scholarly journals Molecular Aspects and Prognostic Significance of Microcalcifications in Human Pathology: A Narrative Review

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 120
Author(s):  
Rita Bonfiglio ◽  
Annarita Granaglia ◽  
Raffaella Giocondo ◽  
Manuel Scimeca ◽  
Elena Bonanno

The presence of calcium deposits in human lesions is largely used as imaging biomarkers of human diseases such as breast cancer. Indeed, the presence of micro- or macrocalcifications is frequently associated with the development of both benign and malignant lesions. Nevertheless, the molecular mechanisms involved in the formation of these calcium deposits, as well as the prognostic significance of their presence in human tissues, have not been completely elucidated. Therefore, a better characterization of the biological process related to the formation of calcifications in different tissues and organs, as well as the understanding of the prognostic significance of the presence of these calcium deposits into human tissues could significantly improve the management of patients characterized by microcalcifications associated lesions. Starting from these considerations, this narrative review highlights the most recent histopathological and molecular data concerning the formation of calcifications in breast, thyroid, lung, and ovarian diseases. Evidence reported here could deeply change the current point of view concerning the role of ectopic calcifications in the progression of human diseases and also in the patients’ management. In fact, the presence of calcifications can suggest an unfavorable prognosis due to dysregulation of normal tissues homeostasis.

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (Supplement_3) ◽  
pp. iii330-iii331
Author(s):  
Hirokazu Takami ◽  
Koichi Ichimura ◽  
Kohei Fukuoka ◽  
Akitake Mukasa ◽  
Nobuhito Saito ◽  
...  

Abstract BACKGROUND We integrated clinical, histopathological, and molecular data of central nervous system germ cell tumors to provide insights into their management. METHODS Data from the Intracranial Germ Cell Tumor Genome Analysis Consortium were reviewed. A total of 190 cases were classified as primary GCTs based on central pathological reviews. RESULTS All but one of the cases that were bifocal (neurohypophysis and pineal glands) and cases with multiple lesions including neurohypophysis or pineal gland were germinomas (34 of 35). Age was significantly higher in patients with germinoma than other histologies. Comparison between tumor marker and histopathological diagnoses showed that 18.2% of histopathologically diagnosed germinomas were marker-positive and 6.1% of non-germinomatous GCTs were marker-negative, suggesting a limitation in the utility of markers or histopathology alone using small specimens for diagnosis. Comparison between local and central histopathological diagnoses revealed a discordance of 12.7%. Discordance was significantly less frequent in biopsy cases, implying difficulty in detecting all histopathological components of heterogeneous GCTs. Germinomas at the typical sites (neurohypophysis or pineal gland) showed a better PFS than those at atypical sites (p=0.03). A molecular-clinical association study revealed frequent MAPK pathway mutations in males (51.4 vs 14.3 %, p=0.007), and PI3K/mTOR pathway mutations in basal ganglia cases (p=0.004). Basal ganglia cases also had frequent chromosomal losses. Some chromosomal aberrations (2q, 8q gain, 5q, 9p/q, 13q, 15q loss) showed potential prognostic significance. CONCLUSIONS These in-depth findings of this study regarding the clinical and molecular heterogeneity will increase our understanding of the pathogenesis of this enigmatic tumor.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (11) ◽  
pp. 5757
Author(s):  
Laura Sgrazzutti ◽  
Francesco Sansone ◽  
Marina Attanasi ◽  
Sabrina Di Pillo ◽  
Francesco Chiarelli

Asthma and type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) are two of the most frequent chronic diseases in children, representing a model of the atopic and autoimmune diseases respectively. These two groups of disorders are mediated by different immunological pathways, T helper (Th)1 for diabetes and Th2 for asthma. For many years, these two groups were thought to be mutually exclusive according to the Th1/Th2 paradigm. In children, the incidence of both diseases is steadily increasing worldwide. In this narrative review, we report the evidence of the potential link between asthma and T1DM in childhood. We discuss which molecular mechanisms could be involved in the link between asthma and T1DM, such as genetic predisposition, cytokine patterns, and environmental influences. Cytokine profile of children with asthma and T1DM shows an activation of both Th1 and Th2 pathways, suggesting a complex genetic-epigenetic interaction. In conclusion, in children, the potential link between asthma and T1DM needs further investigation to improve the diagnostic and therapeutic approach to these patients. The aim of this review is to invite the pediatricians to consider the potential copresence of these two disorders in clinical practice.


