150 research outputs found
Corrigendum to “Delta SARS-CoV-2 variant is entirely substituted by the omicron variant during the fifth COVID-19 wave in Attica region” [Sci. Total Environ., 856(Pt 1) (2023)/159062] (Science of the Total Environment (2023) 856(P1), (S0048969722061617), (10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.159062))
No full textThe authors state that the printed version of the above article missed the contribution of an author, which was that the third author had contributed to the writing of the original draft in addition to methodology. The correct and final version follows. CRediT authorship contribution statement Aikaterini Galani: Methodology, Validation, Writing – original draft. Athina Markou: Supervision, Writing – review & editing, Project administration. Lampros Dimitrakopoulos: Methodology, Writing – original draft. Aikaterini Kontou: Validation. Marios Kostakis: Validation. Vasileios Kapes: Methodology. Marios A. Diamantopoulos: Formal analysis, Software. Panagiotis G. Adamopoulos: Formal analysis. Margaritis Avgeris: Formal analysis, Writing– review & editing. Evi Lianidou: Writing – review & editing. Andreas Scorilas: Formal analysis. Dimitrios Paraskevis: Writing – review & editing. Sotirios Tsiodras: Writing – review & editing. Meletios-Athanasios Dimopoulos: Funding acquisition, Writing – review & editing. Nikolaos Thomaidis: Conceptualization, Project administration, Visualization, Resources. © 2022 Elsevier B.V
European Union Accession to the European Convention on Human Rights: An Institutional “Marriage”
No full textA possible accession of European Union (hereinafter: EU/the Union) to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR/the Convention) has been discussed in legal society for more than thirty years. The topic had widely opened after the 1979 Commission Memorandum where the major pros and cons were underlined and practical problems were addressed. This discussion led to an official request to the European Court of Justice (ECJ/the Court) in relation to the legality of such accession; the outcome was included in opinion 2/94 that found such accession incompatible with the European Community (EC/the Community) Treaty.
© Konstantinos G. Margaritis. All rights reserved.
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Kallikrein-related peptidases (KLKs) as emerging therapeutic targets: focus on prostate cancer and skin pathologies
No full textStudy of L-DOPA decarboxylase and kallikreins gene expression regulation through microRNA molecules, in prostate and bladder cancers: evaluation of their differential diagnostic and prognostic value
No full textOne of the main features of prostate and bladder cancers is their clinical heterogeneity, in terms of disease progression rate, patients’ survival and treatment response. Therefore, the studying of the different molecular signatures of the disease and the identification of novel molecular biomarkers could offer, an alternative approach to improve disease prognosis and to support personalized treatment decisions, and is of first research and clinical priority.L-DOPA decarboxylase (DDC) was recently identified as a novel co-activator of androgen receptor (AR), enhancing the ligand-dependent AR transcriptional activity. Additionally, DDC represents also a marker of the neuroendocrine (NE) differentiation of the prostate. The NE prostate cells play essential role in prostate cancer progression. Tissue kallikrein (KLK1) and the kallikrein-related peptidases (KLK2-KLK15) constitute a family of 15 homologous secreted serine proteases. The value of KLKs as cancer biomarkers is highlighted by the previously established clinical utility of prostate specific antigen (PSA), as kallikrein-related peptidase 3 (KLK3) is largely known, for prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment monitoring. Finally, microRNAs (miRNAs) are a rapidly growing family of small (~22nt) non-coding