Publications by authors named "Fresegna D"

Proinflammatory cytokines are implicated in promoting neurodegeneration in multiple sclerosis (MS) by affecting excitatory and inhibitory transmission at central synapses. Conversely, the synaptic effects of anti-inflammatory molecules remain underexplored, despite their potential neuroprotective properties and their presence in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients. In a study involving 184 newly diagnosed relapsing-remitting (RR)-MS patients, we investigated whether CSF levels of the anti-inflammatory interleukin (IL)-10 were linked to disease severity and neurodegeneration measures.

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Article Synopsis
  • SPMS progresses from a relapsing-remitting phase and is marked by increasing disability, but lacks a reliable tool to track this transition; T cells from RRMS patients worsen neuron function, indicating synaptotoxic effects in SPMS.
  • The study collected data from healthy controls and SPMS patients, analyzing the effects of siponimod on T cell interactions in brain slices and using animal models to pinpoint how siponimod helps.
  • Results showed that T cells from SPMS patients increased excitatory signals in neurons compared to healthy controls, while siponimod reversed this toxicity, suggesting it could be a vital treatment strategy for managing SPMS.
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MiR-142-3p has recently emerged as key factor in tailoring personalized treatments for multiple sclerosis (MS), a chronic autoimmune demyelinating disease of the central nervous system (CNS) with heterogeneous pathophysiology and an unpredictable course. With its involvement in a detrimental regulatory axis with interleukin-1beta (IL1β), miR-142-3p orchestrates excitotoxic synaptic alterations that significantly impact both MS progression and therapeutic outcomes. In this study, we investigated for the first time the influence of individual genetic variability on the miR-142-3p excitotoxic effect in MS.

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Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease of the central nervous system characterized by inflammation-driven synaptic abnormalities. Interleukin-9 (IL-9) is emerging as a pleiotropic cytokine involved in MS pathophysiology.

Methods: Through biochemical, immunohistochemical, and electrophysiological experiments, we investigated the effects of both peripheral and central administration of IL-9 on C57/BL6 female mice with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a model of MS.

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The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is critically involved in the pathophysiology of Multiple Sclerosis (MS), a neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative disease of the central nervous system (CNS). Over the past decade, researchers have extensively studied the neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory effects of the ECS. Inhibiting the degradation of the endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) has emerged as a promising strategy to mitigate brain damage in MS.

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Objective: Accumulating evidence suggests that dysfunctional adipose tissue (AT) plays a major role in the risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS), the most common immune-mediated and demyelinating disease of the central nervous system. However, the contribution of adipose tissue to the etiology and progression of MS is still obscure. This study aimed at deciphering the responses of AT in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), the best characterized animal model of MS.

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Background: TNF-dependent synaptotoxicity contributes to the neuronal damage occurring in patients with Multiple Sclerosis (pwMS) and its mouse model Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis (EAE). Here, we investigated miR-142-3p, a synaptotoxic microRNA induced by inflammation in EAE and MS, as a potential downstream effector of TNF signalling.

Methods: Electrophysiological recordings, supported by molecular, biochemical and histochemical analyses, were performed to explore TNF-synaptotoxicity in the striatum of EAE and healthy mice.

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In multiple sclerosis (MS), fatigue is a frequent symptom that negatively affects quality of life. The pathogenesis of fatigue is multifactorial and inflammation may play a specific role. To explore the association between fatigue, central inflammation and disease course in MS in 106 relapsing-remitting (RR)-MS patients, clinical characteristics, including fatigue and mood, were explored at the time of diagnosis.

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Background: Elevated levels of specific proinflammatory molecules in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) have been associated with disability progression, enhanced neurodegeneration and higher incidence of mood disorders in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). Studies in animal models of MS suggest that preventive exercise may play an immunomodulatory activity, with beneficial effects on both motor deficits and behavioral alterations. Here we explored the impact of lifestyle physical activity on clinical presentation and associated central inflammation in a large group of newly diagnosed patients with MS.

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Article Synopsis
  • MiR-142-3p is implicated in inflammatory synaptopathy associated with MS, indicating a dual role in the immune and central nervous systems.
  • Positive correlations were found between CSF miR-142-3p levels and clinical disease progression, suggesting its significance in monitoring MS severity.
  • Lower levels of miR-142-3p in patients led to better responses to the DMT dimethyl fumarate, indicating its potential as a target for personalized treatment strategies.
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Exercise is increasingly recommended as a supportive therapy for people with Multiple Sclerosis (pwMS). While clinical research has still not disclosed the real benefits of exercise on MS disease, animal studies suggest a substantial beneficial effect on motor disability and pathological hallmarks such as central and peripheral dysregulated immune response. The hippocampus, a core area for memory formation and learning, is a brain region involved in MS pathophysiology.

