BACKGROUND Micronutrient deficiencies have been associated with significantly high reproductive risks, ranging from infertility to fetal structural defects and long-term diseases. In this review we ...focus on the reproductive risks related to some micronutrients during the periconceptional period, a critical step in determining fetal development and health due to the potential onset of several disorders. METHODS Embase Medline and PubMed databases, Google-indexed scientific literature and periodics from on-line University of Milan Bibliotecary Service were searched to identify relevant publications. In vivo human studies were mainly searched for, but when needed animal studies as well as in vitro and cell culture experiments were also considered. RESULTS Fertility, conception, implantation, fetal organogenesis and placentation are the critical stages potentially affected by nutrition during the periconceptional period. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) and total homocysteine (tHcy) plasma levels are factors involved in the respective mechanisms. The preconceptional period is particularly important since it affects both fertility and the early stages of gestation. Micronutrients' dietary intake and maternal status affect the different phases of the onset and development of pregnancy as well as of the conceptus. CONCLUSION Although human studies are scarce, and conclusive evidence is provided solely for periconceptional folate and prevention of neural tube defects (NTDs), the overall data indicate that micronutrients may affects fertility, embryogenesis and placentation, and the prophylactic use of some micronutrients may be useful in preventing several adverse pregnancy outcomes. Efforts to increase awareness of a healthy diet should be strengthened not only throughout pregnancy but also before. However, further researches in humans are necessary to optimise periconceptional micronutrient requirements.
Leishmaniasis encompass a group of infectious parasitic diseases occurring in 97 endemic countries where over one billion people live in areas at risk of infection. It is in the World Health ...Organization list of neglected diseases and it is considered a serious public health problem, with more than 20,000 deaths a year and high morbidity. Infection by protozoa from the genus Leishmania can cause several forms of the disease, which may vary from a self-healing ulcer to fatal visceral infection. Leishmania species, as well as host immune response and genetics can modulate the course of the disease. Leishmania sp are obligatory intracellular parasites that have macrophages as their main host cell. Depending on the activation phenotype, these cells may have distinct roles in disease development, acting in parasite control or proliferation. Therefore, the purpose of this work was to analyze Leishmania amazonensis infection in primary macrophage cells obtained from mice with two distinct genetic backgrounds, ie. different susceptibility to the infection; evaluating the cause for that difference. After infection, peritoneal macrophages from the resistant C3H/He strain presented lower parasite load when compared to susceptible BALB/c macrophages. The same was also true when cells received a Th2 stimulus after infection, but the difference was abrogated under Th1 stimulus. Nitric oxide production and arginase activity was different between the strains under Th1 or Th2 stimulus, respectively, but iNOS inhibition was unable to suppress C3H/He resistance. Hydrogen peroxide production was also higher in C3H/He than BALB/c under Th1 stimulus, but it could not account for differences in susceptibility. These results led us to conclude that, although they have an important role in parasite control, neither NO nor H2O2 production can explain C3H/He resistance to infection. Other studies are needed to uncover different mechanisms of resistance/susceptibility to L. amazonensis.
Karst hydrosystems represent one of the largest global drinking water resources, but they are extremely vulnerable to pollution. Climate change, high population density, intensive industrial, and ...agricultural activities are the principal causes of deterioration, both in terms of quality and quantity, of these resources. Samples from 172 natural karst springs were collected in the whole territory of Greece. To identify any geogenic contamination and/or anthropogenic pollution, analyses of their chemical compositions, in terms of major ions and trace elements, were performed and compared to the EU limits for drinking water. Based on chloride content, the collected karst springs were divided into two groups: low-chloride (< 100 mg L
) and high-chloride content (> 100 mg L
). An additional group of springs with calcium-sulfate composition was recognised. Nitrate concentrations were always below the EU limit (50 mg L
), although some springs presented elevated concentrations. High contents in terms of trace elements, such as B, Sr, As, and Pb, sometimes exceeding the limits, were rarely found. The Greek karst waters can still be considered a good quality resource both for human consumption and for agriculture. The main issues derive from seawater intrusion in the aquifers along the coasts. Moreover, the main anthropogenic pollutant is nitrate, found in higher concentrations mostly in the same coastal areas where human activities are concentrated. Finally, high levels of potentially harmful trace elements (e.g. As, Se) are very limited and of natural origin (geothermal activity, ore deposits, etc.).
•First study of volcanic particles characterization by using moss-bags.•Atmospheric deposition on Mt. Etna is dominated by volcanogenic and geogenic input.•A huge amount of silicates, sulfates and ...halides are continuously emitted from Etna.•The polygenic particles testify overgrowing processes that occur inside the plume.
