13C detected experiments illuminate the vicinity of the metal center

Funding Information: The support of the CERM/CIRMMP center of Instruct-ERIC is gratefully acknowledged. This work was supported in part by the project “Potentiating the Italian Capacity for Structural Biology Services in Instruct-ERIC" (ITACA.SB, Project no. IR0000009) within the call MUR 3264/2021 PNRR M4/C2/L3.1.1, funded by the European Union—Next Generation EU. LQ is a PhD student under the Tuscany Health Ecosystem-ECS_00000017 (CUP B83C22003920001), spoke 7, funded by the European Union—Next Generation EU. This work was funded by national funds through FCT–Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P. (FCT), Project MOSTMICRO-ITQB with refs UIDB/04612/2020 and UIDP/04612/2020, and LS4FUTURE Associated Laboratory (LA/P/0087/2020). Funding Information: Open access funding provided by Università degli Studi di Firenze within the CRUI-CARE Agreement. Publisher Copyright: © 2023, The Author(s).The robustness of NMR coherence transfer in proximity of a paramagnetic center depends on the relaxation properties of the nuclei involved. In the case of Iron-Sulfur Proteins, different pulse schemes or different parameter sets often provide complementary results. Tailored versions of HCACO and CACO experiments significantly increase the number of observed Cα/C’ connectivities in highly paramagnetic systems, by recovering many resonances that were lost due to paramagnetic relaxation. Optimized 13C direct detected experiments can significantly extend the available assignments, improving the overall knowledge of these systems. The different relaxation properties of Cα and C’ nuclei are exploited in CACO vs COCA experiments and the complementarity of the two experiments is used to obtain structural information. The two [Fe2S2]+ clusters containing NEET protein CISD3 and the one [Fe4S4]2+ cluster containing HiPIP protein PioC have been taken as model systems. We show that tailored experiments contribute to decrease the blind sphere around the cluster, to extend resonance assignment of cluster bound cysteine residues and to retrieve details on the topology of the iron-bound ligand residues.publishersversionpublishe

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi community and glomalin in dry forest ecosystems, Brazil

This study aimed to evaluate the abundance and diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and production of soil protein related to Glomalin (PSRG) (GT- Total Glomalin; GFE - easily extractable Glomalin) in Dry Forest ecosystems in North of Minas Gerais. The soil samples were collected in areas with different stages of succession (early, middle, late and pasture) in the Dry Forest State Park in the municipality of Manga, MG. Sampling was completely random, and three simple samples were collected to form a composite sample in a total of nine composite samples by study areas. The production of AMF propagules (spores and mycelial biomass external), their diversity (total wealth and Shannon and Pielou indices) and PSRG production were stimulated in early succession areas (early stage and pasture), which were equivalent or better to areas in more advanced succession stages (intermediate and late). Such pattern may contribute to the establishment of early succession plant species, which often have high mycorrhizal dependency, and consequently advance the successional process.Este trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar a abundância e diversidade de fungos micorrízicos arbusculares (FMA), bem como a produção de proteína do solo relacionada à glomalina (PSRG) (GT- glomalina total; GFE – glomalina facilmente extraível) em ecossistemas de Mata Seca no Norte de Minas Gerais. As amostras de terra foram coletadas em áreas com diferentes estádios de sucessão (inicial, intermediária, tardia e pasto) no Parque Estadual da Mata Seca no município de Manga, MG. A amostragem foi inteiramente casualizada, sendo coletadas três amostras simples para constituir uma composta, em um total de nove amostras compostas por área de estudo. Verificou-se que as áreas em inicio de sucessão (estádio inicial e pasto) estão estimulando a produção de propágulos de FMAs (esporos e biomassa de micélio externo), bem como a sua diversidade (riqueza total e índices de Shannon e Pielou) e produção de PSRG, as quais se encontram equivalentes ou superiores as áreas em estádios mais avançados (intermediário e tardio) de sucessão. Tal padrão pode contribuir para o estabelecimento de espécies vegetais de início de sucessão, que costumam apresentar elevada dependência micorrízica, e consequente avanço do processo sucessional

Dermatological side effects of cancer treatment: psychosocial implications—a systematic review of the literature

https://v2.sherpa.ac.uk/id/publication/24801Cancer is a leading cause of mortality and morbidity all over the world and the second major cause of death in Portugal. Dermatological side effects resulting from cancer treatment have a psychosocial impact on patients’ lives, such as quality of life (QoL), body image, cognitive fusion and social inhibition. This systematic review aimed to explore and synthesize the psychosocial impact of dermatological side effects of cancer treatment, answering the following research objectives: (i) Do the dermatological side effects of the cancer treatment present any psychosocial impact for the patients? (ii) How does the psychosocial impact of the dermatological toxicities of the cancer treatment manifest in patients’ lives? Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were followed and guided a systematic search through the PubMed, Cochrane Library and PyscNet databases. The considered studies correlate dermatological side effects of cancer treatments and their psychological/psychosocial outcomes. The studies found were all published in peer-reviewed journals. The results obtained established that cancer treatment causes the most varied skin changes, consequently reducing self-esteem and QoL; disturbing body image; and contributing to cases of stress, depression and anxiety. There is still limited literature that profoundly investigates the experience of living with these skin toxicities. The development of research lines to improve knowledge in this field will allow for significant improvements in healthcare for patients undergoing cancer treatment who need to focus more on the psychosocial implications of skin toxicities. The novelty of this review lies in adding knowledge summarizing the psychosocial implications of dermatological side effects of cancer treatment to support healthcare providers in the development of integrative therapeutic strategies for these patients in their clinical practice.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Optimizing Electroactive Organisms: The Effect of Orthologous Proteins

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Analysis of the Characteristics and Cytotoxicity of Titanium Dioxide Nanomaterials Following Simulated In Vitro Digestion

© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Several metallic nanomaterials (NMs), such as titanium dioxide nanomaterials (TiO2), present beneficial properties with a broad range of innovative applications. The human population is exposed to TiO2, particularly by ingestion, due to its increasing use as a food additive and inclusion in dietary supplements and food packaging materials. Whether this oral exposure may lead to adverse local or systemic outcomes has been the subject of research, but studies have generated contradictory results, reflecting differences in the physicochemical properties of the TiO2 studied, effects of the surrounding matrix, and modifications during digestion. This work aimed to investigate the toxic effects of three different TiO2 NMs (NM-103, NM-103 and NM-105) on the gastrointestinal tract cells, Caco-2 and HT29-MTX-E12, after the use of the standardized static INFOGEST 2.0 in vitro digestion method to mimic human digestion of TiO2, contributing to hazard assessment. The results show that, for one of the digested TiO2 NMs studied (NM-105), a more pronounced toxicity occurs after exposure of HT29-MTX-E12 intestinal cells, as compared to undigested NM, concomitantly with subtle changes in characteristics of the NM. Thus, the inclusion of the digestion simulation in the safety evaluation of ingested NMs through in vitro bioassays can better integrate the modifications that NMs suffer in the organism. It is expected that such an approach will reduce uncertainties in the hazard assessment of ingested NMs for human health.This research was funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology FCT/MCTES through national funds (PIDDAC), PTDC/SAU-PUB/29481/2017 and co-funded by UIDB/00009/2020 (Centre for Toxicogenomics and Human Health—ToxOmics, FCT), iMed.ULisboa (Pest-UID/DTP/04138/2019) and CESAM (UIDP/50017/2020+UIDB/50017/2020), through national funds.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Investigation of the genotoxicity of digested titanium dioxide nanomaterials in human intestinal cells

Funding: This work was funded by national funds through the FCT - Foundation for Science and Technology, I.P., under the project PTDC/SAUPUB/29481/2017. Research co-funded by UIDB/00009/2020; UIDP/ 00009/2020 (Centre for Toxicogenomics and Human Health – ToxOmics, FCT- Foundation for Science and Technology). NV holds a FCT PhD Scholarship grant (2020.07168.BD). iMed.ULisboa (UIDB/04138/ 2020 and UIDP/04138/2020) principal investigator grants CEECIND/ 03143/2017 (L. M. Gonçalves). The authors thank all the support from the colleagues Paula Alvito, Carla Martins and Ricardo Assunç˜ ao (Food Safety Department, INSA, Lisbon, Portugal) as well from all INGESTnano team members.The widespread use of titanium dioxide nanomaterials (TiO2 NMs) in food and consumer products such as toothpaste or food contact materials, suggests the relevance of human oral exposure to these nanomaterials (NMs) and raises the possibility of adverse effects in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). We previously showed that the in vitro digestion of TiO2 NMs may increase their toxicity in intestinal cells. In this work, we analyzed the genotoxicity and the intracellular reactive oxygen species induction by physiologically relevant concentrations of three different TiO2 NMs (NM-102, NM-103 and NM-105) in Caco-2 and HT29-MTX-E12 intestinal cells, while considering the potential influence of the digestion process in the NMs’ physiochemical characteristics. The results evidenced a DNA-damaging effect dependent on the NM, more relevant for the rutile/anatase NM-105, possibly due to its lower hydrodynamic size in the cells medium. In addition, the results of the micronucleus assay suggest effects on chromosomal integrity, an indicator of cancer risk, in the HT29-MTX-E12 cells, for all the tested TiO2 NMs, especially after the in vitro digestion. This work supports the evidence for concerns on the use of TiO2 NMs as a food additive, recently reported by EFSA, and for their use in applications in consumer products that may drive human exposure through ingestion.publishersversionpublishe

The Influence of (Poly)phenol Intake in Saliva Proteome: Short- and Medium-Term Effects of Apple

The relationship between salivary proteome and dietary habits was studied in previous works, where a relationship between salivary proteins like cystatins and polyphenol/tannin levels in diet was observed. However, it remains to be elucidated if this association results from an effect of polyphenol-rich food ingestion on saliva composition. The aim of this work was to test the effects of apple intake on the saliva proteome, both in the short and medium term (after 4 days of continuous intake). By incubating saliva samples with apple phenolic-rich extract, protein bands containing -amylase, S-type cystatins, and proline-rich proteins (PRPs) appeared in the fraction that precipitated, showing the potential of these (poly)phenols to precipitate salivary proteins. Among these, it was salivary cystatins that presented changes in their levels both in the saliva samples collected immediately after apple intake and in the ones collected after 4 days of intake of an extra amount of apple. These results support the thought that intake is reflected in the salivary proteome. The effect of a polyphenol-rich food, like the apple, on salivary cystatin levels is in line with results observed in animal models and, due to the involvement of these proteins in oral food perception, it would be interesting to explore in future studies the effect of these changes on sensory perception and acceptance of polyphenol-rich food.</jats:p

Molecular bases of cluster release and destabilizing effects of nitric oxide

Funding Information: Cindy Vallières was supported by Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions MSCA-IF-2020 (FungiFeS/ID 101030584 ). Deborah Grifagni was supported by European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) through Grant Application Number 9373 and by PHC Galileo PROJECT N° 48929TH. L. B., F. C. and M. P. acknowledges the support by the Italian Ministry for University and Research (FOE funding) to the CERM/CIRMMP Italian Centre of Instruct-ERIC, a ESFRI Landmark. OA Fees have been covered with the support of the European Cooperation in Science and Technology ( COST ) Action CA21115. Funding Information: This article is based on work from COST Action FeSImmChemNet (CA21115) supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology). We acknowledge the financial support from the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR-21-CE44-0016) and from the European Union - NextGenerationEU-National Recovery and Resilience Plan, Mission 4 Component 2-Investment 1.5-THE-Tuscany Health Ecosystem-ECS00000017-CUP B83C22003920001. This work was funded also by national funds through FCT–Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia , I.P. (FCT), Project MOSTMICRO-ITQB with refs UIDB/04612/2020 and UIDP/04612/2020 , and LS4FUTURE Associated Laboratory ( LA/P/0087/2020 ). The authors are grateful to Inês B. Trindade for helpful discussions on the electrochemical data. Publisher Copyright: © 2024 The AuthorsThe NEET proteins, an important family of iron-sulfur (Fe-S) proteins, have generated a strong interest due to their involvement in diverse diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and neurodegenerative disorders. Among the human NEET proteins, CISD3 has been the least studied, and its functional role is still largely unknown. We have investigated the biochemical features of CISD3 at the atomic and in cellulo levels upon challenge with different stress conditions i.e., iron deficiency, exposure to hydrogen peroxide, and nitric oxide. The redox and cellular stability properties of the protein agree on a predominance of reduced form of CISD3 in the cells. Upon the addition of iron chelators, CISD3 loses its Fe-S clusters and becomes unstructured, and its cellular level drastically decreases. Chemical shift perturbation measurements suggest that, upon cluster oxidation, the protein undergoes a conformational change at the C-terminal CDGSH domain, which determines the instability of the oxidized state. This redox-associated conformational change may be the source of cooperative electron transfer via the two [Fe2S2] clusters in CISD3, which displays a single sharp voltammetric signal at −31 mV versus SHE. Oxidized CISD3 is particularly sensitive to the presence of hydrogen peroxide in vitro, whereas only the reduced form is able to bind nitric oxide. Paramagnetic NMR provides clear evidence that, upon NO binding, the cluster is disassembled but iron ions are still bound to the protein. Accordingly, in cellulo CISD3 is unaffected by oxidative stress induced by hydrogen peroxide but it becomes highly unstable in response to nitric oxide treatment.publishersversionpublishe