Engineering light-responsive substrates for the dynamic display of patterns of adhesive signals to control cell functions in vitro (Conference Presentation)

Author(s):  
Paolo A. Netti
1992 ◽  
Vol 67 (06) ◽  
pp. 660-664 ◽  
Author(s):  
Virgilio Evangelista ◽  
Paola Piccardoni ◽  
Giovanni de Gaetano ◽  
Chiara Cerletti

SummaryDefibrotide is a polydeoxyribonucleotide with antithrombotic effects in experimental animal models. Most of the actions of this drug have been observed in in vivo test models but no effects have been reported in in vitro systems. In this paper we demonstrate that defibrotide interferes with polymorphonuclear leukocyte-induced human platelet activation in vitro. This effect was not related to any direct interaction with polymorphonuclear leukocytes or platelets, but was due to the inhibition of cathepsin G, the main biochemical mediator of this cell-cell cooperation. Since cathepsin G not only induces platelet activation but also affects some endothelial cell functions, the anticathepsin G activity of defibrotide could help to explain the antithrombotic effect of this drug.


2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (37) ◽  
pp. 4888-4902 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gilda D'Urso ◽  
Sonia Piacente ◽  
Cosimo Pizza ◽  
Paola Montoro

The consumption of berry-type fruits has become very popular in recent years because of their positive effects on human health. Berries are in fact widely known for their health-promoting benefits, including prevention of chronic disease, cardiovascular disease and cancer. Berries are a rich source of bioactive metabolites, such as vitamins, minerals, and phenolic compounds, mainly anthocyanins. Numerous in vitro and in vivo studies recognized the health effects of berries and their function as bioactive modulators of various cell functions associated with oxidative stress. Plants have one of the largest metabolome databases, with over 1200 papers on plant metabolomics published only in the last decade. Mass spectrometry (MS) and NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) are the most important analytical technologies on which the emerging ''omics'' approaches are based. They may provide detection and quantization of thousands of biologically active metabolites from a tissue, working in a ''global'' or ''targeted'' manner, down to ultra-trace levels. In the present review, we highlighted the use of MS and NMR-based strategies and Multivariate Data Analysis for the valorization of berries known for their biological activities, important as food and often used in the preparation of nutraceutical formulations.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (7) ◽  
pp. 722-734
Author(s):  
Adele Soltani ◽  
Arefeh Jafarian ◽  
Abdolamir Allameh

micro (mi)-RNAs are vital regulators of multiple processes including insulin signaling pathways and glucose metabolism. Pancreatic β-cells function is dependent on some miRNAs and their target mRNA, which together form a complex regulative network. Several miRNAs are known to be directly involved in β-cells functions such as insulin expression and secretion. These small RNAs may also play significant roles in the fate of β-cells such as proliferation, differentiation, survival and apoptosis. Among the miRNAs, miR-7, miR-9, miR-375, miR-130 and miR-124 are of particular interest due to being highly expressed in these cells. Under diabetic conditions, although no specific miRNA profile has been noticed, the expression of some miRNAs and their target mRNAs are altered by posttranscriptional mechanisms, exerting diverse signs in the pathobiology of various diabetic complications. The aim of this review article is to discuss miRNAs involved in the process of stem cells differentiation into β-cells, resulting in enhanced β-cell functions with respect to diabetic disorders. This paper will also look into the impact of miRNA expression patterns on in vitro proliferation and differentiation of β-cells. The efficacy of the computational genomics and biochemical analysis to link the changes in miRNA expression profiles of stem cell-derived β-cells to therapeutically relevant outputs will be discussed as well.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Awais ◽  
Waqar Hussain ◽  
Nouman Rasool ◽  
Yaser Daanial Khan