RNAs, representing the most powerful gene expression regulators at the post-transcriptional level. Their function is crucial for cellular homeostasis, and the deregulation of miRNAs expression has become a hallmark of the majority of human malignancies.In the present Ph.D. Thesis is performed the expression analysis and the evaluation of the clinical significance of DDC, KLKs genes, and miRNAs molecules, which regulate their expression post-transcriptionally, in prostate and bladder cancers. To fulfill these objectives, a statistically significant number of 137 prostate and 279 blabber fresh frozen tissues were collected, processed and included in the study. Moreover, novel molecular methodologies were developed and optimized for the accurate and sensitive quantification of the tested genes and miRNAs in prostate and bladder tissue specimens. Additionally, a detailed database of patients’ history, clincopathological and follow-up data has been constructed for all patients. The analysis of the total number of tissue specimens and the extended statistical analysis of the results of the study highlighted the significant clinical value of the tested biomarkers for the differential diagnosis and the accurate prognosis of prostate and bladder cancers.Ένα ιδιαίτερο χαρακτηριστικό του καρκίνου του προστάτη και του καρκίνου της ουροδόχου κύστεως είναι η έντονη κλινική ετερογένειά τους, σχετικά με την πρόγνωση εξέλιξης της νόσου, την επιβίωση των ασθενών και την ανταπόκρισή τους στην θεραπεία. Για το λόγο αυτό, η μελέτη του μοριακού προφίλ των όγκων και η ταυτοποίηση νέων μοριακών δεικτών μπορεί να προσφέρει σημαντικά στην βελτίωση της πρόγνωσης και τον σχεδιασμό της εξατομικευμένης θεραπείας των ασθενών, εμφανίζοντας έντονο ερευνητικό και κλινικό ενδιαφέρον σήμερα.Η L-DOPA αποκαρβοξυλάση (DDC) έχει βρεθεί να αποτελεί ένα νεότερο συνενεργοποιητή του υποδοχέα των ανδρογόνων (AR) ενισχύοντας σημαντικά την μεταγραφική ενεργότητά του. Επίσης, η DDC αποτελεί δείκτη της νευροενδοκρινούς (NE) διαφοροποίησης του προστάτη, με τα ΝΕ κύτταρα του αδένα να διαδραματίζουν κεντρικό ρόλο για την εξέλιξη της νόσου. Οι καλλικρεΐνες (KLKs) αποτελούν μια οικογένεια 15 ομόλογων εκκρινόμενων πρωτεασών σερίνης, η ιδιαίτερη κλινική αξία της οποίας στις ανθρώπινες νεοπλασίες αντικατοπτρίζεται στον προσδιορισμό του PSA, όπως είναι ευρέως γνωστή η KLK3, του ορού του αίματος για την διάγνωση και την πρόγνωση του καρκίνου του προστάτη. Τέλος, τα microRNAs (miRNAs) αποτελούν μια διαρκώς αυξανόμενη οικογένεια μικρών (~22 nt) μη-κωδικών μορίων RNA, τα οποία αποτελούν τους σημαντικότερους ρυθμιστές της γονιδιακής έκφρασης σε μετα-μεταγραφικό επίπεδο. Η δράση τους είναι ιδιαίτερα σημαντική για την κυτταρική ομοιόσταση, ενώ η απορρύθμιση της έκφρασής τους παρατηρείται στην πλειοψηφία των κακοηθειών του ανθρώπου.Στην παρούσα διδακτορική διατριβή πραγματοποιείται η μελέτη της έκφρασης και αξιολόγηση της κλινικής αξίας των DDC, KLKs γονιδίων, καθώς και miRNAs, τα οποία ρυθμίζουν μετα-μεταγραφικά την έκφρασή τους, στον καρκίνο του προστάτη και της ουροδόχου κύστεως. Για την επίτευξη των στόχων της διατριβής πραγματοποιήθηκε η συλλογή και επεξεργασία ενός στατιστικά σημαντικού αριθμού 137 ιστοτεμαχίων προστάτη και 279 ιστοτεμαχίων ουροδόχου κύστεως, καθώς και η ανάπτυξη και βελτιστοποίηση νέων μοριακών μεθοδολογιών προσδιορισμού των επιπέδων έκφρασης των υπό μελέτη γονιδίων και miRNAs. Λεπτομερής βάση των κλινικοπαθολογικών χαρακτηριστικών και της πορείας τους (follow-up) έπειτα από την θεραπεία κατασκευάστηκε για το σύνολο των ασθενών. Η βιοστατιστική ανάλυση των αποτελεσμάτων ανέδειξε την ισχυρή κλινική αξία, ενός σημαντικού αριθμού των υπό μελέτη βιομορίων, για την διαφορική διάγνωση και πρόγνωση του καρκίνου του προστάτη και της ουροδόχου κύστεως
Kallikrein-related peptidases (KLKs) as emerging therapeutic targets: focus on prostate cancer and skin pathologies
No full textComplex Bituminous Binders, Are Current Test Methods Suitable for?
