Latest PUBLICATIONS

  • Quantifying barcodes of dendritic spines using entropy-based metrics.
    Publication Date: 30/09/2015, on Scientific reports
    by Viggiano D, Srivastava DP, Speranza L, Perrone-Capano C, Bellenchi GC, di Porzio U, Buckley NJ
    DOI: 10.1038/srep14622

    Spine motility analysis has become the mainstay for investigating synaptic plasticity but is limited in its versatility requiring complex, non automatized instrumentations. We describe an entropy-based method for determining the spatial distribution of dendritic spines that allows successful estimation of spine motility from still images. This method has the potential to extend the applicability of spine motility analysis to ex vivo preparations.

  • Cognitive dysfunctions in occipital lobe epilepsy compared to temporal lobe epilepsy.
    Publication Date: 22/09/2015, on Journal of neuropsychology
    by Santangelo G, Trojano L, Vitale C, Improta I, Alineri I, Meo R, Bilo L
    DOI: 10.1111/jnp.12085

    To compare cognitive profiles of occipital lobe epilepsy (OLE) and temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) and to investigate whether impairment of visuospatial functions is a specific deficit of OLE.

  • G-Quadruplex Forming Oligonucleotides as Anti-HIV Agents.
    Publication Date: 22/09/2015, on Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)
    by Musumeci D, Riccardi C, Montesarchio D
    DOI: 10.3390/molecules200917511

    Though a variety of different non-canonical nucleic acids conformations have been recognized, G-quadruplex structures are probably the structural motifs most commonly found within known oligonucleotide-based aptamers. This could be ascribed to several factors, as their large conformational diversity, marked responsiveness of their folding/unfolding processes to external stimuli, high structural compactness and chemo-enzymatic and thermodynamic stability. A number of G-quadruplex-forming oligonucleotides having relevant in vitro anti-HIV activity have been discovered in the last two decades through either SELEX or rational design approaches. Improved aptamers have been obtained by chemical modifications of natural oligonucleotides, as terminal conjugations with large hydrophobic groups, replacement of phosphodiester linkages with phosphorothioate bonds or other surrogates, insertion of base-modified monomers, etc. In turn, detailed structural studies have elucidated the peculiar architectures adopted by many G-quadruplex-based aptamers and provided insight into their mechanism of action. An overview of the state-of-the-art knowledge of the relevance of putative G-quadruplex forming sequences within the viral genome and of the most studied G-quadruplex-forming aptamers, selectively targeting HIV proteins, is here presented.

  • Monitoring of bisphenols in canned tuna from Italian markets.
    Publication Date: 01/09/2015, on Food and chemical toxicology : an international journal published for the British Industrial Biological Research Association
    by Fattore M, Russo G, Barbato F, Grumetto L, Albrizio S
    DOI: 10.1016/j.fct.2015.05.010

    Monitoring of food contamination from bisphenols is a necessary process for the consumers' risk assessment. A method for the quali-quantitative analysis of Bisphenol A (BPA), Bisphenol B (BPB), Bisphenol A Diglycidyl Ether (BADGE), and Bisphenol F Diglycidyl Ether (BFDGE), by liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection (LC-FD), was performed and validated for their determination in 33 samples of tuna fish, canned in either oil or aqueous medium. Samples were collected in Italian markets. Tuna and the correspondent preservation medium were analyzed separately. Detected levels of bisphenols ranged from 19.1 to 187.0 ng/g in tuna matrix and from 6.3 to 66.9 ng/mL in oil medium. No bisphenols were found in aqueous medium. At least one of the analytes was found in 83% of the tuna samples in oil medium, whereas tuna samples in aqueous medium showed BPA alone in 67% of samples. 21% of the oil medium samples resulted positive for at least one bisphenol. On the basis of measured concentrations and general daily ingestion rate of canned tuna fish, the probable daily intake of BPA for Italian population was calculated.

