Sonic hedgehog medulloblastoma cancer stem cells mirnome and transcriptome highlight novel functional networks

Molecular classification has improved the knowledge of medulloblastoma (MB), the most common malignant brain tumour in children, however current treatments cause severe side effects in patients. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) have been described in MB and represent a sub population characterised by self-renewal and the ability to generate tumour cells, thus representing the reservoir of the tumour. To investigate molecular pathways that characterise this sub population, we isolated CSCs from Sonic Hedgehog Medulloblastoma (SHH MB) arisen in Patched 1 (Ptch1) heterozygous mice, and performed miRNA-and mRNA-sequencing. Comparison of the miRNA-sequencing of SHH MB CSCs with that obtained from cerebellar Neural Stem Cells (NSCs), allowed us to obtain a SHH MB CSC miRNA differential signature. Pathway enrichment analysis in SHH MB CSCs mirnome and transcriptome was performed and revealed a series of enriched pathways. We focused on the putative targets of the SHH MB CSC miRNAs that were involved in the enriched pathways of interest, namely pathways in cancer, PI3k-Akt pathway and protein processing in endoplasmic reticulum pathway. In silico analysis was performed in SHH MB patients and identified several genes, whose expression was associated with worse overall survival of SHH MB patients. This study provides novel candidates whose functional role should be further investigated in SHH MB

Histórico e perspectivas das doenças na cultura do milho.

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Análise do N-terminal da proteína capsidial de SCMV infectando milho e sorgo no Brasil.

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Application of Managing Cancer and Living Meaningfully (CALM) in Advanced Cancer Patients: An Italian Pilot Study.

Depression and anxiety occur in 25–30% of advanced cancer patients, as conditions arising from a final pathway of distress determined by the interaction of multiple factors. Within the psychotherapeutic intervention developed to address these conditions, Managing Cancer and Living Meaningfully (CALM) is an individual meaning and supportive-expressive intervention for patients with advanced cancer. In preliminary pilot studies,CALM was found to decrease depression and anxiety, and improve spirituality and attachment, while in a randomized clinical trial, CALM reduced depression and improved end-of-life preparation. We conducted a pilot study of CALM using a mixed method approach, in order to: (i) understand the possible application of CALM in a different cultural context (i.e., Italy) and examine the patients’ subjective perception of CALM; and (ii) preliminarily explore, as already done in other countries (i.e., Germany), the possible effects of CALM on a series of psychosocial outcomes

Polymerogenic neuroserpin causes mitochondrial alterations and activates NFκB but not the UPR in a neuronal model of neurodegeneration FENIB

The neurodegenerative condition FENIB (familiar encephalopathy with neuroserpin inclusion bodies) is caused by heterozygous expression of polymerogenic mutant neuroserpin (NS), with polymer deposition within the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) of neurons. We generated transgenic neural progenitor cells (NPCs) from mouse fetal cerebral cortex stably expressing either the control protein GFP or human wild type, polymerogenic G392E or truncated (delta) NS. This cellular model makes it possible to study the toxicity of polymerogenic NS in the appropriated cell type by in vitro differentiation to neurons. Our previous work showed that expression of G392E NS in differentiated NPCs induced an adaptive response through the upregulation of several genes involved in the defence against oxidative stress, and that pharmacological reduction of the antioxidant defences by drug treatments rendered G392E NS neurons more susceptible to apoptosis than control neurons. In this study, we assessed mitochondrial distribution and found a higher percentage of perinuclear localisation in G392E NS neurons, particularly in those containing polymers, a phenotype that was enhanced by glutathione chelation and rescued by antioxidant molecules. Mitochondrial membrane potential and contact sites between mitochondria and the ER were reduced in neurons expressing the G392E mutation. These alterations were associated with a pattern of ER stress that involved the ER overload response but not the unfolded protein response. Our results suggest that intracellular accumulation of NS polymers affects the interaction between the ER and mitochondria, causing mitochondrial alterations that contribute to the neuronal degeneration seen in FENIB patients

Possible human-to-dog transmission of SARS-CoV-2, Italy, 2020

We detected severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 in an otherwise healthy poodle living with 4 family members who had coronavirus disease. We observed antibodies in serum samples taken from the dog, indicating seroconversion. Full-length genome sequencing showed that the canine and human viruses were identical, suggesting human-to-animal transmission

