REVIEW : Antiangiogenesis therapy: an update after the first decade

( Sandro De Falco ) 대한내과학회 2014 The Korean Journal of Internal Medicine Vol.29 No.1

Angiogenesis is a complex biological phenomenon that forms new blood vessels from the pre-existing vasculature. Aberrant angiogenesis has been implicated in a variety of diseases such as cancer, atherosclerosis, arthritis, obesity, pulmonary hypertension, diabetic retinopathy, and age-related macular degeneration. These conditions collectively affect nearly 10% of the global population. Much effort has focused on identifying new therapeutic agents that inhibit pathological angio-genesis since 1971, when Judah Folkman published the hypothesis that tumor growth is angiogenesis-dependent and that its inhibition may be therapeutic. In 2004, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first antiangiogenic drug for the treatment of metastatic colon cancer, bevacizumab (Avastin, Genen-tech). This drug is a humanized monoclonal antibody that neutralizes the vascu-lar endothelial growth factor. It is used in combination with chemotherapy, and its use began the era of antiangiogenesis therapy. Several new therapeu-tic agents have been added to the list of approved drugs, and clinical trials of new therapeutic options and antiangiogenic agents are ongoing. This review describes the progress made in the first decade of antiangiogenesis therapy, and addresses both validated and possible targets for future drug development.

Growth hormone treatment in non–growth hormonedeficient children

Sandro Loche,Luisanna Carta,Anastasia Ibba,Chiara Guzzetti 대한소아내분비학회 2014 Annals of Pediatirc Endocrinology & Metabolism Vol.19 No.1

Until 1985 growth hormone (GH) was obtained from pituitary extracts, and wasavailable in limited amounts only to treat severe growth hormone deficiency (GHD). With the availability of unlimited quantities of GH obtained from recombinant DNAtechnology, researchers started to explore new modalities to treat GHD children,as well as to treat a number of other non-GHD conditions. Although with somedifferences between different countries, GH treatment is indicated in children withTurner syndrome, chronic renal insufficiency, Prader-Willi syndrome, deletions/mutations of the SHOX gene, as well as in short children born small for gestationalage and with idiopathic short stature. Available data from controlled trials indicatethat GH treatment increases adult height in patients with Turner syndrome, inpatients with chronic renal insufficiency, and in short children born small forgestational age. Patients with SHOX deficiency seem to respond to treatmentsimilarly to Turner syndrome. GH treatment in children with idiopathic short statureproduces a modest mean increase in adult height but the response in the individualpatient is unpredictable. Uncontrolled studies indicate that GH treatment may bebeneficial also in children with Noonan syndrome. In patients with Prader-Willisyndrome GH treatment normalizes growth and improves body composition andcognitive function. In any indication the response to GH seems correlated to thedose and the duration of treatment. GH treatment is generally safe with no majoradverse effects being recorded in any condition.

태반 성장인자의 발견과 생물학적 활성

( Sandro De Falco ) 생화학분자생물학회 (구 한국생화학분자생물학회) 2012 생화학분자생물학회 소식 Vol.32 No.1

The discovery of placenta growth factor and its biological activity

Sandro De Falco 생화학분자생물학회 2012 Experimental and molecular medicine Vol.44 No.1

Angiogenesis is a complex biological phenomenon crucial for a correct embryonic development and for post-natal growth. In adult life, it is a tightly regulated process confined to the uterus and ovary during the different phases of the menstrual cycle and to the heart and skeletal muscles after prolonged and sustained physical exercise. Conversly, angiogenesis is one of the major pathological changes associated with several complex diseases like cancer, atherosclerosis, arthritis,diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration. Among the several molecular players involved in angiogenesis, some members of VEGF family,VEGF-A, VEGF-B and placenta growth factor (PlGF), and the related receptors VEGF receptor 1(VEGFR-1, also known as Flt-1) and VEGF receptor 2(VEGFR-2, also known as Flk-1 in mice and KDR in human)have a decisive role. In this review, we describe the discovery and molecular characteristics of PlGF,and discuss the biological role of this growth factor in physiological and pathological conditions.

Thyroid Prostate Axis. Does It Really Exist?

