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Topic Review
Bio-Photonic Cavities
An eco-friendly approach to usual optical cavities, in which an electromagnetic radiation can release energy to matter by interacting with its molecular or atomic structure. Based on bio-inspired and biodegradable meta-surfaces, able to behave as a resonator for light, their optical response can be engineered at will to accomplish a particular optical task.  
  • 1.0K
  • 24 Nov 2021
Topic Review
Molecular Mechanism of Autophagy Regulation by Persulfidation
The term “autophagy”, (from the Greek words auto, meaning “self” and phagein, meaning “to eat”)—literally, eating one’s self—was first created by Christian de Duve over 40 years ago, who discovered lysosomes and provided clear proof of their participation in this process. It is an evolutionarily conserved process of degradation and recycling in eukaryotic organisms. The research of H2S as a signaling molecule has been focused on the effect of sulfide donors on different diseases and physiological pathways, until in 2009 when Snyder’s group described persulfidation or S-sulfhydration as the mechanism of H2S signaling. Since then, numerous targets have been identified to undergo persulfidation, and it has become recognized as the main mechanism by which H2S controls several cellular functions. Persulfidation is a posttranslational modification of cysteine residues, where a thiol group (RSH) is transformed into a persulfide group (RSSH)
  • 1.0K
  • 22 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Plant-Based Compounds Against SARS-CoV-2
Polyphenols and alkaloids are the most widespread plant-based products with prominent properties including anti-cancer, antioxidant, antimalarial, antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal, anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-dengue effects. Accordingly, these phytochemicals can be promising candidates for discovering effective therapeutic regimens for SARS-CoV-2. 
  • 1.0K
  • 02 Feb 2023
Topic Review
Whole Blood Polyamine Levels in Age-Related Diseases
The relationship between polyamines and healthy longevity has received much attention. The most fundamental consideration in conducting polyamine studies is that bovine serum used for cell culture contains bovine serum amine oxidase. Bovine serum amine oxidase, which is not inactivated by heat treatment, breaks down spermine and spermidine to produce the highly toxic aldehyde acrolein, which causes cell damage and activates autophagy. Polyamine catabolism does not produce toxic aldehydes under normal conditions, but inflammation and some pathogens provoke an inducible enzyme, spermine oxidase, which only breaks down spermine to produce acrolein, resulting in cytotoxicity and the activation of autophagy. Therefore, spermine oxidase activation reduces spermine concentration and the ratio of spermine to spermidine, a feature reported in patients with age-related diseases. Spermine, which is increased by a long-term, continuous high polyamine diet, suppresses aberrant gene methylation and the pro-inflammatory status that progress with age and are strongly associated with the development of several age-related diseases and senescence. Changes in spermine concentration and the spermine/spermidine ratio should be considered as indicators of human health status.
  • 1.0K
  • 26 Oct 2023
Topic Review
Exosomes Diversity
Cells can communicate through special “messages in the bottle”, which are recorded in the bloodstream inside vesicles, namely exosomes. The exosomes are nanovesicles of 30–100 nm in diameter that carry functionally active biological material, such as proteins, messanger RNA (mRNAs), and micro RNA (miRNAs). Therefore, they are able to transfer specific signals from a parental cell of origin to the surrounding cells in the microenvironment and to distant organs through the circulatory and lymphatic stream. More and more interest is rising for the pathological role of exosomes produced by cancer cells and for their potential use in tumor monitoring and patient follow up. In particular, the exosomes could be an appropriate index of proliferation and cancer cell communication for monitoring the minimal residual disease, which cannot be easily detectable by common diagnostic and monitoring techniques. The lack of unequivocal markers for tumor-derived exosomes calls for new strategies for exosomes profile characterization aimed at the adoption of exosomes as an official tumor biomarker for tumor progression monitoring.
  • 1.0K
  • 21 Nov 2020
Topic Review
MicroRNAs Responding to Space Radiation
High-energy and high-atom-number (HZE) space radiation poses an inevitable potential threat to astronauts on deep space exploration missions. In addition to inducing damage at the DNA level, space radiation also causes epigenetic changes, such as microRNAs, which is important to understanding of the machanisms underlying space radiobiological effects.
