The inhibition of FGF receptor 1 activity mediates sorafenib-induced antiproliferative effects in human mesothelioma tumor-initiating cells (2017)
Journal Article
Pattarozzi, A., Carra, E., Favoni, R., Würth, R., Marubbi, D., Filiberti, R., …Daga, A. (2017). The inhibition of FGF receptor 1 activity mediates sorafenib-induced antiproliferative effects in human mesothelioma tumor-initiating cells. Stem Cell Research and Therapy, 8(119), https://doi.org/10.1186/s13287-017-0573-7

Tumor-initiating cells (TICs), the subset of cells within tumors endowed with stem-like features, being highly resistant to conventional cytotoxic drugs, are the major cause of tumor relapse. The identification of molecules able to target TICs remain... Read More about The inhibition of FGF receptor 1 activity mediates sorafenib-induced antiproliferative effects in human mesothelioma tumor-initiating cells.

Current and prospective pharmacotherapies for the treatment of pleural mesothelioma (2017)
Journal Article
Bakker, E., Guazzelli, A., Krstic-Demonacos, M., Lisanti, M., Sotgia, F., & Mutti, L. (2017). Current and prospective pharmacotherapies for the treatment of pleural mesothelioma. Expert Opinion on Orphan Drugs, 5(6), 455-465. https://doi.org/10.1080/21678707.2017.1325358

Introduction: Mesothelioma is a rare asbestos-linked cancer with an expected incidence peak between 2015–2030. Therapies remain ineffective, thus developing and testing novel treatments is important for both oncologists and researchers. Areas co... Read More about Current and prospective pharmacotherapies for the treatment of pleural mesothelioma.

Mesothelin promoter variants are associated with increased soluble mesothelin-related peptide levels in asbestos-exposed individuals (2017)
Journal Article
De Santi, C., Pucci, P., Bonotti, A., Melaiu, O., Cipollini, M., Silvestri, R., …Landi, S. (2017). Mesothelin promoter variants are associated with increased soluble mesothelin-related peptide levels in asbestos-exposed individuals. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 74(6), 457-464. https://doi.org/10.1136/oemed-2016-104024

BACKGROUND: Soluble mesothelin-related peptide (SMRP) is a promising diagnostic biomarker for malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM), but various confounders hinder its usefulness in surveillance programmes. We previously showed that a single nucleoti... Read More about Mesothelin promoter variants are associated with increased soluble mesothelin-related peptide levels in asbestos-exposed individuals.

Genetic analyses of Chinese isolates of Toxoplasma gondii reveal a new genotype with high virulence to murine hosts (2017)
Journal Article
Gao, J., Xie, Y., Xu, Z., Chen, H., Hide, G., Yang, T., …Lun, Z. (2017). Genetic analyses of Chinese isolates of Toxoplasma gondii reveal a new genotype with high virulence to murine hosts. Veterinary Parasitology, 241, 52-60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vetpar.2017.05.007

A great deal of evidence demonstrates that a strongly clonal population structure of Toxoplasma gondii strains exists in humans and animals in North America and Europe, while the strains from South America are genetically separate and more diverse. P... Read More about Genetic analyses of Chinese isolates of Toxoplasma gondii reveal a new genotype with high virulence to murine hosts.

Mapping the ionic fingerprints of molecular monolayers (2017)
Journal Article
Lehr, J., Weeks, J., Santos, A., Feliciano, G., Nicholson, M., Davis, J., & Bueno, P. (2017). Mapping the ionic fingerprints of molecular monolayers. Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 19(23), 15098-15109. https://doi.org/10.1039/c7cp01500c

We have previously proposed, and experimentally resolved, an ionic charge relaxation model for redox inactive self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on metallic electrodes in contact with a liquid electrolyte. Here we analyse, by capacitance spectroscopy,... Read More about Mapping the ionic fingerprints of molecular monolayers.

Modulation of antimalarial activity at a putative bisquinoline receptor in vivo using fluorinated bisquinolines (2017)
Journal Article
Fielding, A., Lukinović, V., Evans, P., Alizadeh-Shekalgourabi, S., Bisby, R., Drew, M., …Ismail, F. (2017). Modulation of antimalarial activity at a putative bisquinoline receptor in vivo using fluorinated bisquinolines. Chemistry - A European Journal, 23(28), 6811-6828. https://doi.org/10.1002/chem.201605099

Antimalarials can interact with heme covalently, by π⋅⋅⋅π interactions or by hydrogen bonding. Consequently, the prototropy of 4‐aminoquinolines and quinoline methanols was investigated by using quantum mechanics. Calculations showed mefloquine proto... Read More about Modulation of antimalarial activity at a putative bisquinoline receptor in vivo using fluorinated bisquinolines.