  • Bergamot polyphenol fraction prevents nonalcoholic fatty liver disease via stimulation of lipophagy in cafeteria diet-induced rat model of metabolic syndrome.
    Publication Date: 01/09/2015, on The Journal of nutritional biochemistry
    by Parafati M, Lascala A, Morittu VM, Trimboli F, Rizzuto A, Brunelli E, Coscarelli F, Costa N, Britti D, Ehrlich J, Isidoro C, Mollace V, Janda E
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jnutbio.2015.03.008

    Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common liver disease in industrialized countries. Defective autophagy of lipid droplets (LDs) in hepatocytes, also known as lipophagy, has recently been identified as a possible pathophysiological mechanism of NAFLD. Experimental and epidemiological evidence suggests that dietary polyphenols may prevent NAFLD. To address this hypothesis and analyze the underlying mechanisms, we supplemented bergamot polyphenol fraction (BPF) to cafeteria (CAF) diet-fed rats, a good model for pediatric metabolic syndrome and NAFLD. BPF treatment (50 mg/kg/day supplemented with drinking water, 3 months) potently counteracted the pathogenic increase of serum triglycerides and had moderate effects on blood glucose and obesity in this animal model. Importantly, BPF strongly reduced hepatic steatosis as documented by a significant decrease in total lipid content (-41.3% ± 12% S.E.M.), ultrasound examination and histological analysis of liver sections. The morphometric analysis of oil-red stained sections confirmed a dramatic reduction in LDs parameters such as total LD area (48.5% ± 15% S.E.M.) in hepatocytes from CAF+BPF rats. BPF-treated livers showed increased levels of LC3 and Beclin 1 and reduction of SQSTM1/p62, suggesting autophagy stimulation. Consistent with BPF stimulation of lipophagy, higher levels of LC3II were found in the LD subcellular fractions of BPF-expose livers. This study demonstrates that the liver and its lipid metabolism are the main targets of bergamot flavonoids, supporting the concept that supplementation of BPF is an effective strategy to prevent NAFLD.

  • Interaction of anticancer Ru(III) complexes with single stranded and duplex DNA model systems.
    Publication Date: 21/08/2015, on Dalton transactions (Cambridge, England : 2003)
    by Musumeci D, Rozza L, Merlino A, Paduano L, Marzo T, Massai L, Messori L, Montesarchio D
    DOI: 10.1039/c5dt01105a

    The interaction of the anticancer Ru(iii) complex AziRu - in comparison with its analogue NAMI-A, currently in advanced clinical trials as an antimetastatic agent - with DNA model systems, both single stranded and duplex oligonucleotides, was investigated using a combined approach, including absorption UV-vis spectroscopy, circular dichroism (CD) and electrospray mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) techniques. UV-vis absorption spectra of the Ru complexes were recorded at different times in a pseudo-physiological solution, to monitor the ligand exchange processes in the absence and in the presence of the examined oligonucleotides. CD experiments provided information on the overall conformational changes of the DNA model systems induced by these metal complexes. UV- and CD-monitored thermal denaturation studies were performed to analyse the effects of AziRu and NAMI-A on the stability of the duplex structures. ESI-MS experiments, carried out on the oligonucleotide/metal complex mixtures under investigation, allowed us to detect the formation of stable adducts between the guanine-containing oligomers and the ruthenium complexes. These data unambiguously demonstrate that both AziRu and NAMI-A can interact with the DNA model systems. Although very similar in their structures, the two metal compounds manifest a markedly different reactivity with the examined sequences, respectively, with either a naked Ru(3+) ion or a Ru(Im)(3+) (Im = imidazole) fragment being incorporated into the oligonucleotide structure via stable linkages.

