Search results for " laboratori"
showing 10 items of 167 documents
Betulinic Acid Kills Colon Cancer Stem Cells
2016
Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are considered to be the origin of cancer and it is suggested that they are resistant to chemotherapy. Current therapies fail to eradicate CSCs and therefore selecting a resistant cell subset that is able to facilitate tumor recurrences. Betulinic acid (BetA) is a broad acting natural compound, shown to induce cell death via the inhibition of the stearoyl-CoA- desaturase (SCD- 1). This enzyme converts saturated fatty acids into unsaturated fatty acids and is over-expressed in tumor cells. Here we show that BetA induces rapid cell death in all colon CSCs tested and is able to affect the CSCs directly as shown, via the loss of clonogenic capacity. Similar results were…
Cancer stem cell-based models of colorectal cancer reveal molecular determinants of therapy resistance
2016
Abstract Colorectal cancer (CRC) therapy mainly relies on the use of conventional chemotherapeutic drugs combined, in a subset of patients, with epidermal growth factor receptor [EGFR]-targeting agents. Although CRC is considered a prototype of a cancer stem cell (CSC)-driven tumor, the effects of both conventional and targeted therapies on the CSC compartment are largely unknown. We have optimized a protocol for colorectal CSC isolation that allowed us to obtain CSC-enriched cultures from primary tumor specimens, with high efficiency. CSC isolation was followed by in vitro and in vivo validation, genetic characterization, and drug sensitivity analysis, thus generating panels of CSC lines w…
ROS and Lipid Droplet accumulation induced by high glucose exposure in healthy colon and Colorectal Cancer Stem Cells
2020
Lipid Droplets (LDs) are emerging as crucial players in colon cancer development and maintenance. Their expression has been associated with high tumorigenicity in Cancer Stem Cells (CSCs), so that they have been proposed as a new functional marker in Colorectal Cancer Stem Cells (CR-CSCs). They are also indirectly involved in the modulation of the tumor microenvironment through the production of pro-inflammatory molecules. There is growing evidence that a possible connection between metabolic alterations and malignant transformation exists, although the effects of nutrients, primarily glucose, on the CSC behavior are still mostly unexplored. Glucose is an essential fuel for cancer cells, an…
Dietary restriction: could it be considered as speed bump on tumor progression road?
2016
Dietary restrictions, including fasting (or long-term starvation), calorie restriction (CR), and short-term starvation (STS), are considered a strong rationale that may protect against various diseases, including age-related diseases and cancer. Among dietary approaches, STS, in which food is not consumed during designed fasting periods but is typically not restricted during designated feeding periods, seems to be more suitable, because other dietary regimens involving prolonged fasting periods could worsen the health conditions of cancer patients, being they already naturally prone to weight loss. Until now, the limited amount of available data does not point to a single gene, pathway, or …
The first year of the “open discovery of stem laboratories” (ODL) project
2018
The Open Discovery of STEM Laboratories (ODL) project, co-funded by the European Community Erasmus+ KA2 program for 30 months, starting from November 2015, involves five countries: Spain, Italy, Greece, Estonia and Lithuania. It aims to implement teacher collaboration in creating and using μMOOCs (very short version of MOOCs-Massive Open Online Courses) for encouraging the use of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) remote/virtual laboratories into lessons. The challenge of the project is to impact on teaching process and inspire pedagogical innovation and modernization by means of open education resources, teaching/learning tools and best practices provided by European e…
Thermomineral waters of Greece: geochemical characterization
2020
Methodological Aspects of the Application of the Naka-Rushton Equation to Clinical Electroretinogram
1993
The nonlinear relation between stimulus intensity and response amplitude of the electroretinogram (ERG) scotopic b wave can be described by a curve based on the Naka-Rushton (NR) equation. Up to now, the NR equation has been used to assess the features of the normal and pathological ERG, but the best approach for a correct evaluation of the parameters is still debatable. The parameters are thought to be related to the different conditions of retinal activities. The method is well known in experimental laboratories but is quite unusual at the clinical level. In the present paper the derivative analysis of the NR function is proposed as an easier approach to understand the variations of the N…
Imparare dall'architettura
2022
Il Laboratorio di progettazione architettonica della prima annualità si rivolge ad allievi che, per quanto non abbiano alcuna esperienza sulla pratica del progetto, sono chiamati, da subito, a confrontarsi con il fare progettuale, e ciò a differenza di quanto, in genere, accade in altri ambiti di apprendimento dell’esercizio di professioni specialistiche come quella dell’architetto. L’incipit, ovvero l’inizio, l’azione dell’incipĕre rappresenta, quindi, l’avvio, il principio, l’incominciare di un percorso formativo in cui tutti, benché neofiti, sono chiamati a un’immediata e iniziale frequenza del “saper fare” riguardo alla progettazione architettonica. E se il divenire dell’architettura, a…
INCIPIT LAB
2022
Il libro descrive un’esperienza didattica condotta dall’anno accademico 2015/2016 al 2017/2018 e segna l’avvio del coordinamento di Incipit Lab. Tale iniziativa ha offerto un confronto, a livello nazionale e internazionale, fra i laboratori di progettazione architettonica del primo anno accademico. La sperimentazione effettuata trova la sua origine nel coordinamento dei laboratori di primo anno del Corso di Studi in Architettura dell’Università degli Studi di Palermo con il coinvolgimento, inoltre, del Laboratorio di Architettura e Composizione I del Corso di Studi in Ingegneria Edile-Architettura, dello stesso Ateneo. Incipit Lab. propone, attraverso un coordinamento, giunto al suo sesto a…
Focused Ultrasound Effects on Osteosarcoma Cell Lines
2019
MRI guided Focused Ultrasound (MRgFUS) has shown to be effective therapeutic modality for non-invasive clinical interventions in ablating of uterine fibroids, in bone metastasis palliative treatments, and in breast, liver, and prostate cancer ablation. MRgFUS combines high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) with MRI images for treatment planning and real time thermometry monitoring, thus enabling non-invasive ablation of tumor tissue. Although in the literature there are several studies on the Ultrasound (US) effects on cell in culture, there is no systematic evidence of the biological effect of Magnetic Resonance guided Focused Ultrasound Surgery (MRgFUS) treatment on osteosarcoma cells, …