55 research outputs found
Brain microsurgery in glioblastoma mouse models for local administration of Temozolomide-loaded hydrogels
No full textGlioblastoma is the most common and aggressive malignant tumor of the central nervous system in adults. It can occur at any age, but 70% of patients are diagnosed between the ages of 45 and 70. These tumors show a high proliferation rate with diffuse infiltration of adjacent brain tissue and a rapidly progressive course (around 2-3 months).Tumors are usually located in the cerebral hemispheres, but can be found throughout the central nervous system. The first choice treatment is usually surgical, both to confirm the diagnosis through a biopsy, and to remove the tumor mass as extensively as possible. Unfortunately, a complete resection is very infrequent, as cancer cells usually infiltrate the surrounding brain. Therefore, the goal of surgery is only to obtain a histological diagnosis, decrease the symptoms due to the increase in intracranial pressure and prolong survival. Surgery is usually followed by radiation therapy and chemotherapy but there is a treatment gap of 2 to 3 weeks between tumor resection and subsequent therapies. The post-surgical therapeutic standard currently consists of a chemo-radiotherapy association with Temozolomide (TMZ) for the entire duration of radiotherapy, followed by adjuvant TMZ. However, tumor recurrences due to residual infiltrative cells at the resection margin are extremely common.
This study aims at developing a mouse model of glioblastoma recurrences by a surgical protocol of partial tumor removal in mouse brains, for subsequent on-site treatment with thermogel, a “smart” material loaded with TMZ. For this purpose, the U87MG human glioblastoma cell line was chosen for the development of a mouse orthotopic model in the striatum, a subcortical region of the brain. Once tumors of sufficient size were obtained, a microsurgery protocol with craniotomy was optimized for the partial removal of the tumor mass in order to study the phenomenon of recurrence. The cavity thus obtained was filled with thermogel containing TMZ. The effect due to this treatment was confirmed by two different types of analysis: histological and bioluminescent. The histological analysis allowed us to verify the correct inoculation region of the tumor cells and to verify their growth. Furthermore, by measuring the tumor present in the brain slices removed from treated and untreated mice, we were able to measure the area of each tumor with a specific software, verifying the effectiveness of the treatment. To confirm obtained data, we carried out another type of analysis, using the IVIS In Vivo Imaging System, usingU87MG cells stably expressing the firefly enzyme luciferase from Luciola Italica (Red-FLuc). By recording the bioluminescence emitted by the tumor cells inoculated inside the brain of the mice, following an adequate stimulus, we confirmed the effect of the treatment of the thermogel containing the chemotherapeutic
Stabilisation of some names of European butterflies (Lepidoptera: Pieridae) in their prevailing usage
No full textBalletto, Emilio, Barbero, Francesca, Bonelli, Simona, Casacci, Luca P., Dapporto, Leonardo (2020): Stabilisation of some names of European butterflies (Lepidoptera: Pieridae) in their prevailing usage. Zootaxa 4780 (2): 387-395, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4780.2.1
NCOA4 links iron bioavailability to DNA metabolism
No full textIron is essential for deoxyribonucleotides production and for enzymes containing an Fe-S cluster involved in DNA replication and repair. How iron bioavailability and DNA metabolism are coordinated remains poorly understood. NCOA4 protein mediates autophagic degradation of ferritin to maintain iron homeostasis and inhibits DNA replication origin activation via hindrance of the MCM2-7 DNA helicase. Here, we show that iron deficiency inhibits DNA replication, parallel to nuclear NCOA4 stabilization. In iron-depleted cells, NCOA4 knockdown leads to unscheduled DNA synthesis, with replication stress, genome instability, and cell death. In mice, NCOA4 genetic inactivation causes defective intestinal regeneration upon dextran sulfate sodium-mediated injury, with DNA damage, defective cell proliferation, and cell death; in intestinal organoids, this is fostered by iron depletion. In summary, we describe a NCOA4-dependent mechanism that coordinates iron bioavailability and DNA replication. This function prevents replication stress, maintains genome integrity, and sustains high rates of cell proliferation during tissue regeneration
