Articles

A randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blinded, single-centre, phase IV trial to assess the efficacy and safety of OM-85 in children suffering from recurrent respiratory tract infections

Over many years, OM-85, a lysate of 21 common bacterial respiratory pathogens, has been demonstrated to prevent respiratory recurrences in children. However, further studies are needed to explore the true impo...

Authors: Susanna Esposito, Sonia Bianchini, Samantha Bosis, Claudia Tagliabue, Ilaria Coro, Alberto Argentiero and Nicola Principi

Determining the prognostic significance of alternative splicing events in soft tissue sarcoma using data from The Cancer Genome Atlas

Surgery, adjuvant chemotherapy, and radiotherapy are the primary treatment options for soft tissue sarcomas (STSs). However, identifying ways to improve the prognosis of patients with STS remains a considerabl...

Authors: Xia Yang, Wen-ting Huang, Rong-quan He, Jie Ma, Peng Lin, Zu-cheng Xie, Fu-chao Ma and Gang Chen

Diagnosing enterovirus meningitis via blood transcriptomics: an alternative for lumbar puncture?

Meningitis can be caused by several viruses and bacteria. Identifying the causative pathogen as quickly as possible is crucial to initiate the most optimal therapy, as acute bacterial meningitis is associated ...

Authors: Esther Bartholomeus, Nicolas De Neuter, Annelies Lemay, Luc Pattyn, David Tuerlinckx, David Weynants, Koen Van Lede, Gerlant van Berlaer, Dominique Bulckaert, Tine Boiy, Ann Vander Auwera, Marc Raes, Dimitri Van der Linden, Helene Verhelst, Susanne Van Steijn, Tijl Jonckheer…

Prognosis of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) based on a six-lncRNA-based risk score: an investigation based on RNA-sequencing data

The scientific understanding of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) has improved in recent decades. Nevertheless, there has been little research into the role that lncRNAs play in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (c...

Authors: Jiang-hui Zeng, Wei Lu, Liang Liang, Gang Chen, Hui-hua Lan, Xiu-Yun Liang and Xu Zhu

A novel role of glutathione S-transferase A3 in inhibiting hepatic stellate cell activation and rat hepatic fibrosis

Glutathione S-transferase A3 (GSTA3) is known as an antioxidative protease, however, the crucial role of GSTA3 in liver fibrosis remains unclear. As a recently we developed water-soluble pyridone agent with antif...

Authors: Haihua Chen, Qixin Gan, Congying Yang, Xiongqun Peng, Jiao Qin, Sisi Qiu, Yanzhi Jiang, Sha Tu, Ying He, Shenglan Li, Huixiang Yang, Lijian Tao and Yu Peng

Administration of losartan preserves cardiomyocyte size and prevents myocardial dysfunction in tail-suspended mice by inhibiting p47^phox phosphorylation, NADPH oxidase activation and MuRF1 expression

Spaceflight or microgravity conditions cause myocardial atrophy and dysfunction, contributing to post-flight orthostatic intolerance. However, the underlying mechanisms remain incompletely understood and preve...

Authors: Liwen Liang, Wenyi Yuan, Lina Qu, Huili Li, Lulu Zhang, Guo-Chang Fan and Tianqing Peng

Kidney injury in response to crystallization of calcium oxalate leads to rearrangement of the intrarenal T cell receptor delta immune repertoire

Calcium oxalate (CaOx), the major constituent of most kidney stones, induces inflammatory infiltration and injures renal tubular cells. However, the role of γδT cells in CaOx-mediated kidney injury remains unc...

Authors: Chao Zhu, Qing Liang, Yaqun Liu, Deliang Kong, Jie Zhang, Hu Wang, Kejia Wang and Zhiyong Guo

Correction to: Matrine attenuates endoplasmic reticulum stress and mitochondrion dysfunction in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease by regulating SERCA pathway

Following publication of the original article [1], the authors reported errors in Fig. 5. The ROS picture of low dose Marine intervention group in Fig. 5d was used incorrectly, which was caused by the error of...

