Topic Review
Natural Killer Cell-Derived Extracellular Vesicles for Cancer
Cancer is the second leading contributor to global deaths caused by non-communicable diseases. The cancer cells are known to interact with the surrounding non-cancerous cells, including the immune cells and stromal cells, within the tumor microenvironment (TME) to modulate the tumor progression, metastasis and resistance. Chemotherapy and radiotherapy are the standard treatments for cancers. A new generation of immunotherapy using natural killer (NK) cells, cytotoxic CD8+ T-lymphocytes or macrophages was developed to achieve tumor-specific targeting and circumvent the adverse effects.
  • 645
  • 21 Feb 2023
Topic Review
Caffeine and Sports
Several performance-enhancing or ergogenic drugs have been linked to both significant adverse cardiovascular effects and increased cardiovascular risk. Even with increased scrutiny on the governance of performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) in professional sport and heightened awareness of the associated cardiovascular risk, there are some who are prepared to risk their use to gain competitive advantage. Caffeine is the most commonly consumed drug in the world and its ergogenic properties have been reported for decades. Thus, the removal of caffeine from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) list of banned substances, in 2004, has naturally led to an exponential rise in its use amongst athletes. 
  • 644
  • 23 Mar 2021
Topic Review
Physiological Role of Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase in Eye
Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways represent ubiquitous cellular signal transduction pathways that regulate all aspects of life (such as development of eye) and are frequently altered in disease. Once activated through phosphorylation, these MAPKs in turn phosphorylate and activate transcription factors present either in the cytoplasm or in the nucleus, leading to the expression of target genes and, as a consequence, they elicit various biological responses. 
  • 643
  • 08 Mar 2023
Topic Review
Myeloma Cell Death
Multiple myeloma (MM) is a neoplastic disease of plasma cells, characterized by a complex array of clinical manifestations. Despite extensive efforts and progress in the care of MM patients, the disease is still fatal because of de novo or acquired resistance of malignant cells to standard chemotherapies. In turn, new therapies and/or combination therapies are urgently needed. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are unstable and highly reactive chemical molecules, able to alter the main structural components of cells, such as proteins and lipids, and thus, modifying cell fates. ROS levels are tightly controlled in normal cells both for their production and degradation. In turn, an unbalance of the redox status might be exploited to induce cell death. This is indeed the case for myeloma cells even those that are resistant, opening new perspectives for refractory or relapsed MM patients. 
  • 643
  • 15 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Homology-Directed Repair in Cell Cycle
Genome editing is currently widely used in biomedical research; however, the use of this method in the clinic is still limited because of its low efficiency and possible side effects. Moreover, the correction of mutations that cause diseases in humans seems to be extremely important and promising. Numerous attempts to improve the efficiency of homology-directed repair-mediated correction of mutations in mammalian cells have focused on influencing the cell cycle. Homology-directed repair is known to occur only in the late S and G2 phases of the cell cycle, so safe ways are studied to enrich the cell culture with cells in these phases of the cell cycle. 
  • 641
  • 24 Jun 2022
Topic Review
Protease Inhibitor
In biology and biochemistry, protease inhibitors, or antiproteases, are molecules that inhibit the function of proteases (enzymes that aid the breakdown of proteins). Many naturally occurring protease inhibitors are proteins. In medicine, protease inhibitor is often used interchangeably with alpha 1-antitrypsin (A1AT, which is abbreviated PI for this reason). A1AT is indeed the protease inhibitor most often involved in disease, namely in alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency.
  • 640
  • 26 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Adipose Tissue and FoxO1
Forkhead box O class proteins (FoxOs) are expressed nearly in all tissues and are involved in different functions such as energy metabolism, redox homeostasis and differentiation. The plasticity of FoxOs is demonstrated by post-translational modifications that determine diverse levels of transcriptional regulations also controlled by their subcellular localization. Among the different members of the FoxO family, we focused on FoxO1 in adipose tissue, where it is abundantly expressed and is involved in differentiation and transdifferentiation processes. The capability of FoxO1 to respond differently in dependence of adipose tissue subtype underlines the specific involvement of the transcription factor in energy metabolism and the “browning” process of adipocytes. FoxO1 can localize to nuclear, cytoplasm, and mitochondrial compartments of adipocytes responding to different availability of nutrients and source of reactive oxygen species (ROS).
  • 638
  • 02 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Efferocytosis and Biological Barriers
Similar to previous pandemics, COVID-19 has been succeeded by well-documented post-infectious sequelae, including chronic fatigue, cough, shortness of breath, myalgia, and concentration difficulties. Dysfunctional efferocytosis has been associated with biological barrier disruption, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and a constellation of symptoms reminiscent of long COVID and other fatiguing illnesses.
  • 637
  • 15 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Hallmarks of Aging in Macrophages
The skin is our largest organ and the outermost protective barrier. Its aging reflects both intrinsic and extrinsic processes resulting from the constant insults it is exposed to. Aging in the skin is accompanied by specific epigenetic modifications, accumulation of senescent cells, reduced cellular proliferation/tissue renewal, altered extracellular matrix, and a proinflammatory environment favoring undesirable conditions, including disease onset. Macrophages (Mφ) are the most abundant immune cell type in the skin and comprise a group of heterogeneous and plastic cells that are key for skin homeostasis and host defense. However, they have also been implicated in orchestrating chronic inflammation during aging. Since Mφ are related to innate and adaptive immunity, it is possible that age-modified skin Mφ promote adaptive immunity exacerbation and exhaustion, favoring the emergence of proinflammatory pathologies, such as skin cancer.
  • 636
  • 10 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Bone Morphogenetic Protein 7
Bone morphogenetic protein-7 is (BMP-7) is a potent anti-inflammatory growth factor belonging to the Transforming Growth Factor Beta (TGF-β) superfamily. It plays an important role in various biological processes, including embryogenesis, hematopoiesis, neurogenesis and skeletal morphogenesis. BMP-7 stimulates the target cells by binding to specific membrane-bound receptor BMPR 2 and transduces signals through mothers against decapentaplegic (Smads) and mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways. To date, rhBMP-7 has been used clinically to induce the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells bordering the bone fracture site into chondrocytes, osteoclasts, the formation of new bone via calcium deposition and to stimulate the repair of bone fracture. However, its use in cardiovascular diseases, such as atherosclerosis, myocardial infarction, and diabetic cardiomyopathy is currently being explored. More importantly, these cardiovascular diseases are associated with inflammation and infiltrated monocytes where BMP-7 has been demonstrated to be a key player in the differentiation of pro-inflammatory monocytes, or M1 macrophages, into anti-inflammatory M2 macrophages, which reduces developed cardiac dysfunction. 
  • 636
  • 14 May 2021
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