Search results for "GENETICA"

Pro-apoptotic activity of the phytochemical Indicaxanthin on colorectal carcinoma cells (Caco-2) and epigenetic CpG demethylation of the promoter and…

2012

Phytochemicals play prominent roles in human diet and nutrition as protective redo-active substances in prevention of several disorders and chronic diseases in humans. Today, their function as potent modulators of the mammalian epigenome-regulated gene expression is rapidly emerging. In the present study antiproliferative effects of Indicaxanthin (Ind) from the fruits of Opuntia ficus-indica (1), and potential influence on DNA methylation has been investigated on Caco-2 cells, a human cell line of colorectal carcinoma. Ind caused a clear dose- and time-dependent decrease of the cell proliferation (IC(50) 50 M) associated to apoptosis as demonstrated by phosphatidylserine externalization an…

Intergenerational Effect of Early Life Exposure to Permethrin: Changes in Global DNA Methylation and in Nurr1 Gene Expression

2015

Environmental exposure to pesticides during the early stages of development represents an important risk factor for the onset of neurodegenerative diseases in adult age. Neonatal exposure to Permethrin (PERM), a member of the family of synthetic pyrethroids, can induce a Parkinson-like disease and cause some alterations in striatum of rats, involving both genetic and epigenetic pathways. Through gene expression analysis and global DNA methylation assessment in both PERM-treated parents and their untreated offspring, we investigated on the prospective intergenerational effect of this pesticide. Thirty-three percent of progeny presents the same Nurr1 alteration as rats exposed to permethrin i…

Induction of body weight loss through RNAi-knockdown of APOBEC1 gene expression in transgenic rabbits

2014

In the search of new strategies to fight against obesity, we targeted a gene pathway involved in energy uptake. We have thus investigated the APOB mRNA editing protein (APOBEC1) gene pathway that is involved in fat absorption in the intestine. The APOB gene encodes two proteins, APOB100 and APOB48, via the editing of a single nucleotide in the APOB mRNA by the APOBEC1 enzyme. The APOB48 protein is mandatory for the synthesis of chylomicrons by intestinal cells to transport dietary lipids and cholesterol. We produced transgenic rabbits expressing permanently and ubiquitously a small hairpin RNA targeting the rabbit APOBEC1 mRNA. These rabbits exhibited a moderately but significantly reduced …

Rhynchophorus ferrugineus attack affects a group of compounds rather than rearranging Phoenix canariensis metabolic pathways.

2016

The red palm weevil (RPW; Rhynchophorus ferrugineus) is spreading worldwide and severely harming many palm species. However, most studies on RPW focused on insect biology, and little information is available about the plant response to the attack. In the present experiment, we used metabolomics to study the alteration of the leaf metabolome of Phoenix canariensis at initial (1st stage) or advanced (2nd stage) attack by RPW compared with healthy (unattacked) plants. The leaf metabolome significantly varied among treatments. At the 1st stage of attack, plants showed a reprogramming of carbohydrate and organic acid metabolism; in contrast, peptides and lipid metabolic pathways underwent more c…

Soil inoculation with symbiotic microorganisms promotes plant growth and nutrient transporter genes expression in durum wheat

2015

In a field experiment conducted in a Mediterranean area of inner Sicily, durum wheat was inoculated with plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR), with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), or with both to evaluate their effects on nutrient uptake, plant growth, and the expression of key transporter genes involved in nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) uptake. These biotic associations were studied under either low N availability (unfertilized plots) and supplying the soil with an easily mineralizable organic fertilizer. Regardless of N fertilization, at the tillering stage, inoculation with AMF alone or in combination with PGPR increased the aboveground biomass yield compared to the uninocula…

Applying an operating model for the environmental risk assessment in Italian Sites of Community Importance (SCI) of the European Commission Habitats …

2013

The fast development of agro-biotechnologies asks for a harmonized approach in risk analysis of GMO's releases, where "risk analysis" entails the assessment, management and communication of risk. Risk assessment consists in the evaluation of the likelihood that a hazard occurs, associated with the presence of the receptor(s) in the receiving environment, and the determination of their potential degree of exposure to the hazard. The whole process has to be both science based and applied case by case, and it involves a very complicated procedure that needs to be transformed in an operational and standardized tool. Beginning in 2003, an expert group on behalf of the Italian Ministry of the Env…

Chromosomal assignment of the ovine hairless (hr) gene by fluorescence in situ hybridization.

2008

Congenital hypotrichosis in mammalian species consists of partial or complete absence of a hair coat at birth. Affected individuals having a partial hair coat at birth may loose it subsequently.The aim of this paper was to physically map the ovine hr gene using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH).A preliminary study on an internet data bank (http://www.informatics.jax.org) showed that the regions of the hr gene on murine chromosome 14 and human chromosome 8 present homology with ovine chromosome 2.

Quando pensare ad una sindrome genetica in un adolescente

2008

I nomi del male e i segni dell'eredità. Pensare, nominare e curare la malattia "genetica" dai Greci a noi

2019

Il volume indaga le radici storiche delle malattie che oggi definiamo genetiche e/o ereditarie, ponendo le premesse terminologiche e scientifiche che stanno a fondamento della riflessione moderna e contemporanea sulla malattia genetica, qui animata dal filo della continuità e della pur forte discontinuità con il pensiero antico. In tal senso, si presenta una retrospettiva storico-critica che, affondando le proprie radici nell’indagine lessicografica dei termini fondanti il pensiero embriogenetico moderno, interroga la validità storica ed epistemica di alcuni concetti e parole-chiave dell’era post-genomica, tra cui quello di causalità, o il rapporto tra natura e cultura, per toccare il nucle…

Prometeo genetista. Profitti delle tecniche e metafore della scienza

2016

Il saggio di Claude Calame affronta una tematica di grande rilievo scientifico, ossia il confronto tra il valore epistemologico e sociale dell'uso delle arti tecniche nell'antica Grecia e il valore epistemologico del linguaggio della scienza moderna in particolare applicato all'ambito della genetica e delle moderne biotecnologie e scienze di laboratorio. Lo spunto del confronto è offerto dall'analisi storico-culturale e antropologica del mito di Prometeo, come è stato diversamente declinato dai vari autori dell'antichità classica, a partire da Esiodo sino a Platone, passando per l'autore del dramma "Prometeo incatenato". In una prospettiva di indagine antropopoietica, le arti tecniche perme…