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Topic Review
Ceramide Synthase 2 in Bladder Cancer
The human CERS2 gene encodes a ceramide synthase enzyme, known as CERS2 (ceramide synthase 2). This protein is also known as LASS2 (LAG1 longevity assurance homolog 2) and TMSG1 (tumor metastasis-suppressor gene 1). Bladder cancer (BC) is a significant cause of cancer-related deaths globally, ranking as the second-most-common reason for genitourinary cancer-related mortality. The treatment of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer includes transurethral resection followed by chemotherapy to reduce recurrence chances, while muscle-invasive bladder cancers are associated with high rates of progression and metastasis and are usually treated via radical cystectomy if the tumor is organ-confined.
  • 627
  • 31 Oct 2023
Topic Review
Hypoxia-Associated Long Non-Coding RNAs in Breast Cancer
Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in women worldwide. Long non-coding RNAs are newly described molecules that have extensive roles in breast cancer. Emerging reports have shown that there is a strong link between these RNAs and the hypoxic response of breast cancer cells, which may be an important factor for enhanced tumoral progression.
  • 626
  • 26 May 2022
Topic Review
Glioblastoma Microenvironment and Invasiveness
Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common and malignant primary brain cancer in adults. Without treatment the mean patient survival is approximately 6 months, which can be extended to 15 months with the use of multimodal therapies. The low effectiveness of GBM therapies is mainly due to the tumor infiltration into the healthy brain tissue, which depends on GBM cells’ interaction with the tumor microenvironment (TME). The interaction of GBM cells with the TME involves cellular components such as stem-like cells, glia, endothelial cells, and non-cellular components such as the extracellular matrix, enhanced hypoxia, and soluble factors such as adenosine, which promote GBM’s invasiveness.
  • 626
  • 30 Jun 2023
Topic Review
Connexins in Tumor Microenvironment Initiation and Maintenance
Connexins are proteins which comprise gap junctions in cells. These junctions can directly connect neighboring cells and the cell interior with the extracellular microenvironment and thus they act as tissue integrators. In addition, connexins perform a variety of non-channel functions. Alterations in connexin regulation can lead to unfavorable shifts in the tissue adhesive context thus eradicating the constraints of the normal tissue microenvironment, triggering (or enhancing) cancerogenesis and further tumor progression.
  • 625
  • 04 May 2023
Topic Review
P2X Receptor-Dependent Modulation
P2X receptors (P2XRs) are membrane ligand-gated ion channels and are members of the purinergic receptor family. Of the seven P2XR family members, only four of them (P2X1, P2X4, P2X6 and P2X7) have been shown to be expressed in MCs, with each of them playing an important role in regulating MC activities, such as Ca+ influx and degranulation. P2XRs are also present in neurons and glial cells, where their engagement may affect the development of neuroinflammatory pathologies such as the Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD) and Multiple sclerosis (MS).
  • 624
  • 14 Oct 2021
Topic Review
Human Liver Mesenchymal Stem Cells
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can be isolated from the majority of human tissues and easily maintained in culture. Cells derived from different sources have closely resemblant, but not identical phenotypes, gene expression patterns, and differentiation profiles. Unique features of human liver MSCs include expression of the hepatocyte-specific genes and predisposition to differentiate into the hepatocytes. This makes liver MSCs an attractive starting material for the manufacturing of human hepatocytes, which are in short supply in basic research, drug testing, and cell therapy. 
  • 624
  • 03 Jul 2023
Topic Review
Pluripotent Organ-Specific Pericytes in Growth and Maturation
Cells fitting the description of Mesenchymal Stem/Signaling Cells (MSC) have been isolated from a large number of adult tissues. The original characteristics of MSC as defined by Caplan’s group were adherence to plastic, expression of a subset of cell surface antigens, and the cells could be induced in vitro to differentiate towards different cell lineages, including chondrocytes, bone cells, and adipocytes. It has been noted that MSC from most tissues or fluids are very heterogeneous, and some sources appear to have unique features, including unique lectin-binding phenotypes. Interestingly, MSC from bone marrow appear to preferentially respond to osteogenic stimuli, while MSC from synovium respond well to chondrogenic stimuli. Thus, different locations may reflect the needs of different environments.
