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Excitotoxicity represents a neuropathological process, describing the toxic actions of excitatory neurotransmitters, where the excessive or prolonged activation of glutamate receptors triggers a cascade of events leading to neuronal injury or death. Under conditions of reduced energy availability and increased oxidative stress neurons become particularly vulnerable to excitotoxicity and a large body of available evidence indicates that excitotoxicity represents a central mechanism in the pathogenesis of acute and degenerative diseases of the central nervous system. Astrocytes represent key elements in the regulation of glutamate homeostasis by their opposing functions of glutamate uptake and release, and microglial cells play an important role in the response to damage. Depending on the phenotype they assume when activated, microglial cells can trigger immune defense or neuroprotective processes. To perform their functions both glial cell populations monitor the extracellular space through a panel of receptors. Furthermore, a variety of signaling pathways also contribute to the modulation of the glutamatergic transmission, acting on specific cell receptors expressed by neurons, astrocytes, and microglia. In the last decades, evidence has been provided that receptors of almost all families can establish structural receptor-receptor interactions, leading to the formation of heteroreceptor complexes at the cell membrane of neurons and glial cells. The cooperativity that emerges in the actions of ligands of the monomers forming these assemblies provides the cell decoding apparatus with flexible dynamics in terms of recognition and signal transduction and allows an integration of the incoming signals already at the membrane level. Available data on possible modulatory roles played by heteroreceptor complexes in excitotoxic processes will be here reviewed and discussed. From the pharmacological standpoint, these findings may offer possibilities to explore novel therapeutic strategies targeting receptor complexes to address disorders of the central nervous system associated with dysregulation of glutamatergic signaling.

Abstract Introduction Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic neurodegenerative disease that leads to impaired cognitive function and accumulation of disability, with significant socioeconomic burden. Serious unmet need in the context of managing MS has given rise to ongoing research efforts, leading to the launch of new drugs planned for the near future, and subsequent concerns about the sustainability of healthcare systems. This study assessed the changes in the Italian MS market and their impact on the expenditures of the Italian National Healthcare Service between 2023 and 2028. Methods A horizon-scanning model was developed to estimate annual expenditure from 2023 to 2028. Annual expenditure for MS was calculated by combining the number of patients treated with each product (clinical inputs) and the yearly costs of therapy (economic inputs). Baseline inputs (2020–2022) were collected from IQVIA® real-world data, while input estimation for the 5-year forecast was integrated with analog analyses and the insights of clinicians and former payers. Results The number of equivalent patients treated in 2028 in Italy was estimated at around 67,000, with an increase of 10% versus 2022. In terms of treatment pattern evolution, first-line treatments are expected to reduce their shares from 47% in 2022 to 27% in 2028, and Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitors are expected to reach 23% of patient shares. Overall, expenditure for MS is estimated to decrease from €721 million in 2022 to €551 million in 2028, mainly due to losses of exclusivity and renegotiation of drug prices. Conclusion Despite the increase in the number of patients treated for MS and the launch of new molecules that will reach high market penetration, the model confirmed sustainability for the Italian National Healthcare Service.

Abstract Tirzepatide is a new drug targeting glucagon-like peptide 1(GLP1) and gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GIP) receptors. This drug has demonstrated great potential in improving the clinical outcomes of patients with type 2 diabetes. It can lead to weight loss, better glycemic control, and reduced cardiometabolic risk factors. GLP1 receptor agonists have been proven effective antidiabetic medications with possible cardiovascular benefits. Even though they have been proven to reduce the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events, their effectiveness in treating heart failure is unknown. Unlike traditional GLP1 receptor agonists, tirzepatide is more selective for the GIP receptor, resulting in a more balanced activation of these receptors. This review article discusses the possible mechanisms tirzepatide may use to improve cardiovascular health. That includes the anti-inflammatory effect, the ability to reduce cell death and promote autophagy, and also its indirect effects through blood pressure, obesity, and glucose/lipid metabolism. Additionally, tirzepatide may benefit atherosclerosis and lower the risk of major adverse cardiac events. Currently, clinical trials are underway to evaluate the safety and efficacy of tirzepatide in patients with heart failure. Overall, tirzepatide’s dual agonism of GLP1 and GIP receptors appears to provide encouraging cardiovascular benefits beyond glycemic control, offering a potential new therapeutic option for treating cardiovascular diseases and heart failure. Graphical abstract

