the innate immune response that have a role that still needs to be better investigated in ZIKV infection. 
  • 692
  • 09 Dec 2022
Topic Review
Gut-to-Brain α-Synuclein Transmission in Parkinson’s Disease
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a multifactorial disorder involving both motor and non-motor symptoms caused by the progressive death of distinct neuronal populations, including dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra. The deposition of aggregated α-synuclein protein into Lewy body inclusions is a hallmark of the disorder, and α-synuclein pathology has been found in the enteric nervous system (ENS) of PD patients up to two decades prior to diagnosis. In combination with the high occurrence of gastrointestinal dysfunction in early stages of PD, evidence strongly suggests that some forms of PD may originate in the gut. 
  • 692
  • 26 May 2023
Topic Review
Autophagy in Brief
This comprehensive entry delves into the multifaceted world of autophagy, a cellular process with profound implications for health and disease. Beginning with an exploration of the autophagic machinery, we uncover the intricate roles played by autophagosomes, autophagy-related proteins (ATGs), and lysosomes in maintaining cellular homeostasis. The regulatory mechanisms orchestrating autophagy, from mTOR to cellular stresses and post-translational modifications, are dissected, highlighting the precise control of this essential process. Autophagy's dual nature in health is unraveled, showcasing its role as a protector, eliminating toxic aggregates in neurodegenerative diseases, bolstering immunity, regulating metabolism, and potentially promoting healthy aging. Conversely, its dark side emerges in diseases, where dysregulation contributes to cancer cell survival, neurodegeneration, chronic inflammation, and pathogen exploitation.The therapeutic potential of autophagy is unveiled, as researchers explore autophagy modulators in cancer therapy, neurodegenerative disease treatments, and metabolic disorder management, with a promising avenue for anti-aging interventions. Yet, navigating autophagy's complexities presents challenges: contextual effects, safety concerns, the need for biomarkers, and the integration of autophagy-targeting therapies with existing treatments. In this ever-evolving field, understanding autophagy's intricacies is a captivating journey with far-reaching implications for human health.
  • 692
  • 14 Sep 2023
Topic Review
Cop9 Signalosome Subunits
The COP9 (Constitutive photomorphogenesis 9) signalosome (CSN) is a highly conserved protein complex that influences several signaling and developmental processes. The COP9 signalosome consists of eight subunits, among which two subunits, CSN5 and CSN6, contain an Mpr1/Pad1 N-terminal (MPN) domain and the remaining six subunits contain a proteasome, COP9 signalosome, and initiation factor 3 (PCI) domain. In plants, each MPN subunit is encoded by two genes, which is not the case in other organisms.
  • 690
  • 15 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Airway Epithelium in Asthma Pathobiology
The features of allergic asthma are believed to be mediated mostly through the Th2 immune response. In this Th2-dominant concept, the airway epithelium is presented as the helpless victim of Th2 cytokines. Asthma researchers started believing in that the airway epithelium played a crucial role, as alarmins, which are the inducers of type 2 innate lymphoid cell (ILC2), are almost exclusively secreted by the airway epithelium. This underscores the eminence of airway epithelium in asthma pathogenesis. However, the airway epithelium has a bipartite functionality in sustaining healthy lung homeostasis and asthmatic lungs. On the one hand, the airway epithelium maintains lung homeostasis against environmental irritants/pollutants with the aid of its various armamentaria, including its chemosensory apparatus and detoxification system. Alternatively, it induces an ILC2-mediated type 2 immune response through alarmins to amplify the inflammatory response. However, the available evidence indicates that restoring epithelial health may attenuate asthmatic features.
  • 690
  • 16 Mar 2023
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