Publications by authors named "Cotugno M"
Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) modulates stress-induced autophagy in endothelial cells.
Biochim Biophys Acta Mol Cell Res
January 2025
Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), a cardiac hormone involved in the regulation of water/sodium balance and blood pressure, is also secreted by endothelial cells, where it exerts protective effects in response to stress. Autophagy is an intracellular self-renewal process involved in the degradation of dysfunctional cytoplasmic elements. ANP was recently reported to act as an extracellular regulator of cardiac autophagy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Bone mineral density (BMD) is reduced in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Trabecular bone score (TBS) is an additional feature calculated by dual-energy X ray absorption (DXA) that measures texture inhomogeneity at lumbar spine level, providing an index of bone microarchitecture. However, its clinical value still needs to be fully addressed.
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- Scientists studied rats that are prone to strokes to understand how high salt diets affect their gut bacteria and stroke risk.
- They compared two types of rats: one that is more likely to get strokes (SHRSPs) and one that is less likely (SHRSRs) while they ate a special high-salt diet for a few weeks.
- The gut bacteria in the stroke-prone rats changed in a way that might increase their chances of having a stroke, showing that a bad diet could harm gut health and lead to serious problems.
Inhibitory control performance may differ greatly as a function of individual differences such as anxiety. Nonetheless, how cognitive control proficiency might be influenced by exposure to various environments and how anxiety traits might impact these effects remain unexplored. A cohort of thirty healthy volunteers participated in the study.
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- * Recent studies focus on autophagy, a cellular process, and its complex role in protecting or harming neurons during ischemic stroke, based on experiments with animal models.
- * Properly managing autophagy could be a potential way to prevent or lessen brain injury from strokes, highlighting the need for more research in this area.
Article Synopsis
- - Naringenin (NRG) is shown to counteract mitochondrial dysfunction, which is important in preventing cardiovascular diseases, by selectively inhibiting the FF-ATPase enzyme involved in ATP hydrolysis.
- - NRG interacts with FF-ATPase in a way that blocks energy transmission, particularly when calcium (Ca) ions are present, illustrating its preference for the enzyme activated by Ca over magnesium (Mg).
- - The study indicates that NRG helps protect against cell injury in cerebral endothelial cells, restoring cell viability and function after salt-induced damage, while also improving mitochondrial activity.
Abnormal expression of sphingolipid-metabolizing enzymes in the heart of spontaneously hypertensive rat models.
Biochim Biophys Acta Mol Cell Biol Lipids
January 2024
Sphingolipids exert important roles within the cardiovascular system and related diseases. Perturbed sphingolipid metabolism was previously reported in cerebral and renal tissues of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). Specific defects related to the synthesis of sphingolipids and to the metabolism of Sphingosine-1-Phospahte (S1P) were exclusively identified in the stroke-prone (SHRSP) with the respect to the stroke-resistant (SHRSR) strain.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: A dysfunction of NADH dehydrogenase, the mitochondrial Complex I (CI), associated with the development of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) in previous experimental studies. A deficiency of Ndufc2 (subunit of CI) impairs CI activity causing severe mitochondrial dysfunction. The T allele at NDUFC2/rs11237379 variant associates with reduced gene expression and impaired mitochondrial function.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCulture greatly influences our attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors, affecting how we communicate and make decisions. There is an ongoing debate regarding the belief that people from Eastern cultures possess greater self-control abilities when compared to people from Western cultures. In this study, we conducted a meta-analysis using the Activation Likelihood Estimation (ALE) algorithm to compare 30 studies (719 subjects, 373 foci) that used fMRI to investigate the performance in Go-Nogo and Stop Signal Tasks of participants from Western and/or Eastern countries.
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- Dkk3 (Dickkopf-3) is a protein that influences blood pressure regulation and is linked to hypertension in rats; its full role in cardiovascular health remains unclear.* -
- Research using genetically modified mice and hypertensive rat models showed that deleting Dkk3 increased blood pressure and impaired blood vessel relaxation, but restoring Dkk3 countered these effects.* -
- The protein functions by enhancing VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor) expression and activating a signaling pathway that lowers blood pressure, highlighting Dkk3’s potential as a therapeutic target for hypertension.*
Mitochondrial dysfunction, causing increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, is a molecular feature of heart failure (HF). A defective antioxidant response and mitophagic flux were reported in circulating leucocytes of patients with chronic HF and reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) exerts many cardiac beneficial effects, including the ability to protect cardiomyocytes by promoting autophagy.
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- * Research showed that high salt significantly damages brain endothelial cells, causing oxidative stress and reduced cell viability.
- * A bergamot polyphenolic fraction (BPF) was found to mitigate these harmful effects, improving cell function and reducing oxidative stress, suggesting it could help treat vascular disorders.