Lysyl oxidase drives tumour progression by trapping EGF receptors at the cell surface (2017)
Journal Article
Tang, H., Leung, L., Saturno, G., Viros, A., Smith, D., Di Leva, G., …Marais, R. (2017). Lysyl oxidase drives tumour progression by trapping EGF receptors at the cell surface. Nature communications, 8, 14909. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms14909

Lysyl oxidase (LOX) remodels the tumour microenvironment by cross-linking the extracellular matrix. LOX overexpression is associated with poor cancer outcomes. Here, we find that LOX regulates the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) to drive tumo... Read More about Lysyl oxidase drives tumour progression by trapping EGF receptors at the cell surface.

Eosinophils are key regulators of perivascular adipose tissue and vascular functionality (2017)
Journal Article
vascular functionality. Scientific reports, 7, 44571. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep44571

Obesity impairs the relaxant capacity of adipose tissue surrounding the vasculature (PVAT) and has been implicated in resultant obesity-related hypertension and impaired glucose intolerance. Resident immune cells are thought to regulate adipocyte a... Read More about Eosinophils are key regulators of perivascular adipose tissue and vascular functionality.

Towards a classification strategy for complex nanostructures (2017)
Journal Article
Castagnola, V., Cookman, J., De Araujo, J., Polo, E., Cai, Q., Silviera, P., …Dawson, K. (2017). Towards a classification strategy for complex nanostructures. Nanoscale horizons (Print), 2017(2), 187-198. https://doi.org/10.1039/C6NH00219F

The range of possible nanostructures is so large and continuously growing, that collating and unifying the knowledge connected to them, including their biological activity, is a major challenge. Here we discuss a conception that is based on connectio... Read More about Towards a classification strategy for complex nanostructures.

Mitochondrial “power” drives tamoxifen resistance : NQO1 and GCLC are new therapeutic targets in breast cancer (2017)
Journal Article
Fiorillo, M., Sotgia, F., Sisci, D., Cappello, A., & Lisanti, M. (2017). Mitochondrial “power” drives tamoxifen resistance : NQO1 and GCLC are new therapeutic targets in breast cancer. Oncotarget, 2017(8), 20309-20327. https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.15852

Here, we identified two new molecular targets, which are functionally sufficient to metabolically confer the tamoxifen-resistance phenotype in human breast cancer cells. Briefly, ~20 proteins were first selected as potential candidates, based on u... Read More about Mitochondrial “power” drives tamoxifen resistance : NQO1 and GCLC are new therapeutic targets in breast cancer.

Anti-CTLA-4 therapy for malignant mesothelioma (2017)
Journal Article
Guazzelli, A., Bakker, E., Krstic-Demonacos, M., Lisanti, M., Sotgia, F., & Mutti, L. (2017). Anti-CTLA-4 therapy for malignant mesothelioma. Immunotherapy, 9(3), 273-280. https://doi.org/10.2217/imt-2016-0123

Immunotherapy is an emerging therapeutic strategy with a promising clinical outcome in some solid tumors, particularly metastatic melanoma. One approach to immunotherapy is immune checkpoint inhibitors, such as blockage of CTLA-4 and PD-1/PD-L1. This... Read More about Anti-CTLA-4 therapy for malignant mesothelioma.

NADH autofluorescence, a new metabolic biomarker for cancer stem cells : identification of Vitamin C and CAPE as natural products targeting “stemness” (2017)
Journal Article
Bonuccelli, G., De Francesco, E., de Boer, R., Tanowitz, H., & Lisanti, M. (2017). NADH autofluorescence, a new metabolic biomarker for cancer stem cells : identification of Vitamin C and CAPE as natural products targeting “stemness”. Oncotarget, 2017(8), 20667-20678. https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.15400

Here, we assembled a broad molecular “tool-kit” to interrogate the role of metabolic heterogeneity in the propagation of cancer stem-like cells (CSCs). First, we subjected MCF7 cells to “metabolic fractionation” by flow cytometry, using fluorescent... Read More about NADH autofluorescence, a new metabolic biomarker for cancer stem cells : identification of Vitamin C and CAPE as natural products targeting “stemness”.

Recombinant α-actinin subunit antigens of Trichomonas vaginalis as potential vaccine candidates in protecting against trichomoniasis (2017)
Journal Article
Xie, Y., Gao, J., Wu, Y., Tang, P., Hide, G., Lai, D., & Lun, Z. (2017). Recombinant α-actinin subunit antigens of Trichomonas vaginalis as potential vaccine candidates in protecting against trichomoniasis. Parasites and Vectors, 10(1), 83. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-017-2009-8

BACKGROUND: Human trichomoniasis caused by Trichomonas vaginalis is one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases with more than 200 million cases worldwide. It has caused a series of health problems to patients. For prevention and control of... Read More about Recombinant α-actinin subunit antigens of Trichomonas vaginalis as potential vaccine candidates in protecting against trichomoniasis.

