TRPV1 Receptor Identification in Bovine and Canine Mitral Valvular Interstitial Cells

Myxomatous mitral valve degeneration (MMVD) is the most common acquired cardiac disease in canine species, and valvular interstitial cells (VICs) are considered the main responsible for the development of this pathology. The scientific interest is focused on isolating and characterizing these cells. The aims of the present study were to verify a novel VICs mechanical isolation method and to characterize isolated cells using immunocytochemistry and immunofluorescence, with parallel histological and immunohistochemistry assays on bovine and canine healthy and MMVD mitral valves. Antibodies against vimentin (VIM), smooth muscle actin (SMA), von Willebrand (vW) factor, Transforming Growth Factor (TGF) β1, and Transient Receptor Potential Vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) were used. The isolation method was considered reliable and able to isolate only VICs. The different assays demonstrated a different expression of SMA in healthy and MMVD mitral valves, and TRPV1 was isolated for the first time from bovine and canine VICs and the correspondent mitral valve leaflets. The novelties of the present study are the new isolation method, that may allow correlations between laboratory and clinical conditions, and the identification of TRPV1, which will lead to further investigations to understand its function and possible role in the etiology of MMVD and to the design of new therapeutic strategies

Genomic alterations in rectal tumors and response to neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy: an exploratory study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy is the treatment of choice in advanced rectal cancer, even though there are many patients who will not benefit from it. There are still no effective methods for predicting which patients will respond or not. The present study aimed to define the genomic profile of rectal tumors and to identify alterations that are predictive of response in order to optimize therapeutic strategies.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Forty-eight candidates for neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy were recruited and their pretherapy biopsies analyzed by array Comparative Genomic Hybridization (aCGH). Pathologic response was evaluated by tumor regression grade.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Both Hidden Markov Model and Smoothing approaches identified similar alterations, with a prevalence of DNA gains. Non responsive patients had a different alteration profile from responsive ones, with a higher number of genome changes mainly located on 2q21, 3q29, 7p22-21, 7q21, 7q36, 8q23-24, 10p14-13, 13q12, 13q31-34, 16p13, 17p13-12 and 18q23 chromosomal regions.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This exploratory study suggests that an in depth characterization of chromosomal alterations by aCGH would provide useful predictive information on response to neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy and could help to optimize therapy in rectal cancer patients.</p> <p>The data discussed in this study are available on the NCBI Gene Expression Omnibus [GEO: GSE25885].</p

Lorenzo Lotto's painting materials: an integrated diagnostic approach

This paper presents the results of a comprehensive diagnostic investigation carried out on five paintings (three wood panels and two paintings on canvas) by Lorenzo Lotto, one of the most significant artists of the Italian Renaissance in the first half of 16th century. The paintings considered belong to 1508-1522 period, corresponding to the most significant years of Lotto's evolution. A wide array of non-invasive (reflectance spectrometry and Xray fluorescence) and micro-invasive analytical techniques (optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy, micro-FTIR spectroscopy, micro-Raman spectroscopy, gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry and high performance liquid chromatography coupled with photodiode array detection and mass spectrometry) were applied in order to provide a large set of significant data, limiting as much as possible the sampling. This study has proved that Lotto's painting palette was typical of Venetian practice of that period, but some significant peculiarities emerged: the use of two kinds of red lakes, the addition of calcium carbonate and colourless powdered glass, the latter frequently found in pictorial and ground layers. Moreover, the integrated investigation showed that Lotto's technique was sometimes characterized by the use of coloured priming and multi-layer sequences with complex mixtures. Chromatographic analyses allowed to identify in all specimens: azelaic, palmitic and stearic acids, generally referring to the presence of drying oils. The extension of additional non-invasive examination to about 50 paintings by the same author, spanning from 1505 to around 1556, helped to verify the evolution in the use of some pigments, such as the yellow ones, where Pb-Sb yellow was used alongside Pb-Sn yellow. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

The weathering of natural and artificial stones in the Baroque church of S.Pietro in Valle (Fano, Italy)

The church of San Pietro in Valle in Fano is with good reason considered one of the outstanding examples of baroque art in Central Italy. Currently the church is in a serious degradation status. For this reason, and in order to devise a correct conservative project, a scientific study has been carried out, aimed at characterizing mortar components used for the application of marble decorations and the different degradation products occurring in the church (i.e. pulverizations, encrustations, salt efflorescences, and condensation water). In the following, results obtained analysing the different sample typologies by optical microscopy, x-ray diffraction, electron scanning microscopy, and head-space solid phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry will be reported. The results showed that there are several causes responsible of the weathering, the most important being the use of mortar with gypsum aggregate concurrently with the occurrence of water capillary rise phenomena. This situation, together with ground settling episodes mainly in high altar area, is responsible of mortar pulverization and marble decorations detachment. Another important degradation factor is the condensation water present on the floor during the cold season that, interacting with salts present on the surface and within the pores, give rises to well known phenomena, i.e., hydration, dehydration, solution and crystallization able to exert considerable pressures and therefore material pulverization

Materiali e tecnica di Lotto: indagini microinvasive sulle opere di Recanati

Nell’ambito di un ampio progetto di ricerca riguardante le opere di Lorenzo Lotto è stato condotto uno studio sulla pala d’altare Polittico di San Domenico (1506-08) e sulla tavola della Trasfigurazione (1511-12) conservate nel Museo Civico Villa Colloredo Mels di Recanati. L’applicazione di un protocollo diagnostico basato sull’integrazione di metodologie di analisi complementari ha permesso di ampliare la conoscenza della tecnica pittorica del Lotto. Dopo un’accurata osservazione macroscopica delle tavole sono state eseguite indagini non invasive i cui risultati hanno fornito indicazioni utili a limitare il campionamento ad aree rappresentative. Sono state quindi eseguite indagini microinvasive che hanno permesso di ottenere informazioni sulla stesure pittoriche del Lotto e sulle modalità di applicazioni dei materiali costitutivi (pigmenti e leganti organici). I risultati di queste indagini, associati alle informazioni già esistenti, hanno consentito di effettuare un’ampia riflessione sull’utilizzo di materiali sempre più innovativi e sull’interazione che Lotto ha avuto con gli artisti a lui contemporanei

Breast Cancer Leptomeningeal Metastases on Spinal Epidural Lipomatosis

We present a case of breast cancer metastases superimposed on epidural lipomatosis and although none of these findings are considered rare, their coexistence leads to unique image findings, and as far as we know there are no other cases like this in literature