Amber L. Pond

Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is a rare skeletal muscle (SKM) cancer with an overall incidence rate of approximately 4.5 cases per million in the U.S, this being similar among countries around the world with the exception of East Asia where it is about 2 cases per million [1]. It is generally diagnosed in children and teens and has a five-year survival rate ranging from 30-90%, dependent upon whether it is diagnosed as low, intermediate, or high risk [2,3,4]. There are two key types: 1) embryonic (ERMS) and 2) alveolar (ARMS); the ARMS form is the more aggressive and is less easily treated [2,3,4]. We have reported that the ERG1 voltage-gated K+ channel is detected in RMS cells by immunohistochemistry [5] and our preliminary immunoblots show that the mature glycosylated isoforms are more abundant in the RMS cells than in the control C2C12 cells. Indeed, the ERG1A channel is associated with numerous cancer cell types and, although it is associated with poor prognoses, what role it plays in malignancy is not known [6]. Certain membrane mechanical properties differ in malignant versus normal cells. For example, cancer cell membranes have been reported to exhibit decreased “stiffness” [7,8] as well as altered adhesion [7,8] and deformation [9]. We have preliminary atomic force microscopy (AFM) data which show that ERG1A over-expression in C2C12 myoblasts significantly increased membrane adhesion by 6.6 fold (p

The ERG1A K⁺ channel modulates the protein degradation that contributes to skeletal muscle atrophy by increasing intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca²⁺]i) and enhancing calpain activity, but the mechanism by which the channel regulates the [Ca²⁺]i is not known. Here, we have investigated the effect of human ERG1A (HERG) on [Ca²⁺]i in C₂C₁₂ myotubes, using Fura-2 calcium assays, immunoblot, RT-qPCR, and electrophysiology. The data show that the rise in [Ca²⁺]_i induced by KCl-stimulated depolarization is of greater amplitude in C₂C₁₂ myotubes over-expressing HERG relative to controls, but this difference does not result from an increase in L-type channel (Ca_v1.1) Ca²⁺ influx because there is no statistical difference in the nifedipine-sensitive response upon depolarization between the expression groups. Indeed, HERG overexpression in C₂C₁₂ myotubes has no effect on the amplitude of L-type channel current nor does it affect the mRNA levels nor protein abundance of the Cav1.1 channel. This finding suggests that HERG modulates excitation coupled calcium entry (ECCE). Indeed, the HERG-enhanced increase in [Ca²⁺]i induced by depolarization is blocked by 2-aminoethoxydiphenyl borate, an inhibitor of ECCE. Further, HERG also modulates the activity of ryanodine receptors (RYR1, a component of ECCE) as well as store operated calcium entry (SOCE). Therefore, we investigated the effect of HERG on calsequestrin1, a calcium buffering/binding protein known to modulate RYR1 and SOCE activities. Indeed, we find that calsequestrin1 mRNA levels are decreased 0.83-fold (p < 0.05) and the total protein abundance is lowered 77% (p < 0.05) in myotubes over-expressing HERG relative to controls. In conclusion, the data show that ERG1A overexpression modulates [Ca²⁺]i in skeletal muscle cells by lowering the abundance of the calcium buffering/binding protein calsequestrin1 which interacts with RyR1 and SOCE pathways. Indeed, we report that overexpression of HERG in myotubes increases [Ca²⁺]_i by modulation of RyR1 as well as ECCE and SOCE activities. It is likely that HERG enhancement of RyR1 activity, through decreased Casq1 abundance, is increasing [Ca²⁺]i. This study provides a potential mechanism to explain how upregulation of ERG1A contributes to increased [Ca²⁺]i and, thus, atrophy in skeletal muscle.

Medium-sized scientific conferences held in hotels large enough to accommodate all participants increase opportunities for constructive discussion during breaks, and for evenings that bring together young and senior experts of basic sciences and clinical specialties. Time for group discussions offer opportunities for new collaborations and for jobs for young researchers. Since 1991 the Padova Muscle Days have offered collaborative opportunities that have matured into innovative multidisciplinary results to the point that it came naturally for us to underline it with a neologism now included in the title of the 2025 event: "Mobility Medicine". It is a discipline which developed naturally when we brought together fragmented areas of knowledge into one meeting. The Padua Days on Muscle and Mobility Medicine 2025 (2025Pdm3) will be hosted at the Hotel Petrarca, Euganean Thermae (Padua, Italy) from 25 to 29 March 2025. The list of unique sessions within the included program and the following Collection of Abstracts testify that it is possible to organize valid countermeasures to the inevitable tendencies towards hyper-specialization that the explosive increase in scientific progress brings. The European Journal of Translational Myology and Mobility Medicine (Ejtm3) will accept typescripts on results presented at the 2025Pdm3. Furthermore, an additional option for publication of full original Articles or Reviews is the Special "New Trends in Musculoskeletal Imaging" of the MDPI Journal Diagnostics, because diagnosis is essential to manage and follow-up neuro- metabolic- muscular- disorder and the decay of performances in aging. We hope that many will share our dreams and we make them come true at the 2025 Pdm3 Conference.

