1
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Scotti R, Casciaro B, Stringaro A, Maggi F, Colone M, Gabbianelli R. Fighting Microbial Infections from Escherichia coli O157:H7: The Combined Use of Three Essential Oils of the Cymbopogon Genus and a Derivative of Esculentin-1a Peptide. Antibiotics (Basel) 2024; 13:86. [PMID: 38247645 PMCID: PMC10812396 DOI: 10.3390/antibiotics13010086] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2023] [Revised: 01/08/2024] [Accepted: 01/10/2024] [Indexed: 01/23/2024] Open
Abstract
The absence of effective therapy against Escherichia coli O157:H7 infections has led to the need to develop new antimicrobial agents. As the use of synergistic combinations of natural antimicrobial compounds is growing as a new weapon in the fight against multidrug-resistant bacteria, here, we have tested new synergistic combinations of natural agents. Notably, we investigated a possible synergistic effect of combinations of essential oils and natural peptides to counteract the formation of biofilm. We chose three essential oils (i.e., Cymbopogon citratus, C. flexuosus and C. martinii) and one peptide already studied in our previous works. We determined the fractional inhibitory concentration (FIC) by analyzing the combination of the peptide derived from esculentin-1a, Esc(1-21), with the three essential oils. We also studied the effects of combinations by time-kill curves, scanning electron microscopy on biofilm and Sytox Green on cell membrane permeability. Finally, we analyzed the expression of different genes implicated in motility, biofilm formation and stress responses. The results showed a different pattern of gene expression in bacteria treated with the mixtures compared to those treated with the peptide or the single C. citratus essential oil. In conclusion, we demonstrated that the three essential oils used in combination with the peptide showed synergy against the E. coli O157:H7, proving attractive as an alternative strategy against E. coli pathogen infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raffaella Scotti
- Biological Service, Italian National Institute of Health, 00161 Rome, Italy;
| | - Bruno Casciaro
- Laboratory Affiliated to Istituto Pasteur Italia-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Department of Biochemical Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy;
| | - Annarita Stringaro
- National Center for Drug Research and Evaluation, Italian National Institute of Health, 00161 Rome, Italy; (A.S.); (M.C.)
| | - Filippo Maggi
- Chemistry Interdisciplinary Project (ChIP) Research Center, School of Pharmacy, University of Camerino, 62032 Camerino, Italy;
| | - Marisa Colone
- National Center for Drug Research and Evaluation, Italian National Institute of Health, 00161 Rome, Italy; (A.S.); (M.C.)
| | - Roberta Gabbianelli
- Biological Service, Italian National Institute of Health, 00161 Rome, Italy;
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2
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Arasi MB, De Luca G, Chronopoulou L, Pedini F, Petrucci E, Flego M, Stringaro A, Colone M, Pasquini L, Spada M, Lulli V, Perrotta MC, Calin GA, Palocci C, Biffoni M, Felicetti F, Felli N. MiR126-targeted-nanoparticles combined with PI3K/AKT inhibitor as a new strategy to overcome melanoma resistance. Mol Ther 2024; 32:152-167. [PMID: 37990493 PMCID: PMC10787166 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymthe.2023.11.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2023] [Revised: 10/09/2023] [Accepted: 11/17/2023] [Indexed: 11/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Metastatic melanoma poses significant challenges as a highly lethal disease. Despite the success of molecular targeting using BRAFV600E inhibitors (BRAFis) and immunotherapy, the emergence of early recurrence remains an issue and there is the need for novel therapeutic approaches. This study aimed at creating a targeted delivery system for the oncosuppressor microRNA 126 (miR126) and testing its effectiveness in combination with a phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/ protein kinase B (AKT) inhibitor for treating metastatic melanoma resistant to BRAFis. To achieve this, we synthesized chitosan nanoparticles containing a chemically modified miR126 sequence. These nanoparticles were further functionalized with an antibody specific to the chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan 4 (CSPG4) melanoma marker. After evaluation in vitro, the efficacy of this treatment was evaluated through an in vivo experiment using mice bearing resistant human melanoma. The co-administration of miR126 and the PI3K/AKT inhibitor in these experiments significantly reduced tumor growth and inhibited the formation of liver and lung metastases. These results provide evidence for a strategy to target an oncosuppressive nucleic acid sequence to tumor cells while simultaneously protecting it from plasma degradation. The system described in this study exhibits encouraging potential for the effective treatment of therapy-resistant metastatic melanoma while also presenting a prospective approach for other forms of cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Beatrice Arasi
- Department of Oncology and Molecular Medicine, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Gabriele De Luca
- Department of Oncology and Molecular Medicine, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Laura Chronopoulou
- Department of Chemistry, Sapienza University of Rome, P.le A. Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy; Research Center for Applied Sciences to the safeguard of Environment and Cultural Heritage (CIABC) Sapienza University of Rome, P.le A. Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Francesca Pedini
- Department of Oncology and Molecular Medicine, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Eleonora Petrucci
- Department of Oncology and Molecular Medicine, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Michela Flego
- National Center for Global Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Annarita Stringaro
- National Center for Drug Research and Evaluation, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Marisa Colone
- National Center for Drug Research and Evaluation, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Luca Pasquini
- Core Facilities, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Massimo Spada
- Center of Animal Research and Welfare, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Valentina Lulli
- Department of Oncology and Molecular Medicine, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Maria Chiara Perrotta
- Department of Chemistry, Sapienza University of Rome, P.le A. Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - George Adrian Calin
- Translational Molecular Pathology, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Texas State University, 1515 Holcombe Blvd, Houston, TX 77030, USA; The RNA Interference and Non-coding RNA Center, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Texas State University, Houston, 1515 Holcombe Blvd, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Cleofe Palocci
- Department of Chemistry, Sapienza University of Rome, P.le A. Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy; Research Center for Applied Sciences to the safeguard of Environment and Cultural Heritage (CIABC) Sapienza University of Rome, P.le A. Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Mauro Biffoni
- Department of Oncology and Molecular Medicine, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Federica Felicetti
- Department of Oncology and Molecular Medicine, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Nadia Felli
- Department of Oncology and Molecular Medicine, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy.
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3
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Amatori S, Lopez A, Meneghini C, Calcabrini A, Colone M, Stringaro A, Migani S, Khalakhan I, Iucci G, Venditti I, Battocchio C. Gold nanorods derivatized with CTAB and hydroquinone or ascorbic acid: spectroscopic investigation of anisotropic nanoparticles of different shapes and sizes. Nanoscale Adv 2023; 5:3924-3933. [PMID: 37496614 PMCID: PMC10367958 DOI: 10.1039/d3na00356f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2023] [Accepted: 06/20/2023] [Indexed: 07/28/2023]
Abstract
Gold nanorods stabilized by binary ligand mixtures of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB, primary ligand) and ascorbic acid or hydroquinone were investigated by complementary synchrotron radiation-induced spectroscopies and microscopies, with the aim to find evidence of the influence of the secondary ligand molecular and chemical structure on the nanorod shapes and size ratios. Indeed, as it is well known that the CTAB interaction with Ag(i) ions at the NR surface plays a key role in directing the anisotropic growth of nanorods, the possibility to finely control the NR shape and dimension by opportunely selecting the secondary ligands opens new perspectives in the design and synthesis of anisotropic nanoparticles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simone Amatori
- Roma Tre University, Dept of Sciences Via della Vasca Navale 79 Rome 00146 Italy
| | - Alberto Lopez
- Roma Tre University, Dept of Sciences Via della Vasca Navale 79 Rome 00146 Italy
| | - Carlo Meneghini
- Roma Tre University, Dept of Sciences Via della Vasca Navale 79 Rome 00146 Italy
| | - Annarica Calcabrini
- National Center for Drug Research and Evaluation, Istituto Superiore di Sanità Rome 00161 Italy
| | - Marisa Colone
- National Center for Drug Research and Evaluation, Istituto Superiore di Sanità Rome 00161 Italy
| | - Annarita Stringaro
- National Center for Drug Research and Evaluation, Istituto Superiore di Sanità Rome 00161 Italy
| | - Sofia Migani
- National Center for Drug Research and Evaluation, Istituto Superiore di Sanità Rome 00161 Italy
| | - Ivan Khalakhan
- Department of Surface and Plasma Science, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University V Holešovičkách 2 Prague 18000 Czech Republic
| | - Giovanna Iucci
- Roma Tre University, Dept of Sciences Via della Vasca Navale 79 Rome 00146 Italy
| | - Iole Venditti
- Roma Tre University, Dept of Sciences Via della Vasca Navale 79 Rome 00146 Italy
| | - Chiara Battocchio
- Roma Tre University, Dept of Sciences Via della Vasca Navale 79 Rome 00146 Italy
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4
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De Vita D, Frezza C, Sciubba F, Toniolo C, Badiali C, Petrucci R, Bortolami M, Di Matteo P, Rocco D, Stringaro A, Colone M, Maxia A, Petrucci MT, Serafini M, Foddai S. Phytochemical Analysis and In Vitro Antileukemic Activity of Alkaloid-Enriched Extracts from Vinca sardoa (Stearn) Pignatti. Molecules 2023; 28:5639. [PMID: 37570609 PMCID: PMC10419533 DOI: 10.3390/molecules28155639] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2023] [Revised: 07/17/2023] [Accepted: 07/19/2023] [Indexed: 08/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Vinca sardoa (Stearn) Pignatti, known as Sardinian periwinkle, is widely diffused in Sardinia (Italy). This species contains indole alkaloids, which are known to have a great variety of biological activities. This study investigated the antileukemic activity against a B lymphoblast cell line (SUP-B15) of V. sardoa alkaloid-rich extracts obtained from plants grown in Italy, in Iglesias (Sardinia) and Rome (Latium). All the extracts showed a good capacity to induce reductions in cell proliferation of up to 50% at the tested concentrations (1-15 µg/mL). Moreover, none of the extracts showed cytotoxicity on normal cells at all the studied concentrations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela De Vita
- Department of Environmental Biology, “Sapienza” University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy; (C.F.); (F.S.); (C.T.); (C.B.); (M.S.); (S.F.)
| | - Claudio Frezza
- Department of Environmental Biology, “Sapienza” University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy; (C.F.); (F.S.); (C.T.); (C.B.); (M.S.); (S.F.)
| | - Fabio Sciubba
- Department of Environmental Biology, “Sapienza” University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy; (C.F.); (F.S.); (C.T.); (C.B.); (M.S.); (S.F.)
- NMR-Based Metabolomics Laboratory, “Sapienza” University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Chiara Toniolo
- Department of Environmental Biology, “Sapienza” University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy; (C.F.); (F.S.); (C.T.); (C.B.); (M.S.); (S.F.)
| | - Camilla Badiali
- Department of Environmental Biology, “Sapienza” University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy; (C.F.); (F.S.); (C.T.); (C.B.); (M.S.); (S.F.)
| | - Rita Petrucci
- Department of Basic and Applied Sciences for Engineering, “Sapienza” University of Rome, Via Castro Laurenziano 7, 00161 Rome, Italy; (R.P.); (M.B.); (P.D.M.); (D.R.)
| | - Martina Bortolami
- Department of Basic and Applied Sciences for Engineering, “Sapienza” University of Rome, Via Castro Laurenziano 7, 00161 Rome, Italy; (R.P.); (M.B.); (P.D.M.); (D.R.)
| | - Paola Di Matteo
- Department of Basic and Applied Sciences for Engineering, “Sapienza” University of Rome, Via Castro Laurenziano 7, 00161 Rome, Italy; (R.P.); (M.B.); (P.D.M.); (D.R.)
| | - Daniele Rocco
- Department of Basic and Applied Sciences for Engineering, “Sapienza” University of Rome, Via Castro Laurenziano 7, 00161 Rome, Italy; (R.P.); (M.B.); (P.D.M.); (D.R.)
| | - Annarita Stringaro
- National Center for Drug Research and Evaluation, Italian National Institute of Health, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy; (A.S.); (M.C.)
| | - Marisa Colone
- National Center for Drug Research and Evaluation, Italian National Institute of Health, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy; (A.S.); (M.C.)
| | - Andrea Maxia
- Laboratory of Economic and Pharmaceutical Botany, Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Cagliari, Viale S. Ignazio da Laconi 13, 09123 Cagliari, Italy;
| | - Maria Teresa Petrucci
- Department of Cellular Biotechnologies and Hematology, “Sapienza” University of Rome, Via Benevento 6, 00161 Rome, Italy;
| | - Mauro Serafini
- Department of Environmental Biology, “Sapienza” University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy; (C.F.); (F.S.); (C.T.); (C.B.); (M.S.); (S.F.)
| | - Sebastiano Foddai
- Department of Environmental Biology, “Sapienza” University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy; (C.F.); (F.S.); (C.T.); (C.B.); (M.S.); (S.F.)
