Gal-3BP Levels in Hospitalized Patients Correlate With COVID-19

The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic disease is still lacking effective treatments and relying on a predictive diagnosis for early individuation of patients which will progress to a severe disease can be crucial. To this aim, the search and the identification of new molecular targets of inflammation and disease progression to be used as predictive biomarker of disease severity is important.In this work Gal-3BP was explored as a potential biomarker for COVID-19 severity. We found highly increased circulating levels of Gal-3BP in COVID-19 patients compared to healthy controls. Furthermore, the serum levels of Gal-3BP were higher in those “non severe” patients which progressed to a “severe” disease and correlated with levels of IL-6, a known marker of disease progression in COVID-19 patients. These results suggest that Gal-3BP could be a predictor of Covid-19 severity in early infected patients contributing to extend the panel of the other already known biomarkers associated to Covid-19 severity and progression.

The effect of certain autophagy proteins (LC3b and Beclin) and apotosis (Casp8 and Bcl-2) on the clinical course of ovarian cancer

Treatment of ovarian cancer remains an important problem in practical oncology due to the increase in morbidity and mortality from this disease. The aim is to summarize the available literature data on the molecular mechanisms of the participation of various proteins of autophagy and apoptosis in the development, progression, formation of chemoresistance and in the assessment of the prognosis of epithelial ovarian cancer. Materials and methods. The search for information was carried out in the materials of the databases Medline, Cochrane Library, Elibrary, NCBI, RSCI, instructions for the medical use of drugs, using keywords in the title. Used 39 articles to write this systematic review. Results. The review examines the molecular mechanisms of autophagy and apoptosis involved in the progression of ovarian cancer and in the formation of resistance to anticancer drug therapy. It has been shown that modulation of autophagy and apoptosis can change the effectiveness of drug treatment for this tumor. Conclusion. Considering the literature data on the ambiguous role of autophagy and apoptosis in the course of ovarian cancer and the formation of resistance to antitumor treatment, further study is required and the search for new molecular targets for their modulation is required.

The Mechanism of Warburg Effect-Induced Chemoresistance in Cancer

Although chemotherapy can improve the overall survival and prognosis of cancer patients, chemoresistance remains an obstacle due to the diversity, heterogeneity, and adaptability to environmental alters in clinic. To determine more possibilities for cancer therapy, recent studies have begun to explore changes in the metabolism, especially glycolysis. The Warburg effect is a hallmark of cancer that refers to the preference of cancer cells to metabolize glucose anaerobically rather than aerobically, even under normoxia, which contributes to chemoresistance. However, the association between glycolysis and chemoresistance and molecular mechanisms of glycolysis-induced chemoresistance remains unclear. This review describes the mechanism of glycolysis-induced chemoresistance from the aspects of glycolysis process, signaling pathways, tumor microenvironment, and their interactions. The understanding of how glycolysis induces chemoresistance may provide new molecular targets and concepts for cancer therapy.

Characterization of glycosphingolipids from gastrointestinal stromal tumours

Gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GISTs) are the major nonepithelial neoplasms of the human gastrointestinal tract with a worldwide incidence between 11 and 15 per million cases annually. In this study the acid and non-acid glycosphingolipids of three GISTs were characterized using a combination of thin-layer chromatography, chemical staining, binding of carbohydrate recognizing ligands, and mass spectrometry. In the non-acid glycosphingolipid fractions of the tumors globotetraosylceramide, neolactotetraosylceramide, and glycosphingolipids with terminal blood group A, B, H, Lex, Lea, Ley and Leb determinants were found. The relative amounts of these non-acid compounds were different in the three tumour samples. The acid glycosphingolipid fractions had sulfatide, and the gangliosides GM3, GD3, GM1, Neu5Acα3neolactotetraosylceramide, GD1a, GT1b and GQ1b. In summary, we have characterized the glycosphingolipids of GISTs and found that the pattern differs in tumours from different individuals. This detailed characterization of glycosphingolipid composition of GISTs could contribute to recognition of new molecular targets for GIST treatment and sub-classification.

Naujų molekulinių taikinių metastazavusiai melanomai gydyti paieška tarp E3 ubikvitino ligazių

New molecular targets among e3 ubiquitin ligases for the treatment of metastatic melanoma

Estrogen Receptors and Melanoma: A Review

In the last three decades cutaneous melanoma has been widely investigated as a steroid hormone-sensitive cancer. Following this hypothesis, many epidemiological studies have investigated the relationship between estrogens and melanoma. No evidence to date has supported this association due to the great complexity of genetic, external and environmental factors underlying the development of this cancer. Molecular mechanisms through which estrogen and their receptor exert a role in melanoma genesis are still under investigation with new studies increasingly focusing on the discovery of new molecular targets for therapeutic treatments.

Current Drug Nano-targeting Strategies for Improvement in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Prevalent Pathologies such as Cardiovascular and Renal Diseases

Background: The kidney and cardiovascular system are closely related to each other during the modulation of the cardiovascular homeostasis. However, the search for new alternatives for the treatment and diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases does not take into account this relationship, so their evaluation results and the advantages offered by their global and integrative analysis are wasted. For example, a variety of receptors that are overexpressed in both pathologies is large enough to allow expansion in the search for new molecular targets and ligands. Nanotechnology offers pharmacological targeting strategies to kidney, heart, and blood vessels for overcoming one of the essential restrictions of traditional cardiovascular therapies the ones related to their unspecific pharmacodynamics distribution in these critical organs. Recent Findings: Drug or contrast agent nano-targeting for treatment or diagnosis of atherosclerosis, thrombosis, renal cancer or fibrosis, glomerulonephritis, among other renal, cardiac and blood vessels pathologies would allow an increase in their efficacy and a reduction of their side effects. Such effects are possible because, through pharmacological targeting, the drug is mainly found at the desired site. Review Purpose: In this mini-review, active, passive, and physical targeting strategies of several nanocarriers that have been assessed and proposed for the treatment and diagnosis of different cardiovascular diseases, are being addressed.