Consumo di suolo e sviluppo locale sostenibile

The research examines the issue of waste of land in metropolitan area of Palermo and offers a description of the current situation through a systematic data. Target is knowledge of waste of land, to develop indicators of the phenomenon and to develop appropriate reflection on the effects of environmental and landscape change, suggest urban policies for sustainable local development

Three-Dimensional Bioprinting for Cartilage Tissue Engineering: Insights into Naturally-Derived Bioinks from Land and Marine Sources

In regenerative medicine and tissue engineering, the possibility to: (I) customize the shape and size of scaffolds, (II) develop highly mimicked tissues with a precise digital control, (III) manufacture complex structures and (IV) reduce the wastes related to the production process, are the main advantages of additive manufacturing technologies such as three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting. Specifically, this technique, which uses suitable hydrogel-based bioinks, enriched with cells and/or growth factors, has received significant consideration, especially in cartilage tissue engineering (CTE). In this field of interest, it may allow mimicking the complex native zonal hyaline cartilage organization by further enhancing its biological cues. However, there are still some limitations that need to be overcome before 3D bioprinting may be globally used for scaffolds' development and their clinical translation. One of them is represented by the poor availability of appropriate, biocompatible and eco-friendly biomaterials, which should present a series of specific requirements to be used and transformed into a proper bioink for CTE. In this scenario, considering that, nowadays, the environmental decline is of the highest concerns worldwide, exploring naturally-derived hydrogels has attracted outstanding attention throughout the scientific community. For this reason, a comprehensive review of the naturally-derived hydrogels, commonly employed as bioinks in CTE, was carried out. In particular, the current state of art regarding eco-friendly and natural bioinks' development for CTE was explored. Overall, this paper gives an overview of 3D bioprinting for CTE to guide future research towards the development of more reliable, customized, eco-friendly and innovative strategies for this field of interest

EXOSOMES: CAN DOCTORS STILL IGNORE THEIR EXISTENCE?

With this invited commentary we want to draw the attention of young medical doctors, the main readers of this journal, towards the existence and importance of a group of nanovesicles released by human cells: the exosomes. These vesicles are incontinently se-creted as a mean of cell-to-cell communication. They are involved in a number of physiol-ogic processes as well as in the pathogenesis of, virtually, all human diseases. They can be isolated from all biological fluids, like blood, urine, sweat, sperm, crevicular fluid, bile, etc., and their composition in terms of proteins, RNA and lipids is different in pathology that in physiologic conditions. It is therefore possible to predict that they will become an important diagnostic and therapeutic tool in medicine

Extracellular vesicles in airway homeostasis and pathophysiology

The epithelial–mesenchymal trophic unit (EMTU) is a morphofunctional entity involved in the maintenance of the homeostasis of airways as well as in the pathogenesis of several diseases, including asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The “muco-microbiotic layer” (MML) is the innermost layer of airways made by microbiota elements (bacteria, viruses, archaea and fungi) and the surrounding mucous matrix. The MML homeostasis is also crucial for maintaining the healthy status of organs and its alteration is at the basis of airway disorders. Nanovesicles produced by EMTU and MML elements are probably the most important tool of communication among the different cell types, including inflammatory ones. How nanovesicles produced by EMTU and MML may affect the airway integrity, leading to the onset of asthma and COPD, as well as their putative use in therapy will be discussed here

Stem Cell Populations and Regenerative Potential in Chronic Inflammatory Lung Diseases

Several acute and chronic inflammatory pathologies of the lung are accompanied by structural modifications of airway mucosa that vary depending on the severity, duration and type of the disease. These morphological changes, that determine organ dysfunction, are not always reversible. Indeed, the cycle of injury and repair, influencing airway wall regeneration, may sometimes break off and an exacerbation of the pathology may occur. The mechanisms at the base of airway remodelling during inflammation have been widely studied and numerous evidences indicate that the molecular dialogue among the cells of the mucosa has an essential role in orchestrating cell differentiation and tissue repair. In this review, we revise old notions on pulmonary morphology at the light of some of the most recent discoveries concerning stem cell differentiation, tissue homeostasis and organ regeneration of the lung

Molecular mimicry in the post-COVID-19 signs and symptoms of neurovegetative disorders?