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5
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Bozzuto G, Colone M, Toccacieli L, Molinari A, Calcabrini A, Stringaro A. Interaction of Drug-Sensitive and -Resistant Human Melanoma Cells with HUVEC Cells: A Label-Free Cell-Based Impedance Study. Biomedicines 2023; 11:1544. [PMID: 37371639 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines11061544] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2023] [Revised: 05/19/2023] [Accepted: 05/24/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Cancer cell extravasation is a crucial step in cancer metastasis. However, many of the mechanisms involved in this process are only now being elucidated. Thus, in the present study we analysed the trans-endothelial invasion of melanoma cells by a high throughput label-free cell impedance assay applied to transwell chamber invasion assay. This technique monitors and quantifies in real-time the invasion of endothelial cells by malignant tumour cells, for a long time, avoiding artefacts due to preparation of the end point measurements. Results obtained by impedance analysis were compared with endpoint measurements. In this study, we used human melanoma M14 wild type (WT) cells and their drug resistant counterparts, M14 multidrug resistant (ADR) melanoma cells, selected by prolonged exposure to doxorubicin (DOX). Tumour cells were co-cultured with monolayers of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). Results herein reported demonstrated that: (i) the trans-endothelial migration of resistant melanoma cells was faster than sensitive ones; (ii) the endothelial cells appeared to be strongly affected by the transmigration of melanoma cells which showed the ability to degrade their cytoplasm; (iii) resistant cells preferentially adopted the transcellular invasion vs. the paracellular one; (iv) the endothelial damage mediated by tumour metalloproteinases seemed to be reversible.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giuseppina Bozzuto
- National Center for Drug Research and Evaluation, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Marisa Colone
- National Center for Drug Research and Evaluation, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Laura Toccacieli
- National Center for Drug Research and Evaluation, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Agnese Molinari
- National Center for Drug Research and Evaluation, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Annarica Calcabrini
- National Center for Drug Research and Evaluation, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Annarita Stringaro
- National Center for Drug Research and Evaluation, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy
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6
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Bortolami M, Pandolfi F, Tudino V, Messore A, Madia VN, De Vita D, Di Santo R, Costi R, Romeo I, Alcaro S, Colone M, Stringaro A, Espargaró A, Sabatè R, Scipione L. Design, Synthesis, and In Vitro, In Silico and In Cellulo Evaluation of New Pyrimidine and Pyridine Amide and Carbamate Derivatives as Multi-Functional Cholinesterase Inhibitors. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2022; 15:ph15060673. [PMID: 35745594 PMCID: PMC9227096 DOI: 10.3390/ph15060673] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2022] [Revised: 05/20/2022] [Accepted: 05/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Alzheimer disease is an age-linked neurodegenerative disorder representing one of the greatest medical care challenges of our century. Several drugs are useful in ameliorating the symptoms, even if none could stop or reverse disease progression. The standard approach is represented by the cholinesterase inhibitors (ChEIs) that restore the levels of acetylcholine (ACh) by inhibiting the acetylcholinesterase (AChE). Still, their limited efficacy has prompted researchers to develop new ChEIs that could also reduce the oxidative stress by exhibiting antioxidant properties and by chelating the main metals involved in the disease. Recently, we developed some derivatives constituted by a 2-amino-pyrimidine or a 2-amino-pyridine moiety connected to various aromatic groups by a flexible amino-alkyl linker as new dual inhibitors of AChE and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE). Following our previous studies, in this work we explored the role of the flexible linker by replacing the amino group with an amide or a carbamic group. The most potent compounds showed higher selectivity against BChE in respect to AChE, proving also to possess a weak anti-aggregating activity toward Aβ42 and tau and to be able to chelate Cu2+ and Fe3+ ions. Molecular docking and molecular dynamic studies proposed possible binding modes with the enzymes. It is noteworthy that these compounds were predicted as BBB-permeable and showed low cytotoxicity on the human brain cell line.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martina Bortolami
- Department of Scienze di Base e Applicate per l’Ingegneria, Sapienza University of Rome, Via Castro Laurenziano 7, 00185 Rome, Italy; (M.B.); (F.P.)
| | - Fabiana Pandolfi
- Department of Scienze di Base e Applicate per l’Ingegneria, Sapienza University of Rome, Via Castro Laurenziano 7, 00185 Rome, Italy; (M.B.); (F.P.)
| | - Valeria Tudino
- Department of Chimica e Tecnologia del Farmaco, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy; (V.T.); (A.M.); (V.N.M.); (R.D.S.); (R.C.)
| | - Antonella Messore
- Department of Chimica e Tecnologia del Farmaco, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy; (V.T.); (A.M.); (V.N.M.); (R.D.S.); (R.C.)
| | - Valentina Noemi Madia
- Department of Chimica e Tecnologia del Farmaco, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy; (V.T.); (A.M.); (V.N.M.); (R.D.S.); (R.C.)
| | - Daniela De Vita
- Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy;
| | - Roberto Di Santo
- Department of Chimica e Tecnologia del Farmaco, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy; (V.T.); (A.M.); (V.N.M.); (R.D.S.); (R.C.)
- Instituto Pasteur, Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Roberta Costi
- Department of Chimica e Tecnologia del Farmaco, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy; (V.T.); (A.M.); (V.N.M.); (R.D.S.); (R.C.)
- Instituto Pasteur, Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Isabella Romeo
- Net4Science Academic Spin-Off, Università degli Studi “Magna Græcia” di Catanzaro, Campus “S. Venuta”, Viale Europa, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy;
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Salute, Università degli Studi “Magna Græcia” di Catanzaro, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Stefano Alcaro
- Net4Science Academic Spin-Off, Università degli Studi “Magna Græcia” di Catanzaro, Campus “S. Venuta”, Viale Europa, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy;
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Salute, Università degli Studi “Magna Græcia” di Catanzaro, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy
- Correspondence: (S.A.); (L.S.)
| | - Marisa Colone
- National Center for Drug Research and Evaluation, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy; (M.C.); (A.S.)
| | - Annarita Stringaro
- National Center for Drug Research and Evaluation, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy; (M.C.); (A.S.)
| | - Alba Espargaró
- Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Technology and Physical-Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences, University of Barcelona, 08007 Barcelona, Spain; (A.E.); (R.S.)
- Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (INUB), 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Raimon Sabatè
- Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Technology and Physical-Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences, University of Barcelona, 08007 Barcelona, Spain; (A.E.); (R.S.)
- Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (INUB), 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Luigi Scipione
- Department of Chimica e Tecnologia del Farmaco, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy; (V.T.); (A.M.); (V.N.M.); (R.D.S.); (R.C.)
- Correspondence: (S.A.); (L.S.)
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7
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Bortolami M, Pandolfi F, Tudino V, Messore A, Madia VN, De Vita D, Di Santo R, Costi R, Romeo I, Alcaro S, Colone M, Stringaro A, Espargaró A, Sabatè R, Scipione L. New Pyrimidine and Pyridine Derivatives as Multitarget Cholinesterase Inhibitors: Design, Synthesis, and In Vitro and In Cellulo Evaluation. ACS Chem Neurosci 2021; 12:4090-4112. [PMID: 34652128 PMCID: PMC8569681 DOI: 10.1021/acschemneuro.1c00485] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
![]()
A new series of pyrimidine
and pyridine diamines was designed as
dual binding site inhibitors of cholinesterases (ChEs), characterized
by two small aromatic moieties separated by a diaminoalkyl flexible
linker. Many compounds are mixed or uncompetitive acetylcholinesterase
(AChE) and/or butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) nanomolar inhibitors, with
compound 9 being the most active on Electrophorus
electricus AChE (EeAChE) (Ki = 0.312 μM) and compound 22 on equine BChE (eqBChE) (Ki = 0.099 μM). Molecular docking and molecular dynamic
studies confirmed the interaction mode of our compounds with the enzymatic
active site. UV–vis spectroscopic studies showed that these
compounds can form complexes with Cu2+ and Fe3+ and that compounds 18, 20, and 30 have antioxidant properties. Interestingly, some compounds were
also able to reduce Aβ42 and tau aggregation, with
compound 28 being the most potent (22.3 and 17.0% inhibition
at 100 μM on Aβ42 and tau, respectively). Moreover,
the most active compounds showed low cytotoxicity on a human brain
cell line and they were predicted as BBB-permeable.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martina Bortolami
- Department of Scienze di Base e Applicate per l’Ingegneria, Sapienza University of Rome, via Castro Laurenziano 7, I-00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Fabiana Pandolfi
- Department of Scienze di Base e Applicate per l’Ingegneria, Sapienza University of Rome, via Castro Laurenziano 7, I-00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Valeria Tudino
- Department of Chimica e Tecnologia del Farmaco, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Antonella Messore
- Department of Chimica e Tecnologia del Farmaco, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Valentina Noemi Madia
- Department of Chimica e Tecnologia del Farmaco, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Daniela De Vita
- Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Roberto Di Santo
- Istituto Pasteur, Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Department of Chemistry and Technology of Drug, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Roberta Costi
- Istituto Pasteur, Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Department of Chemistry and Technology of Drug, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Isabella Romeo
- Net4Science s.r.l., Campus universitario ″S. Venuta″, Viale Europa, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Salute, Università ″Magna Græcia″ di Catanzaro, Viale Europa, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Stefano Alcaro
- Net4Science s.r.l., Campus universitario ″S. Venuta″, Viale Europa, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Salute, Università ″Magna Græcia″ di Catanzaro, Viale Europa, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Marisa Colone
- National Center for Drug Research and Evaluation, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Annarita Stringaro
- National Center for Drug Research and Evaluation, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Alba Espargaró
- Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Technology and Physical-Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences, University of Barcelona, Avda. Joan XXIII, 27-31 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Raimon Sabatè
- Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Technology and Physical-Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences, University of Barcelona, Avda. Joan XXIII, 27-31 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Luigi Scipione
- Department of Chimica e Tecnologia del Farmaco, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
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8
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De Luca MN, Colone M, Gambioli R, Stringaro A, Unfer V. Oxidative Stress and Male Fertility: Role of Antioxidants and Inositols. Antioxidants (Basel) 2021; 10:antiox10081283. [PMID: 34439531 PMCID: PMC8389261 DOI: 10.3390/antiox10081283] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2021] [Revised: 08/06/2021] [Accepted: 08/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Infertility is defined as a couple’s inability to conceive after at least one year of regular unprotected intercourse. This condition has become a global health problem affecting approximately 187 million couples worldwide and about half of the cases are attributable to male factors. Oxidative stress is a common reason for several conditions associated with male infertility. High levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) impair sperm quality by decreasing motility and increasing the oxidation of DNA, of protein and of lipids. Multi-antioxidant supplementation is considered effective for male fertility parameters due to the synergistic effects of antioxidants. Most of them act by decreasing ROS concentration, thus improving sperm quality. In addition, other natural molecules, myo-inositol (MI) and d-chiro–inositol (DCI), ameliorate sperm quality. In sperm cells, MI is involved in many transduction mechanisms that regulate cytoplasmic calcium levels, capacitation and mitochondrial function. On the other hand, DCI is involved in the downregulation of steroidogenic enzyme aromatase, which produces testosterone. In this review, we analyze the processes involving oxidative stress in male fertility and the mechanisms of action of different molecules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Nunzia De Luca
- The Experts Group on Inositol in Basic and Clinical Research (EGOI), 00161 Rome, Italy; (M.N.D.L.); (R.G.); (V.U.)
- System Biology Group Lab, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Marisa Colone
- National Center for Drug Research and Evaluation, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy;
| | - Riccardo Gambioli
- The Experts Group on Inositol in Basic and Clinical Research (EGOI), 00161 Rome, Italy; (M.N.D.L.); (R.G.); (V.U.)
- System Biology Group Lab, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Annarita Stringaro
- National Center for Drug Research and Evaluation, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy;
- Correspondence:
| | - Vittorio Unfer
- The Experts Group on Inositol in Basic and Clinical Research (EGOI), 00161 Rome, Italy; (M.N.D.L.); (R.G.); (V.U.)
