Publications by authors named "Vacca C"

The greater awareness of consumers regarding the sustainability of food chains has shifted part of the consumption from animal protein sources to vegetable sources. Among these, of relevance both for human food use and for animal feed, is soy. However, its high protein content is unfortunately accompanied by the presence of antinutritional factors, including Kunitz's trypsin inhibitor (KTI).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

To adapt to different environmental conditions, relies on finely tuned regulatory networks, most of which are unexplored to date. We recently demonstrated that deletion of the two-component system ActJK renders an acid-vulnerable phenotype in and negatively impacts bacteroid development and nodule occupancy as well. To fully understand the role of ActJ in acid tolerance, wild-type and ΔJ proteomes were compared in the presence or absence of acid stress by nanoflow ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The field of targeted protein degradation, through the control of the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS), is progressing considerably; to exploit this new therapeutic modality, the proteolysis targeting chimera (PROTAC) technology was born. The opportunity to use PROTACs engaging of new E3 ligases that can hijack and control the UPS system could greatly extend the applicability of degrading molecules. To this end, here we show a potential application of the ELIOT (E3 LIgase pocketOme navigaTor) platform, previously published by this group, for a scaffold-repurposing strategy to identify new ligands for a novel E3 ligase, such as TRIM33.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The acidity of soils significantly reduces the productivity of legumes mainly because of the detrimental effects of hydrogen ions on the legume plants, leading to the establishment of an inefficient symbiosis and poor biological nitrogen fixation. We recently reported the analysis of the fully sequenced genome of Rhizobium favelukesii LPU83, an alfalfa-nodulating rhizobium with a remarkable ability to grow, nodulate and compete in acidic conditions. To gain more insight into the genetic mechanisms leading to acid tolerance in R.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Melatonin (MLT) is a cytoprotective agent holding potential to prevent cadmium (Cd) toxicity and its impact in testicular function and fertility. In this study, we explored such potential in porcine pre-pubertal Sertoli cells (SCs). Cd toxicity resulted in impaired SC viability and function, abnormal cellular H O generation and efflux, and induction of reductive stress by the upregulation of Nrf2 expression and activity, cystine uptake and glutathione biosynthesis, glutathione-S-transferase P (GSTP) expression, and protein glutathionylation inhibition.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: Pregnant women with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection have a higher risk of hospitalization, admission to intensive care unit (ICU) and invasive ventilation, and of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). In case of ARDS and critical severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is recommended when other respiratory support strategies (oxygen insufflation, non-invasive ventilation [NIV], invasive ventilation through an endotracheal tube) are insufficient. However, available data on ECMO in pregnant and postpartum women with critical COVID-19 are very limited.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Antimicrobial resistance represents a major global health concern and environmental bacteria are considered a source of resistance genes. Carbapenems are often used as the last antibiotic option to treat multidrug-resistant bacteria. Metallo-β-lactamases (MBLs) are able to render resistance to almost all β-lactam antibiotics, including carbapenems.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Unfolded protein response (UPR) and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress are aspects of SARS-CoV-2-host cell interaction with proposed role in the cytopathic and inflammatory pathogenesis of this viral infection. The role of the NF-kB pathway in these cellular processes remains poorly characterized. When investigated in VERO-E6 cells, SARS-CoV-2 infection was found to markedly stimulate NF-kB protein expression and activity.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objectives: In trichorionic triplet pregnancies, multifetal pregnancy reduction (MFPR) reduces the risk of preterm birth, neonatal morbidity and mortality without increasing miscarriage. A similar benefit has been suggested in dichorionic triamniotic (DCTA) pregnancy, but multiple methods are currently used. This study investigates if the method of reduction used in DCTA triplet pregnancy influences the evidence of benefit from MFPR.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Viral infections sustain their replication cycle promoting a pro-oxidant environment in the host cell. In this context, specific alterations of the levels and homeostatic function of the tripeptide glutathione have been reported to play a causal role in the pro-oxidant and cytopathic effects (CPE) of the virus. In this study, these aspects were investigated for the first time in SARS-CoV2-infected Vero E6 cells, a reliable and well-characterized in vitro model of this infection.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Mutations in the WFS1 gene, encoding wolframin (WFS1), cause endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and are associated with a rare autosomal-recessive disorder known as Wolfram syndrome (WS). WS is clinically characterized by childhood-onset diabetes mellitus, optic atrophy, deafness, diabetes insipidus and neurological signs. We identified two novel WFS1 mutations in a patient with WS, namely, c.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The nitrogen-fixing α-proteobacterium Sinorhizobium meliloti genome codifies at least 50 response regulator (RR) proteins mediating different and, in many cases, unknown processes. RR-mutant library screening allowed us to identify genes potentially implicated in survival to acid conditions. actJ mutation resulted in a strain with reduced growth rate under mildly acidic conditions as well as a lower capacity to tolerate a sudden shift to lethal acidic conditions compared with the parental strain.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenases (IDOs) degrade l-tryptophan to kynurenines and drive the de novo synthesis of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide. Unsurprisingly, various invertebrates, vertebrates, and even fungi produce IDO. In mammals, IDO1 also serves as a homeostatic regulator, modulating immune response to infection via local tryptophan deprivation, active catabolite production, and non-enzymatic cell signaling.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Peri-implantitis is a steadily rising disease and is caused by oral bacterial pathogens able to form biofilm on implant surfaces and peri-implant tissues, making antibiotics treatment less effective. The use of commercial probiotics against oral pathogens could serve as an alternative to prevent biofilm formation. is one of the early colonizers of biofilm formation in dental implants.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Knowledge of a protein's spatial dynamics at the subcellular level is key to understanding its function(s), interactions, and associated intracellular events. Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1) is a cytosolic enzyme that controls immune responses via tryptophan metabolism, mainly through its enzymic activity. When phosphorylated, however, IDO1 acts as a signaling molecule in plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs), thus activating genomic effects, ultimately leading to long-lasting immunosuppression.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Strain P10 130, an isolated Bradyrhizobium strain from Argentina which promotes the growth of the leguminous plant Desmodium incanum by different mechanisms was previously selected as the best candidate for D. incanum inoculation based on broader selective criteria. A close relationship between this strain and B.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Study Objective: To show feasibility of using indocyanine green (ICG) in endometriosis surgery, especially bowel endometriosis shaving, and to discuss its potential benefits.

