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Podivilov EV, Mangini F, Sidelnikov OS, Ferraro M, Gervaziev M, Kharenko DS, Zitelli M, Fedoruk MP, Babin SA, Wabnitz S. Thermalization of Orbital Angular Momentum Beams in Multimode Optical Fibers. Phys Rev Lett 2022; 128:243901. [PMID: 35776459 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.128.243901] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2021] [Revised: 04/20/2022] [Accepted: 05/31/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
We report on the thermalization of light carrying orbital angular momentum in multimode optical fibers, induced by nonlinear intermodal interactions. A generalized Rayleigh-Jeans distribution of asymptotic mode composition is obtained, based on the conservation of the angular momentum. We confirm our predictions by numerical simulations and experiments based on holographic mode decomposition of multimode beams. Our work establishes new constraints for the achievement of spatial beam self-cleaning, giving previously unforeseen insights into the underlying physical mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- E V Podivilov
- Novosibirsk State University, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia
- Institute of Automation and Electrometry SB RAS, 1 academician Koptyug avenue, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia
| | - F Mangini
- Department of Information Engineering, University of Brescia, Via Branze 38, 25123 Brescia, Italy
- Department of Information Engineering, Electronics, and Telecommunications, Sapienza University of Rome, Via Eudossiana 18, 00184 Rome, Italy
| | - O S Sidelnikov
- Novosibirsk State University, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia
| | - M Ferraro
- Department of Information Engineering, Electronics, and Telecommunications, Sapienza University of Rome, Via Eudossiana 18, 00184 Rome, Italy
| | - M Gervaziev
- Novosibirsk State University, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia
| | - D S Kharenko
- Novosibirsk State University, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia
- Institute of Automation and Electrometry SB RAS, 1 academician Koptyug avenue, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia
| | - M Zitelli
- Department of Information Engineering, Electronics, and Telecommunications, Sapienza University of Rome, Via Eudossiana 18, 00184 Rome, Italy
| | - M P Fedoruk
- Novosibirsk State University, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia
| | - S A Babin
- Novosibirsk State University, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia
- Institute of Automation and Electrometry SB RAS, 1 academician Koptyug avenue, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia
| | - S Wabnitz
- Novosibirsk State University, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia
- Department of Information Engineering, Electronics, and Telecommunications, Sapienza University of Rome, Via Eudossiana 18, 00184 Rome, Italy
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2
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Wehbi S, Mansuryan T, Krupa K, Fabert M, Tonello A, Zitelli M, Ferraro M, Mangini F, Sun Y, Vergnole S, Kano H, Wabnitz S, Couderc V. Continuous spatial self-cleaning in GRIN multimode fiber for self-referenced multiplex CARS imaging. Opt Express 2022; 30:16104-16114. [PMID: 36221462 DOI: 10.1364/oe.452384] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2021] [Accepted: 02/28/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
We demonstrate how spatial beam self-cleaning and supercontinuum generation in graded-index multimode optical fibers can be directly applied in multiplex coherent anti-Stokes Raman Scattering (M-CARS) spectroscopy. Although supercontinuum generation causes pump depletion mainly in the center of the beam, the partial recovery of the pump brightness due to self-cleaning may enable self-referenced M-CARS, with no additional delay lines to synchronize pump and Stokes waves. As a proof-of-principle, we report examples of imaging of single chemical compounds and polystyrene beads. The new scheme paves the way towards simpler M-CARS systems based on multimode fiber sources.
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3
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Mangini F, Ferraro M, Zitelli M, Niang A, Mansuryan T, Tonello A, Couderc V, De Luca A, Babin SA, Frezza F, Wabnitz S. Helical plasma filaments from the self-channeling of intense femtosecond laser pulses in optical fibers: publisher's note. Opt Lett 2022; 47:1919. [PMID: 35363769 DOI: 10.1364/ol.457220] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
This publisher's note contains a correction to Opt. Lett.47, 1 (2022)10.1364/OL.445321.
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4
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Mangini F, Gervaziev M, Ferraro M, Kharenko DS, Zitelli M, Sun Y, Couderc V, Podivilov EV, Babin SA, Wabnitz S. Statistical mechanics of beam self-cleaning in GRIN multimode optical fibers. Opt Express 2022; 30:10850-10865. [PMID: 35473042 DOI: 10.1364/oe.449187] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2021] [Accepted: 02/14/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Since its first demonstration in graded-index multimode fibers, spatial beam self-cleaning has attracted a growing research interest. It allows for the propagation of beams with a bell-shaped spatial profile, thus enabling the use of multimode fibers for several applications, from biomedical imaging to high-power beam delivery. So far, beam self-cleaning has been experimentally studied under several different experimental conditions. Whereas it has been theoretically described as the irreversible energy transfer from high-order modes towards the fundamental mode, in analogy with a beam condensation mechanism. Here, we provide a comprehensive theoretical description of beam self-cleaning, by means of a semi-classical statistical mechanics model of wave thermalization. This approach is confirmed by an extensive experimental characterization, based on a holographic mode decomposition technique, employing laser pulses with temporal durations ranging from femtoseconds up to nanoseconds. An excellent agreement between theory and experiments is found, which demonstrates that beam self-cleaning can be fully described in terms of the basic conservation laws of statistical mechanics.
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Mangini F, Ferraro M, Zitelli M, Niang A, Mansuryan T, Tonello A, Couderc V, De Luca A, Babin SA, Frezza F, Wabnitz S. Helical plasma filaments from the self-channeling of intense femtosecond laser pulses in optical fibers. Opt Lett 2022; 47:1-4. [PMID: 34951867 DOI: 10.1364/ol.445321] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2021] [Accepted: 11/23/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
We experimentally and numerically study the ignition of helical-shaped plasma filaments in standard optical fibers. Femtosecond pulses with megawatt peak power with proper off-axis and tilted coupling in the fiber core produce plasma skew rays. These last for distances as long as 1000 wavelengths thanks to a combination of linear waveguiding and the self-channeling effect. Peculiar is the case of graded-index multimode fibers; here the spatial self-imaging places constraints on the helix pitch. These results may find applications for fabricating fibers with helical-shaped core micro-structuration as well as for designing laser components and three-dimensional optical memories.
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6
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Triveri A, Sanchez-Martin C, Torielli L, Serapian SA, Marchetti F, D'Acerno G, Pirota V, Castelli M, Moroni E, Ferraro M, Quadrelli P, Rasola A, Colombo G. Protein allostery and ligand design: Computational design meets experiments to discover novel chemical probes. J Mol Biol 2022; 434:167468. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2022.167468] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2021] [Revised: 01/18/2022] [Accepted: 01/21/2022] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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Angelini L, Barbero S, Gola G, Boccuzzi F, Audino P, Tiranti D, Ferraro M, Di Stasio A, Cavallone B, Galica V, Serao A. Percutaneous renal biopsies: comparison between sirio augmented reality ct navigation system and standard CT-guided technique. EUR UROL SUPPL 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/s2666-1683(21)01007-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022] Open
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8
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Serapian SA, Moroni E, Ferraro M, Colombo G. Atomistic Simulations of the Mechanisms of the Poorly Catalytic Mitochondrial Chaperone Trap1: Insights into the Effects of Structural Asymmetry on Reactivity. ACS Catal 2021. [DOI: 10.1021/acscatal.1c00692] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Stefano A. Serapian
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pavia, Via Torquato Taramelli 12, 27100 Pavia, Italy
| | - Elisabetta Moroni
- ″Giulio Natta” Institute of Chemical and Technological Sciences (SCITEC), Via Mario Bianco 9, 20131 Milan, Italy
| | - Mariarosaria Ferraro
- ″Giulio Natta” Institute of Chemical and Technological Sciences (SCITEC), Via Mario Bianco 9, 20131 Milan, Italy
| | - Giorgio Colombo
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pavia, Via Torquato Taramelli 12, 27100 Pavia, Italy
- ″Giulio Natta” Institute of Chemical and Technological Sciences (SCITEC), Via Mario Bianco 9, 20131 Milan, Italy
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Mangini F, Ferraro M, Zitelli M, Niang A, Tonello A, Couderc V, Sidelnikov O, Frezza F, Wabnitz S. Experimental observation of self-imaging in SMF-28 optical fibers. Opt Express 2021; 29:12625-12633. [PMID: 33985016 DOI: 10.1364/oe.419472] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2021] [Accepted: 02/23/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Spatial self-imaging, consisting of the periodic replication of the optical transverse beam profile along the propagation direction, can be achieved in guided wave systems when all excited modes interfere in phase. We exploited material defects photoluminescence for directly visualizing self-imaging in a few-mode, nominal singlemode SMF-28 optical fiber. Visible luminescence was excited by intense femtosecond infrared pulses via multiphoton absorption processes. Our method permits us to determine the mode propagation constants and the cutoff wavelength of transverse fiber modes.