We invariably hear that Artificial Intelligence (AI), a rapidly evolving technology, does not just creatively assemble known knowledge. We are told that AI learns, processes and creates, starting from fixed points to arrive at innovative solutions. In the case of scientific work, AI can generate data without ever having entered a laboratory, (i.e., blatantly plagiarizing the existing literature, a despicable old trick). How does an editor of a scientific journal recognize when she or he is faced with something like this? The solution is for editors and referees to rigorously evaluate the track records of submitting authors and are doing. For example, false color evaluations of 2D and 3D CT and MRI images have been used to validate functional electrical stimulation for degenerated denervated muscle and a home Full-Body In-Bed Gym program. These have been recently published in Ejtm and other journals. The editors and referees of Ejtm can exclude the possibility that the images were invented by ChatGPT. Why? Because they know the researchers: Marco Quadrelli, Aldo Morra, Daniele Coraci, Paolo Gargiulo and their collaborators as well! Artificial intelligence is not banned by the EJTM, but when submitting their manuscripts to previous and to a new Thematic Section dedicated to AI in Translational Mobility Medicine authors must openly declare whether they have used artificial intelligence, of what type and for what purposes. This will not avoid risks of plagiarism or worse, but it will better establish possible liabilities.

Background and Clinical Significance: Sarcopenia, characterized by muscle loss and fat infiltration, poses a significant health burden for aging populations. Quantitative Color 2D and 3D radiodensitometry provides a powerful tool to monitor muscle quality and quantity through CT imaging. This study assessed the impact of a ten-year-long home-bed gym exercise intervention on muscle quality in an elderly subject using CT-derived radiodensitometric analysis. The study involved two comparative analyses: Study A, which compared knee-to-ankle CT scans of the subject between 2013 and 2023; and Study B, which compared the subject’s 2023 thigh CT scan with a cohort of 2500 elderly Icelandic individuals from the AGES-Reykjavik study. Case Presentation: A 70-year-old male began a home-based Full-Body In-Bed Gym exercise program in 2013. Quantitative muscle volume and radiodensity measurements were performed using CT at baseline and after ten years. Results: Study A shows significant improvements in muscle volume observed in the knee-to-ankle region, while a slower decline in radiodensity was noted, indicating substantial preservation of muscle quality despite the expected decay of ten-year aging. For instance, muscle volume increased by 15% in the left Soleus muscle and by 6% in the right Soleus muscle, while the average radiodensity decreased by 12–17 HU. The subject’s thigh muscle quality at 80-years-old is above the AGES-Reykjavik’s cohort average, with reduced fat infiltration. Conclusions: Long-term home Full-Body In-Bed Gym, a low-impact exercise, can mitigate aging sarcopenia, as evidenced by improved tissue radiodensity and muscle mass substantial preservation. This suggests potential applications in personalized healthcare strategies to enhance muscle preservation among aging populations.

Mega scientific conferences increasingly suffer from the need for short and poster presentations without discussion. An alternative is to organize workshops in hotels large enough to accommodate all participants. This significantly increases the opportunities for constructive discussion during breakfasts, lunches, dinners and long evenings that can bring together experts of scientific and clinical sub-specialties and young fellows. Time for groups' discussions and new collaborations are increased so as the job opportunities for the young researchers. The Padova Muscle Days have offered in the previous thirty-five years these opportunities, which have matured into innovative and multidisciplinary results to the point that it came naturally to underline it with a neologism now included in the title of the 2025 event: “Mobility Medicine”, a discipline not yet officially recognised, that makes explicit the call for rejoining knowledges dispersed in sub-specialisations. The included program of the Padua Days on Muscle and Mobility Medicine 2025 (2025Pdm3) will be hosted at the Hotel Petrarca in Euganean Thermae (Padua, Italy) from 25 to 29 March 2025. It further testifies by listing unique Sessions that it is possible to organize valid countermeasures to the inevitable tendencies towards hyperspecialization that the explosive increase in scientific progress brings with it. Furthermore, the European Journal of Translational Myology and Mobility Medicine (Ejtm3) will accept typescripts on results presented at the 2025Pdm3, together with the Special Section: New Trends in Musculoskeletal Imaging of the MDPI (Basel) Journal Diagnostics, because diagnosis is essential to prevent, manage and follow-up not only neuro-metabolic-muscular disorders, but the unavoidable physiologicical decay of performances in early and late aging. Hoping many others share our dreams, we look forward to meeting you at 2025Pdm3 conference.

