Search results for "ARTICLES"
showing 10 items of 9626 documents
Expression of regulatory genes in the embryonic brain of a lizard and implications for understanding pallial organization and evolution
2017
The comparison of gene expression patterns in the embryonic brain of mouse and chicken is being essential for understanding pallial organization. However, the scarcity of gene expression data in reptiles, crucial for understanding evolution, makes it difficult to identify homologues of pallial divisions in different amniotes. We cloned and analyzed the expression of the genes Emx1, Lhx2, Lhx9, and Tbr1 in the embryonic telencephalon of the lacertid lizard Psammodromus algirus. The comparative expression patterns of these genes, critical for pallial development, are better understood when using a recently proposed six-part model of pallial divisions. The lizard medial pallium, expressing all…
Calcium Polyphosphate Nanoparticles Act as an Effective Inorganic Phosphate Source during Osteogenic Differentiation of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells
2019
The ability of bone-marrow-derived mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (BM-MSCs) to differentiate into osteoblasts makes them the ideal candidate for cell-based therapies targeting bone-diseases. Polyphosphate (polyP) is increasingly being studied as a potential inorganic source of phosphate for extracellular matrix mineralisation. The aim of this study is to investigate whether polyP can effectively be used as a phosphate source during the in vitro osteogenic differentiation of human BM-MSCs. Human BM-MSCs are cultivated under osteogenic conditions for 28 days with phosphate provided in the form of organic &beta
Behavioural and structural interventions in cancer prevention: towards the 2030 SDG horizon
2020
Interventions in individual lifestyles have often been viewed as the main component of cancer prevention strategies. However, environmental factors may facilitate or impede healthy behaviours. The behavioural‐structural dichotomy of cancer prevention can only be resolved by incorporating the ‘Health in All Policies’ perspective at multiple levels (legislation, promotion of healthy choices, health support groups, health education).
Establishment and characterization of a highly immunogenic human renal carcinoma cell line.
2015
Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the most common kidney cancer, and accounts for ~3% of all adult malignancies. RCC has proven refractory to conventional treatment modalities but appears to be the only histological form that shows any consistent response to immunotherapeutic approaches. The development of a clinically effective vaccine remains a major strategic target for devising active specific immunotherapy in RCC. We aimed to identify a highly immunogenic antigenic format for immunotherapeutic approaches, so as to boost immune responses in RCC patients. We established and cloned an immunogenic cell line, RCC85#21 named Elthem, which was derived from a non-aggressive and non-metastatic clea…
Extracellular Vesicles Shed by Melanoma Cells Contain a Modified Form of H1.0 Linker Histone and H1.0 mRNA-binding Proteins
2016
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are shed in the extracellular environment by both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Although produced from both normal and cancer cells, malignant cells release a much higher amount of EVs, which also contain tumor-specific proteins and RNAs. We previously found that G26/24 oligodendroglioma cells shed EVs that contain the pro-apoptotic factors FasL and TRAIL1-2. Interestingly, G26/24 release, via EVs, extracellular matrix remodelling proteases3, and H1° histone protein4, and mRNA. To shed further light on the role of EVs in discarding proteins and mRNAs otherwise able to counteract proliferative signals, we studied a melanoma cell line (A375). We found that also thes…
Duration of previous treatment as a prognostic factor in metastatic colorectal cancer treated with trifluridine/tipiracil
2018
We herein describe the findings from the trifluridine/tipiracil (TAS-102) Compassionate Use program in Latvia, set up prior to marketing authorization for the management of pretreated patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). The efficacy and safety of TAS-102 in patients with refractory mCRC were evaluated in the phase III trial RECOURSE. A previous report confirmed neutropenia and duration of previous treatment for mCRC as prognostic factors in TAS-102 users. The aim of the present study was to analyze possible prognostic factors, such as neutropenia, in TAS-102 responders. A retrospective analysis of 14 patients who received TAS-102 chemotherapy in two institutions in Latvia (Cl…
NGS‐based liquid biopsy profiling identifies mechanisms of resistance to ALK inhibitors: a step toward personalized NSCLC treatment
2021
Despite impressive and durable responses, nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients treated with anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) inhibitors (ALK‐Is) ultimately progress due to development of resistance. Here, we have evaluated the clinical utility of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) profiling by next‐generation sequencing (NGS) upon disease progression. We collected 26 plasma and two cerebrospinal fluid samples from 24 advanced ALK‐positive NSCLC patients at disease progression to an ALK‐I. These samples were analyzed by NGS and digital PCR. A tool to retrieve variants at the ALK locus was developed (VALK tool). We identified at least one resistance mutation in the ALK locus in ten (38.5%) p…
Dual Constant Domain-Fab: A novel strategy to improve half-life and potency of a Met therapeutic antibody
2016
The kinase receptor encoded by the Met oncogene is a sensible target for cancer therapy. The chimeric monovalent Fab fragment of the DN30 monoclonal antibody (MvDN30) has an odd mechanism of action, based on cell surface removal of Met via activation of specific plasma membrane proteases. However, the short half-life of the Fab, due to its low molecular weight, is a severe limitation for the deployment in therapy. This issue was addressed by increasing the Fab molecular weight above the glomerular filtration threshold through the duplication of the constant domains, in tandem (DCD-1) or reciprocally swapped (DCD-2). The two newly engineered molecules showed biochemical properties comparable…
Xenograft models for undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma not otherwise specified are essential for preclinical testing of therapeutic agents
2016
Undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma not otherwise specified belongs to the heterogeneous group of soft tissue tumors. It is preferentially located in the upper and lower extremities of the body, and surgical resection remains the only curative treatment. Preclinical animal models are crucial to improve the development of novel chemotherapeutic agents for the treatment of undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma. However, this approach has been hampered by the lack of reproducible animal models. The present study established two xenograft animal models generated from stable non-clonal cell cultures, and investigated the difference in chemotherapeutic effects on tumor growth between undifferenti…
Tissue Factor-Expressing Tumor-Derived Extracellular Vesicles Activate Quiescent Endothelial Cells via Protease-Activated Receptor-1
2017
Tissue factor (TF)-expressing tumor-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) can promote metastasis and pre-metastatic niche formation, but the mechanisms by which this occurs remain largely unknown. We hypothesized that generation of activated factor X (FXa) by TF expressed on tumor-derived EV could activate protease-activated receptors (PARs) on non-activated endothelial cells to induce a pro-adhesive and pro-inflammatory phenotype. We obtained EV from TF-expressing breast (MDA-MB-231) and pancreatic (BxPC3 and Capan-1) tumor cell lines. We measured expression of E-selectin and secretion of interleukin-8 (IL-8) in human umbilical vein endothelial cells after exposure to EV and various immunol…