β-glucans: Ex vivo inflammatory and oxidative stress results after pasta intake

Background: It is well known that Mediterranean Diet can positively influence the health of each individual, in particular it is know that fibers have an important role. However, in Mediterranean cities most people do not have a close adherence to Mediterranean diet. Thus, in our study, we considered fibers like β-glucans that have been added to pasta with a percentage of 6 %. Our study aimed to evaluate the capacity of β-glucans intake on oxidative stress and inflammation in a cohort of middle aged slightly overweight subjects. Methods: We used a longitudinal study design. The study lasted 30 days during which time, each participant acted with no food restriction. Participants underwent morning fasting blood venous sample for blood chemistry and other biological parameters at the beginning of the study and after 30 days of pasta supplemented with 6 % of β-glucan intake 4 times a week. We performed anthropometric, biochemical, oxidative stress and cytokine analysis at the beginning and the end of study. Results: After the 30 days of pasta intake we obtained a significant decrease of LDL-cholesterol, IL-6 and AGEs levels. Conclusion: The results confirmed a capacity of β-glucans intake to lower oxidative stress. Additional longitudinal observation on community-based cohorts are needed to confirm these data and investigate the biological mechanisms through which effects are induced, and to fully explore the therapeutic potential of β-glucans

DEGASSAMENTO DI RADON E MODIFICHE DEL DNA DELLA POPOLAZIONE SICILIANA: POSSIBILI RELAZIONI CON IL TERREMOTO DEL 1908

I risultati delle indagini condotte su base geochimica e genetica nell’area delle Stretto di Messina si incrociano proponendo uno scenario assolutamente nuovo su ciò che un terremoto può indurre anche come effetti sulla salute umana, con modifiche di tipo genetico. Le ricerche svolte nell’ambito del progetto INGV-Dipartimento Protezione Civile su “Valutazione del potenziale sismogenetico e probabilità dei forti terremoti in Italia”, hanno mostrato che nell’area dello Stretto di Messina persistono anomalie di degassamento dai suoli di CO2, metano e radon, diversi ordini di grandezza al di sopra dei valori normali, per esempio con concentrazioni dinamiche di Rn fino oltre 80.000 Bq/m3 La valutazione di un degassamento naturale di tale intensità in situazione di quiete sismica, ha assunto significato anche nella valutazione degli effetti del Rn sulla salute umana, che, sebbene conosciuti da tempo come seconda causa di tumore al polmone dopo il fumo, si mostrano sorprendentemente come i possibili protagonisti delle mutazioni genetiche riscontrate nella popolazione vivente intorno allo Stretto Radon e DNA La presenza di antigeni indicano di modifiche del DNA, ed uno in particolare denominato DR11 è presente con la frequenza più alta intorno a Messina e a Reggio (54% della popolazione) per poi diminuire verso Caltanissetta e Vibo Valentia (44%) con un minimo a Trapani (38%; figura 1). Una tale modifica del DNA è in contrasto con la Legge di Hardy –Weimberg, secondo la quale in una popolazione in cui gli accoppiamenti avvengono a caso, e in assenza di pressioni evolutive e di forti migrazioni dovrebbe essere mantenuta una generale omogeneità. Questo tipo di distribuzione, molto eterogenea, ma non irregolare e disordinata, non può essere attribuita a fluttuazioni casuali o a deriva genetica, e neanche alle invasioni che nel passato queste regioni hanno subito da parte di popoli stranieri.L’ordinata e graduale riduzione di frequenza del DR11, funzione dalla distanza dallo stretto, unitamente alle valutazioni basate sulla riduzione nel tempo della frequenza del DR11, portano a concentrare l’attenzione su un evento con epicentro nello stretto accaduto circa un secolo fa, identificabile come il terremoto del 1908. Tenuto conto che non ci sono effetti diretti di un sisma in grado di interagire con la saluteumana (se non ferite, paura) si ipotizza che non sia direttamente il terremoto come tale la causa scatenante della mutazione genetica osservata ma qualcosa che ad un forte evento sismico possa essere legata. Fluidi e terremoti I risultati ottenuti in varie aree sismiche italiane (p.e. Umbria, Friuli, Appennino Tosco Emiliano) hanno mostrato che i fluidi cambiamo composizione e intensità del rilascio durante l’evolversi della sismogenesi. Le modifiche si registrano prima, durante e dopo gli eventi sismici mostrando che oltre alla fratturazione anche le deformazioni della crosta provocano modificazioni nei fluidi circolanti. Una aumentata emissione di radon durante il processo che ha portato al terremoto del 1908 è assolutamente ipotizzabile in accordo con quanto osservato durante la crisi sismica dell’Umbria (1997-98) e con le misure effettuate nell’area dello Stretto (Figura 2). Una contaminazione da gas radon dovuta alla sismogenesi, che si è protratta per tempi probabilmente lunghi, prima durante e dopo il catastrofico evento, può essere la causa delle mutazioni genetiche osservate, avendo indotto gli organismi a reagire per tutelarsi rispetto ad una pressione esterna pericolosa.Un simile scenario, che vede i processi sismogenetici strettamente legati ai fluidi anche con attivi processi di degassamento, richiede ulteriori indagini che oltre a contribuire alla riduzione del rischio sismico permettono la conoscenza di quegli aspetti legati alle interazioni uomo-ambiente su medio-lungo termine anche come possibili responsabili di cambiamenti profondi come quelli identificati del DNA dei siciliani

