Alterations of the intestinal mucus layer correlate with dysbiosis and immune dysregulation in human Type 1 Diabetes.

Background: In preclinical models of Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) the integrity of the gut barrier (GB) is instrumental to avoid dysregulated crosstalk between the commensal microbiota and immune cells and to prevent autoimmunity. The GB is composed of the intestinal epithelial barrier (IEB) and of the mucus layer containing mucins and antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) that are crucial to maintain immune tolerance. In preclinical models of T1D the alterations of the GB primarily affect the mucus layer.

Role of nutritional ketosis in the improvement of metabolic parameters following bariatric surgery.

Background: Ketone bodies (KB) might act as potential metabolic modulators besides serving as energy substrates. Bariatric metabolic surgery (BMS) offers a unique opportunity to study nutritional ketosis, as acute postoperative caloric restriction leads to increased lipolysis and circulating free fatty acids.

Aim: To characterize the relationship between KB production, weight loss (WL) and metabolic changes following BMS.

Coenzyme Q, Vitamin E and Apo-E alleles in Alzheimer Disease.

Neurodegenerative Diseases represent the most common cause of Dementia, about 5-10% of the population aged above 65 years and about 30% above 80 years. A study about Apo-E alleles, Coenzyme Q and Vitamins E as biological indicators was performed in plasma samples of patients aged from 30 to 85 years, affected by Neurodegenerative Diseases. The results were compared with control subjects of approximately the same ages as the reference group.

ATPases enzyme activities during ageing in different types of somatic and synaptic plasma membranes from rat frontal cerebral cortex.

The catalytic properties of energy-utilizing ATPases enzyme systems related to ions homeostasis were evaluated in different types of synaptic plasma membranes (SPM) and in somatic plasma membranes (SM) from cerebral cortex of rats aged 5, 10, and 22 months. The following enzymes were evaluated: Na+, K+-ATPase, Ca2+, Mg2+-ATPase, Mg2+-ATPase and the activity of acetylcholine esterase (AChE) was also evaluated. The ATPases located on SM and SPM and synaptic vesicles are involved in the regulation of presynaptic nerve ending homeostasis and postsynaptic activities.

Effect of in vivo administration of naloxone on ATP-ase's enzyme systems of synaptic plasma membranes from rat cerebral cortex.

Naloxone is a specific competitive antagonist of morphine, acting on opiate receptors, located on neuronal membranes. The effects of in vivo administration of naloxone on energy-consuming non-mitochondrial ATP-ases were studied in two different types of synaptic plasma membranes from rat cerebral cortex, known to contain a high density of opiate receptors. The enzyme activities of Na+, K(+)-ATP-ase, Ca(2+), Mg(2+)-ATP-ase and Mg(2+)-ATP-ase and of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) were evaluated on synaptic plasma membranes obtained from control and treated animals with effective dose of naloxone (12microg x kg(-1) i.