Authors: Xiaobo Gao, Shun Guo, Song Zhang, An Liu, Lei Shi and Yan Zhang

CDK4/6 inhibitor palbociclib suppresses IgE-mediated mast cell activation

Mast cell activation causes degranulation and release of cytokines, thereby promoting inflammation. The aim of this study was to investigate the inhibitory effect of CDK4/6 inhibition on mast cell activation i...

Authors: Yi-Bo Hou, Kunmei Ji, Yue-Tong Sun, Li-Na Zhang and Jia-Jie Chen

A novel CD147 inhibitor, SP-8356, reduces neointimal hyperplasia and arterial stiffness in a rat model of partial carotid artery ligation

Neointimal hyperplasia and its related arterial stiffness are the crucial pathophysiological features in atherosclerosis and in-stent restenosis. Cluster of differentiation 147 (CD147), a member of the immunog...

Authors: Kisoo Pahk, Hyojin Noh, Chanmin Joung, Mi Jang, Hwa Young Song, Kyung Won Kim, Kihoon Han, Jong-Ik Hwang, Sungeun Kim and Won-Ki Kim

Comprehensive analysis of transcriptome profiles in hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma is the second most deadly cancer with late presentation and limited treatment options, highlighting an urgent need to better understand HCC to facilitate the identification of early-st...

Authors: Yu Jin, Wai Yeow Lee, Soo Ting Toh, Chandana Tennakoon, Han Chong Toh, Pierce Kah-Hoe Chow, Alexander Y.-F. Chung, Samuel S. Chong, London L.-P.-J. Ooi, Wing-Kin Sung and Caroline G.-L. Lee

Recurrent circadian fasting (RCF) improves blood pressure, biomarkers of cardiometabolic risk and regulates inflammation in men

The effects of fasting on health in non-human models have been widely publicised for a long time and emerging evidence support the idea that these effects can be applicable to human practice.

Authors: Iftikhar Alam, Rahmat Gul, Joni Chong, Crystal Tze Ying Tan, Hui Xian Chin, Glenn Wong, Radhouene Doggui and Anis Larbi

First-in-human study of TK-positive oncolytic vaccinia virus delivered by adipose stromal vascular fraction cells

ACAM2000, a thymidine kinase (TK)-positive strain of vaccinia virus, is the current smallpox vaccine in the US. Preclinical testing demonstrated potent oncolytic activity of ACAM2000 against several tumor type...

Authors: Boris R. Minev, Elliot Lander, John F. Feller, Mark Berman, Bernadette M. Greenwood, Ivelina Minev, Antonio F. Santidrian, Duong Nguyen, Dobrin Draganov, Mehmet O. Killinc, Anna Vyalkova, Santosh Kesari, Edward McClay, Gabriel Carabulea, Francesco M. Marincola, Lisa H. Butterfield…

miR-21 induces endothelial progenitor cells proliferation and angiogenesis via targeting FASLG and is a potential prognostic marker in deep venous thrombosis

Deep venous thrombosis (DVT) of lower extremities is a common thrombotic disease, occurring either in isolation or as a complication of other diseases or procedures. MiR-21 is one of important microRNAs which ...

Authors: Xiaolong Du, Lei Hong, Lili Sun, Hongfei Sang, Aiming Qian, Wendong Li, Hao Zhuang, Huoqi Liang, Dandan Song, Chenglong Li, Wenbin Wang and Xiaoqiang Li

Meeting abstracts from the 9th International Conference on cGMP: Generators, Effectors and Therapeutic Implications

Authors:

Overinterpretation of high throughput sequencing data in medical genetics: first evidence against TMPRSS3/GJB2 digenic inheritance of hearing loss

Hearing loss (HL) is the most common disability of human senses characterized by a great allelic heterogeneity. GJB2 and TMPRSS3 are two well-known HL genes typically underlying its monogenic form. Recently, TMPR...

Authors: Monika Ołdak, Urszula Lechowicz, Agnieszka Pollak, Dominika Oziębło and Henryk Skarżyński

B7-H3 participates in human salivary gland epithelial cells apoptosis through NF-κB pathway in primary Sjögren’s syndrome

Primary Sjögren’s syndrome (pSS) is an autoimmune disorder mainly characterized by exocrine gland injury. Costimulatory molecules play an important role in immune-regulatory networks. Although B7 family costim...

