Maria Elena Russo

Antioxidant effect of red wine polyphenols on red blood cells

The protective effect of red wine polyphenols against hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2))-induced oxidation was investigated in normal human erythrocytes (RBCs). RBCs, preincubated with micromolar amounts of wine extract and challenged with H(2)O(2), were analyzed for reactive oxygen species (ROS), hemolysis, methemoglobin production, and lipid peroxidation. All these oxidative modifications were prevented by incubating the RBCs with oak barrel aged red wine extract (SD95) containing 3.5 mM gallic acid equivalent (GAE) of phenolic compounds. The protective effect was less apparent when RBCs were incubated with wines containing lower levels of polyphenols. Furthermore, resveratrol and quercetin, well known red wine antioxidants, showed lower antioxidant properties compared with SD95, indicating that interaction between constituents may bring about effects that are not necessarily properties of the singular components. Our findings demonstrate that the nonalcoholic components of red wine, mainly polyphenols, have potent antioxidant properties, supporting the hypothesis of a beneficial effect of red wine in oxidative stress in human system.

Phytochemicals in Cancer Prevention and Therapy: Truth or Dare?

A voluminous literature suggests that an increase in consumption of fruit and vegetables is a relatively easy and practical strategy to reduce significantly the incidence of cancer. The beneficial effect is mostly associated with the presence of phytochemicals in the diet. This review focuses on a group of them, namely isothiocyanate, curcumin, genistein, epigallocatechin gallate, lycopene and resveratrol, largely studied as chemopreventive agents and with potential clinical applications. Cellular and animal studies suggest that these molecules induce apoptosis and arrest cell growth by pleiotropic mechanisms. The anticancer efficacy of these compounds may result from their use in monotherapy or in association with chemotherapeutic drugs. This latter approach may represent a new pharmacological strategy against several types of cancers. However, despite the promising results from experimental studies, only a limited number of clinical trials are ongoing to assess the therapeutic efficacy of these molecules. Nevertheless, the preliminary results are promising and raise solid foundations for future investigations.

AMP-activated protein kinase: a target for old drugs against diabetes and cancer.

The AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is considered a key checkpoint to ensure energy balance in both cells and organisms. AMPK is an αβγ heterotrimer controlled by allosteric regulation by AMP, ADP and ATP, auto-inhibitory features and phosphorylation, with the threonine-172 phosphorylation on the catalytic α-subunit by LKB1, CaMKKβ or Tak1 being essential for its fully activation. AMPK acts as a protective response to energy stress in numerous systems, but it is also a key player in diabetes and related metabolic diseases and cancer. Pharmacological activation of AMPK by metformin or other compounds holds a considerable potential to reverse the metabolic abnormalities associated with type 2 diabetes. In cancer, correction of the dysregulated metabolic pathway LKB1/AMPK/mTORC1 can lower the Warburg effect, suggesting AMPK as a potential target for cancer prevention and/or treatment. In this commentary, we review recent findings that support the role and function of AMPK in normal and pathological conditions. We also discuss how the activation of AMPK by naturally occurring compounds could help to prevent the development of numerous chronic diseases contributing in such a way to the well-being of ageing population.

Cellular adaptive response to chronic radiation exposure in interventional cardiologists

Aims Invasive cardiologists are the most exposed to ionizing radiation among health professionals and show an increased rate of somatic DNA damage. To evaluate the effects of chronic low-dose exposure to ionizing radiation on redox state and apoptotic activation. Methods and results We enrolled 10 healthy exposed professionals (all interventional cardiologists, Group II, exposed: age = 38 ± 5 years) and 10 age- and gender-matched unexposed controls (Group I, non-exposed). Exposed subjects had a median exposure of 4 mSv/year (range 1-8) by film badge dosimetry (below lead apron). We measured reduced glutathione (GSH, a marker of antioxidant response) in erythrocytes and plasma generation of hydrogen peroxide (a marker of oxyradical stress) by ferrous oxidation-xylenol orange assay in plasma. In both groups, lymphocytes were isolated and caspase-3 activity (a marker of apoptotic response) measured at baseline and following 2 Gy in vitro irradiation. Exposed subjects showed a three-fold increase in hydrogen peroxide (Group I = 2.21 ± 1.03 vs. II = 6.51 ± 1.55 μM H(2)O(2) equivalents) and a 1.7-fold increase in GSH (I = 12.37 ± 1.22 vs. II = 20.61 ± 2.16 mM). Exposed subjects also showed higher values of caspase-3 activity, both at baseline and-more strikingly-following high-dose radiation challenge. Conclusion In interventional cardiologists, chronic exposure to low-dose radiation is associated with an altered redox balance mirrored by an increase in hydrogen peroxide and with two possibly adaptive cellular responses: (i) an enhanced antioxidant defence (increase in GSH, counteracting increased oxyradical stress) and (ii) an increased susceptibility to apoptotic induction which might efficiently remove genetically damaged cells.

