Search results for " Biochimica"
showing 10 items of 642 documents
Indicaxanthin from Opuntia ficus-indica Crosses the Blood–Brain Barrier and Modulates Neuronal Bioelectric Activity in Rat Hippocampus at Dietary-Con…
2015
Indicaxanthin is a bioactive and bioavailable betalain pigment from the Opuntia ficus-indica fruits. In this in vivo study, kinetic measurements showed that indicaxanthin is revealed in the rat brain within 1 h from oral administration of 2 μmol/ kg, an amount compatible with a dietary consumption of cactus pear fruits in humans. A peak (20 ± 2.4 ng of indicaxanthin per whole brain) was measured after 2.5 h; thereafter the molecule disappeared with first order kinetics within 4 h. The potential of indicaxanthin to affect neural activities was in vivo investigated by a microiontophoretic approach. Indicaxanthin, administered in a range between 0.085 ng and 0.34 ng per neuron, dose-dependentl…
Nucleoside phosphotransferase in animal tissues. Tissue distribution and kinetic properties
1985
Amphibian, avian and mammal tissues contain a nucleoside phosphotransferase clearly different from those previously described in vegetables and bacteria. Whatever the animal source, the enzyme showed many similar characteristics as far as substrate specificity, dependence upon Mg2+, instability at 37 degrees C, and the protecting effect of nucleotides were concerned. Moreover, when submitted to gel filtration, the enzyme behaved in all cases as a dissociable high molecular weight protein, whose degree of association was controlled by nucleotides. In amphibian and avian tissues multiple forms of the enzyme seem to be present which differ for the substrate concentration at half-maximal veloci…
Fetuin-A serum levels are not correlated to kidney function in long-lived subjects
2012
Objectives: Serum Fetuin A has been identified as an inhibitor of ectopic calcification. It is reduced in subjects with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and it has been proposed as a potential link between CKD and the higher prevalence of arterial calcification observed in these patients. During ageing both the stiffening of arterial wall due to calcification and a decline in kidney function are frequent. The aim of the study is to investigate if Fetuin A serum levels are associated with ageing and with AHSG T256S polymorphism. Moreover, we aim at investigate whether serum Fetuin A is correlated to kidney function in this setting of senescence. Design and Methods: 256 health long-lived subjects…
Food quality and nutraceutical value of nine cultivars of mango (Mangifera indica L.) fruits grown in Mediterranean subtropical environment
2019
Mango (Mangifera indica L.) quality is strongly influenced by genotype but individuating the most appropriate harvesting time is essential to obtain high quality fruits. In this trial we studied the influences of the ripening stage at harvest (mature-ripe or green-ripe) on quality of ready to eat mango fruits from nine cultivars (Carrie, Keitt, Glenn, Manzanillo, Maya, Rosa, Osteen, Tommy Atkins and Kensington Pride) grown in the Mediterranean subtropical climate through physicochemical, nutraceutical, and sensory analysis. Our results show a large variability among the different observed genotypes and in dependence of the ripening stage at harvest. With the exception of Rosa, mature-ripe f…
Longitudinal analysis of anti-SARS-CoV-2 S-RBD IgG antibodies before and after the third dose of the BNT162b2 vaccine.
2022
AbstractImmunosurveillance by evaluating anti-spike protein receptor-binding domain (S-RBD) antibodies represents a useful tool to estimate the long immunity against Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome CoronaVirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. The aim of this study was to evaluate the kinetics of antibody response in vaccine recipients. We measured anti-S-RBD IgG levels by indirect chemiluminescence immunoassay on Maglumi 800 (SNIBE, California) in 1013 healthy individuals naïve to SARS-CoV2 infection after two and three COVID-19 vaccine doses. We found that anti-S-RBD IgG levels are higher in females than males. Antibody levels gradually decrease to a steady state after four months since the pea…
Alzheimer's disease: amino acid levels and brain metabolic status.
2013
Abstract To study brain free amino acids and their relation with dementia we measured, by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), the concentration of eight free amino acids, amines and related compounds. We used temporal cortex (TC) samples obtained from 13 Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients and an equal number of agematched controls (AC). The patterns of free amino acids, amines and related compounds showed significant quantitative changes in AD conditions with respect to healthy ones. In Alzheimer patients, lower levels of GABA were found in the TC (-57 %). Amino acids glutamate (Glu), and aspartate (Asp) concentrations, also appeared significantly reduced in the TC of AD patients …
Fetuin-A is Associated to Serum Calcium and AHSG T256S Genotype but Not to Coronary Artery Calcification
2015
Vascular calcification has been recently associated to an increased cardiovascular risk and mortality. In few studies, Fetuin-A showed an association to coronary artery calcification (CAC), although the physiopathological mechanism underlying this association has not been fully established yet. Seventy-four patients with one or more cardiovascular risk factor and asymptomatic for coronary vasculopathy were included in the study. CAC was evaluated by Agatston score. Serum Fetuin-A levels were determined by ELISA. Molecular analysis of AHSG T256S gene variant (rs4918) was performed by PCR-RFLP. Serum Fetuin-A was correlated to serum calcium (r = 0,321; P = 0,018), but not to serum phosphorous…
Inhibitory effects of indicaxanthin on mouse ileal contractility: analysis of the mechanism of action.
2011
Recently, we have showed that indicaxanthin, the yellow betalain pigment abundant in the fruit of Opuntia ficus indica, has remarkable spasmolytic effects on the intestinal contractility in vitro. Thus, the purpose of the present study was to investigate the mechanism of action underlying the observed response. We used organ bath technique to record the mechanical activity of the mouse ileum longitudinal muscle and ELISA to measure the levels of cAMP. Indicaxanthin induced inhibitory effects on spontaneous mechanical activity, which were unaffected by indomethacin, a non-selective inhibitor of cycloxygenase; 1H-[1,2,4]oxadiazolo[4,3-a]quinoxalin-1-one, a selective inhibitor of nitric oxide-…
Blood levels of homocysteine, cysteine, glutathione, folic acid, and vitamin B12 in the acute phase of atherothrombotic stroke.
2009
Blood levels of total homocysteine (tHcy), cysteine (Cys), total and reduced glutathione (tGSH and rGSH), folic acid (FA), and vitamin B(12) (B(12) change during ischemic stroke as accompaniment of the tissue damage. The relationship between these changes remains scantly investigated. We evaluated the variation of these molecules in the 48 h after acute large artery atherothrombotic stroke (LAAS) and searched for the presence of matched variation of them. The study involved 50 subjects affected by acute LAAS and 49 healthy controls. Plasma levels of tHcy and Cys were significantly higher and serum levels of FA and B(12) and plasma levels of rGSH were significantly lower in the patients than…
Identification of calcium sensing receptor (CaSR) mRNA-expressing cells in normal and injured rat brain
2009
Calcium sensing receptor (CaSR), isolated for the first time from bovine and human parathyroid, is a G-protein-coupled receptors that has been involved in diverse physiological functions. At present a complete in vivo work on the identification of CaSR mRNA-expressing cells in the adult brain lacks and this investigation was undertaken in order to acquire more information on cell type expressing CaSR mRNA in the rat brain and to analyse for the first time its expression in different experimental models of brain injury. The expression of CaSR mRNAs was found mainly in scattered cells throughout almost all the brain regions. A double labeling analysis showed a colocalization of CaSR mRNA expr…