Search results for " Biochimica"

Effect of Exercise on Fatty Acid Metabolism and Adipokine Secretion in Adipose Tissue

2019

Increased physical activity is an optimal way to maintain a good health. During exercise, triacylglycerols, an energy reservoir in adipose tissue, are hydrolyzed to free fatty acids (FAs) which are then released to the circulation, providing a fuel for working muscles. Thus, regular physical activity leads to a reduction of adipose tissue mass and improves metabolism. However, the reduction of lipid reservoir is also associated with many other interesting changes in adipose tissue FA metabolism. For example, a prolonged exercise contributes to a decrease in lipoprotein lipase activity and resultant reduction of FA uptake. This results in the improvement of mitochondrial function and upregul…

Methylation decrease of BECN1 gene induced by phytochemical Indicaxantin in Caco2 cells: an epigenetic hypothesis of autophagy

2014

Autophagy is a highly conserved catabolic process that degrades and recycles intracellular components through the lysosomes [1]. The role of this process in tumorigenesis and tumor progression is controversial: in the early stages, it can block tumor growth and conversely it can promote its progression in the later stages [2]. The tumor suppressor BECN1 gene, encodes the protein Beclin 1, a marker of autophagy down-regulated in several types of cancer, such as colorectal cancer [3]. There are a lot of both genetic and environmental risk factors for colorectal cancer, including diet: for this reason, in accordance with epidemiological studies, consumption of foods rich in phytochemicals is w…

Antiproliferative and pro-apoptotic effects of the phytochemical Indicaxanthin on human intestinal (Caco-2) and hepatic (Ha 22T) cancer cell lines

2012

In the present study antiproliferative effects of Indicaxanthin (Ind), a highly bioavailable pigment from the fruits of Opuntia ficus-indica (1), were investigated on a number of human cancer cell lines including hepatocarcinoma cells (HepG2, Ha22T, HUH 7), breast cancer cells (MCF7), cervix epithelial carcinoma (HeLa), and colorectal carcinoma cells (Caco-2). Cytotoxicity of Ind, in a concentration range between 25 to 100 M, was evaluated by Trypan blue exclusion method and MTT assay. Ind caused a clear dose- and time-dependent decrease in the proliferation of Caco-2 and Ha 22T cells with an IC(50) of about 50 M, with minor effect on the other cell lines. Flow cytometric analysis after A…

IL-1β maintains the DNA hypermethylation of anti-inflammatory IL-10 gene in a human intestinal epithelial cell line

2014

Intestinal inflammation is a natural process crucial to maintain gut integrity, but its deregulation is involved in the pathogenesis of severe intestinal disorders[1]. Intestinal epithelial cells play a crucial role in the inflammatory response, modulating the immune cell exposure to antigens and by their ability to secrete many inflammatory mediators. IL-1β represents a pivotal player: secreted by infiltrated leucocytes, it induces the expression of several pro-inflammatory genes. Also the anti-inflammatory IL-10, whose function is to terminate the inflammatory process, modulates the intestinal physiology[2]. Recent clinical reports showed that patients with ulcerative colitis in remission…

Melatonin Inhibits Inflammatory Response of Intestinal Epithelial Cells

2017

Melatonin, oral-used in sleep disorders treatment, is the main secretory product of the pineal gland and in gastrointestinal tract (GIT) in which it has a local physiological poorly characterized role. Intraperitoneally-administered high dose has anti-inflammatory effects in experimental model of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases but the mechanisms is unclarified. Literature data show that melatonin inhibits the activation of neutrophils and monocytes and it is therefore conceivable that it has also inhibitory effect on mucosal inflammatory cell activation. The aim of this study was to evaluate in an in vitro model of inflamed intestinal epithelium the potential protective effects of melatonin. D…

Two immortalized rat astrocyte cell lines as in vitro model for specific cell proliferation studies: cytogenetic and epigenomic characterization and …

2018

Here we report differences between: 1) a heterogeneous population of primary rat brain astrocytes (Primary), in culture since several years ago, and 2) a cloned cell line (Clone), obtained from the Primary cells. Both populations maintain astrocyte morphology but, according to cytogenetic and epigenomic characterization, differ for the chromosomal asset from rat normal cells (42 chromosomes): Primary cells show mostly a bimodal karyotype with 41 or 43 chromosomes, and Clone has a unique-modal karyotype of 43 chromosomes. Interestingly, we also found that both cell lines show genome-wide DNA hypomethylation, with Clone showing even more pronounced demethylation respect to Primary cells. Thes…

Ruolo del rimodellatore della cromatina ATP-dipendente ISWI nel controllo del ciclo cellulare e del differenziamento.

2008

Effect of inorganic arsenic on rat cortical astrocytes in culture

2009

Although inorganic arsenic is a well known poisonous metalloid, the cellular and molecular mechanisms of its action remain elusive. The present study was aimed at analyzing the effects of NaAsO2 on primary cultures of rat astrocytes by determining DNA damage by comet assay, and by evaluating possible changes of the concentration of some conserved heat shock proteins. Cells treated with inorganic arsenic underwent induction of Hsp70, demonstrating a state of stress. Moreover, although micromolar NaAsO2 treatments (60 μM) only reduced cell viability to 60% respect to untreated cells, high DNA damage was already observed after 24h treatment with 10 μM arsenite. Since arsenic is known to be not…

CHARACTERIZATION OF TRANSFORMED CELL LINES OBTAINED FROM PRIMARY RAT CORTICAL ASTROCYTES

2021

Brain cancers are complex and heterogeneous; most of them derive from glial cells[1], and are called gliomas, further subdivided into astrocytomas, oligodendrogliomas, ependymomas and glioastrocytomas[2]. The malignant cells undergo modifications of their metabolism and behaviour, and acquire the ability to migrate along the blood vessels in small groups (model of the guerrilla war)[3], thus invading the surrounding brain parenchyma. Most important, they have the capacity to affect the surrounding microenvironment, by altering both the extracellular matrix and the properties of the normal cells present in the brain, including glial-, endothelial-, and immune-cells, further promoting cancer …

An In Vitro Model of Glioma Development

2023

Gliomas are the prevalent forms of brain cancer and derive from glial cells. Among them, astrocytomas are the most frequent. Astrocytes are fundamental for most brain functions, as they contribute to neuronal metabolism and neurotransmission. When they acquire cancer properties, their functions are altered, and, in addition, they start invading the brain parenchyma. Thus, a better knowledge of transformed astrocyte molecular properties is essential. With this aim, we previously developed rat astrocyte clones with increasing cancer properties. In this study, we used proteomic analysis to compare the most transformed clone (A-FC6) with normal primary astrocytes. We found that 154 proteins are…