Sandro La Vignera,Rosita A. Condorelli,Rossella Cannarella,Aldo E. Calogero 대한남성과학회 2019 The World Journal of Men's Health Vol.37 No.3

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Liberal‐democratic Values and Secondary School: The Case of Georgia

Tabatadze Sandro,Dundua Salome,Chkuaseli Ketevan 한양대학교 아태지역연구센터 2023 Journal of Eurasian Studies Vol.14 No.1

The paper focuses on studying the liberal-democratic values in the general education of Georgia. Based on the social interaction approach of political socialization, the article assesses pupils’ and teachers’ positions towards the liberal and democratic principles and values that have been declared policy goals of Georgia since 2004. Using DAP (Democracy-Autocracy Preference), DPE (Democratic Performance Evolution), and initially tested Lib-Dem (Liberal-Democratic) scales, 297 students and 121 teachers were surveyed. Results show that teachers demonstrate more liberal-democratic positions than pupils. Also, girls tend to be less supportive of authoritarian governments and share more liberal approaches than boys. A similar trend is observed comparing students from private and public schools. The type of school correlates to teachers’ results in supporting liberal and democratic positions. However, the more liberal-democratic positions the respondents share, the more likely they believe that “Georgian” and “Liberal” are incompatible. Also, respondents who see Georgia as a democratic country and are more proud to be members of Georgian society share less liberal and democratic principles and vice versa. The study shows how liberal and democratic declared and policy ideas are supported among respondents and what it means to Georgia and its education system. Based on the results and discussion, new research questions are articulated dealing with gender, the generation gap, and the importance of the type of school that needs to be examined more carefully using the social interaction approach and qualitative methods and techniques, as well.

Effect of acidic beverages on surface roughness and color stability of artificial teeth and acrylic resin

Bitencourt, Sandro Basso,Catanoze, Isabela Arague,da Silva, Emily Vivianne Freitas,dos Santos, Paulo Henrique,dos Santos, Daniela Micheline,Turcio, Karina Helga Leal,Guiotti, Aimee Maria The Korean Academy of Prosthodonitics 2020 The Journal of Advanced Prosthodontics Vol.12 No.2

PURPOSE. The aim was to evaluate the effect of four acidic beverages on the roughness (Ra) and color change (ΔE_ab) of two brands of artificial teeth and a heat-polymerized acrylic resin (HPAR) for use in a prosthetic base. MATERIALS AND METHODS. All materials were divided into 5 groups, according to the used acidic beverage (artificial saliva - control, red wine, orange juice, coke-based, and lemon juice-based soft drink). The immersion process was divided into two stages: T1 - immersion in the acidic solutions for 10 minutes for 14 days; T2 - after T1, the samples were immersed in grape juice for 14 days. The Ra of the samples was evaluated in a rugosimeter and the ΔE_ab in a spectrophotometer, before and after the immersions. The analysis of variance of one (ΔE_ab) and two factors (Ra) and Tukey were performed (α=.05). RESULTS. There was a statistical difference for roughness after immersion (T1) for Trilux and Tritone teeth, regardless of the acid solution. For Trilux teeth, all acid solutions increased Ra (P<.05). For Tritone teeth, only the coke-based soft drink did not statistically change Ra. Grape juice (T2) altered Ra only of artificial teeth (P<.05). The color was changed for all materials, after T1 and T2. CONCLUSION. In general, the acidic solutions changed the Ra and ΔE_ab of HPAR and artificial teeth after T1. The grape juice altered the roughness only of the artificial teeth, promoting a clinically acceptable color change in the materials.

The discovery of placenta growth factor and its biological activity

De Falco, Sandro Korean Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Bion 2012 Experimental and molecular medicine Vol.44 No.1

Angiogenesis is a complex biological phenomenon crucial for a correct embryonic development and for post-natal growth. In adult life, it is a tightly regulated process confined to the uterus and ovary during the different phases of the menstrual cycle and to the heart and skeletal muscles after prolonged and sustained physical exercise. Conversly, angiogenesis is one of the major pathological changes associated with several complex diseases like cancer, atherosclerosis, arthritis, diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration. Among the several molecular players involved in angiogenesis, some members of VEGF family, VEGF-A, VEGF-B and placenta growth factor (PlGF), and the related receptors VEGF receptor 1 (VEGFR-1, also known as Flt-1) and VEGF receptor 2 (VEGFR-2, also known as Flk-1 in mice and KDR in human) have a decisive role. In this review, we describe the discovery and molecular characteristics of PlGF, and discuss the biological role of this growth factor in physiological and pathological conditions.

