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| 2. |
- Allione, Alessandra, et al.
(author)
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Blood cell DNA methylation biomarkers in preclinical malignant pleural mesothelioma : the EPIC prospective cohort
- 2023
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In: International Journal of Cancer. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0020-7136 .- 1097-0215. ; 152:4, s. 725-737
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a rare and aggressive cancer mainly caused by asbestos exposure. Specific and sensitive noninvasive biomarkers may facilitate and enhance screening programs for the early detection of cancer. We investigated DNA methylation (DNAm) profiles in MPM prediagnostic blood samples in a case-control study nested in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and nutrition (EPIC) cohort, aiming to characterise DNAm biomarkers associated with MPM. From the EPIC cohort, we included samples from 135 participants who developed MPM during 20 years of follow-up and from 135 matched, cancer-free, controls. For the discovery phase we selected EPIC participants who developed MPM within 5 years from enrolment (n = 36) with matched controls. We identified nine differentially methylated CpGs, selected by 10-fold cross-validation and correlation analyses: cg25755428 (MRI1), cg20389709 (KLF11), cg23870316, cg13862711 (LHX6), cg06417478 (HOOK2), cg00667948, cg01879420 (AMD1), cg25317025 (RPL17) and cg06205333 (RAP1A). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis showed that the model including baseline characteristics (age, sex and PC1wbc) along with the nine MPM-related CpGs has a better predictive value for MPM occurrence than the baseline model alone, maintaining some performance also at more than 5 years before diagnosis (area under the curve [AUC] < 5 years = 0.89; AUC 5-10 years = 0.80; AUC >10 years = 0.75; baseline AUC range = 0.63-0.67). DNAm changes as noninvasive biomarkers in prediagnostic blood samples of MPM cases were investigated for the first time. Their application can improve the identification of asbestos-exposed individuals at higher MPM risk to possibly adopt more intensive monitoring for early disease identification.
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- Biella, Riccardo, et al.
(author)
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The 2022 Drought Needs to be a Turning Point for European Drought Risk Management
- 2024
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In: Natural hazards and earth system sciences. - 1561-8633 .- 1684-9981.
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Journal article (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The 2022 European drought has underscored critical deficiencies in European water management. This paper explores these shortcomings and suggests a way forward for European drought risk management. Data for this study was gathered through a continent-wide survey of water managers involved in this event. The survey collected 481 responses from 30 European countries and is comprised of 19 questions concerning sectorial impact in the regions of the responders and drought risk management practices of their organizations. Information from the survey is enriched with climate-related information to offer a comprehensive overview of drought risk management in Europe. Our research focuses on four key aspects: the increasing risk of drought, its spatial and temporal impacts, current drought risk management approaches, and the evolution of drought risk management across the continent. Our findings reveal a consensus on the growing risk of drought, which is confounded by the rising frequency and intensity of droughts. While the 2022 event affected most of the continent, our findings show significant regional disparities in drought risk management capacity among the various countries. Our analysis indicates that current drought risk management measures often rely on short-term operational concerns, particularly in agriculture-dominated economies, leading to potentially maladaptive practices. An overall positive trend in drought risk management, with organizations showing increased awareness and preparedness, indicates how this crisis can be the ideal moment to mainstream European-wide drought risk management. Consequently, we advocate for a European Drought Directive, to harmonize and enforce drought risk management policies across the continent. This directive should promote a systemic, integrated, and long-term risk management perspective. The directive should also set clear guidelines for drought risk management at the national level and for cross-boundary drought collaboration.
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| 4. |
- Grasso, Silvia, et al.
(author)
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The scaffold protein p140Cap limits ERBB2-mediated breast cancer progression interfering with Rac GTPase-controlled circuitries
- 2017
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In: Nature Communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2041-1723. ; 8
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The docking protein p140Cap negatively regulates tumour cell features. Its relevance on breast cancer patient survival, as well as its ability to counteract relevant cancer signalling pathways, are not fully understood. Here we report that in patients with ERBB2-amplified breast cancer, a p140Cap-positive status associates with a significantly lower probability of developing a distant event, and a clear difference in survival. p140Cap dampens ERBB2-positive tumour cell progression, impairing tumour onset and growth in the NeuT mouse model, and counteracting epithelial mesenchymal transition, resulting in decreased metastasis formation. One major mechanism is the ability of p140Cap to interfere with ERBB2-dependent activation of Rac GTPase-controlled circuitries. Our findings point to a specific role of p140Cap in curbing the aggressiveness of ERBB2-amplified breast cancers and suggest that, due to its ability to impinge on specific molecular pathways, p140Cap may represent a predictive biomarker of response to targeted anti-ERBB2 therapies.
