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Topic Review
CFTR Lifecycle Map
Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is one of the most common genetic diseases prevalent among the Caucasian population and is caused by mutations of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene. To date, several hundred disease-causing mutations are known, resulting in a vast range of geno- and phenotypes, which makes the development of therapeutics especially challenging. To support the development of novel therapeutics, systems biological disease maps can be used. Disease maps represent existing knowledge on disease mechanisms in a computationally readable and comprehensive manner so they can then be used by clinicians and experimental scientists as well as computational scientists for different purposes, such as structuring high-throughput data, identifying disease biomarkers, developing better diagnostics and also identifying potential drug targets and drug repositioning. The CFTR Lifecycle Map in particular details the biogenesis of CFTR in cells to support ongoing drug discovery endeavours in CF research.
  • 974
  • 22 Nov 2021
Topic Review
Rac1 in Bladder Cancer
Bladder pathologies, very common in the aged population, have a considerable negative impact on quality of life. Novel targets are needed to design drugs and combinations to treat diseases such as overactive bladder and bladder cancers. A promising new target is the ubiquitous Rho GTPase Rac1, frequently dysregulated and overexpressed in bladder pathologies. Dysregulations of Rac signaling have been reported in atherosclerosis, neurodevelopmental disorders, rheumatic diseases, pulmonary hypertension and different types of cancers, including urothelial carcinoma. Protein Rac1 (RAS-related C3 botulinum toxin substrate (1) is considered a prime target to combat a variety of solid tumors and certain onco-hematological malignancies. 
  • 974
  • 21 Jun 2022
Topic Review
Bilayer Lipid Membranes in Ion Channel Functions Analysis
The bilayer lipid membrane (BLM) is the main structural component of cell membranes, in which various membrane proteins are embedded. Artificially formed BLMs have been used as a platform in studies of the functions of membrane proteins, including various ion channels. 
  • 974
  • 26 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Hydroxytyrosol and Arginine
Phytochemicals from plant extracts are becoming increasingly popular in the world of food science and technology because they have positive effects on human health. In particular, several bioactive foods and dietary supplements are being investigated as potential treatments for chronic COVID. Hydroxytyrosol (HXT) is a natural antioxidant, found in olive oil, with antioxidant anti-inflammatory properties that has been consumed by humans for centuries without reported adverse effects.
  • 974
  • 18 May 2023
Topic Review
SnR30/U17 Small Nucleolar Ribonucleoprotein
The small nucleolar RNA snR30 (U17 in humans) plays a unique role during ribosome synthesis. Unlike most members of the H/ACA class of guide RNAs, the small nucleolar ribonucleoprotein (snoRNP) complex assembled on snR30 does not direct pseudouridylation of ribosomal RNA (rRNA), but instead snR30 is critical for 18S rRNA processing during formation of the small subunit (SSU) of the ribosome. Specifically, snR30 is essential for three pre-rRNA cleavages at the A0/01, A1/1, and A2/2a sites in yeast and humans, respectively. Accordingly, snR30 is the only essential H/ACA guide RNA in yeast. However, the molecular mechanism of snR30 and how it promotes pre-rRNA processing remains under investigation.
  • 973
  • 21 Oct 2020
Topic Review
INK4a/ARF
Genetic alterations in the INK4a/ARF (or CDKN2A) locus have been reported in many cancer types, including melanoma, head and neck squamous cell carcinomas, lung, breast and pancreatic cancers.  The CDKN2A locus encodes two critical tumor suppressor proteins, the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p16INK4a and the p53 regulator p14ARF. The majority of CDKN2A alterations in melanoma selectively target p16INK4a or affect the coding sequence of both p16INK4a and p14ARF. There is also a subset of less common somatic and germline INK4a/ARF alterations that affect p14ARF, while not altering the syntenic p16INK4a coding regions. This review describes the frequency and types of somatic and germline alterations affecting the CDKN2A locus and their functional consequences in melanoma development. The clinical implications of CDKN2A inactivating alterations and their influence on treatment response and resistance are also described. 
  • 973
  • 21 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Membrane Disruption Properties of EOs
Essential oils (EOs) is new possible weapons to fight antimicrobial resistance due to their inherent antimicrobial properties. However, the potential pharmaceutical use of EOs is confronted by several limitations, including being non-specific in terms of drug targeting, possessing a high cytotoxicity as well as posing a high risk for causing skin irritation.
  • 972
  • 22 Apr 2021
Topic Review
Interconversion, Turnover and Degradation of Chlorophyll
Chlorophylls (Chls, Chl a and Chl b) are tetrapyrrole molecules essential for photosynthetic light harvesting and energy transduction in plants. Once formed, Chls are noncovalently bound to photosynthetic proteins on the thylakoid membrane. In contrast, they are dismantled from photosystems in response to environmental changes or developmental processes; thus, they undergo interconversion, turnover, and degradation.
  • 972
  • 23 Nov 2021
Topic Review
Placental Lactogen
Placental lactogen (PL) is a peptide hormone classified as a member of a growth hormone gene family. PL is secreted throughout pregnancy by both animal and human specialized endocrine cells. It is involved in the regulation of a range of gestational adaptations.
  • 971
  • 28 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Hyperuricemia and Gout
Hyperuricemia is a risk factor for gout. It has been well observed that a large proportion of individuals with hyperuricemia have never had a gout flare(s), while some patients with gout can have a normuricemia. This raises a puzzle of the real role of serum uric acid (SUA) in the occurrence of gout flares. As the molecule of uric acid has its dual effects in vivo with antioxidant properties as well as being an inflammatory promoter, it has been placed in a delicate position in balancing metabolisms. Gout seems to be a multifactorial metabolic disease and its pathogenesis should not rely solely on hyperuricemia or monosodium urate (MSU) crystals. 
