Search results for "Polymerase"
showing 10 items of 2127 documents
Evidence of oxidative stress in very long chain fatty acid--treated oligodendrocytes and potentialization of ROS production using RNA interference-di…
2011
X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (X-ALD) and pseudo neonatal adrenoleukodystrophy (P-NALD) are neurodegenerative demyelinating diseases resulting from the functional loss of the peroxisomal ATP-binding cassette transporter D (ABCD1) and from single peroxisomal enzyme deficiency (Acyl-CoA oxidase1: ACOX1), respectively. As these proteins are involved in the catabolism of very long chain fatty acids (VLCFA: C24:0, C26:0), X-ALD and P-NALD patients are characterized by the accumulation of VLCFA in plasma and tissues. Since peroxisomes are involved in the metabolism of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nitrogen species (RNS), we examined the impact of VLCFA on the oxidative status of 158N murine o…
DNA-based applications in molecular electronics
2011
This thesis is mainly focused on DNA molecules and especially on self-assembled DNA constructs and their potential applications in nanotechnology and molecular electronics. In the field of molecular electronics the conductivity of DNA is a crucial - yet open - question, and it is of great concern, since DNA is a very promising molecule in a context of bottom-up based nanodevices due to its superior selfassembly characteristics. A key tool in all the experiments presented in this thesis is a dielectrophoretic trapping technique, which was exploited in spatial manipulation of individualDNA molecules, DNA constructs and also semiconducting quantum dots. In the case of DNA, the technique provid…
Leishmania tarentolae and Leishmania infantum in humans, dogs and cats in the Pelagie archipelago, southern Italy.
2021
Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) caused by Leishmania infantum is endemic in the Mediterranean basin with most of the infected human patients remaining asymptomatic. Recently, the saurian-associated Leishmania tarentolae was detected in human blood donors and in sheltered dogs. The circulation of L. infantum and L. tarentolae was investigated in humans, dogs and cats living in the Pelagie islands (Sicily, Italy) by multiple serological and molecular testing. Human serum samples (n = 346) were tested to assess the exposure to L. infantum by immunofluorescence antibody test (IFAT), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and Western blot (WB) and to L. tarentolae by IFAT. Meanwhile, sera from do…
Investigation and control of a Norovirus outbreak of probable waterborne transmission through a municipal groundwater system
2014
During March 2011 an outbreak of gastroenteritis occurred in Santo Stefano di Quisquina, Agrigento, Sicily, Italy. Within two weeks 156 cases were identified among the 4,965 people living in the municipality. An epidemiological investigation was conducted to characterize the outbreak and target the control measures. A case was defined as a person developing diarrhea or vomiting during February 27–March 13, 2011. Stool specimens were collected from 12 cases. Norovirus (NoV) genotype GII.4 variant New Orleans 2009 was identified in stool samples from 11 of 12 cases tested (91.7%). Epidemiological investigations suggested a possible association with municipal drinking water consumption. Water …
Parsimonious scenario for the emergence of viroid-like repliconsde novo
2019
AbstractViroids are small, non-coding, circular RNA molecules that infect plants. Different hypotheses for their evolutionary origin have been put forward, such as an early emergence in a precellular RNA World or severalde novoindependent evolutionary origins in plants. Here we discuss the plausibility ofde novoemergence of viroid-like replicons by giving theoretical support to the likelihood of different steps along a parsimonious evolutionary pathway. While Avsunviroidae-like structures are relatively easy to obtain through evolution of a population of random RNA sequences of fixed length, rod-like structures typical of Pospiviroidae are difficult to fix. Using different quantitative appr…
SAT0390 Microrna Expression Profile in Fibromyalgia Patients: A Pilot Matched Case Control Study
2013
Background Fibromyalgia (FM) is a clinical syndrome characterized by musculoskeletal pain and tenderness. Diagnosis is mainly based on exclusion of other resembling diseases since validated biological tests are still lacking. Identification of disease-related markers will enable clinicians to effectively diagnose FM, follow the progress of the disease, monitor the effects of therapeutic approaches and probably develop preventive programs. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are pieces of 18-25 nucleotides capable of regulating gene expression. Changes in their expression levels have been linked to environmental responses as well as to pathological processes. Their recent association to some other chronic di…
Possible Editing of Alu Transcripts in Blood Cells of Sporadic Creutzfeldt–Jakob Disease (sCJD)
2011
Editing of RNA molecules gained major interest when coding mRNA was analyzed. A small, noncoding, Alu DNA element transcript that may act as regulatory RNA in cells was examined in this study. Alu DNA element transcription was determined in buffy coat from healthy humans and human sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD) cases. In addition, non-sCJD controls, mostly dementia cases and Alzheimer's disease (AD) cases, were included. The Alu cDNA sequences were aligned to genomic Alu DNA elements by database search. A comparison of best aligned Alu DNA sequences with our RNA/cDNA clones revealed editing by deamination by ADAR (adenosine deaminase acting on RNA) and APOBEC (apolipoprotein B ed…
Effects of anti-miR-182 on TSP-1 expression in human colon cancer cells: there is a sense in antisense?
2013
Abstract: Objective: miRNAs are attractive molecules for cancer treatment, including colon rectal cancer (CRC). We investigate on the molecular mechanism by which miR-182 could regulate thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1) expression, a protein down-regulated in CRC and inversely correlated with tumor vascularity and metastasis. Background: MicroRNAs are small non-coding RNAs that regulate the expression of different genes, involved in cancer progression, angiogenesis and metastasis. miR-182, over-expressed in colorectal cancer (CRC), has like predictive target thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1), a protein inversely correlated with tumor vascularity and metastasis that results downregulated in different types of…
Extensive nuclear gyration and pervasive non-genic transcription during primordial germ cell development in zebrafish.
2020
ABSTRACT Primordial germ cells (PGCs) are the precursors of germ cells, which migrate to the genital ridge during early development. Relatively little is known about PGCs after their migration. We studied this post-migratory stage using microscopy and sequencing techniques, and found that many PGC-specific genes, including genes known to induce PGC fate in the mouse, are only activated several days after migration. At this same time point, PGC nuclei become extremely gyrated, displaying general broad opening of chromatin and high levels of intergenic transcription. This is accompanied by changes in nuage morphology, expression of large loci (PGC-expressed non-coding RNA loci, PERLs) that ar…
Trypanosoma evansi infection in mainland Spain.
2009
An outbreak of Trypanosoma evansi infection that occurred in mainland Spain is described. The outbreak occurred on an equine and camel farm to which dromedary camels from an infected area of the Canary Islands had recently been introduced. One of these camels developed clinical signs and T. evansi was discovered in a blood smear examination. The herd was evaluated in order to determine the extent of the disease. The results showed that 76% of the camels, 35% of the donkeys and 2% of the horses were affected. The animals were isolated and treated using Cymelarsan((R)) (0.5mg/kg). After treatment, three blood analysis using parasitological methods revealed negative results. This is the first …