Because of the decreasing supply of new antibiotics, recent outbreaks of infectious diseases, and the emergence of antibiotic-resistant microorganisms, it is imperative to develop new effective strategies for deactivating a broad spectrum of microorganisms and viruses. We have implemented electrically polarized nanoscale metallic (ENM) coatings that deactivate a wide range of microorganisms including Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria with greater than 6-log reduction in less than 10 minutes of treatment. The electrically polarized devices were also effective in deactivating lentivirus and Candida albicans . The key to the high deactivation effectiveness of ENM devices is electrochemical production of micromolar cuprous ions, which mediated reduction of oxygen to hydrogen peroxide. Formation of highly damaging species, hydroxyl radicals and hypochlorous acid, from hydrogen peroxide contributed to antimicrobial properties of the ENM devices. The electric polarization of nanoscale coatings represents an unconventional tool for deactivating a broad spectrum of microorganisms through in situ production of reactive oxygenated and chlorinated species.

Due to dwindling supply of new antibiotics, recent outbreaks of infectious diseases, and the emergence of antibiotic-resistant microorganisms, it is imperative to develop new effective strategies for deactivating a broad-spectrum of microorganisms and viruses. We have implemented electrically polarized nanoscale metallic coatings (ENM) that deactivate a wide range of microorganisms including Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria with greater than six-log reduction, in less than ten minutes of treatment. The electrically-polarized devices were also effective in deactivating lentivirus and C. albicans. The key to high deactivation effectiveness of ENM devices is electrochemical production of micromolar cuprous ions, which mediated reduction of oxygen to hydrogen peroxide. Formation of highly damaging species, hydroxyl radicals and hypochlorous acid, from hydrogen peroxide contributed to antimicrobial properties of the ENM devices. The electric polarization of nanoscale coatings represents an unconventional tool for deactivating a broad-spectrum of microorganisms through in-situ production of reactive oxygenated and chlorinated species.

At the end of the 2023 Padua Days of Muscle and Mobility Medicine the next year's meeting was scheduled from 27 February to 2 March 2024 (2024Pdm3). During the summer and autumn the program was confirmed with Scientific Sessions that will take place over five days, starting in the afternoon of February 27, 2024 at the Conference Room of the Hotel Petrarca, Thermae of Euganean Hills (Padua), Italy. As usual, the next day will be spent in Padua, in this occasion at the San Luca Hall of the Santa Giustina monastery in Prato della Valle, Padua, Italy. Collected during Autumn 2023, many more titles and abstracts than expected were submitted, forcing the organization of parallel sessions both on March 1 and March 2 2024 confirming attractiveness of the 2024 Pdm3. The five days will include oral presentations of scientists and clinicians from Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Romania, Russia, Slovenia, Switzerland, UK and USA. Together with the preliminary Program at December 1, 2023, the early submitted Abstracts is e-published in this Issue 33 (4) 2023 of the European Journal of Translational Myology (EJTM). You are invited to join, submitting your Last Minute Abstracts to ugo.carraro@unipd.it by February 1, 2024. Furthermore, with the more generous deadline of May 20, 2024, submit please “Communications” to the European Journal of Translational Myology (Clarivate’s ESCI Impact factor 2.2; SCOPUS Cite Score: 3.2). See you soon at the Hotel Petrarca in Montegrotto Terme, Padua, on February 27, 2024, but the complete program can be followed from home via zoom connection.

Methamphetamine (MA) abuse is related to risks to the cardiovascular system. The present study aimed to compare the effects of moderate-intensity aerobic training (MIAT) and vitamin E (Vit.E) supplementation on markers of cardiac apoptosis following MA exposure. Fifty-four rats were randomly divided into six groups. CON group did not receive MA, while the others received MA alone or in combination with MIAT, Vit. E, MIAT+Vit E, or paraffin (PAR). These groups received MA incrementally for 23 consecutive days. Vit.E and MIAT+Vit.E groups received vitamin E three times a week for six weeks. MIAT and MIAT+Vit.E groups exercised for 25–40 min. Immunohistochemical and gene expression analyses were performed on the heart tissues. Bax and TGF-β expression was significantly higher, while Bcl-2 and VEGF expression was significantly lower in the MA and PAR groups than in the other groups (p < 0.05). Bcl-2 and VEGF expression was higher, and Bax and TGF-β expression was significantly lower in the MIAT and MIAT+Vit.E groups than in the other groups (p < 0.05). In Vit.E treated groups, Bax and TGF-β expression were lower, and VEGF was higher than that in the MA and PAR groups, but higher than those in the CON, MIAT and MIAT+Vit.E groups. MA increased the expression of Bax and TGF-β, and decreased the expression of Bcl-2 and VEGF, suggesting increased cardiac apoptosis. In contrast, MIAT and Vit.E decreased the expression of Bax and TGF-β, suggesting a reduction in cardiac apoptosis induced by MA.