Assessment of SARS-CoV-2 infection through rapid serology testing in the homeless population in the City of Rome, Italy. Preliminary results

Background: The development of COVID-19 pandemic has affected all segments of the population; however, it had a significant impact on vulnerable subjects, such as in people experiencing homelessness. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of COVID-19 spread in homeless persons in the city of Rome, Italy.  Design and Methods: Patients included in the study underwent a clinical evaluation and rapid antibody analysis on capillary blood for the presence of immunoglobulin G (IgG) and immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 virus. Symptomatic patients were not included in the screening and immediately referred to local hospitals for further evaluation.Results: One-hundred seventy-three patients of both sexes were tested for SARS-CoV-2 infection through rapid serological test. Age range was 8-80 years; people came from 35 different countries of origin and 4 continents. Test results were negative for most patients (170-98.2%); two patients had positive IgM (1.2%) and one patient had positive IgG (0.6%).Conclusions: Our study is the first to evaluate the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in people experiencing homelessness in the city of Rome, Italy. Most patients were negative for COVID-19, although several factors may have had an impact on this result, such as the exclusion of symptomatic patients, the limited sensitivity of rapid serological tests in the initial stage of infection and the prevention measures adopted in these populations. Larger studies on fragile populations are needed to prevent and intercept new clusters of infection in the upcoming months

Metabolic Remodeling in Skeletal Muscle Atrophy as a Therapeutic Target

Skeletal muscle is a highly responsive tissue, able to remodel its size and metabolism in response to external demand. Muscle fibers can vary from fast glycolytic to slow oxidative, and their frequency in a specific muscle is tightly regulated by fiber maturation, innervation, or external causes. Atrophic conditions, including aging, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and cancer-induced cachexia, differ in the causative factors and molecular signaling leading to muscle wasting; nevertheless, all of these conditions are characterized by metabolic remodeling, which contributes to the pathological progression of muscle atrophy. Here, we discuss how changes in muscle metabolism can be used as a therapeutic target and review the evidence in support of nutritional interventions and/or physical exercise as tools for counteracting muscle wasting in atrophic conditions

Magnesium intracellular content and distribution map in drug-resistant and -sensitive whole cells

Magnesium (Mg) plays crucial structural and regulatory roles within cells. Despite the extensive amount of data about the biochemistry of Mg, a complete picture of its regulation and cellular homeostasis is lacking. Thanks to recent improvements in third generation synchrotron X-ray sources, X-ray fluorescence microscopy (XRFM) is becoming a highly sensitive method for mapping elemental distributions in cells. XRFM maps the element content but not the concentration, which is a relevant variable in a biological context. We tackled this issue by combining XRFM with atomic force microscopy that was used to obtain morphological information of the sample. The aim of the present study was to compare the content and the distribution of Mg in drug-resistant and -sensitive tumor cell lines. Our data has shown a massive increase of Mg in LoVo drug-resistant cells. Moreover, the map of intracellular Mg showed marked differences in the pattern distribution between sensitive and resistant cells

Magnesium intracellular content and distribution map in drug-resistant and -sensitive whole cells

Magnesium (Mg) plays crucial structural and regulatory roles within cells. Despite the extensive amount of data about the biochemistry of Mg, a complete picture of its regulation and cellular homeostasis is lacking. Thanks to recent improvements in third generation synchrotron X-ray sources, X-ray fluorescence microscopy (XRFM) is becoming a highly sensitive method for mapping elemental distributions in cells. XRFM maps the element content but not the concentration, which is a relevant variable in a biological context. We tackled this issue by combining XRFM with atomic force microscopy that was used to obtain morphological information of the sample. The aim of the present study was to compare the content and the distribution of Mg in drug-resistant and -sensitive tumor cell lines. Our data has shown a massive increase of Mg in LoVo drug-resistant cells. Moreover, the map of intracellular Mg showed marked differences in the pattern distribution between sensitive and resistant cells

Magnesium intracellular content and distribution map in drug-resistant and -sensitive whole cells

Magnesium (Mg) plays crucial structural and regulatory roles within cells. Despite the extensive amount of data about the biochemistry of Mg, a complete picture of its regulation and cellular homeostasis is lacking. Thanks to recent improvements in third generation synchrotron X-ray sources, X-ray fluorescence microscopy (XRFM) is becoming a highly sensitive method for mapping elemental distributions in cells. XRFM maps the element content but not the concentration, which is a relevant variable in a biological context. We tackled this issue by combining XRFM with atomic force microscopy that was used to obtain morphological information of the sample. The aim of the present study was to compare the content and the distribution of Mg in drug-resistant and -sensitive tumor cell lines. Our data has shown a massive increase of Mg in LoVo drug-resistant cells. Moreover, the map of intracellular Mg showed marked differences in the pattern distribution between sensitive and resistant cells