Ricerc@Sapienza

Human cardiac progenitor cells (CPCs) offer great promises to cardiac cell therapy for heart failure. Many in vivo studies have shown their therapeutic benefits, paving the way for clinical translation. The 3D model of cardiospheres (CSs) represents a unique niche-like in vitro microenvironment, which includes CPCs and supporting cells. CSs have been shown to form through a process mediated by epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT).

Objective: This paper presents and discusses recent evidence on the pathophysiological mechanisms of pain. The role of tapentadol-an analgesic molecule characterized by an innovative mechanism of action (i.e., µ-opioid receptor [MOR] agonism and inhibition of noradrenaline [NA] reuptake [NRI])-in the modulation of pain, and the most recent pharmacological evidence on this molecule (e.g., the µ-load concept) are also presented and commented upon. Methods: Narrative review.

Introduction: Migraine is a common neurological disorder with a complex pathophysiology. It has been estimated that incidence between adults of current headache disorder is about 50%. Different studies show that this condition has an important and complex genetic component in response to drug therapy. Areas covered: This review shows and summarizes the importance of the polymorphisms associated with the major antimigraine drug metabolizing enzymes. The research of bibliographic databases has involved only published peer-reviewed articles from indexed journals.

Migraine is ranked as the third most prevalent disorder, the eight
most burdensome disease and the seventh cause of disability
worldwide [1]. Although its prevalence decreases after the age of
60, it still affects 7% of women and 3% of men over 65. A successful
treatment of a late-life migraine is particularly important due to the
association with increased risk of ischemic stroke, white matter
lesions and other transient neurological phenomena (migraine
accompaniments) responsive to prophylactic medications

Oral diseases have been adversely associated with cardiovascular diseases (CVD), which are also the most frequent
cause of death in older population. The aim of this study was to investigate the association among oral status indexes and
CVD in patients aged more than 65 years attending in the Oral department of a public hospital Policlinico Umberto 1 of
Rome. The study population consisted of 533 patients. Dental status was detected measuring the Decayed, Missing, and

In recent years, developing potent antioxidants has been a very active area of research. In this context, phenolic compounds have been evaluated for their antioxidant activity. However, the use of phenolic compounds has also been limited by poor antioxidant activity in several in vivo studies. Polymeric phenols have received much attention owing to their potent antioxidant properties and increased stability in aqueous systems. To be truly effective in biological applications, it is important that these polymers be synthesized using benign methods.

Antiphospholipid antibody syndrome (APS) is a systemic autoimmune disease characterized by arterial and venous thrombosis and/or pregnancy morbidity. The incidence is around five new cases/100,000 persons per year and the prevalence is around 40-50 cases/100,000. The prevalence is higher (about 30%) among patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. APS is associated with circulating antiphospholipid antibodies (aPLs), a heterogeneous group of autoantibodies directed against negatively charged molecules and a combination of protein-complexed phospholipids.

The serotonin receptor subtype 7 (5-HT7R) is clearly involved in behavioral functions such as learning/memory, mood regulation and circadian rhythm. Recent discoveries proposed modulatory physiological roles for serotonergic systems in reward-guided behavior. However, the interplay between serotonin (5-HT) and dopamine (DA) in reward-related behavioral adaptations needs to be further assessed. TP-22 is a recently developed arylpiperazine-based 5-HT7R agonist, which is also showing high affinity and selectivity towards D1 receptors.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is genetically complex with multifactorial etiology. Here, we aim to identify the potential viral pathogens leading to aberrant inflammatory and oxidative stress response in AD along with potential drug candidates using systems biology approach. We retrieved protein interactions of amyloid precursor protein (APP) and tau protein (MAPT) from NCBI and genes for oxidative stress from NetAge, for inflammation from NetAge and InnateDB databases. Genes implicated in aging were retrieved from GenAge database and two GEO expression datasets.

Cancer is a major cause of death worldwide. MET tyrosine kinase receptor [MET, c-MET, hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) receptor] pathway activation is associated with the appearance of several hallmarks of cancer. The HGF/MET pathway has emerged as an important actionable target across many solid tumors; therefore, biomarker discovery becomes essential in order to guide clinical intervention and patient stratification with the aim of moving towards personalized medicine.