Effects of moderate Sicilian red wine consumption on inflammatory biomarkers of atherosclerosis.

Objective: The aim of the study is to evaluate the effect of moderate Sicilian red wine consumption on cardiovascular risk factors and, in particular, on some inflammatory biomarkers. Methods: A total of 48 subjects of both sexes who were nondrinkers or rare drinkers of moderate red wine were selected randomly subdivided into two groups assigned to receive with a crossover design a Sicilian red wine (Nero d\u2019Avola or Torrepalino) during meals: Group A (n 24), in whom the diet was supplemented for 4 weeks with 250 ml/day of red followed by 4 weeks when they returned to their usual wine intake; and Group B (n 24), in whom the usual wine intake maintained for 4 weeks, followed by 4 weeks when the diet was supplemented with 250 ml/day of red wine. The following values measured in all tests: blood glucose, total and HDL-cholesterol and triglycerides, LDL-cholesterol, LDL/HDL apolipoproteins A1 and B, Lp(a), plasma C-reactive protein, TGFb1, D-Dimer, Factor VII , PAI Ag, t-PA Ag, fibrinogen, oxidized LDL Ab, total plasma antioxidant capacity. Results: At the end of the red wine intake period, LDL/HDL, fibrinogen, factor VII, plasma C-reactive protein and oxidized Ab were significantly decreased, while HDL-C, Apo A1,TGFb1, t-PA, PAI and total plasma antioxidant capacity were significantly increased. Conclusions: Our results show a positive effect of two Sicilian red wines on many risk factors and on some inflammatory biomarkers, suggesting that a moderate consumption of red wine in the adult population is a positive component of Mediterranean diet

Glutamine Synthetase 1 Increases Autophagy Lysosomal Degradation of Mutant Huntingtin Aggregates in Neurons, Ameliorating Motility in a Drosophila Model for Huntington's Disease

Glutamine Synthetase 1 (GS1) is a key enzyme that catalyzes the ATP-dependent synthesis of l-glutamine from l-glutamate and is also member of the Glutamate Glutamine Cycle, a complex physiological process between glia and neurons that controls glutamate homeostasis and is often found compromised in neurodegenerative diseases including Huntington's disease (HD). Here we report that the expression of GS1 in neurons ameliorates the motility defects induced by the expression of the mutant Htt, using a Drosophila model for HD. This phenotype is associated with the ability of GS1 to favor the autophagy that we associate with the presence of reduced Htt toxic protein aggregates in neurons expressing mutant Htt. Expression of GS1 prevents the TOR activation and phosphorylation of S6K, a mechanism that we associate with the reduced levels of essential amino acids, particularly of arginine and asparagine important for TOR activation. This study reveals a novel function for GS1 to ameliorate neuronal survival by changing amino acids' levels that induce a "starvation-like" condition responsible to induce autophagy. The identification of novel targets that inhibit TOR in neurons is of particular interest for the beneficial role that autophagy has in preserving physiological neuronal health and in the mechanisms that eliminate the formation of toxic aggregates in proteinopathies

A low level spectrometer with a planar low energy HPGe: shielding arrangement tests and system performance for 210Pb determination in air filter samples

A system for low-energy photon spectrometry using a planar germanium detector with appropriate specifications is presented. A spectrometric background investigation has been carried out with various detector shielding arrangements. The characteristics of the system for measurements of 210Pb in air-particulate matter on filters have been determined