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10
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Sanchez-Martin C, Menon D, Moroni E, Ferraro M, Masgras I, Elsey J, Arbiser JL, Colombo G, Rasola A. Honokiol Bis-Dichloroacetate Is a Selective Allosteric Inhibitor of the Mitochondrial Chaperone TRAP1. Antioxid Redox Signal 2021; 34:505-516. [PMID: 32438819 PMCID: PMC8020504 DOI: 10.1089/ars.2019.7972] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Aims: TNF receptor-associated protein 1 (TRAP1), the mitochondrial paralog of the heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) family of molecular chaperones, is required for neoplastic growth in several tumor cell models, where it inhibits succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) activity, thus favoring bioenergetic rewiring, maintenance of redox homeostasis, and orchestration of a hypoxia-inducible factor 1-alpha (HIF1α)-mediated pseudohypoxic program. Development of selective TRAP1 inhibitors is instrumental for targeted development of antineoplastic drugs, but it has been hampered up to now by the high degree of homology among catalytic pockets of Hsp90 family members. The vegetal derivative honokiol and its lipophilic bis-dichloroacetate ester, honokiol DCA (HDCA), are small-molecule compounds with antineoplastic activity. HDCA leads to oxidative stress and apoptosis in in vivo tumor models and displays an action that is functionally opposed to that of TRAP1, as it induces both SDH and the mitochondrial deacetylase sirtuin-3 (SIRT3), which further enhances SDH activity. We investigated whether HDCA could interact with TRAP1, inhibiting its chaperone function, and the effects of HDCA on tumor cells harboring TRAP1. Results: An allosteric binding site in TRAP1 is able to host HDCA, which inhibits TRAP1 but not Hsp90 ATPase activity. In neoplastic cells, HDCA reverts TRAP1-dependent downregulation of SDH, decreases proliferation rate, increases mitochondrial superoxide levels, and abolishes tumorigenic growth. Innovation: HDCA is a potential lead compound for the generation of antineoplastic approaches based on the allosteric inhibition of TRAP1 chaperone activity. Conclusions: We have identified a selective TRAP1 inhibitor that can be used to better dissect TRAP1 biochemical functions and to tailor novel tumor-targeting strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Daniela Menon
- Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche, Università di Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Elisabetta Moroni
- Istituto di Chimica del Riconoscimento Molecolare, CNR, Milano, Italy
| | | | - Ionica Masgras
- Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche, Università di Padova, Padova, Italy.,Istituto di Neuroscienze, CNR, Padova, Italy
| | - Justin Elsey
- Atlanta Veterans Administration Medical Center, Decatur, Georgia, USA.,Department of Dermatology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Jack L Arbiser
- Atlanta Veterans Administration Medical Center, Decatur, Georgia, USA.,Department of Dermatology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Giorgio Colombo
- Istituto di Chimica del Riconoscimento Molecolare, CNR, Milano, Italy.,Dipartimento di Chimica, Università di Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - Andrea Rasola
- Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche, Università di Padova, Padova, Italy
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11
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Leventoux Y, Granger G, Krupa K, Tonello A, Millot G, Ferraro M, Mangini F, Zitelli M, Wabnitz S, Février S, Couderc V. 3D time-domain beam mapping for studying nonlinear dynamics in multimode optical fibers. Opt Lett 2021; 46:66-69. [PMID: 33362017 DOI: 10.1364/ol.411868] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2020] [Accepted: 11/25/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Characterization of the complex spatiotemporal dynamics of optical beam propagation in nonlinear multimode fibers requires the development of advanced measurement methods, capable of capturing the real-time evolution of beam images. We present a new space-time mapping technique, permitting the direct detection, with picosecond temporal resolution, of the intensity from repetitive laser pulses over a grid of spatial samples from a magnified image of the output beam. By using this time-resolved mapping, we provide, to the best of our knowledge, the first unambiguous experimental observation of instantaneous intrapulse nonlinear coupling processes among the modes of a graded index fiber.
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12
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Ferraro M, Moroni E, Ippoliti E, Rinaldi S, Sanchez-Martin C, Rasola A, Pavarino LF, Colombo G. Machine Learning of Allosteric Effects: The Analysis of Ligand-Induced Dynamics to Predict Functional Effects in TRAP1. J Phys Chem B 2020; 125:101-114. [PMID: 33369425 PMCID: PMC8016192 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.0c09742] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
![]()
Allosteric
molecules provide a powerful means to modulate protein
function. However, the effect of such ligands on distal orthosteric
sites cannot be easily described by classical docking methods. Here,
we applied machine learning (ML) approaches to expose the links between
local dynamic patterns and different degrees of allosteric inhibition
of the ATPase function in the molecular chaperone TRAP1. We focused
on 11 novel allosteric modulators with similar affinities to the target
but with inhibitory efficacy between the 26.3 and 76%. Using a set
of experimentally related local descriptors, ML enabled us to connect
the molecular dynamics (MD) accessible to ligand-bound (perturbed)
and unbound (unperturbed) systems to the degree of ATPase allosteric
inhibition. The ML analysis of the comparative perturbed ensembles
revealed a redistribution of dynamic states in the inhibitor-bound
versus inhibitor-free systems following allosteric binding. Linear
regression models were built to quantify the percentage of experimental
variance explained by the predicted inhibitor-bound TRAP1 states.
Our strategy provides a comparative MD–ML framework to infer
allosteric ligand functionality. Alleviating the time scale issues
which prevent the routine use of MD, a combination of MD and ML represents
a promising strategy to support in silico mechanistic
studies and drug design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariarosaria Ferraro
- Istituto di Scienze e Tecnologie Chimiche "Giulio Natta"- SCITEC, Via Mario Bianco 9, 20131 Milano, Italy
| | - Elisabetta Moroni
- Istituto di Scienze e Tecnologie Chimiche "Giulio Natta"- SCITEC, Via Mario Bianco 9, 20131 Milano, Italy
| | - Emiliano Ippoliti
- Institute for Advanced Simulation (IAS-5) and Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-9), Computational Biomedicine, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany.,JARA-HPC, Forschungszentrum Jülich, D-54245 Jülich, Germany
| | - Silvia Rinaldi
- Istituto di Scienze e Tecnologie Chimiche "Giulio Natta"- SCITEC, Via Mario Bianco 9, 20131 Milano, Italy
| | - Carlos Sanchez-Martin
- Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche, Università di Padova, viale G. Colombo 3, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Andrea Rasola
- Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche, Università di Padova, viale G. Colombo 3, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Luca F Pavarino
- Dipartimento di Matematica "F. Casorati", Università di Pavia, Via Ferrata 5, 27100 Pavia Italy
| | - Giorgio Colombo
- Istituto di Scienze e Tecnologie Chimiche "Giulio Natta"- SCITEC, Via Mario Bianco 9, 20131 Milano, Italy.,Dipartimento di Chimica, Università di Pavia, via Taramelli 12, 27100 Pavia, Italy
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Ferraro M, Luceri F, Peroni D, Misaggi B, Peretti GM. Posterior dynamic neutralization and hybrid stabilization in degenerative spine diseases: long-term clinical and radiological outcomes. J BIOL REG HOMEOS AG 2020; 34:91-97. Congress of the Italian Orthopaedic Research Society. [PMID: 33261261] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Dynamic spinal stabilization aims to reduce some of the problems inherent with traditional fusion. The aim of our study is to analyse clinical and radiological outcomes and to identify the causes of clinical failure in patients who underwent posterior dynamic neutralization or posterior hybrid stabilization because of degenerative lumbar spine diseases. We retrospectively analysed 80 patients at 7.1 years mean follow-up (Range: 5.1 - 8.3 years): 50 were treated with Dynamic Stabilization System (Dynesys) (mean age 47 years old) and 30 with Dynamic Transition Option (mean age 48 years old). We performed clinical pre-and post-operative evaluation using Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), Oswestry Low Back Pain Scale (ODI) and X-rays study. Results: we reported an important reduction of VAS from 7 to 2 (p<.001) and minimal disability in 65% of the patients, moderate disability in 18.2%, severe disability in 12.5% and crippling back pain in 4.3%. X-ray analysis showed a significative decrease of 3.5° with respect to the preoperative values, exactly 2° in neutral position postop, 1.2° in flexion postop and 2.5° in extension postop. Data showed greater reduction of extension than flexion in postoperative period. Dynamic neutralization limits more the extension than flexion. The correct preoperative planning, the careful selection of patients and the meticulous surgical technique are mandatory to avoid clinical failures. It is very important to identify the correct screw positioning and to avoid excessive pre-tensioning of the implant. Posterior dynamic neutralization and hybrid stabilization are valid alternative to spinal fusion in degenerative spine disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Ferraro
- U.O.C. Patologie Vertebrali e Scoliosi, Orthopaedic Institute "G. Pini", Milan, Italy
| | - F Luceri
- Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - D Peroni
- U.O.C. Patologie Vertebrali e Scoliosi, Orthopaedic Institute "G. Pini", Milan, Italy
| | - B Misaggi
- U.O.C. Patologie Vertebrali e Scoliosi, Orthopaedic Institute "G. Pini", Milan, Italy
| | - G M Peretti
- IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico Galeazzi, Milan, Milan, Italy
- Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
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14
