The stenoendemic cave-dwelling planarians (Platyhelminthes, Tricladida) of the Italian Alps and Apennines: Conservation issues

Despite being a fundamental component of biodiversity, several highly diverse taxa of aquatic invertebrates are still poorly known and poorly considered in protection programs. This is the case especially of several invertebrate species that inhabit groundwater. In this environment, invertebrates play significant roles in ecosystem services closely connected to the usefulness of these systems for human welfare and survival. The groundwater biodiversity of continental Italy is largely unknown and its importance is neglected in national and regional legislation. One of the most poorly studied groups of Italian groundwater fauna are planarians (Platyhelminthes, Tricladida). Most known species are endemic to small, single karst areas or a single cave, their geographic range never having been investigated in detail after the original description. The aims of this study are i) to provide the first conservation assessment of cave-dwelling planarians in the Italian Alps and Apennines, whose status is at present Not Evaluated in IUCN categories and ii) to evaluate which environmental constraints, including potential threats, possibly affect the occurrence of the species within different cave systems. Our results suggest that most of the cave-dwelling planarian species of continental Italy are threatened by water pollution and habitat destruction/alteration; moreover, datasets underline that there is a considerable conservation issue concerning stenoendemic planarians that may involve other cave-dwelling invertebrates with narrow geographic ranges. Generally, the underground habitat of most surveyed species appears to be deeply compromised and changed since the first species description

Conservazione e valorizzazione delle grotte sarde: biodiversit\ue0 e ruolo socio-economico-culturale

Stima del valore economico del bene grotta e individuazione del target di fruitore; studio dei percorsi turistici per ottimizzare il numero dei visitatori per la salvaguardia del bene ambientale grotta, Stima della Capacit\ue0 di Carico turistica. Modello di una ottima fruizione di una grotta modello. Modello complesso di integrazione tra beni culturali, enogastronomici, ambientali e demo-etno-antropologici. Studio e creazione di network degli interessi

Genetic susceptibility to Candida infection: A new look at an old entity

In recent years, several studies have shed light on the pathogenesis of many novel immune defects associated with narrow susceptibility to bacterial, viral and fungal infections. Genetically determined forms of susceptibility to Candida species infection, which had been elusive for a long time, have been recognized. Refractory or recurrent infections of skin, nails and the mucous membranes are clinical signs of chronic mucocutaneous candidiasis, frequently associated with immunological defects in the Th17 subset, which is crucial for host response against infections at mucosal and epithelial sites. Here we review the main clinical features and the mechanisms of diseases which share CMC as main phenotype

Purification and Characterization of Proteinaceous Thermostable α-Amylase Inhibitor from Sardinian Common Bean Nieddone Cultivar (Phaseolus vulgaris L.)

The increasing need for new treatments for obesity and diabetes has led to the development of new drugs and food supplements that could reduce carbohydrate absorption. Many starch blockers, based on common bean proteinaceous inhibitors against α-amylase (α-AI), are already present on the market. The extraction and purification of α-amylase inhibitor from a promising common bean cultivar from Sardinia (Nieddone) is described, highlighting the unique value of the Nieddone cultivar, particularly for its inhibitory activity on digestive enzymes and its complete lack of a hemagglutination effect on human red blood cells. The purification of α-AI involved two chromatographic steps (IEC and SEC) and was essential for revealing certain properties of the inhibitor. The purified inhibitor has a tetrameric structure (α2β2) and a molecular weight of approximately 42 kDa, as determined by SEC and SDS-PAGE, confirming it as a lectin-like inhibitor. The identification of the α-AI sequence was obtained by bottom-up high-resolution mass spectrometry, which allowed us to identify a unique peptide from the α chain and six unique peptides from the β chains. α-AI exhibited an optimum temperature of around 40 °C and two pH optima at 5 and 6.5, respectively. Its remarkable stability at high temperatures was measured (approximately 25% of activity retained even after 5 h at 100 °C), whereas the raw extract lost its activity entirely after just 10 min at 90 °C. Thus, the purification process significantly enhances the thermal stability of α-AI. The demonstrated effectiveness of the purified α-AI against the α-amylase enzyme in pigs, humans and insects underscores the protein’s potential for treating obesity and diabetes, as well as for managing insect pests

Saliva, a bodily fluid with recognized and potential diagnostic applications

Human whole saliva is a bodily fluid that can be obtained easily by noninvasive techniques. Specimens can be collected by the patient also at home in order to monitor health status and variations of several analytes of clinical interest. The contributions to whole saliva include secretions from salivary glands and, among others, from the gingival crevicular fluid that derives from the epithelial mucosa. Therefore, saliva is currently a relevant diagnostic fluid for many substances, including steroids, nonpeptide hormones, therapeutic drugs, and drugs of abuse. This review at first briefly describes the different contributions to whole saliva. A section illustrates the procedures for the collection, handling, and storage of salivary specimens. Another section describes the present use of whole saliva for diagnostic purposes and its specific utilization for the diagnosis of several local and systemic diseases. The final sections illustrate the future opportunities offered by various not conventional techniques with a focus on the most recent –omic investigations. It describes the various issues that have to be taken into account to avoid false positives and negatives, such as the strength of the experimental plan, the adequacy of the number of samples under study, and the proper choice of controls

