Italian adaptation of the Insomnia Catastrophising Scale (ICS): a tool to evaluate insomnia-specific catastrophic thinking

Sleep and Biological Rhythms - Several cognitive mechanisms have been hypothesized to be involved in insomnia disorder. Insomnia catastrophising thinking consists of overestimating the sleep...     

Protein kinase C β from Friend erythroleukemia cells is associated with chromatin and DNA

Certain protein kinase C (PKC) isotypes are localized to the nucleus during cellular proliferation in murine erythroid cells, as well as in human promyelocytic leukemia and erythroleukemia cells. Because the structure of these PKC isotypes contains a conserved cysteine-rich region that contains the zinc finger DNA binding motif, we tested the hypothesis that selected PKC isotypes found in Friend erythroleukemia cells can bind to DNA. Cell lysates from murine Friend erythroleukemia cells, which express , I, and II PKC, expressed greater amounts of the isoforms than the isoform of PKC in their nuclei, and PKC I was found in the chromatin of these cells. Lysates of these cells were tested for their ability to bind to a DNA-cellulose columm. Bound proteins were eluted with a step gradient of increasing KCl concentrations, and eluant fractions were then subjected to immunoblot analysis using isotype-specific antibodies to the and I isotypes of PKC. DNA binding was detected for the PKC I isotype, which is present in the nucleus, but not for the more abundant PKC isotype, which resides primarily in the cytoplasm. These results demonstrate that PKC can associate with DNA, and that this association is isotype specific in Friend erythroleukemia cells. (Mol Cell Biochem151: 107–111, 1995)     

Interaction between ABO blood groups and ADA genetic polymorphism during intrauterine life

A total of 203 couples with unexplained habitual abortions and 364 consecutive normal puerperae along with their live-born babies were studied. The analysis of wife-husband joint ABO blood group distribution in couples with habitual abortion showed an excess of A incompatible mating type and a defect of B incompatible type as compared with expected proportions assuming random mating. The joint wife-husband ABO blood group distribution was further analysed in relation to the adenosine deaminase (ADA) genotype. A defect of O-A and A-O couples when the wife carries the ADA*1/*1 genotype and the husband carries the ADA*2 allele, and a defect of O-O and A-A when the wife carries the ADA*2 allele were observed. In the sample of normal puerperae, analysis of the joint mother-newborn ABO distribution in relation to the ADA genotype showed a pattern similar to that observed in couples with habitual abortion, i.e. there is a defect of O-A and A-O when the mother carries the ADA*1/*1 genotype and the newborn carries the ADA*2 allele and a defect of O-O and A-A types when the mother carries the ADA*2 allele. Altogether the data suggest an early loss of O-A and A-O zygotes when they carry the ADA*2 allele and an early loss of O-O and A-A zygotes when the mother carries the ADA*2 allele resulting in a deficit of these zygotic classes among both spontaneously aborted fetuses and live-born infants. The pattern of association observed in the mother-fetus type O-A (incompatible according to conventional terminology) appears similar to that observed for the reciprocal A-O type (compatible according to conventional terminolgy). Therefore strictly conventional immunological mechanisms cannot explain the whole pattern of associations. Cell to cell interactions involving ABO antigens may have an important role at implantation: ADA, through the control of local adenosine concentration, could modulate these interactions influencing the probability of successful implantation.     

Glutathione transferase P silencing promotes neuronal differentiation of retinal R28 cells

Glutathione transferases (GSTs) play an important role in retinal pathophysiology. Within this family, the GSTP isoform is known as an endogenous regulator of cell survival and proliferation pathways and of cellular responses to oxidative stress. In the present study we silenced GSTP in R28 cells, a retinal precursor cell line with markers of both glial and neuronal origin, and obtained stable clones which were viable and, unexpectedly, characterized by a more neuronal phenotype. The degree of neuronal differentiation was inversely correlated with GSTP residual expression levels. The clone with the lowest expression of GSTP showed metabolic reprogramming, a more favorable redox status and, despite its neuronal phenotype, a sensitivity to glutamate and 4-hydroxynonenal toxicity comparable to that of control cells. Altogether, our evidence shows that near full depletion of GSTP in retinal precursor cells, triggers neuronal differentiation and prosurvival metabolic changes.     

The genetics of feto-placental development: A study of acid phosphatase locus 1 and adenosine deaminase polymorphisms in a consecutive series of newborn infants

Background  

Acid phosphatase locus 1 and adenosine deaminase locus 1 polymorphisms show cooperative effects on glucose metabolism and immunological functions. The recent observation of cooperation between the two systems on susceptibility to repeated spontaneous miscarriage prompted us to search for possible interactional effects between these genes and the correlation between birth weight and placental weight. Deviation from a balanced development of the feto-placental unit has been found to be associated with perinatal morbidity and mortality and with cardiovascular diseases in adulthood.     

