Publications by authors named "Maria A Riemma"
Article Synopsis
- Heart failure (HF) is a significant global health issue, especially for the aging population; this study investigates the drug sacubitril/valsartan's effects on aging-related HF with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) in rats.
- After 12 weeks of treatment, both sacubitril/valsartan and valsartan showed improvements in cardiac hypertrophy, evidenced by reduced heart muscle thickness, but neither treatment effectively reduced myocardial fibrosis or corrected diastolic dysfunction.
- The study indicates that while the treatments positively impacted heart muscle size and activated cardioprotective signaling pathways, challenges like inflammation and oxidative stress remained unaddressed, leaving diastolic dysfunction and fibrosis in aging hearts.
Article Synopsis
- Heart failure and cognitive impairment are significant public health issues, especially as the global population ages, with strong links to age and multiple health issues.
- Type 2 diabetes increases risks for both heart and brain health, promoting conditions like heart failure and cognitive decline due to its metabolic complications.
- New anti-diabetic medications, such as GLP-1R agonists and SGLT2 inhibitors, show promise in reducing the risk of cardiovascular and neurological issues beyond just controlling blood sugar, but further research is needed to fully understand their mechanisms.
Article Synopsis
- Doxorubicin (DOX), a cancer treatment, causes cardiotoxicity, with early signs showing as diastolic dysfunction and fibrosis.
- Researchers found that cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) become activated soon after DOX treatment, leading to increased metabolic activity and a shift towards glycolytic energy production.
- The changes in CFs are linked to myofibroblast differentiation and pro-fibrotic signaling, suggesting that targeting these early CF responses could help mitigate the heart damage caused by anthracycline drugs like DOX.
Article Synopsis
- Cardiorenal syndrome involves heart and kidney issues that often arise from shared risk factors like hypertension and diabetes.
- A study on dapagliflozin, a sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitor, showed it can improve kidney function and reduce markers of renal damage in a non-diabetic model of cardiorenal disease.
- The drug worked by decreasing inflammation, oxidative stress, and modifying the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, suggesting it offers protective benefits for renal health.
Article Synopsis
- The study investigates the role of the sphingolipid ceramide in heart failure, focusing on the protein Nogo-A's impact on sphingolipid metabolism in heart cells under stress.
- It finds that Nogo-A negatively regulates the enzyme SPT, crucial for ceramide production, thereby reducing ceramide accumulation during stress, which could otherwise lead to harmful heart changes.
- Ultimately, the research concludes that Nogo-A helps maintain heart health by preserving important cellular functions, preventing the development of heart failure in stressful conditions.
Article Synopsis
- Ecto-5'-nucleotidase (CD73) works with CD39 to break down ATP and create adenosine, impacting immune responses and inflammation.
- The study found that female mice lacking CD73 showed no significant airway hyperreactivity when exposed to allergens compared to normal mice.
- These results suggest that targeting CD73 could be a promising approach for treating allergic asthma.
Background And Purpose: Airway remodelling is a critical feature of chronic lung diseases. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) represents an important source of myofibroblasts, contributing to airway remodelling. Here, we investigated the sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) role in EMT and its involvement in asthma-related airway dysfunction.
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- The airways are central to type I allergies, with atopy being a main cause of bronchial asthma, influenced by both environmental and genetic factors.
- Research into extracellular adenosine, particularly the enzyme CD73, has shown it plays a protective role against lung injury and its absence can lead to immune diseases.
- Experiments demonstrated that mice lacking CD73 showed increased allergic inflammation and atopy after sensitization, highlighting CD73's importance in regulating the immune response and suggesting potential pathways for allergy prevention.
Androgen levels inversely correlate with the incidence, susceptibility and severity of asthma. However, whether male sex hormones such as 5α-dihydrotestosterone (DHT) have beneficial effects on asthma symptoms and/or could affect asthma susceptibility have not been investigated. DHT administration to female mice, during the sensitization phase, abrogates the sex bias in bronchial hyperreactivity.
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- The study investigates the role of the sphingosine kinase/sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) pathway in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) using a mouse model exposed to cigarette smoke.
- Mice exposed to smoke showed lung damage, increased airway reactivity, and elevated levels of S1P and its receptors, indicating a link between smoking and airway hyperresponsiveness.
- The findings suggest that targeting S1P signaling could be a potential therapeutic strategy for treating airway issues in smokers with conditions like asthma and COPD.
Article Synopsis
- Hypercholesterolemia and hypertension significantly contribute to coronary artery diseases, a leading cause of death in industrialized nations.
- Current animal models fail to effectively mimic human coronary issues, but recent research using ApoE-/- mice shows that high-pressure exposure can induce relevant coronary lesions.
- The study finds that after transverse aortic constriction (TAC), most ApoE-/- mice develop coronary lesions, with many experiencing myocardial events like thrombosis, offering a promising model for studying coronary diseases similar to those in humans.
The incidence and severity of asthma preponderate in women versus men. Leukotrienes (LTs) are lipid mediators involved in asthma pathogenesis, and sex disparities in LT biosynthesis and anti-LT pharmacology in inflammation have recently emerged. Here, we report on sex dimorphism in LT production during allergen sensitization and its correlation to lung function.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOne important risk factor for the development of asthma is allergen sensitization. Recent increasing evidence suggests a prominent role of mast cells in asthma pathophysiology. Since Palmitoylethanolamide (PEA), an endogenous lipid mediator chemically related to - and co-released with- the endocannabinoid anandamide, behaves as a local autacoid down-regulator of mast cell activation and inflammation, we explored the possible contribution of PEA in allergic sensitization, by using ovalbumin (OVA) as sensitizing agent in the mouse.
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- - Two types of compounds, consisting of -(aryl)-1-(hydroxyalkyl)pyrrolidine-2-carboxamides and 1,4-disubstituted 1,2,3-triazoles, were synthesized with a lipophilic tail and a polar headgroup.
- - Researchers tested these compounds as sphingosine kinase (SphK) inhibitors by observing their effects on the relaxation of aortic rings induced by acetylcholine in a pre-contracted state.
- - Among the synthesized compounds, two were recognized as the most effective in reducing cell growth (antiproliferative activity), with one showing a preference for inhibiting SphK1 specifically.
Article Synopsis
- * This study investigates the role of the toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) in S1P-related asthma-like symptoms using mice, revealing that TLR4 is crucial for mediating increased airway hyperreactivity and inflammation caused by S1P.
- * Findings indicate a significant interaction between S1P and TLR4, enhancing allergic responses; thus, targeting the S1P-TLR4 pathway may offer new strategies for managing allergic airway diseases.
Salvinorin A, a neoclerodane diterpene isolated from , exerts a number of pharmacological actions which are not solely limited to the central nervous system. Recently it has been demonstrated that Salvinorin A inhibits acute inflammatory response affecting leukotriene (LT) production. Since LTs are potent lipid mediators implicated in allergic diseases, we evaluated the effect of Salvinorin A on allergic inflammation and on airways following sensitization in the mouse.
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- - Compelling evidence indicates that sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) plays a significant role in asthma development, with studies showing that its administration in mice causes asthma-like symptoms involving mast cells.
- - Researchers explored the effectiveness of disodium cromoglycate (DSCG) as a preemptive treatment against S1P in mice, finding that it significantly reduced airway hyper-reactivity and inflammation, as well as decreased the recruitment of mast cells and B cells.
- - The study concluded that DSCG effectively mitigates S1P-induced asthma features by regulating mast cell activity and inhibiting IgE-dependent responses from T and B cells, showing promise for potential asthma therapies.