Euchloe Hubner 1819
No full textGenus Euchloe Hübner, [1819] Three, basically parapatric, species of ‘dappled whites’ (genus Euchloe) are unanimously recognised to occur in Europe, viz. 1) the eastern dappled white, 2) the mountain dappled white, and 3) the western dappled white. By common consensus, the names [Papilio] ausonia (Hübner, [1804]), Pontia simplonia Freyer, 1829 and Euchloe crameri Butler, 1869, in the same order, have slowly become fixed to identify them (Bernardi 1945, 1947, Tolman & Lewington 1997, Tshikolovets 2011, Wiemers et al. 2018, etc.). Each of these names is riddled with interpretational and nomenclatural problems principally deriving from mismatches between characters shown by the illustrated type materials and their stated type localities. As required by Art. 75.3.1 (ICZN 1999 and later updates), these problems will be resolved by designating two lectotypes and two neotypes.Published as part of Balletto, Emilio, Barbero, Francesca, Bonelli, Simona, Casacci, Luca P. & Dapporto, Leonardo, 2020, Stabilisation of some names of European butterflies (Lepidoptera: Pieridae) in their prevailing usage, pp. 387-395 in Zootaxa 4780 (2) on page 388, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4780.2.11, http://zenodo.org/record/384245
Pieris daplidice subsp. nitida Verity 1908
No full textPieris daplidice race nitida Verity, 1908 (Rhop. Pal., p. 132; also cited as a “forme” both on this same page and on Pl. XXX, Fig. 9) LT: Asia Minor: Fanaraki, and [Spain]: Andalusia: Malaga (TD: MZUF, Syntypes 2 ♂♂, 2 ♀♀: Kudrna 1983). This taxon was listed as a synonym of either Pontia edusa (e.g. Hesselbarth et al. 1995, 1: 426) or of P. daplidice (García-Barros et al. 2013, p. 960), respectively for the fauna of Turkey and for that of Spain. Kudrna (1983: 58), Wagener (1988: 35) and Hesselbarth et al. (1995: 426) regarded “nitida” Verity, 1908 as an unavailable infrasubspecific name. However, Art. 45.6.4 states that [the rank denoted by a species-group name following a binomen] “is subspecific if first published before 1961 and its author expressly used one of the terms “variety” or “form” …, unless its author also expressly gave it infrasubspecific rank, or the content of the work unambiguously reveals that the name was proposed for an infrasubspecific entity …”. Verity wrote: “[dans les régions] qui semblent être surtout les plus arides (telles que l’Espagne, l’Algérie et l’Asie Mineure) [Pieris daplidice] semble avoir une tendance à être plus petit, à avoir les ailes plus larges, le limbe externe plus convexe, les dessins d’un noir plus profond et à contours plus arrêtés …”. The name Pieris daplidice race nitida Verity, 1908 is therefore available. The originally designated syntypes probably belong to two separate species, but no lectotype was validly designated by any of the preceding authors under Art. 74. Both Pontia daplidice and P. edusa may possibly co-occur in parts of Turkey (see Geiger et al. 1988, Hesselbarth et al. 1995 and John et al. 2013), while only P. daplidice is known to occur in Spain. We therefore designate the ♂ Syntype in MZUF from: [Spanien]: Andalusien: Malaga, C. Ribbe [legit], as Lec- totype of Pieris daplidice race nitida Verity, 1908 (see Fig. 1A). Consequently, the latter name becomes fixed as a junior subjective synonym of Papilio daplidice Linnaeus, 1758.Published as part of Balletto, Emilio, Barbero, Francesca, Bonelli, Simona, Casacci, Luca P. & Dapporto, Leonardo, 2020, Stabilisation of some names of European butterflies (Lepidoptera: Pieridae) in their prevailing usage, pp. 387-395 in Zootaxa 4780 (2) on page 388, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4780.2.11, http://zenodo.org/record/384245
SARS-CoV-2 epidemiological trend before vaccination era: a seroprevalence study in Apulia, Southern Italy, in 2020
No full textAIM: The present study aimed at assessing the prevalence of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in the general population in the province of Bari (Apulia region, Southern Italy) during the year 2020. SUBJECT AND METHODS: In this study, 1325 serum samples collected from January to December 2020 were tested for the presence of IgM and IgG antibodies against whole-virus SARS-CoV-2 antigen by commercial ELISA. Positive samples were further tested by in-house ELISA for the detection of anti-receptor binding domain (RBD) IgM and IgG antibodies and by micro-neutralization (MN) assay for the detection of neutralizing antibody. RESULTS: One hundred (7.55%) samples had the presence of at least one antibody class against SARS-CoV-2 by commercial