Authors: Ping Li, Ying Yang, Yi Jin, Rui Zhao, Chen Dong, Wenjie Zheng, Tianyi Zhang, Jing Li and Zhifeng Gu

The evolving role of genetic tests in reproductive medicine

Infertility is considered a major public health issue, and approximately 1 out of 6 people worldwide suffer from infertility during their reproductive lifespans. Thanks to technological advances, genetic tests...

Authors: Federica Cariati, Valeria D’Argenio and Rossella Tomaiuolo

New paradigm for stage III melanoma: from surgery to adjuvant treatment

Recently the 8th version of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) classification has been introduced, and has attempted to define a more accurate and precise definition of prognosis in line with the ma...

Authors: Paolo Antonio Ascierto, Lorenzo Borgognoni, Gerardo Botti, Michele Guida, Paolo Marchetti, Simone Mocellin, Paolo Muto, Giuseppe Palmieri, Roberto Patuzzo, Pietro Quaglino and Ignazio Stanganelli

Renal temperature reduction progressively favors mitochondrial ROS production over respiration in hypothermic kidney preservation

Hypothermia, leading to mitochondrial inhibition, is widely used to reduce ischemic injury during kidney preservation. However, the exact effect of hypothermic kidney preservation on mitochondrial function rem...

Authors: Koen D. W. Hendriks, Isabel M. A. Brüggenwirth, Hanno Maassen, Albert Gerding, Barbara Bakker, Robert J. Porte, Robert H. Henning and Henri G. D. Leuvenink

The analysis of risk factors for diabetic nephropathy progression and the construction of a prognostic database for chronic kidney diseases

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) affects about 40% of diabetes mellitus (DM) patients and is the leading cause of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) all over the world, especially in high...

Authors: Gang Wang, Jian Ouyang, Shen Li, Hui Wang, Baofeng Lian, Zhihong Liu and Lu Xie

Kinetics of MSC-based enzyme therapy for immunoregulation

Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) demonstrate innate and regulatory immunologic functions and have been widely explored for cell therapy applications. Mechanisms by which MSCs achieve therapeutic effects are the...

Authors: Alexandra Burr and Biju Parekkadan

Eosinophilic esophagitis in children: doubts and future perspectives

Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is a chronic immune-mediated inflammatory disorder and represents the leading cause of food impaction. The pathogenesis of EoE is the result of an interplay between genetic, envi...

Authors: Elena Cavalli, Andrea Brusaferro, Elena Sofia Pieri, Rita Cozzali, Edoardo Farinelli, Gian Luigi de’ Angelis and Susanna Esposito

In vivo efficacy of endothelial growth medium stimulated mesenchymal stem cells derived from patients with critical limb ischemia

Cell therapy has been proposed for patients with critical limb ischemia (CLI). Autologous bone marrow derived cells (BMCs) have been mostly used, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) being an alternative. The aim of ...

Authors: Rida Al-Rifai, Philippe Nguyen, Nicole Bouland, Christine Terryn, Lukshe Kanagaratnam, Gaël Poitevin, Caroline François, Catherine Boisson-Vidal, Marie-Antoinette Sevestre and Claire Tournois

MLMDA: a machine learning approach to predict and validate MicroRNA–disease associations by integrating of heterogenous information sources

Emerging evidences show that microRNA (miRNA) plays an important role in many human complex diseases. However, considering the inherent time-consuming and expensive of traditional in vitro experiments, more an...

Authors: Kai Zheng, Zhu-Hong You, Lei Wang, Yong Zhou, Li-Ping Li and Zheng-Wei Li

SNORD89 promotes stemness phenotype of ovarian cancer cells by regulating Notch1-c-Myc pathway

Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death in gynecological cancer. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) contribute to the occurrence, progression and resistance. Small nucleolar RNAs (SnoRNAs), a class of small molecul...