- System Biology Group Lab, 00161 Rome, Italy
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9
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Bortolami M, Pandolfi F, De Vita D, Carafa C, Messore A, Di Santo R, Feroci M, Costi R, Chiarotto I, Bagetta D, Alcaro S, Colone M, Stringaro A, Scipione L. New deferiprone derivatives as multi-functional cholinesterase inhibitors: design, synthesis and in vitro evaluation. Eur J Med Chem 2020; 198:112350. [PMID: 32380385 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2020.112350] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2020] [Revised: 04/15/2020] [Accepted: 04/16/2020] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
In order to obtain multi-functional molecules for Alzheimer's disease, a series of deferiprone derivatives has been synthesized and evaluated in vitro with the hypothesis that they can restore the cholinergic tone and attenuate the dyshomeostasis of the metals mainly involved in the pathology. These compounds were designed as dual binding site AChE inhibitors: they possess an arylalkylamine moiety connected via an alkyl chain to a 3-hydroxy-4-pyridone fragment, to allow the simultaneous interaction with catalytic active site (CAS) and peripheral anionic site (PAS) of the enzyme. Deferiprone moiety and 2-aminopyridine, 2-aminopyrimidine or 2,4-diaminopyrimidine groups have been incorporated into these compounds, in order to obtain molecules potentially able to chelate bio-metals colocalized in Aβ plaques and involved in the generation of radical species. Synthesized compounds were tested by enzymatic inhibition studies towards EeAChE and eqBChE using Ellman's method. The most potent EeAChE inhibitor is compound 5a, with a Ki of 788 ± 51 nM, while the most potent eqBChE inhibitors are compounds 12 and 19, with Ki values of 182 ± 18 nM and 258 ± 25 nM respectively. Selected compounds, among the most potent cholinesterases inhibitors, were able to form complex with iron and in some cases with copper and zinc. Moreover, these compounds were characterized by low toxicity on U-87 MG Cell Line from human brain (glioblastoma astrocytoma).
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Affiliation(s)
- Martina Bortolami
- Department of Chimica e Tecnologia del Farmaco, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro, 5, 00185, Rome, Italy
| | - Fabiana Pandolfi
- Department of Scienze di Base e Applicate per l'Ingegneria, Sapienza University of Rome, via Castro Laurenziano 7, I-00161, Rome, Italy
| | - Daniela De Vita
- Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, P.le A. Moro 5, 00185, Rome, Italy
| | - Camilla Carafa
- Department of Chimica e Tecnologia del Farmaco, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro, 5, 00185, Rome, Italy
| | - Antonella Messore
- Department of Chimica e Tecnologia del Farmaco, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro, 5, 00185, Rome, Italy
| | - Roberto Di Santo
- Department of Chimica e Tecnologia del Farmaco, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro, 5, 00185, Rome, Italy; Istituto Pasteur, Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Department of Chemistry and Technology of Drug, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro, 5, 00185, Rome, Italy
| | - Marta Feroci
- Department of Scienze di Base e Applicate per l'Ingegneria, Sapienza University of Rome, via Castro Laurenziano 7, I-00161, Rome, Italy
| | - Roberta Costi
- Department of Chimica e Tecnologia del Farmaco, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro, 5, 00185, Rome, Italy; Istituto Pasteur, Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Department of Chemistry and Technology of Drug, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro, 5, 00185, Rome, Italy
| | - Isabella Chiarotto
- Department of Scienze di Base e Applicate per l'Ingegneria, Sapienza University of Rome, via Castro Laurenziano 7, I-00161, Rome, Italy
| | - Donatella Bagetta
- Net4Science s.r.l., Campus universitario "S. Venuta", Viale Europa, 88100, Catanzaro, Italy
| | - Stefano Alcaro
- Net4Science s.r.l., Campus universitario "S. Venuta", Viale Europa, 88100, Catanzaro, Italy; Dipartimento di Scienze della Salute, Università"Magna Græcia" di Catanzaro, Viale Europa, 88100, Catanzaro, Italy.
| | - Marisa Colone
- National Center for Drug Research and Evaluation, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena, 00161, Rome, Italy
| | - Annarita Stringaro
- National Center for Drug Research and Evaluation, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena, 00161, Rome, Italy
| | - Luigi Scipione
- Department of Chimica e Tecnologia del Farmaco, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro, 5, 00185, Rome, Italy.
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10
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Stringaro A, Colone M, Angiolella L. Antioxidant, Antifungal, Antibiofilm, and Cytotoxic Activities of Mentha spp. Essential Oils. Medicines (Basel) 2018; 5:medicines5040112. [PMID: 30347861 PMCID: PMC6313564 DOI: 10.3390/medicines5040112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2018] [Revised: 10/11/2018] [Accepted: 10/15/2018] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Since ancient times, plants have been used to preserve food, or for their health properties. Essential oils are complex mixtures of volatile compounds that are obtained from botanical material, specifically from aromatic plants. Lamiaceae is one of the most important families in the production of essential oils, as it has both antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. The essential oils of Mentha (the Lamiaceae family) have been extensively studied for their biological actions. In this review, we report the antioxidant, antifungal, antibiofilm, and cytotoxic properties of Mentha spp. essential oils. The first objective is to provide comprehensive information about the use of essential oils in the treatment of fungal infections, or as antioxidants and integrative anticancer therapy. The second is to explore the evidence supporting its effectiveness in treating diseases without causing any serious adverse reactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annarita Stringaro
- National Center for Drug Research and Evaluation, Italian National Institute of Health, Viale Regina Elena, 299, 00161 Rome, Italy.
| | - Marisa Colone
- National Center for Drug Research and Evaluation, Italian National Institute of Health, Viale Regina Elena, 299, 00161 Rome, Italy.
| | - Letizia Angiolella
- Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, Sapienza University of Rome, P.le Aldo Moro, 5, 00185 Rome, Italy.
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11
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Grande R, Celia C, Mincione G, Stringaro A, Di Marzio L, Colone M, Di Marcantonio MC, Savino L, Puca V, Santoliquido R, Locatelli M, Muraro R, Hall-Stoodley L, Stoodley P. Detection and Physicochemical Characterization of Membrane Vesicles (MVs) of Lactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938. Front Microbiol 2017; 8:1040. [PMID: 28659878 PMCID: PMC5468427 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2017.01040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2017] [Accepted: 05/23/2017] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Membrane vesicles (MVs) are bilayer structures which bleb from bacteria, and are important in trafficking biomolecules to other bacteria or host cells. There are few data about MVs produced by the Gram-positive commensal-derived probiotic Lactobacillus reuteri; however, MVs from this species may have potential therapeutic benefit. The aim of this study was to detect and characterize MVs produced from biofilm (bMVs), and planktonic (pMVs) phenotypes of L. reuteri DSM 17938. MVs were analyzed for structure and physicochemical characterization by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS). Their composition was interrogated using various digestive enzyme treatments and subsequent Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) analysis. eDNA (extracellular DNA) was detected and quantified using PicoGreen. We found that planktonic and biofilm of L. reuteri cultures generated MVs with a broad size distribution. Our data also showed that eDNA was associated with pMVs and bMVs (eMVsDNA). DNase I treatment demonstrated no modifications of MVs, suggesting that an eDNA-MVs complex protected the eMVsDNA. Proteinase K and Phospholipase C treatments modified the structure of MVs, showing that lipids and proteins are important structural components of L. reuteri MVs. The biological composition and the physicochemical characterization of MVs generated by the probiotic L. reuteri may represent a starting point for future applications in the development of vesicles-based therapeutic systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rossella Grande
- Department of Pharmacy, "G. d'Annunzio" University of Chieti-PescaraChieti, Italy.,Center of Aging Sciences and Translational MedicineChieti, Italy
| | - Christian Celia
- Department of Pharmacy, "G. d'Annunzio" University of Chieti-PescaraChieti, Italy.,Department of Nanomedicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, HoustonTX, United States
| | - Gabriella Mincione
- Department of Medical, Oral, and Biotechnological Sciences, "G. d'Annunzio" University of Chieti-PescaraChieti, Italy
| | - Annarita Stringaro
- National Center for Drug Research and Evaluation, Italian National Institute of HealthRome, Italy
| | - Luisa Di Marzio
- Department of Pharmacy, "G. d'Annunzio" University of Chieti-PescaraChieti, Italy
| | - Marisa Colone
- National Center for Drug Research and Evaluation, Italian National Institute of HealthRome, Italy
| | - Maria C Di Marcantonio
- Department of Medical, Oral, and Biotechnological Sciences, "G. d'Annunzio" University of Chieti-PescaraChieti, Italy
| | - Luca Savino
- Department of Medical, Oral, and Biotechnological Sciences, "G. d'Annunzio" University of Chieti-PescaraChieti, Italy
| | - Valentina Puca
- Center of Aging Sciences and Translational MedicineChieti, Italy.,Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences, University of L'AquilaL'Aquila, Italy
| | - Roberto Santoliquido
- AlfatestLabCinisello Balsamo, Italy.,Malvern Instruments Ltd.Worcestershire, United Kingdom
| | - Marcello Locatelli
- Department of Pharmacy, "G. d'Annunzio" University of Chieti-PescaraChieti, Italy
| | - Raffaella Muraro
- Department of Medical, Oral, and Biotechnological Sciences, "G. d'Annunzio" University of Chieti-PescaraChieti, Italy
| | - Luanne Hall-Stoodley
- NIHR Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Facility, University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation TrustSouthampton, United Kingdom.,Department of Microbial Infection and Immunity, Centre for Microbial Interface Biology, The Ohio State University, ColumbusOH, United States
| | - Paul Stoodley
- Department of Microbial Infection and Immunity, Centre for Microbial Interface Biology, The Ohio State University, ColumbusOH, United States.,National Center for Advanced Tribology, Faculty of Engineering and the Environment, University of SouthamptonSouthampton, United Kingdom
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12
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Colone M, Calcabrini A, Unfer V, Stringaro A. Contribution of electron microscopy to study in vitro inositol effects on human spermatozoa. Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci 2017; 21:4-9. [PMID: 28724179] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Infertility is a worldwide problem and male partner contributes to almost 30% of cases of infertility. The term oligoasthenoteratospermia is related to defective spermatogenesis and is characterized by a reduction of motility and number of spermatozoa and a change in their morphology. Electron microscopes are frequently used in order to evaluate sperm pathology and overall to establish a correlation between structural and functional deficiencies of altered sperm. High levels of reactive oxygen species endanger sperm function and viability. The correlation between male infertility, reactive oxygen species levels and the innovative therapeutic strategy employing inositol has been highlighted through analysis of literature data.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Colone
- National Center for Drug Research and Evaluation, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
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13
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14
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Bonaiuto E, Grancara S, Martinis P, Stringaro A, Colone M, Agostinelli E, Macone A, Stevanato R, Vianello F, Toninello A, Di Paolo ML. A novel enzyme with spermine oxidase properties in bovine liver mitochondria: identification and kinetic characterization. Free Radic Biol Med 2015; 81:88-99. [PMID: 25591967 DOI: 10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2015.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2014] [Revised: 12/19/2014] [Accepted: 01/04/2015] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
The uptake of spermine into mammalian mitochondria indicated the need to identify its catabolic pathway in these organelles. Bovine liver mitochondria were therefore purified and their capacity for natural polyamine uptake was verified. A kinetic approach was then used to determine the presence of an MDL 72527-sensitive enzyme with spermine oxidase activity in the matrix of bovine liver mitochondria. Western blot analysis of mitochondrial fractions and immunogold electron microscopy observations of purified mitochondria unequivocally confirmed the presence of a protein recognized by anti-spermine oxidase antibodies in the mitochondrial matrix. Preliminary kinetic characterization showed that spermine is the preferred substrate of this enzyme; lower activity was detected with spermidine and acetylated polyamines. Catalytic efficiency comparable to that of spermine was also found for 1-aminododecane. The considerable effect of ionic strength on the Vmax/KM ratio suggested the presence of more than one negatively charged zone inside the active site cavity of this mitochondrial enzyme, which is probably involved in the docking of positively charged substrates. These findings indicate that the bovine liver mitochondrial matrix contains an enzyme belonging to the spermine oxidase class. Because H2O2 is generated by spermine oxidase activity, the possible involvement of the latter as an important signaling transducer under both physiological and pathological conditions should be considered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emanuela Bonaiuto
- Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Padova, Via G. Colombo 3, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Silvia Grancara
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padova, Via G. Colombo 3, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Pamela Martinis
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padova, Via G. Colombo 3, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Annarita Stringaro
- Department of Technology and Health, Italian Institute of Health, 00161 Roma, Italy
| | - Marisa Colone
- Department of Technology and Health, Italian Institute of Health, 00161 Roma, Italy
| | - Enzo Agostinelli
- Istituto Pasteur-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Department of Biochemical Sciences "A. Rossi Fanelli," Sapienza University of Rome and Institute of Biology and Molecular Pathology, Italian Research Council, P.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Roma, Italy
| | - Alberto Macone
- Istituto Pasteur-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Department of Biochemical Sciences "A. Rossi Fanelli," Sapienza University of Rome and Institute of Biology and Molecular Pathology, Italian Research Council, P.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Roma, Italy
| | - Roberto Stevanato
- Department of Molecular Science and Nanosystems, Università Ca' Foscari, Dorsoduro 2137, 30123 Venezia, Italy
| | - Fabio Vianello
- Department of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science, Polo Agripolis, Viale dell'Università 16, University of Padova, 35020 Legnaro, Italy; Regional Centre for Advanced Technologies and Materials, Department of Physical Chemistry, Palacky University in Olomouc, 17 Listopadu 1192/12, 771 46 Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Antonio Toninello
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padova, Via G. Colombo 3, 35131 Padova, Italy.
| | - Maria Luisa Di Paolo
- Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Padova, Via G. Colombo 3, 35131 Padova, Italy; Consorzio Interuniversitario "Istituto Nazionale Biostrutture e Biosistemi," Viale delle medaglie d'Oro 305, 00136 Roma, Italy.