Thymosin beta 4 expression in normal skin, colon mucosa and in tumor infiltrating mast cells

Mast cells (MCs) are metachromatic cells that originate from multipotential hemopoietic stem cells in the bone marrow. Two distinct populations of MCs have been characterized: mucosal MCs are tryptase-positive while mast cells in skin contain tryptase and chymase. We now show that a sub-population of MCs is highly immunoreactive for thymosin β4, as revealed by immunohistochemical analyses of normal skin, normal colon mucosa and salivary gland tumors. Four consecutive serial sections from each case were immunostained for thymosin β4 (Tβ4), chymase, tryptase and stained for toluidine blue. In skin biopsies, MCs showed a comparable immunoreactivity for Tβ4, chymase and tryptase. In normal colon mucosa the vast majority of mucosal MCs expressed a strong cytoplasmic immunoreactivity for tryptase and for Tβ4, in the absence of chymase reactivity. A robust expression of Tβ4 was detected in tumor-infiltrating and peritumoral mast cells in salivary gland tumors and breast ductal infiltrating carcinomas. Tumorinfiltrating MCs also showed a strong immunoreactivity for chymase and tryptase. In this paper, we first demonstrate that normal dermal and mucosal mast cells exhibit strong expression of thymosin β4, which could be considered a new marker for the identification of mast cells in skin biopsies as well as in human tumors. The possible relationship between the degree of Tβ4 expression in tumor-infiltrating mast cells and tumor behaviour warrants further consideration in future investigations

VGF peptide profiles in Type 2 diabetic patients' plasma and in obese mice

To address the possible involvement of VGF peptides in obesity and diabetes, we studied type 2 diabetes (T2D) and obese patients, and high-fat diet induced obese mice. Two VGF peptides (NAPP-19 and QQET-30) were identified in human plasma by HPLC-ESI-MS. The VGF C-terminus, the above two cleaved peptides, and the TLQP-21 related peptide/s were studied using ELISA and immunohistochemistry. In euglycemic patients, plasma NAPPE and TLQP like peptides were significantly reduced with obesity (74±10 vs. 167±28, and 92±10 vs. 191±19 pmol/ml, mean+SEM, n = 10 and 6, obese vs. normal BMI, respectively, p<0.03). Upon a standard glucose load, a distinct response was shown for VGF C-terminus, TLQP and QQET-like (ERVW immunoreactive) peptides in euglycemic normal BMI patients, but was virtually abolished in euglycemic obese, and in T2D patients independently of BMI. High-fat diet induced obese mice showed reduced plasma VGF C-terminus, NAPPE and QQET-like (ERVW) peptide/s (3±0.2 vs. 4.6±0.3, 22±3.5 vs. 34±1.3, and 48±7 vs. 100±7 pmol/ml, mean+SEM, n = 8/group, obese vs. slim, respectively, p<0.03), with a loss of the response to glucose for all VGF peptides studied. In immunohistochemistry, TLQP and/or VGF C-terminus antibodies labelled VGF containing perikarya in mouse celiac ganglia, pancreatic islet cells and thin beaded nerve fibres in brown adipose tissues, with fewer in white adipose tissue. Upon the glucose load, tyrosine hydroxylase and VGF C-terminus immunoreactive axons became apparent in pancreatic islets of slim animals, but not in obese animals. Alltogether, a significant loss of VGF peptide immunoreactivity and/or their response to glucose was demonstrated in obese patients, with or without T2D, in parallel with a similar loss in high-fat diet induced obese mice. An involvement of VGF in metabolic regulations, including those of brown and/or white adipose tissues is underlined, and may point out specific VGF peptides as potential targets for diagnosis and/or treatment

Immunoreactivity of thymosin beta 4 in human foetal and adult genitourinary tract

Thymosin beta 4 (Tβ4) is a member of the beta-thymosins family, a family of peptides playing essential roles in many cellular functions. Our recent studies suggested Tβ4 plays a key role in the development of human salivary glands and the gastrointestinal tract. The aim of this study was to analyse the presence of Tβ4 in the human adult and foetal genitourinary tract. Immunolocalization of Tβ4 was studied in autoptic samples of kidney, bladder, uterus, ovary, testicle and prostate obtained from four human foetuses and four adults. Presence of the peptide was observed in cells of different origin: in surface epithelium, in gland epithelial cells and in the interstitial cells. Tβ4 was mainly found in adult and foetal bladder in the transitional epithelial cells; in the adult endometrium, glands and stromal cells were immunoreactive for the peptide; Tβ4 was mainly localized in the glands of foetal prostate while, in the adults a weak Tβ4 reactivity was restricted to the stroma. In adult and foetal kidney, Tβ4 reactivity was restricted to ducts and tubules with completely spared glomeruli; a weak positivity was observed in adult and foetal oocytes; immunoreactivity was mainly localized in the interstitial cells of foetal and adult testis. In this study, we confirm that Tβ4 could play a relevant role during human development, even in the genitourinary tract, and reveal that immunoreactivity for this peptide may change during postnatal and adult life