  • 1.0K
  • 22 Sep 2020
Topic Review
The Insulin-like Growth Factor System and Colorectal Cancer
Insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) are peptides which exert mitogenic, endocrine and cytokine activities. Together with their receptors, binding proteins and associated molecules, they participate in numerous pathophysiological processes, including cancer development. Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a disease with high incidence and mortality rates worldwide, whose etiology usually represents a combination of the environmental and genetic factors. IGFs are most often increased in CRC, enabling excessive autocrine/paracrine stimulation of the cell growth. Overexpression or increased activation/accessibility of IGF receptors is a coinciding step which transmits IGF-related signals. A number of molecules and biochemical mechanisms exert modulatory effects shaping the final outcome of the IGF-stimulated processes, frequently leading to neoplastic transformation in the case of irreparable disbalance.
  • 1.0K
  • 24 Oct 2022
Topic Review
The Neurokinin-1 Receptor
Substance P (SP), through the neurokinin-1 receptor (NK-1R), behaves as a universal mitogen in cancer cells. The NK-1R is overexpressed in tumor cells and, in addition, affects the viability of cancer cells. NK-1R antagonists counteract all the previous actions mediated by SP through NK-1R. In a concentration-dependent manner, these antagonists promote tumor cell death by apoptosis. Therefore, NK-1R is a potential and promising therapeutic target for cancer treatment by using NK-1R antagonists (e.g., aprepitant) alone or in combination therapy with chemotherapy or radiotherapy.
  • 1.0K
  • 16 Nov 2022
Topic Review
LEAFY COTYLEDON 2: A Regulatory Factor in Plant
Transcription factors are key molecules in the regulation of gene expression in all organisms. The transcription factor LEAFY COTYLEDON 2 (LEC2), which belongs to the DNA-binding protein family, contains a B3 domain. The transcription factor is involved in the regulation of important plant biological processes such as embryogenesis, somatic embryo formation, seed storage protein synthesis, fatty acid metabolism, and other important biological processes.
  • 1.0K
  • 13 Dec 2021
Topic Review
Autophagy in Cancer Cells
The role of autophagy is to degrade damaged or unnecessary cellular structures. Both in vivo and in vitro studies suggest a dual role of autophagy in cancer—it may promote the development of neoplasms, but it may also play a tumor protective function. The mechanism of autophagy depends on the genetic context, tumor stage and type, tumor microenvironment, or clinical therapy used. Autophagy also plays an important role in cell death as well as in the induction of chemoresistance of cancer cells. The following review describes the extensive autophagic cell death in relation to dietary polyphenols and cancer disease. Polyphenols are organic chemicals that exhibit antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-angiogenic, and immunomodulating properties, and can also initiate the process of apoptosis. In addition, polyphenols reduce oxidative stress and protect against reactive oxygen species. This review presents in vitro and in vivo studies in animal models with the use of polyphenolic compounds such as epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), oleuropein, punicalgin, apigenin, resveratrol, pterostilbene, or curcumin and their importance in the modulation of autophagy-induced death of cancer cells.
  • 1.0K
  • 22 Jan 2021
Topic Review
Glutathione in Brain Disorders and Aging
Glutathione is a remarkably functional molecule with diverse features, which include being an antioxidant, a regulator of DNA synthesis and repair, a protector of thiol groups in proteins, a stabilizer of cell membranes, and a detoxifier of xenobiotics. Glutathione exists in two states-oxidized and reduced. Under normal physiological conditions of cellular homeostasis, glutathione remains primarily in its reduced form.
  • 1.0K
  • 22 Feb 2022
Topic Review
δ-Cells
Somatostatin-secreting δ-cells have aroused great attention due to their powerful roles in coordination of islet insulin and glucagon secretion and maintenance of glucose homeostasis. δ-cells exhibit neuron-like morphology with projections which enable pan-islet somatostatin paracrine regulation despite their scarcity in the islets. 
  • 1.0K
  • 06 Apr 2021
Topic Review
Src Family Kinase
Src family kinases (SFKs) are key regulators of cell proliferation, differentiation, and survival. The expression of these non-receptor tyrosine kinases is strongly correlated with cancer development and tumor progression. Thus, this family of proteins serves as an attractive drug target.
