Improving sustainable hydrogen production from green waste: [FeFe]-hydrogenases quantitative gene expression RT-qPCR analysis in presence of autochthonous consortia.

Background: Bio-hydrogen production via dark fermentation of low-value waste is a potent and simple mean of recovering energy, maximising the harvesting of reducing equivalents to produce the cleanest fuel amongst renewables. Following several position papers from companies and public bodies, the hydrogen economy is regaining interest, especially in combination with circular economy and the environmental benefits of short local supply chains, aiming at zero net emission of greenhouse gases (GHG). The biomasses attracting the largest interest are agricultural and urban green wastes (pruning of trees, collected leaves, grass clippings from public parks and boulevards), which are usually employed in compost production, with some concerns over the GHG emission during the process.

Pyrazolones Activate the Proteasome by Gating Mechanisms and Protect Neuronal Cells from β-Amyloid Toxicity.

Proteasome malfunction parallels abnormal amyloid accumulation in Alzheimer's Disease (AD). Here we scrutinize a small library of pyrazolones by assaying their ability to enhance proteasome activity and protect neuronal cells from amyloid toxicity. Tube tests evidenced that aminopyrine and nifenazone behave as 20S proteasome activators.

Site directed mutagenesis of insulin-degrading enzyme allows singling out the molecular basis of peptidase versus E1-like activity: the role of metal ions.

Four specifically designed IDE mutants have been used to unveil the molecular basis of peptidase versus E1-like activity of the enzyme. We have found that physiological concentrations of copper(ii) ions inhibit the proteolytic activity of the enzyme towards small and large substrates but have no effect on the E1-like activity of the enzyme.

Oxygen Stability in the New [FeFe]-Hydrogenase from Clostridium beijerinckii SM10 (CbA5H).

The newly isolated Clostridium beijerinckii [FeFe]-hydrogenase CbA5H was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy coupled to enzymatic activity assays. This showed for the first time that in this enzyme the oxygen-sensitive active state H can be simply and reversibly converted to the oxygen-stable inactive H state. This suggests that oxygen sensitivity is not an intrinsic feature of the catalytic center of [FeFe]-hydrogenases (H-cluster), opening new challenging perspectives on the oxygen sensitivity mechanism as well as new possibilities for exploitation in industrial applications.

Biohydrogen and biomethane production sustained by untreated matrices and alternative application of compost waste.

Biohydrogen and biomethane production offers many advantages for environmental protection over the fossil fuels or the existing physical-chemical methods for hydrogen and methane synthesis. The aim of this study is focused on the exploitation of several samples from the composting process: (1) a mixture of waste vegetable materials ("Mix"); (2) an unmatured compost sample (ACV15); and (3) three types of green compost with different properties and soil improver quality (ACV1, ACV2 and ACV3). These samples were tested for biohydrogen and biomethane production, thus obtaining second generation biofuels and resulting in a novel possibility to manage renewable waste biomasses.

Platelet-derived growth factor receptor beta-subtype regulates proliferation and migration of gonocytes.

Proliferation and migration of gonocytes, the precursors of spermatogonial stem cells, to the germline niche in the basal membrane of the seminiferous tubules, are two crucial events that take place between postnatal d 0.5 (P0.5) and P5.

Osteoblast-conditioned medium promotes proliferation and sensitizes breast cancer cells to imatinib treatment.

Inhibition of platelet-derived growth factor receptor (PDGFR) signaling restricts the growth of human breast cancer in the bone of nude mice. We hypothesized that osteoblast-secreted substances may alter the response capacity of breast cancer cells to the PDGFRs tyrosine kinase inhibitor imatinib mesylate. We found that osteoblast-conditioned medium (OCM) increases the proliferation rate of the estrogen receptor negative (ER-) MDA-MB-231 and of the ER+ MCF-7 human breast cancer cell lines and the growth-promoting effect on ER+ cells is independent from estrogen.

PACAP and type I PACAP receptors in human prostate cancer tissue.

We characterized the expression and localization of pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) and its specific type I receptor variants in prostatic, hyperplastic, and carcinomatous tissue collected from patients undergoing prostate biopsy and surgery for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and prostate cancer (PCa). The immunohistochemical studies using an indirect immunoperoxidase technique evidenced positive immunostaining for PACAP in the cytoplasm of epithelial cells of hyperplastic and carcinomatous prostate specimens and in some scattered cells of the stroma. Type I PACAP receptors (PAC1 R) in healthy and BPH tissues were localized in all epithelial cells lining the lumen of the acini and in some stromal cells, while in specimens from PCa the anti-PAC1 R antibody stained the apical portion of a large percentage of cells.

