MUC

Several biologically active compounds involved in the green synthesis of silver and gold nanoparticles have been isolated from snail mucus and characterized. This paper presents a successful method for the application of snail mucus from Cornu aspersum as a bioreducing agent of copper sulfate and as a biostabilizer of the copper oxide nanoparticles (CuONPs-Muc) obtained. The synthesis at room temperature and neutral pH yielded nanoparticles with a spherical shape and an average diameter of 150 nm. The structure and properties of CuONPs-Muc were characterized using various methods and techniques, such as ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-vis), high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), one-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (1D-PAGE), up-conversion infrared spectroscopy Fourier transform (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy combined with energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM/EDS), Raman spectroscopy and imaging, thermogravimetric analysis (TG-DSC), etc...

The clinical management of metastatic urothelial carcinoma (mUC) is undergoing a major paradigm shift; the integration of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) and antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) into the mUC therapeutic strategy has succeeded in improving platinum-based chemotherapy outcomes. Given the expanding therapeutic armamentarium, it is crucial to identify efficacy-predictive biomarkers that can guide an individual patient's therapeutic strategy. We reviewed the literature data on mUC genomic alterations of clinical interest, discussing their prognostic and predictive role...

Zearalenone (ZEA), a mycotoxin widely present in crops and food, poses a major threat to animal and human health. The consumption of ZEA-contaminated food or feed causes intestinal damage. Therefore, exploring how to mitigate the intestinal damage caused by its ZEA is becoming increasingly important. Resveratrol (RSV), a polyphenol compound, mainly exists in Vitis vinifera , Polygonum cuspidatum , Arachis hypogaea , and other plants. It has potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity. The primary objective of this study was to assess the defensive effects of RSV and its molecular mechanism on the intestinal mucosal injury induced by ZEA exposure in mice...

BACKGROUND: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) improve overall survival (OS) in advanced/metastatic urothelial cancer (a/mUC) patients. Preliminary evidence suggests a prognostic role of inflammatory biomarkers in this setting. We aimed to develop a disease-specific prognostic inflammatory index for a/mUC patients on ICIs. METHODS: Fifteen variables were retrospectively correlated with OS and progression-free survival (PFS) in a development (D, n = 264) and a validation (V, n = 132) cohort of platinum-pretreated a/mUC pts receiving ICIs at L2 or further line...

This study aimed to investigate the effects of different levels of xylanase supplementation in a wheat-based diet on growth performance, short-chain fatty acids, intestinal health, microbial composition, and serum metabolism. A total of 1200 male chicks were randomly assigned to four wheat-based diet treatments: Group C (adding 0 mg/kg of xylanase), Group L (adding 50 mg/kg of xylanase), Group M (adding 100 mg/kg of xylanase), and Group H (adding 150 mg/kg of xylanase). The experiment lasted for 56 days. The results indicated that Group H broilers experienced a decreased feed-to-gain ratio throughout the study period...

The treatment landscape of genitourinary cancers has significantly evolved over the past few years. Renal cell carcinoma, bladder cancer, and prostate cancer are the most common genitourinary malignancies. Recent advancements have produced new targeted therapies, particularly antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), due to a better understanding of the underlying oncogenic factors and molecular mechanisms involved. ADCs function as a 'drug delivery into the tumor' system. They are composed of an antigen-directed antibody linked to a cytotoxic drug that releases cytotoxic components after binding to the tumor cell's surface antigen...

PURPOSE: The anti-NECTIN4 antibody-drug conjugate enfortumab vedotin (EV) is approved for patients with metastatic urothelial cancer (mUC). However, durable benefit is only achieved in a small, yet uncharacterized patient subset. NECTIN4 is located on chromosome 1q23.3, and 1q23.3 gains represent frequent copy number variations (CNVs) in urothelial cancer. Here, we aimed to evaluate NECTIN4 amplifications as a genomic biomarker to predict EV response in patients with mUC. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We established a NECTIN4 -specific fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) assay to assess the predictive value of NECTIN4 CNVs in a multicenter EV-treated mUC patient cohort (mUC-EV, n = 108)...

OBJECTIVE: Intestinal ultrasound (IUS) is an emerging modality for assessing disease activity, extent, and treatment response in ulcerative colitis. This study aimed to evaluate the potential of IUS in predicting severe flares, the need for rescue therapy (corticosteroid failure), and colectomy in patients with ulcerative colitis. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective review of medical records, collecting clinical and IUS data. The Milan Ultrasound Criteria (MUC) score was used to assess ulcerative colitis severity...

Aim: This study assessed real-world treatment in patients with metastatic urothelial carcinoma (mUC) in Germany. Materials & methods: Patients diagnosed with mUC from 2015 to 2019 were identified in two claims databases: AOK PLUS and GWQ. Results: 3226 patients with mUC were analyzed; 1286 (39.9%) received systemic treatment within 12 months of diagnosis (platinum-based chemotherapy: 64.2%). Factors associated with receiving treatment were: younger age, male sex, less comorbidity and recent diagnosis...

AIMS: This retrospective claims data study characterized real-world treatment patterns, healthcare resource utilization (HCRU), and costs in patients with metastatic urothelial carcinoma (mUC) in Germany. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Continuously insured adults with incident mUC diagnosis (=index; ICD-10 : C65-C68/C77-C79) in 2015-2019 were identified from two German claims databases. Patients who received first-line (1 L) treatment within 12 months of index were divided into three mutually exclusive sub-cohorts: platinum-based chemotherapy (PB-CT), non-PB-CT, and immunotherapy (IO)...