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Di Sano C, D'Anna C, Ferraro M, Chiappara G, Sangiorgi C, Di Vincenzo S, Bertani A, Vitulo P, Bruno A, Dino P, Pace E. Impaired activation of Notch-1 signaling hinders repair processes of bronchial epithelial cells exposed to cigarette smoke. Toxicol Lett 2020; 326:61-69. [DOI: 10.1016/j.toxlet.2020.03.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2020] [Revised: 03/05/2020] [Accepted: 03/09/2020] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
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Ferraro M, Morucci L, Coppeta L, De Carolis G, Pietroiusti A, Franco E, Magrini A. Managing the risk of bacterial meningitis among healthcare workers. Occup Med (Lond) 2020; 69:113-117. [PMID: 30496490 DOI: 10.1093/occmed/kqy144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Meningococcal disease is generally caused by A, B, C, W and Y subgroups of Neisseria meningitidis. In 2015, the Italian mass media focused on this disease due to the death of two nurses. This generated alarm in the general population, especially in healthcare workers (HCWs). The Occupational Medicine department of the Foundation PTV Polyclinic Tor Vergata (PTV) offered free MenACWY vaccine to HCWs and to students of the University of Rome Tor Vergata. AIMS To analyse the prevalence of N. meningitidis in PTV, a large teaching hospital, and to evaluate preventive measures offered to individuals at risk (i.e. HCWs and students). METHODS The Hospital Informatic Service provided data about patients admitted to PTV from January 2012 to December 2016. Hospital Discharge Registers were analysed and all cases of meningitis were selected. MenACWY vaccine administered to HCWs and students of PTV in 2017 was analysed. RESULTS There was just one case of meningococcal disease in 2016. Of the 117 MenACWY vaccines administered, 42% were given to students, 32% to doctors, 8% to nurses, 2% to clerks and 16% to other healthcare professionals. CONCLUSIONS International guidelines recommend MenACWY vaccine for microbiologists exposed to N. meningitidis isolates. The Italian Legislative Decree 81/2008, however, states that occupational physicians can adopt special protective measures such as vaccination programmes for HCWs. The response rate highlights how perceived risk may influence behaviour even in populations with a higher background knowledge than the general population.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Ferraro
- School of Hygiene and Preventive Medicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
| | - L Morucci
- School of Hygiene and Preventive Medicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
| | - L Coppeta
- Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
| | - G De Carolis
- Health Management, Foundation PTV Polyclinic Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
| | - A Pietroiusti
- Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
| | - E Franco
- Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
| | - A Magrini
- Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
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Abstract
BACKGROUND Healthcare workers (HCWs) have an increased exposure risk to measles, which can put them, their patients and their relatives at risk of infection. In Italy, 4617 cases of measles were reported in 2017; 302 involving HCWs. According to the Italian National Immunization and Prevention Plan, all HCWs should have demonstrable evidence of immunity to measles. AIMS To evaluate measles immunization status in HCWs at a large Italian teaching hospital. METHODS We analysed clinical records and measles-specific IgG antibody titres of HCWs undergoing occupational health surveillance between 1 January and 31 August 2017. RESULTS Among the 1532 HCWs (mean age 32.7 ± 10.4 years) included in the study, 87% (1328) had protective antibody titres. The proportion of protective titres was highest in those born before 1982. No significant gender differences in mean measles-specific IgG antibody titres were detected. CONCLUSIONS Our study shows non-protective measles IgG antibody titres in a substantial percentage of HCWs, especially those born in the 1980s and 1990s. Due to the increased risk of measles transmission in the hospital environment, increased prevention strategies are required, including rigorous screening and prompt vaccination of non-immune workers.
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Affiliation(s)
- L Coppeta
- Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
| | - A Pietroiusti
- Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
| | - P Lieto
- School of Occupational Medicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
| | - M Ferraro
- School of Hygiene and Preventive Medicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
| | - S Grelli
- Department of Chemical Analytical Laboratory, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
| | - M Stillo
- Department of Public Health of Faenza, Ausl Romagna, Faenza, Italy
| | - A Magrini
- Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
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17
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Sanchez-Martin C, Moroni E, Ferraro M, Laquatra C, Cannino G, Masgras I, Negro A, Quadrelli P, Rasola A, Colombo G. Rational Design of Allosteric and Selective Inhibitors of the Molecular Chaperone TRAP1. Cell Rep 2020; 31:107531. [DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2020.107531] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2019] [Revised: 02/28/2020] [Accepted: 03/27/2020] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
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18
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Hu S, Ferraro M, Thomas AP, Chung JM, Yoon NG, Seol JH, Kim S, Kim HU, An MY, Ok H, Jung HS, Ryu JH, Colombo G, Kang BH. Dual Binding to Orthosteric and Allosteric Sites Enhances the Anticancer Activity of a TRAP1-Targeting Drug. J Med Chem 2020; 63:2930-2940. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.9b01420] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sung Hu
- Department of Biological Sciences, Ulsan National Institutes of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan 44919, Republic of Korea
| | - Mariarosaria Ferraro
- Istituto di Chimica del Riconoscimento Molecolare (ICRM), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Milan 20131, Italy
| | - Ajesh P. Thomas
- Department of Chemistry, Ulsan National Institutes of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan 44919, Republic of Korea
| | - Jeong Min Chung
- Division of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 24341, Republic of Korea
| | - Nam Gu Yoon
- Department of Biological Sciences, Ulsan National Institutes of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan 44919, Republic of Korea
| | - Ji-Hoon Seol
- Department of Chemistry, Ulsan National Institutes of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan 44919, Republic of Korea
| | - Sangpil Kim
- Department of Chemistry, Ulsan National Institutes of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan 44919, Republic of Korea
| | - Han-ul Kim
- Division of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 24341, Republic of Korea
| | - Mi Young An
- Division of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 24341, Republic of Korea
| | - Haewon Ok
- Department of Chemistry, Ulsan National Institutes of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan 44919, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyun Suk Jung
- Division of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 24341, Republic of Korea
| | - Ja-Hyoung Ryu
- Department of Chemistry, Ulsan National Institutes of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan 44919, Republic of Korea
| | - Giorgio Colombo
- University of Pavia, Department of Chemistry, Pavia 27100, Italy
| | - Byoung Heon Kang
- Department of Biological Sciences, Ulsan National Institutes of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan 44919, Republic of Korea
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Mangini F, Zitelli M, Ferraro M, Kharenko D, Niang A, Tonello A, Couderc V, Wabnitz S. High-energy spatiotemporal solitons in GRIN fiber. EPJ Web Conf 2020. [DOI: 10.1051/epjconf/202024320001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
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20
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Mangini F, Ferraro M, Zitelli M, Niang A, Tonello A, Couderc V, Wabnitz S. Observation of supercontinuum spiral emission in optical fibers. EPJ Web Conf 2020. [DOI: 10.1051/epjconf/202024317003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
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21
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Ferraro M, Decherchi S, De Simone A, Recanatini M, Cavalli A, Bottegoni G. Multi-target dopamine D3 receptor modulators: Actionable knowledge for drug design from molecular dynamics and machine learning. Eur J Med Chem 2019; 188:111975. [PMID: 31940507 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2019.111975] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2019] [Revised: 12/02/2019] [Accepted: 12/16/2019] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Local changes in the structure of G-protein coupled receptors (GPCR) binders largely affect their pharmacological profile. While the sought efficacy can be empirically obtained by introducing local modifications, the underlining structural explanation can remain elusive. Here, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of the eticlopride-bound inactive state of the Dopamine D3 Receptor (D3DR) have been clustered using a machine learning-based approach in the attempt to rationalize the efficacy change in four congeneric modulators. Accumulating extended MD trajectories of receptor-ligand complexes, we observed how the increase in ligand flexibility progressively destabilized the crystal structure of the inactivated receptor. To prospectively validate this model, a partial agonist was rationally designed based on structural insights and computational modeling, and eventually synthesized and tested. Results turned out to be in line with the predictions. This case study suggests that the investigation of ligand flexibility in the framework of extended MD simulations can assist and inform drug design strategies, highlighting its potential role as a powerful in silico counterpart to functional assays.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariarosaria Ferraro
- Istituto di Chimica Del Riconoscimento Molecolare, Consiglio Nazionale Delle Ricerche (ICRM-CNR), Via Mario Bianco 9, 20131, Milan, Italy.
| | - Sergio Decherchi
- Computational & Chemical Biology, Italian Institute of Technology, Via Morego 30, 16163, Genoa, Italy.
| | - Alessio De Simone
- Sygnature Discovery Ltd, Bio City, Pennyfoot St, Nottingham NG1 1GR, United Kingdom.
| | - Maurizio Recanatini
- Dept. of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, University of Bologna, Via Belmeloro 6, 40126, Bologna, Italy.
| | - Andrea Cavalli
- Computational & Chemical Biology, Italian Institute of Technology, Via Morego 30, 16163, Genoa, Italy; Dept. of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, University of Bologna, Via Belmeloro 6, 40126, Bologna, Italy.
| | - Giovanni Bottegoni
- School of Pharmacy, University of Birmingham, Sir Robert Aitken Institute for Clinical Research, Edgbaston, B15 2TT, United Kingdom.
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22
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Gilardi F, Capanna A, Ferraro M, Scarcella P, Marazzi MC, Palombi L, Liotta G. Frailty screening and assessment tools: a review of characteristics and use in Public Health. Ann Ig 2019; 30:128-139. [PMID: 29465150 DOI: 10.7416/ai.2018.2204] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Frailty screening and assessment are a fundamental issue in Public Health in order to plan prevention programs and services. METHODOLOGY By a narrative review of the literature employing the International Narrative Systematic Assessment tool, the authors aims to develop an updated framework for the main procedures and measurement tools to assess frailty in older adults, paying attention to the use in the primary care setting. RESULTS The study selected 10 reviews published between January 2010 and December 2016 that define some characteristics of the main tools used to measure the frailty. Within the selected reviews only one of the described tools met all the criteria (multidimensionality, quick and easy administration, accurate risk prediction of negative outcomes and high sensitivity and specificity) necessary for a screening tool. CONCLUSION Accurate risk prediction of negative outcomes could be the appropriate and sufficient criteria to assess a tool aimed to detect frailty in the community-dwelling elderly population. A two-step process (a first short questionnaire to detect frailty and a second longer questionnaire to define the care demand at individual level) could represent the appropriate pathway for planning care services at community level.
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Affiliation(s)
- F Gilardi
- University of Rome Tor Vergata, Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, Rome, Italy - Occupational Medicine, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - A Capanna
- University of Rome Tor Vergata, Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, Rome, Italy
| | - M Ferraro
- University of Rome Tor Vergata, Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, Rome, Italy
| | - P Scarcella
- University of Rome Tor Vergata, Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, Rome, Italy
| | | | - L Palombi
- University of Rome Tor Vergata, Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, Rome, Italy
| | - G Liotta
- University of Rome Tor Vergata, Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, Rome, Italy
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23
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Dino P, D'Anna C, Sangiorgi C, Di Sano C, Di Vincenzo S, Ferraro M, Pace E. Cigarette smoke extract modulates E-Cadherin, Claudin-1 and miR-21 and promotes cancer invasiveness in human colorectal adenocarcinoma cells. Toxicol Lett 2019; 317:102-109. [PMID: 31574306 DOI: 10.1016/j.toxlet.2019.09.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2019] [Revised: 09/13/2019] [Accepted: 09/21/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Cigarette smoke is considered a risk factor for lung and colorectal cancer. A convincing link between epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) with colorectal cancer progression and therapeutic resistance has emerged. Deregulated expression of E-Cadherin and Claudin-1 and increased miR-21 expression and invasiveness represent hallmarks of EMT. The effects of cigarette smoke exposure on EMT in colorectal adenocarcinoma cells are largely unknown. AIM The aim of the study is to evaluate the effect of cigarette smoke extract (CSE) on miR-21, Claudin-1 and E-Cadherin, molecules associated to EMT in colorectal cancer cells. METHODS A human colorectal adenocarcinoma cell line (Caco-2) was treated with CSE at different concentration (5% and 10%) and for different time points (3 h and 24 h). Metabolic activity (by MTS assay), cell necrosis/cell apoptosis (evaluating Propidium Iodide/Annexin V expression by flow cytometry), miR-21, Claudin-1 and E-Cadherin gene expression were evaluated by Real time PCR. Cell permeability, actin polymerization and cancer cell migration was assessed by Trans-Epitelial Electrical Resistance (TEER), Phalloidin expression and matrigel system, respectively. RESULTS CSE at all the tested concentrations and at all time points reduced cell necrosis. CSE at 10% increased miR-21 and reduced the metabolic activity, cell necrosis, Claudin-1 and E-cadherin mRNA at 3 h. Cell permeability, actin polymerization and cancer cell migration were all increased upon CSE exposure. CONCLUSION These results showed that CSE increasing miR-21, Claudin-1 and E-Cadherin and enhancing the aggressiveness of cancer cells, may concur to colorectal cancer progression.
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Affiliation(s)
- P Dino
- Istituto per la Ricerca e l'Innovazione Biomedica (IRIB), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Palermo, Italy
| | - C D'Anna
- Istituto per la Ricerca e l'Innovazione Biomedica (IRIB), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Palermo, Italy
| | - C Sangiorgi
- Istituto per la Ricerca e l'Innovazione Biomedica (IRIB), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Palermo, Italy
| | - C Di Sano
- Istituto per la Ricerca e l'Innovazione Biomedica (IRIB), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Palermo, Italy
| | - S Di Vincenzo
- Istituto per la Ricerca e l'Innovazione Biomedica (IRIB), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Palermo, Italy
| | - M Ferraro
- Istituto per la Ricerca e l'Innovazione Biomedica (IRIB), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Palermo, Italy
| | - E Pace
- Istituto per la Ricerca e l'Innovazione Biomedica (IRIB), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Palermo, Italy.
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Montefiori M, Pilotto S, Marabelli C, Moroni E, Ferraro M, Serapian SA, Mattevi A, Colombo G. Impact of Mutations on NPAC Structural Dynamics: Mechanistic Insights from MD Simulations. J Chem Inf Model 2019; 59:3927-3937. [PMID: 31408337 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.9b00588] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
NPAC is a cytokine-like nuclear factor involved in chromatin modification and regulation of gene expression. In humans, the C-terminal domain of NPAC has the conserved structure of the β-hydroxyacid dehydrogenases (β-HAD) protein superfamily, which forms a stable tetrameric core scaffold for demethylase enzymes and organizes multiple sites for chromatin interactions. In spite of the close structural resemblance to other β-HAD family members, the human NPAC dehydrogenase domain lacks a highly conserved catalytic lysine, substituted by a methionine. The reintroduction of the catalytic lysine by M437 K mutation results in a significant decrease of stability of the tetramer. Here, we have computationally investigated the molecular determinants of the functional differences between methionine and lysine-containing NPAC proteins. We find that the single mutation can determine strong consequences in terms of dynamics, stability, and ultimately ability to assemble in supramolecular complexes: the higher stability and lower flexibility of the methionine variant structurally preorganizes the monomer for tetramerization, whereas lysine increases flexibility and favors conformations that, while catalytically active, are not optimal for tetrameric assembly. We combine structure-dynamics analysis to an evolutionary study of NPAC sequences, showing that the methionine mutation occurs in a specifically flexible region of the lysine-containing protein, flanked by two domains that concentrate most of the stabilizing interactions. In our model, such separation of stability nuclei and flexible regions appears to favor the functional innovability of the protein.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Simona Pilotto
- Department of Biology and Biotechnology , University of Pavia , Via Ferrata 9 , 27100 Pavia , Italy
| | - Chiara Marabelli
- Department of Biology and Biotechnology , University of Pavia , Via Ferrata 9 , 27100 Pavia , Italy
| | | | | | - Stefano A Serapian
- University of Pavia , Department of Chemistry , V.le Taramelli 12 , 27100 Pavia , Italy
| | - Andrea Mattevi
- Department of Biology and Biotechnology , University of Pavia , Via Ferrata 9 , 27100 Pavia , Italy
| | - Giorgio Colombo
- ICRM-CNR , Via Mario Bianco 9 , 20131 Milano , Italy.,University of Pavia , Department of Chemistry , V.le Taramelli 12 , 27100 Pavia , Italy
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Ferraro M, Di Vincenzo S, Dino P, Bucchieri S, Cipollina C, Gjomarkaj M, Pace E. Budesonide, Aclidinium and Formoterol in combination limit inflammaging processes in bronchial epithelial cells exposed to cigarette smoke. Exp Gerontol 2019; 118:78-87. [PMID: 30659954 DOI: 10.1016/j.exger.2019.01.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2018] [Revised: 11/21/2018] [Accepted: 01/14/2019] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Inflammation and cellular senescence (also called inflammaging) are involved in the pathogenesis of premature lung aging, a key driver of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Downregulation of histone deacetylases and FoxO3 expression, activation of the ERK 1/2 pathway and IL-8 increase are hallmarks of lung inflammaging. The effects of Budesonide (BUD), Aclidinium (ACL) and Formoterol (FO) on lung inflammaging are unknown. This study was aimed to assess the effects of BUD, ACL and FO in bronchial epithelial cells exposed to cigarette smoke extract (CSE) by evaluating: a) Expression of TLR4 and survivin and LPS binding by flow cytometry; b) expression of HDAC2, HDAC3, SIRT1 and FoxO3 and activation of the ERK 1/2 pathway by western blot; c) IL-8 mRNA levels and release by Real Time-PCR and ELISA, respectively. Reported results show that CSE increased TLR4 and survivin, LPS binding, ERK 1/2 activation, IL-8 release and mRNA levels but decreased SIRT1, HDAC2, HDAC3 and FoxO3 nuclear expression. Combined therapy with BUD, ACL and FO counteracted the effects of CSE on LPS binding, FoxO3 nuclear expression, ERK 1/2 activation, survivin and IL-8 release and mRNA levels. These findings suggest a new role of combination therapy with BUD, ACL and FO in counteracting inflammaging processes induced by cigarette smoke exposure.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Ferraro
- Istituto di Biomedicina e Immunologia Molecolare, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Palermo, Italy
| | - S Di Vincenzo
- Istituto di Biomedicina e Immunologia Molecolare, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Palermo, Italy
| | - P Dino
- Istituto di Biomedicina e Immunologia Molecolare, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Palermo, Italy
| | - S Bucchieri
- Istituto di Biomedicina e Immunologia Molecolare, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Palermo, Italy
| | - C Cipollina
- Istituto di Biomedicina e Immunologia Molecolare, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Palermo, Italy; Fondazione Ri.MED, Palermo, Italy
| | - M Gjomarkaj
- Istituto di Biomedicina e Immunologia Molecolare, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Palermo, Italy
| | - E Pace
- Istituto di Biomedicina e Immunologia Molecolare, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Palermo, Italy.
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Coppeta L, Pietroiusti A, Morucci L, Neri A, Ferraro M, Magrini A. Workplace vaccination against measles in a teaching hospital of Rome. J Hosp Infect 2018; 101:364-365. [PMID: 30529439 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhin.2018.11.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2018] [Accepted: 11/26/2018] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- L Coppeta
- Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
| | - A Pietroiusti
- Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
| | - L Morucci
- School of Hygiene and Preventive Medicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy.
| | - A Neri
- Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
| | - M Ferraro
- School of Hygiene and Preventive Medicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
| | - A Magrini
- Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
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Ferraro M, Colombo G. Targeting Difficult Protein-Protein Interactions with Plain and General Computational Approaches. Molecules 2018; 23:molecules23092256. [PMID: 30181519 PMCID: PMC6225287 DOI: 10.3390/molecules23092256] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2018] [Revised: 08/27/2018] [Accepted: 08/31/2018] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Investigating protein-protein interactions (PPIs) holds great potential for therapeutic applications, since they mediate intricate cell signaling networks in physiological and disease states. However, their complex and multifaceted nature poses a major challenge for biochemistry and medicinal chemistry, thereby limiting the druggability of biological partners participating in PPIs. Molecular Dynamics (MD) provides a solid framework to study the reciprocal shaping of proteins’ interacting surfaces. Here, we review successful applications of MD-based methods developed in our group to predict interfacial areas involved in PPIs of pharmaceutical interest. We report two interesting examples of how structural, dynamic and energetic information can be combined into efficient strategies which, complemented by experiments, can lead to the design of new small molecules with promising activities against cancer and infections. Our advances in targeting key PPIs in angiogenic pathways and antigen-antibody recognition events will be discussed for their role in drug discovery and chemical biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariarosaria Ferraro
- Istituto di Chimica del Riconoscimento Molecolare, CNR, Via Mario Bianco 9, 20131 Milano, Italy.
| | - Giorgio Colombo
- Istituto di Chimica del Riconoscimento Molecolare, CNR, Via Mario Bianco 9, 20131 Milano, Italy.
- Dipartimento di Chimica, Università di Pavia, V.le Taramelli 10, 27100 Pavia, Italy.
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Ferraro M, D’Annessa I, Moroni E, Morra G, Paladino A, Rinaldi S, Compostella F, Colombo G. Allosteric Modulators of HSP90 and HSP70: Dynamics Meets Function through Structure-Based Drug Design. J Med Chem 2018; 62:60-87. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.8b00825] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Mariarosaria Ferraro
- Istituto di Chimica del Riconoscimento Molecolare, CNR, Via Mario Bianco 9, 20131 Milano, Italy
| | - Ilda D’Annessa
- Istituto di Chimica del Riconoscimento Molecolare, CNR, Via Mario Bianco 9, 20131 Milano, Italy
| | | | - Giulia Morra
- Istituto di Chimica del Riconoscimento Molecolare, CNR, Via Mario Bianco 9, 20131 Milano, Italy
| | - Antonella Paladino
- Istituto di Chimica del Riconoscimento Molecolare, CNR, Via Mario Bianco 9, 20131 Milano, Italy
| | - Silvia Rinaldi
- Istituto di Chimica del Riconoscimento Molecolare, CNR, Via Mario Bianco 9, 20131 Milano, Italy
| | - Federica Compostella
- Dipartimento di Biotecnologie Mediche e Medicina Traslazionale, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Saldini, 50, 20133 Milano, Italy
| | - Giorgio Colombo
- Istituto di Chimica del Riconoscimento Molecolare, CNR, Via Mario Bianco 9, 20131 Milano, Italy
- Dipartimento di Chimica, Università di Pavia, V.le Taramelli 12, 27100 Pavia, Italy
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Ferraro M, Pierangeli D, Flammini M, Di Domenico G, Falsi L, Di Mei F, Agranat AJ, DelRe E. Observation of polarization-maintaining light propagation in depoled compositionally disordered ferroelectrics. Opt Lett 2017; 42:3856-3859. [PMID: 28957144 DOI: 10.1364/ol.42.003856] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
We investigate the evolution of the state of polarization of light propagating through bulk depoled composite ferroelectrics below the Curie temperature. In contrast to standard depoled ferroelectrics, where random birefringence causes depolarization and scattering, light is observed to suffer varying degrees of depolarization and remains fully polarized when linearly polarized along the crystal principal axes. The effect is found to be supported by the formation of polarized speckles organized into a spatial lattice and occurs as the ferroelectric settles into a spontaneous super-crystal, a three-dimensional coherent mosaic of ferroelectric clusters. The polarization lattices gradually disappear as the ferroelectric state reduces to a disordered distribution of polar nanoregions above the critical point.