The Phenotypic Characterization of the Oldest Italian Man from December 28, 2020, to September 23, 2021, A.T., Strengthens the Idea That the Immune System can Play a Key Role in the Attainment of Extreme Longevity

: In this paper, we present demographic, clinical, anamnestic, cognitive, and functional data, as well as haematological, haematochemical, immunological, and genetic parameters of an exceptional individual: A.T., a semi-supercentenarian who held the title of the oldest living Italian male centenarian from 28 December 2020, to 23 September 2021. The purpose of this study is to provide fresh insights into extreme phenotypes, with a particular focus on immune-inflammatory parameters. To the best of our knowledge, this study represents the first phenotypic investigation of a semi-supercentenarian, illustrating both INFLA-score, a metric designed to assess the cumulative impact of inflammatory markers and indicators of age-related immune phenotype (ARIP), recognized as significant gauges of biological ageing. The aim of this study was, indeed, to advance our understanding of the role of immune-inflammatory responses in achieving extreme longevity. The results of laboratory tests, as well as clinical history and interview data, when compared to the results of our recent study on Sicilian centenarians, demonstrate an excellent state of health considering his age. Consistent with previous studies, we observed increased IL-6 inflammatory markers and INFLA score in A.T. More interestingly, the semi-supercentenarian showed values of ARIP indicators such as naïve CD4+ cells, CD4+/CD8+ ratio, and CD4+TN/TM ratio in the range of young adult individuals, suggesting that his immune system's biological age was younger than the chronological one. The results support the notion that the immune system can play a role in promoting extreme longevity. However, this does not rule out the involvement of other body systems or organs in achieving extreme longevity

Age and Gender-related Variations of Molecular and Phenotypic Parameters in A Cohort of Sicilian Population: from Young to Centenarians

