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The main purpose of this study was to determine the presence, distribution and characterization of whiteflies in thirteen tomato-crop producing municipalities in Cundinamarca (Colombia). Immature stages were collected and taken to the laboratory until adults emerged in order to establish their taxonomic identification. The mitochondrial regions were amplified with specific primers, which allowed for the allocation of biotypes in Bemisia tabaci. Genetic similarity analysis was performed in Trialeurodes vaporariorum using RAP D and phylogenetic analysis of the gene sequences mtCOI. The presence of T. vaporariorum was established in 100% of the municipalities visited and B. tabaci biotype B was detected in 32%, coexisting with T. vaporariorum. A wide distribution of T. vaporariorum was determined between 653 and 2,680 m a.s.l. B. tabaci was found between 653 and 1,940 m a.s.l distributed in four municipalities in the Sumapaz, lower Magdalena, and Rio Negro provinces. The RAP D analysis established high genetic similarity between the T. vaporariorum insects. The phylogenetic analysis did not allow for the resolution of structured groups inside the analyzed T. vaporariorum samples.

Ectopic eruption of teeth is a rare phenomenon although there have been reports of teeth in the nasal septum, mandibular condyle, and maxillary sinus. This impaction can present itself in a variety of ways such as chronic or recurrent sinusitis, sepsis, and facial numbness and can also be asymptomatic. The aim of this study was to describe, by means of research literature and by a case report, the characteristics and occurrence of ectopic eruption in the maxillary sinus. We have analyzed and compared clinical cases of ectopic teeth in the maxillary sinus with a search on PubMed utilizing keywords such as "ectopic," "teeth," "sinus," "maxillary," and Boolean operators "or" and "and" up until 2016. Fifty-one cases were found, of which 53% were female. The age ranged between 3 and 72 years, with an average age of 28.36 years. The higher prevalence of ectopic teeth is the 3rd molars. Ten of these teeth are associated with a dentigerous cyst, 1 by an osteoma, and 2 by soft tissue. Standard treatment for an ectopic tooth is extraction, but for other patients, treatment of choice in asymptomatic ectopic tooth cases is continued observation. Ectopic teeth tend to form a cyst or tumor if not managed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE. To explore tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-induced apoptosis in neutrophils from patients with TNF receptor-associated periodic syndrome (TRAPS) and to correlate the results with the different kinds of TNFRSF1A mutations. METHODS: Two hundred sixty-five patients with clinically suspected inherited autoinflammatory syndrome were screened for mutations of the TNFRSF1A gene. Neutrophils were isolated from heparinized blood by dextran sedimentation and incubated with and without cycloheximide (CHX) and TNFalpha. Cell apoptosis was assessed by human annexin V binding, and caspase 8 activation was assessed by flow cytometry. RESULTS: Twenty-one patients were found to carry a variant of the TNFRSF1A gene: 13 patients had an R92Q substitution, and 8 patients presented other missense substitutions, 1 splicing mutation, and 1 in-frame interstitial deletion. Neutrophil stimulation with TNF and CHX was associated with induction of apoptosis in 12 normal controls and in 10 subjects with the R92Q mutation. Conversely, neutrophils from 8 TRAPS patients with mutations of cysteine or threonine residues or interstitial deletion did not show any induction of apoptosis after stimulation. The incidence of the R92Q mutation among patients with recurrent autoinflammatory syndromes was similar to that observed in the normal population. CONCLUSION: Resistance to TNF-mediated apoptosis is a feature in TRAPS patients who have mutations of cysteine residues or interstitial deletion, and may play a pathogenic role. The R92Q mutation does not appear to be significantly associated with TRAPS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rituximab is a commonly used chemotherapeutic drug for patients with aggressive lymphomas, such as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). Currently, the combination of Rituximab and chemotherapy (R-CHOP) stands as the most prevalent first-line therapy for NHL. Nevertheless, the development of new therapeutic approaches remains imperative. An increasing body of evidence highlights a novel role for IBTK in tumorigenesis and cancer growth. In this study, we aim to broaden our understanding of IBTK's function in B-lymphoma, with a particular focus on its impact on the expression of the oncogene MYC. Here, we assessed the effects of combining Rituximab with IBTK silencing on cell viability through cell cycle analysis and Annexin V assays in vitro . Furthermore, we leveraged the transplantability of Eμ-myc lymphomas to investigate whether the inhibition of IBTK could elicit anti-tumor effects in the treatment of lymphomas in vivo . Our data suggests that IBTK silencing may serve as an effective anti-tumor agent for aggressive B-Lymphomas, underscoring its role in promoting apoptosis when used in combination with Rituximab, both in in vitro and in vivo settings., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The author(s) declared that they were an editorial board member of Frontiers, at the time of submission. This had no impact on the peer review process and the final decision., (Copyright © 2024 Vecchio, Marino, Mimmi, Canale, Caiazza, Arcucci, Ruocco, Schiavone, Santamaria, Palmieri, Iaccino, Mallardo, Quinto and Fiume.)