Volcanic emissions were studied at Mount Etna (Italy) by using moss-bags technique. Mosses were exposed around the volcano at different distances from the active vents to evaluate the impact of volcanic emissions in the atmosphere. Morphology and mineralogy of volcanic particulate intercepted by mosses were investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) equipped with energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS). Particles emitted during passive degassing activity from the two active vents, Bocca Nuova and North East Crater (BNC and NEC), were identified as silicates, sulfates and halide compounds. In addition to volcanic particles, we found evidences also of geogenic, anthropogenic and marine spray input. The study has shown the robustness of this active biomonitoring technique to collect particles, very useful in active volcanic areas characterized by continuous degassing and often not easily accessible to apply conventional sampling techniques.
Tropical diseases caused by parasitic infections continue to cause socioeconomic distress worldwide. Among these, Chagas disease has become a great concern because of globalization. Caused by ...Trypanosoma cruzi, there is an increasing need to discover new, more effective methods to manage infections that minimize disease onset. Antimicrobial peptides represent a possible solution to this challenge. As effector molecules of the innate immune response against pathogens, they are the first line of defense found in all multi-cellular organisms. In amphibians, temporins are a large family of antimicrobial peptides found in skin secretions. Their functional roles and modes of action present unique properties that indicate possible candidates for therapeutic applications. Here, we investigated the trypanocide activity of temporizin and temporizin-1. Temporizin is an artificial, hybrid peptide containing the N-terminal region of temporin A, the pore-forming region of gramicidin and a C-terminus consisting of alternating leucine and lysine. Temporizin-1 is a modification of temporizin with a reduction in the region responsible for insertion into membranes. Their activities were evaluated in a cell permeabilization assay by flow cytometry, an LDH release assay, electron microscopy, an MTT assay and patch clamp experiments. Both temporizin and temporizin-1 demonstrated toxicity against T. cruzi with temporizin displaying slightly more potency. At concentrations up to 100 μg/ ml, both peptides exhibited low toxicity in J774 cells, a macrophage lineage cell line, and no toxicity was observed in mouse primary peritoneal macrophages. In contrast, the peptides showed some toxicity in rat adenoma GH3 cells and Jurkat human lymphoma cells with temporizin-1 displaying lower toxicity. In summary, a shortened form of the hybrid temporizin peptide, temporizin-1, was efficient at killing T. cruzi and it has low toxicity in wild-type mammalian cells. These data suggest that temporizin-1 might be a candidate for Chagas disease therapy.
Novel strategies for the prevention and treatment of sepsis-associated acute kidney injury and its long-term outcomes have been required and remain a challenge in critical care medicine. Therapeutic ...strategies using lipid mediators, such as aspirin-triggered resolvin D1 (ATRvD1), can contribute to the resolution of acute and chronic inflammation. In this study, we examined the potential effect of ATRvD1 on long-term kidney dysfunction after severe sepsis. Fifteen days after cecal ligation and puncture (CLP), sepsis-surviving BALB/c mice were subjected to a tubulointerstitial injury through intraperitoneal injections of bovine serum albumin (BSA) for 7 days, called the subclinical acute kidney injury (subAKI) animal model. ATRvD1 treatment was performed right before BSA injections. On day 22 after CLP, the urinary protein/creatinine ratio (UPC), histologic parameters, fibrosis, cellular infiltration, apoptosis, inflammatory markers levels, and mRNA expression were determined. ATRvD1 treatment mitigated tubulointerstitial injury by reducing proteinuria excretion, the UPC ratio, the glomerular cell number, and extracellular matrix deposition. Pro-fibrotic markers, such as transforming growth factor β (TGFβ), type 3 collagen, and metalloproteinase (MMP)-3 and -9 were reduced after ATRvD1 administration. Post-septic mice treated with ATRvD1 were protected from the recruitment of IBA1
cells. The interleukin-1β (IL-1β) levels were increased in the subAKI animal model, being attenuated by ATRvD1. Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), IL-10, and IL-4 mRNA expression were increased in the kidney of BSA-challenged post-septic mice, and it was also reduced after ATRvD1. These results suggest that ATRvD1 protects the kidney against a second insult such as BSA-induced tubulointerstitial injury and fibrosis by suppressing inflammatory and pro-fibrotic mediators in renal dysfunction after sepsis.
•First study of volcanic emissions by using moss-bags.•The concentration of trace metals in mosses increased significantly after exposure.•High levels of toxic trace elements were found in summit and ...downwind areas of Etna.•Tl was the most enriched element in exposed moss-bags with respect to the moss blank.•Enrichment factors highlighted the main volcanic and geogenic sources of particles.