People are living longer, but lifespan increase does not coincide with a boost in health-span. Thus, improving the quality of life of older people is a priority. Centenarians reach extreme longevity in a relatively good health status, escaping or delaying fatal or strongly invalidating diseases. Therefore, studying processes involved in longevity is important to explain the biological mechanisms of health and well-being, since knowledge born from this approach can provide valuable information on how to slow aging. We performed the present study in a well characterized very homogeneous sample of 173 people from Western Sicily, to update existing literature on some phenotypic aspects of aging and longevity and to propose a range of values for older people. We classified 5 age groups, from young adults to centenarians, to understand the age and gender-related variations of the different parameters under study. We collected anamnestic data and performed anthropometric, bioimpedance, molecular, haematological, oxidative, and hematochemical tests, adopting a multidimensional analysis approach. An important evidence of the present study is that there are differences related to both age and gender in several biomarkers. Indeed, gender differences seem to be still poorly considered and inadequately investigated in aging as well as in other medical studies. Moreover, we often observed comparable parameters between young and centenarians rather than non-agenarians and centenarians, hypothesizing a sort of slowdown, almost followed by a reversal trend, in the decay of systemic deterioration. The study of centenarians provides important indications on how to slow aging, with benefits for those who are more vulnerable to disease and disability. The identification of the factors that predispose to a long and healthy life is of enormous interest for translational medicine in an aging world

The Phenotypic Characterization of the Cammalleri Sisters, an Example of Exceptional Longevity

This article shows demographic, clinical, anamnestic, cognitive, and functional data as well as biochemical, genetic, and epigenetic parameters of two exceptional siblings: Diega (supercentenarian) and Filippa (semisupercentenarian) Cammalleri. The purpose of this study is to provide new insights into the extreme phenotypes represented by semisupercentenarians and supercentenarians. Different studies have been published on supercentenarians, but to the best of our knowledge, this is the only concerning two sisters and the most detailed from a phenotypic point of view. Our findings agree with the suggestion that supercentenarians have an increasing relative resistance to age-related diseases, approximating the limits of the functional human reserve to address successfully the acute causes of death. More interestingly, our data agree with, and extend, the suggestion that inflammation and oxidative stress predict centenarian mortality

Radon Degassing and DNA modifications of people living around the Messina Strait: possible implications with the 1908, M7.2 earthquake

Geochemical and genetic results collected over the seismic area of the Messina Straits (Sicily, Italy) are crossed together showing an absolutely new scenario on what the effects of a strong earthquake might be on the human health with genetic modifications. Data from HLA investigation carried out on 10000 human samples to identify the genetic code of Donors Marrow to be used for transplantation purposes, have been crossed with the results of natural soil degassing to find a possible explanation of the anomalous distribution of an antigen (DR11) having the highest concentration among the inhabitants of Messina and Reggio Calabria. The soil degassing measurements revealed for the same area anomalous radon degassing with dynamic concentrations up to 80.000 Bq/m3 (at least two orders of magnitude above the values of 400 Bq/m3 imposed as upper threshold by the national law and European rules for the indoor radon activity exposure. On the other hand, the knowledge about Radon behavior is reasonably well developed about the effects of radon indoor, but very poor information are nowadays available on the natural occurrence of this radioactive gas and the related environmental contamination, and what kind of effects it has on the living matter. The collected results claim an improvement of our knowledge on the human health-natural radon degassing relationships above all over the seismic prone areas, where DNA modifications with anomalous distribution of some antigens should be investigated.INGV, SNGN Romangaz, Thermo Scientific, Environmental Health CenterPublishedCluj-Napoca Romania3.2. Tettonica attivarestricte

Radon Degassing and DNA modifications of people living around the Messina Strait: possible implications with the 1908, M7.2 earthquake

Geochemical and genetic results collected over the seismic area of the Messina Straits (Sicily, Italy) are crossed together showing an absolutely new scenario on what the effects of a strong earthquake might be on the human health with genetic modifications. Data from HLA investigation carried out on 10000 human samples to identify the genetic code of Donors Marrow to be used for transplantation purposes, have been crossed with the results of natural soil degassing to find a possible explanation of the anomalous distribution of an antigen (DR11) having the highest concentration among the inhabitants of Messina and Reggio Calabria. The soil degassing measurements revealed for the same area anomalous radon degassing with dynamic concentrations up to 80.000 Bq/m3 (at least two orders of magnitude above the values of 400 Bq/m3 imposed as upper threshold by the national law and European rules for the indoor radon activity exposure. On the other hand, the knowledge about Radon behavior is reasonably well developed about the effects of radon indoor, but very poor information are nowadays available on the natural occurrence of this radioactive gas and the related environmental contamination, and what kind of effects it has on the living matter. The collected results claim an improvement of our knowledge on the human health-natural radon degassing relationships above all over the seismic prone areas, where DNA modifications with anomalous distribution of some antigens should be investigated

