GENIO italiano Giuseppe Cotellessa

‘HOT’ CRISPR Tool Creates Fast and Efficient Knock-Ins / Lo strumento CRISPR "CALDO" crea inserimenti rapidi ed efficienti Segnalato dal Dott. Giuseppe Cotellessa / Reported by Dr. Giuseppe Cotellessa The potential that gene-editing tools such as CRISPR-Cas9 hold for eliminating disease and genetic disorders is immense. The ability to excise a mutant gene and replace it with an unaltered version may become the gold standard by which physicians treat patients in the near future. Leading up to these potential new therapies, scientists continue to utilize tools that recapitulate human tissues and body systems as accurately as possible. These mini-organs or organoids have been a major advance for researchers studying various diseases such as cancer. Now, investigators at the Hubrecht Institute in Utrecht have developed a new genetic tool to label specific genes in human organoids. The novel method, called CRISPR-HOT, was utilized to investigate how hepatocytes divide and how abn

CRISPR Screen for Human Organoids Doubles Genes Linked to Microcephaly /  Lo schermo CRISPR per organoidi umani raddoppia i geni legati alla microcefalia Segnalato dal Dott. Giuseppe Cotellessa / Reported by Dr. Giuseppe Cotellessa A new tissue screening technology has been applied to human brain organoids, report scientists at the Austrian Academy of Sciences. The technology, called CRISPR-LICHT (for CRIPSR- LI neage tracing at  C ellular resolution in  H eterogenous  T issue), was used to determine that 25 out of 173 candidate microencephaly genes are indeed linked to the rare neurological condition, which is characterized by abnormal brain development and reduced head size. Previously, 27 genes had been implicated in microencephaly. So, with the new finding, the total number of known microencephaly genes has almost doubled. Besides shedding new light on microencephaly, CRISPR-LICHT demonstrates a CRISPR screening approach that could be applied to other organoids. CRISPR-LICHT, its d

  Naringenina: la sostanza che potrebbe fermare i coronavirus /   Naringenin: the substance that could stop coronaviruses Segnalato dal Dott. Giuseppe Cotellessa / Reported by Dr. Giuseppe Cotellessa Uno studio coordinato dall'Università Sapienza di Roma e pubblicato su 'Pharmacological Research' ha scoperto il tallone d'Achille dei virus, individuandolo nei canali ionici lisosomiali Tpc (Two-PoreChannels). Un nuovo bersaglio molecolare per il controllo dell'infezione dei diversi ceppi di coronavirus, fra cui Sars-CoV-2, che apre la strada a strategie innovative per la terapia medica di questo tipo di infezioni virali. A scoprirlo è uno studio coordinato dall'Università Sapienza di Roma, in collaborazione con altri atenei italiani, e pubblicato su 'Pharmacological Research', che ha scoperto il 'tallone d'Achille' dei coronavirus, individuandolo nei canali ionici lisosomiali Tpc (Two-PoreChannels). Naringenina: la molecola che potrebbe fermare

Immune Training Teaches Certain Cells to Target Cancer /   Il training immunitario insegna ad alcune cellule a prendere di mira il cancro Segnalato dal Dott, Giuseppe Cotellessa / Reported by Dr. Giuseppe Cotellessa An international team co-led by George Hajishengallis, DDS, PhD,  of the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine, reports that the innate immune system, which responds more generally to bodily invaders, may be an important yet overlooked component of immunotherapy’s success. Their study “ Innate Immune Training of Granulopoiesis Promotes Anti-tumor Activity ,” published in  Cell , found that “training” the innate immune system with β-glucan, derived from fungus, inspired the production of innate immune cells, specifically neutrophils, that were primed to prevent or attack tumors in an animal model. “Trained innate immunity, induced via modulation of mature myeloid cells or their bone marrow progenitors, mediates sustained increased responsiveness to secondary c

Culprit Behind Increase of Radioresistant Cancer Cells Revealed /   Rivelato il colpevole dell'aumento delle cellule tumorali radioresistenti Segnalato dal Dott. Giuseppe Cotellessa /  Reported by Dr. Giuseppe Cotellessa Radiation is one of the most common treatments for cancer. Radiation therapy uses high-energy particles or waves, such as x-rays, gamma rays, electron beams, or protons, to destroy or damage cancer cells. It makes small breaks in the DNA inside cells to keep cancer cells from growing and dividing and cause them to die. Nearby normal cells can also be affected by radiation, but most recover and go back to working the way they should. Unfortunately, there are varieties of cancer that become resistant to these therapies, and in some cases, these radioresistant cancers can become more invasive following treatment, worsening the prognosis for the patient. Now, scientists from the Global Center for Biomedical Science and Engineering, a collaboration between Hokkaido Uni