Refuse derived bio-organics and immobilized soybean peroxidase for green chemical technology

A silica monolith was prepared from commercial silica powder dispersed in water containing polymeric water soluble bio-organics (SBOs) isolated from composted urban vegetable wastes. The monolith and the pristine powder were characterized for their morphology and reactivity for immobilizing soybean peroxidase (SBP). Compared to the pristine powder, the monolith exhibited lower specific surface area (about 30% less), total pore volume and pore size (of about 200 Å of width), and bond less SBP under the same experimental conditions. The immobilized SBP products were tested for their catalytic activity in the reaction of hydrogen peroxide, 3-(dimethylamino)benzoic acid (DMAB) and 3-methyl-2-benzothiazolinone hydrazone (MBTH), by comparison with the same reaction performed with native SBP in solution. The reaction performed in the presence of immobilized SBP was slower than that catalyzed by native SBP in solution. However, in spite of its lower SBP content, monolith immobilized SBP (M-SBP) was found kinetically more active than the powder immobilized SBP (P-SBP). Also, M-SBP allowed to achieve the same reagents conversion as native SBP (95% of reagent conversion), although in longer time, whereas the maximum reagent conversion achieved with P-SBP was much lower (75% of reagent conversion). The M-SBP was more easily recovered from the reaction medium and found more stable than P-SBP upon repeated catalyst recycling (after 20 cycles 75–80% of the initial activity was retained by both immobilized samples, slightly higher in the case of M-SBP).     

Fresh-frozen human bone graft to repair defect after mandibular giant follicular cyst removal: a case report

The purpose of this article is to report the clinical, radiographical and histological findings about a case of a young woman affected by a mandibular giant follicular cyst. Conservative tumor resection was followed by immediate reconstructive treatment using fresh frozen human bone graft, instead of autologous bone graft, as material for bone regeneration. Follicular cyst is a benign, non invasive lesion with slow but progressive growth. Radiological and histological examination of the lesion confirmed the presence of a follicular cyst which underwent biopsy evaluation before enucleation. According to literature, conservative treatment was performed with optimal prognosis. At 24?months post surgery no evidence of recurrency was objective; the CT scan revealed optimal bone formation inside the reconstructed site. The use of fresh frozen bone allograft, thanks to its osteoinductive and osteoconductive properties, can be a safe choice for reconstruction of bone defects after jaw cysts removal.     

Carboxyamidotriazole-orotate inhibits the growth of imatinib-resistant chronic myeloid leukaemia cells and modulates exosomes-stimulated angiogenesis

The Bcr/Abl kinase has been targeted for the treatment of chronic myelogenous leukaemia (CML) by imatinib mesylate. While imatinib has been extremely effective for chronic phase CML, blast crisis CML are often resistant. New therapeutic options are therefore needed for this fatal disease. Although more common in solid tumors, increased microvessel density was also reported in chronic myelogenous leukaemia and was associated with a significant increase of angiogenic factors, suggesting that vascularity in hematologic malignancies is a controlled process and may play a role in the leukaemogenic process thus representing an alternative therapeutic target. Carboxyamidotriazole-orotate (CTO) is the orotate salt form of carboxyamidotriazole (CAI), an orally bioavailable signal transduction inhibitor that in vitro has been shown to possess antileukaemic activities. CTO, which has a reduced toxicity, increased oral bioavailability and stronger efficacy when compared to the parental compound, was tested in this study for its ability to affect imatinib-resistant CML tumor growth in a xenograft model. The active cross talk between endothelial cells and leukemic cells in the bone marrow involving exosomes plays an important role in modulating the process of neovascularization in CML. We have thus investigated the effects of CTO on exosome-stimulated angiogenesis. Our results indicate that CTO may be effective in targeting both cancer cell growth and the tumor microenvironment, thus suggesting a potential therapeutic utility for CTO in leukaemia patients.     

Characterization of the protein ubiquitination response induced by Doxorubicin

Doxorubicin is commonly considered to exert its anti-tumor activity by triggering apoptosis of cancer cells through DNA damage. Recent reports have shown that Doxorubicin elicits a marked heat shock response, and that either inhibition or silencing of heat shock proteins enhance the Doxorubicin apoptotic effect in neuroblastoma cells. In order to investigate whether Doxorubicin may also act through protein modification, we performed a proteomic analysis of ubiquitinated proteins. Here we show that nanomolar Doxorubicin treatment of neuroblastoma cells caused: (a) dose-dependent over-ubiquitination of a specific set of proteins in the absence of measurable inhibition of proteasome, (b) protein ubiquination patterns similar to those with Bortezomib, a proteasome inhibitor, (c) depletion and loss of activity of ubiquitinated enzymes such as lactate dehydrogenase and α-enolase, and (d) a decrease in HSP27 solubility, probably a consequence of its binding to denatured proteins. These data strongly reinforce the hypothesis that Doxorubicin may also exert its effect by damaging proteins.     

Delayed development of interstitial cells of Cajal in the ileum of a human case of gastroschisis

The Interstitial Cells of Cajal (ICC) are responsible for rhythmic electrical activity. A paralytic ileus is present in gastroschisis (GS), a malformation due to a defective closure of the abdominal wall through which part of the intestine herniates during pregnancy. In experimental GS, ICC morphological immaturity was shown in the rat foetus at-term but it could not be demonstrated whether differentiation is accomplished post-natally. For this purpose we morphologically investigated ICC, as well as enteric neurons and smooth muscle cells, in a case of human GS at birth and 1 month later when peristaltic activity had initiated. A 36 weeks gestation female was born by c/section with prenatal diagnosis of GS and possible volvulus of the herniated intestine. At birth, the necrotic intestine was resected and both ileostomy and colostomy were performed. The intestine continuity was restored after 4 weeks. Intestinal specimens, taken during both operations at the level of the proximal stoma, were immunostained with c-kit, neuron-specific-enolase and alpha-smooth-muscle-actin antibodies and some processed for electron microscopy. ICC were present at the myenteric plexus only. At birth, these cells were rare and ultrastructurally immature; 1 month later, when partial enteral feeding was tolerated, they formed rows or groups and many of them were ultrastructurally differentiated. Neurons and smooth muscle cells, immature at birth, had developed after 1 month. Therefore, ICC differentiation, as well as that of neurons and smooth muscle cells, is delayed at birth and this might explain the paralytic ileus in GS. One month later, differentiation quickly proceeded at all cellular levels paralleling the increasing tolerance of enteral nutrition.