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Topic Review
Anti-Cancer Role and Therapeutic Potential of Extracellular Vesicles
Cell–cell communication is an important mechanism in biological processes. Extracellular vesicles (EVs), also referred to as exosomes, microvesicles, and prostasomes, are microvesicles secreted from a variety of cells. Importantly, EVs contribute to cancer malignancy mechanisms such as carcinogenesis, proliferation, angiogenesis, metastasis, and escape from the immune system. As EVs are thought to be secreted into body fluids, they have the potential to serve as diagnostic markers for liquid biopsy. In addition, the characteristics of EVs make them suitable for use in drug delivery systems and novel cancer treatments. 
  • 942
  • 22 Dec 2021
Topic Review
Effects of Ursolic Acid Against Prostate Cancer
Prostate cancer is the second most diagnosed form of cancer in men worldwide (second to lung cancer). Finding novel approaches to prevent and treat prostate and other urogenital cancers effectively is of major importance. Chemicals derived from plants, such as docetaxel and paclitaxel, have been used in cancer treatment. Ursolic acid, found in high concentrations in cranberries, is a pentacyclic triterpenoid compound demonstrated to have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anticancer properties. 
  • 942
  • 10 May 2023
Topic Review
microRNA and Adipose Tissue Function in Obesity
Obesity-induced adipose tissue dysfunction is bolstered by chronic, low-grade inflammation and impairs systemic metabolic health. Adipose tissue macrophages (ATMs) perpetuate local inflammation but are crucial to adipose tissue homeostasis, exerting heterogeneous, niche-specific functions. Diversified macrophage actions are shaped through finely regulated factors, including microRNAs, which post-transcriptionally alter macrophage activation.
  • 941
  • 05 May 2022
Topic Review
Formaldehyde and De/Methylation
Formaldehyde (FA) is a highly reactive substance that is ubiquitous in the environment and is usually considered as a pollutant. In the human body, FA is a product of various metabolic pathways and participates in one-carbon cycle, which provides carbon for the synthesis and modification of bio-compounds, such as DNA, RNA, and amino acids. Endogenous FA plays a role in epigenetic regulation, especially in the methylation and demethylation of DNA, histones, and RNA. 
  • 939
  • 15 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Lysine Acetylation, Emerging Onco-Therapeutic Opportunities
Acetylation, a reversible epigenetic process, is implicated in many critical cellular regulatory systems including transcriptional regulation, protein structure, activity, stability, and localization. Lysine acetylation is the most prevalent and intensively investigated among the diverse acetylation forms. 
  • 939
  • 17 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Single-Cell Adhesion Force Kinetics
Cells exert, sense, and respond to the different physical forces through diverse mechanisms and translating them into biochemical signals. The adhesion of cells is crucial in various developmental functions, such as to maintain tissue morphogenesis and homeostasis and activate critical signaling pathways regulating survival, migration, gene expression, and differentiation. More importantly, any mutations of adhesion receptors can lead to developmental disorders and diseases. 
  • 938
  • 27 Apr 2021
Topic Review
Selenium and Chronic Diseases
Selenium (Se) is an essential micronutrient for mammals, and its deficiency seriously threatens human health. A series of biofortification strategies have been developed to produce Se-enriched foods for combating Se deficiency. Although there have been some inconsistent results, extensive evidence has suggested that Se supplementation is beneficial for preventing and treating several chronic diseases. Understanding the association between Se and chronic diseases is essential for guiding clinical practice, developing effective public health policies, and ultimately counteracting health issues associated with Se deficiency. The current review will discuss the food sources of Se, biofortification strategies, metabolism and biological activities, clinical disorders and dietary reference intakes, as well as the relationship between Se and health outcomes, especially cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic inflammation, cancer, and fertility.
  • 938
  • 01 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Extracellular Vesicle-Mediated Mitochondrial Reprogramming in Cancer
Tumors are complex systems in constant communication with their microenvironment on which they rely for growth and survival. EVs, as intercellular communicators, are involved in several hallmarks of cancers, being active players in the remodeling of the TME and priming metastatic niches to support tumor survival, progression, and invasion. Although the importance of mitochondrial state and reprogramming in cancer progression has been established, the underlying mechanisms and metabolic phenotypes are incredibly varied, and knowledge is still lacking.