Expression and cellular localization of follicle-stimulating hormone receptor in normal human prostate, benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostate cancer.

Purpose: FSH, identified as an endogenous product of the prostate, is a glycoprotein with proliferative activity. Increasing evidence of autocrine/paracrine activities of gonadotropins at extragonadal sites led us to investigate the gene expression and cellular localization of FSH-R in normal and diseased human prostates.

Materials And Methods: Prostate specimens, including normal gland, BPH, PCa and human androgen refractory (PC3) and androgen dependent (LNCaP) prostate cancer cell lines (European Collection of Cell Cultures, Salisbury, United Kingdom), were analyzed for FSH-R expression by semiquantitative and real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry.

Imatinib mesylate inhibits Leydig cell tumor growth: evidence for in vitro and in vivo activity.

Leydig cell tumors are usually benign tumors of the male gonad. However, if the tumor is malignant, no effective treatments are currently available. Leydig cell tumors express platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), kit ligand and their respective receptors, PDGFR and c-kit.

The role of acetaldehyde in the central effects of ethanol.

This article represents the proceedings of a symposium at the 2004 annual meeting of the Research Society on Alcoholism in Vancouver, Canada. The symposium was organized by Etienne Quertemont and chaired by Kathleen A. Grant.

Normal expression of isoforms activating cyclic adenosine monophosphate responsive element modulator in patients with spermatid maturation arrest.

Objective: To evaluate whether defective cyclic adenosine monophosphate responsive element modulator (CREM) expression is the causative factor of spermatid maturation arrest (SMA).

Design: Comparative evaluation of the testicular histology in patients with SMA or normal spermatogenesis.

Setting: University clinic of andrology.

Iodine supplementation restores fertility of sheep exposed to iodine deficiency.

The aims of the study were to monitor sheep iodine intake in different sheep breeding farms in Abruzzo and to evaluate the effects of iodine supplementation on ovine fertility. The urinary iodine concentrations (UIC) in animals of 8 out of the 11 breeding farms analyzed were borderline (UIC 100-150 microg/l) or very low (UIC < or = 50 microg/l). Only animals bred in 3 farms showed an adequate iodine intake with a mean UIC > or = 300 microg/l.

Open field locomotor effects in rats after intraventricular injections of ethanol and the ethanol metabolites acetaldehyde and acetate.

The typical response to acute peripheral administration of low to high doses of ethanol in rats is a dose-dependent depression of motor activity. Nevertheless, recent studies indicate that intraventricular (ICV) injections of ethanol can produce signs of behavioral activation. In addition, considerable evidence indicates that brain metabolism of ethanol is involved in modulating some of the behavioral effects of this drug, which suggests that ethanol may have active metabolites with central actions.

Behavioral effects of inhibition of cannabinoid metabolism: The amidase inhibitor AM374 enhances the suppression of lever pressing produced by exogenously administered anandamide.

Biochemical investigations have identified putative enzymatic pathways for the synthesis and metabolism of endogenous cannabinoids. Anandamide amidase is an enzyme that metabolizes anandamide into arachadonic acid and ethanolamine. Using in vitro methods, various inhibitors of amidase have been identified.

Behavioral effects of intraventricular injections of low doses of ethanol, acetaldehyde, and acetate in rats: studies with low and high rate operant schedules.

Although ethanol is typically classed as a sedative-hypnotic, low doses of ethanol have been shown to stimulate locomotor activity in mice. However, in rats the typical response to peripheral administration of ethanol is a dose-dependent suppression of motor activity and operant responding. The present study was undertaken to determine the effects of intraventricular (ICV) infusions of ethanol, acetaldehyde, and acetate on operant performance in rats.

Expression of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) in the epididymis and analysis of the epididymal development in PDGF-A, PDGF-B, and PDGF receptor beta deficient mice.

The platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) family of ligands and receptors play a pivotal role in the development of various organs. The critical importance of the PDGF-mediated signaling during embryonic development and adult physiology of the kidney and the common mesonephric origin of the epididymis and kidney prompted us to investigate the immunohistochemical localization of PDGF A- and B-chain and PDGF receptor (PDGFR) alpha- and beta-subunit in rat and mouse epididymis, the expression profiles of the corresponding mRNAs, and the consequences of a loss-of-function mutation at the PDGF-A, PDGF-B, and PDGFR-beta loci on mouse epididymis phenotypic appearance. Prenatally, PDGF-A and PDGFR-alpha immunohistochemical staining was seen in both species, whereas PDGF-B and PDGFR-beta were absent.

