Search results for "surveillance"
showing 10 items of 494 documents
Genomic Profiling of Patient-Derived Xenografts for Lung Cancer Identifies B2M Inactivation Impairing Immunorecognition
2017
Abstract Purpose: We aimed to maximize the performance of detecting genetic alterations in lung cancer using high-throughput sequencing for patient-derived xenografts (PDXs). Experimental Design: We undertook an integrated RNA and whole-exome sequencing of 14 PDXs. We focused on the genetic and functional analysis of β2-microglobulin (B2M), a component of the HLA class-I complex. Results: We identified alterations in genes involved in various functions, such as B2M involved in immunosurveillance. We extended the mutational analysis of B2M to about 230 lung cancers. Five percent of the lung cancers carried somatic mutations, most of which impaired the correct formation of the HLA-I complex. …
Immunobiology of Uveal Melanoma: State of the Art and Therapeutic Targets
2019
Uveal Melanoma (UM) represents the most common primary intraocular malignant tumor in adults. Although it originates from melanocytes as cutaneous melanoma, it shows significant clinical and biological differences with the latter, including high resistance to immune therapy. Indeed, UM can evade immune surveillance via multiple mechanisms, such as the expression of inhibitory checkpoints (e.g., PD-L1, CD47, CD200) and the production of IDO-1 and soluble FasL, among others. More in-depth understanding of these mechanisms will suggest potential targets for the design of novel and more effective management strategies for UM patients.
Trends in net survival from 15 cancers in six European Latin countries: the SUDCAN population-based study material
2016
The aim of the SUDCAN collaborative study was to compare the net survival from 15 cancers diagnosed in 2000-2004 in six European Latin countries and provide trends in net survival and dynamics of excess mortality rates up to 5 years after diagnosis from 1992 to 2004 in France, Italy, Spain, and Switzerland, and from 2000 to 2004 in Belgium and Portugal. This paper presents a detailed description of the data analyzed and quality indicators. Incident cases from Belgium, France, Italy, Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland were retrieved from 56 general or specialized population-based cancer registries that participated in the EUROCARE-5 database. Fifteen cancer sites were analyzed. The data were c…
STAT1 Isoforms Differentially Regulate NK Cell Maturation and Anti-tumor Activity
2020
Natural killer (NK) cells are important components of the innate immune defense against infections and cancers. Signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (STAT1) is a transcription factor that is essential for NK cell maturation and NK cell-dependent tumor surveillance. Two alternatively spliced isoforms of STAT1 exist: a full-length STAT1α and a C-terminally truncated STAT1β isoform. Aberrant splicing is frequently observed in cancer cells and several anti-cancer drugs interfere with the cellular splicing machinery. To investigate whether NK cell-mediated tumor surveillance is affected by a switch in STAT1 splicing, we made use of knock-in mice expressing either only the STAT1α (S…
Integration of animal health and public health surveillance sources to exhaustively inform the risk of zoonosis: An application to echinococcosis in …
2020
The analysis of zoonotic disease risk requires the consideration of both human and animal geo-referenced disease incidence data. Here we show an application of joint Bayesian analyses to the study of echinococcosis granulosus (EG) in the province of Rio Negro, Argentina. We focus on merging passive and active surveillance data sources of animal and human EG cases using joint Bayesian spatial and spatio-temporal models. While similar spatial clustering and temporal trending was apparent, there appears to be limited lagged dependence between animal and human outcomes. Beyond the data quality issues relating to missingness at different times, we were able to identify relations between dog and …
Recommendations for enterovirus diagnostics and characterisation within and beyond Europe
2018
Enteroviruses (EV) can cause severe neurological and respiratory infections, and occasionally lead to devastating outbreaks as previously demonstrated with EV-A71 and EV-D68 in Europe. However, these infections are still often underdiagnosed and EV typing data is not currently collected at European level. In order to improve EV diagnostics, collate data on severe EV infections and monitor the circulation of EV types, we have established European non-polio enterovirus network (ENPEN). First task of this cross-border network has been to ensure prompt and adequate diagnosis of these infections in Europe, and hence we present recommendations for non-polio EV detection and typing based on the co…
Measles in Italy: Viral strains and crossing borders
2019
In 2017, Italy experienced one of the largest outbreaks of measles in recent years, with 5404 notified cases and 4347 confirmed cases. A further 2029 cases were notified during the first 6 months of 2018, and 1516 of them were laboratory-confirmed. The B3 and D8 genotypes were identified as those responsible for the outbreak. Possible transmission routes can be established by monitoring the circulating measles virus strains in support of the national health authorities to warn people and travellers. Keywords: Outbreak, Measles, Genotype identification, Surveillance
The analysis of estrogen receptor-α positive breast cancer stem-like cells unveils a high expression of the serpin proteinase inhibitor PI-9: Possibl…
2016
Abstract Breast cancer stem cells seem to play important roles in breast tumor recurrence and endocrine therapy resistance, although the underlying mechanisms have not been well established. Moreover, in some tumor systems the immunosurveillance failure against cancer cells has been related to the presence of the granzyme B inhibitor PI-9. This study explored the status of PI-9 in tumorspheres isolated from estrogen receptor-α positive (ERα+) breast cancer MCF7 cells. Studies were performed in tertiary tumorspheres which possess high levels of stemness markers (Nanog, Oct3/4 and Sox2) and self-renewal ability. The exposure to estrogens (17-β estradiol and genistein) increased the number and…
Clr-a: A Novel Immune-Related C-Type Lectin-like Molecule Exclusively Expressed by Mouse Gut Epithelium
2017
Abstract The mouse gut epithelium represents a constitutively challenged environment keeping intestinal commensal microbiota at bay and defending against invading enteric pathogens. The complex immunoregulatory network of the epithelial barrier surveillance also involves NK gene complex (NKC)–encoded C-type lectin-like molecules such as NKG2D and Nkrp1 receptors. To our knowledge, in this study, we report the first characterization of the orphan C-type lectin-like molecule Clr-a encoded by the Clec2e gene in the mouse NKC. Screening of a panel of mouse tissues revealed that Clec2e transcripts are restricted to the gastrointestinal tract. Using Clr-a–specific mAb, we characterize Clr-a as a …
The molecular epidemiology and evolutionary dynamics of influenza B virus in two Italian regions during 2010-2015: The experience of Sicily and Ligur…
2016
Molecular epidemiology of influenza B virus remained poorly studied in Italy, despite representing a major contributor to seasonal epidemics. This study aimed to reconstruct the phylogenetic relationships and genetic diversity of the hemagglutinin gene sequences of 197 influenza B strains circulating in both Southern (Sicily) and Northern (Liguria) Italy between 2010 and 2015. Upper respiratory tract specimens of patients displaying symptoms of influenza-like illness were screened by real-time RT-PCR assay for the presence of influenza B virus. PCR-positive influenza B samples were further analyzed by sequencing. Neighbor-joining phylogenetic trees were constructed and the amino-acid alignm…