Search results for "Communication."

Role of ATP during the initiation of microvascularization: acceleration of an autocrine sensing mechanism facilitating chemotaxis by inorganic polyph…

2018

The in vitro tube formation assay with human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) was applied to identify the extra- and intracellular sources of metabolic energy/ATP required for cell migration during the initial stage of microvascularization. Extracellularly, the physiological energy-rich polymer, inorganic polyphosphate (polyP), applied as biomimetic amorphous calcium polyP microparticles (Ca-polyP-MP), is functioning as a substrate for ATP generation most likely via the combined action of the alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and the adenylate kinase (AK). The linear Ca-polyP-MP with a size of 40 phosphate units, close to the polyP in the acidocalcisomes in the blood platelets, were found …

Aurora Kinase A expression predicts platinum-resistance and adverse outcome in high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma patients

2016

High-Grade Serous Ovarian Carcinoma (HGSOC) is the predominant histotype of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC), characterized by advanced stage at diagnosis, frequent TP53 mutation, rapid progression, and high responsiveness to platinum-based-chemotherapy. To date, standard first-line-chemotherapy in advanced EOC includes platinum salts and paclitaxel with or without bevacizumab. The major prognostic factor is the response duration from the end of the platinum-based treatment (platinum-free interval) and about 10–0 % of EOC patients bear a platinum-refractory disease or develop early resistance (platinum-free interval shorter than 6 months). On these bases, a careful selection of patients who …

Associations of epstein-barr virus-positive gastric adenocarcinoma with circulating mediators of inflammation and immune response

2018

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-positive gastric adenocarcinoma exhibits locally intense inflammation but systemic manifestations are uncertain. Our study examined whether circulating mediators of inflammation and immune response differ by tumor EBV status. From a Latvian series of 302 gastric cancer cases, we measured plasma levels of 92 immune-related proteins in the 28 patients with EBV-positive tumors and 34 patients with EBV-negative tumors. Eight markers were statistically significantly higher with tumor EBV positivity: chemokine C-C motif ligand (CCL) 20 (Odds Ratio (OR) = 3.6; p-trend = 0.001), chemokine C-X-C motif ligand 9 (OR = 3.6; p-trend = 0.003), programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1; OR…

Autoimmune polyglandular diseases.

2019

Autoimmune polyglandular diseases (APD) are defined as the presence of two autoimmune -induced endocrine failures. With respect to the significant morbidity and potential mortality of APD, the diagnostic objective is to detect APD at an early stage, with the advantage of less frequent complications, effective therapy and better prognosis. This requires that patients at risk be regularly screened for subclinical endocrinopathies prior to clinical manifestation. Regarding the time interval between manifestation of first and further endocrinopathies, regular and long-term follow-up is warranted. Quality of life and psychosocial status are poor in APD patients and involved relatives. Familial c…

The Effects of N-Acetylcysteine on the Rat Mesocorticolimbic Pathway: Role of mGluR5 Receptors and Interaction with Ethanol

2021

N-acetylcysteine (NAC) is a prodrug that is marketed as a mucolytic agent and used for the treatment of acetaminophen overdose. Over the last few decades, evidence has been gathered that suggests the potential use of NAC as a new pharmacotherapy for alcohol use disorder (AUD), although its mechanism of action is already being debated. In this paper, we set out to assess both the potential involvement of the glutamate metabotropic receptors (mGluR) in the possible dual effect of NAC administered at two different doses and NAC’s effect on ethanol-induced activation. To this aim, 30 or 120 mg/kg of NAC was intraperitoneally administered to rats with the presence or absence of the negative allo…

Activation of α1A-adrenoceptors desensitizes the rat aorta response to phenylephrine through a neuronal NOS pathway, a mechanism lost with ageing

2017

Background and purpose A NO-mediated desensitization of vasoconstrictor responses evoked by stimulation of α1 -adrenoceptors has been reported in different vessels. We investigated the involvement of each α1 -adrenoceptor subtype and constitutive NOS isoforms and the influence of ageing and hypertension on this process. Experimental approach Wistar and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), 16, 32, 52 and 72 weeks-old, were used to evaluate the desensitization process. Expression of α1 -adrenoceptor subtypes, endothelial NOS (eNOS) and neuronal NOS (nNOS) were determined in rat aorta and left ventricle (LV). Expression levels were also evaluated in LV of a group of heart failure patients wi…

The Immunomodulatory Properties of the Human Amnion-Derived Mesenchymal Stromal/Stem Cells Are Induced by INF-γ Produced by Activated Lymphomonocytes…

2020

Human mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (MSCs), being immunoprivileged and having immunomodulatory ability, represent a promising tool to be applied in the field of regenerative medicine. Based on numerous in vitro evidences, the immunological effects of MSCs on immune cells could depend on different mechanisms as cell-to-cell contact and paracrine signals. Furthermore, recent studies have shown that the immunomodulatory activity of MSCs is initiated by activated immune cells; thus, their interaction represents a potential homeostatic mechanism by which MSCs regulate the immune response. MSCs also release exosomes able to give different effects, in a paracrine manner, by influencing inflammato…

MycoKey Round Table Discussions of Future Directions in Research on Chemical Detection Methods, Genetics and Biodiversity of Mycotoxins

2018

MycoKey, an EU-funded Horizon 2020 project, includes a series of “Roundtable Discussions” to gather information on trending research areas in the field of mycotoxicology. This paper includes summaries of the Roundtable Discussions on Chemical Detection and Monitoring of mycotoxins and on the role of genetics and biodiversity in mycotoxin production. Discussions were managed by using the nominal group discussion technique, which generates numerous ideas and provides a ranking for those identified as the most important. Four questions were posed for each research area, as well as two questions that were common to both discussions. Test kits, usually antibody based, were one major focus of the…

In cutaneous leishmaniasis, induction of retinoic acid in skin-derived Langerhans cells is not sufficient for induction of parasite persistence-media…

2017

Paracrine effects of human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells in inflammatory stress-induced senescence features of osteoarthritic chondrocytes

2016

Aging and exposure to stress would determine the chondrocyte phenotype in osteoarthritis (OA). In particular, chronic inflammation may contribute to stress-induced senescence of chondrocytes and cartilage degeneration during OA progression. Recent studies have shown that adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells exert paracrine effects protecting against degenerative changes in chondrocytes. We have investigated whether the conditioned medium (CM) from adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells may regulate senescence features induced by inflammatory stress in OA chondrocytes. Our results indicate that CM down-regulated senescence markers induced by interleukin-1β including senescence-associated β…