Biological Effects of Micro-/Nano-Plastics in Macrophages.

The environmental impact of plastics is worsened by their inadequate end-of-life disposal, leading to the ubiquitous presence of micro- (MPs) and nanosized (NPs) plastic particles. MPs and NPs are thus widely present in water and air and inevitably enter the food chain, with inhalation and ingestion as the main exposure routes for humans. Many recent studies have demonstrated that MPs and NPs gain access to several body compartments, where they are taken up by cells, increase the production of reactive oxygen species, and lead to inflammatory changes.

Molecular Insights in the Anticancer Activity of Natural Tocotrienols: Targeting Mitochondrial Metabolism and Cellular Redox Homeostasis.

The role of mitochondria as the electric engine of cells is well established. Over the past two decades, accumulating evidence has pointed out that, despite the presence of a highly active glycolytic pathway (Warburg effect), a functional and even upregulated mitochondrial respiration occurs in cancer cells to meet the need of high energy and the biosynthetic demand to sustain their anabolic growth. Mitochondria are also the primary source of intracellular ROS.

Unveiling the Dynamic Interplay between Cancer Stem Cells and the Tumor Microenvironment in Melanoma: Implications for Novel Therapeutic Strategies.

Cutaneous melanoma still represents a significant health burden worldwide, being responsible for the majority of skin cancer deaths. Key advances in therapeutic strategies have significantly improved patient outcomes; however, most patients experience drug resistance and tumor relapse. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are a small subpopulation of cells in different tumors, including melanoma, endowed with distinctive capacities of self-renewal and differentiation into bulk tumor cells.

The use of antipsychotics in obsessive compulsive disorder.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a chronic disease with a prevalence in the general population of around 2%-3%, generally accompanied by a severe impairment of functioning and quality of life. A consistent subgroup of patients may not achieve adequate symptom remission with first-line treatments (i.e.

Exposure to polystyrene nanoplastics induced physiological and behavioral effects on the brittle star Ophiactis virens.

Nanoplastic contamination has become an issue of environmental concern but the information on the potential adverse effects of nanoplastics on marine ecosystems is still limited. Therefore, the aim of this work was to investigate the effects of the exposure to polystyrene nanoplastics (PS-NPs; 0.05, 0.

The Potential of JAG Ligands as Therapeutic Targets and Predictive Biomarkers in Multiple Myeloma.

The NOTCH ligands JAG1 and JAG2 have been correlated in vitro with multiple myeloma (MM) cell proliferation, drug resistance, self-renewal and a pathological crosstalk with the tumor microenvironment resulting in angiogenesis and osteoclastogenesis. These findings suggest that a therapeutic approach targeting JAG ligands might be helpful for the care of MM patients and lead us to explore the role of JAG1 and JAG2 in a MM in vivo model and primary patient samples. JAG1 and JAG2 protein expression represents a common feature in MM cell lines; therefore, we assessed their function through JAG1/2 conditional silencing in a MM xenograft model.

Nanoplastic impact on bone microenvironment: A snapshot from murine bone cells.

Our world is made of plastic. Plastic waste deeply affects our health entering the food chain. The degradation and/or fragmentation of plastics due to weathering processes result in the generation of nanoplastics (NPs).

Physiological and pharmacological overview of the gonadotropin releasing hormone.

Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone (GnRH) is a decapeptide responsible for the control of the reproductive functions. It shows C- and N-terminal aminoacid modifications and two other distinct isoforms have been so far identified. The biological effects of GnRH are mediated by binding to high-affinity G-protein couple receptors (GnRHR), showing characteristic very short C tail.

Cardiovascular risk factors and metabolic syndrome in patients treated with long-acting injectables antipsychotics: a retrospective study.

The present cross-sectional, retrospective study aimed to assess the prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors and metabolic syndrome in a sample of psychiatric patients treated with long-acting injectable antipsychotics (LAIs). The clinical charts of 120 patients, mainly diagnosed with schizophrenia (30.0%), schizoaffective disorder (15.