Abstract Background Lithium (Li) remains the treatment of choice for bipolar disorders (BP). Its mood-stabilizing effects help reduce the long-term burden of mania, depression and suicide risk in patients with BP. It also has been shown to have beneficial effects on disease-associated conditions, including sleep and cardiovascular disorders. However, the individual responses to Li treatment vary within and between diagnostic subtypes of BP (e.g. BP-I and BP-II) according to the clinical presentation. Moreover, long-term Li treatment has been linked to adverse side-effects that are a cause of concern and non-adherence, including the risk of developing chronic medical conditions such as thyroid and renal disease. In recent years, studies by the Consortium on Lithium Genetics (ConLiGen) have uncovered a number of genetic factors that contribute to the variability in Li treatment response in patients with BP. Here, we leveraged the ConLiGen cohort (N = 2064) to investigate the genetic basis of Li effects in BP. For this, we studied how Li response and linked genes associate with the psychiatric symptoms and polygenic load for medical comorbidities, placing particular emphasis on identifying differences between BP-I and BP-II. Results We found that clinical response to Li treatment, measured with the Alda scale, was associated with a diminished burden of mania, depression, substance and alcohol abuse, psychosis and suicidal ideation in patients with BP-I and, in patients with BP-II, of depression only. Our genetic analyses showed that a stronger clinical response to Li was modestly related to lower polygenic load for diabetes and hypertension in BP-I but not BP-II. Moreover, our results suggested that a number of genes that have been previously linked to Li response variability in BP differentially relate to the psychiatric symptomatology, particularly to the numbers of manic and depressive episodes, and to the polygenic load for comorbid conditions, including diabetes, hypertension and hypothyroidism. Conclusions Taken together, our findings suggest that the effects of Li on symptomatology and comorbidity in BP are partially modulated by common genetic factors, with differential effects between BP-I and BP-II.

Targeted protein degradation (TPD), as exemplified by proteolysis-targeting chimera (PROTAC), is an emerging drug discovery platform. PROTAC molecules, which typically contain a target protein ligand linked to an E3 ligase ligand, recruit a target protein to the E3 ligase to induce its ubiquitination and degradation. Here, we applied PROTAC approaches to develop broad-spectrum antivirals targeting key host factors for many viruses and virus-specific antivirals targeting unique viral proteins. For host-directed antivirals, we identified a small-molecule degrader, FM-74-103, that elicits selective degradation of human GSPT1, a translation termination factor. FM-74-103-mediated GSPT1 degradation inhibits both RNA and DNA viruses. Among virus-specific antivirals, we developed viral RNA oligonucleotide-based bifunctional molecules (Destroyers). As a proof of principle, RNA mimics of viral promoter sequences were used as heterobifunctional molecules to recruit and target influenza viral polymerase for degradation. This work highlights the broad utility of TPD to rationally design and develop next-generation antivirals.

The unsustainable use of natural resources, in particular soil degradation and pollution, is one of the main factors contributing to the climate and biodiversity crisis. The European Union has outlined a new European Green Deal, whose objectives include increasing the overall quality of the agri-food chain in relation to environmental sustainability, focusing on reducing the use of pesticides and increasing the share of organic in overall production. A Nexus thinking perspective is applied to analyse this topic over a 50-year time horizon (2010–2060) for the agricultural system of the Basilicata Region (Southern Italy), represented by the TIMES Land-WEF, an optimizing, bottom-up energy-technology model, built to investigate the interactions and interrelations between water, energy food and land. The novelty of this modelling approach is the choice of land use as the guiding parameter of the optimization process. The main objectives of the Farm to Fork Strategy are modelled as system constraints and the scenario analysis allows to characterise their effects on the evolution of the agricultural system over the examined time. The results show that the pesticide reduction constraint leads to an increase in land use by organic crops from 24.6 % to 32.4 % in 2060. In particular, this is due to the increased contribution of cereal, forage, olive growing crops, permanent meadows and pastures, which lead to a 46 % reduction in irrigation water consumption. On the other hand, the reduction in inorganic fertilizers is not accompanied by a significant increase in organic crops, but resulted in the reduction of cereal crops.

