Search results for "Modula"
showing 10 items of 1481 documents
Parsimonious Scenario for the Emergence of Viroid-Like Replicons De Novo
2019
This article belongs to the Special Issue Viroid-2018: International Conference on Viroids and Viroid-Like RNAs. Viroids are small, non-coding, circular RNA molecules that infect plants. Different hypotheses for their evolutionary origin have been put forward, such as an early emergence in a precellular RNA World or several de novo independent evolutionary origins in plants. Here, we discuss the plausibility of de novo emergence of viroid-like replicons by giving theoretical support to the likelihood of different steps along a parsimonious evolutionary pathway. While Avsunviroidae-like structures are relatively easy to obtain through evolution of a population of random RNA sequences of fixe…
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…
The SCOPE of definitive chemoradiotherapy in locally advanced esophageal cancer: what direction for the future?
2016
Exclusive chemoradiotherapy (CRT) delivering 50 Gy over 5 weeks with cisplatin and fluorouracil-based chemotherapy is a cornerstone in locally advanced esophageal cancer or non-operable patients since the results of the pivotal study of US Intergroup RTOG-8501 (1). This trial has successfully demonstrated that some patients with esophageal carcinoma may be long-term survivors so that this treatment is now definitely accepted as curative (2). Nevertheless the prognosis is still very disappointing with a 5-year overall survival rate of approximately 25%. Attempts to improve overall survival by escalating the dose of radiotherapy with concurrent cisplatin and fluorouracil has been assessed in …
Extracellular vesicles and redox modulation in aging
2019
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are nowadays known to be mediators of cell-to-cell communication involved in physiological and pathological processes. The current expectation is their use as specific biomarkers and therapeutic tools due to their inner characteristics. However, several investigations still need to be done before we can use them in the clinic. First, their categorization is still under debate, although an accurate classification of EVs subtypes should be based on physical characteristics, biochemical composition or condition description of the cell of origin. Second, EVs carry lipids, proteins and nucleic acids that can induce epigenetic modifications on target cells. These carg…
An RNA toolbox for cancer immunotherapy.
2018
Cancer immunotherapy has revolutionized oncology practice. However, current protein and cell therapy tools used in cancer immunotherapy are far from perfect, and there is room for improvement regarding their efficacy and safety. RNA-based structures have diverse functions, ranging from gene expression and gene regulation to pro-inflammatory effects and the ability to specifically bind different molecules. These functions make them versatile tools that may advance cancer vaccines and immunomodulation, surpassing existing approaches. These technologies should not be considered as competitors of current immunotherapies but as partners in synergistic combinations and as a clear opportunity to r…
Wharton’s Jelly Mesenchymal Stromal Cells from Human Umbilical Cord: a Close-up on Immunomodulatory Molecules Featured In Situ and In Vitro
2019
Therapeutic options for end-stage organ failure are often limited to whole organ transplantation. The tolerance or rejection of the transplanted organ is driven by both early non-specific innate and specific adaptive responses. The use of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) is considered a promising tool in regenerative medicine. Human umbilical cord (HUC) is an easily available source of MSCs, without relevant ethical issues. Moreover, Wharton's jelly-derived MSCs (WJ-MSCs), showed consistent immunomodulatory features that may be useful to promote immune tolerance in the host after transplantation. Few data are available on the phenotype of WJ-MSCs in situ. We investigated the expression of i…
Imaging through scattering media by microstructured illumination
2016
We describe a method to image objects through scattering media based on microstructured illumination. A spatial light modulator is used to project a set of microstructured light patterns onto the sample. The image is retrieved computationally from the photocurrent fluctuations provided by a detector with no spatial structure. We review several optical setups developed in the last years with different illumination strategies and applied to different turbid media. In particular we introduce a new non-invasive optical system based on a reflection configuration. Our technique does not require coherent light, raster scanning, time-gated detection or a-priori calibration processes. Furthermore it…
Reverse screening on indicaxanthin from Opuntia ficus-indica as natural chemoactive and chemopreventive agent
2018
Indicaxanthin is a bioactive and bioavailable betalain pigment extracted from Opuntia ficus indica fruits. Indicaxanthin has pharmacokinetic proprieties, rarely found in other phytochemicals, and it has been demonstrated that it provides a broad-spectrum of pharmaceutical activity, exerting anti-proliferative, anti-inflammatory, and neuromodulator effects. The discovery of the Indicaxanthin physiological targets plays an important role in understanding the biochemical mechanism. In this study, combined reverse pharmacophore mapping, reverse docking, and text-based database search identified Inositol Trisphosphate 3-Kinase (ITP3K-A), Glutamate carboxypeptidase II (GCPII), Leukotriene-A4 hydr…
Comparative study of the production of soluble factors in human placenta-derived mesenchymal stromal/stem cells grown in adherent conditions or as ag…
2019
Abstract Different approaches have been studied in both preclinical and clinical settings to develop cell-based therapies and/or engineered cell-based therapies to better integrate grafts with the host. In these techniques, much attention is addressed to the use of adult stem cells such as mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), but identifying and obtaining sufficient numbers of therapeutic cells, and the right route of administration, is often a challenge. In this study, we tested the feasibility of encapsulating human amnion-derived MSCs (hAMSCs) in a semipermeable and biocompatible fiber as a new approach for regenerative medicine. Our data showed that hAMSCs aggregated in the device constitutes…
2-methoxyestradiol impacts on amino acids-mediated metabolic reprogramming in osteosarcoma cells by interaction with NMDA receptor
2017
Deregulation of serine and glycine metabolism, have been identified to function as metabolic regulators in supporting tumor cell growth. The role of serine and glycine in regulation of cancer cell proliferation is complicated, dependent on concentrations of amino acids and tissue-specific. D-serine and glycine are coagonists of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor subunit GRIN1. Importantly, NMDA receptors are widely expressed in cancer cells and play an important role in regulation of cell death, proliferation and metabolism of numerous malignancies. The aim of the present work was to associate the metabolism of glycine and D-serine with the anticancer activity of 2-methoxyestradiol. 2-methoxyest…