Emerging evidence shows that oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) invasiveness can be attributed to a small subpopulation of cancer stem cells (CSCs) in the bulk of the tumor. However, the presence of CSCs in the OSCC close resection margins is still poorly unexplored. Here, we found that BMI1, CD44, SOX2, OCT4, UBE2C, CXCR4 CSCs marker genes are significantly upregulated, while IGF1-R, KLF4, ALDH1A1, CD133, FAM3C are downregulated in the tumor core vs healthy mucosa of 24 patients with OSCC. Among these, SOX2 appears also upregulated in the tumor close margin vs healthy mucosa and this significantly correlates with tumor size and lymph node compromise. In vitro analyses in CAL27 and SCC15 tongue squamous cell carcinoma cell lines, show that SOX2 transient knockdown i) promotes the mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition, ii) smooths the invasiveness, iii) attenuates the 3D tumor sphere-forming capacity, and iv) partially increases the sensitivity to cisplatin treatment. Overall, our study highlights that the OSCC close margins can retain CSC-specific markers. Notably, SOX2 may represent a useful CSCs marker to predict a more aggressive phenotype and a suitable target to prevent local invasiveness., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Sacco et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

The epicardium, the mesothelial envelope of the vertebrate heart, is the source of multiple cardiac cell lineages during embryonic development and provides signals that are essential to myocardial growth and repair. Here we generate self-organizing human pluripotent stem cell-derived epicardioids that display retinoic acid-dependent morphological, molecular and functional patterning of the epicardium and myocardium typical of the left ventricular wall. By combining lineage tracing, single-cell transcriptomics and chromatin accessibility profiling, we describe the specification and differentiation process of different cell lineages in epicardioids and draw comparisons to human fetal development at the transcriptional and morphological levels. We then use epicardioids to investigate the functional cross-talk between cardiac cell types, gaining new insights into the role of IGF2/IGF1R and NRP2 signaling in human cardiogenesis. Finally, we show that epicardioids mimic the multicellular pathogenesis of congenital or stress-induced hypertrophy and fibrotic remodeling. As such, epicardioids offer a unique testing ground of epicardial activity in heart development, disease and regeneration., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