Background: HCV-related liver disease is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with HIV infection. It is well known that the response rates to HCV therapy are similar between HCV-monoinfected patients and HIV-HV coinfected ones. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of HCV eradication on CD4 + T cell count in a population of HIV-HCV coinfected patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe compromised viability and function of cardiovascular cells are rescued by small molecules of triazole derivatives (Tzs), identified as 3a and 3b, by preventing mitochondrial dysfunction. The oxidative phosphorylation improves the respiratory control rate in the presence of Tzs independently of the substrates that energize the mitochondria. The FF-ATPase, the main candidate in mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP) formation, is the biological target of Tzs and hydrophilic F domain of the enzyme is depicted as the binding region of Tzs.
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- - NPPA (atrial natriuretic peptide) plays a significant role in protecting the heart by preventing cell damage, reducing fibrosis, and maintaining blood vessel integrity, but the exact mechanisms behind these benefits are still being studied.
- - The study reveals that NPPA activates autophagy in cardiomyocytes (heart muscle cells) through specific receptors and signaling pathways, and this process helps cells survive stress from conditions like low glucose or lack of oxygen.
- - Research using knockout mice demonstrates that without NPPA, there is greater cell damage during ischemia-reperfusion injury, and enhancing autophagy can reduce this damage, indicating that NPPA is a crucial factor in regulating autophagy in the heart.
Article Synopsis
- Mitochondrial dysfunction, particularly a deficiency in complex I, has been linked to coronary artery disease (CAD) and is implicated in various cardiovascular issues, including acute coronary syndrome (ACS).
- A study involving 260 CAD patients found that the T allele of the /rs23117379 genetic variant is associated with an earlier onset of ACS and a higher risk of recurrence.
- The findings suggest that this genetic variant may serve as a potential risk factor for cardiovascular diseases due to its role in mitochondrial dysfunction.
The mitochondrial uncoupling protein 2 (UCP2) acts as an anion transporter and as an antioxidant factor able to reduce the reactive oxygen species level. Based on its effects, UCP2 prevents the membrane lipids, proteins, and DNA damage while preserving normal cellular functions. Many variants have been identified within the human .
View Article and Find Full Text PDFExecutive Quality and Safety WalkRounds (EWRs) is a tool that engages department leadership in discussion with the front-line employees to solicit feedback to improve quality and safety. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of the implementation of pharmacy department specific EWRs on quality and safety at a tertiary academic medical center. This was a single-center, retrospective analysis conducted at Brigham and Women's Hospital between November 2016 and November 2019.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Intermittent shortages of chemotherapeutics used to treat curable malignancies are a worldwide problem that increases patient mortality. Although multiple strategies have been proposed for managing these shortages (eg, prioritizing patients by age, scarce treatment efficacy per volume, alternative treatment efficacy difference), critical clinical dilemmas arise when selecting a management strategy and understanding its impact.
Patients And Methods: We developed a model to compare the impact of different allocation strategies on overall survival during intermittent chemotherapy shortages and tested it using vincristine, which was recently scarce for 9 months in the United States.
Article Synopsis
- Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability globally, prompting research into biological factors that contribute to its onset, particularly mitochondrial dysfunction, autophagy, and calcium regulation in cells.
- The study highlights the role of store-operated calcium entry (SOCE) mechanisms, specifically how mutations in the calcium sensor STIM1 affect calcium levels, potentially worsening stroke effects in certain rat strains.
- The article emphasizes STIM1's significance in experimental stroke research, linking it to stroke vulnerability and discussing future clinical implications for human treatments.
Article Synopsis
- UCP2 is crucial for protecting against vascular diseases linked to high salt intake, as shown in various animal models and human studies.
- Reducing UCP2 levels worsens vascular health and increases damage in models prone to stroke, while increasing UCP2 levels helps mitigate these harmful effects.
- UCP2 promotes autophagy and mitophagy in response to high salt and oxidative stress, which helps maintain cell viability; when UCP2 is silenced, these protective processes are disrupted, but introducing an autophagy inducer can reverse some damage.
Article Synopsis
- Cerebrovascular disease is a big health problem caused by high blood pressure, and new ways to treat it are needed.
- A sugar called trehalose (TRE) showed promise in helping prevent strokes in rats that were prone to them while eating a high-salt diet.
- TRE helped reduce strokes and kidney damage, lowered blood pressure, and improved brain and cell functions by activating a process that clears out damaged parts of cells.
Background: Limited data are available on the role of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) for the treatment of upper extremities deep vein thrombosis (UEDVT).
Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness and safety of DOACs in the treatment of UEDVT.
Methods: Patients with an objectively confirmed acute UEDVT treated with DOACs were merged from prospective cohorts to a collaborative database.