TBD

Although generally regarded as degradatory enzymes, certain proteases are also signaling molecules that specifically control cellular functions by cleaving protease-activated receptors (PARs). The four known PARs are members of the large family of G protein-coupled receptors. These transmembrane receptors control most physiological and pathological processes and are the target of a large proportion of therapeutic drugs. Signaling proteases include enzymes from the circulation, from immune, inflammatory epithelial and cancer cells, as well as from commensal and pathogenic bacteria.

PURPOSE : ADOA is the most common inherited optic neuropathy, starting in the first decade of life and resulting in severe and progressive visual decline due to loss of RGCs. Most patients harbor loss-of-function mutations in the _OPA1 _gene that lead to haploinsufficiency. Reduced OPA1 protein levels result in impaired mitochondrial function in RGCs leading to cell death. Currently, there is no treatment for patients with ADOA.

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Pain and nociception are different phenomena. Nociception is the result of complex activity in sensory pathways. On the other hand, pain is the effect of interactions between nociceptive processes, and cognition, emotions, as well as the social context of the individual. Alterations in the nociceptive route can have different genesis and affect the entire sensorial process. Genetic problems in nociception, clinically characterized by reduced or absent pain sensitivity, compose an important chapter within pain medicine. This chapter encompasses a wide range of very rare diseases.

Background Patients with advanced squamous-cell lung cancer (SQCLC) frequently (46%) exhibit tumor overexpression of fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA). Rogaratinib is a novel oral pan-FGFR inhibitor with a good safety profile and anti-tumor activity in early clinical trials as a single agent in FGFR pathway-addicted tumors. SAKK 19/18 determined clinical activity of rogaratinib in patients with advanced SQCLC overexpressing FGFR1-3 mRNA.

Over the past decade, considerable efforts have been made to accelerate pathophysiological understanding of fatal neurodegenerative diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) with brain banks at the forefront. In addition to exploratory disease mechanisms, brain banks have aided our understanding with regard to clinical diagnosis, genetics and cell biology. Across neurodegenerative disorders, the impact of brain tissue in ALS research has yet to be quantified.

Sex differences occur in the structure and function of the rat cerebral cortex and hippocampus, which can change from the juvenile period through old age. Although the evidence is incomplete, it appears that in at least some portions of the cortex these differences develop due to the rise of ovarian hormones at puberty and are potentially not dependent on the perinatal rise in testosterone, which is essential for sexual differentiation of the hypothalamus and sexual behavior.

Rationale DNA damage accumulation is a hallmark of vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) ageing. Importantly, VSMC DNA damage accumulation and ageing has been implicated in the progression of cardiovascular disease (CVD), including atherosclerosis and vascular calcification. Chemotherapy drugs used in the treatment of many cancers are known to induce DNA damage in cardiovascular cells and accelerate CVD. Histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors are drugs being investigated for novel treatments of many cancers.

We aimed to determine the possible role of CAG somatic expansions on the clinical expression of intermediate allele (IA) carriers of the HTT gene, responsible for Huntington disease (HD). We performed exon one sequencing analysis of the HTT gene on peripheral blood DNA in a Spanish cohort of asymptomatic IA carriers (n=55), symptomatic IA carriers (n=86) and HD subjects (n=124). Additionally, we investigated different brain regions of an individual carrying an HTT allele with 33 CAGs, with neurocognitive symptoms.

Epigenetic mechanisms are altered in the striatum of HD patients and mouse models, but how they might contribute to pathogenesis, including cognitive deficits, is unclear. Epigenetic regulation is critical to learning and memory processes, through transcriptional control of gene program promoting neural plasticity. We asked whether memory-associated epigenetic and transcriptional responses were impaired in HD R6/1 mice. To this end, we trained R6/1 mice (and control mice) in an aquatic navigation task, the double H maze, which allows assessing striatum-dependent memory (e.g.