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Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an immune-mediated demyelinating disease of the central nervous system. MS is characterized by infiltrations of leukocytes such as T and B lymphocytes and macrophages. Macrophages have been identified as major effectors of inflammation and demyelination in both MS and its animal model, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE).

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Article Synopsis
  • Research on microRNAs in biological fluids for diagnosing and predicting multiple sclerosis (MS) is still emerging and under exploration.
  • The study found that levels of the microRNA let-7b-5p in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) correlate with other microRNAs associated with MS and inflammation-related proteins.
  • Lower levels of let-7b-5p were observed in progressive MS patients compared to those with relapsing-remitting MS, indicating its potential as a biomarker for MS severity and disease progression.
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Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a common neurological disorder of putative autoimmune origin. Clinical and experimental studies delineate abnormal expression of specific cytokines over the course of the disease. One major cytokine that has been shown to play a pivotal role in MS is tumor necrosis factor (TNF).

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Extracellular vesicles (EVs) represent a new reality for many physiological and pathological functions as an alternative mode of intercellular communication. This is due to their capacity to interact with distant recipient cells, usually involving delivery of the EVs contents into the target cells. Intensive investigation has targeted the role of EVs in different pathological conditions, including multiple sclerosis (MS).

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Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) has been employed in multiple sclerosis (MS) to assess the integrity of the corticospinal tract and the corpus callosum and to explore some physiological properties of the motor cortex. Specific alterations of TMS measures have been strongly associated to different pathophysiological mechanisms, particularly to demyelination and neuronal loss. Moreover, TMS has contributed to investigate the neurophysiological basis of MS symptoms, particularly those not completely explained by conventional structural damage, such as fatigue.

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In the past years, several theories have been advanced to explain the pathogenesis of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), a neuropsychiatric disease that causes disability in general population. Several theories have been proposed to define the MDD pathophysiology such as the classic "monoamine-theory" or the "glutamate hypothesis." All these theories have been recently integrated by evidence highlighting inflammation as a pivotal player in developing depressive symptoms.

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Future treatments of multiple sclerosis (MS), a chronic autoimmune neurodegenerative disease of the central nervous system (CNS), aim for simultaneous early targeting of peripheral immune function and neuroinflammation. Sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) receptor modulators are among the most promising drugs with both "immunological" and "non-immunological" actions. Selective S1P receptor modulators have been recently approved for MS and shown clinical efficacy in its mouse model, the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE).

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: It has been recognized for about 20 years that interleukin (IL)-1 signaling is implicated in Multiple Sclerosis (MS), a disabling, chronic, inflammatory and neurodegenerative disease of the central nervous system (CNS). Only recently, multifaceted roles of IL-1 emerged in MS pathophysiology as a result of both clinical and preclinical studies. Notably, drugs that directly target the IL-1 system have not been tested so far in MS.

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Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a demyelinating and neurodegenerative disease. Though a specific antigen has not been identified, it is widely accepted that MS is an autoimmune disorder characterized by myelin-directed immune attack. Pharmacological treatments for MS are based on immunomodulatory or immunosuppressant drugs, designed to attenuate or dampen the immune reaction, to improve neurological functions.

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Aims: The crucial step in the pathogenic events that lead to the development and the progression of multiple sclerosis (MS) is the infiltration of autoreactive T cells in the brain. Data from experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) mice indicate that, together with microglia, T cells are responsible for the enhancement of the glutamatergic transmission in central neurons, contributing to glutamate-mediated excitotoxicity, a pathological hallmark of both EAE and MS brains. Here, we addressed the synaptic role of T cells taken from MS patients.

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Growing data from human and animal studies indicate the beneficial effects of exercise on several clinical outcomes in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), an autoimmune, demyelinating disease, suggesting that it may slow down the disease progression, by reducing brain damage. However, the mechanisms involved are still elusive. Aim of this study was to address the effects of voluntary running wheel in a toxic-demyelinating model of MS, in which demyelination and brain inflammation occur in response to cuprizone (CPZ) treatment.

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Aging is one of the main risk factors for the development of many neurodegenerative diseases. Emerging evidence has acknowledged neuroinflammation as potential trigger of the functional changes occurring during normal and pathological aging. Two main determinants have been recognized to cogently contribute to neuroinflammation in the aging brain, i.

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Cytokines are constitutively released in the healthy brain by resident myeloid cells to keep proper synaptic plasticity, either in the form of Hebbian synaptic plasticity or of homeostatic plasticity. However, when cytokines dramatically increase, establishing a status of neuroinflammation, the synaptic action of such molecules remarkably interferes with brain circuits of learning and cognition and contributes to excitotoxicity and neurodegeneration. Among others, interleukin-1 (IL-1) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) are the best studied proinflammatory cytokines in both physiological and pathological conditions and have been invariably associated with long-term potentiation (LTP) (Hebbian synaptic plasticity) and synaptic scaling (homeostatic plasticity), respectively.

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