  • The relationships between interoception and alexithymic trait. The Self-Awareness Questionnaire in healthy subjects.
    Publication Date: 07/08/2015, on Frontiers in psychology
    by Longarzo M, D'Olimpio F, Chiavazzo A, Santangelo G, Trojano L, Grossi D
    DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01149

    Interoception is the basic process enabling evaluation of one's own bodily states. Several previous studies suggested that altered interoception might be related to disorders in the ability to perceive and express emotions, i.e., alexithymia, and to defects in perceiving and describing one's own health status, i.e., hypochondriasis. The main aim of the present study was to investigate the relationships between alexithymic trait and interoceptive abilities evaluated by the "Self-Awareness Questionnaire" (SAQ), a novel self-report tool for assessing interoceptive awareness. Two hundred and fifty healthy subjects completed the SAQ, the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 items (TAS-20), and a questionnaire to assess hypochondriasis, the Illness Attitude Scale (IAS). The SAQ showed a two-factor structure, with good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.88). We observed significant direct correlations between SAQ, TAS-20 and two of its subscales, and the IAS. Regression analysis confirmed that the difficulty in identifying and expressing emotions is significantly related with awareness for one's own interoceptive feelings and with a tendency to misinterpret and amplify bodily sensations. From a clinical point of view, the assessment of interoceptive awareness by the SAQ could be pivotal in evaluating several psychopathological conditions, such as the somatoform disorders.

  • Psychometric properties of the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale in multiple sclerosis.
    Publication Date: 01/08/2015, on Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation
    by Raimo S, Trojano L, Spitaleri D, Petretta V, Grossi D, Santangelo G
    DOI: 10.1007/s11136-015-0940-8

    Multiple sclerosis (MS) is frequently associated with depressive symptoms and major depression.

  • "Put Myself Into Your Place": Embodied Simulation and Perspective Taking in Autism Spectrum Disorders.
    Publication Date: 01/08/2015, on Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research
    by Conson M, Mazzarella E, Esposito D, Grossi D, Marino N, Massagli A, Frolli A
    DOI: 10.1002/aur.1460

    Embodied cognition theories hold that cognitive processes are grounded in bodily states. Embodied processes in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have classically been investigated in studies on imitation. Several observations suggested that unlike typical individuals who are able of copying the model's actions from the model's position, individuals with ASD tend to reenact the model's actions from their own egocentric perspective. Here, we performed two behavioral experiments to directly test the ability of ASD individuals to adopt another person's point of view. In Experiment 1, participants had to explicitly judge the left/right location of a target object in a scene from their own or the actor's point of view (visual perspective taking task). In Experiment 2, participants had to perform left/right judgments on front-facing or back-facing human body images (own body transformation task). Both tasks can be solved by mentally simulating one's own body motion to imagine oneself transforming into the position of another person (embodied simulation strategy), or by resorting to visual/spatial processes, such as mental object rotation (nonembodied strategy). Results of both experiments showed that individual with ASD solved the tasks mainly relying on a nonembodied strategy, whereas typical controls adopted an embodied strategy. Moreover, in the visual perspective taking task ASD participants had more difficulties than controls in inhibiting other-perspective when directed to keep one's own point of view. These findings suggested that, in social cognitive tasks, individuals with ASD do not resort to embodied simulation and have difficulties in cognitive control over self- and other-perspective.

  • Cortical thickness in Parkinsonians with impulse control disorders: A comment.
    Publication Date: 01/08/2015, on Movement disorders : official journal of the Movement Disorder Society
    by Santangelo G, Trojano L, Barone P, Vitale C
    DOI: 10.1002/mds.26262

  • A multicentre study of intentional behavioural responses measured using the Coma Recovery Scale-Revised in patients with minimally conscious state.
    Publication Date: 01/08/2015, on Clinical rehabilitation
    by Estraneo A, Moretta P, Cardinale V, De Tanti A, Gatta G, Giacino JT, Trojano L
    DOI: 10.1177/0269215514556002

    To investigate which conscious behaviour is most frequently detected using the Coma Recovery Scale-Revised in patients with minimally conscious state.