Authors: Wenjing Zhu, Jumin Niu, Miao He, Liwen Zhang, Xuemei Lv, Fangxiao Liu, Longyang Jiang, Jing Zhang, Zhaojin Yu, Lin Zhao, Jia Bi, Yuanyuan Yan, Qian Wei, Hong Huo, Yue Fan, Yuzong Chen…

Large-scale expansion and characterization of CD3⁺ T-cells in the Quantum^® Cell Expansion System

The rapid evolution of cell-based immunotherapies such as chimeric antigen receptor T-cells for treatment of hematological cancers has precipitated the need for a platform to expand these cells ex vivo in a sa...

Authors: Claire Coeshott, Boah Vang, Mark Jones and Brian Nankervis

Genome-wide profiling reveals alternative polyadenylation of mRNA in human non-small cell lung cancer

Lung cancer is the second most common cancer with an extremely poor overall survival rate. Post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression play many important roles in human cancer, and one of the potential...

Authors: Shirong Zhang, Xiaochen Zhang, Wei Lei, Jiafeng Liang, Yasi Xu, Hailiang Liu and Shenglin Ma

Adipose afferent reflex is enhanced by TNFα in paraventricular nucleus through NADPH oxidase-dependent ROS generation in obesity-related hypertensive rats

The adipose afferent reflex (AAR), a sympatho-excitatory reflex, can promote the elevation of sympathetic nerve activity (SNA) and blood pressure (BP). Inflammation in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) involve...

Authors: Lei Ding, Ying Kang, Hang-Bing Dai, Fang-Zheng Wang, Hong Zhou, Qing Gao, Xiao-Qing Xiong, Feng Zhang, Tian-Run Song, Yan Yuan, Ming Liu, Guo-Qing Zhu and Ye-Bo Zhou

Identifying subpathway signatures for individualized anticancer drug response by integrating multi-omics data

Individualized drug response prediction is vital for achieving personalized treatment of cancer and moving precision medicine forward. Large-scale multi-omics profiles provide unprecedented opportunities for p...

Authors: Yanjun Xu, Qun Dong, Feng Li, Yingqi Xu, Congxue Hu, Jingwen Wang, Desi Shang, Xuan Zheng, Haixiu Yang, Chunlong Zhang, Mengting Shao, Mohan Meng, Zhiying Xiong, Xia Li and Yunpeng Zhang

Serum CCL20 combined with IL-17A as early diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for human colorectal cancer

Noninvasive and effective methods of early diagnosis of colorectal cancer (CRC) are underexplored. Inflammation is known to play an important role in the tumor microenvironment of CRC. Therefore, the aim of th...

Authors: Dan Wang, Weitang Yuan, Yaping Wang, Qian Wu, Li Yang, Feng Li, Xinfeng Chen, Zhen Zhang, Weina Yu, Nomathamsanqa Resegofetse Maimela, Ling Cao, Dong Wang, Junxia Wang, Zhenqiang Sun, Jinbo Liu and Yi Zhang

A methodology for deriving the sensitivity of pooled testing, based on viral load progression and pooling dilution

Pooled testing, in which biological specimens from multiple subjects are combined into a testing pool and tested via a single test, is a common testing method for both surveillance and screening activities. Th...

Authors: Ngoc T. Nguyen, Hrayer Aprahamian, Ebru K. Bish and Douglas R. Bish

Mesenchymal stem cells promote type 2 macrophage polarization to ameliorate the myocardial injury caused by diabetic cardiomyopathy

Diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a common complication of diabetes and is characterized by chronic myocardial inflammation. Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) infusions have recently been suggested to alleviate myoca...

Authors: Liyuan Jin, Zihui Deng, Jinying Zhang, Chen Yang, Jiejie Liu, Weidong Han, Ping Ye, Yiling Si and Guanghui Chen

Regulatory T cells from patients with end-stage organ disease can be isolated, expanded and cryopreserved according good manufacturing practice improving their function

Here, we isolated, expanded and functionally characterized regulatory T cells (Tregs) from patients with end stage kidney and liver disease, waiting for kidney/liver transplantation (KT/LT), with the aim to es...