  • 938
  • 07 May 2022
Topic Review
Sphingolipid Homeostasis
Sphingolipids are ubiquitous components of cellular membranes that exert various functions depending on their structural maturation and subcellular localization. Structurally simple sphingolipid precursors, such as ceramides, act as intracellular signaling molecules in many processes, including apoptosis, whereas mature and complex forms of sphingolipids are important structural components of the plasma membrane. Supplying complex sphingolipids to the plasma membrane while simultaneously preventing the accumulation of pro-apoptotic metabolites is essential for cell survival and depends on mechanisms that tightly control sphingolipid synthesis, breakdown, transport, and storage. Sphingolipid homeostasis describes the state of the cell in which the intracellular concentration and distribution of sphingolipids supports survival. 
  • 936
  • 22 Dec 2021
Topic Review
Parathyroid Hormone-Related Protein
Parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP), classically regarded as the mediator of the humoral hypercalcemia of malignancy syndrome, is a polyhormone that undergoes proteolytic processing into smaller bioactive forms. These bioactive forms comprise an N-terminal-as well as midregion-and C-terminal peptides, which have been shown to regulate various biological events, such as survival, proliferation and differentiation, in diverse cell model systems, both normal and pathological. 
  • 934
  • 12 Jul 2023
Topic Review
Analyses of HCV Strains
Approximately 71 million people worldwide are infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV). Injectable drug use represents the most common route of transmission in Europe and other developed countries. We studied the molecular characteristics of the HCV infection among mono-infected people who used drugs (PWUD) in Italy. Among 208 PWUD with anti-HCV antibodies, 101 (48.6%) were HCV RNA-positive, the majority (47%) were infected with the HCV genotype (Gt)1a, followed by Gt3a (34.9%), Gt4 (9.1%), Gt1b (4.5%), and Gt2 (4.5%). Bayesian phylogenetic analyses of clustered HCV NS5B sequences from 66 HCV-positive PWUDs with available plasma samples indicated age and neighborhood proximity as the most common characteristics between closely related HCV strains. Population dynamics, as measured by a coalescent Bayesian skyline analysis, revealed an increase in HCV Gt1a infections from the mid-1980s to mid-1990s. While HCV Gt3a infections were first detected in the 1980s, patient numbers with this genotype subtype remained relatively constant. For both Gt1a and Gt3a, Birth–Death Bayesian Skyline analyses produced higher reproduction numbers post 2014. For earlier time intervals, slow growths were observed for both Gt1a and Gt3a with reproduction numbers (Re) of approximately 1. The evolutionary rates for Gt1a and Gt3a were estimated as 2.23 × 10−4 and 3.85 × 10−4, respectively. 
  • 933
  • 05 Jul 2021
Topic Review
TAL Effector
TAL (transcription activator-like) effectors (often referred to as TALEs, but not to be confused with the three amino acid loop extension homeobox class of proteins) are proteins secreted by Xanthomonas bacteria via their type III secretion system when they infect various plant species. These proteins can bind promoter sequences in the host plant and activate the expression of plant genes that aid bacterial infection. They recognize plant DNA sequences through a central repeat domain consisting of a variable number of ~34 amino acid repeats. There appears to be a one-to-one correspondence between the identity of two critical amino acids in each repeat and each DNA base in the target sequence. These proteins are interesting to researchers both for their role in disease of important crop species and the relative ease of retargeting them to bind new DNA sequences. Similar proteins can be found in the pathogenic bacterium Ralstonia solanacearum and Burkholderia rhizoxinica., as well as yet unidentified marine microorganisms. The term TALE-likes is used to refer to the putative protein family encompassing the TALEs and these related proteins.
  • 933
  • 08 Nov 2022
Topic Review
The Oligodendrocytes in Brain Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury
Oligodendrocytes are the responsible cells for axon myelination in the central nervous system. Oligodendrocytes are especially sensitive to oxidative stress and excitotoxicity generated during brain ischemia.
  • 933
  • 27 Jun 2022
Topic Review
Roles of Non-Coding RNA in Alzheimer’s Disease Pathophysiology
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a chronic neurodegenerative disorder that is accompanied by deficits in memory and cognitive functions. The disease is pathologically characterised by the accumulation and aggregation of an extracellular peptide referred to as amyloid-β (Aβ) in the form of amyloid plaques and the intracellular aggregation of a hyperphosphorelated protein tau in the form of neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) that cause neuroinflammation, synaptic dysfunction, and oxidative stress. The search for pathomechanisms leading to disease onset and progression has identified many key players that include genetic, epigenetic, behavioural, and environmental factors, which lend support to the fact that this is a multi-faceted disease where failure in various systems contributes to disease onset and progression. Although the vast majority of individuals present with the sporadic (non-genetic) form of the disease, dysfunctions in numerous protein-coding and non-coding genes have been implicated in mechanisms contributing to the disease.