The transcription factor HOXA5 , from the HOX gene family, has long been studied due to its critical role in physiological activities in normal cells, such as organ development and body patterning, and pathological activities in cancer cells. Nonetheless, recent evidence supports the hypothesis of a role for HOXA5 in metabolic diseases, particularly in obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2D). In line with the current opinion that adipocyte and adipose tissue (AT) dysfunction belong to the group of primary defects in obesity, linking this condition to an increased risk of insulin resistance (IR) and T2D, the HOXA5 gene has been shown to regulate adipocyte function and AT remodeling both in humans and mice. Epigenetics adds complexity to HOXA5 gene regulation in metabolic diseases. Indeed, epigenetic mechanisms, specifically DNA methylation, influence the dynamic HOXA5 expression profile. In human AT, the DNA methylation profile at the HOXA5 gene is associated with hypertrophic obesity and an increased risk of developing T2D. Thus, an inappropriate HOXA5 gene expression may be a mechanism causing or maintaining an impaired AT function in obesity and potentially linking obesity to its associated disorders. In this review, we integrate the current evidence about the involvement of HOXA5 in regulating AT function, as well as its association with the pathogenesis of obesity and T2D. We also summarize the current knowledge on the role of DNA methylation in controlling HOXA5 expression. Moreover, considering the susceptibility of epigenetic changes to reversal through targeted interventions, we discuss the potential therapeutic value of targeting HOXA5 DNA methylation changes in the treatment of metabolic diseases.

Zika virus (ZIKV) disease continues to be a threat to public health, and it is estimated that millions of people have been infected and that there have been more cases of serious complications than those already reported. Despite many studies on the pathogenesis of ZIKV, several of the genes involved in the malformations associated with viral infection are still unknown. In this work, the morphological and molecular changes in the cortex and cerebellum of mice infected with ZIKV were evaluated. Neonatal BALB/c mice were inoculated with ZIKV intraperitoneally, and the respective controls were inoculated with a solution devoid of the virus. At day 10 postinoculation, the mice were euthanized to measure the expression of the markers involved in cortical and cerebellar neurodevelopment. The infected mice presented morphological changes accompanied by calcifications, as well as a decrease in most of the markers evaluated in the cortex and cerebellum. The modifications found could be predictive of astrocytosis, dendritic pathology, alterations in the regulation systems of neuronal excitation and inhibition, and premature maturation, conditions previously described in other models of ZIKV infection and microcephaly.

Early identification of breast cancer (BC) patients at a high risk of progression may aid in therapeutic and prognostic aims. This is especially true for metastatic disease, which is responsible for most cancer-related deaths. Growing evidence indicates that the translationally controlled tumor protein (TCTP) may be a clinically relevant marker for identifying poorly differentiated aggressive BC tumors. TCTP is an intriguing protein with pleiotropic functions, which is involved in multiple signaling pathways. TCTP may also be involved in stress response, cell growth and proliferation-related processes, underlying its potential role in the initiation of metastatic growth. Thus, TCTP marks specific cancer cell sub-populations with pronounced stress adaptation, stem-like and immune-evasive properties. Therefore, we have shown that in vivo phospho-TCTP levels correlate with the response of BC cells to anti-HER2 agents. In this review, we discuss the clinical relevance of TCTP for personalized therapy, specific TCTP-targeting strategies, and currently available therapeutic agents. We propose TCTP as an actionable clinically relevant target that could potentially improve patient outcomes., Competing Interests: All authors declared that there are no conflicts of interest., (© The Author(s) 2023.)

Introduction: The PD-1/PD-L1 axis is hijacked by lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) cells to escape immune surveillance. PD-L1 expression in LUAD is affected, among others, by the metabolic trafficking between tumor cells and the tumor microenvironment (TME). Methods: Correlation between PD-L1 expression and iron content within the TME was established on FFPE LUAD tissue samples. The effects of an iron rich microenvironment on PD-L1 mRNA and protein levels were assessed in vitro in H460 and A549 LUAD by using qPCR, western blot and flow citometry. c-Myc knockdown was performed to validate the role of this transcription factor on PD-L1 expression. The effects of iron-induced PD-L1 on T cell immune function was assessed by quantifying IFN-γ release in a co-colture system. TCGA dataset was used to analyse the correlation between PD-L1 and CD71 mRNA expression in LUAD patients. Results: In this study, we highlight a significant correlation between iron density within the TME and PD-L1 expression in 16 LUAD tissue specimens. In agreement, we show that a more pronounced innate iron-addicted phenotype, indicated by a higher transferrin receptor CD71 levels, significantly correlates with higher PD-L1 mRNA expression levels in LUAD dataset obtained from TCGA database. In vitro , we demonstrate that the addition of Fe 3+ within the culture media promotes the significant overexpression of PD-L1 in A549 and H460 LUAD cells, through the modulation of its gene transcription mediated by c-Myc. The effects of iron lean on its redox activity since PD-L1 up-regulation is counteracted by treatment with the antioxidant compound trolox. When LUAD cells are co-cultured with CD3/CD28-stimulated T cells in an iron-rich culture condition, PD-L1 up-regulation causes the inhibition of T-lymphocytes activity, as demonstrated by the significant reduction of IFN-γ release. Discussion: Overall, in this study we demonstrate that iron abundance within the TME may enhance PD-L1 expression in LUAD and, thus, open the way for the identification of possible combinatorial strategies that take into account the iron levels within the TME to improve the outcomes of LUAD patients treated with anti-PD-1/PD-L1-based therapies., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Battaglia, Sacco, Aversa, Santamaria, Palmieri, Botta, De Stefano, Bitetto, Petriaggi, Giorgio, Faniello, Costanzo and Biamonte.)