ELISA, of which 88 (6.6%) showed IgG and 19 (1.4%) showed IgM antibodies. The proportion of samples with IgG antibodies increased from 1.9% in January–February to 9.6% in November–December, while no significant increase was observed for IgM. When tested by in-house ELISA and MN assay, 17.0% and 31.6% were found positive to RBD IgG and RBD IgM, respectively, while 12.0% showed neutralizing antibody. CONCLUSION: The proportion of samples with SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies increased during 2020, especially in the second half of the year, consistent with data reported by the routine epidemiological surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 cases. Despite the high number of reported cases, the seroprevalence values are relatively low, and only a small proportion of samples had neutralizing antibodies. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10389-023-01834-3
DataSheet1_Strontium-doped apatitic bone cements with tunable antibacterial and antibiofilm ability.DOCX
No full textInjectable calcium phosphate cements (CPCs) represent promising candidates for the regeneration of complex-shape bone defects, thanks to self-hardening ability, bioactive composition and nanostructure offering high specific surface area for cell attachment and conduction. Such features make CPCs also interesting for functionalization with various biomolecules, towards the generation of multifunctional devices with enhanced therapeutic ability. In particular, strontium-doped CPCs have been studied in the last years due to the intrinsic antiosteoporotic character of strontium. In this work, a SrCPC previously reported as osteointegrative and capable to modulate the fate of bone cells was enriched with hydroxyapatite nanoparticles (HA-NPs) functionalized with tetracycline (TC) to provide antibacterial activity. We found that HA-NPs functionalized with TC (NP-TC) can act as modulator of the drug release profile when embedded in SrCPCs, thus providing a sustained and tunable TC release. In vitro microbiological tests on Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus strains proved effective bacteriostatic and bactericidal properties, especially for the NP-TC loaded SrCPC formulations. Overall, our results indicate that the addition of NP-TC on CPC acted as effective modulator towards a tunable drug release control in the treatment of bone infections or cancers.</p
Pontia simplonia Freyer 1829
No full textPontia simplonia Freyer, 1829 (Beitr. z. Gesch. europ. Schmett., 2 (13): 87, no. 99, Pl. 73, Fig. 2 [Note: although this name was originally published as ‘ Papilio Pontia simplonia’, we take it as having been described as a species of Pontia, not of Papilio, by analogy to the provisions of Opinion 134 (ICZN 1939), and Direction 4 (ICZN 1954a)]. LT: “ Croatia ”. TD: (Male holotype by monotypy) lost. Parts of Freyer’s butterfly collection, which consists in a series of sealed glass boxes arranged in cabinet drawers, is preserved in Eichstätt (Jura-Museum—see Pfeuffer 2000, 2003, 2006). Mr. Andreas Hecker very kindly took for us a series of pictures of the relevant specimens, which had to be photographed through the glass since the boxes are sealed. These pictures, however, are fully adequate to demonstrate that no specimen of Euchloe surviving in Freyer’s collection corresponds to the original picture and declared type locality (see below). The holotype of Pontia simplonia is therefore presumably lost. a) In his original description, Freyer declared that he had received a specimen already labelled as ‘Simplonia’, which he thought to represent just a brightly coloured individual of ‘ Pap. Ausonia ’ Hübner. Yet, he published this name in the caption to his Pl. 73, Fig. 2 to draw the attention of lepidopterists, and to leave them free to choose between either of the two names. One might argue that Pontia simplonia Freyer was originally published as a junior synonym (Art. 11.6), but the name remains valid because it was treated as an available name before 1961 and was adopted as the name of a taxon by Staudinger (1901), Oberthür (1909), Verity (1909), as well as by many other later authors. Other important problems with Freyer’s name are that i) the accompanying plate is subjectively ambiguous, and ii) in the last line of the text relating to it the author writes: “Pap. Simplonia wurde in Croatien gefangen”, which contrasts with the fact that the taxon currently identified as Euchloe simplonia (Freyer) occurs only in the western Alps, while only some rare, probably migratory, specimen of Euchloe ausonia might occasionally be observed in Croatia (see Lorković in Higgins 1980). b) On the basis of this type locality, Higgins (1934: 225), identified the taxon represented by this name as the ‘eastern dappled white’, which he considered to represent the correct name for the taxon misidentified as Papilio belia by ‘Cramer’ [recte Stoll], 1782 (from “Smyrne”, see below). c) Staudinger (1901), Spuler (1908), Verity (1909), Oberthür (1909), Higgins & Riley (1980), etc. considered Pontia simplonia the correct name for the ‘mountain dappled white’, while: d) Higgins & Riley (1983) and Emmet & Heath (1990), in contrast, deemed it the correct name for the ‘western dappled white’.Published as part of Balletto, Emilio, Barbero, Francesca, Bonelli, Simona, Casacci, Luca P. & Dapporto, Leonardo, 2020, Stabilisation of some names of European butterflies (Lepidoptera: Pieridae) in their prevailing usage, pp. 387-395 in Zootaxa 4780 (2) on page 390, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4780.2.11, http://zenodo.org/record/384245
What’s in the bee nest holes? A single aggregation of Megachile parietina reveals and helps to fill up Eltonian shortfalls
No full textMegachile (Chalicodoma) parietina (Geoffroy, 1785) is a Palearctic solitary bee included in the Red List of some central European Countries. Females build durable nests, reused year after year, by mixing soil with a salivary secretion. Like for most solitary bees, the resources contained within M. parietina nests attract several other insects which exploit pollen supplies or feed on the immature brood. These associated insects have mainly been studied for mantained bees and considered for their effect on the host reproductive success.A very large nesting aggregation of M. parietina in Central Tuscany has been studied for three consecutive years. We have identified 32 associated insect species, which certainly are an underestimate of the species present. Among the identified species, only eight had been previously reported for M. parietina. All the species were classified both according to the specificity for the host taxon (Chalicodoma, Megachilidae, Anthophila, Hymenoptera, Others) and to the ecological relationship (cleptoparasites, parasitoids, predators of larvae, food commensal, scavengers, and occasional nest users).This highlighted both the richness of the ecological network within the nesting aggregation and the value of studying these nesting sites to fill Eltonian shortfalls, i.e. the deficiency in ecology knowledge, of bees and their associated fauna.Implications for insect conservation.We suggest that, besides their role in pollination, large and stable bee nesting sites increase the local insect biodiversity, and that attention should be paid to their conservation within actions aimed to support populations of wild pollinators
Mussel Shell-Derived Macroporous 3D Scaffold: Characterization and Optimization Study of a Bioceramic from the Circular Economy
No full textFish industry by-products constitute an interesting platform for the extraction and recovery of valuable compounds in a circular economy approach. Among them, mussel shells could provide a calcium-rich source for the synthesis of hydroxyapatite (HA) bioceramics. In this work, HA nanoparticles have been successfully synthesized starting from mussel shells (Mytilus edulis) with a two steps process based on thermal treatment to convert CaCO3 in CaO and subsequent wet precipitation with a phosphorus source. Several parameters were studied, such as the temperature and gaseous atmosphere of the thermal treatment as well as the use of two different phosphorus-containing reagents in the wet precipitation. Data have revealed that the characteristics of the powders can be tailored, changing the conditions of the process. In particular, the use of (NH4)2HPO4 as the phosphorus source led to HA nanoparticles with a high crystallinity degree, while smaller nanoparticles with a higher surface area were obtained when H3PO4 was employed. Further, a selected HA sample was synthesized at the pilot scale; then, it was employed to fabricate porous 3D scaffolds using the direct foaming method. A highly porous scaffold with open and interconnected porosity associated with good mechanical properties (i.e., porosity in the range 87–89%, pore size in the range 50–300 μm, and a compressive strength σ = 0.51 ± 0.14 MPa) suitable for bone replacement was achieved. These results suggest that mussel shell by-products are effectively usable for the development of compounds of high added value in the biomedical field
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