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Topic Review
Biography
Topic Review
Immunostimulatory Properties of β-Glucans
β-glucan, one of the homopolysaccharides composed of D-glucose, exists widely in cereals and microorganisms and possesses various biological activities, including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-tumor properties. More recently, there has been mounting proof that β-glucan functions as a physiologically active “biological response modulator (BRM)”, promoting dendritic cell maturation, cytokine secretion, and regulating adaptive immune responses—all of which are directly connected with β-glucan-regulated glucan receptors.
290
20 Jun 2023
Topic Review
Sarcomeric versus Non-Sarcomeric HCM
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the most common heritable cardiovascular disorder and is characterized by left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), which is unexplained by abnormal loading conditions. HCM is inherited as an autosomal dominant trait and, in about 40% of patients, the causal mutation is identified in genes encoding sarcomere proteins.
362
20 Jun 2023
Topic Review
Phytochemicals to Counteract the Stages of Liver Disease
The liver is composed of several cell types, mainly including hepatocytes, cholangiocytes, stellate cells, sinusoidal cells, and Kupffer cells. Hepatocytes are the most abundant cells in the liver volume, and they perform many biological functions attributed to this organ; cholangiocytes are polarized cells that line the bile ducts within the liver and play a crucial role in the secretion and modification of bile, which is essential for the digestion and absorption of fats in the small intestine, in addition to their immunological functions; hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) are a multifaceted cell population existing as a quiescent form that can be activated when damage is induced to promote wound healing; sinusoidal endothelial cells are a specialized endothelial population that coat the hepatic sinusoids and allow for the exchange of nutrients, hormones, and waste products between the blood and the liver cells; and finally, Kupffer cells are a type of dedicated macrophage of the liver that help to remove foreign particles such as bacteria and viruses.
383
20 Jun 2023
Topic Review
Pathophysiology of Cholangiopathies
Cholestasis is a condition characterized by decrease in bile flow due to progressive pathological states that lead to chronic cholestatic liver diseases which affect the biliary tree at the intrahepatic and extrahepatic level. Cholestasis can pose risks to overall health, as the reduced flow of bile can hinder the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins and nutrients, leading to deficiencies. Additionally, it can induce other complications other such as cirrhosis, liver failure, malignancies and bone disease. Early diagnosis and adequate management are crucial in treating cholestasis in order to alleviate symptoms, prevent complications and address the underlying cause.
466
20 Jun 2023
Topic Review
Breast Cancer Dormancy in the Bone Marrow
Breast cancer cells travel via the bloodstream to the bone before the cancer is detectable in the breast. These disseminated cells are resistant to adjuvant chemotherapy and hormone therapy administered for the very purpose of eliminating them. They recur steadily for more than 20 years, resulting in incurable diseases. The bone marrow location, or niche, which normally provides a nest for blood-forming cells to enable them to generate blood for the entire lifetime of an individual, also protects these disseminated tumor cells and places them into a state of quiescence called dormancy.
446
20 Jun 2023
Topic Review
Apoptosis and Autophagy in Human Colorectal Cancer Development
Colorectal cancer (CRC) remains a major life-threatening malignancy. Apoptosis and autophagy are two processes that share common signaling pathways, are linked by functional relationships and have similar protein components. During the development of cancer, the two processes can trigger simultaneously in the same cell, causing, in some cases, an inhibition of autophagy by apoptosis or apoptosis by autophagy. Malignant cells that have accumulated genetic alterations can take advantage of any alterations in the apoptotic process and as a result, progress easily in the cancerous transformation. Autophagy often plays a suppressive role during the initial stages of carcinogenicity, while in the later stages of cancer development it can play a promoting role. It is extremely important to determine the regulation of this duality of autophagy in the development of CRC and to identify the molecules involved, as well as the signals and the mechanisms behind it. All the reported experimental results indicate that, while the antagonistic effects of autophagy and apoptosis occur in an adverse environment characterized by deprivation of oxygen and nutrients, leading to the formation and development of CRC, the effects of promotion and collaboration usually involve an auxiliary role of autophagy compared to apoptosis.
433
20 Jun 2023
Topic Review
Sodium–Glucose Cotransporter 2 and Kidney Function
Sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) are a relatively novel class of molecules named gliflozines that were originally designed to control glycemia, but over and above their effect on the glycemic metabolism, they unexpectedly improved the management of clinical conditions involving the function of the heart and kidneys. Importantly, the benefits of SGLT2i go beyond guideline-directed medical therapy, in that the drug’s metabolic effects on the kidneys and heart ameliorate the entire cardio–circulatory outcome.
286
20 Jun 2023
Topic Review
CircRNAs and RNA Editing in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is an incurable motor neuron disease caused by upper and lower motor neuron death. As aging is a major risk factor for ALS, age-related molecular changes may provide clues for the development of new therapeutic strategies. Dysregulation of age-dependent RNA metabolism plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of ALS. In addition, failure of RNA editing at the glutamine/arginine (Q/R) site of GluA2 mRNA causes excitotoxicity due to excessive Ca2+ influx through Ca2+-permeable α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionic acid receptors, which is recognized as an underlying mechanism of motor neuron death in ALS. Circular RNAs (circRNAs), a circular form of cognate RNA generated by back-splicing, are abundant in the brain and accumulate with age. Hence, they are assumed to play a role in neurodegeneration. Emerging evidence has demonstrated that age-related dysregulation of RNA editing and changes in circRNA expression are involved in ALS pathogenesis.
387
20 Jun 2023
Topic Review
Group I Metabotropic Glutamate Receptors
Group I metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRI), including mGluR1 and mGluR5 subtypes, modulate essential brain functions by affecting neuronal excitability, intracellular calcium dynamics, protein synthesis, dendritic spine formation, and synaptic transmission and plasticity.
386
20 Jun 2023
Topic Review
High-Throughput Screening for Neurodegenerative Diseases
Neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs) are incurable and debilitating conditions that result in progressive degeneration and/or death of nerve cells in the central nervous system (CNS). High-throughput screening (HTS) has increasingly been used for novel drug discovery in the field of pharmaceutics replacing the traditional “trial and error” approach to identify therapeutic targets and validate biological effects. HTS involves assaying and screening a large number of biological effectors and modulators against designated and exclusive targets.
394
20 Jun 2023
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