Cannabis use and related clinical variables in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Objective: Limited studies have investigated cannabis use in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), despite its widespread use by patients with psychiatric illnesses. The aim of this study was to assess the frequency, correlates, and clinical impact of cannabis use in an Italian sample of patients with OCD.

Methods: Seventy consecutive outpatients with OCD were recruited from a tertiary specialized clinic.

Insomnia and related factors in patients with pre-existing psychiatric disorders compared to the general population during the COVID-19 lockdown: Findings from the multicentric COMET study.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has heavily impacted social, economic and health systems worldwide. Necessary confinement measures have, in turn, contributed to the occurrence of several stress-related conditions and deterioration of pre-existing mental conditions, including insomnia.

Objective: The present study sought to investigate the occurrence and severity of insomnia during the COVID-19 lockdown among psychiatric patients and in the general population in the largest Italian sample examined to date.

Molecular, biochemical and behavioral responses of Daphnia magna under long-term exposure to polystyrene nanoplastics.

The presence and potential toxicity of nanoplastics (NPs) in aquatic ecosystems is an issue of growing concern. Although many studies have investigated the adverse effects of short-term exposure to high concentrations of NPs to aquatic organisms, the information on the consequences caused by the administration of low NPs concentrations over long-term exposure is limited. The present study aimed at investigating the effects induced by a long-term exposure (21-days) to two sub-lethal concentrations of polystyrene nanoplastics (PS-NPs; 0.

Extracellular vesicles mediate the communication between multiple myeloma and bone marrow microenvironment in a NOTCH dependent way.

Multiple myeloma (MM) is an incurable hematologic neoplasm, whose poor prognosis is deeply affected by the propensity of tumor cells to localize in the bone marrow (BM) and induce the protumorigenic activity of normal BM cells, leading to events associated with tumor progression, including tumor angiogenesis, osteoclastogenesis, and the spread of osteolytic bone lesions. The interplay between MM cells and the BM niche does not only rely on direct cell-cell interaction, but a crucial role is also played by MM-derived extracellular vesicles (MM-EV). Here, we demonstrated that the oncogenic NOTCH receptors are part of MM-EV cargo and play a key role in EV protumorigenic ability.

Anosmin-1-Like Effect of UMODL1/Olfactorin on the Chemomigration of Mouse GnRH Neurons and Zebrafish Olfactory Axons Development.

The impairment of development/migration of hypothalamic gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons is the main cause of Kallmann's syndrome (KS), an inherited disorder characterized by hypogonadism, anosmia, and other developmental defects. Olfactorin is an extracellular matrix protein encoded by the (uromodulin-like 1) gene expressed in the mouse olfactory region along the migratory route of GnRH neurons. It shares a combination of WAP and FNIII repeats, expressed in complementary domains, with anosmin-1, the product of the gene, identified as the causative of KS.

Sex Steroid Regulation of Oxidative Stress in Bone Cells: An In Vitro Study.

Environmental stimuli, including sex hormones and oxidative stress (OS), affect bone balance, modifying the epigenetic profiles of key osteogenic genes. Nonetheless, the interplay between sex steroids, epigenome and OS has yet be fully elucidated. This paper aims to study in vitro the role of sex steroids in OS-induced alteration in bone cells' homeostasis, and to assess the possible contribution of epigenetic modifications.

Reply "Comment on: Food for Bone: Evidence for a Role for Delta-Tocotrienol in the Physiological Control of Osteoblast Migration. 2020, , 4661".

Dear Editor.

Normal and five-fingered hand: comparative X-ray morphometry in the post-natal age.

Background: Five-fingered hand (5-FH) with completely developed phalanges is a rare phenotype observed so far only in humans and characterised by three phalanges of the 1st ray. A long-lasting, debated question is if the missing element of the normal hand 1st ray is the metacarpal or the phalanx. In this study, comparative X-rays morphometry of long bones in normal and 5-FH is carried out with the aim to face this question through homology analysis of long bone segments in the transverse and longitudinal line of normal hand and 5-FH.

