Olive stone as a renewable source of biopolyols

The purpose of this work was to establish the feasibility of converting the olive stone residue by means of both total and partial oxypropylation. In the first case, the oxypropylation reaction conditions are chosen in order to promote extensive grafting, thus assuring a complete “liquefaction” of the material and, in the second case, partial oxypropylation would limit the reaction to the outer shell in view of the preparation of all-“olive stone” composites. This approach involves a straightforward transformation of the olive stone particles outer layer, giving rise to a thermoplastic matrix around its unreacted reinforcing inner structure, as already applied to cellulose and starch. To the best of our knowledge, oxypropylation was never applied to olive-stone.FCT (project PTDC/CTM/71491/2006

The oxypropylation of olive stone and the use of the ensuing polyols for the synthesis of novel polyesters and polyurethanes based on renewable resources

The development of polyols by the oxypropylation of abundant and renewable vegetable and animal resources constitutes an original approach to the exploitation of the biomass. Cellulose, starch, chitosan, chitin, different types of lignins, cork and more complex structures like sugar beet pulp, are among the documented examples. All these systems displayed a similar pattern in terms of the grafting of short poly(propylene oxide) (POP) chains from the OH groups of the substrate, albeit of course each situation required a specific set of optimized experimental conditions to transform the natural solid into a viscous polyol. The transformation of these polyols into polyurethanes is the only operation which has been studied to date as a form of their exploitation into polymer materials. In this work, the more promissing were selected for chemical modifications involving first ester and urethane formations with aliphatic and aromatic monofunctional reagents.FCT within the project PTDC/CTM/71491/200

The oxypropylation of olive stone and the use of the ensuing polyols for the synthesis of novel polyesters and polyurethanes based on renewable resources

The development of polyols by the oxypropylation of abundant and renewable vegetable and animal resources constitutes an original approach to the exploitation of the biomass. Cellulose, starch, chitosan, chitin, different types of lignins, cork and more complex structures like sugar beet pulp, are among the documented examples. All these systems displayed a similar pattern in terms of the grafting of short poly(propylene oxide) (POP) chains from the OH groups of the substrate, albeit of course each situation required a specific set of optimized experimental conditions to transform the natural solid into a viscous polyol. The transformation of these polyols into polyurethanes is the only operation which has been studied to date as a form of their exploitation into polymer materials. In this work, the more promissing promising polyols were selected for chemical modifications involving first ester and urethane formations with aliphatic and aromatic monofunctional reagents.FCT within the project PTDC/CTM/71491/200

New polyurethanes from oxypropylated olive stone

The purpose of this work is to explore the possibility of chemically modifying the generated polyols (oxypropylated olive stone) through reactions with isocyanates to produce polyurethanes, other than rigid polyurethane foams. This could be achieved by the chemical modification of the oxypropylation products (condensation with isocyanates) by using mono and difunctional reagents to modulate properties and/or produce useful polymer networks.FCT (project PTDC/CTM/71491/2006_FCOM- 01-0124-FEDER-007156

Search for novel biobased materials within the OLIVPOL project

Within the context of the project OLIVPOL, olive stone (OS) residue was successfully converted into viscous polyols, as such, or containing reinforcing stone cores, by total or partial oxypropylation, respectively. Moreover, the synthesis of new macromolecular materials using the oxypropylated products, such as polyesters and polyurethanes, demonstrated a promising approach to the production of original value-added products based on renewable resources.FCT (Project PTDC/CTM/71491/2006_FCOM-01-0124-FEDER-007156

Avaliação do efeito de campos eléctricos pulsados no rendimento e na presença de compostos bioactivos no azeite virgem.

Avaliação do efeito de campos eléctricos pulsados no rendimento e na presença de compostos bioactivos no azeite virgem.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Novel scFv against Notch Ligand JAG1 Suitable for Development of Cell Therapies toward JAG1-Positive Tumors

Funding Information: This research was funded by the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia/Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior (FCT/MCTES, Portugal) grant PTDC/BBB-BMD/4497/2014 (to A.B.), through national funds to iNOVA4Health (UIDB/04462/2020 and UIDP/04462/2020), and the Associate Laboratory LS4FUTURE (LA/P/0087/2020). Publisher Copyright: © 2023 by the authors.The Notch signaling ligand JAG1 is overexpressed in various aggressive tumors and is associated with poor clinical prognosis. Hence, therapies targeting oncogenic JAG1 hold great potential for the treatment of certain tumors. Here, we report the identification of specific anti-JAG1 single-chain variable fragments (scFvs), one of them endowing chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells with cytotoxicity against JAG1-positive cells. Anti-JAG1 scFvs were identified from human phage display libraries, reformatted into full-length monoclonal antibodies (Abs), and produced in mammalian cells. The characterization of these Abs identified two specific anti-JAG1 Abs (J1.B5 and J1.F1) with nanomolar affinities. Cloning the respective scFv sequences in our second- and third-generation CAR backbones resulted in six anti-JAG1 CAR constructs, which were screened for JAG1-mediated T-cell activation in Jurkat T cells in coculture assays with JAG1-positive cell lines. Studies in primary T cells demonstrated that one CAR harboring the J1.B5 scFv significantly induced effective T-cell activation in the presence of JAG1-positive, but not in JAG1-knockout, cancer cells, and enabled specific killing of JAG1-positive cells. Thus, this new anti-JAG1 scFv represents a promising candidate for the development of cell therapies against JAG1-positive tumors.publishersversionpublishe

