Improving the Nuclear-Localized Androgen Receptor Splice Variant 7 Test

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Agentic learning: the pedagogical implications of young trans people’s online learning strategies

This paper proposes anew conceptualisation of learning in the age of the internet, increasing systemic rigidity of formal education and intensified media manipulation and partiality. Using empirical data and drawing on Social Activity Method it elaborates the different strategies young trans people recruit in their self-learning and contends that these constitute a type of learning where the control of pedagogy, the learning environment and the subject matter lies to a significant extent, with the learner, taking place in spaces free from the influence of hegemonic transphobia. This type of learning appears to constitute an effective but complex one. As, in this instance, the learning is taking place in a wider cultural environment where the subject matter is often suppressed and subject to ideological misrepresentation by hegemonic control of the public sphere, this study suggests that learning by providing learners with greater control over pedagogy and learning environment is effective

Pre-formulation and systematic evaluation of amino acid assisted permeability of insulin across in vitro buccal cell layers

The aim of this work was to investigate alternative safe and effective permeation enhancers for buccal peptide delivery. Basic amino acids improved insulin solubility in water while 200 and 400 µg/mL lysine significantly increased insulin solubility in HBSS. Permeability data showed a significant improvement in insulin permeation especially for 10 µg/mL of lysine (p < 0.05) and 10 µg/mL histidine (p < 0.001), 100 µg/mL of glutamic acid (p < 0.05) and 200 µg/mL of glutamic acid and aspartic acid (p < 0.001) without affecting cell integrity; in contrast to sodium deoxycholate which enhanced insulin permeability but was toxic to the cells. It was hypothesized that both amino acids and insulin were ionised at buccal cavity pH and able to form stable ion pairs which penetrated the cells as one entity; while possibly triggering amino acid nutrient transporters on cell surfaces. Evidence of these transport mechanisms was seen with reduction of insulin transport at suboptimal temperatures as well as with basal-to-apical vectoral transport, and confocal imaging of transcellular insulin transport. These results obtained for insulin is the first indication of a possible amino acid mediated transport of insulin via formation of insulin-amino acid neutral complexes by the ion pairing mechanism

Molecular Characterization of Circulating Tumor Cells to Study Cancer Immunoevasion

Cancer cells leaving the primary tumor immunosuppressive microenvironment become vulnerable to active immune surveillance and require mechanisms of immunoevasion to survive in the circulation. Studies have identified several pathways by which circulating tumor cells (CTCs) might escape the immune system/immunotherapy attack. The PD-1/PD-L1 axis is an immune checkpoint regulator, playing a major role in maintaining self-tolerance. It is now well recognized that tumor cells co-opt the PD-1/PD-L1 axis of immune regulation to interfere with cytotoxic T lymphocyte function. Transcriptional changes in CTCs, leading to the upregulation of PD-L1, might enable them to survive in circulation. Very recent data revealed a previously unappreciated role of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in reprogramming the immune response in the local tumor microenvironment and a mutual regulation between EMT and immunoevasion is becoming apparent. In this chapter, we will describe in detail both EpCAM-dependent and -independent approaches that allow the identification of PD-L1 expression and EMT-like features in circulating tumor cells

EpCAMlow circulating tumor cells: Gold in the waste

The CellSearch® system which is still considered the gold standard for the enumeration of circulating tumor cells (CTC) utilizes antibodies against the epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) for CTC enrichment. Recently, CTC discarded by the CellSearch® system due to their low EpCAM expression have been isolated and analyzed. We here sought to discuss technical and biological issues concerning the isolation and characterization of EpCAMlow CTC, highlighting the enormous potential of this subpopulation discarded by CellSearch®, which might instead reveal an unexpected clinical significance in tumor types where CTC enumeration has never been validated for prognostic and predictive purpose