Cytotoxic ROS-Consuming Mn(III) Synzymes: Structural Influence on Their Mechanism of Action.

ROS (i.e., reactive oxygen species) scavenging is a key function of various Mn-based enzymes, including superoxide dismutases (SODs) and catalases, which are actively linked to oxidative stress-related diseases.

Postmortem biochemistry of GFAP, NSE and S100B in cerebrospinal fluid and in vitreous humor for estimation of postmortem interval: a pilot study.

Postmortem interval (PMI) is a challenging issue in forensic practice. Although postmortem biomarkers of traumatic brain injury (TBI) are recognised as an emerging resource for PMI estimation, their role remains controversial. This study aims to evaluate postmortem concentrations of three TBI biomarkers (GFAP, NSE and S100B) in two matrices (cerebrospinal fluid and vitreous humor), in order to find out if these markers could be adopted in PMI estimation.

Biochar dust emission: Is it a health concern? Preliminary results for toxicity assessment.

Biochar is currently garnering interest as an alternative to commercial fertilizer and as a tool to counteract global warming. However, its use is increasingly drawing attention, particularly concerning the fine dust that can be developed during its manufacture, transport, and use. This work aimed to assess the toxicity of fine particulate Biochar ( View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Discovery of antibacterial manganese(i) tricarbonyl complexes through combinatorial chemistry.

The continuous rise of antimicrobial resistance is a serious threat to human health and already causing hundreds of thousands of deaths each year. While natural products and synthetic organic small molecules have provided the majority of our current antibiotic arsenal, they are falling short in providing new drugs with novel modes of action able to treat multidrug resistant bacteria. Metal complexes have recently shown promising results as antimicrobial agents, but the number of studied compounds is still vanishingly small, making it difficult to identify promising compound classes or elucidate structure-activity relationships.

New Stable Gallium(III) and Indium(III) Complexes with Thiosemicarbazone Ligands: A Biological Evaluation.

The aim of this work is to explore a new library of coordination compounds for medicinal applications. Gallium is known for its various applications in this field. Presently, indium is not particularly important in medicine, but it shares a lot of chemical traits with its above-mentioned lighter companion, gallium, and is also used in radio imaging.

Gold(III) complexes with thiosemicarbazone ligands: insights into their cytotoxic effects on lung cancer cells.

Cancer continues to pose a global threat, underscoring the urgent need for more effective and safer treatment options. Gold-based compounds have recently emerged as promising candidates due to their diverse range of biological activities. In this study, three gold(III) complexes derived from thiosemicarbazone ligands have been synthesized, fully characterized, including their X-ray crystal structures.

The Designer Drug αPHP Affected Cell Proliferation and Triggered Deathly Mechanisms in Murine Neural Stem/Progenitor Cells.

Increasing reports of neurological and psychiatric outcomes due to psychostimulant synthetic cathinones (SCs) have recently raised public concern. However, the understanding of neurotoxic mechanisms is still lacking, particularly for the under-investigated αPHP, one of the major MDPV derivatives. In particular, its effects on neural stem/progenitor cell cultures (NSPCs) are still unexplored.

Three-Dimensional Bioprinting of Organoid-Based Scaffolds (OBST) for Long-Term Nanoparticle Toxicology Investigation.

The toxicity of nanoparticles absorbed through contact or inhalation is one of the major concerns for public health. It is mandatory to continually evaluate the toxicity of nanomaterials. In vitro nanotoxicological studies are conventionally limited by the two dimensions.

Benzene Exposure and MicroRNAs Expression: In Vitro, In Vivo and Human Findings.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are important regulators of gene expression and define part of the epigenetic signature. Their influence on human health is established and interest in them is progressively increasing. Environmental and occupational risk factors affecting human health include chemical agents.

Gallium(III)-pyridoxal thiosemicarbazone derivatives as nontoxic agents against Gram-negative bacteria.

Many bacterial strains are developing mechanism of resistance to antibiotics, rendering last-resort antibiotics inactive. Therefore, new drugs are needed and in particular metal-based compounds represent a valid starting point to explore new antibiotic classes. In this study, we have chosen to investigate gallium(III) complexes for their potential antimicrobial activity against different strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa which have developed different type of resistance mechanism, including the expression of β-lactamases (NDM-1, ESβL, or AmpC) or the production of biofilm.

Light Triggers the Antiproliferative Activity of Naphthalimide-Conjugated (η-arene)ruthenium(II) Complexes.

We report the synthesis and characterization of three half-sandwich Ru(II) arene complexes [(η-arene)Ru(N,N')L][PF] containing arene = p-cymene, N,N' = bipyridine, and L = pyridine meta- with methylenenaphthalimide (C1), methylene(nitro)naphthalimide (C2), or methylene(piperidinyl)naphthalimide (C3). The naphthalimide acts as an antenna for photoactivation. After 3 h of irradiation with blue light, the monodentate pyridyl ligand had almost completely dissociated from complex C3, which contains an electron donor on the naphthalimide ring, whereas only 50% dissociation was observed for C1 and C2.

Bismuth complex of quinoline thiosemicarbazone restores carbapenem sensitivity in NDM-1-positive Klebsiella pneumoniae.

Resistant bacteria represent an urgent worldwide threat. NDM-1-producing strains are rendering the last line antibiotics less effective. Six bismuth complexes of general formula BiLCl, where L is a thiosemicarbazone bearing a quinoline moiety, have been synthesized and fully characterized, including their X-ray crystal structures.

Maternal air pollution exposure during the first trimester of pregnancy and markers of inflammation and endothelial dysfunction.