  • 971
  • 22 Mar 2021
Topic Review
Pathophysiology of Nitrergic Enteric Neurons
Nitrergic enteric neurons are key players of the descending inhibitory reflex of intestinal peristalsis, therefore loss or damage of these neurons can contribute to developing gastrointestinal motility disturbances suffered by patients worldwide. There is accumulating evidence that the vulnerability of nitrergic enteric neurons to neuropathy is strictly region-specific and that the two main enteric plexuses display different nitrergic neuronal damage. Alterations both in the proportion of the nitrergic subpopulation and in the total number of enteric neurons suggest that modification of the neurochemical character or neuronal death occurs in the investigated gut segments. 
  • 971
  • 23 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Metformin Regulates Gluconeogenesis through Foxo1
Metformin is the first-line pharmacotherapy for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D). Metformin exerts its glucose-lowering effect primarily through decreasing hepatic glucose production (HGP). However, the precise molecular mechanisms of metformin remain unclear due to supra-pharmacological concentration of metformin used in the study. 
  • 971
  • 28 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Liver-Associated Injuries in COVID-19 Patients
The global outbreak of COVID-19 possesses serious challenges and adverse impacts for patients with progression of chronic liver disease and has become a major threat to public health. COVID-19 patients have a high risk of lung injury and multiorgan dysfunction that remains a major challenge to hepatology. COVID-19 patients and those with liver injury exhibit clinical manifestations, including elevation in ALT, AST, GGT, bilirubin, TNF-α, and IL-6 and reduction in the levels of CD4 and CD8. Liver injury in COVID-19 patients is induced through multiple factors, including a direct attack of SARS-CoV-2 on liver hepatocytes, hypoxia reperfusion dysfunction, cytokine release syndrome, drug-induced hepatotoxicity caused by lopinavir and ritonavir, immune-mediated inflammation, renin-angiotensin system, and coagulopathy. Cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying liver dysfunction are not fully understood in severe COVID-19 attacks. High mortality and the development of chronic liver diseases such as cirrhosis, alcoholic liver disease, autoimmune hepatitis, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and hepatocellular carcinoma are also associated with patients with liver damage. COVID-19 patients with preexisting or developing liver disease should be managed. They often need hospitalization and medication, especially in conjunction with liver transplants. 
  • 971
  • 13 Jan 2023
Topic Review
Cell-Free DNA and Bladder Cancer
Bladder cancer (BC) is the 10th most frequent cancer in the world. The initial diagnosis and surveillance of BC require a combination of invasive and non-invasive methods, which are costly and suffer from several limitations. Cystoscopy with urine cytology and histological examination presents the standard diagnostic approach. Various biomarkers (e.g., proteins, genes, and RNAs) have been extensively studied in relation to BC.
  • 969
  • 24 Nov 2022
Topic Review
MSC Senescence
Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are a heterogeneous population of stromal cells capable of self-renewal and multi-lineage differentiation into various tissues of mesodermal origin.
  • 968
  • 02 Sep 2021
Topic Review
DodecaRNAs (doRNAs)
DodecaRNAs (doRNAs) are a family of unusually short RNAs mapping to ribosomal RNA 5.8S, which were named according to the number of core nucleotides (12 nt) their members contain.
  • 968
  • 05 Oct 2021
Topic Review
3D Tissue and Organ Reconstruction
Bi-dimensional culture systems have represented the most used method to study cell biology outside the body for over a century. Although they convey useful information, such systems may lose tissue-specific architecture, biomechanical effectors, and biochemical cues deriving from the native extracellular matrix, with significant alterations in several cellular functions and processes. Notably, the introduction of three-dimensional (3D) platforms that are able to re-create in vitro the structures of the native tissue, have overcome some of these issues, since they better mimic the in vivo milieu and reduce the gap between the cell culture ambient and the tissue environment. 3D culture systems are currently used in a broad range of studies, from cancer and stem cell biology, to drug testing and discovery. 
  • 968
  • 24 Feb 2021
Topic Review
Use of Lateral Flow Assays in Forensics
Already for decades lateral flow assays (LFAs) are ‘common use’ devices in daily life. Also, for forensic use LFAs are developed, such as for the analysis of illicit drugs and DNA, but also for the detection of explosives and body fluid identification. Despite their advantages, including ease-of-use, LFAs are not yet frequently applied at a crime scene. 
  • 967
  • 20 Jul 2023
Topic Review
Follicular Fluid
Follicular fluid (FF) serves as a complex microenvironment for germ cell–somatic cell communication. It encompasses a variety of metabolites and enables different reactions to take place that are crucial to oocyte growth. It is derived from the diffusion of serum, transudate of plasma, and metabolites synthesized in the follicle wall that will later be altered by granulosa cells (GCs) and theca cells.
  • 967
  • 10 Jun 2022
Topic Review
Tibolone
Low bone mineral density (osteoporosis) is associated with vertebral and nonvertebral fractures in postmenopausal women. Tibolone is a low-risk hormone replacement therapy alternative to estrogen therapy, effective in the treatment of menopausal symptoms and prevention of bone loss, but the evidence is controversial. This study with meta-analysis summarizes the clinical trials of the tibolone effect on percentage change of bone mineral density in the lumbar spine, femoral neck, and total hip in postmenopausal women.
  • 966
  • 01 Apr 2021
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