Publications by authors named "Schipani E"

Bone fracture ruptures blood vessels and disrupts the bone marrow, the site of new red blood cell production (erythropoiesis). Current dogma holds that bone fracture causes severe hypoxia at the fracture site, due to vascular rupture, and that this hypoxia must be overcome for regeneration. Here, we show that the early fracture site is not hypoxic, but instead exhibits high oxygen tension (> 55 mmHg, or 8%), similar to the red blood cell reservoir, the spleen.

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  • Estrogen deficiency contributes to conditions like primary ovarian insufficiency and postmenopausal osteoporosis, disrupting the balance of bone formation and resorption, leading to bone loss and a higher risk of fractures due to reduced trabecular bone mass.
  • In the bone marrow, hypoxia-inducible factor-2α (HIF2) is vital for cell responses to low-oxygen conditions, and its loss in skeletal progenitors enhances trabecular bone mass by boosting bone formation.
  • The study shows that PT2399, a HIF2 inhibitor, can prevent bone loss in estrogen-deficient mice by increasing the number of osteoblasts and expanding the skeletal progenitor cell pool, highlighting a key mechanism for bone formation and mass
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  • The study investigated how acute ischemic stroke (AIS) affects patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) who are using oral anticoagulants (OA), specifically comparing direct oral anticoagulants (DOAC) and vitamin K antagonists (VKA).
  • A total of 169 patients were examined, revealing that those on VKA had higher in-hospital mortality rates and poor outcomes 90 days after the stroke compared to DOAC users.
  • The researchers found that switching anticoagulants did not impact stroke recurrence rates, suggesting that further extensive research is needed to optimize treatment for AIS in OA patients.
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Background: Recent studies show cervical artery dissection (CeAD) is equally common between sexes, and that the incidence of CeAD has risen at a greater rate in females than males. In this population-based study, we identify sex differences in patients diagnosed with spontaneous and traumatic CeAD.

Methods: 144 patients with spontaneous or traumatic CeAD were studied for sex differences in medical comorbidities, presenting symptoms and outcomes.

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Energy metabolism, through pathways such as oxidative phosphorylation (OxPhos) and glycolysis, plays a pivotal role in cellular differentiation and function. Our study investigates the impact of OxPhos disruption in cortical bone development by deleting mitochondrial transcription factor A (TFAM). TFAM controls OxPhos by regulating the transcription of mitochondrial genes.

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Erythropoietin (EPO), primarily produced by interstitial fibroblasts in the kidney during adulthood, and its receptor are well-known for their crucial role in regulating erythropoiesis. Recent research has unveiled an additional function of circulating EPO in the control of bone mass accrual and homeostasis through its receptor, which is expressed in both osteoblasts and osteoclasts. Notably, cells of the osteoblast lineage can produce and secrete functional EPO upon activation of the hypoxia signaling pathway.

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  • Activating mutations in the PTH/PTHrP receptor lead to Jansen's metaphyseal chondrodysplasia (JMC), characterized by growth plate issues, short stature, and high calcium levels not dependent on PTH.
  • Transgenic mouse models previously created for JMC did not accurately represent the disease, prompting the development of "humanized" mice that express the human mutation through the appropriate mouse promoter in all target tissues.
  • These new JMC mice exhibited significant growth plate abnormalities, reduced serum PTH and P1NP levels, and may serve as a better model for studying JMC and exploring treatment possibilities.
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NAD is an essential co-factor for cellular energy metabolism and multiple other processes. Systemic NAD deficiency has been implicated in skeletal deformities during development in both humans and mice. NAD levels are maintained by multiple synthetic pathways but which ones are important in bone forming cells is unknown.

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The role of energy metabolism in bone cells is an active field of investigation. Bone cells are metabolically very active and require high levels of energy in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) to support their function. ATP is generated in the cytosol via glycolysis coupled with lactic acid fermentation and in the mitochondria via oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS).

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Bone fractures are a widespread clinical event due to accidental falls and trauma or bone fragility; they also occur in association with various diseases and are common with aging. In the search for new therapeutic strategies, a crucial link between irisin and bone fractures has recently emerged. To explore this issue, we subjected 8-week-old C57BL/6 male mice to tibial fracture, and then we treated them with intra-peritoneal injection of r-Irisin (100 µg/kg/weekly) or vehicle as control.

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The clearance of apoptotic cancer cells by macrophages, known as efferocytosis, fuels the bone-metastatic growth of prostate cancer cells via pro-inflammatory and immunosuppressive processes. However, the exact molecular mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, single-cell transcriptomics of bone marrow (BM) macrophages undergoing efferocytosis of apoptotic prostate cancer cells revealed a significant enrichment in their cellular response to hypoxia.

