106 research outputs found
Immunoglobulin free light chains and GAGs mediate multiple myeloma extracellular vesicles uptake and secondary NfkB nuclear traslocation
Multiplemyeloma(MM) is a hematological malignancy caused by a microenviromentally aided persistence of plasmacells in the bone marrow. Monoclonal plasmacells often secrete high amounts of immunoglobulin free light chains(FLCs)that could induce tissue damage. Recently, we showed that FLCs are internalized in endothelial and myocardial cell lines and secreted in extracellular vesicles(EVs). MM serum derived EVs presented phenotypic differences if compared with monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS)serum derived EVs suggesting their involvement in MM pathogenesis or progression. To investigate the effect of circulating EVs on endothelial and myocardial cells, we purified MM and MGUS serum derived EVs with differential ultracentrifugation protocols and tested their biological activity. We found that MM and MGUS EVs induced different proliferation and internalization rates in endothelial and myocardial cells, thus we tried to find specific targets in MM EVs docking and processing. Pre-treatment of EVs withanti-FLCs antibodies or heparin blocked the MM EVs uptake, highlighting that FLCs and glycosaminoglycans are involved. Indeed, only MM EVs exposure induced a strong nuclear factor kappa B nuclear translocation that was completely abolished afteranti-FLCs antibodies and heparin pre-treatment. The protein tyrosine kinase c-src is present on MM circulating EVs and redistributes to the cell plasma membrane after MM EVs exposure.The anti-FLCs antibodies and heparin pre-treatments were able to block the intracellular redistribution of the c-src kinase and the subsequent c-src kinase containing EVs production. Our results open new insights in EVs cellular biology and in MM therapeutic and diagnostic approaches
Immunoglobulin free light chains and GAGs mediate multiple myeloma extracellular vesicles uptake and secondary NfkB nuclear traslocation
Multiplemyeloma(MM) is a hematological malignancy caused by a microenviromentally aided persistence of plasmacells in the bone marrow. Monoclonal plasmacells often secrete high amounts of immunoglobulin free light chains(FLCs)that could induce tissue damage. Recently, we showed that FLCs are internalized in endothelial and myocardial cell lines and secreted in extracellular vesicles(EVs). MM serum derived EVs presented phenotypic differences if compared with monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS)serum derived EVs suggesting their involvement in MM pathogenesis or progression. To investigate the effect of circulating EVs on endothelial and myocardial cells, we purified MM and MGUS serum derived EVs with differential ultracentrifugation protocols and tested their biological activity. We found that MM and MGUS EVs induced different proliferation and internalization rates in endothelial and myocardial cells, thus we tried to find specific targets in MM EVs docking and processing. Pre-treatment of EVs withanti-FLCs antibodies or heparin blocked the MM EVs uptake, highlighting that FLCs and glycosaminoglycans are involved. Indeed, only MM EVs exposure induced a strong nuclear factor kappa B nuclear translocation that was completely abolished afteranti-FLCs antibodies and heparin pre-treatment. The protein tyrosine kinase c-src is present on MM circulating EVs and redistributes to the cell plasma membrane after MM EVs exposure.The anti-FLCs antibodies and heparin pre-treatments were able to block the intracellular redistribution of the c-src kinase and the subsequent c-src kinase containing EVs production. Our results open new insights in EVs cellular biology and in MM therapeutic and diagnostic approaches
Soft capacitor fibers using conductive polymers for electronic textiles
A novel, highly flexible, conductive polymer-based fiber with high electric
capacitance is reported. In its crossection the fiber features a periodic
sequence of hundreds of conductive and isolating plastic layers positioned
around metallic electrodes. The fiber is fabricated using fiber drawing method,
where a multi-material macroscopic preform is drawn into a sub-millimeter
capacitor fiber in a single fabrication step. Several kilometres of fibers can
be obtained from a single preform with fiber diameters ranging between 500um
-1000um. A typical measured capacitance of our fibers is 60-100 nF/m and it is
independent of the fiber diameter. For comparison, a coaxial cable of the
comparable dimensions would have only ~0.06nF/m capacitance. Analysis of the
fiber frequency response shows that in its simplest interrogation mode the
capacitor fiber has a transverse resistance of 5 kOhm/L, which is inversely
proportional to the fiber length L and is independent of the fiber diameter.
Softness of the fiber materials, absence of liquid electrolyte in the fiber
structure, ease of scalability to large production volumes, and high
capacitance of our fibers make them interesting for various smart textile
applications ranging from distributed sensing to energy storage
Irradiation-induced Ag nanocluster nucleation in silicate glasses: analogy with photography
The synthesis of Ag nanoclusters in sodalime silicate glasses and silica was
studied by optical absorption (OA) and electron spin resonance (ESR)
experiments under both low (gamma-ray) and high (MeV ion) deposited energy
density irradiation conditions. Both types of irradiation create electrons and
holes whose density and thermal evolution - notably via their interaction with
defects - are shown to determine the clustering and growth rates of Ag
nanocrystals. We thus establish the influence of redox interactions of defects
and silver (poly)ions. The mechanisms are similar to the latent image formation
in photography: irradiation-induced photoelectrons are trapped within the glass
matrix, notably on dissolved noble metal ions and defects, which are thus
neutralized (reverse oxidation reactions are also shown to exist). Annealing
promotes metal atom diffusion, which in turn leads to cluster nuclei formation.
