Nodulation competitiveness and diversification of symbiosis genes in common beans from the American centers of domestication.

Phaseolus vulgaris (common bean), having a proposed Mexican origin within the Americas, comprises three centers of diversification: Mesoamerica, the southern Andes, and the Amotape-Huancabamba Depression in Peru-Ecuador. Rhizobium etli is the predominant rhizobium found symbiotically associated with beans in the Americasalthough closely related Rhizobium phylotypes have also been detected. To investigate if symbiosis between bean varieties and rhizobia evolved affinity, firstly nodulation competitiveness was studied after inoculation with a mixture of sympatric and allopatric rhizobial strains isolated from the respective geographical regions.

Digital approach to informed consent in bariatric surgery: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Informed consent is of paramount importance in surgery. Digital media can be used to enhance patient's comprehension of the proposed operation. The objective of this study was to examine the effects of adding a digital educational platform (DEP) to a standard verbal consent (SVC) for a laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (LRYGB) on patient's knowledge of the procedure, satisfaction with the clinical encounter and duration of the consent appointment.

Phytochemical composition, antioxidant and antiproliferative activities and effects on nuclear DNA of ethanolic extract from an Italian mycelial isolate of Ganoderma lucidum.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Ganoderma lucidum (Curtis) P. Karst. (also known as Linghzhi and Reishi) is the most appreciated and revered medicinal mushroom across many Asian countries, but its properties have also attracted interest in Western countries.

Protective Role of Italian Juglans regia L. nut Ethanolic Extract in Human Keratinocytes under Oxidative and Inflammatory Stress.

Objective: In this research, fatty acid profile and polyphenolic content of an ethanolic extract of walnut from Juglans regia L. collected in Central Italy, were characterized. The potential antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of the extract were investigated in the human keratinocytes cell line.

Gram-positive pneumonia augments non-small cell lung cancer metastasis via host toll-like receptor 2 activation.

Surgical resection of early stage nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is necessary for cure. However, rates of postoperative bacterial pneumonias remain high and may confer an increased risk for metastasis. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) mediate the inflammatory cascade by recognizing microbial products at the surface of numerous cell types in the lung; however, little is known about how host TLRs influence NSCLC metastasis.

Protective Effect of Juglans regia L. Walnut Extract Against Oxidative DNA Damage.

Walnuts (Juglans regia L.) are relevant components of the Mediterranean diet providing important macronutrients, micronutrients and other bioactive constituents including unsaturated fatty acids, proteins, fiber, vitamins, minerals, phytosterols and polyphenols. Although the walnut beneficial effects in human health are widely recognized by a lot of epidemiologic studies very little is known regarding its effect on damaged DNA.

Effect of extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields on antioxidant activity in the human keratinocyte cell line NCTC 2544.

Some epidemiological studies have suggested possible associations between exposure to extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields (ELF-EMFs) and various diseases. Recently, ELF-EMF has been considered as a therapeutic agent. To support ELF-EMF use in regenerative medicine, in particular in the treatment of skin injuries, we investigated whether significant cell damage occurs after ELF-EMF exposure.

Immunohistochemical and molecular analysis of caveolin-1 expression in canine mammary tumors.

Caveolin-1 (Cav-1) is a structural protein present in invaginations of the cell membrane. In human breast cancer, the cav-1 gene is believed to be a tumor suppressor gene associated with inhibition of tumor metastasis. However, little is known about its expression, regulation and function in canine mammary tumors.

Aqueous extract from Vitis vinifera tendrils is able to enrich keratinocyte antioxidant defences.

An aqueous extract of V. vinifera L. tendrils was evaluated for its ability to enrich the antioxidant capacity of cultured cells.

Effects of oxidative stress on mitochondrial content and integrity of human anastomotic colorectal dehiscence: a preliminary DNA study.

Background: Anastomotic dehiscence is one of the most severe complications of colorectal surgery. Gaining insight into the molecular mechanisms responsible for the development of anastomotic dehiscence following colorectal surgery is important for the reduction of postoperative complications.

Objective: Based on the close relationship between surgical stress and oxidative stress, the present study aimed to determine whether a correlation exists between increased levels of reactive oxygen species and colorectal anastomotic dehiscence.

Interleukin-8 expression associated with canine mammary tumors.

The use of prognostic markers for mammary cancer is important for routine diagnosis and research. Interleukin-8 (IL-8) is a chemotactic cytokine, produced by several cell types in response to inflammation. The expression, regulation and function of IL-8 in dogs are little known.

Effect of surgical stress on nuclear and mitochondrial DNA from healthy sections of colon and rectum of patients with colorectal cancer.

Surgical resection at any location in the body leads to stress response with cellular and subcellular change, leading to tissue damage. The intestine is extremely sensitive to surgical stress with consequent postoperative complications. It has been suggested that the increase of reactive oxygen species as subcellular changes plays an important role in this process.

Rhodiola rosea ability to enrich cellular antioxidant defences of cultured human keratinocytes.