Authors: Francesca Ulbar, Tiziana Montemurro, Tatiana Jofra, Miriam Capri, Giorgia Comai, Valentina Bertuzzo, Cristiana Lavazza, Alessandra Mandelli, Mariele Viganò, Silvia Budelli, Maria Giulia Bacalini, Chiara Pirazzini, Paolo Garagnani, Valeria Giudice, Daria Sollazzo, Antonio Curti…

Novel method for simultaneously detecting HPA and HLA antibodies using Luminex microbeads

Alloantibodies against human platelet antigens (HPAs) and human leukocyte antigen (HLA) are implicated in several immune-mediated platelet disorders. Detection of these antibodies is crucial in the diagnosis a...

Authors: Sudan Tao, Shu Chen, Xiaozhen Hong, Ji He and Faming Zhu

In vivo model of human post-traumatic heterotopic ossification demonstrates early fibroproliferative signature

The relationship between the tissue injury healing response and development of heterotopic ossification (HO) is poorly understood. Here we compare a rat blast model and human traumatized muscle from a blast in...

Authors: Jaira F. de Vasconcellos, Sonia Zicari, Stephen D. Fernicola, Daniel W. Griffin, Youngmi Ji, Emily H. Shin, Patrick Jones, Gregory T. Christopherson, Husain Bharmal, Carl Cirino, Thao Nguyen, Astor Robertson, Vincent D. Pellegrini Jr. and Leon J. Nesti

The epigenome as a putative target for skin repair: the HDAC inhibitor Trichostatin A modulates myeloid progenitor plasticity and behavior and improves wound healing

The molecular pathways that drive bone marrow myeloid progenitors (BMMP) development are very well understood and include a tight controlled multi-stage gene hierarch. Monocytes are versatile cells that displa...

Authors: Mariana Cabanel, Thayse Pinheiro da Costa, Marcia Cury EL-Cheikh and Katia Carneiro

Loss of the PTCH1 tumor suppressor defines a new subset of plexiform fibromyxoma

Plexiform fibromyxoma (PF) is a rare gastric tumor often confused with gastrointestinal stromal tumor. These so-called “benign” tumors often present with upper GI bleeding and gastric outlet obstruction. It wa...

Authors: Sudeep Banerjee, Christopher L. Corless, Markku M. Miettinen, Sangkyu Noh, Rowan Ustoy, Jessica L. Davis, Chih-Min Tang, Mayra Yebra, Adam M. Burgoyne and Jason K. Sicklick

Frequent genetic aberrations in the cell cycle related genes in mucosal melanoma indicate the potential for targeted therapy

Melanoma is one of the most aggressive cancers with extremely poor prognosis, and the median survival time for stage IV patients is approximately 6 to 8 months. Unlike cutaneous melanoma, mucosal melanoma is a...

Authors: Longwen Xu, Zhiyuan Cheng, Chuanliang Cui, Xiaowen Wu, Huan Yu, Jun Guo and Yan Kong

European mitochondrial haplogroups predict liver-related outcomes in patients coinfected with HIV and HCV: a retrospective study

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplogroups have been associated with advanced liver fibrosis and cirrhosis in patients coinfected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV). Our aim was to ...

Authors: Teresa Aldámiz-Echevarría, Salvador Resino, José M. Bellón, María A. Jiménez-Sousa, Pilar Miralles, Luz M. Medrano, Ana Carrero, Cristina Díez, Leire Pérez-Latorre, Chiara Fanciulli, Pilar Garcia-Broncano and Juan Berenguer

Impact of probiotics on pathogen survival in an innovative human plasma biofilm model (hpBIOM)

Despite of medical advances, the number of patients suffering on non-healing chronic wounds is still increasing. This fact is attended by physical and emotional distress and an economic load. The majority of c...

Authors: M. Besser, J. Terberger, L. Weber, B. Ghebremedhin, E. A. Naumova, W. H. Arnold and E. K. Stuermer

Intranodal administration of mRNA encoding nucleoprotein provides cross-strain immunity against influenza in mice

Current human influenza vaccines lack the adaptability to match the mutational rate of the virus and therefore require annual revisions. Because of extensive manufacturing times and the possibility that antige...