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| 5. |
- Hosnijeh, Fatemeh Saberi, et al.
(author)
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Prediagnostic telomere length and risk of B-cell lymphoma-Results from the EPIC cohort study
- 2014
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In: International Journal of Cancer. - : Wiley. - 0020-7136 .- 1097-0215. ; 135:12, s. 2910-2917
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Recent epidemiological investigations have reported on the association between telomere length (TL) and a number of malignancies, including B-cell lymphoma (BCL). The reported results for BCLs are however inconsistent. We carried out a nested case-control study to determine whether TL is associated with future risk of BCL. Using quantitative polymerase chain reaction, the relative TL (i.e. the ratio of telomere repeat copy number to single gene copy number) was measured in mononuclear cell DNA of prediagnostic peripheral blood samples of 464 lymphoma cases and 464 matched controls (median time between blood collection and diagnosis, 4.6 years). Conditional logistic regression was used to analyze the association between TL and the risk of developing lymphoma and histologic subtypes. TL was significantly longer in cases compared to controls (p 5 0.01). Multivariable models showed a significantly increased risk of BCL [odds ratio (OR) = 1.66, 1.80 and 3.20 for quartiles 2-4, respectively, p-trend = 0.001], diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) (OR = 1.20, 2.48 and 2.36 for quartiles 2-4, respectively, p-trend = 0.03) and follicular lymphoma (FL) (OR = 1.39, 1.90 and 2.69 for quartiles 2-4, respectively, p-trend = 0.02) with increasing TL. This study suggests an association between longer leucocyte TL and increased risk of BCL which was most pronounced for DLBCL and FL.
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| 6. |
- Li, Chen, et al.
(author)
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Genome-wide Association Analysis in Humans Links Nucleotide Metabolism to Leukocyte Telomere Length
- 2020
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In: American Journal of Human Genetics. - : CELL PRESS. - 0002-9297 .- 1537-6605. ; 106:3, s. 389-404
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Leukocyte telomere length (LTL) is a heritable biomarker of genomic aging. In this study, we perform a genome-wide meta-analysis of LTL by pooling densely genotyped and imputed association results across large-scale European-descent studies including up to 78,592 individuals. We identify 49 genomic regions at a false dicovery rate (FDR) < 0.05 threshold and prioritize genes at 31, with five highlighting nucleotide metabolism as an important regulator of LTL. We report six genome-wide significant loci in or near SENP7, MOB1B, CARMIL1 , PRRC2A, TERF2, and RFWD3, and our results support recently identified PARP1, POT1, ATM, and MPHOSPH6 loci. Phenome-wide analyses in >350,000 UK Biobank participants suggest that genetically shorter telomere length increases the risk of hypothyroidism and decreases the risk of thyroid cancer, lymphoma, and a range of proliferative conditions. Our results replicate previously reported associations with increased risk of coronary artery disease and lower risk for multiple cancer types. Our findings substantially expand current knowledge on genes that regulate LTL and their impact on human health and disease.
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| 7. |
- Rosi, Alessia, et al.
(author)
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Decision-making competence in younger and older adults : which cognitive abilities contribute to the application of decision rules?
- 2019
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In: Aging, Neuropsychology and Cognition. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1382-5585 .- 1744-4128. ; 26:2, s. 174-189
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Older adults perform worse than younger adults when applying decision rules to choose between options that vary along multiple attributes. Although previous studies have shown that general fluid cognitive abilities contribute to the accurate application of decision rules, relatively little is known about which specific cognitive abilities play the most important role. We examined the independent roles of working memory, verbal fluency, semantic knowledge, and components of executive functioning. We found that age-related decline in applying decision rules was statistically mediated by age-related decline in working memory and verbal fluency. Our results have implications for theories of aging and decision-making.
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