Publications by authors named "Rosalia Busa'"

Article Synopsis
  • Kaposi sarcoma herpesvirus/human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8) poses serious health risks for solid organ transplant recipients, with higher seroprevalence noted in recipients (8.4%) compared to donors (3.3%).
  • Among transplant patients, a specific group of donors (D+) and recipients (R-) showed notable rates of HHV-8-related diseases, like Kaposi sarcoma (KS) and associated inflammatory cytokine syndrome (KICS), emphasizing the importance of careful monitoring.
  • Effective management of HHV-8 diseases, such as KICS, suggests that treatment options like rituximab can significantly impact patient outcomes, highlighting the need for serologic screening and timely interventions.
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Mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (MSCs) are a heterogeneous population of multipotent cells that can be obtained from various tissues, such as dental pulp, adipose tissue, bone marrow and placenta. MSCs have gained importance in the field of regenerative medicine because of their promising role in cell therapy and their regulatory abilities in tissue repair and regeneration. However, a better characterization of these cells and their products is necessary to further potentiate their clinical application.

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  • - A pregnant woman experienced hepatitis caused by a primary infection of herpes simplex virus 2, leading to a serious systemic inflammatory response.
  • - She was treated with acyclovir and human immunoglobulin, resulting in positive outcomes for both the mother and her baby.
  • - This case presents the first detailed account of the inflammatory response linked to herpetic hepatitis during pregnancy.
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Neural stem cells (NSCs) were described for the first time more than two decades ago for their ability to differentiate into all neural cell lineages. The isolation of NSCs from adults and embryos was carried out by various laboratories and in different species, from mice to humans. Similarly, no more than two decades ago, cancer stem cells were described.

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Mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (MSCs) have emerged as a therapeutic tool in regenerative medicine. Recent studies have shown that exosome (EXO)-derived microRNAs (miRNAs) play a crucial role in mediating MSC functions. Additionally, intracellular miRNAs have been found to regulate MSC therapeutic capacities.

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Background: Ischemia/reperfusion injury (IRI), acute rejection (AR), and delayed graft function (DGF) might occur as major complications following kidney transplantation. Thus, the identification of biomarkers for the IRI, AR, and/or DGF development becomes crucial as it may help to guide post-transplant management. Natural killer (NK) cells, hepatic interstitial T-lymphocytes (T-Li), and NK-T cells are crucial in both innate and adaptive immunity after abdominal solid organ transplantation.

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Mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (MSCs) have shown significant therapeutic potential, and have therefore been extensively investigated in preclinical studies of regenerative medicine. However, while MSCs have been shown to be safe as a cellular treatment, they have usually been therapeutically ineffective in human diseases. In fact, in many clinical trials it has been shown that MSCs have moderate or poor efficacy.

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Ischemia/reperfusion injury (IRI) is a multistep damage that occurs in several tissues when a blood flow interruption is inevitable, such as during organ surgery or transplantation. It is responsible for cell death and tissue dysfunction, thus leading, in the case of transplantation, to organ rejection. IRI takes place during reperfusion, i.

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SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19, has altered human activities all over the world and has become a global hazard to public health. Despite considerable advancements in pandemic containment techniques, in which vaccination played a key role, COVID-19 remains a global threat, particularly for frail patients and unvaccinated individuals, who may be more susceptible to developing ARDS. Several studies reported that patients with COVID-19-related ARDS who were treated with ECMO had a similar survival rate to those with COVID-19-unrelated ARDS.

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At present, there is a lack of clinical evidence about the impact and long-term durability of the immune response induced by the third dose of mRNA vaccines. In this study, we followed up the B cell compartment behavior in a cohort of immunocompetent individuals three and six months after the third dose of vaccine. During this period, some subjects contracted the virus.

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Article Synopsis
  • * In a study of 25 SOTRs, those who received the fourth mRNA vaccine dose showed increased anti-Spike IgG levels, while IgA levels were higher in recovered patients compared to vaccinated ones.
  • * The findings indicate that both the fourth vaccine dose and natural infection enhance immune responses, highlighting the importance of boosters for improving protection in this vulnerable group.
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Several studies have indicated that anti-SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccinations are less effective in inducing robust immune responses among solid organ transplant recipients (SOTRs) compared with the immunocompetent. The third dose of vaccine in SOTRs showed promising results of immunogenicity, even though clinical studies have suggested that immunocompromised subjects are less likely to build a protective immune response against SARS-CoV-2 resulting in lower vaccine efficacy for the prevention of severe COVID-19. Serological IgG and IgA were analyzed through CLIA or ELISA, respectively, while Spike-specific T cells were detected by ELISpot assay after the second and third dose of vaccine in 43 SOTRs.

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Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is the principal etiology of cirrhosis and, ultimately, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). At present, approximately 71 million people are chronically infected with HCV, and 10%-20% of these are expected to develop severe liver complications throughout their lifetime. Scientific evidence has clearly shown the causal association between miRNAs, HCV infection and HCC.

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Natural killer (NK) cells mount an immune response against hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and can be activated by several cytokines, including interleukin-2 (IL-2), IL-15, and interferon-alpha (IFN-α). By exploiting the Huh7.5 hepatoma cell line infected with the HCV JFH1 genome, we provide novel insights into the antiviral effector functions of human primary NK cells after cytokine stimulation.