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15
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Properzi F, Logozzi M, Abdel-Haq H, Federici C, Lugini L, Azzarito T, Cristofaro I, di Sevo D, Ferroni E, Cardone F, Venditti M, Colone M, Comoy E, Durand V, Fais S, Pocchiari M. Detection of exosomal prions in blood by immunochemistry techniques. J Gen Virol 2015; 96:1969-74. [PMID: 25805411 DOI: 10.1099/vir.0.000117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
In most forms of prion diseases, blood is infectious, but detection by immunochemistry techniques of the only available marker of infection (the misfolded prion protein, PrPTSE) in blood remains elusive. We developed a novel method for the detection of PrPTSE in blood of prion-infected rodents based on the finding that PrPTSE is associated with plasma exosomes. However, further purification of the exosomes on a sucrose gradient was necessary to remove plasma immunoglobulins, which interfere with PrPTSE, masking its detection by immunochemistry. Finally, we report that about 20% of plasma infectivity is associated with exosomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Properzi
- 1Department of Cell Biology and Neurosciences, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Mariantonia Logozzi
- 2Department of Therapeutic Research and Medicines Evaluation, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Hanin Abdel-Haq
- 1Department of Cell Biology and Neurosciences, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Cristina Federici
- 2Department of Therapeutic Research and Medicines Evaluation, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Luana Lugini
- 2Department of Therapeutic Research and Medicines Evaluation, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Tommaso Azzarito
- 2Department of Therapeutic Research and Medicines Evaluation, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Ilaria Cristofaro
- 1Department of Cell Biology and Neurosciences, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Daniela di Sevo
- 1Department of Cell Biology and Neurosciences, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Elena Ferroni
- 1Department of Cell Biology and Neurosciences, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Franco Cardone
- 1Department of Cell Biology and Neurosciences, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Massimo Venditti
- 1Department of Cell Biology and Neurosciences, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Marisa Colone
- 3Department of Technologies and Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Emmanuel Comoy
- 4Institute of Emerging Diseases and Innovative Therapies, CEA, Fontenay-aux-Roses, France
| | - Valérie Durand
- 4Institute of Emerging Diseases and Innovative Therapies, CEA, Fontenay-aux-Roses, France
| | - Stefano Fais
- 2Department of Therapeutic Research and Medicines Evaluation, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Maurizio Pocchiari
- 1Department of Cell Biology and Neurosciences, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy
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16
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Vavala E, Passariello C, Pepi F, Colone M, Garzoli S, Ragno R, Pirolli A, Stringaro A, Angiolella L. Antibacterial activity of essential oils mixture against PSA. Nat Prod Res 2015; 30:412-8. [PMID: 25782920 DOI: 10.1080/14786419.2015.1022543] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae (PSA) is the causal agent of bacterial canker of kiwifruit. It is very difficult to treat pandemic disease. The prolonged treatment with antibiotics, has resulted in failure and resistance and alternatives to conventional antimicrobial therapy are needed. The aim of our study was to analyse the phenotypic characteristics of PSA, identify new substances from natural source i.e. essential oils (EOs) able to contain the kiwifruit canker and investigate their potential use when utilised in combination. Specially, we investigated the morphological differences of PSA isolates by scanning electron microscope, and the synergic action of different EOs by time-kill and checkerboard methods. Our results demonstrated that PSA was able to produce extracellular polysaccharides when it was isolated from trunk, and, for the first time, that it was possible to kill PSA with a mixture of EOs after 1 h of exposition. We hypothesise on its potential use in agriculture.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisabetta Vavala
- a Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases , University of Rome 'Sapienza' , Piazzale Aldo Moro, 5, 00161 Rome , Italy
| | - Claudio Passariello
- a Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases , University of Rome 'Sapienza' , Piazzale Aldo Moro, 5, 00161 Rome , Italy
| | - Federico Pepi
- b Department of Drugs Chemistry and Technology , University of Rome 'Sapienza' , Piazzale Aldo Moro, 5, 00161 Rome , Italy
| | - Marisa Colone
- c Department of Technology and Health , Italian National Institute of Health , Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome , Italy
| | - Stefania Garzoli
- b Department of Drugs Chemistry and Technology , University of Rome 'Sapienza' , Piazzale Aldo Moro, 5, 00161 Rome , Italy
| | - Rino Ragno
- d Department of Drugs Chemistry and Technology , Rome Center for Molecular Design, University of Rome 'Sapienza' , Rome , Italy
| | - Adele Pirolli
- d Department of Drugs Chemistry and Technology , Rome Center for Molecular Design, University of Rome 'Sapienza' , Rome , Italy
| | - Annarita Stringaro
- c Department of Technology and Health , Italian National Institute of Health , Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome , Italy
| | - Letizia Angiolella
- a Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases , University of Rome 'Sapienza' , Piazzale Aldo Moro, 5, 00161 Rome , Italy
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17
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Vavala E, Mignogna G, Spano F, Stringaro A, Colone M, Sanguinetti M, Maras B, Angiolella L. The cell wall protein Rhd3/Pga29 is over-expressed in Candida albicans upon micafungin treatment. J Chemother 2013; 25:332-40. [PMID: 24090751 DOI: 10.1179/1973947813y.0000000091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/31/2022]
Abstract
Candida albicans cell wall constitutes a sensitive boundary that undergoes molecular changes upon environmental injuries. Antimycotics exert an intense action on cell wall eliciting both qualitative and quantitative changes of resident proteins. The emergence of drug resistance is marked by a modulation of cell wall proteomic profile. In this study, we monitored, at the proteome level through a two-dimensional gel electrophoresis-based approach, differences of cell wall proteins in sensitive and resistant strains of C. albicans, and variations occurring upon treatment of these strains with antifungal drugs. We identified Rhd3/Pga29, a glycophosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored protein, as the main over-expressed protein in micafungin resistant strain with respect to the sensitive control cells. A further increase of Rhd3/Pga29 took place when these resistant strains were treated with sub-lethal dose of micafungin. These results were also confirmed in other two clinical isolates resistant to caspofungin. Results were validated by Western blot analyses and RT-PCR and immunoelectron microscopy images confirmed the increase of the Rhd3/Pga29 on the cell wall as well as in the cytosolic compartment of the micafungin-treated resistant cells. Rhd3/Pga29 over-expression upon echinocandin treatment could represent a strategy of C. albicans to counteract the toxic action of this drug. A role of this protein has also been claimed in the virulence of the fungus, suggesting an involvement of Rhd3/Pga29 in the relationship between C. albicans and the host.
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Vavala E, Colone M, Passariello C, Celestino I, Toccacieli L, Stringaro A, Angiolella L. Characterization of biofilms in drug-sensitive and drug-resistant strains of Candida albicans. J Chemother 2013; 25:87-95. [PMID: 23684356 DOI: 10.1179/1973947812y.0000000047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/31/2022]
Abstract
In this study, we investigated the biofilm formation in strains of Candida albicans susceptible (CO23) or resistant to fluconazole (CO23RFLC) or micafungin (CO23RFK). The effect of drug resistance on biofilm formation was investigated through the cell surface hydrophobicity and the mannan content. Moreover, biofilm formation was evaluated after 24, 48 and 72 hours with crystal violet assay, dry weight, as well as scanning electron microscopy. Our results showed an increase in hydrophobicity, polysaccharides content, metabolic activity and dry weight. Observation of sensitive and resistant strains confirmed the differences in cell morphology. Finally, the expression of genes involved in biofilm formation, such as HWP1 and EFG1, evaluated with relative real-time RT-PCR. Resistant strains proved to up- regulate the expression of HWP1. These results demonstrated the existence of important differences between drug-susceptible and drug-resistant strains biofilm of C. albicans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisabetta Vavala
- Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
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Maisetta G, Vitali A, Scorciapino MA, Rinaldi AC, Petruzzelli R, Brancatisano FL, Esin S, Stringaro A, Colone M, Luzi C, Bozzi A, Campa M, Batoni G. pH-dependent disruption of Escherichia coli ATCC 25922 and model membranes by the human antimicrobial peptides hepcidin 20 and 25. FEBS J 2013; 280:2842-54. [PMID: 23587102 DOI: 10.1111/febs.12288] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2012] [Revised: 03/19/2013] [Accepted: 04/05/2013] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
The human hepcidin 25 (hep-25) and its isoform hepcidin 20 (hep-20) are histidine-containing, cystein rich, β-sheet structured peptides endowed with antimicrobial activity. We previously reported that, similar to other histidine-containing peptides, the microbicidal effects of hep-25 and hep-20 are highly enhanced at acidic pH. In the present study, we investigated whether pH influences the mode of action of hep-25 and hep-20 on Escherichia coli American Type Culture Collection 25922 and model membranes. A striking release of β-galactosidase by hepcidin-treated E. coli was observed at pH 5.0, whereas no inner membrane permeabilization capacity was seen at pH 7.4, even at bactericidal concentrations. Similar results were obtained by flow cytometry when assessing the internalization of propidium iodide by hepcidin-treated E. coli. Scanning electron microscope imaging revealed that both peptides induced the formation of numerous blebs on the surface of bacterial cells at acidic pH but not at neutral pH. Moreover, a phospholipid/polydiacetylene colourimetric vesicle assay revealed a more evident membrane damaging effect at pH 5.0 than at pH 7.4. The leakage of entrapped dextrans of increasing molecular size from liposomes was also assessed at pH 7.4. Consistent with the lack of β-galactosidase release from whole E. coli observed at such a pH value, evident leakage of only the smallest 4-kDa dextran (and not of dextrans of 20 or 70 kDa) was observed, indicating a poor ability of hepcidin peptides to permeabilize liposome vesicles at pH 7.4. Altogether, the data obtained in the present study using different approaches strongly suggest that the ability of hepcidins to perturb bacterial membranes is markedly pH-dependent.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giuseppantonio Maisetta
- Dipartimento di Ricerca Traslazionale e delle nuove Tecnologie in Medicina e Chirurgia, University of Pisa, Italy
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Lugini L, Cecchetti S, Huber V, Luciani F, Macchia G, Spadaro F, Paris L, Abalsamo L, Colone M, Molinari A, Podo F, Rivoltini L, Ramoni C, Fais S. Immune surveillance properties of human NK cell-derived exosomes. J Immunol 2012; 189:2833-42. [PMID: 22904309 DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.1101988] [Citation(s) in RCA: 311] [Impact Index Per Article: 25.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Exosomes are nanovesicles released by normal and tumor cells, which are detectable in cell culture supernatant and human biological fluids, such as plasma. Functions of exosomes released by "normal" cells are not well understood. In fact, several studies have been carried out on exosomes derived from hematopoietic cells, but very little is known about NK cell exosomes, despite the importance of these cells in innate and adaptive immunity. In this paper, we report that resting and activated NK cells, freshly isolated from blood of healthy donors, release exosomes expressing typical protein markers of NK cells and containing killer proteins (i.e., Fas ligand and perforin molecules). These nanovesicles display cytotoxic activity against several tumor cell lines and activated, but not resting, immune cells. We also show that NK-derived exosomes undergo uptake by tumor target cells but not by resting PBMC. Exosomes purified from plasma of healthy donors express NK cell markers, including CD56+ and perforin, and exert cytotoxic activity against different human tumor target cells and activated immune cells as well. The results of this study propose an important role of NK cell-derived exosomes in immune surveillance and homeostasis. Moreover, this study supports the use of exosomes as an almost perfect example of biomimetic nanovesicles possibly useful in future therapeutic approaches against various diseases, including tumors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luana Lugini
- Department of Therapeutic Research and Medicines Evaluation, National Institute of Health, 00161 Rome, Italy
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21
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Torelli R, Serror P, Bugli F, Paroni Sterbini F, Florio AR, Stringaro A, Colone M, De Carolis E, Martini C, Giard JC, Sanguinetti M, Posteraro B. The PavA-like fibronectin-binding protein of Enterococcus faecalis, EfbA, is important for virulence in a mouse model of ascending urinary tract infection. J Infect Dis 2012; 206:952-60. [PMID: 22782954 DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jis440] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Enterococcus faecalis is an established nosocomial pathogen, yet the pathogenesis of enterococcal infections, particularly of urinary tract infections (UTIs), remains to be fully elucidated. Fibronectin-binding proteins have been identified as potent adhesins in pathogenic Gram-positive cocci. Here, we characterized EfbA, which is encoded by the enterococcal orthologue of Streptococcus pneumoniae pavA. Similar to PavA, the anchorless EfbA protein was localized to the enterococcal cell outer surface and bound to immobilized human fibronectin. In addition to abrogated EfbA expression, deletion of the efbA gene eliminated EfbA from the cell surface and drastically reduced the enterococcal cell binding to immobilized fibronectin. The ΔefbA deletion mutant was highly attenuated vs wild-type in a murine ascending UTI model, consistent with an increased tropism for the kidney relative to the bladder. These results provide the first evidence that EfbA of E. faecalis plays a role in UTIs, probably contributing to the pathogenesis in this site.
