LANCL1 binds abscisic acid and stimulates glucose transport and mitochondrial respiration in muscle cells via the AMPK/PGC-1α/Sirt1 pathway

Objective: Abscisic acid (ABA) is a plant hormone also present and active in animals. In mammals, ABA regulates blood glucose levels by stimulating insulin-independent glucose uptake and metabolism in adipocytes and myocytes through its receptor LANCL2. The objective of this study was to investigate whether another member of the LANCL protein family, LANCL1, also behaves as an ABA receptor and, if so, which functional effects are mediated by LANCL1. Methods: ABA binding to human recombinant LANCL1 was explored by equilibrium-binding experiments with [3H]ABA, circular dichroism, and surface plasmon resonance. Rat L6 myoblasts overexpressing either LANCL1 or LANCL2, or silenced for the expression of both proteins, were used to investigate the basal and ABA-stimulated transport of a fluorescent glucose analog (NBDG) and the signaling pathway downstream of the LANCL proteins using Western blot and qPCR analysis. Finally, glucose tolerance and sensitivity to ABA were compared in LANCL2−/− and wild-type (WT) siblings. Results: Human recombinant LANCL1 binds ABA with a Kd between 1 and 10 μM, depending on the assay (i.e., in a concentration range that lies between the low and high-affinity ABA binding sites of LANCL2). In L6 myoblasts, LANCL1 and LANCL2 similarly, i) stimulate both basal and ABA-triggered NBDG uptake (4-fold), ii) activate the transcription and protein expression of the glucose transporters GLUT4 and GLUT1 (4-6-fold) and the signaling proteins AMPK/PGC-1α/Sirt1 (2-fold), iii) stimulate mitochondrial respiration (5-fold) and the expression of the skeletal muscle (SM) uncoupling proteins sarcolipin (3-fold) and UCP3 (12-fold). LANCL2−/− mice have a reduced glucose tolerance compared to WT. They spontaneously overexpress LANCL1 in the SM and respond to chronic ABA treatment (1 μg/kg body weight/day) with an improved glycemia response to glucose load and an increased SM transcription of GLUT4 and GLUT1 (20-fold) of the AMPK/PGC-1α/Sirt1 pathway and sarcolipin, UCP3, and NAMPT (4- to 6-fold). Conclusions: LANCL1 behaves as an ABA receptor with a somewhat lower affinity for ABA than LANCL2 but with overlapping effector functions: stimulating glucose uptake and the expression of muscle glucose transporters and mitochondrial uncoupling and respiration via the AMPK/PGC-1α/Sirt1 pathway. Receptor redundancy may have been advantageous in animal evolution, given the role of the ABA/LANCL system in the insulin-independent stimulation of cell glucose uptake and energy metabolism

A multimodal molecular imaging approach targeting urokinase plasminogen activator receptor for the diagnosis, resection and surveillance of urothelial cell carcinoma

With a 5-year recurrence rate of 30-78%, urothelial cell carcinoma (UCC) rates amongst the highest of all solid malignancies. Consequently, after transurethral resection, patients are subjugated to life-long endoscopic surveillance. A multimodal near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence-based imaging strategy can improve diagnosis, resection and surveillance, hence increasing quality of life.Methods: Expression of urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR) and epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) are determined on paraffin-embedded human UCC using immunohistochemistry and on UCC cell lines by flow cytometry. MNPR-101, a humanised monoclonal antibody targeting uPAR is conjugated to IRDye800CW and binding is validated in vitro using surface plasmon resonance and cell-based binding assays. In vivo NIR fluorescence and photoacoustic three-dimensional (3D) imaging are performed with subcutaneously growing human UM-UC-31uc2 cells in BALB/c-nude mice. The translational potential is confirmed in a metastasising UM-UC-31uc2 orthotopic mouse model. InfliximabIRDye800CW and rituximab-IRDye800CW are used as controls.Results: UCCs show prominent uPAR expression at the tumour-stroma interface and EpCAM on epithelial cells. uPAR and EpCAM are expressed by 6/7 and 4/7 UCC cell lines, respectively. In vitro, MNPR-101-IRDye800CW has a picomolar affinity for domain 2-3 of uPAR. In vivo fluorescence imaging with MNPR-101-IRDye800CW, specifically delineates both subcutaneous and orthotopic tumours with tumour-to-background ratios reaching as high as 6.8, differing significantly from controls (p < 0.0001). Photoacoustic 3D in depth imaging confirms the homogenous distribution of MNPR-101-IRDye800CW through the tumour.Conclusions: MNPR-101-IRDye800CW is suitable for multimodal imaging of UCC, awaiting clinical translation. (C) 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.Surgical oncolog

