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Nuclear paraspeckle assembly transcript 1 (NEAT1) is a long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) reported to be frequently deregulated in various types of cancers and neurodegenerative processes. NEAT1 is an indispensable structural component of paraspeckles (PSs), which are dynamic and membraneless nuclear bodies that affect different cellular functions, including stress response. Furthermore, increasing evidence supports the crucial role of NEAT1 and essential structural proteins of PSs (PSPs) in the regulation of the DNA damage repair (DDR) system. This review aims to provide an overview of the current knowledge on the involvement of NEAT1 and PSPs in DDR, which might strengthen the rationale underlying future NEAT1-based therapeutic options in tumor and neurodegenerative diseases.

One of the most studied aspects of animal communication is the acoustic repertoire difference between populations of the same species. While numerous studies have investigated the variability of bottlenose dolphin whistles between populations, very few studies have focused on the signature whistles alone and the factors underlying differentiation of signature whistles are still poorly understood. Here we describe the signature whistles produced by six distinct geographical units of the common bottlenose dolphin ( Tursiops truncatus ) in the Mediterranean Sea and identify the main determinants of their variability. Particularly, the influence of the region (proxy of genetic distance), the geographic site, and the environmental (sea bottom-related) and demographical (population-related) conditions on the acoustic structure of signature whistles was evaluated. The study provides the first evidence that the genetic structure, which distinguishes the eastern and western Mediterranean bottlenose dolphin populations has no strong influence on the acoustic structure of their signature whistles, and that the geographical isolation between populations only partially affected whistle variability. The environmental conditions of the areas where the whistles developed and the demographic characteristics of the belonging populations strongly influenced signature whistles, in accordance with the “acoustic adaptation hypothesis” and the theory of signature whistle determination mediated by learning.

Multiple myeloma (MM) is an incurable disease caused by the malignant proliferation of bone marrow plasma cells, whose pathogenesis remains largely unknown. Although a large fraction of the genome is actively transcribed, most of the transcripts do not serve as templates for proteins and are referred to as non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), broadly divided into short and long transcripts on the basis of a 200-nucleotide threshold. Short ncRNAs, especially microRNAs, have crucial roles in virtually all types of cancer, including MM, and have gained importance in cancer diagnosis and prognosis, predicting the response to therapy and, notably, as innovative therapeutic targets. Long ncRNAs (lncRNAs) are a very heterogeneous group, involved in many physiological cellular and genomic processes as well as in carcinogenesis, cancer metastasis, and invasion. LncRNAs are aberrantly expressed in various types of cancers, including hematological malignancies, showing either oncogenic or tumor suppressive functions. However, the mechanisms of the related disease-causing events are not yet revealed in most cases. Besides emerging as key players in cancer initiation and progression, lncRNAs own many interesting features as biomarkers with diagnostic and prognostic importance and, possibly, for their utility in therapeutic terms as druggable molecules. This review focuses on the role of lncRNAs in the pathogenesis of MM and summarizes the recent literature.

Background: Antimicrobial therapies used for treating group B streptococcus (GBS) early-onset sepsis (EOS) provide insight into clinicians’ adherence to antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) guidelines. Methods: We reviewed antimicrobial therapies given to treat newborns with GBS-EOS. Data were obtained from an Italian surveillance network (including 35 birthing centers) and were prospectively collected from 1 January 2003 to 31 December 2024. Empiric and definitive therapies were classified as adequate and inadequate. Results: There were 967,054 live births and 200 cases of GBS-EOS, of which 43 (21.5%) were preterm and 157 (78.5%) were full-term; 35 (17.5%) out of 200 showed no signs of illness. Fourteen (7.0%) died (one full-term and thirteen preterm newborns under 34 weeks of gestation). Based on the available information, antibiotics were adequate in 106/137 (77.4%) empiric and 48/119 (40.3%) definitive therapies. The duration of antibiotic courses did not differ between severe (median 10 days, IQR 8.0–14.0) and non-severe cases (median: 10 days; IQR: 10.0–12.5; p = 0.68). Antibiotic treatments lasted ≥ 15 days in 34 (20.1%) out of 169 cases with available information. Conclusions: In this large Italian multicenter study, deviations from international recommendations in antimicrobial therapies for GBS-EOS were critical. Our findings underscore the importance of timely antimicrobial de-escalation and the need to avoid excessively prolonged courses of antimicrobials.