Locomotor stimulant effects of intraventricular injections of low doses of ethanol in rats: acute and repeated administration.

Rationale: Low doses of ethanol stimulate locomotion in mice, but in rats the typical response to peripheral ethanol administration is a dose-dependent suppression of locomotion. Moreover, chronic ethanol administration fails to produce signs of locomotor sensitization in rats.

Objective: The present study was undertaken to determine whether intraventricular (i.

Motor effects of GABA(A) antagonism in globus pallidus: studies of locomotion and tremulous jaw movements in rats.

Rationale: Although most rodent studies related to parkinsonian symptoms have focused on locomotion, tremulous jaw movements also have been used as a rodent model of tremor for investigating the circuitry of the basal ganglia.

Objective: There are multiple pathways involved in the generation of parkinsonian symptoms. The globus pallidus is a basal ganglia relay nucleus, and the present study was conducted to investigate the effect of pallidal GABA antagonism on locomotion and tremulous jaw movements.

Ontogenesis of leptin receptor in rat Leydig cells.

There are still many controversies about the role of leptin in reproductive function and sexual development. We recently demonstrated that leptin receptors are expressed in rodent Leydig cells and that leptin has inhibitory effects on hCG-stimulated testosterone production by adult rat Leydig cells in culture. In this study, we evaluated the expression of leptin receptor (Ob-R) in rat testes from gestational to adult age in comparison with the pattern of expression of relaxin-like factor (RLF), a specific marker of Leydig cell differentiation status.

Expression of platelet-derived growth factor-A (PDGF-A), PDGF-B, and PDGF receptor-alpha and -beta during human testicular development and disease.

Platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) plays a critical role in regulating the development and functional control of various tissues and has been implicated in the pathogenesis of serious diseases, including cancer and atherosclerosis. Given the emerging role of PDGF in the development and function of male gonads, we compared the expression profiles of the mRNAs of the PDGF A- and B-chains and of the PDGF receptor (PDGFR) alpha- and beta-subunits in fetal and adult human testis. The immunohistochemical localization of the corresponding proteins in fetal, adult, and diseased human testicular tissues was also analyzed.

Dopamine antagonists alter response allocation but do not suppress appetite for food in rats: contrast between the effects of SKF 83566, raclopride, and fenfluramine on a concurrent choice task.

Rationale: Dopamine is important for enabling organisms to overcome work-related response costs. One way of investigating this function has been with concurrent choice procedures using food reinforcement. In the present study, rats were given a choice between pressing a lever for preferred Bioserve pellets, or approaching and consuming a less-preferred laboratory chow that was concurrently available.

PDGF and the testis.

Testicular development is controlled by a complex hierarchy of gene regulatory proteins, growth factors, cell adhesion molecules, signaling molecules and hormones that interact, often acting within short time windows, via reciprocal control relationships. The identification in the testis of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), a key regulator of connective tissue cells in embryogenesis and pathogenesis, has focused attention on the role of this growth factor in testicular pathophysiology. This review summarizes recent advances in the study of the actions of PDGF in the male gonad, and attempts to incorporate complex in vitro and in vivo experimental data into a model that might clarify the role played by PDGF in the mammalian testis.

D1 or D2 antagonism in nucleus accumbens core or dorsomedial shell suppresses lever pressing for food but leads to compensatory increases in chow consumption.

Although interference with dopamine (DA) systems can suppress lever pressing for food reinforcement, it is not clear whether this effect occurs because of a general disruption of food motivation. One way of assessing this has been a choice procedure in which a rat responds on an fixed ratio 5 (FR5) schedule for preferred Bioserve pellets while a less preferred lab chow is concurrently available in the operant chamber. Untreated rats consume little of the chow, preferring to respond for the Bioserve pellets.

Platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) and PDGF receptors in rat corpus cavernosum: changes in expression after transient in vivo hypoxia.

Platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) overactivity has been implicated in atherosclerosis and several fibrotic conditions including lung and kidney fibrosis, liver cirrhosis and myelofibrosis. Low oxygen tension (hypoxia) is a known stimulus for transcriptional induction of PDGF ligand and receptor genes in different tissues. We studied the expression and localization of PDGF-A, PDGF-B, and PDGF receptor (PDGFR)-alpha and -beta subunits in adult rat isolated corpus cavernosum (CC) under generalized transient hypoxia (pO(2) 10%) in comparison with normoxic conditions.