1,721,009 research outputs found

    Target populations, pathological biomarkers and chemopreventive agents in prostate cancer prevention.

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    Chemoprevention is the administration of agents to prevent induction of cancer, or to inhibit or delay its progression. In prostatic neoplasia, the time from tumour initiation and progression to invasive carcinoma often begins in men in the fourth and fifth decades of life and extends across decades. This phenomenon represents a unique opportunity to arrest or reverse the process of carcinogenesis with the use of chemopreventive agents. For prostate cancer, as for other cancer targets, development of successful chemopreventive strategies requires suitable cohorts, reliable biomarkers for evaluating chemopreventive efficacy and well-characterised agents. Histopathologists play an important role in prostate chemoprevention. In fact, they define the high-risk groups, recognise the surrogate end markers and evaluate the morphological effects of the agents on the prostate tissue specimens

    SV40-immortalized human fibroblasts as a source of SV40 infectious virions

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    Human fibroblasts immortalized by Simian Virus 40 (SV40) are widely employed for cell and molecular biology model of study. Indeed, SV40 transmission to humans was believed to occur only under exceptional situations. The oncogenic potential of SV40 in laboratory animals is well established, whereas its involvement in human carcinogenesis is still a matter of active investigations. A recent report links SV40 exposure with the development of a brain tumor in a laboratory researcher. In previous studies, episomal viral DNA was detected in SV40 stably transformed and immortalized fibroblast cell lines. In this study, we report molecular and biological characterizations of SV40 DNA in human fibroblast cells. Our results indicate that SV40 is able to establish a persistent infection in long-term immortalized human fibroblasts, resulting in the production of an infectious viral progeny, which is able to infect both monkey and human cells. These data indicate that SV40-immortalized human fibroblasts may represent a source of SV40 infection. To avoid the SV40 infection, careful attention should be given by operators to this SV40-cell model of study

    Simian virus 40 persistent infection in long term immortalized human fibroblast cell line

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    Episomal simian virus 40 (SV40) DNA was detected in various SV40-immortalized human fibroblast cell lines, without rearrangements or mutations. In these cells, SV40 established a persistent infection with the release of a viral progeny. However, electron microscopy analysis showed that virions are morphologically altered, whereas infectivity assay indicated that viral production was hampered. The data suggest that in SV40-infected human fibroblasts, some cells support a complete SV40 productive cycle, whereas other cells resist to the SV40 infection. This sort of "balance" observed within the same human fibroblast population may be responsible for the semipermissiveness of these cells to SV40 infection

    Duplication polymorphism at MHC class II DRB1 locus in the wild boar (Sus scrofa)

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    The origin of allelic polymorphism in genes of the major histocompatibility complex represents a central topic in evolutionary genetics as it is probably the most polymorphic region in the nuclear genome of vertebrates. Accordingly, the analyses of genetic variability at these loci provide evidence complementary to the population genetics studies based on neutral loci. In this study, four wild boar populations, two from Italy (Florence region and Castelporziano Presidential Reserve, outside Rome) and one each from Hungary and Poland, were characterized at a highly polymorphic fragment including part of intron 1 and exon 2 of swine leukocyte antigen (SLA) class II DRB1 gene by direct sequencing and by cloning. Excluding the false alleles, a total of 18 different sequences were observed in 57 individuals. The high ratio of nonsynonymous (dN) vs synonymous (dS) substitution rates in the peptide-binding region supports the hypothesis that balancing selection is operating at this locus. A duplication event at the DRB1 gene was documented only in one Italian population with both copies being putatively active. This is the first evidence of a polymorphism for the number of copies of an SLA gene

    A Peculiar Case of Large and "unresectable" Primary Localized Cutaneous Nodular Amyloidosis of the Ankle

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    Nodular cutaneous amyloidosis represents the rarest variant of primary localized cutaneous amyloidosis. The proposed management ranges from topical or systemic agents to surgical treatment. Complete surgical excision is advisable due to its potential progression to systemic amyloidosis due to dermis and subcutaneous tissue infiltration. However, in particular locations, the risk of functional complications is high, so an alternative treatment option should be considered. We report a case of a large primary nodular cutaneous amyloidosis of the leg involving the joint capsule which was successfully treated by incomplete surgical removal, without recurrences at 7-year follow-up. (C) 2021 The Author(s). Published by S. Karger AG, Base
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