Abstract Background As one major symptom of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), anterograde amnesia describes patients with an inability in new memory formation. The crucial role of the entorhinal cortex in forming new memories has been well established, and the neuropeptide cholecystokinin (CCK) is reported to be released from the entorhinal cortex to enable neocortical associated memory and long-term potentiation. Though several studies reveal that the entorhinal cortex and CCK are related to AD, it is less well studied. It is unclear whether CCK is a good biomarker or further a great drug candidate for AD. Methods mRNA expressions of CCK and CCK-B receptor (CCKBR) were examined in two mouse models, 3xTg AD and CCK knock-out (CCK−/−) mice. Animals’ cognition was investigated with Morris water maze, novel object recognition test and neuroplasticity with in-vitro electrophysiological recording. Drugs were given intraperitoneally to animals to investigate the rescue effects on cognitive deficits, or applied to brain slices directly to explore the influence in inducement of long-term potentiation. Results Aged 3xTg AD mice exhibited reduced CCK mRNA expression in the entorhinal cortex but reduced CCKBR expression in the neocortex and hippocampus, and impaired cognition and neuroplasticity comparable with CCK−/− mice. Importantly, the animals displayed improved performance and enhanced long-term potentiation after the treatment of CCKBR agonists. Conclusions Here we provide more evidence to support the role of CCK in learning and memory and its potential to treat AD. We elaborated on the rescue effect of a promising novel drug, HT-267, on aged 3xTg AD mice. Although the physiological etiology of CCK in AD still needs to be further investigated, this study sheds light on a potential pharmaceutical candidate for AD and dementia.

Abstract Nuclear condensates have been shown to regulate cell fate control, but its role in oncogenic transformation remains largely unknown. Here we show acquisition of oncogenic potential by nuclear condensate remodeling. The proto-oncogene SS18 and its oncogenic fusion SS18-SSX1 can both form condensates, but with drastically different properties and impact on 3D genome architecture. The oncogenic condensates, not wild type ones, readily exclude HDAC1 and 2 complexes, thus, allowing aberrant accumulation of H3K27ac on chromatin loci, leading to oncogenic expression of key target genes. These results provide the first case for condensate remodeling as a transforming event to generate oncogene and such condensates can be targeted for therapy. One sentence summary: Expulsion of HDACs complexes leads to oncogenic transformation.

Abstract Background Anopheles sacharovi, a member of the Anopheles maculipennis complex, was a historical malaria vector in Italy, no longer found since the last report at the end of 1960s. In September 2022, within the Surveillance Project for the residual anophelism, a single specimen of An. maculipennis sensu lato collected in Lecce municipality (Apulia region) was molecularly identified as An. sacharovi. This record led to implement a targeted entomological survey in September 2023. Methods Investigation was conducted in the areas around the first discovery, focusing on animal farms, riding stables and potential breeding sites. Adult and immature mosquitoes were collected, using active search or traps, in several natural and rural sites. Mosquitoes belonging to An. maculipennis complex were identified morphologically and molecularly by a home-made routine quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assay, developed specifically for the rapid identification of An. labranchiae, and, when necessary, by amplification and sequencing of the ITS-2 molecular marker. Results Out of the 11 sites investigated, 6 were positive for Anopheles presence. All 20 An. maculipennis s.l. (7 adults, 10 larvae and 3 pupae) collected in the areas were identified as An. sacharovi by ITS-2 sequencing. Conclusions The discovery of An. sacharovi, considered to have disappeared from Italy for over 50 years, has a strong health relevance and impact, highlighting an increase in the receptivity of the southern areas. As imported malaria cases in European countries are reported every year, the risk of Plasmodium introduction by gametocyte carriers among travellers from endemic countries should be taken into greater consideration. Our findings allow rethinking and building new models for the prediction and expansion of introduced malaria. Furthermore, to prevent the risk of reintroduction of the disease, the need to strengthen the surveillance of residual anophelism throughout the South should be considered. Graphical Abstract

