Advances in Molecular Pathology (eBook)

The present work corresponds to a compilation of independent contributions in the fields of endocrinology, immunity, cancer, neurobiology, and myology. Revision of current advances as well as novel findings in the form of original articles are presented in a balanced fashion. The book has been divided into three sections in line with the main subject: Molecular pathology of immune, inflammatory, and hemostatic disorders; Molecular pathology of endocrine and muscular disorders; and Molecular pathology of cancer: determinants and potential therapies. In the first section, contributing authors take the reader through the molecular pathology of immune responses, inflammation, and hemostasis, by collating an update on systemic autoimmune diseases, the therapeutic potential of statins in hemostasis, the effects of adrenergic stimulation on coagulation, the emerging field of physical burnout due to the mobility restrictions in response to the 2020 SARS-CoV-2 pandemic imposed worldwide, and the success of community-oriented muscular kinesic rehabilitation. The second section presents engaging results from a survey of iodine intake through the diet of pregnant females, an appraisal of the neuroprotective effect of dexmedetomidine, novel evidence on muscle physiopathology, describing the upregulation of CCL5/RANTES during cholestatic liver disease, the fibrotic response emerging in response to cholic and deoxycholic acids, and the altering effects of bile acids in autophagy and mitogenesis. In the third section, a comprehensive revision of cancer literature is offered with an emphasis on melanoma, myeloid-derived suppressor cells, microRNA-based diagnostic approaches, and new avenues for cancer immunotherapy. Altogether, these individual contributions offer a comprehensive and up-to-date outlook of the current state in the field of molecular pathology.

Chapter 14 is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.

Felipe Simon, Ph.D., is currently Full Professor of the Faculty of Life Sciences in Universidad Andres Bello, at Santiago, Chile, and Researcher at the Millennium Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy. His line of research is mainly focused on understanding the molecular mechanisms involved in systemic inflammatory syndromes, with a special interest in vascular and immune dysfunction, to identify suitable molecular targets and develop new and more efficient therapies to tackle organ damage and mortality. He has published more than 100 articles with more than 3,800 citations and has an H-index=40 (Google Scholar, 2022). He has been conferred several awards, participated as Expert Evaluator in numerous accreditation committees, and is currently Director of Research of the Faculty of Life Sciences at Universidad Andres Bello. He is Member of Chilean Society of Physiological Science and the American Physiological Society.

Carmelo Bernabeu, Ph.D., is Research Professor at the Spanish National Research Council since 2003. His scientific interest focuses on cardiovascular diseases involving endoglin, a cell surface receptor present in endothelial cells. Among them are: hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT), a vascular disease caused by heterozygous mutations in the endoglin gene; and preeclampsia, a disease affecting pregnant women and associated with hypertension and proteinuria, in which a pathogenic role has been described for elevated levels of a circulating form of endoglin. He has worked in different US universities and research centers, including the University of California at Los Angeles, Harvard University Medical School in Boston, and University of Utah in Salt Lake City. He has published more than 200 articles with more than 18,000 citations and has an H-index=71 (Google Scholar, 2022). He is Editor of several international journals in the area of Biomedicine and is current Member and past Chair of the Global Research and Medical Advisory Board of the Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia Foundation.