Inhibition of the platelet-derived growth factor receptor beta (PDGFRB) using gene silencing, crenolanib besylate, or imatinib mesylate hampers the malignant phenotype of mesothelioma cell lines (2017)
Journal Article
Melaiu, O., Catalano, C., De Santi, C., Cipollini, M., Figlioli, G., Pellè, L., …Landi, S. (2017). Inhibition of the platelet-derived growth factor receptor beta (PDGFRB) using gene silencing, crenolanib besylate, or imatinib mesylate hampers the malignant phenotype of mesothelioma cell lines. Genes and Cancer, 8(1-2), 438-452. https://doi.org/10.18632/genesandcancer.129

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a cancer of the pleural cavity resistant to chemotherapy. The identification of novel therapeutic targets is needed to improve its poor prognosis. Following a review of literature and a screening of specimens w... Read More about Inhibition of the platelet-derived growth factor receptor beta (PDGFRB) using gene silencing, crenolanib besylate, or imatinib mesylate hampers the malignant phenotype of mesothelioma cell lines.

Guanylate-binding Protein 1 (GBP1) contributes to the immunity of human mesenchymal stromal cells against toxoplasma gondii (2017)
Journal Article
Qin, A., Lai, D., Liu, Q., Huang, W., Wu, Y., Chen, X., …Xiang, A. (2017). Guanylate-binding Protein 1 (GBP1) contributes to the immunity of human mesenchymal stromal cells against toxoplasma gondii. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 114(6), 1365-1370. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1619665114

Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) have recently been shown to play important roles in mammalian host defenses against intracellular pathogens, but the molecular mechanism still needs to be clarified. We confirmed that human MSCs (hMSCs) pre-stimulated... Read More about Guanylate-binding Protein 1 (GBP1) contributes to the immunity of human mesenchymal stromal cells against toxoplasma gondii.

Tubulin-binding dibenz[c,e]oxepines: Part 2 Structural variation and biological evaluation as tumour vasculature disrupting agents (2017)
Journal Article
Hadfield, J., Rossington, S., Wallace, T., Shnyder, S., & Williams, K. (2017). Tubulin-binding dibenz[c,e]oxepines: Part 2 Structural variation and biological evaluation as tumour vasculature disrupting agents. Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry, 25(5), 1630-1642. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bmc.2017.01.027

5,7-Dihydro-3,9,10,11-tetramethoxybenz[c,e]oxepin-4-ol 1, prepared from a dibenzyl ether precursor via Pd-catalysed intramolecular direct arylation, possesses broad-spectrum in vitro cytotoxicity towards various tumour cell lines, and induces vascul... Read More about Tubulin-binding dibenz[c,e]oxepines: Part 2 Structural variation and biological evaluation as tumour vasculature disrupting agents.

Detecting the shape of anisotropic gold nanoparticles in dispersion with single particle extinction and scattering (2017)
Journal Article
Marco A, C., P., Krpetic, Z., Tiziano, S., Qi, C., Marco, M., João M., D. A., …Kenneth A., D. (2017). Detecting the shape of anisotropic gold nanoparticles in dispersion with single particle extinction and scattering. Nanoscale, 8, https://doi.org/10.1039/C6NR08977A

The shape and size of nanoparticles are important parameters affecting the biodistribution, bioactivity, and toxicity. The high-throughput characterisation of nanoparticle shape in the dispersion is a fundamental prerequisite for realistic in vitro... Read More about Detecting the shape of anisotropic gold nanoparticles in dispersion with single particle extinction and scattering.

New Approaches to Photodynamic Therapy from Type I, II and III to Type IV Using One or More Photons (2017)
Journal Article
Scherer, K., Bisby, R., Botchway, S., & Parker, A. (2017). New Approaches to Photodynamic Therapy from Type I, II and III to Type IV Using One or More Photons. Anti-Cancer Agents in Medicinal Chemistry, 17(2), 171-189. https://doi.org/10.2174/1871520616666160513131723

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is an alternative cancer treatment to conventional surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. It is based on activating a drug with light that triggers the generation of cytotoxic species that promote tumour cell killing. At p... Read More about New Approaches to Photodynamic Therapy from Type I, II and III to Type IV Using One or More Photons.

miR-663a regulates growth of colon cancer cells, after administration of antimicrobial peptides, by targeting CXCR4-p21 pathway (2017)
Journal Article
peptides, by targeting CXCR4-p21 pathway. BMC Cancer, 17, 33-43. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12885-016-3003-9

Abstract Background: Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) play important roles in the innate immune system of all life forms and recently have been characterized as multifunctional peptides that have a variety of biological roles such as anticancer agent... Read More about miR-663a regulates growth of colon cancer cells, after administration of antimicrobial peptides, by targeting CXCR4-p21 pathway.

Evolutionary diversification of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in an artificial sputum model (2017)
Journal Article
Davies, E., James, C., Brockhurst, M., & Winstanley, C. (2017). Evolutionary diversification of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in an artificial sputum model. BMC Microbiology, 17(3), https://doi.org/10.1186/s12866-016-0916-z

Background During chronic lung infections of cystic fibrosis patients Pseudomonas aeruginosa populations undergo extensive evolutionary diversification. However, the selective drivers of this evolutionary process are poorly understood. To test the e... Read More about Evolutionary diversification of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in an artificial sputum model.