Biodiversity patterns of cyanobacterial oligotypes in lakes and rivers: results of a large-scale metabarcoding survey in the Alpine region

In this work, we characterised the cyanobacterial communities in the plankton and littoral biofilm of 38 lakes and in the biofilm of 21 rivers in the Alps and surrounding subalpine regions by 16S rRNA gene metabarcoding. We found little overlap in the distribution of amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) between the three habitats and between water bodies. The differences were caused by environmental filtering acting on the selection of the most abundant ASVs and a high contribution of rare oligotypes. The differentiation of community and genotype composition from specific water bodies was explained to a significant extent by environmental variables and morphometry. The taxonomic consistency of ASVs classified under the same genus name was assessed by phylogenetic analyses performed on three representative dominant genera, namely Cyanobium, Tychonema and Planktothrix. The analyses revealed eco-evolutionary adaptations in lakes and rivers, including some evidence for a polyphyletic nature. Monitoring individual genotypes in relation to environmental conditions will be useful to define the ecological amplitude of these taxa. However, the persistence or ephemeral nature of some of the rarest and most unusual ASVs has remained unknow

Adipose stromal/stem cells assist fat transplantation reducing necrosis and increasing graft performance.

Autologous fat transfer (AFT) is a procedure for adipose tissue (AT) repair after trauma, burns, post-tumor resections and lipodystrophies still negatively impacted by the lack of graft persistence. The reasons behind this poor outcome are unclear and seem to involve damages in either harvested/transplanted mature adipocytes or on their mesenchymal progenitors, namely adipose stromal/stem cells (ASC), and due to post-transplant AT apoptosis and involution. A rabbit subcutaneous AT regeneration model was here developed to first evaluate graft quality at different times after implant focusing on related parameters, such as necrosis and vasculogenesis. Standard AFT was compared with a strategy where purified autologous ASC, combined with hyaluronic acid (HA), assisted AFT. Five million of autologous ex vivo isolated CD29+, CD90+, CD49e+ ASC, loaded into HA, enriched 1 ml of AT generating an early significant protective effect in reducing AFT necrosis and increasing vasculogenesis with a preservation of transplanted AT architecture. This beneficial impact of ASC assisted AFT was then confirmed at three months with a robust lipopreservation and no signs of cellular transformation. By a novel ASC assisted AFT approach we ensure a reduction in early cell death favoring an enduring graft performance possibly for a more stable benefit in patients

Human Adipose Mesenchymal Stromal/Stem Cells Improve Fat Transplantation Performance

The resorption rate of autologous fat transfer (AFT) is 40-60% of the implanted tissue, requiring new surgical strategies for tissue reconstruction. We previously demonstrated in a rabbit model that AFT may be empowered by adipose-derived mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (AD-MSCs), which improve graft persistence by exerting proangiogenic/anti-inflammatory effects. However, their fate after implantation requires more investigation. We report a xenograft model of adipose tissue engineering in which NOD/SCID mice underwent AFT with/without human autologous AD-MSCs and were monitored for 180 days (d). The effect of AD-MSCs on AFT grafting was also monitored by evaluating the expression of CD31 and F4/80 markers. Green fluorescent protein-positive AD-MSCs (AD-MSC-GFP) were detected in fibroblastoid cells 7 days after transplantation and in mature adipocytes at 60 days, indicating both persistence and differentiation of the implanted cells. This evidence also correlated with the persistence of a higher graft weight in AFT-AD-MSC compared to AFT alone treated mice. An observation up to 180 d revealed a lower resorption rate and reduced lipidic cyst formation in the AFT-AD-MSC group, suggesting a long-term action of AD-MSCs in support of AFT performance and an anti-inflammatory/proangiogenic activity. Together, these data indicate the protective role of adipose progenitors in autologous AFT tissue resorption

Protocollo per il campionamento dei parametri chimico-fisici a sostegno degli elementi biologici in ambiente lacustre

Abstract not availableIl protocollo sul campionamento delle acque lacustri integra completandole le metodologie di campionamento ed analisi del fitoplancton, delle macrofite acquatiche e della fauna a macroinvertebrati in ambiente lacustre riportati nei capitoli successivi di questo Manuale. Anche questo protocollo come i precedenti segue le indicazioni della Direttiva 60/2000/CE (Water Framework Directive, WFD) e del Regolamento per la progettazione del programma di monitoraggio emanato dal Ministero dell?Ambiente e della Tutela del Territorio e del Mare

