Search results for "Spectroscopy"

2018

Diabetic retinopathy is a common complication of diabetes mellitus, which appears in one third of all diabetic patients and is a prominent cause of vision loss. First discovered as a microvascular disease, intensive research in the field identified inflammation and neurodegeneration to be part of diabetic retinopathy. Microglia, the resident monocytes of the retina, are activated due to a complex interplay between the different cell types of the retina and diverse pathological pathways. The trigger for developing diabetic retinopathy is diabetes-induced hyperglycemia, accompanied by leukostasis and vascular leakages. Transcriptional changes in activated microglia, mediated via the nuclear f…

2020

Wheat amylase trypsin inhibitors (ATIs) represent a common dietary protein component of gluten-containing cereals (wheat, rye, and barley). They act as toll-like receptor 4 ligands, and are largely resistant to intestinal proteases, eliciting a mild inflammatory response within the intestine after oral ingestion. Importantly, nutritional ATIs exacerbated inflammatory bowel disease and features of fatty liver disease and the metabolic syndrome in mice. For Alzheimer’s disease (AD), both inflammation and altered insulin resistance are major contributing factors, impacting onset as well as progression of this devastating brain disorder in patients. In this study, we evaluated the impact of die…

Probiotics Can Cure Oral Aphthous-Like Ulcers in Inflammatory Bowel Disease Patients: A Review of the Literature and a Working Hypothesis

2019

Dysbiosis has been associated with the onset of several chronic autoimmune or inflammatory pathologies (e.g., inflammatory bowel diseases—IBD), because of its primary role in the establishment of a chronic inflammatory process leading to tissue damage. Inflammatory bowel diseases can even involve areas far away from the gut, such as the extraintestinal manifestations involving the oral cavity with the onset of aphthous-like ulcers (ALU). Studies carried out on animal models have shown that intestinal dysbiosis may be related to the development of autoimmune diseases, even if the mechanisms involved are not yet well known. The aim of this paper is to verify the hypothesis that in inflammator…

The molecular epidemiology and evolutionary dynamics of influenza B virus in two Italian regions during 2010-2015: The experience of Sicily and Ligur…

2016

Molecular epidemiology of influenza B virus remained poorly studied in Italy, despite representing a major contributor to seasonal epidemics. This study aimed to reconstruct the phylogenetic relationships and genetic diversity of the hemagglutinin gene sequences of 197 influenza B strains circulating in both Southern (Sicily) and Northern (Liguria) Italy between 2010 and 2015. Upper respiratory tract specimens of patients displaying symptoms of influenza-like illness were screened by real-time RT-PCR assay for the presence of influenza B virus. PCR-positive influenza B samples were further analyzed by sequencing. Neighbor-joining phylogenetic trees were constructed and the amino-acid alignm…

Chromophore-Protein Interplay During the Phytochrome Photocycle Revealed by Step-Scan FTIR Spectroscopy

2018

Phytochrome proteins regulate many photoresponses of plants and microorganisms. Light absorption causes isomerization of the biliverdin chromophore, which triggers a series of structural changes to activate the signaling domains of the protein. However, the structural changes are elusive, and therefore the molecular mechanism of signal transduction remains poorly understood. Here, we apply two-color step-scan infrared spectroscopy to the bacteriophytochrome from Deinococcus radiodurans. We show by recordings in H2O and D2O that the hydrogen bonds to the biliverdin D-ring carbonyl become disordered in the first intermediate (Lumi-R) forming a dynamic microenvironment, then completely detach …

Innate immune response to tick-borne pathogens: Cellular and molecular mechanisms induced in the hosts

2020

This article belongs to the Special Issue Inflammasome.

2020

Orthodontic tooth movement (OTM) creates compressive and tensile strain in the periodontal ligament, causing circulation disorders. Hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α) has been shown to be primarily stabilised by compression, but not hypoxia in periodontal ligament fibroblasts (PDLF) during mechanical strain, which are key regulators of OTM. This study aimed to elucidate the role of heparan sulfate integrin interaction and downstream kinase phosphorylation for HIF-1α stabilisation under compressive and tensile strain and to which extent downstream synthesis of VEGF and prostaglandins is HIF-1α-dependent in a model of simulated OTM in PDLF. PDLF were subjected to compressive or tensile stra…

The Impact of Small Extracellular Vesicles on Lymphoblast Trafficking across the Blood-Cerebrospinal Fluid Barrier In Vitro.

2020

Central nervous System (CNS) disease in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a major concern, but still, cellular mechanisms of CNS infiltration are elusive. The choroid plexus (CP) is a potential entry site, and, to some extent, invasion resembles CNS homing of lymphocytes during healthy state. Given exosomes may precondition target tissue, the present work aims to investigate if leukemia-derived exosomes contribute to a permissive phenotype of the blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier (BCSFB). Leukemia-derived exosomes were isolated by ultracentrifugation from the cell lines SD-1, Nalm-6, and P12-Ichikawa (P12). Adhesion and uptake to CP epithelial cells and the significance on sub…

Neuroprotective and Anti-Inflammatory Effects of a Hydrophilic Saffron Extract in a Model of Glaucoma

2019

Glaucoma is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by the loss of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). An increase in the intraocular pressure is the principal risk factor for such loss, but controlling this pressure does not always prevent glaucomatous damage. Activation of immune cells resident in the retina (microglia) may contribute to RGC death. Thus, a substance with anti-inflammatory activity may protect against RGC degeneration. This study investigated the neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory effects of a hydrophilic saffron extract standardized to 3% crocin content in a mouse model of unilateral, laser-induced ocular hypertension (OHT). Treatment with saffron extract decreased microg…

The Role of JAK/STAT Molecular Pathway in Vascular Remodeling Associated with Pulmonary Hypertension

2021

Pulmonary hypertension is defined as a group of diseases characterized by a progressive increase in pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR), which leads to right ventricular failure and premature death. There are multiple clinical manifestations that can be grouped into five different types. Pulmonary artery remodeling is a common feature in pulmonary hypertension (PH) characterized by endothelial dysfunction and smooth muscle pulmonary artery cell proliferation. The current treatments for PH are limited to vasodilatory agents that do not stop the progression of the disease. Therefore, there is a need for new agents that inhibit pulmonary artery remodeling targeting the main genetic, molecular,…