Marcos Quintela

Cardiff University | CU · European Cancer Stem Cell Research Institute

Decidualisation, the process whereby endometrial stromal cells undergo morphological and functional transformation in preparation for trophoblast invasion, is often disrupted in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) resulting in complications with pregnancy and/or infertility. The transcription factor Wilms tumour suppressor 1 (WT1) is a key...

As the treatment landscape for prostate cancer gradually evolves, the frequency of treatment-induced neuroendocrine prostate cancer (NEPC) and double-negative prostate cancer (DNPC) that is deficient for androgen receptor (AR) and neuroendocrine (NE) markers has increased. These prostate cancer subtypes are typically refractory to AR-directed thera...

The environment created during embryogenesis contributes to reducing aberrations that drive structural malformations and tumorigenesis. In this study, we investigate the anti-cancer effect of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) derived from 2 different gestational tissues, the amniotic fluid (AF) and the chorionic villi (CV), with emphasis on their secre...

Background Down syndrome (DS) clinical multisystem condition is generally considered the result of a genetic imbalance generated by the extra copy of chromosome 21. Recent discoveries, however, demonstrate that the molecular mechanisms activated in DS compared to euploid individuals are more complex than previously thought. Here, we utilize mesench...

Background Epigenomic dysregulation has been linked to solid tumour malignancies, including ovarian cancers. Profiling of re-programmed enhancer locations associated with disease has the potential to improve stratification and thus therapeutic choices. Ovarian cancers are subdivided into histological subtypes that have significant molecular and cli...

Background: Ovarian cancer has a specific unmet clinical need, with a persistently poor 5-year survival rate observed in women with advanced stage disease warranting continued efforts to develop new treatment options. The amplification of BRD4 in a significant subset of high-grade serous ovarian carcinomas (HGSC) has led to the development of BET...

At physiological levels, the trace element selenium plays a key role in redox reactions through the incorporation of selenocysteine in antioxidant enzymes. Selenium has also been evaluated as a potential anti-cancer agent, where selenium nanoparticles have proven effective, and are well tolerated in vivo at doses that are toxic as soluble Se. The u...

At physiological levels, the trace element selenium plays a key role in redox reactions through the incorporation of selenocysteine in antioxidant enzymes. Selenium has also been evaluated as a potential anti-cancer agent, where selenium nanoparticles have proven effective, and are well tolerated in vivo at doses that are toxic as soluble Se. The u...

Introduction: Endometrioid and clear cell carcinomas of the ovary are the most common subtypes of epithelial malignancy arising from endometriosis and are often termed endometriosis-associated ovarian carcinomas (EAOCs). There is a paucity of experimental evidence in the medical literature regarding the role of long non-coding ribonucleic acid (RNA...

Fibrosis and solid tumor progression are closely related, with both involving pathways associated with chronic wound dysregulation. Fibroblasts contribute to extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling in these processes, a crucial step in scarring, organ failure, and tumor growth, but little is known about the biophysical evolution of remodeling regulat...

Cartilage Repair In article number 2101127 by Lewis W. Francis, Francesca Taraballi, and co-workers, a biomimetic immune tuning scaffold is implanted in a full-thickness chondral defect in rabbits. The early inflammatory infiltrates changed in the treated animals resulting in a better cartilage homeostasis at longer timepoints. This work represents...

Focal chondral lesions of the knee are the most frequent type of trauma in younger patients and are associated with a high risk of developing early posttraumatic osteoarthritis. The only current clinical solutions include microfracture, osteochondral grafting, and autologous chondrocyte implantation. Cartilage tissue engineering based on biomimetic...

Meta-analysis of RNA sequencing data for endometriosis-associated ovarian carcinomas of clear cell and endometrioid type.

We describe the long intergenic non-coding RNA (lincRNA) profile of endometriosis-associated carcinomas (EAOCs) based on a meta-analysis of RNAseq datasets downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). We compared RNA sequences between 5 ovarian clear cell carcinomas and 4 endometrioid carcinomas with normal ovarian control sequences using an in-h...

Investigating the epigenetic role of BRD4 in regulating NRG1 and HER3 expression in epithelial ovarian cancer: Ovarian cancer (OC) is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related death amongst women, and the leading cause of gynecologic death. The search for diagnostic and therapeutic advances still remains essential. Although most OCs respond well to...

Both hard material photolithography and soft lithography are widely used for patterned cell culture. Soft lithography techniques enable bioactive molecule incorporation, however complex surface modifications are required to introduce specific ligands or proteins in conventional photolithography. In this study, we demonstrate human umbilical vein ce...

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common gynaecological disorder, with a prevalence of up to 12% of women of reproductive age, and is in part characterised by elevated circulating androgens and aberrant expression of androgen receptor (AR) in the endometrium. A high percentage of PCOS patients suffer from infertility, a condition that appears t...

New approaches to treat ovarian cancer, the fifth leading cause of cancer mortality among women, are being sought, with the targeting of epigenetic modulators now receiving much attention. The histone acetyltransferase HBO1 functions in regulating diverse molecular processes, including DNA repair, transcription and replication, and is highly expres...

IntroductionFlying Start (FS) is the Welsh Government’s (WG) flagship Early Years programme for families with children aged less than 4 years of age. Running since 2006, the four entitlements are: Free part-time childcare for 2-3 year olds Enhanced Health Visiting Parenting support Speech, language, and communication support Objectives and Approach...

Background Flying Start (FS) is the Welsh Government’s (WG) flagship Early Years programme for families with children aged less than 4 years of age. Running since 2006, the four entitlements are: Free part-time childcare for 2-3 year olds Enhanced Health Visiting Parenting support Speech, language, and communication support Objectives Currently, wh...

Epithelial ovarian cancer (OC) is now the fifth leading cause of cancer death among women in the U.S. and the leading cause of death in gynecological cancers. OC comprises a variety of tumor types (histotypes) that differ in morphology, prognosis, etiology and molecular biology. Despite the knowledge of OC heterogeneity, current treatment strategie...

Epithelial ovarian cancer (OC) is now the fourth leading cause of cancer death among women in the U.S and the leading cause of death in gynecological cancers. This lethality is due to both its asymptomatic nature and the lack of effective treatment strategies for advanced stage disease. OC comprises a variety of tumor types (histotypes) that differ...