Rhodanese-thioredoxin system and allyl sulfur compounds

Sodium 2-propenyl thiosulfate, a water-soluble organo-sulfane sulfur compound isolated from garlic, induces apoptosis in a number of cancer cells. The molecular mechanism of action of sodium 2-propenyl thiosulfate has not been completely clarified. In this work we investigated, by in vivo and in vitro experiments, the effects of this compound on the expression and activity of rhodanese. Rhodanese is a protein belonging to a family of enzymes widely present in all phyla and reputed to play a number of distinct biological roles, such as cyanide detoxification, regeneration of iron-sulfur clusters and metabolism of sulfur sulfane compounds. The cytotoxic effects of sodium 2-propenyl thiosulfate on HuT 78 cells were evaluated by flow cytometry and DNA fragmentation and by monitoring the progressive formation of mobile lipids by NMR spectroscopy. Sodium 2-propenyl thiosulfate was also found to induce inhibition of the sulfurtransferase activity in tumor cells. Interestingly, in vitro experiments using fluorescence spectroscopy, kinetic studies and MS analysis showed that sodium 2-propenyl thiosulfate was able to bind the sulfur-free form of the rhodanese, inhibiting its thiosulfate:cyanide-sulfurtransferase activity by thiolation of the catalytic cysteine. The activity of the enzyme was restored by thioredoxin in a concentration-dependent and time-dependent manner. Our results suggest an important involvement of the essential thioredoxin-thioredoxin reductase system in cancer cell cytotoxicity by organo-sulfane sulfur compounds and highlight the correlation between apoptosis induced by these compounds and the damage to the mitochondrial enzymes involved in the repair of the Fe-S cluster and in the detoxification system.     

Effects of climate and land‐use change scenarios on fire probability during the 21st century in the Brazilian Amazon

The joint and relative effects of future land‐use and climate change on fire occurrence in the Amazon, as well its seasonal variation, are still poorly understood, despite its recognized importance. Using the maximum entropy method (MaxEnt), we combined regional land‐use projections and climatic data from the CMIP5 multimodel ensemble to investigate the monthly probability of fire occurrence in the mid (2041–2070) and late (2071–2100) 21st century in the Brazilian Amazon. We found striking spatial variation in the fire relative probability (FRP) change along the months, with October showing the highest overall change. Considering climate only, the area with FRP ≥ 0.3 (a threshold chosen based on the literature) in October increases 6.9% by 2071–2100 compared to the baseline period under the representative concentration pathway (RCP) 4.5 and 27.7% under the RCP 8.5. The best‐case land‐use scenario (“Sustainability”) alone causes a 10.6% increase in the area with FRP ≥ 0.3, while the worse‐case land‐use scenario (“Fragmentation”) causes a 73.2% increase. The optimistic climate‐land‐use projection (Sustainability and RCP 4.5) causes a 21.3% increase in the area with FRP ≥ 0.3 in October by 2071–2100 compared to the baseline period. In contrast, the most pessimistic climate‐land‐use projection (Fragmentation and RCP 8.5) causes a widespread increase in FRP (113.5% increase in the area with FRP ≥ 0.3), and prolongs the fire season, displacing its peak. Combining the Sustainability land‐use and RCP 8.5 scenarios causes a 39.1% increase in the area with FRP ≥ 0.3. We conclude that avoiding the regress on land‐use governance in the Brazilian Amazon (i.e., decrease in the extension and level of conservation of the protected areas, reduced environmental laws enforcement, extensive road paving, and increased deforestation) would substantially mitigate the effects of climate change on fire probability, even under the most pessimistic RCP 8.5 scenario.     

Preparation, properties and metabolism of 5,6-monoepoxy-3-dehydroetinal

1. 5,6-Monoepoxy-3-dehydroretinal was synthesized from 3-dehydroretinyl acetate and characterized. 2. When fed to vitamin A-deficient rats, 5,6-monoepoxy-3-dehydroretinal was converted into 5,6-monoepoxy-3-dehydrovitamin A and stored in the liver. 3. It was demonstrated that the rat possesses the necessary enzymes for the reduction and oxidation of 5,6-monoepoxy-3-dehydroretinal to the corresponding alcohol and acid respectively. 4. The biological potency of the epoxy-3-dehydroretinal by the rat-growth assay (determined by USP XIV procedure) was 1·07% of that of vitamin A.