2021 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li-Ping Yu ◽  
Ting-Ting Shi ◽  
Yan-Qin Li ◽  
Jian-Kang Mu ◽  
Ya-Qin Yang ◽  
...  

: Mitophagy plays an important role in maintaining mitochondrial quality and cell homeostasis through the degradation of damaged, aged, and dysfunctional mitochondria and misfolded proteins. Many human diseases, particularly neurodegenerative diseases, are related to disorders of mitochondrial phagocytosis. Exploring the regulatory mechanisms of mitophagy is of great significance for revealing the molecular mechanisms underlying the related diseases. Herein, we summarize the major mechanisms of mitophagy, the relationship of mitophagy with human diseases, and the role of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in mitophagy. These discussions enhance our knowledge of mitophagy and its potential therapeutic targets using TCM.


2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (12) ◽  
pp. 3702 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grazia Femminella ◽  
Tony Thayanandan ◽  
Valeria Calsolaro ◽  
Klara Komici ◽  
Giuseppe Rengo ◽  
...  

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia and is a significant burden for affected patients, carers, and health systems. Great advances have been made in understanding its pathophysiology, to a point that we are moving from a purely clinical diagnosis to a biological one based on the use of biomarkers. Among those, imaging biomarkers are invaluable in Alzheimer’s, as they provide an in vivo window to the pathological processes occurring in Alzheimer’s brain. While some imaging techniques are still under evaluation in the research setting, some have reached widespread clinical use. In this review, we provide an overview of the most commonly used imaging biomarkers in Alzheimer’s disease, from molecular PET imaging to structural MRI, emphasising the concept that multimodal imaging would likely prove to be the optimal tool in the future of Alzheimer’s research and clinical practice.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kongning Li ◽  
Deng Wu ◽  
Xi Chen ◽  
Ting Zhang ◽  
Lu Zhang ◽  
...  

Cell death is a critical biological process, serving many important functions within multicellular organisms. Aberrations in cell death can contribute to the pathology of human diseases. Significant progress made in the research area enormously speeds up our understanding of the biochemical and molecular mechanisms of cell death. According to the distinct morphological and biochemical characteristics, cell death can be triggered by extrinsic or intrinsic apoptosis, regulated necrosis, autophagic cell death, and mitotic catastrophe. Nevertheless, the realization that all of these efforts seek to pursue an effective treatment and cure for the disease has spurred a significant interest in the development of promising biomarkers of cell death to early diagnose disease and accurately predict disease progression and outcome. In this review, we summarize recent knowledge about cell death, survey current and emerging biomarkers of cell death, and discuss the relationship with human diseases.