  • 623
  • 25 May 2022
Topic Review
Age-Related Alternative Splicing
Alternative splicing changes are closely linked to aging, though it remains unclear if they are drivers or effects. As organisms age, splicing patterns change, varying gene isoform levels and functions. These changes may contribute to aging alterations rather than just reflect declining RNA quality control. Three main splicing types—intron retention, cassette exons, and cryptic exons—play key roles in age-related complexity. These events modify protein domains and increase nonsense-mediated decay, shifting protein isoform levels and functions. This may potentially drive aging or serve as a biomarker. Fluctuations in splicing factor expression also occur with aging. Somatic mutations in splicing genes can also promote aging and age-related disease. 
  • 623
  • 29 Dec 2023
Topic Review
Advantages of Drosophila Model in Polyploid Cell Investigation
Polyploid cells are frequently observed in advanced cancer, particularly after standard cancer treatment such as anticancer drugs and radiation therapy. This suggests that polyploid cells lurking in a cancer tissue possess a superior ability to withstand environmental stress, making them more likely to survive anticancer therapies. The polyploid cells in cancer tissues, commonly termed polyploid giant cancer cells (PGCCs), but also referred to as blastomere-like cancer cells, osteoclast-like cancer cells, pleomorphic cancer cells, large cancer stem cells, and polyaneuploid cancer cells (PACCs), are thought to play an important role in tumor progression. 
  • 623
  • 17 Jan 2024
Topic Review
Cells Respond to Mechanical Cues of Extracellular Matrix
Extracellular biophysical properties have particular implications for a wide spectrum of cellular behaviors and functions, including growth, motility, differentiation, apoptosis, gene expression, cell–matrix and cell–cell adhesion, and signal transduction including mechanotransduction. Cells not only react to unambiguously mechanical cues from the extracellular matrix (ECM), but can occasionally manipulate the mechanical features of the matrix in parallel with biological characteristics, thus interfering with downstream matrix-based cues in both physiological and pathological processes. Bidirectional interactions between cells and (bio)materials in vitro can alter cell phenotype and mechanotransduction, as well as ECM structure, intentionally or unintentionally. Interactions between cell and matrix mechanics in vivo are of particular importance in a variety of diseases, including primarily cancer. 
  • 621
  • 31 Jan 2024
Topic Review
Let-7e Differentiates Stress-Resilient from Susceptible
Three strains of mice with various susceptibilities to restraint stress (RS), i.e., mice with a knocked out norepinephrine transporter gene (NET-KO), SWR/J and C57BL/6J (WT) mice were shown to serve as a good model to study the molecular mechanisms underlying different stress-coping strategies. We identified 14 miRNAs that were altered by RS in the PFC of these mice in a genotype-dependent manner, where the most interesting was let-7e. Further in silico analysis of its potential targets allowed us to identify five mRNAs (Bcl2l11, Foxo1, Pik3r1, Gab1 and Map2k4), and their level alterations were experimentally confirmed. A next-generation sequencing (NGS) approach, which was employed to find transcripts differentially expressed in the PFC of NET-KO and WT mice, showed that, among others, two additional mRNAs were regulated by mmu-let-7e, i.e., mRNAs that encode Kmt2d and Inf2. Since an increase in Bcl2l11 and Pik3r1 mRNAs upon RS in the PFC of WT mice resulted from the decrease in mmu-let-7e and mmu-miR-484 regulations, we postulated that MAPK, FoxO and PI3K-Akt signaling pathways were associated with stress resilience, although via different, genotype-dependent regulation of various mRNAs by let-7e and miR-484. However, a higher level of Kmt2d mRNA (regulated by let-7e) that was found with NGS analysis in the PFC of NET-KO mice indicated that histone methylation was also important for stress resilience. 
  • 619
  • 22 Sep 2021
Topic Review
MicroRNA-21 Regulates Stemness in PDAC
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the most common and aggressive type of pancreatic cancer (PCa) with a low survival rate. microRNAs (miRs) are endogenous, non-coding RNAs that moderate numerous biological processes. miRs have been associated with the chemoresistance and metastasis of PDAC and the presence of a subpopulation of highly plastic “stem”-like cells within the tumor, known as cancer stem cells (CSCs).
  • 618
  • 19 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Autophagy in Crohn’s Disease
Crohn’s disease (CD) is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease marked by relapsing, transmural intestinal inflammation driven by innate and adaptive immune responses. Autophagy is a multi-step process that plays a critical role in maintaining cellular homeostasis by degrading intracellular components, such as damaged organelles and invading bacteria. Dysregulation of autophagy in CD is revealed by the identification of several susceptibility genes, including ATG16L1, IRGM, NOD2, LRRK2, ULK1, ATG4, and TCF4, that are involved in autophagy.