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  • The study investigates predictive factors for hemorrhagic transformation (HT) in acute ischemic stroke patients using retrospective data analysis.
  • A new predictive score, the Hemorrhagic Transformation Empoli score (HTE), incorporates factors such as NIHSS score, cardioembolic causes, and previous stroke history to assess HT risk.
  • The HTE score outperforms five existing prediction scores, showing good predictive power with an AUC of 0.785, indicating its potential for clinical use.
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Proper deposition of the extracellular matrix and its major components, the collagens, is essential for endochondral ossification and bone mass accrual. Collagen prolyl 4-hydroxylases (C-P4Hs) hydroxylate proline residues in the -X-Pro-Gly- repeats of all known collagen types. Their product, 4-hydroxyproline, is essential for correct folding and thermal stability of the triple-helical collagen molecules in physiological body temperatures.

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  • Pharmacological strategies for speeding up bone fracture healing are currently limited, prompting research into the effects of r-irisin on fracture recovery in mice.
  • Histological analysis revealed that r-irisin treatment significantly increased collagen type X and osteoclast count, indicating enhanced cartilage maturity and bone formation during the early stages of healing.
  • After 28 days, microCT scans showed substantial increases in callus volume, bone volume, and mineral content in irisin-treated mice, suggesting r-irisin could be a promising new approach to improve fracture healing.
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The physiologically hypoxic intervertebral disc and cartilage rely on the hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) family of transcription factors to mediate cellular responses to changes in oxygen tension. During homeostatic development, oxygen-dependent prolyl hydroxylases, circadian clock proteins and metabolic intermediates control the activities of HIF1 and HIF2 in these tissues. Mechanistically, HIF1 is the master regulator of glycolytic metabolism and cytosolic lactate levels.

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Skeletal development is a tightly regulated process that primarily occurs through two distinct mechanisms. In intramembranous ossification, mesenchymal progenitors condense and transdifferentiate directly into osteoblasts, giving rise to the flat bones of the skull. The majority of the skeleton develops through endochondral ossification, in which mesenchymal progenitors give rise to a cartilaginous template that is gradually replaced by bone.

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Gonadal steroids modulate growth hormone (GH) secretion and the pubertal growth spurt via undefined central pathways. GH-releasing hormone (GHRH) neurons express estrogen receptor α (ERα) and androgen receptor (AR), suggesting changing levels of gonadal steroids during puberty directly modulate the somatotropic axis. We generated mice with deletion of ERα in GHRH cells (GHRH), which displayed reduced body length in both sexes.

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Sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) receptor modulators can influence bone regeneration owing to their positive impact on osteoblast differentiation and neovascularisation. While previous studies have utilised non-specific S1P and fingolimod, this study aims to design and characterise a controlled release vehicle to deliver the specific S1P receptor modulator siponimod and test its effectiveness in rat critical cranial defects. Electrospun scaffolds of poly lactide-co-glycolide (PLGA) were loaded with siponimod at drug:polymer mass ratios of 0.

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Hypoxia occurs not only in pathological conditions like cancer and ischemia and in a variety of physiological settings in the adult organism, but also during normal embryonic development. In the inner portion of the fetal growth plate, which is an avascular tissue originating from mesenchymal progenitor cells, chondrocytes experience physiological hypoxia. Hypoxia-Inducible Transcription Factor-1α (HIF1α), a crucial mediator of cellular adaptation to hypoxia, is an essential survival factor for fetal growth plate chondrocytes.

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Cost-benefit decision making is essential for organisms to adapt to their ever-changing environment. Most studies of cost-benefit decision making involve choice conditions in which effort and value are varied simultaneously. This prevents identification of the aspects of cost-benefit decision making that are affected by experimental manipulations.

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Jansen's metaphyseal chondrodysplasia (JMC) is a rare disease of bone and mineral ion physiology that is caused by activating mutations in PTHR1. Ligand-independent signaling by the mutant receptors in cells of bone and kidney results in abnormal skeletal growth, excessive bone turnover, and chronic hypercalcemia and hyperphosphaturia. Clinical features further include short stature, limb deformities, nephrocalcinosis, and progressive losses in kidney function.

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Few data are available on age-related burden and characteristics of embolic stroke of undetermined source (ESUS) in the real world clinical practice. The aim of our study was to provide information about it. We retrospectively analyzed data of patients consecutively admitted to our Stroke Unit along 1 year (2017, November 1st-2018, October 31st).

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