Effects of digitalis intoxication on the phosphoglucomutase and creatine phosphokinase of guinea pig livers

A study was made of the behavior of the phosphoglucomutase (PGluM) and creatine phosphokinase (CPK) in the liver tissue of guinea pigs after chronic digitalis intoxication. It was found that the latter causes a statistically significant decrease of both enzymatic activities. The results obtained by the authors with this investigation, together with those of previous researchers, show that the toxic effect of digitalis on the enzymatic activities is not limited to the reported effect on the ATPase but also involves, at least at the doses and under the conditions used, other enzymatic activities.     

Preoperative CEA, NSE, SCC, TPA and CYFRA 21.1 serum levels as prognostic indicators in resected non-small cell lung cancer.

In 62 patients affected by resectable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) submitted to radical surgery we evaluated the prognostic significance of CEA, NSE, SCC, TPA, and CYFRA 21.1 serum levels at diagnosis, as well as the predictive ability of these tumor markers with respect to histological type and pathological stage. The group was composed of 56 male and 6 female patients; the median age was 62 years (range 29-73 years). Thirty-four patients had a histological diagnosis of adenocarcinoma and 28 of squamous cell carcinoma; with regard to pathological stage, 32 patients had stage 1, 4 patients stage II and 23 patients stage IIIA disease. A good predictive ability with respect to histological type was obtained with SCC serum levels; as for pathological stage, TPA and CYFRA 21.1 were found to have moderate predictive ability. In this series of patients, at a median follow-up of 55 months after surgery, we found that both TPA and CYFRA 21.1 serum levels at diagnosis were reliable predictors of overall survival, high values of these markers being associated with a worse prognosis.     

Ferulic Acid Improves Cognitive Skills Through the Activation of the Heme Oxygenase System in the Rat

Over the last years, many studies reported on the antioxidant effects of ferulic acid (FA) in preclinical models of dementia through the activation of the heme oxygenase/biliverdin reductase (HO/BVR) system. However, only a few studies evaluated whether FA could improve neurological function under milder conditions, such as psychological stress. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of FA (150 mg/kg intraperitoneal route) on cognitive function in male Wistar rats exposed to emotional arousal. Animals were randomly assigned to two experimental groups, namely not habituated or habituated to the experimental context, and the novel object recognition test was used to evaluate their cognitive performance. The administration of FA significantly increased long-term retention memory in not habituated rats. Ferulic acid increased the expression of HO-1 in the hippocampus and frontal cortex of not habituated rats only, whereas HO-2 resulted differently modulated in these cognitive brain areas. No significant effects on either HO-1 or HO-2 or BVR were observed in the cerebellum of both habituated and not habituated rats. Ferulic acid activated the stress axis in not habituated rats, as shown by the increase in hypothalamic corticotrophin-releasing hormone levels. Pre-treatment with Sn-protoporphyrin-IX [0.25 μmol/kg, intracerebroventricular route (i.c.v.)], a well-known inhibitor of HO activity through which carbon monoxide (CO) and biliverdin (BV) are generated, abolished the FA-induced improvement of cognitive performance only in not habituated rats, suggesting a role for HO-derived by-products. The CO-donor tricarbonyldichlororuthenium (II) (30 nmol/kg i.c.v.) mimicked the FA-related improvement of cognitive skills only in not habituated rats, whereas BV did not have any effect in any group. In conclusion, these results set the stage for subsequent studies on the neuropharmacological action of FA under conditions of psychological stress.     

Activities of glycolipid glycosyltransferases and sialidases during the early development of Xenopus laevis

The activities of glycosyltransferases and sialidases, together with the ganglioside content and distribution, have been extensively studied in mammals, while the informations on tissues of other animals, including amphibian, are scarce. In this paper we present data on the activities of SAT-1, SAT-2, SAT-4, SAT-5, GlcNAcT-1, GalNAcT-1, GalT-6, and sialidases studied in Xenopus laevis embryos at different stages of development. The highest activity was found at days 4 and 5 of embryogenesis for glycosyltransferases and sialidases respectively; a tentative correlation between the in vitro activity of these enzymes and the content of neutral and acidic glycolipids is discussed. (Mol Cell Biochem 166: 117-124, 1997)     

Study of the effects of temperature, pH, NaCl, and aw on the proteolytic and lipolytic activities of cheese-related lactic acid bacteria by quadratic response surface methodology

