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Topic Review
Biography
Topic Review
Seminal Microbiome on Human Fertility
Certain clusters of bacteria have been associated with fertility and health, while the outgrowth of several species is potentially correlated with infertility indicators. This constitutes a compelling reason for outlining the external elements that may induce changes in the seminal microbiome composition, like lifestyle factors, gut microbiota, pathologies, prebiotics, and probiotics.
246
15 Mar 2024
Topic Review
Plasticity of Human RPE Cells
The retina is a specialized light-sensitive tissue in the eye of mammals and humans that provides visual perception, and is actively studied at the cellular, molecular and genetic levels. Photoreceptor cells located in its outer part perform the function of converting light (phototransduction) into neurochemical signals, which are processed in the neurons of the retina and the brain and ultimately form our vision. Functional support for retinal neurons is provided by retinal pigment epithelium cells (RPE cells). The retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) is a single-row layer of pigmented, hexagonal, normally non-proliferating cells located between the choroid and the photoreceptor cells of the retina. The RPE performs many diverse functions to support the retina, including the transepithelial transport of substances, the phagocytosis of photoreceptor outer segments, and a number of processes in the visual cycle, as well as participation in the blood–retinal barrier and secretion of growth factors. The RPE plays an important role in regulating the redox homeostasis of retinal photoreceptors. A few cells have been isolated from the human RPE, which, according to strict clonal analysis and other stem cell criteria (self-renewal and the production of differential progeny), were classified as adult RPE stem cells (RPESCs). The number of mammalian RPESCs was determined in vitro experiments, from which it became clear that to 2% of cells are capable of proliferation, self-renewal, and the expression of specific genes characterizing stem cells. Depending on microenvironmental conditions, RPESCs can remain quiescent in a stemness state or exhibit multipotent differentiation. RPESCs can produce RPE cells and are capable of generating different types of photoreceptors and nerve cells, or mesenchymal cells.
189
15 Mar 2024
Topic Review
Nanomaterials Acting on Natural Killer Cells
Tumor immunotherapy, which includes immune target inhibition and chimeric antigen receptor cell treatment, is currently evolving quickly. Among them, natural killer (NK) cells are gradually becoming another preferred cell immunotherapy after T cell immunotherapy due to their unique killing effects in innate and adaptive immunity. NK cell therapy has shown encouraging outcomes in clinical studies; however, there are still some problems, including limited efficacy in solid tumors, inadequate NK cell penetration, and expensive treatment expenses. Noteworthy benefits of nanomaterials include their chemical specificity, biocompatibility, and ease of manufacturing; these make them promising instruments for enhancing NK cell anti-tumor immune responses. Nanomaterials can promote NK cell homing and infiltration, participate in NK cell modification and non-invasive cell tracking and imaging modes, and greatly increase the effectiveness of NK cell immunotherapy.
555
13 Mar 2024
Topic Review
HSP-Related iPS Cell Lines
Hereditary spastic paraplegias (HSPs) comprise a family of degenerative diseases mostly hitting descending axons of corticospinal neurons. Depending on the gene and mutation involved, the disease could present as a pure form with limb spasticity, or a complex form associated with cerebellar and/or cortical signs such as ataxia, dysarthria, epilepsy, and intellectual disability. The progressive nature of HSPs invariably leads patients to require walking canes or wheelchairs over time. The advent of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells allowed instead the direct study of morphological and molecular properties of the patient’s affected neurons generated upon in vitro differentiation.
287
12 Mar 2024
Topic Review
Mitochondria and Carcinogenesis
Mitochondria are commonly perceived as “cellular power plants”. In addition to energy conversion, mitochondria play many other roles in cell operations. They act in calcium signaling, stress response, and stem cell regulation and also serve as general cellular signaling hubs. They regulate aging and control cell death (apoptosis). Mitochondria play a crucial role as a mediator between the extracellular matrix (ECM) and the cell nucleus, and monitoring and controlling this relationship can be important for cancer prevention and treatment. Mitochondrial defects can include aberrated metabolism (the Warburg effect) or signaling dysfunction (reactive oxygen species or reactive oxygen species (ROS) production).
