Search results for "growth"

2017

Although a lot of research has been performed, large segmental bone defects caused by trauma, infection, bone tumors or revision surgeries still represent big challenges for trauma surgeons. New and innovative bone substitutes are needed. Three-dimensional (3D) printing is a novel procedure to create 3D porous scaffolds that can be used for bone tissue engineering. In the present study, solid discs as well as porous cage-like 3D prints made of polylactide (PLA) are coated or filled with collagen, respectively, and tested for biocompatibility and endotoxin contamination. Microscopic analyses as well as proliferation assays were performed using various cell types on PLA discs. Stromal-derived…

Stem cell functionality is microenvironmentally defined during tumour expansion and therapy response in colon cancer

2018

Solid malignancies have been speculated to depend on cancer stem cells (CSCs) for expansion and relapse after therapy. Here we report on quantitative analyses of lineage tracing data from primary colon cancer xenograft tissue to assess CSC functionality in a human solid malignancy. The temporally obtained clone size distribution data support a model in which stem cell function in established cancers is not intrinsically, but is entirely spatiotemporally orchestrated. Functional stem cells that drive tumour expansion predominantly reside at the tumour edge, close to cancer-associated fibroblasts. Hence, stem cell properties change in time depending on the cell location. Furthermore, although…

Cancer combination therapy of the sesquiterpenoid artesunate and the selective EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitor erlotinib.

2017

Abstract Background The shift from cytotoxic to targeted chemotherapy led to improved treatment outcomes in oncology. Nevertheless, many cancer patients cannot be cured from their disease because of the development of drug resistance and side effects. Purpose There is an ongoing quest for novel compounds, which raised not only the interest in natural products but also in novel combination therapy regimens. Study design In this review, we report on the inhibition epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) by targeted small molecules and their combination with natural products from medicinal plants. Results The combination of erlotinib with artesunate leads to synergistic inhibition of cell grow…

EFMviz

2020

Elementary Flux Modes (EFMs) are a tool for constraint-based modeling and metabolic network analysis. However, systematic and automated visualization of EFMs, capable of integrating various data types is still a challenge. In this study, we developed an extension for the widely adopted COBRA Toolbox, EFMviz, for analysis and graphical visualization of EFMs as networks of reactions, metabolites and genes. The analysis workflow offers a platform for EFM visualization to improve EFM interpretability by connecting COBRA toolbox with the network analysis and visualization software Cytoscape. The biological applicability of EFMviz is demonstrated in two use cases on medium (Escherichia coli, iAF1…

The MRN complex is transcriptionally regulated by MYCN during neural cell proliferation to control replication stress

2015

The MRE11/RAD50/NBS1 (MRN) complex is a major sensor of DNA double strand breaks, whose role in controlling faithful DNA replication and preventing replication stress is also emerging. Inactivation of the MRN complex invariably leads to developmental and/or degenerative neuronal defects, the pathogenesis of which still remains poorly understood. In particular, NBS1 gene mutations are associated with microcephaly and strongly impaired cerebellar development, both in humans and in the mouse model. These phenotypes strikingly overlap those induced by inactivation of MYCN, an essential promoter of the expansion of neuronal stem and progenitor cells, suggesting that MYCN and the MRN complex migh…

Anisakis pegreffii (Nematoda: Anisakidae) products modulate oxidative stress and apoptosis-related biomarkers in human cell lines

2016

Background In countries with elevated prevalence of zoonotic anisakiasis and high awareness of this parasitosis, a considerable number of cases that associate Anisakis sp. (Nematoda, Anisakidae) and different bowel carcinomas have been described. Although neoplasia and embedded larvae were observed sharing the common site affected by chronic inflammation, no association between the nematode and malignancy were directly proved. Similarly, no data are available about the effect of secretory and excretory products of infecting larvae at the host’s cellular level, except in respect to allergenic interaction. Methods To test the mechanisms by which human non-immune cells respond to the larvae, w…

Changes in soil mineral N content and abundances of bacterial communities involved in N reactions under laboratory conditions as predictors of soil N…

2016

Proper management of soil fertility requires specific tools for predicting N availability for crops as a consequence of different fertilization strategies. More information is required, especially for organic fertilizers, depending on their mineralization rate, composition, and processing (i.e., fresh or composted manure), as well as their effects on soil properties. Laboratory soil incubations were used as a proxy for understanding plant–soil N dynamics under field conditions. Chemical and microbiological measurements as contents of mineral N, potentially mineralizable N and the abundance of key genes regulating the overall N cycle were used as predictors of mineral N availability to maize…

Comparison between iMSD and 2D-pCF analysis for molecular motion studies on in vivo cells: The case of the epidermal growth factor receptor.

2018

Image correlation analysis has evolved to become a valuable method of analysis of the diffusional motion of molecules in every points of a live cell. Here we compare the iMSD and the 2D-pCF approaches that provide complementary information. The iMSD method provides the law of diffusion and it requires spatial averaging over a small region of the cell. The 2D-pCF does not require spatial averaging and it gives information about obstacles for diffusion at pixel resolution. We show the analysis of the same set of data by the two methods to emphasize that both methods could be needed to have a comprehensive understanding of the molecular diffusional flow in a live cell.

EGFL7 - a potential therapeutic target for multiple sclerosis?

2018

Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Harboring Concurrent EGFR Genomic Alterations: A Systematic Review and Critical Appraisal of the Double Dilemma

2021

The molecular pathways which promote lung cancer cell features have been broadly explored, leading to significant improvement in prognostic and diagnostic strategies. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) have dramatically altered the treatment approach for patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Latest investigations by using next-generation sequencing (NGS) have shown that other oncogenic driver mutations, believed mutually exclusive for decades, could coexist in EGFR-mutated NSCLC patients. However, the exact clinical and pathological role of concomitant genomic aberrations needs to be investigated. In this systematic review, we ai…