Many individuals who have severe forms of COVID-19 experience a suite of neurovegetative signs and symptoms (eg, tachycardia) after their recovery, suggesting that the imbalance of the sympathetic-parasympathetic activity of the autonomic nervous system1 could continue for many weeks or months after respiratory symptoms stop. Moreover, a reduction of the parasympathetic tone could have a role in restricting the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway, thus favouring hyperinflammation and cytokine storm in the most severe phases of the disease. As reported by Guglielmo Lucchese in The Lancet Microbe,2 SARS-CoV-2 can damage the nervous system via an indirect mechanism, resulting in a high prevalence of autoantibodies, mainly against unknown autoantigens in the brain, in cerebrospinal fluid from patients with neurological complications.2 The cause of low vagal tone and SARS-CoV-2 has not yet been investigated sufficiently and here we would like to share some original data supporting the putative role of molecular mimicry as the culprit of COVID-19 pathogenesis, including the post-COVID-19 neurovegetative syndrome.2, 3, 4, 5 Using methods that have been previously described,3 we looked specifically at the human proteins expressed in vagal nuclei and ganglia. As shown in the appendix (pp 1–2), we found that 22 of these proteins share peptides that could putatively generate a T-cell or B-cell driven autoimmune response. The location and function of these proteins are described in the appendix (pp 3–24). Fibres of the vagal nerve originate from four nuclei located in the medulla oblongata—ie, the dorsal motor nucleus, the nucleus ambiguus, the solitary nucleus, and, to a lesser extent, the spinal trigeminal nucleus. These fibres contribute to the somatic and visceral motricity, somatic and visceral sensibility, and the sense of taste. The visceral motor inputs originate specifically from the dorsal motor nucleus and nucleus ambiguus and are directed towards the heart, the airways, and the gastrointestinal system. Moreover, the vagal visceral innervation includes two sensory ganglia of the peripheral nervous system—the nodose ganglion and the jugular ganglion. In particular, peripheral fibres of the neurons of the nodose ganglion not only innervate the taste buds on the epiglottis, the chemoreceptors of the aortic bodies, and baroreceptors in the aortic arch, but they also provide sensory innervation to the circulatory, respiratory, and gastrointestinal systems. An impairment of the vagal innervation of the heart can lead to tachycardia at rest, which is often seen by clinicians during physical examination of patients who have recovered from a severe form of COVID-19.1 We found that the dorsal motor nucleus, nucleus ambiguus, nodose ganglion, and jugular ganglion can all host neurons presenting proteins with epitopes in common with SARS-CoV-2 proteins, and the peptide TGRLQSL is embedded in one immunoreactive linear epitope that has already been experimentally validated in the human host (Immune Epitope Database and Analysis Resource identification number 36724) to be able to generate an autoimmune response. We share our findings to prompt further studies assessing whether severe forms of COVID-19 could produce transitory or permanent damage in some vagal structure and whether this can, in turn, be responsible for the low vagal tone and the related clinical signs and symptoms

The challenging riddle about the janus‐type role of hsp60 and related extracellular vesicles and miRNAs in carcinogenesis and the promises of its solution

Hsp60 is one of the most ancient and evolutionarily conserved members of the chaperoning system. It typically resides within mitochondria, in which it contributes to maintaining the organelle’s proteome integrity and homeostasis. In the last few years, it has been shown that Hsp60 also occurs in other locations, intracellularly and extracellularly, including cytosol, plasmacell membrane, and extracellular vesicles (EVs). Consequently, non‐canonical functions and interacting partners of Hsp60 have been identified and it has been realized that it is a hub molecule in diverse networks and pathways and that it is implicated, directly or indirectly, in the development of various pathological conditions, the Hsp60 chaperonopathies. In this review, we will focus on the multi‐faceted role of this chaperonin in human cancers, showing the contribution of intra‐ and extracellular Hsp60 in cancer development and progression, as well as the impact of miRNA‐mediated regulation of Hsp60 in carcinogenesis. There are still various aspects of this intricate biological scenario that are poorly understood but ongoing research is steadily providing new insights and we will direct attention to them. For instance, we will highlight the possible applications of the Hsp60 involvement in carcinogenesis not only in diagnosis, but also in the development of specific anti‐cancer therapies centered on the use of the chaperonin as therapeutic target or agent and depending on its role, pro‐ or anti‐tumor

From Dysbiosis to Neurodegenerative Diseases through Different Communication Pathways: An Overview

The microbiome research field has rapidly evolved over the last few decades, becoming a major topic of scientific and public interest. The gut microbiota (GM) is the microbial population living in the gut. The GM has many functions, such as maintaining gut homeostasis and host health, providing defense against enteric pathogens, and involvement in immune system development. Several studies have shown that GM is implicated in dysbiosis and is presumed to contribute to neurodegeneration. This review focuses mainly on describing the connection between the intestinal microbiome alterations (dysbiosis) and the onset of neurodegenerative diseases to explore the mechanisms that link the GM to nervous system health, such as the gut-brain axis, as well as the mitochondrial, the adaptive humoral immunity, and the microvesicular pathways. The gut-brain communication depends on a continuous bidirectional flow of molecular signals exchanged through the neural and the systemic circulation. These pathways represent a possible new therapeutic target against neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration. Progress in this context is desperately needed, considering the severity of most neurodegenerative diseases and the current lack of effective treatments

Probiotics Can Cure Oral Aphthous-Like Ulcers in Inflammatory Bowel Disease Patients: A Review of the Literature and a Working Hypothesis

Dysbiosis has been associated with the onset of several chronic autoimmune or inflammatory pathologies (e.g., inflammatory bowel diseases-IBD), because of its primary role in the establishment of a chronic inflammatory process leading to tissue damage. Inflammatory bowel diseases can even involve areas far away from the gut, such as the extraintestinal manifestations involving the oral cavity with the onset of aphthous-like ulcers (ALU). Studies carried out on animal models have shown that intestinal dysbiosis may be related to the development of autoimmune diseases, even if the mechanisms involved are not yet well known. The aim of this paper is to verify the hypothesis that in inflammatory bowel diseases patients, aphthous-like ulcers are the result of the concomitance of intestinal dysbiosis and other events, e.g., the microtraumas, occurring in the oral mucosa, and that ex adiuvantibus therapy with probiotics can be employed to modify the natural course of the aphthous-like ulcers