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Affiliation(s)
- Riccardo Torelli
- Institute of Microbiology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Largo F Vito, 1 00168 Rome, Italy
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22
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Iona E, Pardini M, Gagliardi MC, Colone M, Stringaro AR, Teloni R, Brunori L, Nisini R, Fattorini L, Giannoni F. Infection of human THP-1 cells with dormant Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Microbes Infect 2012; 14:959-67. [PMID: 22546526 DOI: 10.1016/j.micinf.2012.04.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2011] [Revised: 03/08/2012] [Accepted: 04/03/2012] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Dormant, non-replicating Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv strain cultured in hypoxic conditions was used to infect THP-1 cells. CFUs counting, Kinyoun staining and electron microscopy showed that dormant bacilli infected THP-1 cells at a rate similar to replicating M. tuberculosis, but failed to grow during the first 6 days of infection. The absence of growth was specific to the intracellular compartment, as demonstrated by efficient growth in liquid medium. Quantification of β-actin mRNA recovered from infected cells showed that, in contrast with log-phase bacteria, infection with dormant bacilli determined a reduced THP-1 cell death. Gene expression of intracellular non-replicating bacteria showed a pattern typical of a dormant state. Intracellular dormant bacteria induced the activation of genes associated to a proinflammatory response in THP-1 cells. Though, higher levels of TNFα, IL-1β and IL-8 mRNAs compared to aerobic H37Rv infected cells were not paralleled by increased cytokine accumulation in the supernatants. Moreover, dormant bacilli induced a higher expression of inducible cox-2 gene, accompanied by increased PGE2 secretion. Overall, our data describe a new model of in vitro infection using dormant M. tuberculosis that could provide the basis for understanding how non-replicating bacilli survive intracellularly and influence the maintenance of the hypoxic granuloma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisabetta Iona
- Dipartimento di Malattie Infettive, Parassitarie e Immunomediate, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena, 299, 00161 Rome, Italy
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Sandini S, Stringaro A, Arancia S, Colone M, Mondello F, Murtas S, Girolamo A, Mastrangelo N, De Bernardis F. The MP65 gene is required for cell wall integrity, adherence to epithelial cells and biofilm formation in Candida albicans. BMC Microbiol 2011; 11:106. [PMID: 21575184 PMCID: PMC3113926 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2180-11-106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2010] [Accepted: 05/16/2011] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The MP65 gene of Candida albicans (orf19.1779) encodes a putative β-glucanase mannoprotein of 65 kDa, which plays a main role in a host-fungus relationship, morphogenesis and pathogenicity. In this study, we performed an extensive analysis of a mp65Δ mutant to assess the role of this protein in cell wall integrity, adherence to epithelial cells and biofilm formation. Results The mp65Δ mutant showed a high sensitivity to a range of cell wall-perturbing and degrading agents, especially Congo red, which induced morphological changes such as swelling, clumping and formation of hyphae. The mp65Δ mutant showed an activation of two MAPKs (Mkc1p and Cek1p), a high level of expression of two stress-related genes (DDR48 and SOD5), and a modulated expression of β-glucan epitopes, but no gross changes in cell wall polysaccharide composition. Interestingly, the mp65Δ mutant displayed a marked reduction in adhesion to BEC and Caco-2 cells and severe defects in biofilm formation when compared to the wild type. All of the mentioned properties were totally or partially recovered in a revertant strain, demonstrating the specificity of gene deletion. Conclusions We demonstrate that the MP65 gene of Candida albicans plays a significant role in maintaining cell wall integrity, as well as in adherence to epithelia and biofilm formation, which are major virulence attributes of this fungus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvia Sandini
- Department of Infectious, Parasitic and Immuno-mediated Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, 00161, Italy.
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Dul EC, van Ravenswaaij-Arts CMA, Groen H, van Echten-Arends J, Land JA, Tyulenev Y, Naumenko V, Kurilo L, Shileiko L, Segal A, Klimova R, Kushch A, Ribas-Maynou J, Garcia-Peiro A, Abad C, Amengual MJ, Benet J, Navarro J, Colasante A, Lobascio AM, Scarselli F, Minasi MG, Alviggi E, Rubino P, Casciani V, Pena R, Varricchio MT, Litwicka K, Ferrero S, Zavaglia D, Franco G, Nagy ZP, Greco E, Romany L, Meseguer M, Garcia-Herrero S, Pellicer A, Garrido N, Dam A, Pijnenburg A, Hendriks JC, Westphal JR, Ramos L, Kremer JAM, Eertmans F, Bogaert V, Puype B, Geisler W, Clusmann C, Klopsch I, Strowitzki T, Eggert-Kruse W, Maettner R, Isachenko E, Isachenko V, Strehler E, Sterzik K, Band G, Madgar I, Brietbart H, Naor Z, Cunha-Filho JS, Souza CA, Krebs VG, Santos KD, Koff WJ, Stein A, Hammoud I, Albert M, Bergere M, Bailly M, Boitrelle F, Vialard F, Wainer R, Izard V, Selva J, Cohen - Bacrie P, Belloc S, de mouzon J, Cohen-Bacrie M, Alvarez S, Junca AM, Dumont M, Douard S, Prisant N, Tomita K, Hashimoto S, Akamatsu Y, Satoh M, Mori R, Inoue T, Ohnishi Y, Ito K, Nakaoka Y, Morimoto Y, Smith VJH, Ahuja KK, Atig F, Raffa M, Sfar MT, Saad A, Ajina M, Braga DPAF, Halpern G, Figueira RCS, Setti AS, Iaconelli Jr. A, Borges Jr. E, Medeiros GS, Borges Jr. E, Pasqualotto EB, Pasqualotto FF, Nadalini M, Tarozzi N, Di Santo M, Borini A, Lopez-Fernandez C, Arroyo F, Caballero P, Nunez-Calonge R, Fernandez JL, Gosalvez J, Gosalvez J, Lopez-Fernandez C, Gosalbez A, Cortes S, Caballero P, Nunez-Calonge R, Zikopoulos K, Lazaros L, Vartholomatos G, Kaponis A, Makrydimas G, Plachouras N, Sofikitis N, Kalantaridou S, Hatzi E, Georgiou I, Belloc S, de Mouzon J, Cohen-Bacrie M, Junca AM, Dumont M, Amar E, Cohen-Bacrie P, Vuillaume ML, Brugnon F, Artonne C, Janny L, Pons-Rejraji H, Fedder J, Bosco L, Ruvolo G, Bruccoleri AM, Manno M, Roccheri MC, Cittadini E, Bochev I, Gavrilov P, Kyurkchiev S, Shterev A, Carlomagno G, Colone M, Condorelli RA, Stringaro A, Calogero AE, Zakova J, Kralikova M, Crha I, Ventruba P, Melounova J, Matejovicova M, Vodova M, Lousova E, Sanchez Toledo M, Alvarez LLeo C, Garcia Garrido C, Resta Serra M, Belmonte Andujar LL, Gonzalez de Merlo G, Crha I, Zakova J, Ventruba P, Lousova E, Pohanka M, Huser M, Amiri I, Karimi J, Goodarzi MT, Tavilani H, Filannino A, Magli MC, Boudjema E, Crippa A, Ferraretti AP, Gianaroli L, Robles F, Magli MC, Crippa A, Filannino A, Ferraretti AP, Gianaroli L, Huang H, Yao DJ, Huang HJ, Li JR, Fan SK, Wang ML, Yung-Kuei S, Amer S, Mahran A, Darne J, Shaw R, Boudjema E, Magli MC, Borghi E, Cetera C, Ferraretti AP, Gianaroli L, Shukla U, Ogutu D, Deval B, Jansa M, Savvas M, Narvekar N, Houska P, Dackland AL, Bjorndahl L, Kvist U, Crippa A, Magli MC, Muzii L, Barboni B, Ferraretti AP, Gianaroli L, Samanta L, Kar S, Yakovenko SA, Troshina MN, Rutman BK, Dyakonov SA, Holmes E, Bjorndahl L, Kvist U, Feijo C, Verza Junior S, Esteves SC, Berta CL, Caille AM, Ghersevich SA, Zumoffen C, Munuce MJ, San Celestino M, Agudo D, Alonso M, Sanjurjo P, Becerra D, Bronet F, Garcia-Velasco JA, Pacheco A, Lafuente R, Lopez G, Checa MA, Carreras R, Brassesco M, Oneta M, Savasi V, Parrilla B, Guarneri D, Laureti A, Pagano F, Cetin I, Ekwurtzel E, Bjorndahl L, Kvist U, Morgante G, Piomboni P, Stendardi A, Serafini F, De Leo V, Focarelli R, Dumont M, Belloc S, Junca AM, Benkhalifa M, Cohen-Bacrie M, De Mouzon J, Entezami F, Cohen-Bacrie P, Junca A, Belloc S, Dumont M, Cohen-Bacrie M, Benkhalifa M, De Mouzon JJ, Entezami F, Cohen-Bacrie P, Mangiarini A, Capitanio E, Paffoni A, Restelli L, Guarneri C, Scarduelli C, Ragni G, Harrison K, Irving J, Martin N, Sherrin D, Yazdani A, Almeida C, Correia S, Rocha E, Alves A, Cunha M, Ferraz L, Silva S, Sousa M, Barros A, Perdrix A, Travers A, Milazzo JP, Clatot F, Mousset-Simeon N, Mace B, Rives N, Clarke HS, Callow A, Saxton D, Pacey AA, Sapir O, Oron G, Ben-Haroush A, Garor R, Feldberg D, Pinkas H, Stein A, Wertheimer A, Fisch B, Palacios E, Gonzalvo MC, Clavero A, Ramirez JP, Rosales A, Mozas J, Bjorndahl L, Castilla JA, Mugica J, Ramon O, Valdivia A, Exposito A, Casis L, Matorras R, Bongers R, Gottardo F, Zitzmann M, Kliesch S, Cordes T, Kamischke A, Schultze-Mosgau A, Buendgen N, Diedrich K, Griesinger G, Crisol L, Aspichueta F, Exposito A, Hernandez ML, Ruiz-Sanz JI, Mendoza R, Matorras R, Sanchez-Tusie AA, Bermudez A, Lopez P, Churchill GC, Trevino CL, Maldonado I, Dabbah J. POSTER VIEWING SESSION - ANDROLOGY. Hum Reprod 2011. [DOI: 10.1093/humrep/26.s1.75] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
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Abstract
In this study we present new data from experiments focused on the antitumor activity of tea tree oil (TTO), an essential oil distilled from Melaleuca alternifolia. TTO proved to be capable of inhibiting the growth of melanoma cells and of overcoming multidrug resistance (MDR), as we reported in our previous study. Moreover, the survival role of the MDR-marker P-glycoprotein appears to be involved in the mechanism of invasion of melanoma cells. The results reported herein indicate that TTO and its main active component, terpinen-4-ol, can also interfere with the migration and invasion processes of drug-sensitive and drug-resistant melanoma cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giuseppina Bozzuto
- Department of Technology and Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
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26
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Amadoro G, Corsetti V, Stringaro A, Colone M, D'Aguanno S, Meli G, Ciotti M, Sancesario G, Cattaneo A, Bussani R, Mercanti D, Calissano P. A NH2 tau fragment targets neuronal mitochondria at AD synapses: possible implications for neurodegeneration. J Alzheimers Dis 2010; 21:445-70. [PMID: 20571215 DOI: 10.3233/jad-2010-100120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Synapses are ultrastructural sites for memory storage in brain, and synaptic damage is the best pathologic correlate of cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Post-translational hyperphosphorylation, enzyme-mediated truncation, conformational modifications, and aggregation of tau protein into neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) are hallmarks for a heterogeneous group of neurodegenerative disorders, so-called tauopathies. AD is a secondary tauopathy since it is pathologically distinguished by the presence of amyloid-beta (Abeta)-containing senile plaques and the presence of tau-positive NFTs in the neocortex and hippocampus. Here, we report that a 20-22 kDa NH2-truncated tau fragment is largely enriched in human mitochondria from cryopreserved synaptosomes of AD brains and that its amount in terminal fields correlates with the pathological synaptic changes and with the organelle functional impairment. This NH2-truncated tau form is also found in other human, not AD-tauopathies, while its presence in AD patients is linked to Abeta multimeric species and likely to pathology severity. Finally native, patient-derived, Abeta oligomers-enriched extracts likely impair the mitochondrial function by the in vitro production of 20-22 kDa NH2-tau fragments in mature human SY5Y and in rat hippocampal neurons. Thus our findings suggest that the mitochondrial NH2-derived tau peptide distribution may exacerbate the synapse degeneration occurring in tauopathies, including AD, and sustain the in vivo NH-2 tau cleavage inhibitors as an alternative drug discovery strategies for AD therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giuseppina Amadoro
- Institute of Neurobiology and Molecular Medicine-CNR, IRCSS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy.
