Publications by authors named "Pescatore A"

Article Synopsis
  • * A study examined 131 female patients with X-linked dominant incontinentia pigmenti (IP), finding that 36% produced autoantibodies against IFN-α and/or IFN-ω, significantly higher than age-matched controls.
  • * The presence of these autoantibodies is linked to an abnormally small thymus and predisposes patients to life-threatening viral infections, while those without these autoantibodies do not face the same risk.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Activation of NF-κB transcription factor is strictly regulated to accurately direct cellular processes including inflammation, immunity, and cell survival. In the retina, the modulation of the NF-κB pathway is essential to prevent excessive inflammatory responses, which plays a pivotal role in many retinal neurodegenerative diseases, such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD), diabetic retinopathy (DR), and inherited retinal dystrophies (IRDs). A critical cytokine mediating inflammatory responses in retinal cells is tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFα), leading to the activation of several transductional pathways, including NF-κB.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

De novo somatic mutations are well documented in diseases such as neoplasia but are rarely reported in rare diseases. Hovewer, severe genetic diseases that are not compatible with embryonic development are caused exclusively by deleterious mutations that could only be found as mosaic and not as inherited mutations. We will review here the paradigmatic case of Incontinentia Pigmenti, a rare X-linked dominant disease caused by deficiency of the NEMO (also called IKKgamma) protein, which plays a pivotal role in tissue homeostasis.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Urban soil pollution by heavy metals (HMs) is a pressing problem in the development of urban agriculture (UA). In this context, the use of amendments, such as biochar, and phytoremediation are considered potentially cost-effective alternatives to conventional methods, and can be also combined to improve the remediation of soils from HMs. A pot experiment was performed to investigate the combined effect of berseem clover (Trifolium alexandrinum, L.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The engagement of TNF on TNFR can result in cell survival or cell death depending on the different complex formation downstream this interaction. Here we describe reagents and assay procedures that can be used to study caspase-independent cell death (necroptosis) in cultured cells, in response to pharmacological interventions with NF-kappaB and death inhibitors. We provide protocol to detect death-specific proteins using immunoblot and to dissect necrosome complex by sequential co-immunoprecipitation of death-specific components during necroptosis.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Escaping programmed cell death is a hallmark of cancer. NF-κB transcription factors are key regulator of cell survival and aberrant NF-κB signaling has been involved in the pathogenesis of most human malignancies. Although NF-κB is best known for its antiapoptotic role, other processes regulating the life/death balance, such as autophagy and necroptosis, seem to network with NF-κB.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Incontinentia pigmenti (IP; OMIM#308300) is a rare genetic disease resulting in neuroectodermal defects, which can lead to disability. At present, there is neither definitive cure available nor are there any sufficiently reliable insights to predict the severity of the disease. We launched the Incontinentia Pigmenti Genetic Biobank (IPGB) project ( http://www.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The effects of manganese (Mn) preconditioning, 96 h post-hatch followed by the replacement of inorganic Mn with different levels of organic Mn (5 to 21 D), on growth, tissue excreta Mn content, gene expression, and enzyme activity were evaluated. A total of 420 day-old male Cobb 500 broilers were divided into 2 groups. One group was fed a corn-soybean meal basal diet containing 17 mg of Mn/kg (preconditioning diet, MnPD); the second group was fed the non-preconditioning diet (NPCD), which was the MnPD supplemented with 60 mg of Mn/kg from manganese sulfate (MnSO4).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

For accurate estimation of nutrient digestibility, an ideal drying and sampling method is required to preserve the quality of the digesta. A standard corn-soybean meal (corn-SBM) broiler starter diet was fed from d 0 to 10 before birds were placed on the experimental diets until d 21. One hundred and sixty-eight male Cobb 500 broiler chicks were used to evaluate the effect of two drying methods (freeze-dryer vs.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: N6-isopentenyladenosine (iPA) is an intermediate of the mevalonate pathway that exhibits various anti-cancer effects. However, studies on its anti-inflammatory activity are scarce and underlying molecular mechanisms are unknown. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the ability of iPA to exert anti-inflammatory effects in the human cystic fibrosis (CF) cell model of exacerbated inflammation.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Two studies were conducted to evaluate the effect of dietary Ca levels (low, 1% and high, 3%) on ileal endogenous amino acid losses (IEAAL) and standardized ileal amino acid digestibility (SIAAD) in broilers (BR) and laying hens (LH) fed nitrogen-free diets (NFD) and distiller's dried grain with solubles (DDGS)-based diets. A total of 384 male Cobb 500 BR and 288 LH were used in a completely randomized design (CRD) with 16 (BR) or 12 (LH) replicate cages with 6 birds/replicate. IEAAL and apparent ileal digestibility (AID) of AA were analyzed using the GLM procedure of SAS appropriate for a CRD while SIAAD values were analyzed using the GLM procedure of SAS appropriate for a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement of treatments.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The effect of dietary electrolyte balance (DEB), energy source (ES), and length of feeding of nitrogen-free diet (NFD) on ileal endogenous amino acid (EAA) loss in mg/kg dry matter intake (DMI) was evaluated in broiler chickens. In Experiment 1, 720 chickens consisting of 15 replicate cages with 6 chickens/replicate were used. Treatments were arranged in a 2 × 2 × 2 factorial and consisted of 4 NFD with 2 levels (low or high) of DEB and 2 ES [corn starch (CS) or dextrose (DX)], and 2 sampling time-points (diets were fed for either 72 h (d 16 to 19) or 120 h (d 16 to 21).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Wheezing illnesses are characterized by phenotypic variability, which changes with age, but few studies report on a wide age range of children. We studied how prevalence, severity, and triggers of wheeze vary throughout childhood.