Background: The uncontrolled growth due to accumulation of genetic and epigenetic changes as a result of loss or reduction in the normal function of Tumor Suppressor Genes (TSGs) and Pro-oncogenes is known as cancer. TSGs control cell division and growth by repairing of DNA mistakes during replication and restrict the unwanted proliferation of a cell or activities, those are the part of tumor production. Objectives: This study aims to propose a novel, accurate, user-friendly model to predict tumor suppressor proteins, which would be freely available to experimental molecular biologists to assist them using in vitro and in vivo studies. Methods: The predictor model has used the input feature vector (IFV) calculated from the physicochemical properties of proteins based on FCNN to compute the accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and MCC. The proposed model was validated against different exhaustive validation techniques i.e. self-consistency and cross-validation. Results: Using self-consistency, the accuracy is 99%, for cross-validation and independent testing has 99.80% and 100% accuracy respectively. The overall accuracy of the proposed model is 99%, sensitivity value 98% and specificity 99% and F1-score was 0.99. Conclusion: It concludes, the proposed model for prediction of the tumor suppressor proteins can predict the tumor suppressor proteins efficiently, but it still has space for improvements in computational ways as the protein sequences may rapidly increase, day by day.


2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. ii63-ii63
Author(s):  
Lakshmi Bollu ◽  
Derek Wainwright ◽  
Lijie Zhai ◽  
Erik Ladomersky ◽  
Kristen Lauing ◽  
...  

Abstract INTRODUCTION Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO; IDO1) is a rate-limiting enzyme that metabolizes the essential amino acid tryptophan into kynurenine. Recent work by our group has revealed that IDO promotes tumor development and suppresses immune cell functions independent of its enzyme activity. Moreover, pharmacologic IDO enzyme inhibitors that currently serve as the only class of drugs available for targeting immunosuppressive IDO activity, fail to improve the survival of patients with GBM. Here, we developed IDO-Proteolysis Targeting Chimeras (IDO-PROTACs). PROTACs bind to a specific protein and recruit an E3 ubiquitin ligase that enhance proteasome-mediated degradation of the target protein. METHODS A library of ≥100 IDO-PROTACs were developed by joining BMS986205 (IDO binder) with a linker group to various E3-ligase ligands. Western blot analysis of PROTAC-induced IDO degradation was tested in vitro among multiple human and mouse GBM cell lines including U87, GBM6, GBM43 and GL261 along a time course ranging between 1–96 hours of treatment and at varying concentrations. The mechanism of IDO protein degradation was investigated using pharmacologic ligands that inhibit or compete with the proteasome-mediated protein degradation pathway. RESULTS Primary screening identified several IDO-PROTACs with IDO protein degradation potential. Secondary screening showed that our lead compound has a DC50 value of ~0.5µM with an ability to degrade IDO in all GBM cells analyzed, and an initial activity within 12 hours of treatment that extended for up to 96 hours. Mutating the CRBN-binding ligand, pretreatment with the ubiquitin proteasome system inhibitors MG132 or MLN4924 or using unmodified parental compound all inhibited IDO protein degradation. CONCLUSIONS This study developed an initial IDO-PROTAC technology that upon further optimization, can neutralize both IDO enzyme and non-enzyme immunosuppressive effects. When combined with other forms of immunotherapy, IDO-PROTACs have the potential to substantially enhance immunotherapeutic efficacy in patients with GBM.


Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (13) ◽  
pp. 3866
Author(s):  
Natasha Irrera ◽  
Alessandra Bitto ◽  
Emanuela Sant’Antonio ◽  
Rita Lauro ◽  
Caterina Musolino ◽  
...  

