Hyperglycemia in Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetes Leads to Persistent Inflammation and Tissue Damage Following Uveitis Due to Reduced Levels of Ciliary Body Heme Oxygenase-1

This study investigated the heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) and the endotoxin-induced uveitis (EIU) in diabetic streptozotocin (STZ)-hyperglycemic rats. STZ-hyperglycemic rats had impaired levels of the enzyme HO-1 within the ciliary bodies if compared with the nondiabetic rats. STZ-hyperglycemic rats also predisposed the eye to produce high levels of both the cytokines IL-1β and CXCL8. Subsequent EIU further and significantly (P < .01) increased the cytokines production, an effect partly prevented by hemin treatment. Most importantly, hemin, an inducer of heme oxygenase expression and activity, recovered the huge number of infiltrated polymorphonuclear leukocytes PMN within the ciliary bodies associated with STZ-hyperglycemic state and EIU damage. Impairment of the stress-sensitive enzyme HO-1 in STZ-hyperglycemic rats increases and prolongs the inflammatory response to EIU

Photocatalytic TiO2-Based Nanostructured Materials for Microbial Inactivation

Pathogenic microorganisms can spread throughout the world population, as the currentCOVID-19 pandemic has dramatically demonstrated. In this scenario, a protection against pathogensand other microorganisms can come from the use of photoactive materials as antimicrobial agents ableto hinder, or at least limit, their spreading by means of photocatalytically assisted processes activatedby light—possibly sunlight—promoting the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that can killmicroorganisms in different matrices such as water or different surfaces without affecting humanhealth. In this review, we focus the attention on TiO2nanoparticle-based antimicrobial materials,intending to provide an overview of the most promising synthetic techniques, toward possiblelarge-scale production, critically review the capability of such materials to promote pathogen (i.e.,bacteria, virus, and fungi) inactivation, and, finally, take a look at selected technological applications

Involvement of the Ubiquitin-Proteasome System in the Formation of Experimental Postsurgical Peritoneal Adhesions

We investigated the Ubiquitin-Proteasome System (UPS), major nonlysosomal intracellular protein degradation system, in the genesis of experimental postsurgical peritoneal adhesions. We assayed the levels of UPS within the adhered tissue along with the development of peritoneal adhesions and used the specific UPS inhibitor bortezomib in order to assess the effect of the UPS blockade on the peritoneal adhesions. We found a number of severe postsurgical peritoneal adhesions at day 5 after surgery increasing until day 10. In the adhered tissue an increased values of ubiquitin and the 20S proteasome subunit, NFkB, IL-6, TNF-α and decreased values of IkB-beta were found. In contrast, bortezomib-treated rats showed a decreased number of peritoneal adhesions, decreased values of ubiquitin and the 20S proteasome, NFkB, IL-6, TNF-α, and increased levels of IkB-beta in the adhered peritoneal tissue. The UPS system, therefore, is primarily involved in the formation of post-surgical peritoneal adhesions in rats