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Colone M, Marelli G, Unfer V, Bozzuto G, Molinari A, Stringaro A. Inositol activity in oligoasthenoteratospermia--an in vitro study. Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci 2010; 14:891-896. [PMID: 21222378] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Oligoasthenoteratospermia, a reduction in motilty and number of spermatozoa and a change in their morphology, is one of the most relevant causes of infertility in men. One of the factors, which may influence male infertility is linked to the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by morphologically altered spermatozoa. Spermatozoa are more susceptible than other cell species to the detrimental activity of these chemical compounds. In particular ROS can affect motility, morphology and DNA stability of spermatozoa. AIM In the present in vitro study the role of a natural substance, inositol, has been investigated as a possible antioxidant agent both for the systemic treatment of male infertility and for the improvement in the in vitro quality of the sperm used for the fertilization applied to medically assisted reproductive procedures. MATERIALS AND METHODS The collected samples, belonging to subjects suffering from oligoasthenoteratospermia and of healthy subjects were submitted to phase constrast microscopy in order to evaluate spermatozoa motility, treated with inositol 2 mg/ml and then submitted to scansion electron microscopy (SEM) and to transmission electron microscopy (TEM). SEM allowed to study both the surface morphology of the biological samples and the changes induced on them by the treatment with inositol. TEM allowed to study ultrastructural details of the biological samples. RESULTS In the samples of subjects suffering from oligoasthenoteratospermia the spermatozoa appear entirely covered with an amorphous fibrous material, that gives an excessive viscosity to the seminal fluid, and reduces or avoids cell mobility. The micrographs of these samples show that the mitochondria, in their intermediate tract, appear to be altered with markedly damaged cristae. After treatment with inositol the pathologic samples clearly shows the absence of the amorphous material, perhaps due to a variation in seminal fluid pH. Furthermore, they show the presence of mitochondria morphologically more similar to control specimen mitochondria, with less damage involving mitochondrial cristae. CONCLUSIONS These preliminary data appear to suggest that inositol, on account of its antioxidant activity, could preferentially aim at the mitochondrium. Further studies are requested to the purpose of better defining the combination between ROS values of the samples, inositol in vitro treatment and oligoasthenoteratospermia.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Colone
- Department of Technologies and Health, National Institute of Health, Rome, Italy.
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28
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Bombelli C, Stringaro A, Borocci S, Bozzuto G, Colone M, Giansanti L, Sgambato R, Toccaceli L, Mancini G, Molinari A. Efficiency of liposomes in the delivery of a photosensitizer controlled by the stereochemistry of a gemini surfactant component. Mol Pharm 2010; 7:130-7. [PMID: 19929006 DOI: 10.1021/mp900173v] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Liposomes formulated with dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-phosphatidylcholine, DMPC, and either one of the cationic gemini surfactants (S,S)-2,3-dimethoxy-1,4-bis(N-hexadecyl-N,N-dimethylammonio)butane bromide, 1a, and (S,R)-2,3-dimethoxy-1,4-bis(N-hexadecyl-N,N-dimethylammonio)butane bromide, 1b, were investigated as vehicles of the photosensitizer m-tetrahydroxyphenylchlorin, m-THPC, to cell models of malignant glioma. The delivery efficiency of DMPC/1a and DMPC/1b liposome formulations were evaluated on the murine glioblastoma cell line C6 and on the human glioblastoma cell line LN229 by flow cytometry and laser scanning confocal microscopy. The stereochemistry of the spacer of the gemini was found to strongly influence the delivery efficiency of m-THPC to cells, the mode of interaction with the cell membrane, and the intracellular distribution of m-THPC. The physicochemical features of liposomes were investigated with the aim of explaining the parameters that control their biological features. Differences that could account for the different biological activity of the formulations concern the values of surface potential and the environment of m-THPC at the water/liposome interface.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cecilia Bombelli
- CNR, Istituto di Metodologie Chimiche and Universita degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", P.le A. Moro 5, 00185 Roma, Italy
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Parolini I, Federici C, Raggi C, Lugini L, Palleschi S, De Milito A, Coscia C, Iessi E, Logozzi M, Molinari A, Colone M, Tatti M, Sargiacomo M, Fais S. Microenvironmental pH is a key factor for exosome traffic in tumor cells. J Biol Chem 2009; 284:34211-22. [PMID: 19801663 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m109.041152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1068] [Impact Index Per Article: 71.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Exosomes secreted by normal and cancer cells carry and deliver a variety of molecules. To date, mechanisms referring to tumor exosome trafficking, including release and cell-cell transmission, have not been described. To gain insight into this, exosomes purified from metastatic melanoma cell medium were labeled with a lipid fluorescent probe, R18, and analyzed by spectrofluorometry and confocal microscopy. A low pH condition is a hallmark of tumor malignancy, potentially influencing exosome release and uptake by cancer cells. Using different pH conditions as a modifier of exosome traffic, we showed (i) an increased exosome release and uptake at low pH when compared with a buffered condition and (ii) exosome uptake by melanoma cells occurred by fusion. Membrane biophysical analysis, such as fluidity and lipid composition, indicated a high rigidity and sphingomyelin/ganglioside GM3 (N-acetylneuraminylgalactosylglucosylceramide) content in exosomes released at low pH. This was likely responsible for the increased fusion efficiency. Consistent with these results, pretreatment with proton pump inhibitors led to an inhibition of exosome uptake by melanoma cells. Fusion efficiency of tumor exosomes resulted in being higher in cells of metastatic origin than in those derived from primary tumors or normal cells. Furthermore, we found that caveolin-1, a protein involved in melanoma progression, is highly delivered through exosomes released in an acidic condition. The results of our study provide the evidence that exosomes may be used as a delivery system for paracrine diffusion of tumor malignancy, in turn supporting the importance of both exosomes and tumor pH as key targets for future anti-cancer strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabella Parolini
- Department of Hematology, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome 00161, Italy
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Torosantucci A, Chiani P, Bromuro C, De Bernardis F, Palma AS, Liu Y, Mignogna G, Maras B, Colone M, Stringaro A, Zamboni S, Feizi T, Cassone A. Protection by anti-beta-glucan antibodies is associated with restricted beta-1,3 glucan binding specificity and inhibition of fungal growth and adherence. PLoS One 2009; 4:e5392. [PMID: 19399183 PMCID: PMC2670538 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0005392] [Citation(s) in RCA: 169] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2009] [Accepted: 03/28/2009] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Anti-β-glucan antibodies elicited by a laminarin-conjugate vaccine confer cross-protection to mice challenged with major fungal pathogens such as Candida albicans, Aspergillus fumigatus and Cryptococcus neoformans. To gain insights into protective β-glucan epitope(s) and protection mechanisms, we studied two anti-β-glucan monoclonal antibodies (mAb) with identical complementarity-determining regions but different isotypes (mAb 2G8, IgG2b and mAb 1E12, IgM). C. albicans, the most relevant fungal pathogen for humans, was used as a model. Both mAbs bound to fungal cell surface and to the β1,3-β1,6 glucan of the fungal cell wall skeleton, as shown by immunofluorescence, electron-microscopy and ELISA. They were also equally unable to opsonize fungal cells in a J774 macrophage phagocytosis and killing assay. However, only the IgG2b conferred substantial protection against mucosal and systemic candidiasis in passive vaccination experiments in rodents. Competition ELISA and microarray analyses using sequence-defined glucan oligosaccharides showed that the protective IgG2b selectively bound to β1,3-linked (laminarin-like) glucose sequences whereas the non-protective IgM bound to β1,6- and β1,4-linked glucose sequences in addition to β1,3-linked ones. Only the protective IgG2b recognized heterogeneous, polydisperse high molecular weight cell wall and secretory components of the fungus, two of which were identified as the GPI-anchored cell wall proteins Als3 and Hyr1. In addition, only the IgG2b inhibited in vitro two critical virulence attributes of the fungus, hyphal growth and adherence to human epithelial cells. Our study demonstrates that the isotype of anti-β-glucan antibodies may affect details of the β-glucan epitopes recognized, and this may be associated with a differing ability to inhibit virulence attributes of the fungus and confer protection in vivo. Our data also suggest that the anti-virulence properties of the IgG2b mAb may be linked to its capacity to recognize β-glucan epitope(s) on some cell wall components that exert critical functions in fungal cell wall structure and adherence to host cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonella Torosantucci
- Department of Infectious, Parasitic and Immune-mediated Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Paola Chiani
- Department of Infectious, Parasitic and Immune-mediated Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Carla Bromuro
- Department of Infectious, Parasitic and Immune-mediated Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Flavia De Bernardis
- Department of Infectious, Parasitic and Immune-mediated Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Angelina S. Palma
- Glycosciences Laboratory, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Yan Liu
- Glycosciences Laboratory, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Giuseppina Mignogna
- Department of Biochemical Sciences ‘A. Rossi Fanelli’, University of Rome ‘La Sapienza’, Rome, Italy
| | - Bruno Maras
- Department of Biochemical Sciences ‘A. Rossi Fanelli’, University of Rome ‘La Sapienza’, Rome, Italy
| | - Marisa Colone
- Departments of Technology and Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Annarita Stringaro
- Departments of Technology and Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Silvia Zamboni
- Department of Therapeutic Research and Medicine Evaluation, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Ten Feizi
- Glycosciences Laboratory, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Antonio Cassone
- Department of Infectious, Parasitic and Immune-mediated Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
- * E-mail:
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Angiolella L, Vitali A, Stringaro A, Mignogna G, Maras B, Bonito M, Colone M, Palamara AT, Cassone A. Localisation of Bgl2p upon antifungal drug treatment in Candida albicans. Int J Antimicrob Agents 2008; 33:143-8. [PMID: 19013773 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijantimicag.2008.08.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2008] [Revised: 08/06/2008] [Accepted: 08/07/2008] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Several proteins are covalently bound to the cell wall glucan (glucan-associated proteins (GAPs)) in Candida albicans and different drugs may cause their modulation. Proteomic analysis is a suitable approach to study differential GAP patterns between control and drug-treated cells. Since antimycotics induce variation in GAP content, we investigated the effect of a sublethal dose of micafungin and observed a clear increase in Bgl2p, an enzyme with glucanosyltransferase activity, with respect to a general decrease in cell wall protein content. Immunoelectron microscopy using mouse antiserum confirmed this increase of Bgl2p on the outer cell wall but also revealed a dramatic increase in the immature Bgl2p isoform in the cytoplasm of drug-treated cells. Since this increased expression of Bgl2p is clearly dependent upon micafungin treatment, this enzyme appears to be one of the survival strategies of C. albicans and thus could be considered the molecular basis of antifungal resistance and also as a potential valuable candidate for future vaccine development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Letizia Angiolella
- Department of Public Health Sciences G. Sanarelli, University of Rome La Sapienza, Rome, Italy.