172
12 Mar 2024
Topic Review
Regulation of NcRNAs on Ferroptosis
Ferroptosis is a non-apoptotic mode of cell death driven by membrane lipid peroxidation and is characterized by elevated intracellular levels of Fe2+, ROS, and lipid peroxidation. Studies have shown that ferroptosis is related to the development of multiple diseases, such as cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, and acute myeloid leukemia. Ferroptosis plays a dual role in the occurrence and development of these diseases. Ferroptosis mainly involves iron metabolism, ROS, and lipid metabolism. Various mechanisms, including epigenetic regulation, have been reported to be deeply involved in ferroptosis. Abnormal epigenetic modifications have been reported to promote tumor onset or other diseases and resistance to chemotherapy drugs.
139
12 Mar 2024
Topic Review
Aberrant
MET
Receptor Tyrosine Kinase Signaling in Glioblastoma
Despite therapeutic advances, the treatment of brain tumors, including glioblastoma (GBM), an aggressive primary brain tumor associated with poor prognosis and resistance to therapy, remains a significant challenge. Receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) are critical during development and in adulthood. Dysregulation of RTKs through activating mutations and gene amplification contributes to many human cancers and provides attractive therapeutic targets for treatment. Under physiological conditions, the Met RTK, the hepatocyte growth factor/scatter factor (HGF/SF) receptor, promotes fundamental signaling cascades that modulate epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) involved in tissue repair and embryogenesis. In cancer, increased Met activity promotes tumor growth and metastasis by providing signals for proliferation, survival, and migration/invasion. Recent clinical genomic studies have unveiled multiple mechanisms by which MET is genetically altered in GBM, including focal amplification, chromosomal rearrangements generating gene fusions, and a splicing variant mutation (exon 14 skipping, METex14del). Notably, MET overexpression contributes to chemotherapy resistance in GBM by promoting the survival of cancer stem-like cells. This is linked to distinctive Met-induced pathways, such as the upregulation of DNA repair mechanisms, which can protect tumor cells from the cytotoxic effects of chemotherapy.
173
11 Mar 2024
Topic Review
Mammalian Synapse by the Post-Translational Modification SUMOylation
Neurotransmission occurs within highly specialized compartments forming the active synapse where the complex organization and dynamics of the interactions are tightly orchestrated both in time and space. Post-translational modifications (PTMs) are central to these spatiotemporal regulations to ensure an efficient synaptic transmission. SUMOylation is a dynamic PTM that modulates the interactions between proteins and consequently regulates the conformation, the distribution and the trafficking of the SUMO-target proteins. SUMOylation plays a crucial role in synapse formation and stabilization, as well as in the regulation of synaptic transmission and plasticity.
302
08 Mar 2024
Topic Review
EMP/EMT-Dependent Fibrosis
Fibrosis represents a process characterized by excessive deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins. It often represents the evolution of pathological conditions, causes organ failure, and can, in extreme cases, compromise the functionality of organs to the point of causing death.
196
08 Mar 2024
Topic Review
Cytochalasins as Modulators of Stem Cell Differentiation
Regenerative medicine aims to identify new research strategies for the repair and restoration of tissues damaged by pathological or accidental events. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) play a key role in regenerative medicine approaches due to their specific properties, such as the high rate of proliferation, the ability to differentiate into several cell lineages, the immunomodulatory potential, and their easy isolation with minimal ethical issues. One of the main goals of regenerative medicine is to modulate, both in vitro and in vivo, the differentiation potential of MSCs to improve their use in the repair of damaged tissues. Over the years, much evidence has been collected about the ability of cytochalasins, a large family of 60 metabolites isolated mainly from fungi, to modulate multiple properties of stem cells (SCs), such as proliferation, migration, and differentiation, by altering the organization of the cyto- and the nucleo-skeleton. The ability of two different cytochalasins, cytochalasins D and B, to influence specific SC differentiation programs modulated by several agents (chemical or physical) or intra- and extra-cellular factors, is discussed herein, with particular attention to human MSCs (hMSCs).
197
08 Mar 2024
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