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Ferraro M, Gimeno E, Ble M, Subirana I, Gómez M, Díaz J, Sánchez-González B, García-Pallarols F, Martínez L, Belarte L, Abella E, Elosua R, Salar A. USEFULNESS OF N-TERMINAL BRAIN NATRIURETIC PEPTIDE LEVELS AND FRESCO SCALE FOR THE PREDICTION OF ANTHRACYCLINE-INDUCED CARDIOMYOTOXICITY IN PATIENTS WITH HODGKIN LYMPHOMA. Hematol Oncol 2017. [DOI: 10.1002/hon.2438_35] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- M. Ferraro
- Clinical Hematology, Research Group Applied in Hematological diseases; Autonomous University of Barcelona, Hospital del Mar, Institute of Medical Research of Hospital del Mar; Barcelona Spain
| | - E. Gimeno
- Clinical Hematology, Research Group Applied in Malalties Hematolgiques, Hospital del Mar; Institute of Medical Research of Hospital del Mar; Barcelona Spain
| | - M. Ble
- Cardiology; Hospital del Mar; Barcelona Spain
| | - I. Subirana
- CIBER of Epidemiology and Public Health, Research Group on Epidemiology and Cardiovascular Genetics, Hospital del Mar; Institute of Medical Research of Hospital del Mar; Barcelona Spain
| | - M. Gómez
- Cardiology; Hospital del Mar; Barcelona Spain
| | - J. Díaz
- Hematology; Autonomous University of Barcelona; Barcelona Spain
| | - B. Sánchez-González
- Clinical Hematology, Research Group Applied in Malalties Hematolgiques, Hospital del Mar; Institute of Medical Research of Hospital del Mar; Barcelona Spain
| | - F. García-Pallarols
- Clinical Hematology, Research Group Applied in Malalties Hematolgiques, Hospital del Mar; Institute of Medical Research of Hospital del Mar; Barcelona Spain
| | - L. Martínez
- Clinical Hematology; Hospital del Mar; Barcelona Spain
| | | | - E. Abella
- Clinical Hematology, Research Group Applied in Hematological diseases; Autonomous University of Barcelona, Hospital del Mar, Institute of Medical Research of Hospital del Mar; Barcelona Spain
| | - R. Elosua
- CIBER of Epidemiology and Public Health and Cardiovascular Diseases, Research Group on Epidemiology and Cardiovascular Genetics, Hospital del Mar; Institute of Medical Research of Hospital del Mar; Barcelona Spain
| | - A. Salar
- Clinical Hematology, Research Group Applied in Hematological diseases; Autonomous University of Barcelona, Hospital del Mar, Institute of Medical Research of Hospital del Mar; Barcelona Spain
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Ferraro M, Gjomarkaj M, Siena L, Di Vincenzo S, Pace E. Formoterol and fluticasone propionate combination improves histone deacetylation and anti-inflammatory activities in bronchial epithelial cells exposed to cigarette smoke. Biochim Biophys Acta Mol Basis Dis 2017; 1863:1718-1727. [PMID: 28483577 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbadis.2017.05.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2017] [Revised: 04/20/2017] [Accepted: 05/04/2017] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The addition of long-acting beta2-agonists (LABAs) to corticosteroids improves asthma control. Cigarette smoke exposure, increasing oxidative stress, may negatively affect corticosteroid responses. The anti-inflammatory effects of formoterol (FO) and fluticasone propionate (FP) in human bronchial epithelial cells exposed to cigarette smoke extracts (CSE) are unknown. AIMS This study explored whether FP, alone and in combination with FO, in human bronchial epithelial cellline (16-HBE) and primary bronchial epithelial cells (NHBE), counteracted some CSE-mediated effects and in particular some of the molecular mechanisms of corticosteroid resistance. METHODS 16-HBE and NHBE were stimulated with CSE, FP and FO alone or combined. HDAC3 and HDAC2 activity, nuclear translocation of GR and NF-κB, pERK1/2/tERK1/2 ratio, IL-8, TNF-α, IL-1β mRNA expression, and mitochondrial ROS were evaluated. Actin reorganization in neutrophils was assessed by fluorescence microscopy using the phalloidin method. RESULTS In 16-HBE, CSE decreased expression/activity of HDAC3, activity of HDAC2, nuclear translocation of GR and increased nuclear NF-κB expression, pERK 1/2/tERK1/2 ratio, and mRNA expression of inflammatory cytokines. In NHBE, CSE increased mRNA expression of inflammatory cytokines and supernatants from CSE exposed NHBE increased actin reorganization in neutrophils. FP combined with FO reverted all these phenomena in CSE stimulated 16-HBE cells as well as in NHBE cells. CONCLUSIONS The present study provides compelling evidences that FP combined with FO may contribute to revert some processes related to steroid resistance induced by oxidative stress due to cigarette smoke exposure increasing the anti-inflammatory effects of FP.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Ferraro
- Istituto di Biomedicina e Immunologia Molecolare, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Palermo, Italy.
| | - M Gjomarkaj
- Istituto di Biomedicina e Immunologia Molecolare, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Palermo, Italy
| | - L Siena
- Istituto di Biomedicina e Immunologia Molecolare, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Palermo, Italy
| | - S Di Vincenzo
- Istituto di Biomedicina e Immunologia Molecolare, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Palermo, Italy
| | - E Pace
- Istituto di Biomedicina e Immunologia Molecolare, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Palermo, Italy
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De Simone A, Russo D, Ruda GF, Micoli A, Ferraro M, Di Martino RMC, Ottonello G, Summa M, Armirotti A, Bandiera T, Cavalli A, Bottegoni G. Design, Synthesis, Structure–Activity Relationship Studies, and Three-Dimensional Quantitative Structure–Activity Relationship (3D-QSAR) Modeling of a Series of O-Biphenyl Carbamates as Dual Modulators of Dopamine D3 Receptor and Fatty Acid Amide Hydrolase. J Med Chem 2017; 60:2287-2304. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.6b01578] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
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Busacca C, Di Blasi O, Briguglio N, Ferraro M, Antonucci V, Di Blasi A. Electrochemical performance investigation of electrospun urchin-like V2O3-CNF composite nanostructure for vanadium redox flow battery. Electrochim Acta 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.electacta.2017.01.193] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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Garuti L, Roberti M, Bottegoni G, Ferraro M. Diaryl Urea: A Privileged Structure in Anticancer Agents. Curr Med Chem 2017; 23:1528-48. [PMID: 27063259 DOI: 10.2174/0929867323666160411142532] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2015] [Revised: 02/24/2016] [Accepted: 04/08/2016] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
The diaryl urea is an important fragment/pharmacophore in constructing anticancer molecules due to its near-perfect binding with certain acceptors. The urea NH moiety is a favorable hydrogen bond donor, while the urea oxygen atom is regarded as an excellent acceptor. Many novel compounds have been synthesized and evaluated for their antitumor activity with the successful development of sorafenib. Moreover, this structure is used to link alkylating pharmacophores with high affinity DNA binders. In addition, the diaryl urea is present in several kinase inhibitors, such as RAF, KDR and Aurora kinases. Above all, this moiety is used in the type II inhibitors: it usually forms one or two hydrogen bonds with a conserved glutamic acid and one with the backbone amide of the aspartic acid in the DFG motif. In addition, some diaryl urea derivatives act as Hedgehog (Hh) ligands, binding and inhibiting proteins involved in the homonymous Hh signaling pathway. In this review we provide some of the methodologies adopted for the synthesis of diaryl ureas and a description of the most representative antitumor agents bearing the diaryl urea moiety, focusing on their mechanisms bound to the receptors and structure-activity relationships (SAR). An increased knowledge of these derivatives could prompt the search to find new and more potent compounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Garuti
- Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, University of Bologna, via Belmeloro 6, I-40126 Bologna, Italy.
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Ferraro M, Masetti M, Recanatini M, Cavalli A, Bottegoni G. Mapping Cholesterol Interaction Sites on Serotonin Transporter through Coarse-Grained Molecular Dynamics. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0166196. [PMID: 27907003 PMCID: PMC5132266 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0166196] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2016] [Accepted: 10/24/2016] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Serotonin transporter (SERT) modulates serotonergic signaling via re-uptake of serotonin in pre-synaptic cells. The inclusion in cholesterol-enriched membrane domains is crucial for SERT activity, suggesting a cross-talk between the protein and the sterol. Here, we develop a protocol to identify potential cholesterol interaction sites coupling statistical analysis to multi-microsecond coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations of SERT in a previously validated raft-like membrane model. Six putative sites were found, including a putative CRAC motif on TM4 and a CARC motif on TM10. Among them, four hot-spots near regions related to ion binding, transport, and inhibition were detected. Our results encourage prospective studies to unravel mechanistic features of the transporter and related drug discovery implications.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Matteo Masetti
- Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology (FaBiT), Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
- * E-mail: (MM); (GB)
| | - Maurizio Recanatini
- Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology (FaBiT), Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Andrea Cavalli
- CompuNet, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy
- Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology (FaBiT), Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Giovanni Bottegoni
- CompuNet, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy
- BiKi Technologies s.r.l., Genova, Italy
- * E-mail: (MM); (GB)
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Bacci GM, Ghin M, Lucchesi M, Guidi M, Ferraro M, Farina S, Favre C, Genitori L, Caputo R, Sardi I. P10.05 Periodic assessment with optical coherence tomography in children treated with multimodal therapies for brain tumors. Neuro Oncol 2016. [DOI: 10.1093/neuonc/now188.229] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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Pace E, Ferraro M, Di Vincenzo S, Siena L, Gjomarkaj M. Effects of ceftaroline on the innate immune and on the inflammatory responses of bronchial epithelial cells exposed to cigarette smoke. Toxicol Lett 2016; 258:216-226. [PMID: 27397760 DOI: 10.1016/j.toxlet.2016.06.2105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2016] [Revised: 06/24/2016] [Accepted: 06/29/2016] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
The tobacco smoking habit interferes with the innate host defence system against infections. Recurrent infections accelerated the functional respiratory decline. The present study assessed the effects of ceftaroline on TLR2 and TLR4 and on pro-inflammatory responses in airway epithelial cells (16HBE cell line and primary bronchial epithelial cells) with or without cigarette smoke extracts (CSE 10%). TLR2, TLR4, LPS binding and human beta defensin 2 (HBD2) were assessed by flow cytometry, NFkB nuclear translocation by western blot analysis, IL-8 and HBD2 mRNA by Real Time PCR; the localization of NFkB on the HBD2 and IL-8 promoters by ChiP Assay. CSE increased TLR4, TLR2 expression, LPS binding and IL-8 mRNA; CSE decreased HBD2 (protein and mRNA), activated NFkB and promoted the localization of NFkB on IL-8 promoter and not on HBD2 promoter. Ceftaroline counteracted the CSE effect on TLR2 expression, on LPS binding, on IL-8 mRNA, HBD2 and NFkB in 16HBE. The effects of ceftaroline on HBD2 protein and on IL-8 mRNA were confirmed in primary bronchial epithelial cells. In conclusion, ceftaroline is able to counteract the effects of CSE on the innate immunity and pro-inflammatory responses modulating TLR2, LPS binding, NFkB activation and activity, HBD2 and IL-8 expression in bronchial epithelial cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Pace
- Istituto di Biomedicina e Immunologia Molecolare, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Palermo, Italy.
| | - M Ferraro
- Istituto di Biomedicina e Immunologia Molecolare, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Palermo, Italy
| | - S Di Vincenzo
- Istituto di Biomedicina e Immunologia Molecolare, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Palermo, Italy
| | - L Siena
- Istituto di Biomedicina e Immunologia Molecolare, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Palermo, Italy
| | - M Gjomarkaj
- Istituto di Biomedicina e Immunologia Molecolare, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Palermo, Italy
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Pace E, Di Vincenzo S, Ferraro M, Bruno A, Dino P, Bonsignore MR, Battaglia S, Saibene F, Lanata L, Gjomarkaj M. Carbocysteine counteracts the effects of cigarette smoke on cell growth and on the SIRT1/FoxO3 axis in bronchial epithelial cells. Exp Gerontol 2016; 81:119-28. [PMID: 27237816 DOI: 10.1016/j.exger.2016.05.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2016] [Revised: 05/18/2016] [Accepted: 05/25/2016] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Cigarette smoke may accelerate cellular senescence by increasing oxidative stress. Altered proliferation and altered expression of anti-aging factors, including SIRT1 and FoxO3, characterise cellular senescence. The effects of carbocysteine on the SIRT1/FoxO3 axis and on downstream molecular mechanisms in human bronchial epithelial cells exposed to cigarette smoke are largely unknown. AIMS Aim of this study was to explore whether carbocysteine modulated SIRT1/FoxO3 axis, and downstream molecular mechanisms associated to cellular senescence, in a bronchial epithelial cell line (16-HBE) exposed to cigarette smoke. METHODS 16HBE cells were stimulated with/without cigarette smoke extracts (CSE) and carbocysteine. Flow cytometry and clonogenic assay were used to assess cell proliferation; western blot analysis was used for assessing nuclear expression of SIRT1 and FoxO3. The nuclear co-localization of SIRT1 and FoxO3 was assessed by fluorescence microscopy. Beta galactosidase (a senescence marker) and SIRT1 activity were assessed by specific staining and colorimetric assays, respectively. ChiP Assay and flow cytometry were used for assessing survivin gene regulation and protein expression, respectively. RESULTS CSE decreased cell proliferation, the nuclear expression of SIRT1 and FoxO3 and increased beta galactosidase staining. CSE, reduced SIRT1 activity and FoxO3 localization on survivin promoter thus increasing survivin expression. In CSE stimulated bronchial epithelial cells carbocysteine reverted these phenomena by increasing cell proliferation, and SIRT1 and FoxO3 nuclear expression, and by reducing beta galactosidase staining and survivin expression. CONCLUSIONS The study shows for the first time that carbocysteine may revert some senescence processes induced by oxidative stress due to cigarette smoke exposure.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Pace
- Istituto di Biomedicina e Immunologia Molecolare, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Palermo, Italy.
| | - S Di Vincenzo
- Istituto di Biomedicina e Immunologia Molecolare, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Palermo, Italy
| | - M Ferraro
- Istituto di Biomedicina e Immunologia Molecolare, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Palermo, Italy
| | - A Bruno
- Istituto di Biomedicina e Immunologia Molecolare, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Palermo, Italy
| | - P Dino
- Istituto di Biomedicina e Immunologia Molecolare, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Palermo, Italy
| | - M R Bonsignore
- Dipartimento Biomedico di Medicina Interna e Specialistica (Di.Bi.M.I.S), University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - S Battaglia
- Dipartimento Biomedico di Medicina Interna e Specialistica (Di.Bi.M.I.S), University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | | | - L Lanata
- Dompè Medical Affair, Milan, Italy
| | - M Gjomarkaj
- Istituto di Biomedicina e Immunologia Molecolare, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Palermo, Italy
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Pizarro H, Vera MS, Vinocur A, Pérez G, Ferraro M, Menéndez Helman RJ, Dos Santos Afonso M. Glyphosate input modifies microbial community structure in clear and turbid freshwater systems. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 2016; 23:5143-53. [PMID: 26552793 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-015-5748-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2015] [Accepted: 11/03/2015] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
Since it was commercially introduced in 1974, glyphosate has been one of the most commonly used herbicides in agriculture worldwide, and there is growing concern about its adverse effects on the environment. Assuming that glyphosate may increase the organic turbidity of water bodies, we evaluated the effect of a single application of 2.4 ± 0.1 mg l(-1) of glyphosate (technical grade) on freshwater bacterioplankton and phytoplankton (pico, micro, and nanophytoplankton) and on the physical and chemical properties of the water. We used outdoor experimental mesocosms under clear and oligotrophic (phytoplanktonic chlorophyll a = 2.04 μg l(-1); turbidity = 2.0 NTU) and organic turbid and eutrophic (phytoplanktonic chlorophyll a = 50.3 μg l(-1); turbidity = 16.0 NTU) scenarios. Samplings were conducted at the beginning of the experiment and at 1, 8, 19, and 33 days after glyphosate addition. For both typologies, the herbicide affected the abiotic water properties (with a marked increase in total phosphorus), but it did not affect the structure of micro and nanophytoplankton. In clear waters, glyphosate treatment induced a trend toward higher bacteria and picoeukaryotes abundances, while there was a 2 to 2.5-fold increase in picocyanobacteria number. In turbid waters, without picoeukaryotes at the beginning of the experiment, glyphosate decreased bacteria abundance but increased the number of picocyanobacteria, suggesting a direct favorable effect. Moreover, our results show that the impact of the herbicide was observed in microorganisms from both oligo and eutrophic conditions, indicating that the impact would be independent of the trophic status of the water body.