COVID-19 atypical Parsonage-Turner syndrome: a case report

Background Neurological manifestations of Sars-CoV-2 infection have been described since March 2020 and include both central and peripheral nervous system manifestations. Neurological symptoms, such as headache or persistent loss of smell and taste, have also been documented in COVID-19 long-haulers. Moreover, long lasting fatigue, mild cognitive impairment and sleep disorders appear to be frequent long term neurological manifestations after hospitalization due to COVID-19. Less is known in relation to peripheral nerve injury related to Sars-CoV-2 infection. Case presentation We report the case of a 47-year-old female presenting with a unilateral chest pain radiating to the left arm lasting for more than two months after recovery from Sars-CoV-2 infection. After referral to our post-acute outpatient service for COVID-19 long haulers, she was diagnosed with a unilateral, atypical, pure sensory brachial plexus neuritis potentially related to COVID-19, which occurred during the acute phase of a mild Sars-CoV-2 infection and persisted for months after resolution of the infection. Conclusions We presented a case of atypical Parsonage-Turner syndrome potentially triggered by Sars-CoV-2 infection, with symptoms and repercussion lasting after viral clearance. A direct involvement of the virus remains uncertain, and the physiopathology is unclear. The treatment of COVID-19 and its long-term consequences represents a relatively new challenge for clinicians and health care providers. A multidisciplinary approach to following-up COVID-19 survivors is strongly advised

Biodiversity patterns of cyanobacterial oligotypes in lakes and rivers: results of a large-scale metabarcoding survey in the Alpine region

International audienceAbstract In this work, we characterised the cyanobacterial communities in the plankton and littoral biofilm of 38 lakes and in the biofilm of 21 rivers in the Alps and surrounding subalpine regions by 16S rRNA gene metabarcoding. We found little overlap in the distribution of amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) between the three habitats and between water bodies. The differences were caused by environmental filtering acting on the selection of the most abundant ASVs and a high contribution of rare oligotypes. The differentiation of community and genotype composition from specific water bodies was explained to a significant extent by environmental variables and morphometry. The taxonomic consistency of ASVs classified under the same genus name was assessed by phylogenetic analyses performed on three representative dominant genera, namely Cyanobium , Tychonema and Planktothrix . The analyses revealed eco-evolutionary adaptations in lakes and rivers, including some evidence for a polyphyletic nature. Monitoring individual genotypes in relation to environmental conditions will be useful to define the ecological amplitude of these taxa. However, the persistence or ephemeral nature of some of the rarest and most unusual ASVs has remained unknown

HERG K+ channels activation during beta(1) integrin-mediated adhesion to fibronectin induces an up-regulation of alpha(v)beta(3) integrin in the preosteoclastic leukemia cell line FLG 29.1

Integrin receptors have been demonstrated to mediate either “inside-to-out” and “outside-to-in” signals, and by this way are capable of regulating many cellular functions, such as cell growth and differentiation, cell migration, and activation. Among the various integrin-centered signaling pathways discovered so far, we demonstrated that the modulation of the electrical potential of the plasma membrane (VREST) is an early integrin-mediated signal, which is related to neurite emission in neuroblastoma cells. This modulation is sustained by the activation of HERG K+ channels, encoded by the ether-à-go-go-related gene (herg). The involvement of integrin-mediated signaling is being discovered in the hemopoietic system: in particular, osteoclasts are generated as well as induced to differentiate by interaction of osteoclast progenitors with the stromal cells, through the involvement of integrin receptors. We studied the effects of cell interaction with the extracellular matrix protein fibronectin (FN) in a human leukemic preosteoclastic cell line (FLG 29.1 cells), which has been demonstrated to express HERG currents. We report here that FLG 29.1 cells indeed adhere to purified FN through integrin receptors, and that this adhesion induces an osteoclast phenotype in these cells, as evidenced by the appearance of tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase, as well as by the increased expression of CD51/αvβ3 integrin and calcitonin receptor. An early activation of HERG current (IHERG), without any increase in herg RNA or modifications of HERG protein was also observed in FN-adhering cells. This activation is apparently sustained by the β1 integrin subunit activation, through the involvement of a pertussis-toxin sensitive Gi protein, and appears to be a determinant signal for the up-regulation of αvβ3 integrin, as well as for the increased expression of calcitonin receptor