Search results for "TOP"

Mortality in COVID-19 disease patients: Correlating Association of Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) with severe acute respiratory syndrome 2 (S…

2020

Highlights • In addition to ethnicity, socio-economic factors, prior vaccinations and exposure to other coronaviruses, other factors need to be considered to explain geographical and regional variations in susceptibility, severity of clinical expression of COVID-19 disease and outcomes. • Differences in peptide binding of SARS-CoV-2 variants to MHC class II, but not to MHC class I alleles frequent in individuals with African, Asian or Caucasian descent could be identified. • Single mutations in the wildtype of SARS-CoV-2, the so called B strain or L strain impact on MHC presentation • Most likely there is selective pressure from MHC class II alleles in regard to binding of the ORF8 (L84S) v…

Cytomegalovirus infection management in solid organ transplant recipients across European centers in the time of molecular diagnostics: An ESGICH sur…

2017

Background Scant information is available about how transplant centers are managing their use of quantitative molecular testing (QNAT) assays for active cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection monitoring in solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients. The current study was aimed at gathering information on current practices in the management of CMV infection across European centers in the era of molecular testing assays. Methods A questionnaire-based cross-sectional survey study was conducted by the European Study Group of Infections in Immunocompromised Hosts (ESGICH) of the Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID). The invitation and a weekly reminder with a personal link to …

2016

Successful reconstitution of cytomegalovirus (CMV)-specific CD8+ T cells by hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) gives a favorable prognosis for the control of CMV reactivation and prevention of CMV disease after hematoablative therapy of hematopoietic malignancies. In the transient immunocompromised state after HCT, pre-emptive cytoimmunotherapy with viral epitope-specific effector or memory CD8+ T cells is a promising option to speed up antiviral control. Despite high-coding capacity of CMVs and a broad CD8+ T-cell response on the population level, which reflects polymorphism in major histocompatibility complex class-I (MHC-I) glycoproteins, the response in terms of quantity of CD8+ T…

2017

Neuronal degeneration following traumatic brain injury (TBI) leads to intracellular accumulation of dysfunctional proteins and organelles. Autophagy may serve to facilitate degradation to overcome protein debris load and therefore be an important pro-survival factor. On the contrary, clearing may serve as pro-death factor by removal of essential or required proteins involved in pro-survival cascades. Sequestosome 1 (SQSTM1/p62) is a main regulator of the autophagic pathway that directs ubiquinated cargoes to autophagosomes for degradation. We show that SQSTM1 protein levels are suppressed 24 h and by trend 5 days after trauma. In line with these data the expression of Sqstm1 mRNA is reduced…

2016

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a widespread inflammatory skin disease with an early onset, characterized by pruritus, eczematous lesions and skin dryness. This chronic relapsing disease is believed to be primarily a result of a defective epidermal barrier function associated with genetic susceptibility, immune hyper-responsiveness of the skin and environmental factors. Although the important role of abnormal immune reactivity in the pathogenesis of AD is widely accepted, the role of regulatory T cells (Tregs) remains elusive. We found that the Treg population is expanded in a mouse model of AD, i.e. mice topically treated with vitamin D3 (VitD). Moreover, mice with AD-like symptoms exhibit incre…

Activin and inhibin A in predicting outcome of pregnancies of unknown location after ART

2018

Abstract The aim was to investigate the predictive value of a single serum determination of activin A and inhibin A for classifying pregnancies of unknown location (PUL) after IVF cycles in both own fresh and donated oocytes. A case–control study conducted in a University-affiliated IVF center. Pregnancy outcomes after own fresh oocytes included 12 failing PUL, 12 ectopic pregnancies (EP) and a control group of 24 singleton intrauterine pregnancies (IUP). The same scheme was followed for the oocyte donation recipients. Inhibin A, activin A, β-hCG and Progesterone (P) were determined. In the own fresh oocytes IVF, the AUC for predicting EP vs. f failing PUL were: Activin A: 0.458 and Inhibin…

miRNAs Regulation and Its Role as Biomarkers in Endometriosis.

2016

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs (18-22 nt) that function as modulators of gene expression. Since their discovery in 1993 in C. elegans, our knowledge about their biogenesis, function, and mechanism of action has increased enormously, especially in recent years, with the development of deep-sequencing technologies. New biogenesis pathways and sources of miRNAs are changing our concept about these molecules. The study of the miRNA contribution to pathological states is a field of great interest in research. Different groups have reported the implication of miRNAs in pathologies such as cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular, and gynecological diseases. It is also well-known that miRNAs…

Proton Pump Inhibitors Display Antitumor Effects in Barrett's Adenocarcinoma Cells

2016

Recent evidence has reported that proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) can exert antineoplastic effects through the disruption of pH homeostasis by inhibiting vacuolar ATPase (H+-VATPase), a proton pump overexpressed in several tumor cells, but this aspect has not been deeply investigated in EAC yet. In the present study, the expression of H+-VATPase was assessed through the metaplasia-dysplasia-adenocarcinoma sequence in Barrett’s esophagus (BE) and the antineoplastic effects of PPIs and cellular mechanisms involved were evaluated in vitro. H+-VATPase expression was assessed by immunohistochemistry in paraffined-embedded samples or by immunofluorescence in cultured BE and EAC cell lines. Cells we…

The impact of galactooligosaccharides on the bioaccessibility of sterols in a plant sterol-enriched beverage: adaptation of the harmonized INFOGEST d…

2018

The effect of the addition of galactooligosaccharides (GOS) on sterol bioaccessibility in three plant sterol (PS)-enriched milk-based fruit beverages (without GOS addition (MfB) and with 2.5 g (MfB-G2) and 5.0 g (MfB-G5) GOS per 250 mL) was evaluated after micellar gastrointestinal digestion. Cholesterol bioaccessibility was very similar among beverages, though a slight significant increase (from 80% to 85%) was observed by the addition of 5.0 g GOS. The addition of GOS did not affect total PS bioaccessibility (≈37%). Based on the results obtained after micellar digestion, it has been demonstrated that these beverages could be a suitable food matrix for simultaneous enrichment with PS and G…

New Highlights of Resveratrol: A Review of Properties against Ocular Diseases

2021

Eye diseases are currently a major public health concern due to the growing number of cases resulting from both an aging of populations and exogenous factors linked to our lifestyles. Thus, many treatments including surgical pharmacological approaches have emerged, and special attention has been paid to prevention, where diet plays a preponderant role. Recently, potential antioxidants such as resveratrol have received much attention as potential tools against various ocular diseases. In this review, we focus on the mechanisms of resveratrol against ocular diseases, in particular age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, cataract, diabetic retinopathy, and vitreoretinopathy. We analyze, in…