FXYD5/Dysadherin, a Biomarker of Endometrial Cancer Myometrial Invasion and Aggressiveness : Its Relationship With TGF-β1 and NF-κB Pathways

Objective: Endometrial cancer (EC) is the second most common gynecological cancer worldwide. Myometrial invasion (MI) is a key event in EC dissemination. This study aimed to evaluate FXYD5/dysadherin (FXYD5/Dys) expression in EC tissue and uterine aspirate (UA) biopsies and to assess molecular/functional changes associated with its expression in cellular models. Methods: FXYD5/Dys messenger RNA (mRNA) levels were determined in EC tissue and UA biopsies. FXYD5/Dys expression was evaluated in EC RNAseq data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and GENEVESTIGATOR tools. FXYD5/Dys impact on E-cadherin expression and cell behavior was assessed in EC Hec1a cells treated with transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1, stably transfected with ETV5, and transiently transfected with FXYD5/Dys small interfering RNA (siRNA) or pcDNA3-FXYD5/Dys plasmid. Results: FXYD5/Dys was associated with EC aggressiveness, finding high mRNA levels in tumors depicting MI > 50%, Grade 3, and intermediate/high risk of recurrence. FXYD5/Dys was highly expressed at the tumor invasive front compared to the superficial area. Most results were recapitulated in UA biopsies. FXYD5/Dys modulation in Hec1a cells altered cell migration/adhesion and E-cadherin expression. TGF-β1 treatment of Hec1a cells induced FXYD5/Dys expression. TCGA-UCEC RNAseq analysis revealed a positive correlation between FXYD5/Dys, TGF-β1, and plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI)-1 mRNA levels. FXYD5/Dys induced nuclear factor (NF)-κB pathway activation in Hec1a cells. FXYD5/Dys mRNA levels positively correlated with transcriptional activation of NF-κB p65-regulated genes. Survival analysis revealed patient segregation into low- and high-risk groups, the latter depicting the highest FXYD5/Dys, PAI-1, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and TGF-β1 mRNA levels and shorter survival rates. Conclusion: FXYD5/Dys is a novel biomarker of EC progression related to TGF-β1 and NF-κB pathways that collectively promote tumor dissemination and result in poor patient prognosis

FXYD5/Dysadherin, a Biomarker of Endometrial Cancer Myometrial Invasion and Aggressiveness : Its Relationship With TGF-β1 and NF-κB Pathways

Objective: Endometrial cancer (EC) is the second most common gynecological cancer worldwide. Myometrial invasion (MI) is a key event in EC dissemination. This study aimed to evaluate FXYD5/dysadherin (FXYD5/Dys) expression in EC tissue and uterine aspirate (UA) biopsies and to assess molecular/functional changes associated with its expression in cellular models. Methods: FXYD5/Dys messenger RNA (mRNA) levels were determined in EC tissue and UA biopsies. FXYD5/Dys expression was evaluated in EC RNAseq data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and GENEVESTIGATOR tools. FXYD5/Dys impact on E-cadherin expression and cell behavior was assessed in EC Hec1a cells treated with transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1, stably transfected with ETV5, and transiently transfected with FXYD5/Dys small interfering RNA (siRNA) or pcDNA3-FXYD5/Dys plasmid. Results: FXYD5/Dys was associated with EC aggressiveness, finding high mRNA levels in tumors depicting MI > 50%, Grade 3, and intermediate/high risk of recurrence. FXYD5/Dys was highly expressed at the tumor invasive front compared to the superficial area. Most results were recapitulated in UA biopsies. FXYD5/Dys modulation in Hec1a cells altered cell migration/adhesion and E-cadherin expression. TGF-β1 treatment of Hec1a cells induced FXYD5/Dys expression. TCGA-UCEC RNAseq analysis revealed a positive correlation between FXYD5/Dys, TGF-β1, and plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI)-1 mRNA levels. FXYD5/Dys induced nuclear factor (NF)-κB pathway activation in Hec1a cells. FXYD5/Dys mRNA levels positively correlated with transcriptional activation of NF-κB p65-regulated genes. Survival analysis revealed patient segregation into low- and high-risk groups, the latter depicting the highest FXYD5/Dys, PAI-1, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and TGF-β1 mRNA levels and shorter survival rates. Conclusion: FXYD5/Dys is a novel biomarker of EC progression related to TGF-β1 and NF-κB pathways that collectively promote tumor dissemination and result in poor patient prognosis