Search results for "lipids"

Analysis of lipids in pelagic fish of Sicilian Channel and use of fatty acids as bacterial contamination markers

Lipids provide the expendable form of energy in marine ecosystem, and have an important role for the reproductive biology of fish. Also, lipids are important nutrients, versatile markers for marine trophic studies, bacteria markers etc. Among the lipids, several essential fatty acids are determinants for ecosystem health as well as for their known nutritional properties and prevention capacity of chronic diseases. Furan fatty acids (F - acids) are other important lipid bioactive compounds; for these is hypothesized a crucial nutritional role that is synergistic to polyunsaturated fatty acids omega 3 (PUFA ω 3), also if their mechanism is not yet clear. Source of essential fatty acid is the …

Screening of ecotoxicological, qualitative and reproductive variables in male European sea bassDicentrarchus labrax(L.) reared in three different fis…

2013

The aim of this work was to do a preliminary seasonal screening of ecotoxicological biomarkers in European sea bass Dicentrarchus labrax in three different fish farms, to know if the different location and typology can discriminate them. A set of selected biomarkers of xenobiotic exposure, such as acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity, Glutathione (GSH) and gonad morphology were investigated seasonally in male European sea bass D. labrax (L.) reared in three different intensive farms: a land-based farm of cement tanks (T), an in-shore sea cages farm (C1) and an off-shore sea cages farm (C2). The results showed that both location and typology can discriminate AChE activity, GSH content and go…

Initial Fish-Farm Impact on Meiofaunal Assemblages in Coastal Sediments of the Western Mediterranean

1999

We studied the initial impact of organic loads due to the biodeposition of a new fish farm in a non-impacted coastal area of the Tyrrhenian Sea (Western Mediterranean). Sediment chemistry and meiofaunal assemblages were investigated from July 1997 to February 1998 on a monthly basis at two stations: the first was located under the fish farm, while the second was at about 1 km distance, and served as control. Variations in the biochemical composition of the sedimentary organic matter and meiofaunal community structure were also related to changes in reared fish biomass. The presence of the cage-induced rapid changes in the benthic compartment: the sediments reached rapidly (i.e., after only …

Seasonal and spatial changes in the sediment organic matter of a semi-enclosed marine system (W-Mediterranean Sea)

1999

The composition of sediment organic matter and the related role of microphytobenthic biomass have been investigated during one-year in a semi-enclosed marine system (Marsala lagoon, Mediterranean Sea). Monthly samples from June 1993 to May 1994 were analysed for carbohydrate, protein, lipid, photosynthetic pigment and total organic matter. The three main biochemical classes of organic compounds (i.e. carbohydrates, proteins and lipids) showed higher concentrations than reported in the literature. However, photosynthetic pigment was quite low, compared to other enclosed marine basins or Mediterranean coastal lagoons. As a result, the contribution of primary organic carbon to the sedimentary …

Particulate Organic Matter Composition in A Semi-Enclosed Marine System

2001

Spatial and temporal changes in the biochemical composition of particulate organic matter in a semi-enclosed marine system (Stagnone di Marsala, Mediterranean Sea) were studied, on a monthly basis, from January to December 1994, in order to assess nutritional value of suspended particles for benthic suspension feeders. According to previous findings, the study site displayed a strong oligotrophy. Chlorophyll-a accounted for a very low fraction of the total suspended matter pool (0.1%), whereas at least 75% of POC was of detrital/heterotrophic origin. POC: PON ratio values indicate that bacterioplankton biomass accounted for a significant fraction of the total POC pool, displaying values com…

Lipid and fatty acid biomarkers as proxies for environmental contamination in caged mussels Mytilus galloprovincialis

2015

Mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) were transplanted from a reference site (Syracuse harbour) to an impacted site (Augusta Bay) from January to July 2013 to assess the biochemical response of caged mus- sels to high trace element and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) contamination, using lipid and fatty acid (FA) biomarkers. Sediment and mussels were analysed to assess contaminant bioavailability in the study sites and bioaccumulation in mussel tissue. Trace elements (As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, V, Zn) and PAHs were significantly higher in mussels from Augusta than in those from Syracuse, mirror- ing the different environmental contamination. The biological impact quotient (BIQs…

nCDase and SphK-1 localization in vesicles shed by tumour cells and their biological roles.

2007

Sphingolipid metabolism is a dynamic process resulting in the formation of a number of bioactive metabolites including ceramide, ceramide-1-phosphate, sphingosine e sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P). (Pyne and Pyne; Biochem. J. 2000; 349:385-402). Following sphingomyelinase activation, sphingomyelin is hydrolyzed to ceramide, which is considered to be an inducer of cell growth arrest, differentiation and apoptosis. (Hannun et. al 1996; Science: 274:1855-1859). Ceramidase catalyzes the deacylation of ceramide to produce a free fatty acid and sphingosine. The enzyme sphingosine kinase (SphK) catalyzes the formation of S1P from sphingosine and ATP (Olivera et al. J.Biol.Chem. 1998; 273:12576- 1258…

PEGYLATED PHOSPHOLIPID-POLYASPARTAMIDE COPOLYMERS AS SELF-ASSEMBLING COLLOIDAL DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEMS

2009

Lipid and apoprotein composition of HDL in partial or complete CETP deficiency

2012

Hyperalphalipoproteinemia, as observed in patients who are either homozygous or heterozygous for cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) deficiency, has been shown to be associated with striking changes in apolipoprotein size distribution, namely, of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and HDL-like particles. We compared the effect of varying degrees of CETP activity on the HDL apolipoprotein profile in Caucasian CETP-deficient subjects and following pharmacological decrease in CETP activity, using Size Exclusion Chromatography followed by Reverse Phase Protein Array (SEC RPA). The main HDL-associated apolipoproteins (Apo), i.e. ApoA-I, ApoA-II, ApoC-I, and ApoC-III, co-eluted with the HDL pea…

eNOS Activation by HDL Is Impaired in Genetic CETP Deficiency.

2014

Mutations in the CETP gene resulting in defective CETP activity have been shown to cause remarkable elevations of plasma HDL-C levels, with the accumulation in plasma of large, buoyant HDL particles enriched in apolipoprotein E. Genetic CETP deficiency thus represents a unique tool to evaluate how structural alterations of HDL impact on HDL atheroprotective functions. Aim of the present study was to assess the ability of HDL obtained from CETP-deficient subjects to protect endothelial cells from the development of endothelial dysfunction. HDL isolated from one homozygous and seven heterozygous carriers of CETP null mutations were evaluated for their ability to down-regulate cytokine-induced…