Initial studies indicated that NECTIN4 expression is widespread in metastatic urothelial cancer (mUC), which led to approval of the anti-NECTIN4 antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) enfortumab vedotin (EV) for unselected patients with mUC. However, the recent literature suggests that there has been overestimation of membranous NECTIN4 expression in UC, which is a prerequisite for EV binding. It is well established from the development of Her2-targeting ADCs that treatment response is strongly dependent on membranous expression level of the relevant target antigen...

BACKGROUND: This Phase 1 b/2 study assessed the efficacy, in terms of objective response rate (ORR) of the FGFR1/2/3 kinase inhibitor derazantinib as monotherapy or in combination with atezolizumab in patients with metastatic urothelial cancer (mUC) and FGFR1-3 genetic aberrations (FGFR1-3GA). METHODS: This multicenter, open-label study comprised 5 substudies. In Substudies 1 and 5, patients with mUC with FGFR1-3GA received derazantinib monotherapy (300 mg QD in Substudy 1, 200 mg BID in Substudy 5)...

Probiotics, recognized as beneficial and active microorganisms, often face challenges in maintaining their functionality under harsh conditions such as exposure to stomach acid and bile salts. In this investigation, we developed probiotic microcapsules and assessed their protective effects and underlying mechanisms in a murine model of dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis using male C57BL/6J mice. The administration of the probiotic microcapsules significantly mitigated body weight loss, prevented colon length shortening, decreased the disease activity index scores, and reduced histopathological scores in mice with DSS-induced colitis...

The Streptomyces strain G222, isolated from a Vietnamese marine sediment, was confidently identified by 16 S rRNA gene sequencing. Its AcOEt crude extract was successfully analyzed using non-targeted LC-MS/MS analysis, and molecular networking, leading to a putative annotation of its chemical diversity thanks to spectral libraries from GNPS and in silico metabolite structure prediction obtained from SIRIUS combined with the bioinformatics tool conCISE (Consensus Annotation Propagation of in silico Elucidations)...

Objectives: Immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) is an important treatment option for metastatic urothelial carcinoma (mUC) patients. A lot of clinical evidence proved the survival benefits of ICI, but cost-effectiveness of the treatment remains unclear. This study evaluates the cost-effectiveness of the ICIs treatment in different sequences among mUC patients. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed mUC patients who had been treated at our hospital between January 2016 and December 2020. These patients received chemotherapy with or without ICI treatment (Pembrolizumab, Atezolizumab, Nivolumab, Durvalumab, or Avelumab)...

INTRODUCTION: Sclerosing epithelioid fibrosarcoma (SEF) is an extremely rare form of bone and soft tissue sarcoma. It occurs mainly in the deep soft tissue of the lower extremities, with few cases reported in the head and neck region. Tumors involving the oral and maxillofacial region (OMFR) and intraosseous examples are rare. CASE PRESENTATION: We present a 52-year-old male with a radiolucent lesion at the apex of the left mandibular second molar tooth with the clinical impression of a periapical granuloma...

OBJECTIVES: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are indicated for metastatic urothelial cancer (mUC), but predictive and prognostic factors are lacking. We investigated clinical variables associated with ICI outcomes. METHODS: We performed a multicentre retrospective cohort study of 135 patients who received ICI for mUC, 2016-2021, at three Canadian centres. Clinical characteristics, body mass index (BMI), metastatic sites, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), response and survival were abstracted from chart review...

Apolipoprotein B mRNA-editing enzyme catalytic polypeptide-like (APOBEC) enzymes mutate specific DNA sequences and hairpin-loop structures, challenging the distinction between passenger and driver hotspot mutations. Here, we characterized 115 whole genomes of metastatic urothelial carcinoma (mUC) to identify APOBEC mutagenic hotspot drivers. APOBEC-associated mutations were detected in 92% of mUCs and were equally distributed across the genome, while APOBEC hotspot mutations (ApoHMs) were enriched in open chromatin...

BACKGROUND: Enfortumab vedotin (EV), an antibody-drug conjugate targeting Nectin-4, has been used for patients with metastatic urothelial carcinoma (mUC) after progressing on checkpoint inhibitors (CPIs). Re-challenging chemotherapy with platinum agents and continuing CPIs beyond progressive disease (PD) have often been chosen following PD on CPIs, and several studies indicate favorable treatment effects of re-challenging chemotherapy. There is little evidence for comparing EV and re-challenging chemotherapy in real-world clinical practice...

Cisplatin-based chemotherapy has been the standard of care in metastatic urothelial cancer (mUC) for more than two decades. However, many patients with comorbidities cannot receive cisplatin or its alternative, carboplatin. 'Cisplatin-ineligible' and 'platinum-ineligible' patients lacked effective therapy options. However, the recent combination of enfortumab vedotin (EV), an antibody-drug conjugate targeting Nectin-4, with pembrolizumab (P), an antibody targeting the programmed death-1 (PD-1) immune checkpoint, is changing the status quo of frontline mUC treatment, with potential synergy seen in the EV-103 and EV-302 clinical trials...