The cluster density depends not only on the irradiation fluence, but also - and
primarily - on the density of deposited energy and the redox properties of the
glass. Ion irradiation (i.e., large deposited energy density) is far more
effective in cluster formation, despite its lower neutralization efficiency
(from Ag+ to Ag0) as compared to gamma photon irradiation.Comment: 48 pages, 18 figures, revised version publ. in Phys. Rev. B, pdf fil
Environmental variables, habitat discontinuity and life history shaping the genetic structure of Pomatoschistus marmoratus
Coastal lagoons are semi-isolated ecosystems
exposed to wide fluctuations of environmental conditions
and showing habitat fragmentation. These features may
play an important role in separating species into different
populations, even at small spatial scales. In this study, we
evaluate the concordance between mitochondrial (previous
published data) and nuclear data analyzing the genetic
variability of Pomatoschistus marmoratus in five localities,
inside and outside the Mar Menor coastal lagoon (SE
Spain) using eight microsatellites. High genetic diversity
and similar levels of allele richness were observed across
all loci and localities, although significant genic and
genotypic differentiation was found between populations
inside and outside the lagoon. In contrast to the FST values
obtained from previous mitochondrial DNA analyses
(control region), the microsatellite data exhibited significant
differentiation among samples inside the Mar Menor
and between lagoonal and marine samples. This pattern
was corroborated using Cavalli-Sforza genetic distances.
The habitat fragmentation inside the coastal lagoon and
among lagoon and marine localities could be acting as a
barrier to gene flow and contributing to the observed
genetic structure. Our results from generalized additive
models point a significant link between extreme lagoonal
environmental conditions (mainly maximum salinity) and
P. marmoratus genetic composition. Thereby, these environmental
features could be also acting on genetic structure
of coastal lagoon populations of P. marmoratus favoring
their genetic divergence. The mating strategy of P. marmoratus
could be also influencing our results obtained from
mitochondrial and nuclear DNA. Therefore, a special
consideration must be done in the selection of the DNA
markers depending on the reproductive strategy of the
species
MEDLEM database, a data collection on large elasmobranchs in the Mediterranean and Black Seas
The Mediterranean Large Elasmobranchs Monitoring (MEDLEM) database contains more than 3,000 records (with more than 4,000 individuals) of large elasmobranch species from 21 different countries around the Mediterranean and Black seas, observed from 1666 to 2017. The principal species included in the archive are the devil ray (1,868 individuals), the basking shark (935 individuals), the blue shark (622 individuals), and the great white shark (342 individuals). In the last decades, other species such as the thresher shark (187 individuals), the shortfin mako (180 individuals), and the spiny butterfly ray (138) were reported with increasing frequency. This was possibly due to increased public awareness on the conservation status of sharks, and the consequent development of new monitoring programs. MEDLEM does not have homogeneous reporting coverage throughout the Mediterranean and Black seas and it should be considered as a database of observed species presence. Scientific monitoring efforts in the south-eastern Mediterranean and Black seas are generally lower than in the northern sectors and the absence of some species in our database does not imply their actual absence in these regions. However, the available data allowed us to analyse the frequency and spatial distribution of records, the size frequencies for a few selected the available data allowed us to analyse the frequency and spatial distribution of records, the size frequencies for a few selected species, the overall area coverage, and which species are involved as bycatch by different fishing gears
Quinine doped hybrid sol-gel coatings for wave guiding and optical applications
Pure and quinine doped silica coatings have been prepared over sodalime glasses. The coatings were consolidated at low temperature (range 60-180 A degrees C) preserving optical activity of quinine molecule. We designed a device to test the guiding properties of the coatings. We confirmed with this device that light injected in pure silica coatings is guided over distances of meters while quinine presence induces isotropic photoluminescence. With the combined use of both type of coatings, it is possible to design light guiding devices and illuminate regions in glass elements without electronic circuits
From sea monsters to charismatic megafauna: changes in perception and use of large marine animals
Marine megafauna has always elicited contrasting feelings. In the past, large marine animals were often depicted as fantastic mythological creatures and dangerous monsters, while also arousing human curiosity. Marine megafauna has been a valuable resource to exploit, leading to the collapse of populations and local extinctions. In addition, some species have been perceived as competitors of fishers for marine resources and were often actively culled. Since the 1970s, there has been a change in the perception and use of megafauna. The growth of marine tourism, increasingly oriented towards the observation of wildlife, has driven a shift from extractive to non-extractive use, supporting the conservation of at least some species of marine megafauna. In this paper, we review and compare the changes in the perception and use of three megafaunal groups, cetaceans, elasmobranchs and groupers, with a special focus on European cultures. We highlight the main drivers and the timing of these changes, compare different taxonomic groups and species, and highlight the implications for management and conservation. One of the main drivers of the shift in perception, shared by all the three groups of megafauna, has been a general increase in curiosity towards wildlife, stimulated inter alia by documentaries (from the early 1970s onwards), and also promoted by easy access to scuba diving. At the same time, environmental campaigns have been developed to raise public awareness regarding marine wildlife, especially cetaceans, a process greatly facilitated by the rise of Internet and the World Wide Web. Currently, all the three groups (cetaceans, elasmobranchs and groupers) may represent valuable resources for ecotourism. Strikingly, the economic value of live specimens may exceed their value for human consumption. A further change in perception involving all the three groups is related to a growing understanding and appreciation of their key ecological role. The shift from extractive to non-extractive use has the potential for promoting species conservation and local economic growth. However, the change in use may not benefit the original stakeholders (e.g. fishers or whalers) and there may therefore be a case for providing compensation for disadvantaged stakeholders. Moreover, it is increasingly clear that even non-extractive use may have a negative impact on marine megafauna, therefore regulations are needed.SFRH/BPD/102494/2014, UID/MAR/04292/2019, IS1403info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
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