Redescription of the type specimens of Althepus pictus Thorell, 1898 (Araneae, Psilodercidae) from Myanmar.

Althepus pictus Thorell, 1898 is the type species of the genus Althepus Thorell, 1898 from the family Psilodercidae Machado, 1951. This genus includes 60 species from Southeast Asia (WSC 2020). A. pictus was described on the basis of one male and one female from Carin Chebà mountains, elevation 600‒800 m, Kayin Province, Myanmar. Another female specimen lacking several legs was found in Farm Caves in Mawlamyine, Mon State, Myanmar. The original description was in Latin and without any figures. Fage (1912) redescribed it based on the same male and female type specimens from Carin Chebà, but without mentioning the female from Farm Caves. Fage (1912) provided measurements, but the figures of the male right palp are imprecise. The species is redescribed here based on the original male and female type specimens deposited in Museo Civico di Storia Naturale 'Giacomo Doria' (MSNG) in Italy. The male and female type specimens are the only known material of A. pictus. No information is available on the female specimen from Farm Caves, which maybe have been lost. No fresh material of this species has been collected in region during five subsequent expeditions to Myanmar tours organized by the Southeast Asia Biodiversity Research Institute in the years 2016-2020.

Notes on four pholcid spiders (Araneae: Pholcidae) described by T. Thorell from Southeast Asia.

The Southeast Asian pholcids Belisana tauricornis Thorell, 1898, Pholcus gracillimus Thorell, 1890, P. quinquenotatus Thorell, 1878 and Spermophora thorelli Roewer, 1942 are redescribed on the basis of the type material.

Insights into the molecular function of the inactivating mutations of B-Raf involving the DFG motif.

BRAF gene mutations have been associated with human cancers. Among the naturally occurring mutations, two that involve amino acids of the conserved DFG motif in the activation loop (D594V and G596R), appear to be inactivating. Aim of this study was to analyze the molecular mechanisms involved in the loss of function of B-Raf inactivating mutation G596R. Furthermore, the ability of the B-Raf DFG motif mutants to generate heterodimers with C-Raf and the possible functional consequences of the B-Raf/C-Raf heterodimer formation was examined. Wet molecular experiments in HEK293T cells demonstrate that B-Raf(G596R) is a kinase-impaired mutant. Molecular dynamics simulations show that the loss of function of B-Raf(G596R) depends on a restraining effect of Arg596 on the catalytic residue Asp594, which results in the loss of the appropriate spatial localization and/or conformation of the latter necessary for anchoring ATP to the enzyme. Exploration of B-Raf/C-Raf heterodimer formation indicates the occurrence of functioning heterodimers in the case of all the DFG B-Raf mutants, independently from the expected differences in spatial conformation of the activation loop, although the transforming activity of the mutants appear negligible. In conclusion, this study delivers novel information on the functional properties of the B-Raf DFG motif inactivating mutants and on the mechanisms driving B-Raf/C-Raf heterodimerization and consequent C-Raf transactivation.

[Molecular medicine in thyroid surgery]. / Medicina molecolare in chirurgia della tiroide.

Cancer originates from a single cell which, through the acquisition of mutations in genes for key growth and survival factors, undergoes clonal expansion. Study of the genome allowed the detection of genes whose mutation is involved in tumour formation. In detail, in most thyroid neoplasms we are now able to identify the genes which cause cancer initiation. Moreover, correlations between mutations and clinico-pathological features of the tumours have been revealed. Thus, the genetic study of tumours is not anymore only a scientific curiosity, but a useful tool for the formulation of the more efficacious therapeutic and follow-up strategies. In this review we will summarize the more recent molecular medicine acquisitions in the thyroid cancer field and will describe their present and eventually future impact on the activity of the endocrine surgeon.