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Tibaldi E, Brunati AM, Massimino ML, Stringaro A, Colone M, Agostinelli E, Arancia G, Toninello A. Src-Tyrosine kinases are major agents in mitochondrial tyrosine phosphorylation. J Cell Biochem 2008; 104:840-9. [PMID: 18247338 DOI: 10.1002/jcb.21670] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Mitochondrial tyrosine phosphorylation is emerging as an important mechanism in regulating mitochondrial function. This article, aimed at identifying which kinases are the major agents in mitochondrial tyrosine phosphorylation, shows that this role should be attributed to Src family members. Indeed, various members of this family, for example, Fgr, Fyn, Lyn, c-Src, are constitutively present in the internal structure of mitochondria as well as Csk, a key enzyme in the regulation of the activity of this family. By means of different approaches, biochemical fractioning, Western blotting and immunogold analysis "in situ" of phosphotyrosine signaling, evidence is reported on the existence of a signal transduction pathway from plasma membrane to mitochondria, resulting in increasing Src-dependent mitochondrial tyrosine phosphorylation. The activation of Src kinases at mitochondrial level is associated with the proliferative status where several mitochondrial proteins are specifically tyrosine-phosphorylated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena Tibaldi
- Dipartimento di Chimica Biologica, Universita' di Padova, Istituto di Neuroscienze del C.N.R., Via G. Colombo 3, 35121 Padova, Italy
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Mannino S, Molinari A, Sabatino G, Ciafrè SA, Colone M, Maira G, Anile C, Arancia G, Mangiola A. Intratumoral vs systemic administration of meta-tetrahydroxyphenylchlorin for photodynamic therapy of malignant gliomas: assessment of uptake and spatial distribution in C6 rat glioma model. Int J Immunopathol Pharmacol 2008; 21:227-31. [PMID: 18336750 DOI: 10.1177/039463200802100126] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Malignant gliomas, with an incidence of 5 cases per 100,000 population per year, represent the most common primary brain tumour. They have an overall survival length of less than 2 years. Many different adjuvant therapies have been developed. Among them, Photodynamic Therapy (PDT), that is based on photochemical reactions between light and tumoral tissue selectively labelled with exogenous photosensitizing agents. Among photosensitizers, m-THPC (Temoporfin), seems to be the most promising one for the treatment of brain tumors, but, unfortunately, it causes problems of high skin photosensitivity. To by-pass this problem, we devised an intratumoral route of administration of this photosensitizer. The aim of this study is to investigate and compare the uptake of m-THPC in brain tumor and normal tissue after systemic and intratumoral administration of the drug. 30 female Wistar rats received m-THPC 12 days after C6 tumor implantation. Temoporfin was administered intratumorally in 24 rats at two different concentrations. 6 rats constituted the control group and received m-THPC by means of an intraperitoneal injection. The brains were extracted at 4 h, 24 h and 96 h after Temoporfin injection. The samples were examined with a confocal laser scanning microscope. All samples showed high fluorescence emission exclusively in the tumour area, without appreciable differences between the samples taken at the different times of sacrifice and the two routes of administration. No fluorescence whatsoever was detected among normal brain tissue surrounding the tumour. The intratumoral route appears to give comparable results to the systemic one, regarding intracellular uptake efficiency and tumour--normal tissue ratio, with the advantage of a much shorter time needed to reach optimal intratumoural concentration--that is just four hours from m-THPC injection.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Mannino
- Institute of Neurosurgery, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome, Italy.
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Spugnini EP, Arancia G, Porrello A, Colone M, Formisano G, Stringaro A, Citro G, Molinari A. Ultrastructural modifications of cell membranes induced by "electroporation" on melanoma xenografts. Microsc Res Tech 2008; 70:1041-50. [PMID: 17722056 DOI: 10.1002/jemt.20504] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Electroporation (EP) has been widely employed in the past years as a safe and effective technique to drive drugs and DNA plasmids into target cells both for experimental and therapeutic purposes. Despite the large bulk of literature on this topic, often describing successful outcomes, there is a lack of knowledge about the intimate mechanism(s) controlling this phenomenon. In this paper, we describe a number of ultrastructural alterations in the cellular membranes following the exposure of orthotopic melanomas and red blood cells to trains of biphasic pulses. Specifically, melanoma xenografts grown in nude mice were subject to trains of eight biphasic pulses using an electric field of 1250 or 2450 V/cm, excised after 5 min and processed for electron microscopy. The freeze-fracturing analysis of both cell types evidenced defects in the dynamic assembly of lipids and proteins, which generate "areas with rough structure" and intensive clustering of intramembrane proteins. Such modifications could be the hallmarks of lipid and protein alterations, of protein cohesion reduction, and of changes in lipid orientation inside cell membranes, as postulated in several mathematical models applied to electroporation, and warrant further investigations.
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Cascioferro A, Delogu G, Colone M, Sali M, Stringaro A, Arancia G, Fadda G, Palù G, Manganelli R. PE is a functional domain responsible for protein translocation and localization on mycobacterial cell wall. Mol Microbiol 2007; 66:1536-47. [PMID: 18028308 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2958.2007.06023.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The PE family of Mycobacterium tuberculosis includes 98 proteins which share a highly homologous N-terminus sequence of about 110 amino acids (PE domain). Depending on the C-terminal domain, the PE family can be divided in three subfamilies, the largest of which is the PE_PGRS with 61 members. In this study, we determined the cellular localization of three PE proteins by cell fractionation and immunoelectron microscopy by expressing chimeric epitope-tagged recombinant proteins in Mycobacterium smegmatis. We demonstrate that the PE domain of PE_PGRS33 and PE11 (a protein constituted by the only PE domain) contains the information necessary for cell wall localization, and that they can be used as N-terminal fusion partners to deliver a sufficiently long C-terminus-linked protein domain on the mycobacterial cell surface. Indeed, we demonstrate that PE_PGRS33 and Rv3097c (a lipase belonging to the PE family) are surface exposed and localize in the mycobacterial cell wall. Moreover, we found that PE_PGRS33 is easily extractable by detergents suggesting its localization in the mycobacterial outer membrane. Beyond defining the cellular localization of these proteins, and a function for their PE domains, these data open the interesting possibility to construct recombinant mycobacteria expressing heterologous antigens on their surface for vaccine purposes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandro Cascioferro
- Department of Histology, Microbiology and Medical Biotechnologies, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
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Molinari A, Bombelli C, Mannino S, Stringaro A, Toccacieli L, Calcabrini A, Colone M, Mangiola A, Maira G, Luciani P, Mancini G, Arancia G. m-THPC-mediated photodynamic therapy of malignant gliomas: assessment of a new transfection strategy. Int J Cancer 2007; 121:1149-55. [PMID: 17471562 DOI: 10.1002/ijc.22793] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Malignant gliomas represent the most common primary brain tumor: more than 50% of them are glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). Photodynamic therapy may offer a very good chance of targeted destruction of infiltrating GBM cells, thus increasing the survival time and recurrence-free interval of GBM patients. Among photosensitizing agents, meta-tetrahydroxyphenylchlorin (m-THPC) is promising for the treatment of brain tumors. In previous studies, we investigated the transfection activity of dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-phosphatidylcholine (DMPC) liposomes, containing a cationic gemini surfactant, loaded with m-THPC on human colon adenocarcinoma and glioblastoma cell lines. In this paper, the uptake and the intracellular distribution of m-THPC, loaded in several formulations of cationic liposomes, were analyzed, by making a comparison with those obtained using the same chlorin in the pharmaceutical form (Foscan(R)). Moreover, by cloning efficiency assay the potential therapeutic efficiency of chlorin delivered by liposome formulations was compared with that of the pharmaceutical compound, before and after irradiation with laser light at 652 nm. The obtained results indicated that cationic liposomes (i) transferred m-THPC in glioblastoma cells more efficiently than pharmaceutical formulation; (ii) significantly (p < 0.001) increased the m-THPC cytotoxic effect after laser irradiation; (iii) seemed to exert their cytotoxic action in the early phase of interaction with the cells, during adhesion to the plasma membrane.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agnese Molinari
- Department of Technology and Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy
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Luciani P, Bombelli C, Colone M, Giansanti L, Ryhänen SJ, Säily VMJ, Mancini G, Kinnunen PKJ. Influence of the Spacer of Cationic Gemini Amphiphiles on the Hydration of Lipoplexes. Biomacromolecules 2007; 8:1999-2003. [PMID: 17518442 DOI: 10.1021/bm070202o] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The impact of the length of gemini surfactant spacer on complexation and condensation of calf thymus DNA by cationic mixed phospholipid/gemini liposomes was investigated by monitoring the conformational changes of DNA by circular dichroism and the lipid hydration level by the emission characteristics of the fluorescent probe laurdan included in the lipid bilayer. The length of the spacer was shown to influence, on one hand, the hydration level and the organization of the corresponding liposomes and, on the other, the variation of lipid hydration level and the DNA conformation upon complexation. In fact, in correspondence with the longest spacer we observed more hydrated liposomes, probably organized in domains, a higher extent of dehydration promoted by the addition of DNA, and a minor extent of DNA conformational change. The physicochemical features of lipoplexes were shown to depend on the [cationic headgroup]/[DNA single base] ratio.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paola Luciani
- CNR, Istituto di Metodologie Chimiche-Sezione Meccanismi di Reazione, and Dipartimento di Chimica, UniversitA degli Studi di Roma La Sapienza P. le A. Moro 5, 00185 Roma, Italy
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Molinari A, Colone M, Calcabrini A, Stringaro A, Toccacieli L, Arancia G, Mannino S, Mangiola A, Maira G, Bombelli C, Mancini G. Cationic liposomes, loaded with m-THPC, in photodynamic therapy for malignant glioma. Toxicol In Vitro 2006; 21:230-4. [PMID: 17064875 DOI: 10.1016/j.tiv.2006.09.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2006] [Revised: 07/14/2006] [Accepted: 09/08/2006] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
In this study we investigated the feasibility of mixed liposomes formed by dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-phosphatidylcholine (DMPC) and cationic gemini surfactant (Gemini 1) loaded with the chlorin m-tetrahydroxyphenylchlorin (m-THPC), in photodynamic therapy (PDT) for glioma. To this aim, an in vitro study was carried out by employing various human glioblastoma cell lines (A172, DBTRG, LN229, U118). The following liposomal formulations were tested: (i) DMPC and Gemini 1; (ii) m-THPC in DMPC in the absence or (iii) in the presence of Gemini 1 in the molar ratio 8:2; 7:3, and 6:4. The presence of Gemini 1 significantly increased the intracellular uptake of chlorin in all cell tested although with a different extent: LN229>U118>A172>DBTRG. The cytotoxicity of chlorin-loaded liposomes was then tested by cloning efficiency performed on different cultures, before and after irradiation with laser light at 652nm, at a Fluence Rate of 200mW/s for 100s, with a total Fluence of 20J/cm(-2). In the absence of irradiation, the different liposomal formulations induced a cytotoxicity in less than 30% of glioblastoma cells. On the contrary, irradiation induced total destruction of all cultures treated with m-THPC/DMPC+Gemini 1 in the ratios 8:2, or 7:3, or 6:4.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Molinari
- Department of Technology and Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
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Bronzetti E, Artico M, Pompili E, Felici LM, Stringaro A, Bosco S, Magliulo G, Colone M, Arancia G, Vitale M, Fumagalli L. Neurotrophins and neurotransmitters in human palatine tonsils: an immunohistochemical and RT-PCR analysis. Int J Mol Med 2006; 18:49-58. [PMID: 16786155] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Lymphoid organs are supplied by many nerve endings associated with different kinds of cells and macrophages. The role of these neuromediators on the release of locally active molecules is still unknown. Here we focused our attention on the expression of some neurotrophins (NTs), their high- and low-affinity receptors and several neurotransmitters in human palatine tonsils. Light and electron microscopy immunohistochemistry showed that human tonsillar samples were positive for all analyzed neurotrophins (NGF, BDNF and NT-3) and their high-affinity receptors (TrkA, TrkB and TrkC, respectively). All of these molecules were strongly expressed in macrophages whereas, in some patients, a weaker specific staining of lymphocytes and blood vessels was also found. The low-affinity receptor for NGF (p75) was always absent in the analysed samples. RT-PCR confirmed the occurrence of specific transcripts for NTs and their high-affinity receptors as well as the absence of mRNA for p75 protein. Also, specific immunoreactivity for neurotransmitters SP, VIP, CGRP, ChAT and nNOS was mainly expressed by macrophagic cells. These results suggest the presence of an extensive network of innervation in the human palatine tonsils which may play a role in the regulation of some immune functions as well as in the modulation of a possible functional scenario of interactions among different immune cellular subtypes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena Bronzetti
- Department of Cardiovascular, Respiratory and Morphological Sciences, University of Rome La Sapienza, 00161 Rome, Italy.
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Bronzetti E, Artico M, Pompili E, Felici L, Stringaro A, Bosco S, Magliulo G, Colone M, Arancia G, Vitale M, Fumagalli L. Neurotrophins and neurotransmitters in human palatine tonsils: An immunohistochemical and RT-PCR analysis. Int J Mol Med 2006. [DOI: 10.3892/ijmm.18.1.49] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
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Gaudiano MC, Colone M, Bombelli C, Chistolini P, Valvo L, Diociaiuti M. Early stages of salmon calcitonin aggregation: effect induced by ageing and oxidation processes in water and in the presence of model membranes. Biochim Biophys Acta 2005; 1750:134-45. [PMID: 15964788 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbapap.2005.04.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2004] [Revised: 03/29/2005] [Accepted: 04/14/2005] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
The natural ageing- and hydrogen peroxide-induced aggregation of salmon calcitonin were studied in water and in the presence of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) liposomes. The early stages of the aggregation process at low protein concentration were investigated by means of Circular Dichroism spectroscopy (CD) and conventional and immunogold labelling Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). In buffered water solution, salmon calcitonin showed a two-stage conformational variation related to fibril formation and phase-separation of larger aggregates. A first stage, characterised by small conformational changes but a decrease in dichroic band intensity, was followed by a second stage, 6 days after, leading to higher conformational variations and aggregations. Salmon calcitonin showed a distinct modification in the secondary structure and aggregate morphology in the presence of hydrogen peroxide with respect to natural ageing, indicating that the two aggregation processes (natural and chemical-induced) followed a distinct mechanism. The oxidised forms of the peptide were separated by liquid chromatography. The same study was performed in the presence of DPPC liposomes. The results obtained by conventional and immunogold labelling TEM evidenced that salmon calcitonin in buffered water solution essentially does not enter the liposomes but forms around them a fibril network characterised by the same conformational changes after 6 days. The oxidised sample in the presence of liposomes showed a "fibrils hank", separated from liposomes. The presence of liposomes did not affect either the aggregation or the conformational modifications yet observed by TEM and CD in water solution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Cristina Gaudiano
- Dipartimento del Farmaco, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, viale Regina Elena, 299-00161 Roma, Italy
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Huber V, Fais S, Iero M, Lugini L, Canese P, Squarcina P, Zaccheddu A, Colone M, Arancia G, Gentile M, Seregni E, Valenti R, Ballabio G, Belli F, Leo E, Parmiani G, Rivoltini L. Human colorectal cancer cells induce T-cell death through release of proapoptotic microvesicles: role in immune escape. Gastroenterology 2005; 128:1796-804. [PMID: 15940614 DOI: 10.1053/j.gastro.2005.03.045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 381] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND & AIMS Normal and neoplastic cells release microvesicles, whose effects on the immune system still need to be elucidated. Because human colorectal cancer cells are hypothesized to escape immune recognition by expressing proapoptotic molecules, we investigated whether microvesicles bearing Fas ligand and tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand and inducing apoptosis of activated T cells are secreted by colorectal cancer cells both in vitro and in affected patients. METHODS Fas ligand and tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand expression were analyzed in colorectal cancer cells and purified microvesicles by flow cytometry, Western blotting, and immunoelectron microscopy. Microvesicle tumor origin was assessed through simultaneous detection of lysosomal (CD63) and adenocarcinoma (carcinoembryonic antigen) markers. Proapoptotic activity of microvesicles was evaluated by annexin V/propidium iodide staining and caspase activation in T cells, including CD8+ T lymphocytes from colorectal cancer patients. RESULTS Colorectal cancer cells showed a granular pattern of tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand and Fas ligand expression, suggesting a secretory behavior. These proapoptotic molecules were detected on isolated microvesicles, together with class I HLA, CD63, and carcinoembryonic antigen. Microvesicles induced Fas ligand-mediated and tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand-mediated apoptosis of activated CD8+ T cells generated from colorectal cancer patients. Microvesicles with comparable phenotypes and functions were found in plasma from patients with advanced disease, whereas vesicular structures expressing Fas ligand and tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand were also detected in colorectal cancer specimens. CONCLUSIONS These data show that colorectal cancer induces T-cell apoptosis through the release of Fas ligand-bearing and tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand-bearing microvesicles both in vitro and in vivo. This mechanism of immune escape has potential implications as a prognostic factor and could be targeted for the development of new antitumor therapies in colorectal cancer patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Veronica Huber
- Unit of Immunotherapy of Human Tumors, Istituto Nazionale Tumori, Milan, Italy
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Molinari A, Stringaro A, Gentile M, Colone M, Toccacieli L, Arancia G. Invasive properties of multidrug resistant human melanoma cells. Ital J Anat Embryol 2005; 110:135-41. [PMID: 16101031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
Melanoma cells exhibit a high level of intrinsic or acquired resistance to the cytotoxic agents often associated with the over-expression of drug transporters such as P-glycoprotein (P-gp). In this in vitro study, we investigated the possible relationship between P-gp and CD44, the cell adhesion molecule involved in metastasis and tumor progression of melanoma cells. CD44 expression appeared to be similar in the parental sensitive M14 WT cells and in their resistant counterparts M14 ADR cells. Double-labeling of cryosectioned cells showed that P-gp and CD44 were transported from the synthesis loci to the cell periphery by different vesicles and began to coalesce in proximity of the plasma membrane; thus, P-gp and CD44 seemed to reach together the cell surface. Moreover, P-gp and CD44 appeared to be associated with ERM proteins. The invasive activities of both M14 WT and M14 ADR cells were analyzed by the "transwell chamber invasion" assay. M14 WT cells revealed low capacity to traverse the filters, both in the absence (motility) and in the presence (invasion) of a Matrigel coating. In comparison, M14 ADR cells displayed significantly higher motility and invasion. SEM observations showed that sensitive cells employed lamellar cytoplasmic extrusions to pass through the filter pores whereas resistant cells elongated along the hole through globular processes. In conclusion, the results herein reported suggest that drug resistance in melanoma cells appears associated with a more aggressive behaviour. P-gp and CD44 might cooperate to confer this more invasive phenotype.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Molinari
- Department of Technology and Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
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Calcabrini A, Meschini S, Marra M, Falzano L, Colone M, De Berardis B, Paoletti L, Arancia G, Fiorentini C. Fine environmental particulate engenders alterations in human lung epithelial A549 cells. Environ Res 2004; 95:82-91. [PMID: 15068934 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2003.07.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2003] [Revised: 07/11/2003] [Accepted: 07/16/2003] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Particulate matter (PM), a component of urban air pollution that derives primarily from the combustion of fossil fuels, is responsible for a number of health effects in humans. Recent studies have demonstrated that the fine particles (PM(2.5)) present in high numbers in PM samples can be more harmful than larger particles, since they are more efficiently retained in the peripheral lung. In the present study, we have investigated the biological effects of PM(2.5) on human lung epithelial cell line A549. Morphological analysis performed by immunofluorescence and electron microscopy showed that fine particles interact with the cell surface, where they induce evident alterations and, subsequently, are internalized in the cytoplasm. Cytoskeletal components, in particular microfilaments and microtubules, cause modifications upon challenge with PM(2.5). Of interest, an early cell response to the fine particulate is an increase of reactive oxygen species content, which can account for the observed cytoskeletal changes and the production of proinflammatory cytokines in A549 cells. In particular, exposure to PM(2.5) promoted a dose- and time-dependent release of TNF-alpha and IL-6 in the cell medium.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annarica Calcabrini
- Department of Ultrastructures, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy
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Calcabrini A, Stringaro A, Toccacieli L, Meschini S, Marra M, Colone M, Salvatore G, Mondello F, Arancia G, Molinari A. Terpinen-4-ol, The Main Component of Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Oil Inhibits the In Vitro Growth of Human Melanoma Cells. J Invest Dermatol 2004; 122:349-60. [PMID: 15009716 DOI: 10.1046/j.0022-202x.2004.22236.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 127] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
The search for innovative therapeutic approaches based on the use of new substances is gaining more interest in clinical oncology. In this in vitro study the potential anti-tumoral activity of tea tree oil, distilled from Melaleuca alternifolia, was analyzed against human melanoma M14 WT cells and their drug-resistant counterparts, M14 adriamicin-resistant cells. Both sensitive and resistant cells were grown in the presence of tea tree oil at concentrations ranging from 0.005 to 0.03%. Both the complex oil (tea tree oil) and its main active component terpinen-4-ol were able to induce caspase-dependent apoptosis of melanoma cells and this effect was more evident in the resistant variant cell population. Freeze-fracturing and scanning electron microscopy analyses suggested that the effect of the crude oil and of the terpinen-4-ol was mediated by their interaction with plasma membrane and subsequent reorganization of membrane lipids. In conclusion, tea tree oil and terpinen-4-ol are able to impair the growth of human M14 melanoma cells and appear to be more effective on their resistant variants, which express high levels of P-glycoprotein in the plasma membrane, overcoming resistance to caspase-dependent apoptosis exerted by P-glycoprotein-positive tumor cells.
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Molinari A, Calcabrini A, Meschini S, Stringaro A, Crateri P, Toccacieli L, Marra M, Colone M, Cianfriglia M, Arancia G. Subcellular detection and localization of the drug transporter P-glycoprotein in cultured tumor cells. Curr Protein Pept Sci 2002; 3:653-70. [PMID: 12470219 DOI: 10.2174/1389203023380413] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
In vitro studies on the cellular location of P-glycoprotein (Pgp) are reported with the aim to clarify the relationship between its intracellular expression and the multidrug resistance (MDR) level of tumor cells. Pgp was found abnormally expressed on the plasma membrane of tumor cells with "classical" MDR phenotype. However, Pgp was also often detected on the nuclear envelope and on the membrane of cytoplasmic organelles. The hypothesis that this drug pump maintains a transport function when located in these compartments, is still under debating. Our results, together with those obtained by other researchers, demonstrate that cytoplasmic Pgp regulates the intracellular traffic of drugs so that they are no more able to reach their cellular targets. In particular, we revealed that in MDR breast cancer cells (MCF-7) a significant level of Pgp was expressed in the Golgi apparatus. A similar result was found in human melanoma cell lines, which never undergone cytotoxic drug treatment and did not express the transporter molecule on the plasma membrane. A strict relationship between intracellular Pgp and intrinsic resistance was demonstrated in a human colon carcinoma (LoVo) clone, which did not express the drug transporter on the plasma membrane. Finally, a structural and functional association between Pgp and ERM proteins has been discovered in drug-resistant human T- lymphobastoid cells (CEM-VBL 100). Our findings strongly suggest a pivotal role of the intracytoplasmic Pgp in the transport of drugs into cytoplasmic vesicles, thus actively contributing to their sequestration and transport outwards the cells. Thus, intracellular Pgp seems to represent a complementary protective mechanism of tumor cells against cytotoxic agents.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Molinari
- Laboratorio di Ultrastrutture, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy
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Bultema JK, Mailliard L, Getzfrid MK, Lerner RD, Colone M. Geriatric patients with depression. Improving outcomes using a multidisciplinary clinical path model. J Nurs Adm 1996; 26:31-8. [PMID: 8558273 DOI: 10.1097/00005110-199601000-00007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Clinical pathways define multidisciplinary staff members' responsibilities, time lines, and patient outcomes. Although medical and surgical care settings frequently use them to improve quality, clinical, and fiscal outcomes for specific patient populations, staff members of psychiatric care settings have been hesitant to use clinical pathways because psychiatry emphasizes patient individuality. The authors describe the development and implementation of a psychiatric clinical pathway for geriatric patients with depression and identify common multidisciplinary interventions and a pattern of outcomes over the course of treatment for these patients. They also delineate quality and fiscal outcomes and future directions. Implementation of the pathway has been successful, and the development and implementation processes have applicability to other patient populations and care settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- J K Bultema
- Norman and Ida Stone Institute of Psychiatry, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago, IL, USA
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