Active biomonitoring using moss-bags was applied to an active volcanic environment for the first time. Bioaccumulation originating from atmospheric deposition was evaluated by exposing mixtures of washed and air-dried mosses (Sphagnum species) at 24 sites on Mt. Etna volcano (Italy). Concentrations of major and a large suite of trace elements were analysed by inductively coupled mass and optical spectrometry (ICP-MS and ICP-OES) after total acid digestion. Of the 49 elements analysed those which closely reflect summit volcanic emissions were S, Tl, Bi, Se, Cd, As, Cu, B, Na, Fe, Al. Enrichment factors and cluster analysis allowed clear distinction between volcanogenic, geogenic and anthropogenic inputs that affect the local atmospheric deposition. This study demonstrates that active biomonitoring with moss-bags is a suitable and robust technique for implementing inexpensive monitoring in scarcely accessible and harsh volcanic environments, giving time-averaged quantitative results of the local exposure to volcanic emissions. This task is especially important in the study area because the summit area of Mt. Etna is visited by nearly one hundred thousand tourists each year who are exposed to potentially harmful volcanic emissions.
Leishmaniasis is a group of neglected tropical diseases whose treatment with antimonials bears limitations and has changed little in over 80 years. Medicinal plants have been evaluated as a ...therapeutic alternative for leishmaniasis. Arrabidaea chica is popularly used as a wound healing and antiparasitic agent, especially as leishmanicidal agent. This study examined the leishmanicidal activity of a crude extract (ACCE), an anthocyanidin-rich fraction (ACAF), and three isolated anthocyanidins from A. chica: carajurin, 3′-hydroxy-carajurone, and carajurone. We evaluated the antileishmanial activity against promastigote and intracellular amastigote forms of Leishmania amazonensis and determined cytotoxicity in BALB/c peritoneal macrophages, as well as nitrite quantification, using the Griess method. Molecular docking was carried out to evaluate interactions of carajurin at the nitric oxide synthase enzyme. All compounds were active against promastigotes after 72 h, with IC50 values of 101.5 ± 0.06 μg/mL for ACCE and 4.976 ± 1.09 μg/mL for ACAF. Anthocyanidins carajurin, 3′-hydroxy-carajurone, and carajurone had IC50 values of 3.66 ± 1.16, 22.70 ± 1.20, and 28.28 ± 0.07 μg/mL, respectively. The cytotoxicity assay after 72 h showed results ranging from 9.640 to 66.74 µg/mL for anthocyanidins. ACAF and carajurin showed selectivity against intracellular amastigote forms (SI> 10), with low cytotoxicity within 24 h, a statistically significant reduction in all infection parameters, and induced nitrite production. Molecular docking studies were developed to understand a possible mechanism of activation of the nitric oxide synthase enzyme, which leads to an increase in the production of nitric oxide observed in the other experiments reported. These results encourage us to suggest carajurin as a biological marker of A. chica.
Display omitted
•Carajurin is the major anthocyanidin compound of A. chica.•Anthocyanidins are active against promastigote forms of L. amazonensis.•Carajurin is active against intracellular amastigote forms of L. amazonensis.•Carajurin increases nitrite levels in unstimulated or stimulated cells.•Carajurin interacts at the activation site of nitrous oxide synthase.
This study reports on the first quantitative assessment of the geochemical cycling of volcanogenic elements, from their atmospheric release to their deposition back to the ground. Etna’s emissions ...and atmospheric depositions were characterised for more than 2
years, providing data on major and trace element abundance in both volcanic aerosols and bulk depositions. Volcanic aerosols were collected from 2004 to 2007, at the summit vents by conventional filtration techniques. Precipitation was collected, from 2006 to 2007, in five rain gauges, at various altitudes around the summit craters. Analytical results for volcanic aerosols showed that the dominant anions were S, Cl, and F, and that the most abundant metals were K, Ca, Mg, Al, Fe, and Ti (1.5–50
μg
m
−3). Minor and trace element concentrations ranged from about 0.001 to 1
μg
m
−3. From such analysis, we derived an aerosol mass flux ranging from 3000 to 8000
t
a
−1. Most analysed elements had higher concentrations close to the emission vent, confirming the prevailing volcanic contribution to bulk deposition. Calculated deposition rates were integrated over the whole Etna area, to provide a first estimate of the total deposition fluxes for several major and trace elements. These calculated deposition fluxes ranged from 20 to 80
t
a
−1 (Al, Fe, Si) to 0.01–0.1
t
a
−1 (Bi, Cs, Sc, Th, Tl, and U). Comparison between volcanic emissions and atmospheric deposition showed that the amount of trace elements scavenged from the plume in the surrounding of the volcano ranged from 0.1% to 1% for volatile elements such as As, Bi, Cd, Cs, Cu, Tl, and from 1% to 5% for refractory elements such as Al, Ba, Co, Fe, Ti, Th, U, and V. Consequently, more than 90% of volcanogenic trace elements were dispersed further away, and may cause a regional scale impact. Such a large difference between deposition and emission fluxes at Mt. Etna pointed to relatively high stability and long residence time of aerosols in the plume.
PDF