Keratinocytes are cells strongly exposed to oxidative stress, but normally good equipped for antioxidant responses. However, it has long been suggested that exogenous antioxidants could play a useful role in minimizing the adverse skin responses associated with such oxidant species. In this work it was paid attention to the extract of Rhodiola rosea L.

Effect of quercetin on oxidative nuclear and mitochondrial DNA damage.

Quercetin is a well-investigated antioxidant known to protect cells against oxidative nuclear DNA damage. There is no knowledge regarding its effect on oxidative mitochondrial DNA damage. In this study we investigated the effect of quercetin on oxidatively-injured DNA.

Sequence and transcriptional study of HNRPK pseudogenes, and expression and molecular modeling analysis of hnRNP K isoforms.

The heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins (hnRNPs) comprise a large family of proteins that play important roles in telomere biogenesis, DNA repair, cellular signaling, and the regulation of expression at both the transcriptional and translational levels. One of the most extensively studied hnRNP family members, hnRNP K, has been implicated in a variety of processes, including chromatin remodeling, transcription, splicing, and translation events. In this study, we analyzed processed HNRPK pseudogenes (HNRPK psi1-psi4) and coding sequences.

Large-scale transcriptome analyses reveal new genetic marker candidates of head, neck, and thyroid cancer.

A detailed genome mapping analysis of 213,636 expressed sequence tags (EST) derived from nontumor and tumor tissues of the oral cavity, larynx, pharynx, and thyroid was done. Transcripts matching known human genes were identified; potential new splice variants were flagged and subjected to manual curation, pointing to 788 putatively new alternative splicing isoforms, the majority (75%) being insertion events. A subset of 34 new splicing isoforms (5% of 788 events) was selected and 23 (68%) were confirmed by reverse transcription-PCR and DNA sequencing.

In vitro protective effect of Rhodiola rosea extract against hypochlorous acid-induced oxidative damage in human erythrocytes.

Rhodiola rosea L. (Crassulaceae) is a plant living at high altitudes in Europe and Asia. Its roots have long been used in the traditional medical system of these geographical areas to increase the organism resistance to physical stress; today, it has become an important component of many dietary supplements.

AIDS vaccination studies using an ex vivo feline immunodeficiency virus model: homologous erythrocytes as a delivery system for preferential immunization with putative protective antigens.

Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) is a useful model for testing of criteria for AIDS vaccine development. In the protocol we adopted, we used a primary isolate of FIV as a source of antigen and, for challenge, plasma from cats infected with the homologous virus never passaged in vitro. Cat erythrocytes (RBC) were coated with the surface components of freshly harvested and purified FIV by means of biotin-avidin-biotin bridges and used to immunize specific-pathogen-free cats (four doses at monthly intervals; total amount of FIV antigen administered per cat, approximately 14 microg).

Preparation and characterization of biotinylated red blood cells.

Biotinylation of intact mammalian red blood cells (RBC) was performed either by attachment to the amino groups by means of biotin N-hydrosuccinimide ester (NHS-biotin) or by oxidation of the induced aldehyde groups of the RBC membrane by biotin hydrazide. Comparison of these different procedures showed that biotinylation by NHS-biotin provided the highest cell recovery (> 90%), the binding of approximately 1000 biotin molecules/cell (on mouse RBC) and the 24 h survival in circulation was unaffected. In contrast, biotin hydrazide produced cell recovery in the 5-30% range (depending on the extent of oxidation), an undetectable number of molecules of biotin/cell and negligible 24 h survival.

Methanol detoxification by enzyme-loaded erythrocytes.

Alcohol oxidase (AlOx) from Pichea pastoris (a methylotrophic yeast) was encapsulated into human and murine erythrocytes up to 2 units/ml of packed cells. This enzyme has a much higher affinity for methanol than for ethanol, thus making the loaded erythrocytes useful cellular bioreactors able to catabolize methanol. Enzyme-loaded erythrocytes showed an increased rate of the hexose-monophosphate-shunt activity and a significant methaemoglobin production.

Red blood cells as an antigen-delivery system.

The use of adjuvants is usually required to induce strong immunological responses to protein antigens. However, in many cases these adjuvants cannot be extensively applied in human and veterinary vaccinations because of associated inflammatory reactions or granuloma formation. We show here that protein antigens (bovine serum albumin, hog liver uricase, and yeast hexokinase), coupled to autologous red blood cells by way of a biotin-avidin-biotin bridge, elicit an immunological response in mice similar to or higher than that obtained by the use of Freund's adjuvant.

Human red blood cells as bioreactors for the inactivation of harmful xenobiotics.

Human red blood cells are able to inactivate lipophilic electrophiles by conjugation with reduced glutathione. This metabolic ability was found to be limited by the rate of permeation of the xenobiotic into erythrocytes and by the amount of available reduced glutathione. By a procedure of hypotonic dialysis, isotonic resealing and reannealing human red blood cells were overloaded with increasing amounts of reduced glutathione up to three- to fourfold the normal level without modification of their metabolic functions or of their energetic state.