Design: Stepwise demonstration of this technique with narrated video footage.

Setting: Endometriosis is a common benign chronic disorder, characterized by the presence of endometrial tissue outside the uterus.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Neuroblastoma survivors experience early signs of weakened immune response, particularly in their CD8 T cells, shortly after therapy.
  • They also show elevated levels of TNF-α in their plasma, indicating inflammation.
  • Over time, some signs of immune recovery are noted, but it's unclear if this recovery is permanent or temporary, especially given that late side effects are common in childhood cancer survivors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Insulin resistance (IR) plays a central role in the onset of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Insulin so insulin-sensitizing like inositols have been proposed as first line therapy. Among them d-chiro-inositol (DCI) seems to improve glucose metabolism and to increase ovulation frequency.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

l-tryptophan (Trp), an essential amino acid for mammals, is the precursor of a wide array of immunomodulatory metabolites produced by the kynurenine and serotonin pathways. The kynurenine pathway is a paramount source of several immunoregulatory metabolites, including l-kynurenine (Kyn), the main product of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1) that catalyzes the rate-limiting step of the pathway. In the serotonin pathway, the metabolite -acetylserotonin (NAS) has been shown to possess antioxidant, antiinflammatory, and neuroprotective properties in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), an animal model of multiple sclerosis (MS).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) is a common mucosal infection caused by spp., most frequently by , which may become recurrent and severely impacting the quality of life of susceptible women. Although it is increasingly being recognized that mucosal damage is mediated by an exaggerated inflammatory response, current therapeutic approaches are only based on antifungals that may relieve the symptomatology, but fail to definitely prevent recurrences.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1) catalyzes the first step in the kynurenine pathway of tryptophan (Trp) degradation that produces several biologically active Trp metabolites. L-kynurenine (Kyn), the first byproduct by IDO1, promotes immunoregulatory effects via activation of the Aryl hydrocarbon Receptor (AhR) in dendritic cells (DCs) and T lymphocytes. We here identified the nuclear coactivator 7 (NCOA7) as a molecular target of 3-hydroxyanthranilic acid (3-HAA), a Trp metabolite produced downstream of Kyn along the kynurenine pathway.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

This study was planned to evaluate whether a 3-month treatment with GG (LGG) can modify immune system functions in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes (T1D), leading to an increased immune response to an injectable quadrivalent inactivated influenza vaccine (QIV). A total of 87 pediatric patients with T1D were screened, although 34 patients in the Probiotic group and 30 in the Control group accepted to be vaccinated with QIV and completed the study. Vaccine immunogenicity and safety and the inflammatory cytokine response were studied.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

is the causative agent of human diseases ranging from asthma to invasive infection. Genetic and environmental factors are crucial in regulating the interaction between the host and . The role played by the enzyme indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1), which catalyzes the first and rate-limiting step of tryptophan catabolism along the kynurenine pathway, is increasingly being recognized, but whether and how genetic variation of IDO1 influences the risk of aspergillosis in susceptible patients is incompletely understood.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF