New insights into the Pathogenesis of Inflammatory Myopathies in Animals

Inflammatory Myopathies (IMs) are a large and heterogeneous group of acquired disorders of the skeletal muscle characterized by the presence of inflammatory cells directly responsible for initiating and maintaining myofiber injury. IMs are poorly characterized in veterinary medicine. A relatively large body of descriptive knowledge is available, however, many of the factors responsible for disease initiation and perpetuation remain less well-defined and the understanding of these mechanisms is mainly based on biological plausibility from animal models and human medicine. The majority of these disorders are considered to be autoimmune disorders in which skeletal muscle is inappropriately targeted by the immune system. Autoimmune diseases develop as a result of chronic inflammation owing to interactions between genes and the environment. However, the mechanisms by which autoimmune diseases evolve remain poorly understood. Numerous evidences support that the innate immune system (including cytokines and chemokines) and adaptive immune system (including autoantibodies and antigen-specific T cells) are involved in IM pathogenesis. Furthermore, several non-immune-mediated mechanisms contribute to the pathogenesis of these disorders, including cell-stress pathways, free radicals, altered energy metabolism, protein homeostasis and mitochondrial damages. Autoantibodies are present in approximately 60-70% of human patients with IM and often specific autoantibodies are strongly associated with specific forms of IMs. The role of autoantibodies in causing muscle damage and dysfunction is still debated, however, they have proven to be immensely useful biomarkers for the diagnosis, monitoring and prognosis of IMs. Therefore, there is great interest in the identification of myositis-specific autoantibodies. In the present Ph.D. thesis: 1. we have identified novel pathogenetic mechanisms underlying leishmania-associated inflammatory myopathy in dogs. In particular, we identified circulating autoantibodies that recognize the muscle protein sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic reticulum calcium ATPase 1 (SERCA1) as the main antigen, supporting the autoimmune mechanism underlying this myopathy and the antigen mimicry pathogenesis; 2. we morphologically and molecularly characterize the white striping myopathy of the broiler chicken and, based on our results, we hypothesize an associated immune-mediated mechanism; 3. we describe the morphological and molecular findings of the inflammatory myopathy associated with natural Feline Immunodeficiency Virus infection in cats and identify circulating anti-skeletal muscle autoantibodies

Mio padre lavora, mia madre sparecchia

This research is part of the studies on mental representations of children, with the aim of studying their views about the working world of adults, and to determine whether and how these representations change in the transition from kindergarten to primary school.La presente ricerca si inserisce nel filone degli studi sulle rappresentazioni mentali dei bambini, con la finalit? di studiare la loro visione circa il mondo del lavoro degli adulti, e di verificare se e in che modo tali rappresentazioni cambiano nel passaggio dalla scuola dell?infanzia alla scuola primaria

Oral hygiene management in patients with visual sensory disabilities

Aim: Oral hygiene maintenance is one of the most difficult tasks for visually impaired people. The aim of study was to investigate about knowledge on oral hygiene practices among patients with visual sensory disabilities by proposing an effective management in order to achieve and maintain oral health status of these patients. Methods:It was administered a questionnaire about oral health management to the patients with visual disabilities accessing to dental unit of “Mons. Di Liegro” Hospital of Gaeta. Results: The survey covered a sample of 49 patients, aged between 14 and 95 years. More than half (66%) was blind ( 65% of cases with primary blindness and the remain ing 35% with secondary blindness). Only 32.65% brushed their teeth 3 times a day; 68% of the surveyed patients limited home oral hygiene procedures to toothbrush and toothpaste; 79% used manual toothbrush; 49% of respondents report ed odontophobia (it was basically generated by pain) often due to bad experience during childhood. More than half declared a dental office attendance as needed. Conclusions: This study showed as, although starting from a compromised oral health and inadequate knowledge of oral hygiene practices, visual impaired/ blind patients were able to achieve and maintain a good level of oral hygiene, using the most appropriate techniques and instrument

Honeybees' physiological and behavioural immunity deficit induced by DW Viruses

Item does not contain fulltextThe purpose of the present study was to determine the effect of a spinal cord injury (SCI) on resting vascular resistance in paralyzed legs in humans. To accomplish this goal, we measured blood pressure and resting flow above and below the lesion (by using venous occlusion plethysmography) in 11 patients with SCI and in 10 healthy controls (C). Relative vascular resistance was calculated as mean arterial pressure in millimeters of mercury divided by the arterial blood flow in milliliters per minute per 100 milliliters of tissue. Arterial blood flow in the sympathetically deprived and paralyzed legs of SCI was significantly lower than leg blood flow in C. Because mean arterial pressure showed no differences between both groups, leg vascular resistance in SCI was significantly higher than in C. Within the SCI group, arterial blood flow was significantly higher and vascular resistance significantly lower in the arms than in the legs. To distinguish between the effect of loss of central neural control vs. deconditioning, a group of nine SCI patients was trained for 6 wk and showed a 30% increase in leg blood flow with unchanged blood pressure levels, indicating a marked reduction in vascular resistance. In conclusion, vascular resistance is increased in the paralyzed legs of individuals with SCI and is reversible by training

Behçet’s Disease as a Model of Venous Thrombosis

Behçet’s disease (BD) is a chronic inflammatory disease of unknown aetiology characterized by recurrent oral, genital aphthous ulcerations, uveitis, skin lesions and other multisystem affections associated with vasculitis. Different types of vessels, predominantly veins, can be affected in BD. The frequency of vascular lesions in BD, such as superficial and deep venous thromboses, arterial aneurysms and occlusions, ranges between 7-29%

Neonicotinoid Clothianidin reduces honey bee immune response and contributes to Varroa mite proliferation

The neonicotinoid Clothianidin has a negative impact on NF-\u3baB signaling and on immune responses controlled by this transcription factor, which can boost the proliferation of honey bee parasites and pathogens. This effect has been well documented for the replication of deformed wing virus (DWV) induced by Clothianidin in honey bees bearing an asymptomatic infection. Here, we conduct infestation experiments of treated bees to show that the immune-suppression exerted by Clothianidin is associated with an enhanced fertility of the parasitic mite Varroa destructor, as a possible consequence of a higher feeding efficiency. A conceptual model is proposed to describe the synergistic interactions among different stress agents acting on honey bees

Neonicotinoid Clothianidin reduces honey bee immune response and contributes to Varroa mite proliferation

The neonicotinoid Clothianidin has a negative impact on NF-κB signaling and on immune responses controlled by this transcription factor, which can boost the proliferation of honey bee parasites and pathogens. This effect has been well documented for the replication of deformed wing virus (DWV) induced by Clothianidin in honey bees bearing an asymptomatic infection. Here, we conduct infestation experiments of treated bees to show that the immune-suppression exerted by Clothianidin is associated with an enhanced fertility of the parasitic mite Varroa destructor, as a possible consequence of a higher feeding efficiency. A conceptual model is proposed to describe the synergistic interactions among different stress agents acting on honey bees