Cardiogenesis relies on the precise spatiotemporal coordination of multiple progenitor populations. Understanding the specification and differentiation of these distinct progenitor pools during human embryonic development is crucial for advancing our knowledge of congenital cardiac malformations and designing new regenerative therapies. By combining genetic labelling, single-cell transcriptomics, and ex vivo human-mouse embryonic chimeras we uncovered that modulation of retinoic acid signaling instructs human pluripotent stem cells to form heart field-specific progenitors with distinct fate potentials. In addition to the classical first and second heart fields, we observed the appearance of juxta-cardiac field progenitors giving rise to both myocardial and epicardial cells. Applying these findings to stem-cell based disease modelling we identified specific transcriptional dysregulation in first and second heart field progenitors derived from stem cells of patients with hypoplastic left heart syndrome. This highlights the suitability of our in vitro differentiation platform for studying human cardiac development and disease., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Background: Metastases are the major cause of cancer-related morbidity and mortality. By the time cancer cells detach from their primary site to eventually spread to distant sites, they need to acquire the ability to survive in non-adherent conditions and to proliferate within a new microenvironment in spite of stressing conditions that may severely constrain the metastatic process. In this study, we gained insight into the molecular mechanisms allowing cancer cells to survive and proliferate in an anchorage-independent manner, regardless of both tumor-intrinsic variables and nutrient culture conditions., Methods: 3D spheroids derived from lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) and breast cancer cells were cultured in either nutrient-rich or -restricted culture conditions. A multi-omics approach, including transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics, was used to explore the molecular changes underlying the transition from 2 to 3D cultures. Small interfering RNA-mediated loss of function assays were used to validate the role of the identified differentially expressed genes and proteins in H460 and HCC827 LUAD as well as in MCF7 and T47D breast cancer cell lines., Results: We found that the transition from 2 to 3D cultures of H460 and MCF7 cells is associated with significant changes in the expression of genes and proteins involved in metabolic reprogramming. In particular, we observed that 3D tumor spheroid growth implies the overexpression of ALDOC and ENO2 glycolytic enzymes concomitant with the enhanced consumption of glucose and fructose and the enhanced production of lactate. Transfection with siRNA against both ALDOC and ENO2 determined a significant reduction in lactate production, viability and size of 3D tumor spheroids produced by H460, HCC827, MCF7, and T47D cell lines., Conclusions: Our results show that anchorage-independent survival and growth of cancer cells are supported by changes in genes and proteins that drive glucose metabolism towards an enhanced lactate production. Notably, this finding is valid for all lung and breast cancer cell lines we have analyzed in different nutrient environmental conditions. broader Validation of this mechanism in other cancer cells of different origin will be necessary to broaden the role of ALDOC and ENO2 to other tumor types. Future in vivo studies will be necessary to assess the role of ALDOC and ENO2 in cancer metastasis., (© 2023. The Author(s).)