Standard methods for Apis mellifera venom research

Honey bees have a sting which allows them to inject venomous substances into the body of an opponent or attacker. As the sting originates from a modified ovipositor, it only occurs in the female insect, and this is a defining feature of the bee species that belong to a subclade of the Hymenoptera called Aculeata. There is considerable interest in bee venom research, primarily because of an important subset of the human population who will develop a sometimes life threatening allergic response after a bee sting. However, the use of honey bee venom goes much further, with alleged healing properties in ancient therapies and recent research. The present paper aims to standardize selected methods for honey bee venom research. It covers different methods of venom collection, characterization and storage. Much attention was also addressed to the determination of the biological activity of the venom and its use in the context of biomedical research, more specifically venom allergy. Finally, the procedure for the assignment of new venom allergens has been presented. Las abejas meliferas tienen un aguijon que les permite inyectar sustancias venenosas en el cuerpo de un oponente o atacante. El aguijon es un ovipositor modificado que solo se manifiesta en el insecto hembra, siendo este una caracteristica que define a las especies de abejas que pertenecen al subclado de himenopteros llamada Aculeata. Hay un interes considerable en la investigacion del veneno de abeja, principalmente debido a que un porcentaje importante de la poblacion humana desarrollara una respuesta alergica - a veces mortal - a la picadura de abeja. Sin embargo, el uso del veneno de la abeja melifera abarca mucho mas, con presuntas propiedades curativas en terapias antiguas e investigaciones recientes. El presente trabajo tiene como objetivo estandarizar metodos seleccionados para la investigacion del veneno de las abejas meliferas. Cubre diferentes metodos de recoleccion, caracterizacion y almacenamiento de veneno. Tambien se presto mucha atencion a la determinacion de la actividad biologica del veneno y su uso en el contexto de la investigacion biomedica, mas especificamente la alergia al veneno. Finalmente, se ha presentado el procedimiento para la asignacion de nuevos alergenos de veneno

Murge and Pre-murge in southern Italy: the last piece of Adria, the (almost) lost continent, attempting to became an aUGGp candidate (MurGEOpark)

In 2019, the executive of the Alta Murgia National Park (southeastern Italy) decided to propose its territory as possible inclusion in the network of the UNESCO Global Geoparks. Since then, in cooperation with the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences (Aldo Moro University of Bari) and SIGEA, it is working to candidate the area as an aUGGp (called “MurGEOpark”). The MurGEOpark comprises the Alta Murgia area, where a Cretaceous sector of the Apulia Carbonate Platform crops out, and the adjacent Pre-Murge area, where the southwestward lateral continuation of the same platform, being flexed toward the southern Apennines mountain chain, is thinly covered by Plio-Quaternary foredeep deposits. The worldwide geological uniqueness is that the area is the only in situ remnant of the AdriaPlate, the old continent almost entirely squeezed between Africa and Europe. In such a contest, AltaMurgia is a virtually undeformed sector of Adria (the Apulia Foreland), while other territories of theplate are, and/or were, involved in the subduction/collision processes. In the MurGEOpark, the crustof Adria is still rooted to its mantle, and the Cretaceous evolution of the continent is spectacularlyrecorded in Alta Murgia thanks to the limestone succession of one of the largest peri-Tethyancarbonate platform (the Apulia Carbonate Platform). The MurGEOpark comprises also the Pre-Murge area, which represents the outer south-Apennines foredeep, whose Plio-Quaternaryevolution is spectacularly exposed thanks to an “anomalous” regional middle-late Quaternary uplift.The international value of the proposal is enriched by the presence of several geological singularities such as two paleontological jewels of very different age: a Neanderthal skeletonpreserved in speleothems within a karst cave, and one of the largest surfaces in the world withupper Cretaceous dinosaur tracks (about 25.000 footprints). Moreover, the close relationships between man and geology are spectacularly documented in the MurGEOpark: among the others, the use and conservation of water in a karst area, the prehistoric and ancestral choices ofurbanization, karst caves traditionally used as religious sites, etc. All these examples demonstratehow the MurGEOpark could offer a good opportunity to spread the geological culture to a wide and diverse audienc