Abstract Background Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) are effective antidiabetic drugs with potential cardiovascular benefits. Despite their well-established role in reducing the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), their impact on heart failure (HF) remains unclear. Therefore, our study examined the cardioprotective effects of tirzepatide (TZT), a novel glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) and glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist. Methods A three-steps approach was designed: (i) Meta-analysis investigation with the primary objective of assessing major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) occurrence from major randomized clinical trials.; (ii) TZT effects on a human cardiac AC16 cell line exposed to normal (5 mM) and high (33 mM) glucose concentrations for 7 days. The gene expression and protein levels of primary markers related to cardiac fibrosis, hypertrophy, and calcium modulation were evaluated. (iii) In silico data from bioinformatic analyses for generating an interaction map that delineates the potential mechanism of action of TZT. Results Meta-analysis showed a reduced risk for MACE events by TZT therapy (HR was 0.59 (95% CI 0.40–0.79, Heterogeneity: r2 = 0.01, I2 = 23.45%, H2 = 1.31). In the human AC16 cardiac cell line treatment with 100 nM TZT contrasted high glucose (HG) levels increase in the expression of markers associated with fibrosis, hypertrophy, and cell death (p

There is an ongoing need for biomarkers that could reliably predict the outcome of BC and that could guide the management of this disease. In this setting, we aimed to explore the prognostic value of the transcription factor P63 in patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) having undergone radical cystectomy. The correlation between P63 expression and clinicopathological features (tumor stage, nodes involvement, patterns of muscularis propria invasion, papillary architecture, anaplasia, concomitant carcinoma in situ, lymphovascular invasion, perineural invasion, necrosis) and molecular subtyping (basal and luminal type tumors) was tested in 65 radical cystectomy specimens and matched with cancer-specific survival (CSS) and overall survival (OS). P63-negative tumors displayed significantly higher rates of pattern 2 of muscularis propria invasion (50% vs. 14%, p = 0.002) and variant histology (45% vs. 19%, p = 0.022) compared to P63-positive ones. According to the combined expression of CK5/6 and CK20 (Algorithm #1), P63-positive and P63-negative tumors were mostly basal-like and double-negative, respectively (p = 0.004). Using Algorithm #2, based on the combined expression of CK5/6 and GATA3, the vast majority of tumors were luminal overall and in each group (p = 0.003). There was no significant difference in CSS and OS between P63-positive and P63-negative tumors, but the former featured a trend towards longer OS. Though associated with pathological features harboring negative prognostic potential, P63 status as such failed to predict CSS and OS. That said, it may contribute to better molecular subtyping of MIBC.

Major depressive disorder (MDD) represents a major health issue in adolescents and young adults, leading to high levels of disability and profoundly impacting overall functioning. The clinical presentation of MDD in this vulnerable age group may slightly differ from what can be observed in adult populations, and psychopharmacological strategies do not always lead to optimal response. Resistance to antidepressant treatment has a prevalence estimated around 40% in youths suffering from MDD and is associated with higher comorbidity rates and suicidality. Several factors, encompassing biological, environmental, and clinical features, may contribute to the emergence of treatment-resistant depression (TRD) in adolescents and young adults. Furthermore, TRD may underpin the presence of an unrecognized bipolar diathesis, increasing the overall complexity of the clinical picture and posing major differential diagnosis challenges in the clinical practice. After summarizing current evidence on epidemiological and clinical correlates of TRD in adolescents and young adults, the present review also provides an overview of possible treatment strategies, including novel fast-acting antidepressants. Despite these pharmacological agents are promising in this population, their usage is expected to rely on risk-benefit ratio and to be considered in the context of integrated models of care.