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Cancer immunotherapy has led to impressive advances in cancer treatment. Unfortunately, in a high percentage of patients is difficult to consistently restore immune responses to eradicate established tumors. It is well accepted that adaptive immune cells, such as B lymphocytes, CD4 helper T lymphocytes, and CD8 cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTLs), are the most effective cells able to eliminate tumors.

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Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), is modifying human activity all over the world with significant health and economic burden. The advent of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic prompted the scientific community to learn the virus dynamics concerning transmissibility, epidemiology, and usefulness of vaccines in fighting emerging health hazards. Pieces of evidence suggest that the first and second doses of mRNA vaccines induce a significant antibody response in vaccinated subjects or patients who recovered from SARS-CoV-2 infection, demonstrating the importance of the previously formed memory.

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Article Synopsis
  • * Human mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (hMSCs), particularly human amnion-derived MSCs (hAMSCs), show promise in reducing damage from IRI, though limited research exists on their use specifically for liver IRI.
  • * In our study, we developed an in vitro model and found that primed hAMSCs, pre-treated with IFNγ and grown in 3D cultures, significantly reduced inflammation and apoptosis of liver cells after IRI, highlighting their potential therapeutic role.
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The cytotoxic activity of T cells and Natural Killer cells is usually measured with the chromium release assay (CRA), which involves the use of 51Chromium (Cr), a radioactive substance dangerous to the operator and expensive to handle and dismiss. The accuracy of the measurements depends on how well the target cells incorporate Cr during labelling which, in turn, depends on cellular division. Due to bystander metabolism, the target cells spontaneously release Cr, producing a high background noise.

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Article Synopsis
  • The studied pathogen can acquire resistance to multiple antibiotics, making it clinically significant.
  • During infections, lipopolysaccharides (LPS) have complex roles, activating immune responses while also helping the pathogen evade these responses.
  • In experiments, LPS serotypes O2afg and O2a were found to induce weaker immune reactions compared to O1, particularly in allowing the O2afg type to evade early immune responses and spread in the host.
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Due to their immunomodulatory potential and release of trophic factors that promote healing, mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are considered important players in tissue homeostasis and regeneration. MSCs have been widely used in clinical trials to treat multiple conditions associated with inflammation and tissue damage. Recent evidence suggests that most of the MSC therapeutic effects are derived from their secretome, including the extracellular vesicles, representing a promising approach in regenerative medicine application to treat organ failure as a result of inflammation/fibrosis.

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Malignant melanoma is the deadliest skin cancer, due to its propensity to metastasize. MAPKs and NF-κB pathways are constitutively activated in melanoma and promote cell proliferation, cell invasion, metastasis formation, and resistance to therapeutic regimens. Thus, they represent potential targets for melanoma prevention and treatment.

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In this study cytotoxicity of organotin(IV) compounds with 1,2,4-triazolo[1,5-]pyrimidines, MeSn(5tpO) (), n-BuSn(5tpO) (), MeSn(mtpO) (), n-BuSn(mtpO) (), n-BuSn(HtpO) (), PhSn(HtpO) () where = 4,5-dihydro-5-oxo-[1,2,4]triazolo-[1,5-]pyrimidine, = 4,7-dihydro-5-methyl-7-oxo-[1,2,4]triazolo-[1,5-]pyrimidine, and = 4,5,6,7-tetrahydro-5,7- dioxo-[1,2,4]triazolo-[1,5-]-pyrimidine, was assessed on three different human tumor cell lines: HCT-116 (colorectal carcinoma), HepG2 (hepatocarcinoma) and MCF-7 (breast cancer). While and were inactive, compounds , , and inhibited the growth of the three tumor cell lines with IC values in the submicromolar range and showed high selectivity indexes towards the tumor cells (SI > 90). The mechanism of cell death triggered by the organotin(IV) derivatives, investigated on HCT-116 cells, was apoptotic, as evident from the externalization of phosphatidylserine to the cell surface, and occurred via the intrinsic pathway with fall of mitochondrial inner membrane potential and production of reactive oxygen species.

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Oxidized low-density lipoproteins (oxLDL) play a pivotal role in the etiopathogenesis of atherosclerosis through the activation of inflammatory signaling events eventually leading to endothelial dysfunction and senescence. In the present work, we investigated the effects of indicaxanthin, a bioavailable, redox-modulating phytochemical from fruits, with anti-inflammatory activity, against oxLDL-induced endothelial dysfunction. Human umbilical vein cord cells (HUVEC) were stimulated with human oxLDL, and the effects of indicaxanthin were evaluated in a range between 5 and 20 M, consistent with its plasma level after a fruit meal (7 M).

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Background: A strong, reciprocal crosstalk between inflammation and melanoma has rigorously been demonstrated in recent years, showing how crucial is a pro-inflammatory microenvironment to drive therapy resistance and metastasis.

Purpose: We investigated on the effects of Indicaxanthin, a novel, anti-inflammatory and bioavailable phytochemical from Opuntia Ficus Indica fruits, against human melanoma both in vitro and in vivo.

Study Design And Methods: The effects of indicaxanthin were evaluated against the proliferation of A375 human melanoma cell line and in a mice model of cutaneous melanoma.

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