272 research outputs found
Amyloid-beta Induced Deregulation of Calcium Homeostasis in Glial Cells in an Innovative Model of Alzheimer’s Disease
No full textExtracellular nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase, a new cancer metabokine
No full textIn this review, we focus on the secreted form of nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (NAMPT); extracellular NAMPT (eNAMPT), also known as pre-B cell colony-enhancing factor or visfatin. Although intracellular NAMPT is a key enzyme in controlling NAD metabolism, eNAMPT has been reported to function as a cytokine, with many roles in physiology and pathology. Circulating eNAMPT has been associated with several metabolic and inflammatory disorders, including cancer. Because cytokines produced in the tumour micro-environment play an important role in cancer pathogenesis, in part by reprogramming cellular metabolism, future improvements in cancer immunotherapy will require a better understanding of the crosstalk between cytokine action and tumour biology. In this review, the knowledge of eNAMPT in cancer will be discussed, focusing on its immunometabolic function as a metabokine, its secretion, its mechanism of action and possible roles in the cancer micro-environment.</p
Estratégias infantis na aquisição da expressão "ele mesmo" em português brasileiro
No full textEste estudo investiga a aquisição da forma anafórica ‘ele mesmo’ em Português Brasileiro. Mais especificamente, estuda-se o comportamento das crianças quando confrontadas com essa forma anafórica e um verbo preferencialmente reflexivo ou preferencialmente recíproco. Dado que estudos anteriores observaram a aquisição tardia da expressão ‘ele mesmo’ (Grolla 2011), no presente estudo, investiga-se o comportamento das crianças em uma nova tarefa, a fim de detectar padrões de respostas quando esta forma é testada com tipos diferentes de verbos. Os resultados mostram que as crianças, mesmo aos 6 anos, ainda não se comportam como adultos e atribuem a ‘ele mesmo’ uma interpretação reflexiva ou recíproca de forma aleatória.</p
Estratégias infantis na aquisição da expressão "ele mesmo" em português brasileiro
No full textEste estudo investiga a aquisição da forma anafórica ‘ele mesmo\u27 em Português Brasileiro. Mais especificamente, estuda-se o comportamento das crianças quando confrontadas com essa forma anafórica e um verbo preferencialmente reflexivo ou preferencialmente recíproco. Dado que estudos anteriores observaram a aquisição tardia da expressão ‘ele mesmo\u27 (Grolla 2011), no presente estudo, investiga-se o comportamento das crianças em uma nova tarefa, a fim de detectar padrões de respostas quando esta forma é testada com tipos diferentes de verbos. Os resultados mostram que as crianças, mesmo aos 6 anos, ainda não se comportam como adultos e atribuem a ‘ele mesmo\u27 uma interpretação reflexiva ou recíproca de forma aleatória
La teoria del capitale sociale
No full textIl capitolo presenta una dettagliata analisi del teorie e degli approcci al capitale sociale a livello internazionale, con particolare riguardo all'impostazione sociologica, economica e delle scienze politich
Recent Advances in NAMPT Inhibitors: A Novel Immunotherapic Strategy
No full textNicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) is a cofactor of many enzymatic reactions as well as being a substrate for a number of NAD-consuming enzymes (e.g., PARPS, sirtuins, etc). NAD can be synthesized de novo starting from tryptophan, nicotinamide, nicotinic acid, or nicotinamide riboside from the diet. On the other hand, the nicotinamide that is liberated by NAD-consuming enzymes can be salvaged to re-form NAD. In this former instance, nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (NAMPT) is the bottleneck enzyme. In the many cells in which the salvage pathway is predominant, NAMPT, therefore, represents an important controller of intracellular NAD concentrations, and as a consequence of energy metabolism. It is, therefore, not surprising that NAMPT is over expressed by tumoral cells, which take advantage from this to sustain growth rate and tumor progression. This has led to the initiation of numerous medicinal chemistry programs to develop NAMPT inhibitors in the context of oncology. More recently, however, it has been shown that NAMPT inhibitors do not solely target the tumor but also have an effect on the immune system. To add complexity, this enzyme can also be secreted by cells, and in the extracellular space it acts as a cytokine mainly through the activation of Toll like Receptor 4 (TLR4), although it has not been clarified yet if this is the only receptor responsible for its actions. While specific small molecules have been developed only against the intracellular form of NAMPT, growing evidences sustain the possibility to target the extracellular form. In this contribution, the most recent evidences on the medicinal chemistry of NAMPT will be reviewed, together with the key elements that sustain the hypothesis of NAMPT targeting and the drawbacks so far encountered
Amyloid-B and Alzheimer's disease type pathology differentially affects the calcium signalling toolkit in astrocytes fromdifferent brain regions
No full textThe entorhinal'hippocampal circuit is severely affected in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Here, we demonstrate that amyloid-β (Aβ) differentially affects primary cultured astrocytes derived from the entorhinal cortex (EC) and from the hippocampus from nontransgenic controls and 3xTg-AD transgenic mice. Exposure to 100 nM of Aβ resulted in increased expression of the metabotropic glutamate receptor type 5 (mGluR5) and its downstream InsP 3 receptor type 1 (InsP3R1) in hippocampal but not in EC astrocytes. Amplitudes of Ca2+ responses to an mGluR5 agonist, DHPG, and to ATP, another metabotropic agonist coupled to InsP3Rs, were significantly increased in Aβ-treated hippocampal but not in EC astrocytes. Previously we demonstrated that senile plaque formation in 3xTg-AD mice triggers astrogliosis in hippocampal but not in EC astrocytes. The different sensitivities of the Ca2+ signalling toolkit of EC versus hippocampal astrocytes to Aβ may account for the lack of astrogliosis in the EC, which in turn can explain the higher vulnerability of this region to AD. © 2013 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved
Differentiation of adipose-derived stem cells into Schwann cell phenotype induces expression of P2X receptors that control cell death.
No full textSchwann cells (SCs) are fundamental for development, myelination and regeneration in the peripheral nervous system. Slow growth rate and difficulties in harvesting limit SC applications in regenerative medicine. Several molecules, including receptors for neurosteroids and neurotransmitters, have been suggested to be implicated in regulating physiology and regenerative potential of SCs. Adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) can be differentiated into SC-like phenotype (dASC) sharing morphological and functional properties with SC, thus representing a valid SC alternative. We have previously shown that dASC express γ-aminobutyric-acid receptors, which modulate their proliferation and neurotrophic potential, although little is known about the role of other neurotransmitters in ASC. In this study, we investigated the expression of purinergic receptors in dASC. Using reverse transriptase (RT)-PCR, western blot analyses and immunocytochemistry, we have demonstrated that ASCs express P2X3, P2X4 and P2X7 purinoceptors. Differentiation of ASCs towards glial phenotype was accompanied by upregulation of P2X4 and P2X7 receptors. Using Ca(2+)-imaging techniques, we have shown that stimulation of purinoceptors with adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) triggers intracellular Ca(2+) signals, indicating functional activity of these receptors. Whole-cell voltage clamp recordings showed that ATP and BzATP induced ion currents that can be fully inhibited with specific P2X7 antagonists. Finally, using cytotoxicity assays we have shown that the increase of intracellular Ca(2+) leads to dASC death, an effect that can be prevented using a specific P2X7 antagonist. Altogether, these results show, for the first time, the presence of functional P2X7 receptors in dASC and their link with critical physiological processes such as cell death and survival. The presence of these novel pharmacological targets in dASC might open new opportunities for the management of cell survival and neurotrophic potential in tissue engineering approaches using dASC for nerve repair
PHARMACOLOGICAL APPROACHES TO SARS-CoV-2 INFECTION: FROM DRUG REPOSITIONING FOR COVID-19 TREATMENT TO DISEASE ARREST/PREVENTION WITH MoAbs AND NOVEL ANTIVIRALS
No full textCOVID-19 disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is one of the major emergencies that have affected health care systems and society in recent decades. At the end of winter 2021-2022, the number of patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 and especially those suffering from severe COVID-19 is decreasing in Europe. This is due to the protective effect of anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccines and the increasing number of people who had COVID-19, thus developing a certain immunity. However, vaccines to prevent the disease did not appear until more than one year after the emergence of SARS-CoV-2, so the initial medical approaches to control the disease focused on the existing drugs that were considered suitable for controlling the pathological events caused by the virus as far as was known at the time. Unfortunately, due in part to the limited initial knowledge of the molecular details of the pathology of COVID-19, many of the proposed drugs fell short of expectations and were abandoned. Over time, the challenge of understanding the mechanisms behind COVID-19 has generated a large body of knowledge about how this beta-coronavirus gains control of the host during infection, a knowledge that has been used to redefine treatment strategies by repurposing existing drugs and to explore new drugs.
Here, we draw a picture of the major strategies and groups of drugs studied and provide a critical overview of their efficacy and safety based on the available literature data. The main topics covered are repurposed drugs, anticoagulants, anti-cytokine agents, monoclonal antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, and small antiviral molecules
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