Blood inflammatory indices in goats around kidding

AbstractThe transition period of goats is often characterized by serious metabolic problems, mainly before parturition. These troubles are related to negative energy balance status, however all causes are not totally defined. To improve the knowledge about pathogenesis in this phase we have monitored the changes of some blood indices of lipomobilization and inflammation. Six blood samples were collected from 10 primiparous and 25 multiparous "Camosciata delle Alpi" goats after morning milking. Samples were collected around 20 and 7 days before parturition and on days 0, 3, 6 and 12 of lactation. Albumin, total protein, haptoglobin, ceruloplasmin, total cholesterol, NEFA, β-OH-butyrate (BHB), Ca, Mg and Zn were determined. Goats were grouped according to their BHB level before parturition: low (≤0.6 mmol/l; LOB), average (0.6÷1.09; AVB) and high (≥1.09 mmol/l; HIB) level. Furthermore, the AVB group was divided according to plasma haptoglobin level before parturition: low (<0.5 g/l) or high. The statistical..

Motor and higher‐order functions topography of the human dentate nuclei identified with tractography and clustering methods

Deep gray matter nuclei are the synaptic relays, responsible to route signals between specific brain areas. Dentate nuclei (DNs) represent the main output channel of the cerebellum and yet are often unexplored especially in humans. We developed a multimodal MRI approach to identify DNs topography on the basis of their connectivity as well as their microstructural features. Based on results, we defined DN parcellations deputed to motor and to higher-order functions in humans in vivo. Whole-brain probabilistic tractography was performed on 25 healthy subjects from the Human Connectome Project to infer DN parcellations based on their connectivity with either the cerebral or the cerebellar cortex, in turn. A third DN atlas was created inputting microstructural diffusion-derived metrics in an unsupervised fuzzy c-means classification algorithm. All analyses were performed in native space, with probability atlas maps generated in standard space. Cerebellar lobule-specific connectivity identified one motor parcellation, accounting for about 30% of the DN volume, and two non-motor parcellations, one cognitive and one sensory, which occupied the remaining volume. The other two approaches provided overlapping results in terms of geometrical distribution with those identified with cerebellar lobule-specific connectivity, although with some differences in volumes. A gender effect was observed with respect to motor areas and higher-order function representations. This is the first study that indicates that more than half of the DN volumes is involved in non-motor functions and that connectivity-based and microstructure-based atlases provide complementary information. These results represent a step-ahead for the interpretation of pathological conditions involving cerebro-cerebellar circuits

Proteomics evaluation of molecular mechanisms involved in pathogenesis of Salmonella spp.

Salmonella species are an important group of enteric pathogens which could be penetrate the intestinal epithelial barrier and are capable of causing disease (i.e. they are pathogenic). Many foods, particularly foods of animal origin and other foods which may be subject to faecal contamination have been identified as vehicles for the transmission of this pathogen to humans. Those of particular importance include meat, poultry, eggs, milk, fruit and vegetables. Spread of this pathogen may occur in the food processing environment through cross contamination from raw food or infected food handlers. The molecular bases for Salmonella adherence to and invasion of epithelial cells are distinct and complex and a large number of Salmonella genes are required for entry into cultured epithelial cells. Salmonella enterica serotypes are closely related genetically but they are significantly different in pathogenic potentials. Deep inside the relative responsible mechanisms may be a key to more general understanding of the invasiveness of intestinal bacterial infections. This study represents a classic proteomic approach combining 2D gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry for the comparative analysis of the proteomes of different species of Salmonella isolated from food with the principle aim to find biomarkers to understand pathogenesis mechanism

Indagine proteomica del seme bovino per la valutazione della fertilit\ue0

Ipofertility is one of the most common problems and main cause of economic losses in dairy production. Bull infertility represent a significant component on unsuccessful pregnancy. In this study, proteomic analysis was applied to compare the sperm protein expression profile from high and low fertility bulls. It has been found that expression of several proteins (9 different 2-D spots) is related to high and low fertility bulls (p<0.05). These proteins are involved in sperm-egg interaction and cell cycle regulation. Proteomic analysis of sperm can be a valuable tool to identify protein changes related to fertility

Proteomic study of antibiotic resistance in Escherichia coli strains

Enteropathogen Escherichia coli infection is the most common type of colibacillosis of young animals (primarily pigs and calves), and it is cause of diarrhoea among travellers and children in the developing world. The main virulence attributes of pathogens Escherichia coli are adhesins and enterotoxins, which are mostly regulated on large plasmids. In the current study, comparative proteomics was applied to identify changes in proteins responsible for antibiotic resistance in different in vivo isolates Escherichia coli. In particular it has been studied strains with same virulence factors, but a completely different antibiotic profile, obtained from different organs of the same anima