  • 618
  • 13 Jul 2023
Topic Review
Nod-Like Receptor Pyrin Containing Protein 3 Inflammasome
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a highly prevalent psychiatric disorder, whose pathophysiology has been linked to the neuroinflammatory process. The increased activity of the Nod-like receptor pyrin containing protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome, an intracellular multiprotein complex, is intrinsically implicated in neuroinflammation by promoting the maturation and release of proinflammatory cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-18.
  • 618
  • 04 Jan 2023
Topic Review
Regulation of m6A Modification in GSCs and Tumorigenesis
Glioblastoma is the most common and most lethal primary malignant brain tumor. N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is one of widespread and abundant internal messenger RNA (mRNA) modification found in eukaryotes. Accumulated evidence demonstrates that m6A modification is aberrantly activated in human cancers and is critical for tumorigenesis and metastasis. m6A modification is also strongly involved in key signaling pathways and is associated with prognosis in glioblastoma. Here, the researchers briefly outline the functions of m6A and its regulatory proteins, including m6A writers, erasers, and readers on the fate of RNA. The researchers also summarize the latest breakthroughs in this field, describe the underlying molecular mechanisms that contribute to the tumorigenesis and progression, and highlight the inhibitors targeting the factors in m6A modification in glioblastoma. Further studies focusing on the specific pathways of m6A modification could help identify biomarkers and therapeutic targets that might prevent and treat glioblastoma.
  • 617
  • 06 May 2022
Topic Review
Role of p53 in Nanoparticle-Based Therapy for Cancer
p53 is arguably one of the most important tumor suppressor genes in humans. Due to the paramount importance of p53 in the onset of cell cycle arrest and apoptosis, the p53 gene is found either silenced or mutated in the vast majority of cancers. Furthermore, activated wild-type p53 exhibits a strong bystander effect, thereby activating apoptosis in surrounding cells without being physically present there. For these reasons, p53-targeted therapy that is designed to restore the function of wild-type p53 in cancer cells seems to be a very appealing therapeutic approach. Systemic delivery of p53-coding DNA or RNA using nanoparticles proved to be feasible both in vitro and in vivo. 
  • 617
  • 22 Dec 2023
Topic Review
Primary Stressors in Osteoarthritis Pathogenesis
Osteoarthritis (OA) is characterized by the degradation of joint cartilage tissue, chronic local inflammation, and bone remodeling, which result in joint pain, stiffness, swelling, and restricted motion. Aging phenotypes are considered a manifestation of accumulated cellular damage and defective repair. This is particularly apparent in the primary cell type of the articular joint, the articular chondrocytes. Articular chondrocytes are constantly facing the challenge of stressors, including mechanical overloading, oxidation, DNA damage, proteostatic stress, and metabolic imbalance.
  • 615
  • 04 May 2023
Topic Review
EV-Mediated Intercellular Interactions in Stem Cell and Plasticity
In multicellular organisms, interactions between cells and intercellular communications form the very basis of the organism’s survival, the functioning of its systems, the maintenance of homeostasis and adequate response to the environment. The accumulated experimental data point to the particular importance of intercellular communications in determining the fate of cells, as well as their differentiation and plasticity. For a long time, it was believed that the properties and behavior of cells were primarily governed by the interactions of secreted or membrane-bound ligands with corresponding receptors, as well as direct intercellular adhesion contacts. 
  • 614
  • 07 Apr 2023
Topic Review
Long Non-Coding RNAs in Gliomas
Glioma progression refers to the development and growth of glioma tumors in the brain. Glioma progression is a complex and multifactorial process involving various genetic, molecular, and cellular changes. The prognosis and survival rates for gliomas differ between adults and pediatrics. Overall, pediatric gliomas tend to have better prognoses compared to gliomas in adults. This is partly due to the prevalence of low-grade tumors in children, which generally have better outcomes than high-grade tumors such as glioblastoma. However, certain pediatric gliomas, such as DIPG, have particularly poor prognoses. The mechanism of glioma progression involves a complex interplay of genetic, molecular, cellular, and microenvironmental factors. Generally, glioma progression is driven by the accumulation of genetic mutations.
  • 614
  • 27 Jun 2023
Topic Review
Heterochromatin and Nuclear Phenotypes of T. infestans
Triatoma infestans (Klug), the most important vector of Chagas disease, is a hemipteran insect belonging to the Triatominae subfamily of the Reduviidae family and one of the 84 species of the Triatomini tribe.
  • 614
  • 07 Oct 2023
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