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This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
Research Interests:
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
Research Interests:
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The “stem cells” discipline represents one of the most dynamic areas in biomedicine. 68 While adult marine/aquatic invertebrate stem cell (MISC) biology is of prime research and medical 69 interest, studies on stem cells from organisms... more
The “stem cells” discipline represents one of the most dynamic areas in biomedicine. 68 While adult marine/aquatic invertebrate stem cell (MISC) biology is of prime research and medical 69 interest, studies on stem cells from organisms outside the classical vertebrate (e.g., human, mouse, 70 zebrafish) and invertebrate (e.g., Drosophila, Caenorhabditis) models have not been pursued 71 vigorously. Marine/aquatic invertebrates constitute the largest biodiversity and the widest 72 phylogenetic radiation on Earth, from morphologically simple organisms (e.g. sponges, cnidarians), 73 to the more complex mollusks, crustaceans, echinoderms and protochordates. These organisms 74 illustrate a kaleidoscope of MISC-types that participate in the production of a large number of novel 75 bioactive-molecules, many of which are of significant potential interest for human health. MISCs 76 further participate in aging and regeneration phenomena, including whole-body regeneration. 77 For years, the Eur...
The scopes related to the interplay between stem cells and the immune system are broad and range from the basic understanding of organism’s physiology and ecology to translational studies, further contributing to (eco)toxicology,... more
The scopes related to the interplay between stem cells and the immune system are broad and range from the basic understanding of organism’s physiology and ecology to translational studies, further contributing to (eco)toxicology, biotechnology, and medicine as well as regulatory and ethical aspects. Stem cells originate immune cells through hematopoiesis, and the interplay between the two cell types is required in processes like regeneration. In addition, stem and immune cell anomalies directly affect the organism’s functions, its ability to cope with environmental changes and, indirectly, its role in ecosystem services. However, stem cells and immune cells continue to be considered parts of two branches of biological research with few interconnections between them. This review aims to bridge these two seemingly disparate disciplines towards much more integrative and transformative approaches with examples deriving mainly from aquatic invertebrates. We discuss the current understand...
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The “stem cells” discipline represents one of the most dynamic areas in biomedicine. While adult marine/aquatic invertebrate stem cell (MISC) biology is of prime research and medical interest, studies on stem cells from... more
The “stem cells” discipline represents one of the most dynamic areas in biomedicine. While adult marine/aquatic invertebrate stem cell (MISC) biology is of prime research and medical interest, studies on stem cells from organisms outside the classical vertebrate (e.g., human, mouse, zebrafish) and invertebrate (e.g., Drosophila, Caenorhabditis) models have not been pursued vigorously. Marine/aquatic invertebrates constitute the largest biodiversity and the widest phylogenetic radiation on Earth, from morphologically simple organisms (e.g. sponges, cnidarians), to the more complex mollusks, crustaceans, echinoderms and protochordates. These organisms illustrate a kaleidoscope of MISC-types that participate in the production of a large number of novel bioactive-molecules, many of which are of significant potential interest for human health. MISCs further participate in aging and regeneration phenomena, including whole-body regeneration. For years, the European MISC-communi...
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Botryllus schlosseri, a colonial marine invertebrate, exhibits three generations of short-lived astogenic modules that continuously grow and die throughout the colony's entire lifespan, within week-long repeating budding cycles... more
Botryllus schlosseri, a colonial marine invertebrate, exhibits three generations of short-lived astogenic modules that continuously grow and die throughout the colony's entire lifespan, within week-long repeating budding cycles (blastogenesis), each consisting of four stages (A-D). At stage D, aging is followed by the complete absorption of adult modules (zooids) via a massive apoptotic process. Here we studied in Botryllus the protein mortalin (HSP70s member), a molecule largely known for its association with aging and proliferation. In-situ hybridization and qPCR assays reveal that mortalin follows the cyclic pattern of blastogenesis. Colonies at blastogenic stage D display the highest mortalin levels, and young modules exhibit elevated mortalin levels compared to old modules. Manipulations of mortalin with the specific allosteric inhibitor MKT-077 has led to a decrease in the modules' growth rate and the development of abnormal somatic/germinal morphologies (primarily in ...
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The leukaemic cells of more than 90% of chronic myelogenous leukaemia (CML) patients and of 10% of acute lymphocytic leukaemia (ALL) patients carry the t(9:22) (q34:q11) translocation which generates the Philadelphia chromosome (Ph1). In... more
The leukaemic cells of more than 90% of chronic myelogenous leukaemia (CML) patients and of 10% of acute lymphocytic leukaemia (ALL) patients carry the t(9:22) (q34:q11) translocation which generates the Philadelphia chromosome (Ph1). In CML the abl gene is translocated from chromosome 9 to the centre of the bcr gene on chromosome 22 and this results in production of chimaeric bcr-abl RNA translated into a protein of relative molecular mass (Mr) 210,000 (210K). Our data indicate that in ALL abl is translocated into the 5' region of the bcr gene. The consequence of this is the expression of a fused transcript in which the first exon of bcr is linked to the second abl exon. This transcript encodes a 190K protein kinase.
Research Interests: Molecular Biology, Biology, Medicine, Multidisciplinary, Nature, and 15 moreHumans, Gene, Genes, Chromosome, Chimera, Molecular Mass, ABL, Amino Acid Sequence, Base Sequence, Exon, Philadelphia Chromosome, Protein Biosynthesis, Chronic myelogenous leukemia, Molecular Sequence Data, and DNA Restriction Enzymes
Research Interests: Developmental Biology, Biology, Enzyme Inhibitors, Cell Biology, Medicine, and 15 moreWestern blotting, Signal Transduction, Biological Sciences, Ontogeny, Animals, Phosphorylation, Gene, Biological evolution, Body Plan, Transforming Growth Factor Beta, Amino Acid Sequence, Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay, Gene Expression Regulation, Molecular Sequence Data, and Medical and Health Sciences
AKR mice are highly susceptible to development of spontaneous T-cell lymphoma. Thymus removal at the age of 1-3 months greatly reduces T-cell lymphoma. Lymphomas that have the characteristics of T- and/or B-cells occur sporadically in... more
AKR mice are highly susceptible to development of spontaneous T-cell lymphoma. Thymus removal at the age of 1-3 months greatly reduces T-cell lymphoma. Lymphomas that have the characteristics of T- and/or B-cells occur sporadically in peripheral lymphoid tissues of old thymectomized AKR/J mice. These thymectomized mice were shown to carry dormant potential lymphoma cells. Transplantation of lymphoid cells from 8-12-month-old AKR/J mice, thymectomized at the age of 6 to 8 weeks, into intact or thymectomized young recipients yielded 80-100% Ly-1+ pre-B or B-cell lymphomas. In the AKR-Fv-1b congenic strain the Fv-1n allele of AKR/J mice was substituted with the Fv-1b allele, thereby limiting viral replication and spread of the endogenous N-tropic murine leukemia virus. As a result of this restriction in virus spread, AKR-Fv-1b mice develop a low spontaneous incidence (7%) of T-cell lymphomas and about 28% of Ly-1+ B-cell lymphomas at old age. In spleens of 15-18-month-old thymectomized...