The individual and interactive effects of temperature, pH, NaCl, and a_w on the proteolytic and lipolytic activities of Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus B397, Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis T12, and Lb. plantarum 2739 were studied by quadratic response surface methodology. The effects on enzyme activities depended on the interactions among the independent variables, type of activity, substrate and, especially, species. The proteinase activity of strains B397 and T12 was affected differently by pH as individual or interactive terms depending on the type of substrate _sl- or β-casein. The increase of NaCl concentration (2.5–7.5%) under cheese-like conditions had a negative effect on the proteinase activity of strain T12. The effect of NaCl was related to the corresponding decrease in a_w. Aminopeptidases N and A, iminopeptidase and endopeptidase of Lc. lactis subsp. lactis T12 were strongly inhibited by pH 5–6 and NaCl concentration higher than 3.75%. The negative effects of these independent variables was in several cases enhanced by their interaction and/or by the interaction with the lowest temperatures. In contrast, the same peptidases of Lb. plantarum 2739 retained a high activity under the very hostile environmental conditions. Iminopeptidase and especially endopeptidase activities of strain 2739 were stimulated slightly by NaCl at concentrations up to 5%. Lipase/esterase activity of Lb. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus B397 was markedly inhibited under cheese-like conditions.     

KU0063794, a Dual mTORC1 and mTORC2 Inhibitor,Reduces Neural Tissue Damage and Locomotor Impairment After Spinal Cord Injury in Mice

Autophagy is an intracellular catabolic mechanism for the degradation of cytoplasmic constituents in the autophagosomal–lysosomal pathway. This mechanism plays an important role in homeostasis and it is defective in certain diseases. Preceding studies have revealed that autophagy is developing as an important moderator of pathological responses associated to spinal cord injury (SCI) and plays a crucial role in secondary injury initiating a progressive degeneration of the spinal cord. Thus, based on this evidence in this study, we used two different selective inhibitors of mTOR activity to explore the functional role of autophagy in an in vivo model of SCI as well as to determine whether the autophagic process is involved in spinal cord tissue damage. We treated animals with a novel synthetic inhibitor temsirolimus and with a dual mTORC1 and mTORC2 inhibitor KU0063794 matched all with the well-known inhibitor of mTOR the rapamycin. Our results demonstrated that mTOR inhibitors could regulate the neuroinflammation associated to SCI and the results that we obtained evidently demonstrated that rapamycin and temsirolimus significantly diminished the expression of iNOS, COX2, GFAP, and re-established nNOS levels, but the administration of KU0063794 is able to blunt the neuroinflammation better than rapamycin and temsirolimus. In addition, neuronal loss and cell mortality in the spinal cord after injury were considerably reduced in the KU0063794-treated mice. Accordingly, taken together our results denote that the administration of KU0063794 produced a neuroprotective function at the lesion site following SCI, representing a novel therapeutic approach after SCI.     

Risk Factors and Outcomes of Invasive Fungal Infections in Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplant Recipients

Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) recipients are at increased risk of invasive fungal infections (IFI), which are associated with a high mortality rate. We evaluated the impact of IFI in allogeneic HCT patients. In total, 541 consecutive allogeneic HCT recipients were included. The cumulative incidence of any IFI and mold infections at 1-year post-HCT was 10 and 7%, respectively. Median times to IFI and mold infection were 200 and 210 days, respectively. There was a trend toward fewer IFI and mold infections in the last several years. Both acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) (OR 1.83, p = 0.05) and corticosteroid duration (OR 1.0, p = 0.026) were significantly associated with increased risk of IFI, acute GVHD (OR 2.3, p = 0.027) emerged as the most important association with mold infections. Any IFI [HR 4.1 (2.79–6.07), p < 0.0001] and mold infections [HR 3.34 (2.1–5.1), p < 0.0001] were independently associated with non-relapse mortality (NRM). This association persisted in the setting of both acute and chronic GVHD. Corticosteroid treatment for >90 days was also significantly associated with higher NRM [HR 1.9 (1.3–2.6), p < 0.0001]. This study highlights the impact of IFI on NRM among HCT patients. The decrease in number of IFI and mold infections over the last several years may reflect the benefit of prophylaxis with mold-active antifungal agents.     

Characterisation of yeast microbiota,chemical and sensory properties of organic and biodynamic Sangiovese red wines

Wine quality is closely linked to the fermentation step, which is driven by the microbial ecology of grape and the use of selected microbial strains as well. The microbial species developing during fermentation determines the type and concentration of many substances, which contribute to the sensory properties of wine and its safety. In this view, the present work aims to characterise the yeast microbiota, chemical and sensory properties of Sangiovese red wines obtained from both biodynamic and organic agriculture. The natural yeast populations of grape musts and their evolution during spontaneous were monitored and investigated. In addition, the volatile composition, physico-chemical and safety features (ethyl-carbamate) and sensory properties of wines were evaluated. The results showed that the yeast population was mostly related to the grape management, i.e. organic or biodynamic, while the wine composition was mainly affected by the winemaking process, and then by the grape management.