  • 930
  • 25 Aug 2023
Topic Review
Fibroblast Memory in Development, Homeostasis and Disease
Fibroblasts are the major cell population in the connective tissue of most organs, where they are essential for their structural integrity. They are best known for their role in remodelling the extracellular matrix, however more recently they have been recognised as a functionally highly diverse cell population that constantly responds and adapts to their environment. Biological memory is the process of a sustained altered cellular state and functions in response to a transient or persistent environmental stimulus. While it is well established that fibroblasts retain a memory of their anatomical location, how other environmental stimuli influence fibroblast behaviour and function is less clear. The ability of fibroblasts to respond and memorise different environmental stimuli is essential for tissue development and homeostasis and may become dysregulated in chronic disease conditions such as fibrosis and cancer. 
  • 929
  • 04 Nov 2021
Topic Review
Neuropeptide B
Neuropeptide B (NPB) is a peptide hormone that was initially described in 2002. In humans, the biological effects of NPB depend on the activation of two G protein-coupled receptors, NPBWR1 (GPR7) and NPBWR2 (GPR8), and, in rodents, NPBWR1. NPB and its receptors are expressed in the central nervous system (CNS) and in peripheral tissues. NPB is also present in the circulation. In the CNS, NPB modulates appetite, reproduction, pain, anxiety, and emotions. In the peripheral tissues, NPB controls secretion of adrenal hormones, pancreatic beta cells, and various functions of adipose tissue. Experimental downregulation of either NPB or NPBWR1 leads to adiposity. 
  • 928
  • 29 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Ink4a/Arf Expression in Pancreatic Progenitor
The identification of the molecular mechanisms controlling early cell fate decisions in mammals is of paramount importance as the ability to determine specific lineage differentiation represents a significant opportunity for new therapies. Pancreatic Progenitor Cells (PPCs) constitute a regenerative reserve essential for the maintenance and regeneration of the pancreas. Besides, PPCs represent an excellent model for understanding pathological pancreatic cellular remodelling. Given the lack of valid markers of early endoderm, the identification of new ones is of fundamental importance. Both products of the Ink4a/Arf locus, in addition to being critical cell-cycle regulators, appear to be involved in several disease pathologies. Moreover, the locus’ expression is epigenetically regulated in ES reprogramming processes, thus constituting the ideal candidates to modulate PPCs homeostasis. 
  • 928
  • 22 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Physiological TDP-43 Structure and Function
TAR-DNA binding protein-43 (TDP-43) is a ubiquitously expressed RNA binding protein with the capacity to bind over 6000 RNA and DNA targets—particularly those involved in RNA, mitochondrial, and lipid metabolism. The specific functions of TDP-43 include mRNA stabilisation, transcription, translation, splicing, axonal transport, apoptosis, microRNA processing, epigenetic modifications, and cryptic exon inclusion/repression. It is without doubt that any alteration to these structural domains and/or normal functions of TDP-43 could cause downstream destabilisation effects of the intended target(s). This entry discusses briefly the structure of the TDP-43 protein, and some of their functional impact in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
  • 927
  • 30 Aug 2022
Topic Review
Aptamer-Based Probes for Cancer Diagnostics and Treatment
Aptamers are single-stranded DNA or RNA oligomers that have the ability to generate unique and diverse tertiary structures that bind to cognate molecules with high specificity. In recent years, aptamer researches have witnessed a huge surge, owing to its unique properties, such as high specificity and binding affinity, low immunogenicity and toxicity, and simplicity of synthesis with negligible batch-to-batch variation. Aptamers may bind to targets, such as various cancer biomarkers, making them applicable for a wide range of cancer diagnosis and treatment. In cancer diagnostic applications, aptamers are used as molecular probes instead of antibodies.
  • 927
  • 08 Dec 2022
Topic Review
Caspase Inhibition Improves Electrotransfer Efficiency
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy has been approved to treat patients with various B cell-related tumors, including B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma (PMBCL), and high-grade B-cell lymphoma. T cell receptor (TCR) knockout is a critical step in producing universal CAR T cells. A promising approach to achieving the knockout is to deliver the CRISPR/Cas9 system into T cells using electrotransfer technology.
  • 926
  • 27 Sep 2020
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