Bone invading NSCLC cells produce IL-7: mice model and human histologic data

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Bone metastases are a common and dismal consequence of lung cancer that is a leading cause of death. The role of IL-7 in promoting bone metastases has been previously investigated in NSCLC, but many aspects remain to be disclosed. To further study IL-7 function in bone metastasis, we developed a human-in-mice model of bone aggression by NSCLC and analyzed human bone metastasis biopsies.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We used NOD/SCID mice implanted with human bone. After bone engraftment, two groups of mice were injected subcutaneously with A549, a human NSCLC cell line, either close or at the contralateral flank to the human bone implant, while a third control group did not receive cancer cells. Tumor and bone vitality and IL-7 expression were assessed in implanted bone, affected or not by A549. Serum IL-7 levels were evaluated by ELISA. IL-7 immunohistochemistry was performed on 10 human bone NSCLC metastasis biopsies for comparison.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>At 12 weeks after bone implant, we observed osteogenic activity and neovascularization, confirming bone vitality. Tumor aggressive cells implanted close to human bone invaded the bone tissue. The bone-aggressive cancer cells were positive for IL-7 staining both in the mice model and in human biopsies. Higher IL-7 serum levels were found in mice injected with A549 cells close to the bone implant compared to mice injected with A549 cells in the flank opposite to the bone implant.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We demonstrated that bone-invading cells express and produce IL-7, which is known to promote osteoclast activation and osteolytic lesions. Tumor-bone interaction increases IL-7 production, with an increase in IL-7 serum levels. The presented mice model of bone invasion by contiguous tumor is suitable to study bone-tumor cell interaction. IL-7 plays a role in the first steps of metastatic process.</p

Analisi in vivo con elaborazione di immagini 3d della cinematica protesica del ginocchio rilevata con videofluoroscopia

La crescente diffusione dell'artrosi e dell'intervento di artroplastica sostitutiva del ginocchio richiede lo sviluppo di nuovi strumenti che permettano di migliorare i risultati ottenuti. Partendo da una panoramica di come vengono attualmente affrontati i problemi chirurgici, biologici e meccanici dell'impianto della protesi del ginocchio e quali sono le sue criticità e limitazioni, illustra lo sviluppo e sperimentazione nel mondo di nuovi metodi basati su informazioni derivate dalla cinematica del movimento del ginocchio mediante metodi di elaborazione e model fitting 3d di immagini ottenute con videofluoroscopia

Epigenetics in Knee Osteoarthritis: A 2020–2023 Update Systematic Review

Osteoarthritis is a leading cause of disability in the world. The scientific literature highlights the critical importance of epigenetic regulatory effects, intertwined with biomechanical and biochemical peculiar conditions within each musculoskeletal district. While the contribution of genetic and epigenetic factors to knee OA is well-recognized, their precise role in disease management remains an area of active research. Such a field is particularly heterogeneous, calling for regular analysis and summarizing of the data that constantly emerge in the scientific literature, often sparse and scant of integration. The aim of this study was to systematically identify and synthesize all new evidence that emerged in human and animal model studies published between 2020 and 2023. This was necessary because, to the best of our knowledge, articles published before 2019 (and partly 2020) had already been included in systematic reviews that allowed to identify the ones concerning the knee joint. The review was carried out in accordance with Preferential Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Only peer-reviewed articles were considered for inclusion. A total of 40 studies were identified, showing promising results in terms either of biomarker identification, new insight in mechanism of action or potential therapeutic targets for knee OA. DNA methylation, histone modification and ncRNA were all mechanisms involved in epigenetic regulation of the knee. Most recent evidence suggests that epigenetics is a most promising field with the long-term goal of improving understanding and management of knee OA, but a variety of research approaches need greater consolidation

Medical Cyberspace Subliminal Affective Collective Consciousness: Machine Learning Discriminates Back Pain vs Hip/Knee Osteoarthritis Web Pages Emotional Fingerprints

Back pain is the leading cause of disability worldwide. Its emergence relates not only to the musculoskeletal degeneration biological substrate but also to psychosocial factors; emotional components play a pivotal role. In modern society, people are significantly informed by the Internet; in turn, they contribute social validation to a “successful” digital information subset in a dynamic interplay. The Affective component of medical pages has not been previously investigated, a significant gap in knowledge since they represent a critical biopsychosocial feature. We tested the hypothesis that successful pages related to spine pathology embed a consistent emotional pattern, allowing discrimination from a control group. The pool of web pages related to spine or hip/knee pathology was automatically selected by relevance and popularity and submitted to automated sentiment analysis to generate emotional patterns. Machine Learning (ML) algorithms were trained to predict page original topics from patterns with binary classification. ML showed high discrimination accuracy; disgust emerged as a discriminating emotion. The findings suggest that the digital affective “successful content” (collective consciousness) integrates patients’ biopsychosocial ecosystem, with potential implications for the emergence of chronic pain, and the endorsement of health-relevant specific behaviors. Awareness of such effects raises practical and ethical issues for health information providers