GENIO italiano Giuseppe Cotellessa

  Inovio shares sink after FDA places partial hold on Phase II/III Covid-19 vaccine study /   Le azioni di Inovio affondano dopo che la FDA ha sospeso parzialmente lo studio sul vaccino Covid-19 di fase II / III Segnalato dal Dott. Giuseppe Cotellessa /  Reported by Dr. Giuseppe Cotellessa The company emphasized that the partial hold was due to "additional questions" about the study, including the delivery device being used, and was  not related to any adverse events. As such, the  Phase I study of the vaccine, INO-4800, is  proceeding. One of the late-stage trials of a vaccine against the virus that causes Covid-19 has been placed on hold as the Food and Drug Administration has additional questions for the company developing it. Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania-based Inovio Pharmaceuticals  said  Monday that the FDA had placed a partial clinical hold on the Phase II/III trial of INO-4800, its vaccine against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The company said the agency had “additional” qu

In Race to Supply Smallest Antibodies, Cows Outpace Camelids /  Nella corsa per fornire gli anticorpi più piccoli, le mucche superano i camelidi Segnalato dal Dott. Giuseppe Cotellessa /  Reported by Dr. Giuseppe Cotellessa From left to right: the antigen binding fragment of an antibody (Fab), an antibody fragment consisting of a single domain antibody (VHH), and a knob domain. / Da sinistra a destra: il frammento di legame dell'antigene di un anticorpo (Fab), un frammento di anticorpo costituito da un anticorpo a dominio singolo (VHH) e un dominio a manopola.  [PLOS Biology and Alex Macpherson] Antibodies that have been derived from the immune cells of cows are just a third the size of antibodies derived from the immune cells of camelids. In fact, the bovine antibodies are so diminutive, they are only twice the size of cyclosporine, a conventional therapeutic macrocycle. With antibodies, smallness has its advantages. For example, small antibodies can move through tight spaces and

Alzheimer’s Epigenetic Drivers Identified /   Identificazione dei driver epigenetici dell'Alzheimer Segnalato dal Dott. Giuseppe Cotellessa /  Reported by Dr. Giuseppe Cotellessa A team of investigators from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) has uncovered new data strongly suggesting that late-onset Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is driven by epigenetic changes. Using postmortem brain tissue to compare healthy younger and older brain cells to those with AD, the team found evidence that epigenetic regulators disable protective pathways and enable pro-disease pathways in those with the disease. Findings from the new study were published recently in  Nature Genetics  through an article titled, ” An integrated multi-omics approach identifies epigenetic alterations associated with Alzheimer’s disease .” “The last five years have seen great efforts to develop therapeutics to treat Alzheimer’s disease, but sadly, they have failed in the clinic to treat hu

  Type 2 Diabetes Risk Linked to Prolonged Use of Common Acid Reflux Drugs /   Rischio di diabete di tipo 2 legato all'uso prolungato di farmaci comuni per il reflusso acido Segnalato dal Dott. Giuseppe Cotellessa /  Reported by Dr. Giuseppe Cotellessa Diabetes equipment, used by patients. /  Attrezzatura per il diabete, utilizzata dai pazienti.  [Celso Pupo-Fotolia.com] The results of research by an international team of scientists suggest that regular use of proton pump inhibitors, or PPIs, which are commonly used to treat acid reflux, is linked to a heightened risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The results, published in  Gut , also indicated that this risk of type 2 diabetes increases with duration of PPI use, prompting the investigators to advise that people taking these drugs for 2 or more years should have regular blood glucose check-ups to screen for diabetes. “Physicians should therefore exercise caution when prescribing PPIs, particularly for long-term use,” concluded th

Specific T Cells Activated in Severe COVID-19 Cases /   Cellule T specifiche attivate in casi gravi di COVID-19 Segnalato dal Dott. Giuseppe Cotellessa /  Reported by Dr. Giuseppe Cotellessa In order to develop new treatments for COVID-19, it is important to understand how the human immune system responds to a SARS-CoV-2 infection. Now, a team from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden has found that a type of unconventional T cell, mucosa-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells, are recruited to the airways and strongly activated in some patients with severe COVID-19, suggesting the cells’ possible involvement in the development of disease. These findings corroborate other recent studies that highlight potential associations between strong MAIT cell activation and severe COVID-19 outcomes. The research is published in  Science Immunology  in an article titled, “ MAIT cell activation and dynamics associated with COVID-19 disease severity. ” Severe COVID-19 is characterized by excessive infla

  Un batterio della bocca aiuterebbe la diffusione dei tumori /  A mouth bacterium would help the tumors spread Segnalato dal Dott. Giuseppe Cotellessa /  Reported by Dr. Giuseppe Cotellessa Illustrazione di batteri nel cavo orale: in viola,  Fusobacterium nucleatum   /  Illustration of bacteria in the mouth: in purple, Fusobacterium nucleatum  (©Science Photo Library/AGF)  Tre diversi studi su cellule umane in coltura e sui topi hanno dimostrato che  Fusobacterium nucleatum , un batterio innocuo che vive nel cavo orale, può facilitare la diffusione delle cellule tumorali, peggiorando la prognosi di alcuni tipi di cancro. Quando le persone sentono che potrebbero avere il cancro, forse l'unica cosa più spaventosa della parola C è la parola M. La malattia metastatica, in cui il tumore maligno ha lasciato la sua sede primaria per raggiungere altri punti del corpo, è responsabile di nove decessi per cancro su dieci. Recentemente in questo processo è emerso un attore inaspettato: un com