Methods: We analyzed data from a large population-based cohort of children from Leicestershire, UK, who were followed from infancy through late adolescence using postal questionnaires.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Incontinentia pigmenti (IP; MIM308300) is a severe, male-lethal, X-linked, dominant genodermatosis resulting from loss-of-function mutations in the IKBKG gene encoding nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) essential modulator (NEMO; the regulatory subunit of the IκB kinase [IKK] complex). In 80% of cases of IP, the deletion of exons 4 to 10 leads to the absence of NEMO and total inhibition of NF-κB signaling. Here we describe a new IKBKG mutation responsible for IP resulting in an inactive truncated form of NEMO.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The goal of this study was to determine the effects of feeding a zinc (Zn) deficient diet to broiler chicks for 96 h post-hatch followed by feeding diets with different Zn sources and supplemental levels (5 to 21 d) on the growth performance, tissue, and excreta Zn content. At the start of the study, four hundred 20-day-old male broiler chicks were divided into two groups. One group was fed a corn soybean meal based diet containing 25 mg of Zn/kg (imprinting diet, ID).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Incontinentia Pigmenti (IP) is a rare X-linked disease characterized by early male lethality and multiple abnormalities in heterozygous females. IP is caused by NF-κB essential modulator (NEMO) mutations. The current mechanistic model suggests that NEMO functions as a crucial component mediating the recruitment of the IκB-kinase (IKK) complex to tumor necrosis factor receptor 1 (TNF-R1), thus allowing activation of the pro-survival NF-κB response.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Anhidrotic Ectodermal Dysplasia with ImmunoDeficiency (EDA-ID, OMIM 300291) and Incontinentia Pigmenti (IP, OMIM 308300) are two rare diseases, caused by mutations of the IKBKG/NEMO gene. The protein NEMO/IKKγ is essential for the NF-κB activation pathway, involved in a variety of physiological and cellular processes, such as immunity, inflammation, cell proliferation, and survival. A wide spectrum of IKBKG/NEMO mutations have been identified so far, and, on the basis of their effect on NF-κB activation, they are considered hypomorphic or amorphic (loss of function) mutations.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Previous studies found larger lung volumes at school-age in formerly breastfed children, with some studies suggesting an effect modification by maternal asthma. We wanted to explore this further in children who had undergone extensive lung function testing. The current study aimed to assess whether breastfeeding was associated with larger lung volumes and, if so, whether all compartments were affected.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Estimates of prevalence of wheeze depend on questionnaires. However, wording of questions may vary between studies. We investigated effects of alternative wording on estimates of prevalence and severity of wheeze, and associations with risk factors.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

NEMO/IKKγ is the regulatory subunit of the IκB Kinase (IKK) complex, required for the activation of the NF-κB pathway, which is involved in a variety of key processes, including immunity, inflammation, differentiation, and cell survival. Termination of NF-κB activity on specific -κB responsive genes, which is crucial for the resolution of inflammatory responses, can be achieved by direct degradation of the chromatin-bound NF-κB subunit RelA/p65, a process mediated by a protein complex that contains Copper Metabolism Murr1 Domain 1 (COMMD1). In this study, we identify COMMD7, another member of the COMMDs protein family, as a novel NEMO-interacting protein.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Mendelian primary immunodeficiency diseases (MPIDs) are rare disorders affecting distinct constituents of the innate and adaptive immune system. Although they are genetically heterogeneous, a substantial group of MPIDs is due to mutations in genes affecting the nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) transcription pathway, essential for cell proliferation and cell survival and involved in innate immunity and inflammation. Many of these genes encode for crucial regulatory components of the NF-κB pathway and their mutations are associated with immunological and developmental signs somehow overlapping in patients with MPIDs.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

There has been an increased interest in the use of immunomodulators as substitutes for antibiotics in food animal production. Beta-glucans from yeast and fungi may be ideal substitutes because of their positive effects on the avian immune system without adversely affecting poultry performance. Barley β-glucans, however, have not shown this potential due to the adverse effects dietary inclusion of barley has on poultry performance.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF