Leishmania spp.-Infected Dogs Have Circulating Anti-Skeletal Muscle Autoantibodies Recognizing SERCA1

Unraveling the impact of different liposomal formulations on the plasma protein corona composition might give hints on the targeting capability of nanoparticles

Nanoparticles (NPs) interact with biological fluids after being injected into the bloodstream. The interactions between NPs and plasma proteins at the nano-bio interface affect their biopharmaceutical properties and distribution in the organ and tissues due to protein corona (PrC) composition, and in turn, modification of the resulting targeting capability. Moreover, lipid and polymer NPs, at their interface, affect the composition of PrC and the relative adsorption and abundance of specific proteins. To investigate this latter aspect, we synthesized and characterized different liposomal formulations (LFs) with lipids and polymer-conjugated lipids at different molar ratios, having different sizes, size distributions and surface charges. The PrC composition of various designed LFs was evaluated ex vivo in human plasma by label-free quantitative proteomics. We also correlated the relative abundance of identified specific proteins in the coronas of the different LFs with their physicochemical properties (size, PDI, zeta potential). The evaluation of outputs from different bioinformatic tools discovered protein clusters allowing to highlight: (i) common as well as the unique species for the various formulations; (ii) correlation between each identified PrC and the physicochemical properties of LFs; (iii) some preferential binding determined by physicochemical properties of LFs; (iv) occurrence of formulation-specific protein patterns in PrC. Investigating specific clusters in PrC will help decode the multivalent roles of the protein pattern components in the drug delivery process, taking advantage of the bio-nanoscale recognition and identification for significant advances in nanomedicine.

Identification of vacuolar autophagic aggregates in the skeletal muscles of inbred C57BL/6NCrl mice

A comprehensive pathological analysis of inbred strains is essential to define strain-specific spontaneous lesions and to understand whether a specific phenotype results from experimental intervention or reflects a naturally occurring disease. This study aimed to report and describe a novel condition affecting the skeletal muscles of an inbred C57BL/6NCrl mouse colony characterised by large sarcoplasmic vacuoles in the muscle fibres of male mice in the subsarcolemmal spaces and the intermyofibrillary network. There was no muscle weakness, loss of ambulation or cardiac/respiratory involvement. Post-mortem evaluation and histological analysis excluded the presence of pathological accumulations or lesions in other tissues and organs. Changes were seen in fibre size, with many hypotrophic and some slightly hypertrophic fibres. Histological, immunohistochemical and molecular analyses of the vacuolar content revealed dysregulation of the autophagy machinery while ruling out a morphologically similar condition marked by the accumulation of tubular aggregates.