Nutrition and Rheumatoid Arthritis in the ‘Omics’ Era

Modern high-throughput ‘omics’ science tools (including genomics, transcriptomics, pro teomics, metabolomics and microbiomics) are currently being applied to nutritional sciences to unravel the fundamental processes of health effects ascribed to particular nutrients in humans and to contribute to more precise nutritional advice. Diet and food components are key environmental factors that interact with the genome, transcriptome, proteome, metabolome and the microbiota, and this life-long interplay defines health and diseases state of the individual. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease featured by a systemic immune-inflammatory response, in genetically susceptible individuals exposed to environmental triggers, including diet. In recent years increasing evidences suggested that nutritional factors and gut microbiome have a central role in RA risk and progression. The aim of this review is to summarize the main and most recent applications of ‘omics’ technologies in human nutrition and in RA research, examining the possible influences of some nutrients and nutritional patterns on RA pathogenesis, following a nutrigenomics approach. The opportunities and challenges of novel ‘omics technologies’ in the exploration of new avenues in RA and nutritional research to prevent and manage RA will be also discussed

Identification of two new small ncRNAs, 3' and 5' Glu-tRNA-derived fragments: their possible role as biomarkers for breast cancer\ud PhD

Over the last decades, small non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), ~13-40 nucleotides long, have been discovered. Many classes of this kind of molecules have been described: microRNAs (miRNAs), small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) and piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) are the most studied. However, new kinds of small ncRNAs are progressively being discovered, like tRNA-derived fragments, which have now been recognized to be the major RNA species in human cells. For a long time, small ncRNAs were considered as by-products from random degradation; nonetheless, there are increasing evidences that they are functional molecules with precise sequence structure, specific expression patterns and critical roles in gene regulation.\ud Dysregulation of genes involved in cell proliferation, differentiation and/or apoptosis is associated with tumorigenic processes. Such as gene regulators, a wide variety of small ncRNAs have been demonstrated to be involved in tumor initiation and progression controlling and modulating cancer-related gene expression. Interestingly, besides cellular small ncRNAs, they have been also discovered in body fluids as stable circulating small ncRNAs carried within extracellular microvesicles (exosomes) or associated with Ago proteins. Numerous of them have been studied as promising non-invasive biomarkers for several kinds of diseases like cancer. Currently, breast cancer is the most common cancer and leading cause of cancer death among women worldwide. The HER2+ -breast cancer subtype has been described as one with the most aggressive phenotype. Albeit new therapies have been developed, more efforts to improve diagnosis, treatment and prognosis are needed.\ud Here, we report the identification of two new circulating tRNA-derived fragments, 3’Glu-tRF-M and 5’Glu-tRF-M. Cloning experiments and in silico analyses suggest that they are processed by Dicer enzyme from mature Glutamic tRNA. We assessed their expression in different healthy and HER2+ -breast cancer samples from mice and humans by semi-quantitative PCR, Northern Blot and quantitative real-time PCR. Moreover cytoplasmatic location of both, 3’Glu-tRF-M and 5’Glu-tRF-M, was proved by an immunofluorescence assay. A significative decrease of 3’Glu-tRF-M expression was observed in both, mice and human individuals with HER2+ -breast cancer.\ud We conclude hypothesizing that the neoplasia could regulate, directly or indirectly, 3’Glu-tRF-M expression, leading to its decrease. Since this variation seems to depend on tumor development status, outcome that will be confirmed in further studies, 3’Glu-tRF-M could be considered a future non-invasive biomarker for HER2+ -breast cancer

Links between nutrition, infectious diseases, and microbiota: emerging technologies and opportunities for human-focused research

The interaction between nutrition and human infectious diseases has always been recognized. With the emergence of molecular tools and post-genomics, high-resolution sequencing technologies, the gut microbiota has been emerging as a key moderator in the complex interplay between nutrients, human body, and infections. Much of the host–microbial and nutrition research is currently based on animals or simplistic in vitro models. Although traditional in vivo and in vitro models have helped to develop mechanistic hypotheses and assess the causality of the host–microbiota interactions, they often fail to faithfully recapitulate the complexity of the human nutrient–microbiome axis in gastrointestinal homeostasis and infections. Over the last decade, remarkable progress in tissue engineering, stem cell biology, microfluidics, sequencing technologies, and computing power has taken place, which has produced a new generation of human-focused, relevant, and predictive tools. These tools, which include patient-derived organoids, organs-on-a-chip, computational analyses, and models, together with multi-omics readouts, represent novel and exciting equipment to advance the research into microbiota, infectious diseases, and nutrition from a human-biology-based perspective. After considering some limitations of the conventional in vivo and in vitro approaches, in this review, we present the main novel available and emerging tools that are suitable for designing human-oriented research

Potential health benefit of garlic based on human intervention studies: a brief Overview

Garlic is a polyphenolic and organosulfur enriched nutraceutical spice consumed since ancient times. Garlic and its secondary metabolites have shown excellent health-promoting and disease-preventing effects on many human common diseases, such as cancer, cardiovascular and metabolic disorders, blood pressure, and diabetes, through its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and lipid-lowering properties, as demonstrated in several in vitro, in vivo, and clinical studies. The present review aims to provide a comprehensive overview on the consumption of garlic, garlic preparation, garlic extract, and garlic extract-derived bioactive constituents on oxidative stress, inflammation, cancer, cardiovascular and metabolic disorders, skin, bone, and other common diseases. Among the 83 human interventional trials considered, the consumption of garlic has been reported to modulate multiple biomarkers of different diseases; in addition, its combination with drugs or other food matrices has been shown to be safe and to prolong their therapeutic effects. The rapid metabolism and poor bioavailability that have limited the therapeutic use of garlic in the last years are also discussed

A 50 Hz magnetic field influences the viability of breast cancer cells 96 h after exposure

The exposure of breast cancer to extremely low frequency magnetic fields (ELF-MFs) results in various biological responses. Some studies have suggested a possible cancer-enhancing effect, while others showed a possible therapeutic role. This study investigated the effects of in vitro exposure to 50 Hz ELF-MF for up to 24 h on the viability and cellular response of MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 breast cancer cell lines and MCF-10A breast cell line

Nutrition and rheumatoid arthritis in the ‘Omics’ era

Modern high-throughput ‘omics’ science tools (including genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics and microbiomics) are currently being applied to nutritional sciences to unravel the fundamental processes of health effects ascribed to particular nutrients in humans and to contribute to more precise nutritional advice. Diet and food components are key environmental factors that interact with the genome, transcriptome, proteome, metabolome and the microbiota, and this life-long interplay defines health and diseases state of the individual. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease featured by a systemic immune-inflammatory response, in genetically susceptible individuals exposed to environmental triggers, including diet. In recent years increasing evidences suggested that nutritional factors and gut microbiome have a central role in RA risk and progression. The aim of this review is to summarize the main and most recent applications of ‘omics’ technologies in human nutrition and in RA research, examining the possible influences of some nutrients and nutritional patterns on RA pathogenesis, following a nutrigenomics approach. The opportunities and challenges of novel ‘omics technologies’ in the exploration of new avenues in RA and nutritional research to prevent and manage RA will be also discussed

The strategic alliance between clinical and molecular science in the war against SARS-CoV-2, with the rapid-diagnostics test as an indispensable weapon for front line doctors

Our work concerns the actual problem of spread of SARS- CoV-2 outbreak which requires fast and correct as possible answer. In current scenario, the need of rapid answer put away the imperative of proper methodology. We focus on the serogical immunoassay for diagnosis of Covid-19 as an important weapon not only for diagnostic purpose, but also for epidemiologic one. The right equilibrium between high speed, low cost and accuracy is obtained with easy-to-use decentralized point-of-care test as the colloidal gold-based immunochromatographic strip assay which detects IgM and IgG antibodies directed against SARS-CoV-2. As our aim is to evaluate the efficacy of Covid-19 rapid tests and of serological assays in real-life settings, we designed a research protocol aimed to establish how to use correctly these diagnostics, taking into account the different possible clinical and epidemiological scenarios

Irreversible inhibition of Δ16HER2 is necessary to suppress Δ16HER2-positive breast carcinomas resistant to Lapatinib

HER2 tyrosine kinase receptor is a validated target in breast cancer therapy. However, increasing evidence points to a major role of Δ16HER2 splice variant commonly coexpressed with HER2 and identified as a clinically important HER2 molecular alteration promoting aggressive metastatic breast cancer. Consistently, mice transgenic for the human Δ16HER2 isoform (Δ16HER2 mice) develop invasive mammary carcinomas with early onset and 100% penetrance. The present study provides preclinical evidence that Δ16HER2 expression confers de novo resistance to standard anti-HER2-therapies such as Lapatinib and acquired resistance to the selective Src inhibitor Saracatinib in breast cancer. Of note, Dacomitinib, an irreversible small molecule pan-HER inhibitor, was able to completely suppress Δ16HER2-driven breast carcinogenesis. Thus, only Dacomitinib may offer benefit in this molecularly defined patient subset by irreversibly inhibiting Δ16HER2 activation