Author(s):  
Ya-Ping Xu ◽  
Ze-Ning Dong ◽  
Si-Wei Wang ◽  
Yi-Min Zheng ◽  
Chi Zhang ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Accumulating evidence indicates that circRNAs may serve as essential regulators in the progression of several human cancers, but the function and mechanism of circRNAs in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) are largely unknown. Methods RNA-seq was used to assess differentially expressed circRNAs between 4 ICC and peritumor tissues. Quantitative RT-PCR and in situ hybridization were used to determine the circHMGCS1–016 expression in ICC tissues. The function and mechanism of circHMGCS1–016 were further identified via in vivo experiments. The clinical characteristics and prognostic significance of circHMGCS1–016 were analyzed by a retrospective study. The functions of circHMGCS1–016 were assessed via modifying circRNA expression in ICC cells. Moreover, the molecular mechanisms of circHMGCS1–016 in ICC cells were explored by circRNA precipitation, miRNA immunoprecipitation, SILAC and luciferase reporter assays. Results We identified that compared with peritumor tissues, ICC tissues expressed hsa_circ_0008621 (circHMGCS1–016) high by RNA-seq, which was further identified by qRT-PCR and in situ hybridization. Moreover, the expression of circHMGCS1–016 was revealed to be associated with survival and recurrence of ICC patients. By regulating circHMGCS1–016 expression, we found that elevated circHMGCS1–016 promoted ICC development both in vitro and in vivo. By SILAC and circRNA-pull down, we demonstrated that circHMGCS1–016 induced ICC cell invasion and reshaped the tumor immune microenvironment via the miR-1236-3p/CD73 and GAL-8 axis. In ICC tissues, we uncovered that a high level of circHMGCS1–016 was positively associated with CD73 and GAL-8 expression and negatively related to the CD8+ T cells infiltration, which was further validated by establishing a humanized mouse tumor model. Importantly, we displayed that ICC patients with high levels of circHMGCS1–016 in tumor tissues benefited less from anti-PD1 treatment compared to those with low levels of circHMGCS1–016. Conclusions CircHMGCS1–016 is a forceful contributor in ICC development and immune tolerance via miR-1236-3p/CD73 and GAL-8 axis. CircHMGCS1–016 can be explored as a new potential biomarker and therapeutic target for PD1-resistant ICC.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Connor Rogerson ◽  
Samuel Ogden ◽  
Edward Britton ◽  
Yeng Ang ◽  
Andrew D. Sharrocks ◽  
...  

AbstractOesophageal adenocarcinoma (OAC) is one of the most common causes of cancer deaths and yet compared to other common cancers, we know relatively little about the underlying molecular mechanisms. Barrett’s oesophagus (BO) is the only known precancerous precursor to OAC, but our understanding about the specific events leading to OAC development is limited. Here, we have integrated gene expression and chromatin accessibility profiles of human biopsies of BO and OAC and identified a strong cell cycle gene expression signature in OAC compared to BO. Through analysing associated chromatin accessibility changes, we have implicated the transcription factor KLF5 in the transition from BO to OAC. Importantly, we show that KLF5 expression is unchanged during this transition, but instead, KLF5 is redistributed across chromatin in OAC cells to directly regulate cell cycle genes specifically in OAC. Our findings have potential prognostic significance as the survival of patients with high expression of KLF5 target genes is significantly lower. We have provided new insights into the gene expression networks in OAC and the mechanisms behind progression to OAC, chiefly the repurposing of KLF5 for novel regulatory activity in OAC.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1200-1208
Author(s):  
С. В. Булгакова ◽  
Е. В. Тренева ◽  
Н. О. Захарова ◽  
А. В. Николаева

Препараты кальция входят в схемы лечения и профилактики низкой минеральной плотности костной ткани. Однако последние научные исследования показали, что дополнительное поступление кальция может увеличить риск сердечно-сосудистых заболеваний. Это связано с отложением кальция в эндотелии кровеносных сосудов. Значимость минерализации сосудистой стенки не ограничивается локальным накоплением кальциевых депозитов, но в значительной мере определяется их активирующим влиянием на прогрессирование атеросклероза. Витамин К играет важную роль в гомеостазе кальция, снижает артериальную кальцификацию и артериальную жесткость и, как следствие, оказывает протективный эффект при приеме кальция. В данном обзоре литературы представлена современная информация о кальциевом парадоксе, обсуждаются основные молекулярные механизмы кальцификации сосудов, рассмотрены терапевтические стратегии лечения витамином К . Calcium preparations are included in the treatment and prevention regimens for low bone mineral density. However, recent scientific studies have shown that additional calcium intake can increase the risk of heart disease, which is associated with the deposition of calcium in the endothelium of blood vessels. The significance of vascular wall mineralization is not limited to local accumulation of calcium deposits, but is largely determined by their activating effect on the progression of atherosclerosis. Vitamin K plays an important role in calcium homeostasis, reduces arterial calcification and arterial stiffness and, as a result, has a protective effect when taking calcium. This literature review provides current information about the calcium paradox, discusses the main molecular mechanisms of vascular calcification, and considers therapeutic strategies for vitamin К treatment.


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