Food for Bone: Evidence for a Role for Delta-Tocotrienol in the Physiological Control of Osteoblast Migration.

Bone remodeling and repair require osteogenic cells to reach the sites that need to be rebuilt, indicating that stimulation of osteoblast migration could be a promising osteoanabolic strategy. We showed that purified δ-tocotrienol (δ-TT, 10 μg/mL), isolated from commercial palm oil () fraction, stimulates the migration of both MC3T3-E1 osteoblast-like cells and primary human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSC) as detected by wound healing assay or Boyden chamber assay respectively. The ability of δ-TT to promote MC3T3-E1 cells migration is dependent on Akt phosphorylation detected by Western blotting and involves Wnt/β-catenin signalling pathway activation.

New morphological evidence of the 'fate' of growth plate hypertrophic chondrocytes in the general context of endochondral ossification.

The 'fate' of growth plate hypertrophic chondrocytes has been long debated with two opposing theories: cell apoptosis or survival with transformation into osteogenic cells. This study was carried out on the proximal tibial growth plate of rabbits using light microscopy, scanning and transmission electron microscopy. We focused particularly on the orientation of the specimens included in order to define the mineral deposition and the vascular invasion lines and obtain histological and ultrastructural images at the corresponding height of the plate.

Beneficial effects of δ-tocotrienol against oxidative stress in osteoblastic cells: studies on the mechanisms of action.

Purpose: Natural antioxidants are considered as promising compounds in the prevention/treatment of osteoporosis. We studied the ability of purified δ-tocotrienol (δ-TT) isolated from a commercial palm oil (Elaeis guineensis) fraction to protect osteoblast MC3T3-E1 and osteocyte MLO-Y4 cells against tert-butyl hydroperoxide (t-BHP)-induced oxidative damage and the mechanisms involved in its protective action in MC3T3-E1.

Methods: MC3T3-E1 and MLO-Y4 cells were treated with δ-TT (1.

Long bone human anlage longitudinal and circumferential growth in the fetal period and comparison with the growth plate cartilage of the postnatal age.

The patterns of longitudinal and peripheral growth were analyzed in human autopod cartilage anlagen (fetal developmental stage 20th-22nd week) through morphometric assessment of chondrocyte parameter size, shape, alignment and orientation between peripheral and central sectors of the anlage transition zone defined by primary ossification center and the epiphyseal basis. The aim was to correlate the chondrocyte dynamics with the longitudinal and peripheral growth. A further comparison was carried out between the corresponding sectors of the postnatal (3-5 months old) growth plate cartilage documenting: (1) the different chondrocyte framework and the new peripheral mechanism; (2) the opposite direction of fetal periosteal ossification versus the Lacroix bone bark.

The missing segment of the autopod 1st ray: new insights from a morphometric study of the human hand.

Whether the 1st segment of the human autopod 1st ray is a 'true' metapodial with loss of the proximal or mid phalanx or the original basal phalanx with loss of the metacarpal has been a long-lasting discussion. The actual knowledge of the developmental pattern of upper autopod segments at a fetal age of 20-22 weeks, combined with X-ray morphometry of normal long bones of the hand in the growing ages, was used for analysis of the parameters, percentage length, position of epiphyseal ossification centers and proximal/distal growth rate. The symmetric growth pattern in the fetal anlagen changed to unidirectional in the postnatal development in relation to epiphyseal ossification formation.

The ghrelin paradox in the control of equine chondrocyte function: The good and the bad.

Increasing evidence suggests a role for ghrelin in the control of articular inflammatory diseases like osteoarthritis (OA). In the present study we examined the ability of ghrelin to counteract LPS-induced necrosis and apoptosis of chondrocytes and the involvement of GH secretagogue receptor (GHS-R)1a in the protective action of ghrelin. The effects of ghrelin (10-10 mol/L) on equine primary cultured chondrocytes viability and necrosis in basal conditions and under LPS treatment (100 ng/ml) were detected by using both acridine orange/propidium iodide staining and annexin-5/propidium iodide staining.