P-Selectin as a new gender associated biomarker in patients with metabolic syndrome

[No abstract available

The Reverse Transcription Inhibitor Abacavir Shows Anticancer Activity in Prostate Cancer Cell Lines

Background: Transposable Elements (TEs) comprise nearly 45% of the entire genome and are part of sophisticated regulatory network systems that control developmental processes in normal and pathological conditions. The retroviral/ retrotransposon gene machinery consists mainly of Long Interspersed Nuclear Elements (LINEs-1) and Human Endogenous Retroviruses (HERVs) that code for their own endogenous reverse transcriptase (RT). Interestingly, RT is typically expressed at high levels in cancer cells. Recent studies report that RT inhibition by non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) induces growth arrest and cell differentiation in vitro and antagonizes growth of human tumors in animal model. In the present study we analyze the anticancer activity of Abacavir (ABC), a nucleoside reverse transcription inhibitor (NRTI), on PC3 and LNCaP prostate cancer cell lines. Principal Findings: ABC significantly reduces cell growth, migration and invasion processes, considerably slows S phase progression, induces senescence and cell death in prostate cancer cells. Consistent with these observations, microarray analysis on PC3 cells shows that ABC induces specific and dose-dependent changes in gene expression, involving multiple cellular pathways. Notably, by quantitative Real-Time PCR we found that LINE-1 ORF1 and ORF2 mRNA levels were significantly up-regulated by ABC treatment. Conclusions: Our results demonstrate the potential of ABC as anticancer agent able to induce antiproliferative activity and trigger senescence in prostate cancer cells. Noteworthy, we show that ABC elicits up-regulation of LINE-1 expression, suggesting the involvement of these elements in the observed cellular modifications

Italian Registry of Congenital Bleeding Disorders

In Italy, the surveillance of people with bleeding disorders is based on the National Registry of Congenital Coagulopathies (NRCC) managed by the Italian National Institute of Health (Istituto Superiore di Sanità). The NRCC collects epidemiological and therapeutic data from the 54 Hemophilia Treatment Centers, members of the Italian Association of Hemophilia Centres (AICE). The number of people identified with bleeding disorders has increased over the years, with the number rising from approx. 7000 in 2000 to over 11,000 in 2015. The NRCC includes 4020 patients with hemophilia A and 859 patients with hemophilia B. The prevalence of the rare type 3 vWD is 0.20/100,000 inhabitants. Less common congenital bleeding disorders include the following deficiencies: Factor I (fibrinogen), Factor II (prothrombin), Factor V, Factor VII, Factor X, Factor XI and Factor XIII, which affect 1953 patients. Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) infection affects 1561 patients, more than 200 of whom have two infections (HCV + HIV). Estimated hemophilia-related drug consumption in 2015 was approx. 550 million IU of FVIII for hemophilia A patients and approx. 70 million IU of FIX for hemophilia B patients. The NRCC, with its bleeding disorder data set, is a tool that can provide answers to fundamental questions in public health, monitoring care provision and drug treatment, as well as facilitating clinical and epidemiological research

The social burden and quality of life of patients with haemophilia in Italy

According to the results of BURQoL project, quality of life of patients with haemophilia and their caregivers improved and it influences positively on consumed resources and on their contribution to the social-economic system. Costs other than drugs for patients with haemophilia follow the same trends of general populatio

New data from the Italian National Register of Congenital Coagulopathies, 2016 Annual Survey

In Italy, the National Register of Congenital Coagulopathies (NRCC) collects epidemiological and therapeutic data from patients affected by haemophilia A (HA), haemophilia B (HB), von Willebrand's disease (vWD) and other rare coagulation disorders. Here we present data from the 2016 annual survey