Bioluminescence imaging in brain tumor: a powerful tool

Glioblastoma represents the most malignant and lethal among brain tumours because of its highly infiltration capacity and invasion into the normal brain that account for its resistance to treatments (chemotherapy and radiotherapy). Recent advance and development of technologies to non-invasively image brain tumour growth in living animals can open an opportunity to monitor directly the efficacy of the treatment on tumour development. In vivo bioluminescence imaging is based on light-emitting enzymes, luciferases, which require specific substrates for light production. When linked to a specific biological process/pathway in an animal model of human disease, the enzyme-substrate interactions become biological indicators that can be studied. In order to explore and compare different imaging modalities (MRI and bioluminescence imaging) we have validated the use of bioluminescence imaging to monitor glioblastoma progression in vivo. The human glioma cell line (DBTRG-05MG) derived from an adult patient with glioblastoma multiforme who had been treated with local brain irradiation and multidrug chemotherapy has been used for the experiment. The DBTRG-05MG cell line was stably transfected with TCF-luciferase and orthotopic implantated onto immunodeficient mice. Bioluminescence technology was used to follow tumour growth in parallel with classical MRI on the same animals

PVL related differences in Protein expression profile in MRSA and MSSA

Since its early discovery as an opportunistic pathogen, Staphylococcus aureus continues to be a major cause of mortality with a wide variety of clinical affections. Panton-Valentine Leukocidin (PVL) is a staphylococcal synergohymenotropic exotoxin (one of virulence factors) belonging to the pore-forming toxin family, induces lysis of host defense cells such as human neutrophils, monocytes, and macrophages, and recently been associated with necrotizing pneumonia. Although MRSA was considered a worldwide major threat, recent records demonstrated several clinical cases of staphylococci infections caused by MSSA with high prevalence of (PVL) + isolates. Hence, understanding mechanisms of both cell physiology and pathophysiology is necessary to contrast the diffusion of this pathogen, the aim of this project is to study the proteome of MSSA and MRSA with special emphasis on PVL+ and PVL- strains to identify proteins that may be related to virulence using 2-D electrophoresis and mass spectrometry. Proteomic analysis revealed 8 differentially expressed proteins between MSSA (PVL-) and MSSA (PVL+) groups. Five of them showed over expression in MSSA (PVL) - while 3 proteins were over expressed in MSSA (PVL)+. These proteins were successfully identified by mass spectrometry. Focusing on the function of identified proteins, it was found that proteins overexpressed in PVL+ are linked with catalysis of polypeptides and with energy production pathways. While the ones overexpressed in PVL\u2013 are related to transcription pathways. Results can explain the reason because PVL+ strains are more pathogenic than PV

Comparative proteomics to evaluate multi drug resistance in Escherichia coli

Drug resistance in food-borne bacterial pathogens is an almost inevitable consequence of the use of antimicrobial drugs, used either therapeutically or to avoid infections in food-producing animals. In the past decades, the spread and inappropriate use of antibiotics have caused a considerable increase of antibiotics to which bacteria have developed resistance and, moreover, bacteria are becoming resistant to more than one antibiotic simultaneously. Understanding mechanisms at the molecular level is extremely important to control multi-resistant strains and to develop new therapeutic strategies. In the present study, comparative proteomics was applied to characterize membrane and cytosolic proteome in order to investigate the regulation of protein expression in multi-resistance E. coli isolated from young never vaccinated water buffalo. Results highlighted differentially expressed proteins under multi drug resistance conditions giving new insights about mechanisms involved in resistance, as quorum sensing mechanisms, and suggesting possible novel bacterial targets to develop alternative antibiotic drugs. \ua9 2012 The Royal Society of Chemistry

Applicazioni di proteomica per lo studio degli effetti del congelamento sul seme equino

The success of cryopreservation with stallion sperm is lower than that of bull. However, increased application of assisted reproductive technologies in the equine breeding industry has encouraged the use of frozen semen to preserve superior genetics. Stallion are commonly selected on the base of athletic performance record, pedigree and conformation. \u201cFreezability\u201d of semen is a term used to indicate survival rates of sperm populations by laboratory testing following a freeze-thaw cycle. 20-50% of stallion produce sperm of unacceptable freezability, and inter- and intra- stallion variations exist regarding freezability of sperm and in vivo fertility post-thaw. The aim of this study was to compare sperm protein expression profile from stallion with different semen quality post-thaw in order to detect biomarkers potentially related to fertility

DNA repair: the culprit for tumor-initiating cell survival?

The existence of “tumor-initiating cells” (TICs) has been a topic of heated debate for the last few years within the field of cancer biology. Their continuous characterization in a variety of solid tumors has led to an abundance of evidence supporting their existence. TICs are believed to be responsible for resistance against conventional treatment regimes of chemotherapy and radiation, ultimately leading to metastasis and patient demise. This review summarizes DNA repair mechanism(s) and their role in the maintenance and regulation of stem cells. There is evidence supporting the hypothesis that TICs, similar to embryonic stem (ES) cells and hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), display an increase in their ability to survive genotoxic stress and injury. Mechanistically, the ability of ES cells, HSCs and TICs to survive under stressful conditions can be attributed to an increase in the efficiency at which these cells undergo DNA repair. Furthermore, the data presented in this review summarize the results found by our lab and others demonstrating that TICs have an increase in their genomic stability, which can allow for TIC survival under conditions such as anticancer treatments, while the bulk population of tumor cells dies. We believe that these data will greatly impact the development and design of future therapies being engineered to target and eradicate this highly aggressive cancer cell population