Lenalidomide interferes with tumor-promoting properties of nurse-like cells in chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Lenalidomide is an immunomodulatory agent clinically active in chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients. The specific mechanism of action is still undefined, but includes modulation of the microenvironment. In chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients, nurse-like cells differentiate from CD14(+) mononuclear cells and protect chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells from apoptosis. Nurse-like cells resemble M2 macrophages with potent immunosuppressive functions. Here, we examined the effect of lenalidomide on the monocyte/macrophage population in chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients. We found that lenalidomide induces high actin polymerization on CD14(+) monocytes through activation of small GTPases, RhoA, Rac1 and Rap1 that correlated with increased adhesion and impaired monocyte migration in response to CCL2, CCL3 and CXCL12. We observed that lenalidomide increases the number of nurse-like cells that lost the ability to nurture chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells, acquired properties of phagocytosis and promoted T-cell proliferation. Gene expression signature, induced by lenalidomide in nurse-like cells, indicated a reduction of pivotal pro-survival signals for chronic lymphocytic leukemia, such as CCL2, IGF1, CXCL12, HGF1, and supported a modulation towards M1 phenotype with high IL2 and low IL10, IL8 and CD163. Our data provide new insights into the mechanism of action of lenalidomide that mediates a pro-inflammatory switch of nurse-like cells affecting the protective microenvironment generated by chronic lymphocytic leukemia into tissues

All-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) in non-promyelocytic acute myeloid leukemia (AML): results of combination of ATRA with low-dose Ara-C in three elderly patients with NPM1-mutated AML unfit for intensive chemotherapy and review of the literature

Based upon the clinical behavior of three patients, we suggest that the combination of low-dose Ara-C and all-trans retinoic acid may potentially be effective in some elderly patients, unfit for intensive chemotherapy, affected with NPM1-mutated acute myeloid leukemia without FLT3 mutations, warranting perspective clinical studies in these selected patients

EDB: da 60 anni fedeli alla Parola (1962-2022)

Una delle più importanti editrici cattoliche italiane, le Edizioni Dehoniane Bologna, sono raccontate con testi e immagini in occasione del 60° di fondazione. Nate come sviluppo dell’attività di un gruppo di padri dehoniani e di laici raccolti attorno alla rivista “Il Regno” e in concomitanza con l’apertura del Concilio Vaticano II, dall’inizio centro propulsore e fonte ispiratrice per un ripensamento profondo di tutti i settori della teologia, della Bibbia e della pratica ecclesiale attraverso lo strumento dei libri. Nel corso dei decenni il catalogo EDB si è progressivamente arricchito di nuovi temi e ambiti di ricerca, dai problemi sociali a quelli etici, dalla catechesi alla strumentazione dei sussidi e ai testi di religione per la scuola, fino ad arrivare alle collane dedicate ai bambini e ragazzi e all’editoria multimediale, consolidando la posizione di mercato grazie a long seller come La Bibbia di Gerusalemme. Nel 2022 è iniziata una fase di rinnovamento con una nuova proprietà, secondo uno degli autori più rappresentativi, Gianfranco Ravasi, «un rilancio che ha il sapore di una rinascita»

Changing Politics: Government, Parliament and Parties in Italy at the Dawn of the 18th Legislature. Introduction to the Special Issue

The public\u2019s distrust of the Italian parliament has spread like a pandemic over the past few years. According to the Eurobarometer data, in the last fifteen years the portion of the Italian population declaring a measure of trust in the country\u2019s highest representative institution has never exceeded one third. Apparently, the Italian political system has proven unable to tackle citizens\u2019 distrust, as the gap between those who tend not to trust the Italian parliament and those who tend to trust it still amounts to more than 20 percentage points, also after the start of Legislature XVIII in March 2018. This is perhaps surprising, as the Italian elections held in 2018 brought about a number of novelties in the party system and in the institutional framework. At the same time, however, some political dynamics in the Italian parliament did not change after the 2018 elections, and this has probably helped to preserve the image of the Italian parliament as a \u2018delegitimised\u2019 institution. It is especially on these patterns of continuity and discontinuity with the past that could be observed at the start of Legislature XVIII that the present Special Issue focuses

Syngas production via steam reforming of bioethanol over Ni\u2013BEA catalysts: A BTL strategy

In this work we focused on syngas production from bioethanol, achieving proper H2/CO = 2 ratio to feed the FT reaction. The catalysts were constituted by Ni supported over BEA zeolites. The Si/Al ratio was varied to assess the effect of acidity on catalyst activity, selectivity and stability. As well, the effect of Ni loading (0.6\u20134 wt%) was investigated. Ni confinement into the zeolite pores proved a successful strategy to contrast deactivation by coking and to ensure stable operation with time-on-stream. Intermediate Ni loading (1.5\u20134 wt%) allowed to limit byproducts formation and to achieve the desired H2/CO ratio (ca. 2 mol/mol) for the present application. By contrast, increasing Ni loading increased the activity for both the reforming and the water gas shift reactions, thus improving H2 productivity but unbalancing the reaction mixture for application in the FT process. The conversion of CO through the WGS reaction showed strongly correlated to Ni loading, as well as the reforming of methane, a byproduct of bioethanol decomposition. The equilibrium conversion was achieved at the highest Ni loading

Studio delle alterazioni nelle risposte antiviralidell'immunità innata in pazienti con Sclerosi Multipla

I pazienti con sclerosi multipla hanno una alterazione dell'immunjità innata, che li rende più suscettibili alle infezioni virali. Tale alterazione è associata ad una mancata attivazione delle cellule N