  • 1.0K
  • 14 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Ferredoxin-NADP+ Oxidoreductase and Flavodoxin
Distinct isoforms of FAD-containing ferredoxin-NADP+ oxidoreductase (FNR) and ferredoxin (Fd) are involved in photosynthetic and non-photosynthetic electron transfer systems. The FNR (FAD)-Fd [2Fe-2S] redox pair complex switches between one- and two-electron transfer reactions in steps involving FAD semiquinone intermediates. In cyanobacteria and some algae, one-electron carrier Fd serves as a substitute for low-potential FMN-containing flavodoxin (Fld) during growth under low-iron conditions. This complex evolves into the covalent FNR (FAD)-Fld (FMN) pair, which participates in a wide variety of NAD(P)H-dependent metabolic pathways as an electron donor, including bacterial sulfite reductase, cytochrome P450 BM3, plant or mammalian cytochrome P450 reductase and nitric oxide synthase isoforms. These electron transfer systems share the conserved Ser-Glu/Asp pair in the active site of the FAD module. In addition to physiological electron acceptors, the NAD(P)H-dependent diflavin reductase family catalyzes a one-electron reduction of artificial electron acceptors such as quinone-containing anticancer drugs. Conversely, NAD(P)H: quinone oxidoreductase (NQO1), which shares a Fld-like active site, functions as a typical two-electron transfer antioxidant enzyme, and the NQO1 and UDP-glucuronosyltransfease/sulfotransferase pairs function as an antioxidant detoxification system.
  • 1.0K
  • 17 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Recurrent Spliceosome Mutations in Cancer
Splicing alterations have been widely documented in tumors where the proliferation and dissemination of cancer cells is supported by the expression of aberrant isoform variants. Splicing is catalyzed by the spliceosome, a ribonucleoprotein complex that orchestrates the complex process of intron removal and exon ligation. In recent years, recurrent hotspot mutations in the spliceosome components U1 snRNA, SF3B1, and U2AF1 have been identified across different tumor types. Such mutations in principle are highly detrimental for cells as all three spliceosome components are crucial for accurate splice site selection: the U1 snRNA is essential for 3′ splice site recognition, and SF3B1 and U2AF1 are important for 5′ splice site selection. Nonetheless, they appear to be selected to promote specific types of cancers.
  • 1.0K
  • 17 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Metals in Insects
Insects and microbial pathogens are ubiquitous and play significant roles in various biological processes, while microbial pathogens are microscopic organisms that can cause diseases in multiple hosts. Insects and microbial pathogens engage in diverse interactions, leveraging each other’s presence. Metals are crucial in shaping these interactions between insects and microbial pathogens.
  • 1.0K
  • 20 Jul 2023
Topic Review
Cytochrome c oxidase Assembly Factors
An overview of cytochrome c oxidase assembly factors in baker's yeast and humans with hypotheses regarding the assembly process in low oxygen conditions and during initial entry into the inner mitochondrial membrane.
  • 1.0K
  • 10 Oct 2020
Topic Review
ABCG2
The ABCG2 (also named breast cancer resistance protein—BCRP, or mitoxantrone resistance protein—MXR) is an integral membrane protein belonging to the ABC (ATP-binding cassette) protein superfamily. ABCG2 is an active transporter utilizing the energy of ATP binding and hydrolysis to translocate various substrate molecules across the plasma membrane from the cells to the extracellular space. Its transported substrates include endobiotics (endogenous substances), such as uric acid, as well as xenobiotics, such as anti-cancer drugs. ABCG2 plays a pivotal role in uric acid clearance; thus, its malfunction may lead to hyperuricemia and gout. On the other hand, ABCG2 residing in various barrier tissues is involved in the innate defense mechanisms of the body, influencing the absorption, distribution, excretion of potentially toxic endo- and exogenous compounds.
  • 1.0K
  • 11 May 2021
Topic Review
Synthetic Polymers and Protein Fibrillation under Crowded Conditions
Protein amyloid fibrils have widespread implications for human health. Fibrillation has been studied using a variety of crowding agents to mimic the packed interior of cells or to probe the mechanisms and pathways of the process. One commonly used class of crowding agents is synthetic polymers. Complex effects are observed depending on the specific paring of polymer and fibrillating protein, but generally crowding with synthetic polymers favors fibrillation.
  • 1.0K
  • 22 Jul 2022
Topic Review
Post-Translational Control of Protein Expression
Proteins are fundamental biomolecules of living cells, and their expression levels depend on the balance between the synthesis and degradation. The genetic manipulation of the target protein using CRISPR/Cas9, Cre/loxP, tetracyclin system, and RNA interference, are widely used for the regulation of proteins at the DNA, transcriptional, or mRNA level. Recently, researchers have developed various types of molecular tools for the regulation of protein expression at the post-translational level, which rely on harnessing cellular proteolytic machinery including ubiquitin–proteasome pathway, autophagy-lysosome pathway, and endocytosis. The post-translational control of protein expression using small molecules, antibodies, and light can offer significant advantages regarding speed, tunability, and reversibility. These technologies are expected to be applied to pharmacotherapy and cell therapy, as well as research tools for fundamental biological studies.
  • 1.0K
  • 23 Sep 2021
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