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Affiliation(s)
- H Pizarro
- Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, IEGEBA-CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
| | - M S Vera
- Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, IEGEBA-CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - A Vinocur
- Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, IEGEBA-CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - G Pérez
- INIBIOMA, CRUB Comahue, CONICET, Bariloche, Argentina
| | - M Ferraro
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas, Instituto Tecnológico de Chascomús (IIB-INTECH), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - R J Menéndez Helman
- Departamento de Química Inorgánica, INQUIMAE-CONICET, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - M Dos Santos Afonso
- Departamento de Química Inorgánica, INQUIMAE-CONICET, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
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Antonucci V, Brunaccini G, De Pascale A, Ferraro M, Melino F, Orlandini V, Sergi F. Integration of μ-SOFC Generator and ZEBRA Batteries for Domestic Application and Comparison with other μ-CHP Technologies. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.egypro.2015.07.335] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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D'Anna C, Cigna D, Costanzo G, Ferraro M, Siena L, Vitulo P, Gjomarkaj M, Pace E. Cigarette smoke alters cell cycle and induces inflammation in lung fibroblasts. Life Sci 2015; 126:10-8. [DOI: 10.1016/j.lfs.2015.01.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2014] [Revised: 01/14/2015] [Accepted: 01/16/2015] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
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Ferraro M, Masetti M, Recanatini M, Cavalli A, Bottegoni G. Modeling lipid raft domains containing a mono-unsaturated phosphatidylethanolamine species. RSC Adv 2015. [DOI: 10.1039/c5ra02196k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
An advanced coarse-grained model for “atypical” lipid rafts was built and validated to be employed in studies of membrane-protein interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- M. Ferraro
- D3 Compunet
- Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia
- Genova
- Italy
| | - M. Masetti
- Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology
- Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna
- Bologna
- Italy
| | - M. Recanatini
- Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology
- Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna
- Bologna
- Italy
| | - A. Cavalli
- D3 Compunet
- Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia
- Genova
- Italy
- Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology
| | - G. Bottegoni
- D3 Compunet
- Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia
- Genova
- Italy
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Franci A, Peris A, Liotta F, Annunziato F, Ruggiano P, Ferraro M. Specific patterns of T-cell cytokines as an early marker of outcome in septic patients. Crit Care 2015. [PMCID: PMC4472970 DOI: 10.1186/cc14117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
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Rabinovich WS, Mahon R, Ferraro M, Goetz PG, Murphy JL. Reduction of scintillation in optical modulating retro-reflector links. Opt Express 2014; 22:28553-28565. [PMID: 25402097 DOI: 10.1364/oe.22.028553] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Optical modulating retro-reflectors enable free-space optical links that have greatly reduced pointing requirements and do not require a laser at one end of the link. However, these types of links can exhibit very high optical scintillation due to the double passage of the beam through the atmosphere. This high scintillation causes fades and surges that can lead to packet errors in the link. It is shown that scintillation can be greatly reduced through a combination of techniques including retro-reflector diversity, aperture averaging and bistatic optical interrogation. Improvements of 20 dB in link performance are demonstrated.
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Garner O, Mochon A, Branda J, Burnham CA, Bythrow M, Ferraro M, Ginocchio C, Jennemann R, Manji R, Procop G, Richter S, Rychert J, Sercia L, Westblade L, Lewinski M. Multi-centre evaluation of mass spectrometric identification of anaerobic bacteria using the VITEK® MS system. Clin Microbiol Infect 2014; 20:335-9. [DOI: 10.1111/1469-0691.12317] [Citation(s) in RCA: 76] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2013] [Revised: 06/21/2013] [Accepted: 06/22/2013] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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Buonfiglio R, Ferraro M, Falchi F, Cavalli A, Masetti M, Recanatini M. Collecting and assessing human lactate dehydrogenase-A conformations for structure-based virtual screening. J Chem Inf Model 2013; 53:2792-7. [PMID: 24138094 DOI: 10.1021/ci400543y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Human lactate dehydrogenase-A (LDHA) is emerging as a promising anticancer target. Up to now, structure-based investigations for identifying inhibitors of this enzyme have not explicitly accounted for active site flexibility. In the present study, by combining replica exchange molecular dynamics with network and cluster analyses, we identified reliable LDHA conformations for structure-based ligand design. The selected conformations were challenged and validated by retrospective virtual screening simulations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rosa Buonfiglio
- Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, Alma Mater Studiorum-Università di Bologna , via Belmeloro 6, 40126 Bologna, Italy
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Gil MM, Quezada MS, Bregant B, Ferraro M, Nicolaides KH. Implementation of maternal blood cell-free DNA testing in early screening for aneuploidies. Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol 2013; 42:34-40. [PMID: 23744609 DOI: 10.1002/uog.12504] [Citation(s) in RCA: 115] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2013] [Revised: 04/14/2013] [Accepted: 04/25/2013] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To explore the feasibility of routine maternal blood cell-free (cf) DNA testing in screening for trisomies 21, 18 and 13 at 10 weeks' gestation. METHOD In this prospective study, women attending The Fetal Medicine Centre in London, UK, between October 2012 and April 2013, with singleton pregnancy and live fetus with CRL 32-45 mm, were screened for trisomies 21, 18 and 13 by cfDNA testing at 10 weeks and the combined test at 12 weeks. RESULTS cfDNA testing was performed in 1005 singleton pregnancies with a median maternal age of 37 (range, 20-49) years. Risks for trisomies were provided for 957 (95.2%) cases and in 98.0% these were available within 14 days from sampling. In 48 (4.8%) cases no result was provided due to problems with delivery to the laboratory, low fetal fraction or assay failure. Repeat sampling was performed in 40 cases and a result obtained in 27 (67.5%) of these. In 11 cases the risk score for trisomy 21 and in five cases that for trisomy 18 was > 99%, in one the risk for trisomy 13 was 34% and in 968 the risk for each of the three trisomies was < 0.01%. The suspected trisomies were confirmed by karyotyping after chorionic villus sampling (CVS), except in one case of trisomy 18 in which the karyotype was normal. On the basis of the maternal age distribution of the study population, the expected and observed numbers for each of the three trisomies were similar. Both cfDNA and combined testing detected all trisomies, but the estimated false-positive rates (FPR) were 0.1% and 3.4%, respectively. CONCLUSION Routine screening for trisomies 21, 18 and 13 by cfDNA testing at 10 weeks is feasible and has a lower FPR than does combined testing, but abnormal results require confirmation by CVS.
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Affiliation(s)
- M M Gil
- Harris Birthright Research Centre for Fetal Medicine, King's College Hospital, London, UK
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Gallelli L, Ferraro M, Mauro GF, De Sarro G. Generalised Dermatitis Induced by Pegylated Interferon-alpha-2b in a Patient Infected with Genotype-1 Hepatitis C Virus : Presentation of a Case. Clin Drug Investig 2012; 25:281-4. [PMID: 17523780 DOI: 10.2165/00044011-200525040-00009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- L Gallelli
- Clinical Pharmacology and Pharmacovigilance Unit, Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, University ‘Magna Graecia’ of Catanzaro, Catanzaro, Italy
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Auricchio F, Conti M, Ferraro M, Reali A. Evaluation of carotid stent scaffolding through patient-specific finite element analysis. Int J Numer Method Biomed Eng 2012; 28:1043-1055. [PMID: 23027634 DOI: 10.1002/cnm.2509] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2012] [Revised: 07/05/2012] [Accepted: 08/03/2012] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
After carotid artery stenting, the plaque remains contained between the stent and the vessel wall, moving consequently physicians' concerns toward the stent capability of limiting the plaque protrusion, that is, toward vessel scaffolding, to avoid that some debris is dislodged after the procedure. Vessel scaffolding is usually measured as the cell area of the stent in free-expanded configuration, neglecting thus the actual stent configuration within the vascular anatomy. In the present study, we measure the cell area of four different stent designs deployed in a realistic carotid artery model through patient-specific finite element analysis. The results suggest that after deployment, the cell area change along the stent length and the related reduction with respect to the free-expanded configuration are functions of the vessel tapering. Hence, the conclusions withdrawn from the free-expanded configuration appear to be qualitatively acceptable for comparative purposes, but they should be carefully handled because they neglect the post-implant variability, which seems to be more pronounced in open-cell designs, especially at the bifurcation segment. Even though the investigation is limited to few stent designs and one vascular anatomy, our study confirms the capability of dedicated computer-based simulations to provide useful information about complex stent features as vessel scaffolding.
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Affiliation(s)
- F Auricchio
- Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile ed Architettura, Università degli Studi di Pavia, Via Ferrata 1, 27100, Pavia, Italy
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Caliani I, Ferraro M, Casini S, Mori G, Maltese S, Marsili L, Fossi M. Biomarker responses in mosquito fish (Gambusia affinis) to in vivo exposure to produced waters. Comp Biochem Physiol A Mol Integr Physiol 2012. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2012.05.051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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