The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is a composite cell-signaling system that allows endogenous cannabinoid ligands to control cell functions through the interaction with cannabinoid receptors. Modifications of the ECS might contribute to the pathogenesis of different diseases, including cancers. However, the use of these compounds as antitumor agents remains debatable. Pre-clinical experimental studies have shown that cannabinoids (CBs) might be effective for the treatment of hematological malignancies, such as leukemia and lymphoma. Specifically, CBs may activate programmed cell death mechanisms, thus blocking cancer cell growth, and may modulate both autophagy and angiogenesis. Therefore, CBs may have significant anti-tumor effects in hematologic diseases and may synergistically act with chemotherapeutic agents, possibly also reducing chemoresistance. Moreover, targeting ECS might be considered as a novel approach for the management of graft versus host disease, thus reducing some symptoms such as anorexia, cachexia, fatigue, anxiety, depression, and neuropathic pain. The aim of the present review is to collect the state of the art of CBs effects on hematological tumors, thus focusing on the essential topics that might be useful before moving into the clinical practice.


Retrovirology ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (S2) ◽  
Author(s):  
M Younas ◽  
S Hue ◽  
M Surenaud ◽  
C Lacabaratz ◽  
A Guiguin ◽  
...  

Blood ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 94 (7) ◽  
pp. 2396-2402 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Cambiaggi ◽  
Sylvie Darche ◽  
Sophie Guia ◽  
Philippe Kourilsky ◽  
Jean-Pierre Abastado ◽  
...  

In humans, a minor subset of T cells express killer cell Ig-like receptors (KIRs) at their surface. In vitro data obtained with KIR+ β and γδ T-cell clones showed that engagement of KIR molecules can extinguish T-cell activation signals induced via the CD3/T-cell receptor (TCR) complex. We analyzed the T-cell compartment in mice transgenic for KIR2DL3 (Tg-KIR2DL3), an inhibitory receptor for HLA-Cw3. As expected, mixed lymphocyte reaction and anti-CD3 monoclonal antibody (MoAb)-redirected cytotoxicity exerted by freshly isolated splenocytes can be inhibited by engagement of transgenic KIR2DL3 molecules. In contrast, antigen and anti-CD3 MoAb-induced cytotoxicity exerted by alloreactive cytotoxic T lymphocytes cannot be inhibited by KIR2DL3 engagement. In double transgenic mice, Tg-KIR2DL3 × Tg-HLA-Cw3, no alteration of thymic differentiation could be documented. Immunization of double transgenic mice with Hen egg white lysozime (HEL) or Pigeon Cytochrome-C (PCC) was indistinguishable from immunization of control mice, as judged by recall antigen-induced in vitro proliferation and TCR repertoire analysis. These results indicate that KIR effect on T cells varies upon cell activation stage and show unexpected complexity in the biological function of KIRs in vivo.


2007 ◽  
Vol 82 (5) ◽  
pp. 2056-2064 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luka Čičin-Šain ◽  
Zsolt Ruzsics ◽  
Juergen Podlech ◽  
Ivan Bubić ◽  
Carine Menard ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Genes that inhibit apoptosis have been described for many DNA viruses. Herpesviruses often contain even more than one gene to control cell death. Apoptosis inhibition by viral genes is postulated to contribute to viral fitness, although a formal proof is pending. To address this question, we studied the mouse cytomegalovirus (MCMV) protein M36, which binds to caspase-8 and blocks death receptor-induced apoptosis. The growth of MCMV recombinants lacking M36 (ΔM36) was attenuated in vitro and in vivo. In vitro, caspase inhibition by zVAD-fmk blocked apoptosis in ΔM36-infected macrophages and rescued the growth of the mutant. In vivo, ΔM36 infection foci in liver tissue contained significantly more apoptotic hepatocytes and Kupffer cells than did revertant virus foci, and apoptosis occurred during the early phase of virus replication prior to virion assembly. To further delineate the mode of M36 function, we replaced the M36 gene with a dominant-negative FADD (FADDDN) in an MCMV recombinant. FADDDN was expressed in cells infected with the recombinant and blocked the death-receptor pathway, replacing the antiapoptotic function of M36. Most importantly, FADDDN rescued ΔM36 virus replication, both in vitro and in vivo. These findings have identified the biological role of M36 and define apoptosis inhibition as a key determinant of viral fitness.


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