Identification of a novel antiviral micro-RNA targeting the NS1 protein of the H1N1 pandemic human influenza virus and a corresponding viral escape mutation

The influenza A virus (IAV) NS1 protein is one of the major regulators of pathogenicity, being able to suppress innate immune response and host protein synthesis. In this study we identified the human micro RNA hsa-miR-1307-3p as a novel potent suppressor of NS1 expression and influenza virus replication. Transcriptomic analysis indicates that hsa-miR-1307-3p also negatively regulates apoptosis and promotes cell proliferation. In addition, we identified a novel mutation in the NS1 gene of A(H1N1)pdm09 strains circulating in Italy in the 2010-11 season, which enabled the virus to escape the hsa-miR-1307-3p inhibition, conferring replicative advantage to the virus in human cells. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first validation of suppression of IAV H1N1 NS1 by a human micro RNA and the first example of an escape mutation from micro RNA-mediated antiviral response for the A(H1N1)pdm09 virus

Early co-circulation of different clades of influenza A/H1N1v pandemic virus in Northern Italy

Introduction. The spatial diffusion over time of pandemic influenza A/H1N1 virus (A/H1N1v) was surveyed in Northern Italy (nearly 10 million inhabitants) from April to December 2009, and the molecular characteristics of circulating viruses were analyzed to identify the appearance of drift variants. About 45% of analyzed samples were laboratory-confirmed cases of A/H1N1v. Sporadic cases occurred until the middle of June 2009, then, case numbers began to increase delineating distinct epidemiological phases of viral circulation. Methods. RNA was extracted using RNeasy Mini kit (QIAGEN GmbH, Germany). Virological diagnosis of A/H1N1v infection was carried out by real-time RT-PCR assay. Sequence analysis of hemagglutinin (HA) gene was performed through a RT-PCR assay specific for a 995 bp fragment (nt. 64-1,058) in the HA1 domain. The nucleotide sequences were obtained by automated DNA sequencing. The HA1 sequences were aligned with other sequences collected from GenBank database by ClustalX software. The multiple sequence alignment was used to perform a basic phylogenetic analysis and a phylogenetic tree from HA sequences was constructed. Results. The HA gene sequences of A/H1N1v analyzed segregated into three genetically distinct clades and were characterized by the appearance of amino acid variations that were progressively fixed in the field viral population under scrutiny. Conclusions. These data suggest an early co-circulation of genetically distinct A/H1N1v variants and emphasize the importance of a close molecular surveillance to detect rapidly the spread of new viral variants and to define their epidemiological impact

Surface-antigen expression profiling of B cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia: from the signature of specific disease subsets to the identification of markers with prognostic relevance

Studies of gene expression profiling have been successfully used for the identification of molecules to be employed as potential prognosticators. In analogy with gene expression profiling, we have recently proposed a novel method to identify the immunophenotypic signature of B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia subsets with different prognosis, named surface-antigen expression profiling. According to this approach, surface marker expression data can be analysed by data mining tools identical to those employed in gene expression profiling studies, including unsupervised and supervised algorithms, with the aim of identifying the immunophenotypic signature of B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia subsets with different prognosis. Here we provide an overview of the overall strategy employed for the development of such an "outcome class-predictor" based on surface-antigen expression signatures. In addition, we will also discuss how to transfer the obtained information into the routine clinical practice by providing a flow-chart indicating how to select the most relevant antigens and build-up a prognostic scoring system by weighing each antigen according to its predictive power. Although referred to B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia, the methodology discussed here can be also useful in the study of diseases other than B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia, when the purpose is to identify novel prognostic determinants

Complexity of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease hospitalized in internal medicine: a survey by FADOI

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of the most frequent pathologies among patients hospitalized in Internal Medicine (IM) Departments. COPD is frequently associated with concomitant diseases, which represent major causes of death, and affect disease management. Objectives of our study are to assess the prevalence of COPD patients in IM, to evaluate their comorbidity status, and to describe their complexity, by means of the validated multidimensional prognostic index (MPI) score. COMPLEXICO is an observational, prospective, multicenter study, enrolling consecutive patients hospitalized for any cause in IM, with diagnosis of COPD documented by spirometry. A total of 1002 patients in 43 IM Units in Italy were enrolled. The prevalence of COPD in IM was found to be 18.1%, and 72.8% of patients had at least three chronic diseases other than COPD. The mean MPI was 0.43±0.15, and according to a stratification algorithm 31.8% of patients were classified as having low-risk, 58.9% moderate-risk and 9.3% severe-risk of adverse outcome. More than two-thirds of COPD patients in our study present moderate to severe risk of poor outcome according to the MPI stratification

Maestro Martino e Platina. Storia e conseguenze di un incontro fortunato

Il "De honesta voluptate et valetudine" di Bartolomeo Sacchi detto Platina può essere considerato a pieno titolo la prima opera gastronomica. Nasce dall'incontro tra Platina stesso e Maestro Martino, entrambi al servizio presso la corte papale nella seconda metà del XV secolo

Connaître l’origine : les produits, les recettes et leurs inventeurs. Trois exemples italiens (XVe-XVIIe siècle)

Il "fantasma delle origini" ha generato, anche nella storia della cucina e dei prodotti tipici, diversi miti perlopiù privi di fondamento. Il saggio affronta le notizie presenti in tre autori (Platina, Ortensio Lando, Antonio Latini) per mostrare analogie, differenze, e soprattutto per mettere in evidenza storie che, nel corso dei secoli, hanno attecchito nell'immaginario comune

I documenti

Il breve saggio costituisce l'introduzione alla documentazione archivistica utilizzata nei capitoli successivi

Il paradigma del biscotto. Recensione dell’Atlante dell’alimentazione e della gastronomia

La corposa recensione prende in esame i tratti principali che emergono dall'Atlante dell'alimentazione e della gastronomia curato da Massimo Montanari e Françoise Sabban per i tipi di UTET

Food Cultures in Medieval Europe

More than a thousand years pass between the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the discovery of America. In that long stretch of time, European food cultures at first very distant from one another begin to interact in ways that will come to transform all of them. With the circulation of men, products, words, and ideas, the continent forges a substantially unified identity. This volume takes the reader on a journey among ingredients, recipes, customs, and choices as we move in the company of kings and peasants, distinguished figures – noblemen, ambassadors, bishops, and popes – scientists and literati, cooks and artisans, and common men and women (a few, anyway). In other words, this is a journey that weaves its ways throughout the whole of society. Food – whether desired or denied, relished or rejected, global or local – is our key for understanding the slow road toward a unified European culture

Qualités sous contrôle sur le marché de Bologne (XIIIe-XVIe siècles)

Si les autorités publiques à tous époques ont le devoir d’assurer une nourriture saine aux citoyens, le Moyen Âge est probablement le moment historique où une politique d’approvisionnement et de tutelle du consommateur voit le jour de façon systématique. Nous avons choisi de nous occuper d’une ville, Bologne, où une politique de garantie se rend particulièrement nécessaire. En fait, le grand nombre de personnes qui habitent la ville grasse (y compris les étudiants qui choisissent de faire leurs études dans une des universités plus anciennes et réputées de l’Europe entière) et un territoire relativement petit qui produit la nourriture destinée aux bouches citoyennes provoquent un œil particulier à la bonne administration de l’approvisionnement alimentaire ; les soucis de santé, communs aux autres villes, font le reste