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).

In recent years, circular RNAs (circRNAs) - a novel class of RNA molecules characterized by their covalently closed circular structure - have emerged as a complex family of eukaryotic transcripts with important biological features. Besides their peculiar structure, which makes them particularly stable molecules, they have attracted much interest because their expression is strongly tissue and cell specific. Moreover, many circRNAs are conserved across eukaryotes, localized in particular subcellular compartments, and can play disparate molecular functions.

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a major metabolic disease and a key epigenetic risk factor for the development of additional clinical complications. Among them, periodontitis (PD), a severe inflammatory disease ascribable to a dysregulated physiology and composition of the oral microbiota, represents one of the most relevant complications. Periodontitis can impact the structure of the tooth and likely the stem and progenitor cell pool, which actively contributes to the periodontal microenvironment and homeostasis.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are found in high concentrations in several tissues, such as umbilical cord, adipose tissue and dental tissue. Dental stem cells reside in many areas of the oral cavity. Thanks to their abilities, dental stem cells could be used to treat diseases and to understand the basic mechanisms of developmental pathologies. There are currently numerous ongoing clinical trials evaluating a broad spectrum of conditions and situations using different stem cell populations.

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is a heterogeneous group of malignancies that may develop at any
level of the biliary tree. CCA is currently classified into intrahepatic (iCCA), perihilar (pCCA) and
distal (dCCA) on the basis of its anatomical location. Notably, although these three CCA subtypes
have common features, they also have important inter- and intra-tumor differences that can
affect their pathogenesis and outcome. A unique feature of CCA is that it manifests in the hepatic

Social sciences literature on stem cells –– one of the most promising research venues in bio-medical sciences – is fragmented and lacks standard tools. This paper aims at presenting a first pilot validation of some stem cells-relevant social-psychological constructs’ scales and an exploration of variables related bone marrow stem cells and umbilical cord blood stem cells donation intention.

Peribiliary glands (PBGs) represent the niche of biliary tree stem/progenitor cells (BTSCs) [1]. BTSCs are multipotent stem cells able to differentiate into hepatocytes, cholangiocytes, and pancreatic islets. Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is a chronic inflammation involving extra-hepatic biliary tree, and is complicated by the risk of cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) development [2]. We aimed to evaluate the involvement of PBGs and BTSCs in PSC and their role in CCA insurgence [2].

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is a heterogeneous group of malignancies that could develop at any level from the biliary tree. CCA is currently classified into intrahepatic (iCCA), perihilar and distal on the basis of its anatomical location. Of note, these three CCA subtypes have common features but also important inter-tumor and intra-tumor differences that can affect the pathogenesis and outcome.

T Cell Leukemia/Lymphoma 1A is expressed during B-cell differentiation and, when overexpressed, acts as an oncogene in mouse (Tcl1a) and human (TCL1A) B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL) and T-cell prolymphocytic leukemia (T-PLL). Furthermore, in the murine system Tcl1a is expressed in the ovary, testis and in pre-implantation embryos, where it plays an important role in blastomere proliferation and in embryonic stem cell (ESC) proliferation and self-renewal. We have also observed that Tcl1-/-adult mice exhibit alopecia and deep ulcerations.