Authors: Patrick Tjok Joe, Ioanna Christopoulou, Lien van Hoecke, Bert Schepens, Tine Ysenbaert, Carlo Heirman, Kris Thielemans, Xavier Saelens and Joeri L. Aerts

Preparing for cell culture scale-out: establishing parity of bioreactor- and flask-expanded mesenchymal stromal cell cultures

Cell-based therapies have the potential to become treatment options for many diseases, but efficient scale-out of these therapies has proven to be a major hurdle. Bioreactors can be used to overcome this hurdl...

Authors: Ruud Das, Rens Roosloot, Melissa van Pel, Koen Schepers, Marijn Driessen, Willem E. Fibbe, Joost Dick de Bruijn and Helene Roelofs

A strategy to protect off-the-shelf cell therapy products using virus-specific T-cells engineered to eliminate alloreactive T-cells

The use of “off-the-shelf” cellular therapy products derived from healthy donors addresses many of the challenges associated with customized cell products. However, the potential of allogeneic cell products to...

Authors: David H. Quach, Luis Becerra-Dominguez, Rayne H. Rouce and Cliona M. Rooney

Tryptophan catabolism increases in breast cancer patients compared to healthy controls without affecting the cancer outcome or response to chemotherapy

Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase catalyzes the conversion of tryptophan to kynurenine, an immunosuppressive metabolite involved in T regulatory cell differentiation. Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase is expressed in many...

Authors: Concetta Elisa Onesti, François Boemer, Claire Josse, Stephane Leduc, Vincent Bours and Guy Jerusalem

Wolfram syndrome, a rare neurodegenerative disease: from pathogenesis to future treatment perspectives

Wolfram syndrome (WS), a rare genetic disorder, is considered the best prototype of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) diseases. Classical WS features are childhood-onset diabetes mellitus, optic atrophy, deafness, di...

Authors: Maria Teresa Pallotta, Giorgia Tascini, Roberta Crispoldi, Ciriana Orabona, Giada Mondanelli, Ursula Grohmann and Susanna Esposito

Purple corn extract induces long-lasting reprogramming and M2 phenotypic switch of adipose tissue macrophages in obese mice

Obesity is a chronic and systemic inflammatory disorder and an important risk factor for the onset of several chronic syndromes. Adipose tissue (AT) plays a crucial role in the development of obesity, promotin...

Authors: Federica Tomay, Alessandra Marinelli, Valerio Leoni, Claudio Caccia, Andrea Matros, Hans-Peter Mock, Chiara Tonelli and Katia Petroni

The circulating exosomal microRNAs related to albuminuria in patients with diabetic nephropathy

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is associated with high risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality. Exosomal microRNAs (miRNAs) regulate gene expression in a variety of tissues and play important roles in the path...

Authors: Hyoungnae Kim, Yun-Ui Bae, Jin Seok Jeon, Hyunjin Noh, Hyeong Kyu Park, Dong Won Byun, Dong Cheol Han, Seongho Ryu and Soon Hyo Kwon

PCR-based zebrafish model for personalised medicine in head and neck cancer

Currently, in vivo model for personalised cancer drug testing is challenging. A zebrafish larvae xenograft model has been applied in recent years to cancer research, particularly for drug testing purposes, sho...

Authors: Ahmed Al-Samadi, Katja Tuomainen, Anne Kivimäki, Abdelhakim Salem, Sakhr Al-Kubati, Aini Hyytiäinen, Mataleena Parikka, Karri Mesimäki, Tommy Wilkman, Antti Mäkitie, Reidar Grenman and Tuula Salo

Cholesterol efflux alterations in adolescent obesity: role of adipose-derived extracellular vesical microRNAs

Macrophage cholesterol efflux capacity has been identified as a predictor for cardiovascular disease. We assessed the relationship between adipocyte-derived extracellular vesicle microRNAs and macrophage chole...

Authors: Matthew D. Barberio, Lora J. Kasselman, Martin P. Playford, Samuel B. Epstein, Heather A. Renna, Madeleine Goldberg, Joshua DeLeon, Iryna Voloshyna, Ashley Barlev, Michael Salama, Sarah C. Ferrante, Evan P. Nadler, Nehal Mehta, Allison B. Reiss and Robert J. Freishtat