Publications by authors named "Maria Concetta Granieri"

Fragment crystallizable gamma receptors (FcγRs) mediate various cellular responses with significant cardiovascular implications. They contribute to the anticancer activity of trastuzumab (TRZ), a recombinant humanized monoclonal antibody that interferes with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), thereby blocking its physiological function in cardiac cells. This is responsible for cardiac complications that hamper TRZ clinical application.

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Maladaptive cardiac hypertrophy contributes to the development of heart failure (HF). The oxidoreductase Selenoprotein T (SELENOT) emerged as a key regulator during rat cardiogenesis and acute cardiac protection. However, its action in chronic settings of cardiac dysfunction is not understood.

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Inspired by the recent advancements in understanding the binding mode of sulfonylurea-based NLRP3 inhibitors to the NLRP3 sensor protein, we developed new NLRP3 inhibitors by replacing the central sulfonylurea moiety with different heterocycles. Computational studies evidenced that some of the designed compounds were able to maintain important interaction within the NACHT domain of the target protein similarly to the most active sulfonylurea-based NLRP3 inhibitors. Among the studied compounds, the 1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-one derivative 5 (INF200) showed the most promising results being able to prevent NLRP3-dependent pyroptosis triggered by LPS/ATP and LPS/MSU by 66.

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Article Synopsis
  • Cardiac lipotoxicity, a problem linked to obesity, can lead to cell death in heart cells (cardiomyocytes), but a peptide called PSELT shows promise in protecting against this damage.
  • PSELT helps to prevent oxidative stress and maintains important proteins like SELENOT while also regulating the activity of CD36, the main fatty acid transporter, countering the damage caused by palmitate exposure.
  • Additionally, PSELT enhances mitochondrial function and structure, preserving energy production and cellular health in cardiomyocytes, as confirmed by various experiments including electron microscopy.
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  • * In lab tests, both QUE and its more stable derivative Q2 were found to reduce cell death and lipid accumulation in heart cells exposed to palmitate (PA), a fatty acid that mimics obesity effects.
  • * QUE was effective at a lower dose compared to Q2, and both compounds reduced oxidative stress and inflammation, indicating their potential as therapies for heart issues related to obesity and metabolic disorders.
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Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is an autosomal dominant disorder that associates with nucleotide sequence variants in genes encoding sarcomere related proteins, and is recognized as the most common heritable cardiac diseases. Clinically, HCM can be extremely variable and this makes the diagnosis difficult until the development of serious or fatal events. Nevertheless, the main hallmark of HCM is represented by left ventricle hypertrophy that can be occasionally associated to cardiac arrhythmias, chest pain, diastolic dysfunction, obstruction of left ventricular outflow tract.

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Mitochondria are key organelles for the maintenance of myocardial tissue homeostasis, playing a pivotal role in adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production, calcium signaling, redox homeostasis, and thermogenesis, as well as in the regulation of crucial pathways involved in cell survival. On this basis, it is not surprising that structural and functional impairments of mitochondria can lead to contractile dysfunction, and have been widely implicated in the onset of diverse cardiovascular diseases, including ischemic cardiomyopathy, heart failure, and stroke. Several studies support mitochondrial targets as major determinants of the cardiotoxic effects triggered by an increasing number of chemotherapeutic agents used for both solid and hematological tumors.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Oxidative stress and endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) are key factors in heart damage during myocardial ischemia/reperfusion, with Selenoprotein T (SELENOT) playing a critical role in protecting heart cells.
  • - Researchers created a small peptide, PSELT, based on SELENOT's structure to test its potential protective effects against heart damage during periods of reduced blood flow and subsequent restoration (I/R).
  • - PSELT showed promising results, improving heart function post-ischemia, reducing damage markers, and promoting beneficial cellular responses, while a non-functional version of the peptide did not provide any protection.
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Global public health is threatened by new pathogens, antimicrobial resistant microorganisms and a rapid decline of conventional antimicrobials efficacy. Thus, numerous medical procedures become life-threating. Sepsis can lead to tissue damage such as myocardium inflammation, associated with reduction of contractility and diastolic dysfunction, which may cause death.

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  • * Over an eight-week period, rats were given different diets, and while biochemical and metabolic changes were minimal, improvements in heart function after ischemic events were noted in groups receiving supplements.
  • * The findings suggest that functional foods like WDPP and HSOP may effectively address nutritional challenges and provide heart protection, while also potentially aiding those with dysphagia due to their suitable texture.
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Aim: Chromogranin A (CgA), a 439-residue long protein, is an important cardiovascular regulator and a precursor of various bioactive fragments. Under stressful/pathological conditions, CgA cleavage generates the CgA proangiogenic fragment. The present work investigated the possibility that human CgA influences the mammalian cardiac performance, evaluating the role of its C-terminal sequence.

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The clinical use of doxorubicin (Doxo), a widely used anticancer chemotherapeutic drug, is limited by dose-dependent cardiotoxicity. We have investigated whether chromogranin A (CgA), a cardioregulatory protein released in the blood by the neuroendocrine system and by the heart itself, may contribute to regulation of the cardiotoxic and antitumor activities of Doxo. The effects of a physiologic dose of full-length recombinant CgA on Doxo-induced cardiotoxicity and antitumor activity were investigated in rats using and models and in murine models of melanoma, fibrosarcoma, lymphoma, and lung cancer, respectively.

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