Three essays on the evaluation of public policies in the field of addictions

Epigenetic analyses in Autism Spectrum Disorders: gender differences and the contribution of maternal risk factors

ASD are one of the largest groups of complex neurodevelopment disorders that affect about 1-2% of the population with a greater frequency in males, in a ratio of 4.5: 1. The diagnosis of ASD is made on the basis of the clinical observation of the subject and the use of standardized assessment scales, such as ADOS and ADI-R. In recent decades, the prevalence of this disorder has increased significantly and this is thought to be due to both a better understanding of the problem and an improveme...

CRISPR/Cpf1 and suicide gene as personalized approach for patients with TP53-mutated Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL)

Il codice F-Pn6771 (Reina): contenuto, struttura, generi

MOLECULAR MECHANISMS OF ANGIOGENESIS-RELATED OCULAR DISEASES IN PRECLINICAL MODELS

Neovascularization in the eye contributes to visual loss in several ocular diseases, including proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR), neovascular glaucoma (NVG) and retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). In these diseases, the neovascular mechanisms originate from the retina, but some advanced stages of PDR or nG can lead to the development of rubeosis iridis (RI), a clinical manifestation characterized by iris angiogenesis. Vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGFs) and their receptor (VEGFRs...

Function and targeting of the Hedgehog signaling in human cholangiocarcinoma and melanoma

ABSTRACT Hedgehog (HH) signaling is a conserved pathway that plays a pivotal role during embryonic development, tissue homeostasis and regeneration. Aberrant activation of the HH pathway has been reported to drive tumor progression in numerous cancers, including those of the skin, brain, lung and breast. The key signaling components of the HH signaling are the ligands, the cell membrane receptor Smoothened and the three transcription factors GLI1, GLI2 and GLI3, which upon activation of th...

Mechanical properties of cytoskeleton proteins studied in living cells by combining optical tweezers and deformability cytometry.

The topic of this thesis focuses on studying the mechanical properties of the living cell plasma membrane and the mechanical associations of the plasma membrane with the underlying cytoskeleton. The mechanical properties of the cell components, cell plasma membrane and cytoskeleton, as well as membrane-cytoskeleton associations, determine the mechanical properties of the whole cell, important for cellular shape changing behavior and mechanical signal transduction in living cells. Examples of ...

HPLC-MS-MS analysis of thyroid hormones and iodotyrosines in knocked-out murine and natural human DEHAL-1 deficiency.

Thyroid hormones (TH), namely 3,5,3’-triiodothyronine (T3) and its precursor thyroxine (T4), are key regulators of growth processes and development, and crucially control the energy metabolism. A proper availability of iodine within the thyroid is crucial for the synthesis of TH in order to maintain the homeostasis of circulating levels. The daily dietary iodine intake is not sufficient to sustain their synthesis and, in fact, most of the intra-thyroidal iodine is recycled through the activit...

Therapy-induced stromal senescence promotes prostate cancer progression and aggressiveness

Although chemotherapy still represents the gold-standard treatment option for cancer cure, it often results in several long-term negative side effects, including cancer relapse and acquired resistance to the therapy. Docetaxel is the preferred anticancer drug for several tumor types, including metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer. However, it exhibits only modest efficacy and many patients who received Docetaxel treatment experience tumor progression and chemotherapy insensitivity. T...