  • Italian normative data for the Battery for Visuospatial Abilities (TERADIC).
    Publication Date: 01/08/2015, on Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology
    by Trojano L, Siciliano M, Pedone R, Cristinzio C, Grossi D
    DOI: 10.1007/s10072-015-2114-4

    Battery for Visuospatial Abilities (BVA, known in Italy as TeRaDiC) has been developed to analyse putative basic skills involved in drawing and to plan and monitor outcomes after rehabilitation of visuoconstructional disorders. It encompasses eight tasks assessing both simple "perceptual" abilities, such as line length and line orientation judgments and complex "representational" abilities, such as mental rotation. The aim of present study was to provide normative values for BVA collected in a wide sample of healthy Italian subjects. Three hundred seventeen healthy Italian subjects (173 women and 144 men) of different age classes (age range, 40-95 years) and education level (from primary to university), with a normal score on Mini Mental State Examination, completed BVA/TeRaDiC. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that age and education significantly influenced performance on most tests of the BVA/TeRaDiC; only line length judgment was not affected by educational level. Gender significantly affected line orientation judgment and mental rotation, with an advantage for males in both tests. From the derived linear equations, a correction grid for adjusting BVA/TeRaDiC raw scores was built. Using a non-parametric technique, inferential cut-off scores were determined and equivalent scores computed. The present study provided Italian normative data for the BVA/TeRaDiC useful for both clinical and research purposes.

  • Acetate: friend or foe? Efficient production of a sweet protein in Escherichia coli BL21 using acetate as a carbon source.
    Publication Date: 25/07/2015, on Microbial cell factories
    by Leone S, Sannino F, Tutino ML, Parrilli E, Picone D
    DOI: 10.1186/s12934-015-0299-0

    Escherichia coli is, to date, the most used microorganism for the production of recombinant proteins and biotechnologically relevant metabolites. High density cell cultures allow efficient biomass and protein yields. However, their main limitation is the accumulation of acetate as a by-product of unbalanced carbon metabolism. Increased concentrations of acetate can inhibit cellular growth and recombinant protein production, and many efforts have been made to overcome this problem. On the other hand, it is known that E. coli is able to grow on acetate as the sole carbon source, although this mechanism has never been employed for the production of recombinant proteins.

  • Complete loss of the DNAJB6 G/F domain and novel missense mutations cause distal-onset DNAJB6 myopathy.
    Publication Date: 25/07/2015, on Acta neuropathologica communications
    by Ruggieri A, Brancati F, Zanotti S, Maggi L, Pasanisi MB, Saredi S, Terracciano C, Antozzi C, D Apice MR, Sangiuolo F, Novelli G, Marshall CR, Scherer SW, Morandi L, Federici L, Massa R, Mora M, Minassian BA
    DOI: 10.1186/s40478-015-0224-0

    Protein aggregation is a common cause of neuropathology. The protein aggregation myopathy Limb-Girdle Muscular Dystrophy 1D (LGMD1D) is caused by mutations of amino acids Phe89 or Phe93 of DNAJB6, a co-chaperone of the HSP70 anti-aggregation protein. Another DNAJB6 mutation, Pro96Arg, was found to cause a distal-onset myopathy in one family.

  • The oxidative damage to the human telomere: effects of 5-hydroxymethyl-2'-deoxyuridine on telomeric G-quadruplex structures.
    Publication Date: 21/07/2015, on Organic & biomolecular chemistry
    by Virgilio A, Esposito V, Mayol L, Giancola C, Petraccone L, Galeone A
    DOI: 10.1039/c5ob00748h

    As part of the genome, human telomeric regions can be damaged by the chemically reactive molecules responsible for oxidative DNA damage. Considering that G-quadruplex structures have been proven to occur in human telomere regions, several studies have been devoted to investigating the effect of oxidation products on the properties of these structures. However only investigations concerning the presence in G-quadruplexes of the main oxidation products of deoxyguanosine and deoxyadenosine have appeared in the literature. Here, we investigated the effects of 5-hydroxymethyl-2'-deoxyuridine (5-hmdU), one of the main oxidation products of T, on the physical-chemical properties of the G-quadruplex structures formed by two human telomeric sequences. Collected calorimetric, circular dichroism and electrophoretic data suggest that, in contrast to most of the results on other damage, the replacement of a T with a 5-hmdU results in only negligible effects on structural stability. Reported results and other data from literature suggest a possible protecting effect of the loop residues on the other parts of the G-quadruplexes.