ONE PIECE OF INFORMATION LEADS TO ANOTHER: CONSUMERS’ PRIVACY CONCERN, TRUST AND THE TRAP OF WILLINGNESS TO SHARE INFORMATION

Monica Grosso,Sandro Castaldo,Hua Li 글로벌지식마케팅경영학회 2018 Global Marketing Conference Vol.2018 No.07

We investigate the construct of privacy concern and its dimensions, together with its expected counterbalance, trust in the information collector, on willingness to disclose different information types to a digital seller in a multicountry study. This issue is critical, given the evolution of technologies that now allow for the collection and analysis of a huge amount of data. We conceptualise consumers’ privacy concerns as the extent to which a consumer is concerned about (Milberg, et al., 2000; Rose, 2006): (1) the general collection of personal information (data collection), (2) unauthorised secondary use (data secondary usage), (3) improper access (data access) and (4) errors (data accuracy). The first contribution of our research is that we will verify the validity of the four dimensions of information privacy concern in a multiple-country study. We then develop a model by testing the impacts of privacy concern and trust on the willingness to disclose sensitive and non-sensitive information. First, our results validate the privacy concern scale based on the four dimensions (data collection, data secondary usage, data access and data accuracy) in eight countries and show that information disclosure can contain an inner trap based on customer training to disclose information that may transform information disclosure in an habit that increases willingness to share that may overcome the effects of privacy concern and trust on customers’ intended behaviours, opening possibilities of potential harmful behaviours on the part of companies to get data from their prospects that should be carefully monitored and managed.

Whole-Genome Sequencing Reveals Breast Cancers with Mismatch Repair Deficiency

Davies, Helen,Morganella, Sandro,Purdie, Colin A.,Jang, Se Jin,Borgen, Elin,Russnes, Hege,Glodzik, Dominik,Zou, Xueqing,Viari, Alain,Richardson, Andrea L.,Børresen-Dale, Anne-Lise,Thompson, Alastair,E American Association for Cancer Research 2017 Cancer Research Vol.77 No.18

<P>The effectiveness of PD-1 blockade against DNA mismatch repair-deficient cancers makes it paramount to reliably identify the relatively rare cases beyond those with Lynch syndrome–associated colon cancers.</P><P>Mismatch repair (MMR)–deficient cancers have been discovered to be highly responsive to immune therapies such as PD-1 checkpoint blockade, making their definition in patients, where they may be relatively rare, paramount for treatment decisions. In this study, we utilized patterns of mutagenesis known as mutational signatures, which are imprints of the mutagenic processes associated with MMR deficiency, to identify MMR-deficient breast tumors from a whole-genome sequencing dataset comprising a cohort of 640 patients. We identified 11 of 640 tumors as MMR deficient, but only 2 of 11 exhibited germline mutations in MMR genes or Lynch Syndrome. Two additional tumors had a substantially reduced proportion of mutations attributed to MMR deficiency, where the predominant mutational signatures were related to APOBEC enzymatic activity. Overall, 6 of 11 of the MMR-deficient cases in this cohort were confirmed genetically or epigenetically as having abrogation of MMR genes. However, IHC analysis of MMR-related proteins revealed all but one of 10 samples available for testing as MMR deficient. Thus, the mutational signatures more faithfully reported MMR deficiency than sequencing of MMR genes, because they represent a direct pathophysiologic readout of repair pathway abnormalities. As whole-genome sequencing continues to become more affordable, it could be used to expose individually abnormal tumors in tissue types where MMR deficiency has been rarely detected, but also rarely sought. <I>Cancer Res; 77(18); 4755–62. ©2017 AACR</I>.</P>