The Role of Matrix Metalloproteinases (MMP-2 and MMP-9) in Ageing and Longevity : Focus on Sicilian Long-Living Individuals (LLIs)

Extracellular matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are a group of proteins that activate substrates by enzymatic cleavage and, on the basis of their activities, have been demonstrated to play a role in ageing. Thus, in order to gain insight into the pathophysiology of ageing and to identify new markers of longevity, we analysed the activity levels of MMP-2 and MMP-9 in association with some relevant haematochemical parameters in a Sicilian population, including long-living individuals (LLIs, ≥95 years old). A cohort of 154 healthy subjects (72 men and 82 women) of different ages (age range 20-112) was recruited. The cohort was divided into five subgroups: The first group with subjects less than 40 years old, the second group ranging from 40 to 64 years old, the third group ranging from 65 to 89 years old, the fourth group ranging from 90 to 94 years old, and the fifth group with subjects more than 95 years old. A relationship was observed between LLIs and MMP-2, but not between LLIs and MMP-9. However, in the LLI group, MMP-2 and MMP-9 values were significantly correlated. Furthermore, in LLIs, we found a positive correlation of MMP-2 with the antioxidant catabolite uric acid and a negative correlation with the inflammatory marker C-reactive protein. Finally, in LLIs MMP-9 values correlated directly both with cholesterol and with low-density lipoproteins. On the whole, our data suggest that the observed increase of MMP-2 in LLIs might play a positive role in the attainment of longevity. This is the first study that shows that serum activity of MMP-2 is increased in LLIs as compared to younger subjects. As far as we are concerned, it is difficult to make wide-ranging conclusions/assumptions based on these observations in view of the relatively small sample size of LLIs. However, this is an important starting point. Larger-scale future studies will be required to clarify these findings including the link with other systemic inflammatory and antioxidant markers

Uncoupling Protein 2 as genetic risk factor for systemic lupus erythematosus: association with malondialdehyde levels and intima media thickness

vascular diseases, the main cause of death in systemic lupus erythematous (SLE ). To gain insight into these mechanisms, we studied the association of uncoupling protein (UCP) 2 genetic variants, gene involved in the mitochondrial production of reactive oxygen species, and oxidative stress with SLE and the presence of atherosclerosis. METHOD S: Genetic analysis of the UCP2 -866G/A and UCP2 Ins/Del polymorphisms was performed in 45 SLE patients and 36 healthy controls by RFLP-PCR. Oxidation status was determined by measuring malondialdehyde (MDA ) levels. Presence of subclinical atherosclerosis was investigated by evaluation of intima-media thickness using echo-color-Doppler carotid ultrasound examination. RESULTS: Allelic and genotypic frequencies of the SNPs analysed were evaluated by gene count. Significant association was found between UCP2-866A allele and susceptibility for SLE (P=0.001). Higher levels of MDA were found significantly increased in SLE patients (MDA , 5.05±3.36 μmol/L) compared to normal controls (MDA , 2.79±0.89 μmol/L) (P<0.0001). CONCLUSIO NS: Our results suggest that -866G/A UCP2 polymorphism is associated with SLE causing increased RO S production that, in turn, results in increased MDA levels responsible of accelerated atherosclerosis

Hepatitis C Virus Eradication by Direct Antiviral Agents Improves Carotid Atherosclerosis in patients with Severe Liver Fibrosis

Recent studies suggest an association between HCV infection and cardiovascular damage, including carotid atherosclerosis, with a possible effect of HCV clearance on cardiovascular outcomes. We aimed to examine whether HCV eradication by direct antiviral agents (DAA) improves carotid atherosclerosis in HCV-infected patients with advanced fibrosis/compensated cirrhosis