No full textThe asphalt industry is constantly working to enhance the performances of asphalt materials, introducing innovative and more sustainable solutions. In this context, the incorporation of materials, such as additives, polymers, is more and more used to improve the properties of neat bitumen. This leads to even more complex bituminous binders, raising the question, are the current specifications and test methods appropriate for complex materials? To deal with this, the RILEM Technical Committee 272-PIM ‘Phase and Interphase behaviour of innovative bituminous Materials’ with its Task Group TG1 is looking at the efficiency of various test methods for complex binders with an extensive inter-laboratory program with 17 laboratories. It includes seven different binders, two neat bitumen, two polymer modified bitumen and three binders with liquid additives, emphasising on compositional and physical changes at different conditions. The focus is low temperature; while a complementary experimental program encompasses as well as testing at intermediate and high temperatures. The outcomes of the work will provide indications on how robust the current binder characterisation techniques are and establish technical recommendations for future test methods specially designed for complex binders. Some first results are presented hereby. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
Down-regulation of kallikrein-related peptidase 5 (<it>KLK5</it>) expression in breast cancer patients: a biomarker for the differential diagnosis of breast lesions
No full textAbstract Background Kallikrein-related peptidase 5 (KLK5) is a secreted trypsin-like protease of the KLK family, encoded by the KLK5 gene. KLK5 has been found to cleave various extracellular matrix components, as well as to activate several other KLK proteases, triggering the stimulation of tissue microenvironment proteolytic cascades. Material and Methods KLK5 expression levels were quantified in 102 cancerous and benign breast tissue specimens, obtained by randomly chosen patients, using RT-qPCR assay. Subsequently, advanced biostatistics were applied in order to analyze the KLK5 expression profile in the two patients' cohorts and also to evaluate its clinical significance for the discrimination of breast tumors. Results A statistically significant (p KLK5 expression levels were observed in the malignant specimens compared to the benign ones. Logistic regression and ROC curve analysis revealed the significant (p KLK5 expression quantification, for the discrimination of the malignant from the benign mammary gland biopsies. Moreover, KLK5 expression levels correlate with the pre-menopausal status (p Conclusions The quantification of KLK5 expression in breast tissue biopsies may be considered as a novel and independent biomarker for the differential diagnosis between malignant and benign tumors of the mammary gland.</p
Kallikrein-related peptidase genes as promising biomarkers for prognosis and monitoring of human malignancies
No full textTargeting kallikrein-related peptidases in prostate cancer
No full textIntroduction: Novel therapeutic compounds are needed for prostate cancer (CaP), given the limitations of already used drugs and the disease’s mortality, often attributed to castrate resistance. Tissue kallikrein and kallikrein-related peptidases (KLKs) form a family of serine proteases aberrantly expressed and broadly implicated in human malignancies. In CaP, KLKs participate in the promotion of cell proliferation, extracellular matrix degradation, tumour cell invasion and metastasis.
Areas covered: This review discusses the different ways of inhibiting, modulating and exploiting KLK activity and/or expression as emerging CaP therapeutics. KLKs are targeted by diverse naturally occurring substances, including proteinaceous inhibitors, low-molecular-weight peptides and Zn2+. Synthetic KLK inhibitors include protein/peptide-based inhibitors and small molecules. A re-engineered serpin-based KLK inhibitor is under evaluation in first-in-human trials as a CaP therapeutic, whereas additional potent and selective KLK inhibitors with relevance to CaP have been synthesized. KLK3-activated pro-drugs have entered Phase I and Phase II clinical trials as therapeutics for prostate tumours. The KLK3-based PROSTVAC vaccine is evaluated in Phase III clinical trials. Targeting KLK expression via RNA interference methods could represent another promising therapeutic approach for CaP.
Expert opinion: Apart from their immense biomarker potential, KLKs also hold promise as the basis of novel CaP therapeutics
miRNA and long non-coding RNA: molecular function and clinical value in breast and ovarian cancers
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