DEMONSTRATE

Researchers from DEMONSTRATE team published a new paper “The role of miRNA in colorectal cancer diagnosis: A pilot study” by M. Zdralevic et al. in Oncology Letters. The paper is available at the following link.

ABSTRACT – Despite recent advances in diagnosis and treatment, colorectal cancer (CRC) remains the third most common cancer worldwide, and has both a poor prognosis and a high recurrence rate, thus indicating the need for new, sensitive and specific biomarkers. MicroRNAs (miRNAs/miRs) are important regulators of gene expression, which are involved in numerous biological processes implicated in tumorigenesis. The objective of the present study was to investigate the expression of miRNAs in plasma and tissue samples from patients with CRC, and to examine their potential as CRC biomarkers. Using reverse transcription‑quantitative PCR, it was revealed that miR‑29a, miR‑101, miR‑125b, miR‑146a and miR‑155 were dysregulated in the formalin‑fixed paraffin‑embedded tissues of patients with CRC, compared with the surrounding healthy tissue, and these miRNAs were associated with several pathological features of the tumor. Bioinformatics analysis of overlapping target genes identified AGE‑RAGE signaling as a putative joint regulatory pathway. miR‑146a was also upregulated in the plasma of patients with CRC, compared with the healthy control group, and had a fair discriminatory power (area under the curve, 0.7006), with 66.7% sensitivity and 77.8% specificity. To the best of our knowledge, this distinct five‑miRNA deregulation pattern in tumor tissue, and upregulation of plasma miR‑146a, were shown for the first time in patients with CRC; however, studies on larger patient cohorts are warranted to confirm their potential to be used as CRC diagnostic biomarkers.

Dr. Isidora Rovčanin Dragović presented the most recent results of the DEMONSTRATE study at the The 17th World Congress on Controversies in Neurology (CONy) that was held in Dubrovnik, Croatia from March 23rd to 25th 2023.

Click for the link to the poster at the conference web-site here.

Dr. Natasa Popovic participated at the 3 rd Regional Congress of Physiological Societies and the 5 th Congress of Croatian Physiological Society that was held in Plitvice, Croatia, from 22^nd to 24^th of September 2022.

She presented the poster titled “Retinal Microvascular Complexity reflects Accelerated Aging Associated with Severe Chronic Diseases Including Alzheimer‘s Dementia“.

A research paper titled “Inflammation-Related microRNAs-146a and -155 Are Upregulated in Mild Cognitive Impairment Subjects Among Older Age Population in Montenegro” authored by I. Rovčanin Dragović, N. Popovic, M Ždralević, Lj. Radulović, T. Vuković, F. Marzano, A. Tullo, and M. Radunović was published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. The paper represents one of the major achievements of the DEMONSTRATE project, and it is an integral part of doctoral thesis of Dr. Isidora Rovčanin Dragović. The paper can be accessed at the following link.

Dr. Maša Ždralević participated at the EMBO Workshop „Cancer cell signalling: Linking molecular knowledge to cancer therapy” in Cavtat, Croatia,that was held from 16^th to 20^th of September 2022.

She presented the poster titled “miRNAs in colorectal carcinoma – clinicopathological relevance“. The poster was well received with many positive comments from the audience.

The interview with Dr. Isidora Rovčanin Dragović featured on the web page Portalanalitika. She discussed the results of the recently completed project DEMONSTRATE and the recognition she received for the abstract: “Cognitive Impairment without subjective Cognitive Decline/ Clinical, Molecular and Ethical aspects.”

The interview with Dr. Isidora Rovčanin Dragović was featured in the local newspaper “Pobjeda”. She discussed the results of the recently completed project DEMONSTRATE and the recognition she received for the abstract: “Cognitive Impairment without subjective Cognitive Decline/ Clinical, Molecular and Ethical aspects.”

Dr. Isidora Rovčanin Dragović was a guest on the TV program “Weekend at the City TV“ to talk about the results of the recently completed project DEMONSTRATE and the recognition she received for the abstract: “Cognitive Impairment without subjective Cognitive Decline/ Clinical, Molecular and Ethical aspects.”

The recognition Dr. Isidora Rovčanin Dragović received recently for the abstract: “Cognitive Impairment without subjective Cognitive Decline/ Clinical, Molecular and Ethical aspects” was announced at the web-page of the University of Montenegro.