Frequency of left ventricular hypertrophy in non-valvular atrial fibrillation

Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is significantly related to adverse clinical outcomes in patients at high risk of cardiovascular events. In patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), data on LVH, that is, prevalence and determinants, are inconsistent mainly because of different definitions and heterogeneity of study populations. We determined echocardiographic-based LVH prevalence and clinical factors independently associated with its development in a prospective cohort of patients with non-valvular (NV) AF. From the "Atrial Fibrillation Registry for Ankle-brachial Index Prevalence Assessment: Collaborative Italian Study" (ARAPACIS) population, 1,184 patients with NVAF (mean age 72 \ub1 11 years; 56% men) with complete data to define LVH were selected. ARAPACIS is a multicenter, observational, prospective, longitudinal on-going study designed to estimate prevalence of peripheral artery disease in patients with NVAF. We found a high prevalence of LVH (52%) in patients with NVAF. Compared to those without LVH, patients with AF with LVH were older and had a higher prevalence of hypertension, diabetes, and previous myocardial infarction (MI). A higher prevalence of ankle-brachial index 640.90 was seen in patients with LVH (22 vs 17%, p = 0.0392). Patients with LVH were at significantly higher thromboembolic risk, with CHA2DS2-VASc 652 seen in 93% of LVH and in 73% of patients without LVH (p &lt;0.05). Women with LVH had a higher prevalence of concentric hypertrophy than men (46% vs 29%, p = 0.0003). Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that female gender (odds ratio [OR] 2.80, p &lt;0.0001), age (OR 1.03 per year, p &lt;0.001), hypertension (OR 2.30, p &lt;0.001), diabetes (OR 1.62, p = 0.004), and previous MI (OR 1.96, p = 0.001) were independently associated with LVH. In conclusion, patients with NVAF have a high prevalence of LVH, which is related to female gender, older age, hypertension, and previous MI. These patients are at high thromboembolic risk and deserve a holistic approach to cardiovascular prevention

Antibody-drug conjugates: targeted weapons against cancer

Antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) are formed by a targeting antibody conjugated to a chemotherapeutic molecule through a linker. Recent data demonstrate that they represent a valuable advancement for the clinics and, despite their recent appearance, they are already undergoing an innovation wave aimed at targeting all their three building blocks. Thus, new antibody formats are being engineered, site-specific linkers are being designed and highly toxic molecules, like RNA polymerase inhibitors, start to be used for conjugation. These molecules were previously considered extremely toxic and could not be used as chemotherapeutic drugs. In this review, we will go through an overview of current cancer treatments and their limitations, and the logic which has led to the generation of ADCs. Their mechanism of action will be outlined and the most recent novelties in linker design and optimization will be discussed, along with present and near future of the current ADC pipeline

Efficient heuristics for data broadcasting on multiple channels

The problem of data broadcasting over multiple channels consists in partitioning data among channels, depending on data popularities, and then cyclically transmitting them over each channel so that the average waiting time of the clients is minimized. Such a problem is known to be polynomially time solvable for uniform length data items, while it is computationally intractable for non- uniform length data items. In this paper, two new heuristics are proposed which exploit a novel characterization of optimal solutions for the special case of two channels and data items of uniform lengths. Sub-optimal solutions for the most general case of an arbitrary number of channels and data items of non-uniform lengths are provided. The first heuristic, called Greedy+, combines the novel characterization with the known greedy approach, while the second heuristic, called Dlinear, combines the same characterization with the dynamic programming technique. Such heuris- tics have been tested on benchmarks whose popularities are characterized by Zipf distributions, as well as on a wider set of benchmarks. The experimental tests reveal that Dlinear finds optimal solutions almost always, requiring good running times. However, Greedy+ is faster and scales well when changes occur on the input parameters, but provides solutions which are close to the optimum

Feasibility of an innovative wing mast for a sustainable use in fishing boats, tankers and cargo ships

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the feasibility of an innovative project of multi-role fishing boat based on a SWATH catamaran architecture, high efficiency propellers and innovative wind sail auxiliary propulsion by means of a wing mast completely automated. The overall savings in fuel consumption, in reference to a traditional fishing boat of a similar size, the “Serena”, reaches the 90%, while the save in costs due to the only wing mast allows repaying the relative investment in less than 9 years

Anti-cancer auto-antibodies: Roles, applications and open issues

Auto-antibodies are classically associated with autoimmune diseases, where they are an integral part of diagnostic panels. However, recent evidence is accumulating on the presence of auto-antibodies against single or selected panels of auto-antigens in many types of cancer. Autoantibodies might initially represent an epiphenomenon derived from the inflammatory environment induced by the tumor. However, their effect on tumor evolution can be crucial, as is discussed in this paper. It has been demonstrated that some of these auto-antibodies can be used for early detection and cancer staging, as well as for monitoring of cancer regression during treatment and follow up. Interestingly, certain auto-antibodies were found to promote cancer progression and metastasis, while others contribute to the body’s defense against it. Moreover, auto-antibodies are of a polyclonal nature, which means that often several antibodies are involved in the response to a single tumor antigen. Dissection of these antibody specificities is now possible, allowing their identification at the genetic, structural, and epitope levels. In this review, we report the evidence available on the presence of auto-antibodies in the main cancer types and discuss some of the open issues that still need to be addressed by the research community