Butanol production by bioconversion of cheese whey in a continuous packed bed reactor

Butanol production by Clostridium acetobutylicum DSM 792 fermentation was investigated. Unsupplemented cheese whey was adopted as renewable feedstock. The conversion was successfully carried out in a biofilm packed bed reactor (PBR) for more than 3 months. The PBR was a 4 cm ID, 16 cm high glass tube with a 8 cm bed of 3mm Tygon rings, as carriers. It was operated at the dilution rate between 0.4h(-1) and 0.94 h(-1). The cheese whey conversion process was characterized in terms of metabolites production (butanol included), lactose conversion and biofilm mass. Under optimized conditions, the performances were: butanol productivity 2.66 g/Lh, butanol concentration 4.93 g/L, butanol yield 0.26 g/g, butanol selectivity of the overall solvents production 82 wt%.

Development of simple protocols to solve the problems of enzyme coimmobilization. Application to coimmobilize a lipase and a β-galactosidase

This paper shows the coimmobilization of β-galactosidase from Aspergillus oryzae (β-gal) and lipase B from Candida antarctica (CALB). The combi-biocatalyst was designed in a way that permits an optimal immobilization of CALB on octyl-agarose (OC) and the reuse of this enzyme after β-gal (an enzyme with lower stability and altogether not very stabilized by multipoint covalent attachment) inactivation, both of them serious problems in enzyme co-immobilization. With this aim, OC-CALB was coated with polyethylenimine (PEI) (this treatment did not affect the enzyme activity and even improved enzyme stability, mainly in organic medium). Then, β-gal was immobilized by ion exchange on the PEI coated support. We found that PEI can become weakly adsorbed on an OC support, but the adsorption of PEI to CALB was quite strong. The immobilized β-gal can be desorbed by incubation in 300 mM NaCl. Fresh β-gal could be adsorbed afterwards, and this could be repeated for several cycles, but the amount of PEI showed a small decrease that made reincubation of the OC-CALB–PEI composite in PEI preferable in order to retain the amount of polymer. CALB activity remained unaltered under all these treatments. The combi-catalyst was submitted to inactivation at 60 °C and pH 7, conditions where β-gal was rapidly inactivated while CALB maintained its activity unaltered. All β-gal activity could be removed by incubation in 300 mM NaCl, however, SDS analysis showed that part of the enzyme β-gal molecules remained immobilized on the OC-CALC–PEI composite, as the inactivated enzyme may become more strongly adsorbed on the ion exchanger. Full release of the β-gal after inactivation was achieved using 1 M NaCl and 40 °C, conditions where CALB remained fully stable. This way, the proposed protocol permitted the reuse of the most stable enzyme after inactivation of the least stable one. It is compatible with any immobilization protocol of the first enzyme that does not involve ion exchange as only reason for enzyme immobilization.

Continuous lactose fermentation by Clostridium acetobutylicum – Assessment of acidogenesis kinetics

An assessment of the growth kinetics of acidogenic cells of Clostridium acetobutylicum DSM 792 is reported in the paper. Tests were carried out in a continuous stirred tank reactor under controlled conditions adopting a complex medium supplemented with lactose as carbon source to mimic cheese whey. The effects of acids (acetic and butyric), solvents (acetone, ethanol and butanol) and pH on the growth rate of acidogenic cells were assessed. The conversion process was characterized under steady-state conditions in terms of concentration of lactose, cells, acids, total organic carbon and pH. The growth kinetics was expressed by means of a multiple product inhibition and interacting model including a novel formulation to account for the role of pH. The model has the potential to predict microorganism growth rate under a broad interval of operating conditions, even those typical of solvents production.

ABT-737 resistance in B-cells isolated from chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients and leukemia cell lines is overcome by the pleiotropic kinase inhibitor quercetin through Mcl-1 down-regulation

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is the most frequent form of leukemia in adult population and despite numerous studies, it is considered an incurable disease. Since CLL is characterized by overexpression of pro-survival Bcl-2 family members, treatments with their antagonists, such as ABT-737, represent a promising new therapeutic strategy. ABT-737 is a BH3 mimetic agent which binds Bcl-2, Bcl-XL and Bcl-w with high affinity, while weakly interacts with Mcl-1 and Bfl-1. Previous studies demonstrated that quercetin, a flavonoid naturally present in food and beverages, was able to sensitize B-cells isolated from CLL patients to apoptosis when associated with death ligands or fludarabine, through a mechanism involving Mcl-1 down-regulation. Here, we report that the association between ABT-737 and quercetin synergistically induces apoptosis in B-cells and in five leukemic cell lines (Combination Index <1). Peripheral blood mononuclear cell from healthy donors were not affected by quercetin treatment. The molecular pathways triggered by quercetin have been investigated in HPB-ALL cells, characterized by the highest resistance to both ABT-737 and quercetin when applied as single molecules, but highly sensitivity to the co-treatment. In this cell line, quercetin down-regulated Mcl-1 through the inhibition of PI3K/Akt signaling pathway, leading to Mcl-1 instability. The same mechanism was confirmed in B-cells. These results may open new clinical perspectives based on a translational approach in CLL therapy.

Kinetic study of a novel thermo-stable α-carbonic anhydrase for biomimetic CO2 capture.

Biomimetic CO2 capture includes environmentally friendly solutions based on carbonic anhydrase (CA), an enzyme that increases CO2 absorption rate in conventional acid-gas scrubbing processes. The present contribution reports the characterization of a new recombinant carbonic anhydrase, SspCA, isolated from the thermophile bacterium Sulphurhydrogenibium yellowstonense sp. YO3AOP1. The kinetics of SspCA was characterized in terms of first order CO2 hydration rate according to a procedure based on CO2 absorption tests in a stirred cell apparatus. The first order kinetic constant at 25°C was 9.16 × 10(6) L/(mols). An appropriate investigation on SspCA stability was carried out to assess its long-term resistance to high temperatures as in all capture processes based on absorption/vacuum-desorption cycles. Its half-life was 53 and 8 days at 40 °C and 70 °C, respectively.

Modeling of an aerobic biofilm reactor with double-limiting substrate kinetics: Bifurcational and dynamical analysis

A mathematical model of an aerobic biofilm reactor is presented to investigate the bifurcational patterns and the dynamical behavior of the reactor as a function of different key operating parameters. Suspended cells and biofilm are assumed to grow according to double limiting kinetics with phenol inhibition (carbon source) and oxygen limitation. The model presented by Russo et al. is extended to embody key features of the phenomenology of the granular‐supported biofilm: biofilm growth and detachment, gas–liquid oxygen transport, phenol, and oxygen uptake by both suspended and immobilized cells, and substrate diffusion into the biofilm. Steady‐state conditions and stability, and local dynamic behavior have been characterized. The multiplicity of steady states and their stability depend on key operating parameter values (dilution rate, gas–liquid mass transfer coefficient, biofilm detachment rate, and inlet substrate concentration). Small changes in the operating conditions may be coupled with a drastic change of the steady‐state scenario with transcritical and saddle‐node bifurcations. The relevance of concentration profiles establishing within the biofilm is also addressed. When the oxygen level in the liquid phase is <10% of the saturation level, the biofilm undergoes oxygen starvation and the active biofilm fraction becomes independent of the dilution rate.