Particulate systems based on pectin/chitosan association for the delivery of manuka honey components and platelet lysate in chronic skin ulcers.

The aim of the present work was the development of a powder formulation for the delivery of manuka honey (MH) bioactive components and platelet lysate (PL) in chronic skin ulcers. In particular pectin (PEC)/chitosan (CS) particles were prepared by ionotropic gelation in the presence of calcium chloride and subsequently characterized for particle size, hydration properties and mechanical resistance. Different experimental conditions (calcium chloride and CS concentrations; rest time in the cationic solution) were considered in order to obtain particles characterized by optimal size, hydration properties and mechanical resistance.

Natural and synthetic biodegradable polymers: different scaffolds for cell expansion and tissue formation.

The formation of tissue produced by implanted cells is influenced greatly by the scaffold onto which they are seeded. In the long term it is often preferable to use a biodegradable material scaffold so that all the implanted materials will disappear, leaving behind only the generated tissue. Research in this area has identified several natural biodegradable materials.

Can a bacterial endotoxin be a key factor in the kinetics of amyloid fibril formation?

Data found in literature have reported that bacterial endotoxins may be involved in the inflammatory and pathological processes associated with amyloidosis and Alzheimer's disease (AD). In fact, it has been observed that the chronic infusion of the bacterial lipopolysaccharide, the outer cell wall component of Gram negative bacteria, into the fourth ventricle of rats reproduces many of the inflammatory and pathological features seen in the brain of AD patients. In this context, a key player in the pathogenesis of AD is the amyloid-β peptide (Aβ) that is capable of aggregating in fibrils that represent the main component of amyloid plaques.

Effects of thermal water on skin regeneration.

An experimental study was carried out in an animal (New Zealand white rabbit) wound model to evaluate any effects of a hypotonic, bicarbonate-calcium-magnesium mineral water (Comano thermal water) on skin regeneration, comparing the healing rate of split-thickness skin graft donor sites treated with the thermal water wet dressing versus a standard petrolatum gauze dressing versus a saline solution wet dressing. The study was performed in two steps; an overall of 22 animals were enrolled in the study. The wound healing progress was evaluated both by the surgeons and by the histologists.

Purinergic P2X3 heteroreceptors enhance parasympathetic motor drive in isolated porcine detrusor, a reliable model for development of P2X selective blockers for detrusor hyperactivity.

Various forms of low urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) seem dependant upon dysregulation of the purinergic pathway which produces sensory- or motor-activated incontinence. A body of evidence in human urinary bladders supports a link between up-regulation of purinergic activity and the pathogenesis of detrusor instability. This study investigated the potential role of adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) in the control of detrusor motor drive in a model of porcine urinary bladder.

Exposure to reduced gravity impairs junctional transmission at the semicircular canal in the frog labyrinth.

The effects of microgravity on frog semicircular canals have been studied by electrophysiological and morphological approaches. Reduced gravity (microG) was simulated by a random positioning machine (RPM), which continually and randomly modified the orientation in space of the anesthetized animal. As this procedure stimulates the semicircular canals, the effect of altered gravity was isolated by comparing microG-treatment with an identical rotary stimulation in the presence of normal gravity (normoG).

Plasma membrane Ca2+-ATPase isoforms in frog crista ampullaris: identification of PMCA1 and PMCA2 specific splice variants.

Ca2+ ions play a pivotal role in inner ear hair cells as they are involved from the mechano-electrical transduction to the transmitter release. Most of the Ca2+ that enters into hair cells via mechano-transduction and voltage-gated channels is extruded by the plasma membrane Ca2+-ATPases (PMCAs) that operate in both apical and basal cellular compartments. Here, we determined the identity and distribution of PMCA isoforms in frog crista ampullaris: we showed that PMCA1, PMCA2 and PMCA3 are expressed, while PMCA4 appears to be negligible.

IP3 receptor in the hair cells of frog semicircular canal and its possible functional role.

The presence and functional role of inositol trisphosphate receptors (IP3R) was investigated by electrophysiology and immunohistochemistry in hair cells from the frog semicircular canal. Intracellular recordings were performed from single fibres of the posterior canal in the isolated, intact frog labyrinth, at rest and during rotation, in the presence of IP3 receptor inhibitors and drugs known to produce Ca2+ release from the internal stores or to increase IP3 production. Hair cell immunolabelling for IP3 receptor was performed by standard procedures.

Nature and expression of dihydropyridine-sensitive and -insensitive calcium currents in hair cells of frog semicircular canals.

Ca(2+) currents in hair cells of the frog crista ampullaris were studied using the whole-cell patch-clamp technique. Currents were recorded in situ from hair cells in peripheral, intermediate and central regions of the sensory epithelium. Two types of Ca(2+) currents were found: a partially inactivating current that was expressed by nearly all central cells and by about 65% of intermediate and peripheral cells, and a sustained current expressed by the remaining cell population.

Ecto-ATPase activity sites in vestibular tissues: an ultracytochemical study in frog semicircular canals.

The present study describes the localization and distribution of putative ecto-nucleoside-triphosphate-diphosphohydrolases in the frog semicircular canals. These enzymes provide the terminating mechanism of adenosine-5'-triphosphate (ATP) signalling. The localization of the ATP hydrolysis was mapped ultracytochemically using a one-step cerium citrate reaction.

An improved method for beta-galactosidase activity detection on muscle tissue. A light and electron microscopic study.

In the present study we describe a method for the histochemical demonstration of bacterial beta-D-galactosidase activity on skeletal muscle tissue processed for light and transmission electron microscopy. Hence allowing this enzyme to be accurately detected, bacterial beta-galactosidase expression was studied in transgenic mouse where the enzyme, with the nuclear localization signal (nlacZ), is under the transcriptional control of the striated muscle-specific promoter MLC3F. The chromogenic substrate, 5-bromo-3-indolyl-beta-D-galactopyranoside (Bluo-Gal), was used both to recognize labelled myofibers, and beta-gal positive organelles inside single myofibers.

Ca - and Na , K -ATPase activities in the fungiform papilla of the tongue of Rana Esculenta (Anura Ranidae).

In the fungiform papilla of Rana esculenta (Anura Ranidae), the Ca -ATPase is mainly distributed on the basolateral membrane of the sensory area cells (i.e., neuroepithelial, supporting, and mucous cells).