MMP and TIMP play an important role in the degradation of extracellular matrix components which are essential for tumor growth, invasion and metastasis. Aim of this research was to assess MMP3 and TIMP3 as prognostic factors among patients with ovarian cancer. It was found that high levels of output MMP3 correlated with shortened overall survival time of patients by 9.7 months. In addition, it has been shown that high concentrations of output MMP3 were significantly associated with a shorter disease free time in median concentrations implemented p = 0.0059. Statistically significant dependence has been shown between an average concentration of TIMP3 protein to the overall survival of patients. The higher output concentration of TIMP3, the longer patients’ survival by 8.9 month. In addition, it was found that high TIMP3 concentrations output were associated with a significantly longer disease free duration at a median concentrations p = 0.007. Preliminary research shows that output levels of MMP3 and TIMP3 proteins correlate with overall survival of patients. In some cases also time free of illness.

The exact pathophysiology of severe COVID-19 is not entirely elucidated, but it has been established that hyperinflammatory responses and cytokine storms play important roles. The aim of this study was to examine CMV status, select chemokines, and complement components in COVID-19, and how concentrations of given molecules differ over time at both molecular and proteomic levels. A total of 210 COVID-19 patients (50 ICU and 160 non-ICU patients) and 80 healthy controls were enrolled in this study. Concentrations of select chemokines (CXCL8, CXCL10, CCL2, CCL3, CCR1) and complement factors (C2, C9, CFD, C4BPA, C5AR1, CR1) were examined at mRNA and protein levels with regard to a COVID-19 course (ICU vs. non-ICU group) and CMV status at different time intervals. We detected several significant differences in chemokines and complement profiles between ICU and non-ICU groups. Pro-inflammatory chemokines and the complement system appeared to greatly contribute to the pathogenesis and development of severe COVID-19. Higher concentrations of CXCL8 and CCL2 in the plasma, with reduced mRNA expression presumably through negative feedback mechanisms, as well as CMV-positive status, correlated with more severe courses of COVID-19. Therefore, CXCL8, CCL2, and CMV seropositivity should be considered as new prognostic factors for severe COVID-19 courses. However, more in-depth research is needed.

Obesity is a well-known factor that leads to many diseases including endometrial cancer. The adipose tissue is a heterogeneous organ of internal secretion. Visfatin is a newly discovered protein produced by fat tissues. The purpose of this work was to evaluate serum level concentrations of visfatin in patients with endometrial cancer based on clinical progression and histopathological tumor differentiation. The diagnostic capabilities of visfatin protein in high differentiation (FIGO III and IV) from a lower (FIGO I and II) clinical stage and prognostic degree of cell differentiation (G1 versus G2, G2 versus G3) on the basis of the analysis of the area under the ROC curve are as follows: 0.87, 0.81, and 0.86. Significantly higher concentrations of visfatin have been observed in patients with invasion of the blood vessels (p=0.02) and lymph node metastases (p=0.01) in reference to the depth of infiltration of the endometrium (p=0.004), as well as the size of the tumor (p=0.003). Visfatin serum concentrations did not differ due to the invasion of the lymphatic vessels only. Visfatin seems to be a good marker of endometrial cancer progress. High visfatin serum level predicts poor prognosis in endometrial cancer patients.

Cardiac innervation density generally reflects the levels of nerve growth factor (NGF) produced by the heart—changes in NGF expression within the heart and vasculature contribute to neuronal remodelling (e.g. sympathetic hyperinnervation or denervation). Its synthesis and release are altered under different pathological conditions. Although NGF is well known for its survival effects on neurons, it is clear that these effects are more wide ranging. Recent studies reported both in vitro and in vivo evidence for beneficial actions of NGF on cardiomyocytes in normal and pathological hearts, including prosurvival and antiapoptotic effects. NGF also plays an important role in the crosstalk between the nervous and cardiovascular systems. It was the first neurotrophin to be implicated in postnatal angiogenesis and vasculogenesis by autocrine and paracrine mechanisms. In connection with these unique cardiovascular properties of NGF, we have provided comprehensive insight into its function and potential effect of NGF underlying heart sustainable/failure conditions. This review aims to summarize the recent data on the effects of NGF on various cardiovascular neuronal and non‐neuronal functions. Understanding these mechanisms with respect to the diversity of NGF functions may be crucial for developing novel therapeutic strategies, including NGF action mechanism‐guided therapies.

Introduction: Adipose tissue is considered an endocrine organ and produces a number of biologically active substances. Aims: To consider the role that four adipokines – leptin, omentin-1, vaspin, and galectin-3 – play in the diagnosis of endometrium cancer and to investigate the association between serum concentrations of adipose tissue metabolism products and the diagnostics and prognosis in endometrial cancer. Patients and methods: The study included 168 patients with body mass index (BMI) >20 kg/m2 admitted due to post-menopausal bleeding. Results: A receiver operating characteristic curves test was performed to determine the diagnostic values of the proteins tested. For leptin and galectin-3 the area under the curve (AUC) values were 0.79/0.68, while for vaspin and omentin-1 the AUC values were 0.82/0.86 for all study patients. The final model identified the following independent risk factors: glucose concentration, BMI, waist circumference, leptin, and vaspin concentrations. Diagnostic values of leptin and galectin-3 with regard to differentiation between high (Fédération Internationale de Gynécologie Obstétrique [FIGO] III and IV) and low (FIGO I and II) stages of clinical tumor advancement and prediction of tumor grading (G1 vs G3) based on the AUC curve were 0.82/0.70 and 0.80/0.74. The AUC values for vaspin and omentin-1 with respect to differentiation between histopathological advancement and grading were 0.86/0.81 and 0.83/0.77, respectively. Significantly lower values of mean omentin-1 and vaspin concentrations were also demonstrated in cases of lymphatic vessel invasion, lymph node metastases, or deep endometrial infiltration (p=0.002, p=0.01, p=0.003, respectively). Conclusion: It appears that elevated concentrations of leptin, vaspin, and omentin-1 may indicate the presence of endometrial cancer. Furthermore, leptin serum level and vaspin appear to be useful tools in the assessment of clinical staging of endometrial cancer.