Background: Maternal exposure to air pollutants has been associated with pregnancy complications and adverse birth outcomes. Endothelial dysfunction, an imbalance in vascular function, during pregnancy is considered a key element in the development of pre-eclampsia. Environmental exposure to particulate matter (PM) during the first trimester of pregnancy might increase maternal inflammatory status thus affecting fetal growth, possibly leading to preterm delivery.

Sex Difference and Benzene Exposure: Does It Matter?

Sex-related biological differences might lead to different effects in women and men when they are exposed to risk factors. A scoping review was carried out to understand if sex could be a discriminant in health outcomes due to benzene. Studies on both animals and humans were collected.

Synthetic recovery of impulse propagation in myocardial infarction via silicon carbide semiconductive nanowires.

Myocardial infarction causes 7.3 million deaths worldwide, mostly for fibrillation that electrically originates from the damaged areas of the left ventricle. Conventional cardiac bypass graft and percutaneous coronary interventions allow reperfusion of the downstream tissue but do not counteract the bioelectrical alteration originated from the infarct area.

Environmental/Occupational Exposure to Radon and Non-Pulmonary Neoplasm Risk: A Review of Epidemiologic Evidence.

Although Radon (Rn) is a known agent for lung cancer, the link between Rn exposure and other non-pulmonary neoplasms remains unclear. The aim of this review is to investigate the role of Rn in the development of tumors other than lung cancer in both occupational and environmental exposure. Particularly, our attention has been focused on leukemia and tumors related to brain and central nervous system (CNS), skin, stomach, kidney, and breast.

Biological Role and Clinical Implications of microRNAs in BRCA Mutation Carriers.

Women with pathogenic germline mutations in and genes have an increased risk to develop breast and ovarian cancer. There is, however, a high interpersonal variability in the modality and timing of tumor onset in those subjects, thus suggesting a potential role of other individual's genetic, epigenetic, and environmental risk factors in modulating the penetrance of BRCA mutations. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNAs that can modulate the expression of several genes involved in cancer initiation and progression.

Overexpression of microRNA‑486 affects the proliferation and chemosensitivity of mesothelioma cell lines by targeting .

Dysregulated levels of microRNAs (miRNAs or miRs), involved in oncogenic pathways, have been proposed to contribute to the aggressiveness of malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). Previous studies have highlighted the downregulation of miRNA miR‑486‑5p in patients with mesothelioma and the introduction of miRNA mimics to restore their reduced or absent functionality in cancer cells is considered an important therapeutic strategy. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the mechanisms through which miRNAs may influence the functions, proliferation and sensitivity to cisplatin of MPM cells.

Exposure to nanoparticles derived from diesel particulate filter equipped engine increases vulnerability to arrhythmia in rat hearts.

Air pollution is well recognized as a central player in cardiovascular disease. Exhaust particulate from diesel engines (DEP) is rich in nanoparticles and may contribute to the health effects of particulate matter in the environment. Moreover, diesel soot emitted by modern engines denotes defective surfaces alongside chemically-reactive sites increasing soot cytotoxicity.

A New Photoactivatable Ruthenium(II) Complex with an Asymmetric Bis-Thiocarbohydrazone: Chemical and Biological Investigations.

The synthesis, photoactivation and biological activity of a new piano-stool Ru(II) complex is herein reported. The peculiarity of this complex is that its monodentate ligand which undergoes the photodissociation is an asymmetric bis-thiocarbohydrazone ligand that possesses a pyridine moiety binding to Ru(II) and the other moiety contains a quinoline that endows the ligand with the capacity of chelating other metal ions. In this way, upon dissociation, the ligand can be released in the form of a metal complex.

INSIDE Project: Individual Air Pollution Exposure, Extracellular Vesicles Signaling and Hypertensive Disorder Development in Pregnancy.

Hypertensive disorders are common complications during pregnancy (HDP) with substantial public health impact. Acute and chronic particulate matter (PM) exposure during pregnancy increases the risk of HDP, although the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) may be the ideal candidates for mediating the effects of PM exposure in pregnancy as they are released in response to environmental stimuli.

Cobalt oxide nanoparticles induce oxidative stress and alter electromechanical function in rat ventricular myocytes.

Background: Nanotoxicology is an increasingly relevant field and sound paradigms on how inhaled nanoparticles (NPs) interact with organs at the cellular level, causing harmful conditions, have yet to be established. This is particularly true in the case of the cardiovascular system, where experimental and clinical evidence shows morphological and functional damage associated with NP exposure. Giving the increasing interest on cobalt oxide (CoO) NPs applications in industrial and bio-medical fields, a detailed knowledge of the involved toxicological effects is required, in view of assessing health risk for subjects/workers daily exposed to nanomaterials.

Author Correction: In-vivo vascular application via ultra-fast bioprinting for future 5D personalised nanomedicine.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

In-vivo vascular application via ultra-fast bioprinting for future 5D personalised nanomedicine.

The design of 3D complex structures enables new correlation studies between the engineering parameters and the biological activity. Moreover, additive manufacturing technology could revolutionise the personalised medical pre-operative management due to its possibility to interplay with computer tomography. Here we present a method based on rapid freeze prototyping (RFP) 3D printer, reconstruction cutting, nano dry formulation, fast freeze gelation, disinfection and partial processes for the 5D digital models functionalisation.

Idiopathic calcium nephrolithiasis with pure calcium oxalate composition: clinical correlates of the calcium oxalate dihydrate/monohydrate (COD/COM) stone ratio.

Pure calcium oxalate is the most frequent type of idiopathic kidney stone composition. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) allows to detect the ratio of calcium oxalate dihydrate (COD) and monohydrate (COM) crystals in stones, but the clinical significance of this parameter remains uncertain. The objective of this observational study was to verify the association of clinical and laboratory parameters of kidney stone disease with COD/COM ratio in a group of 465 (322 M, age 46 ± 14) patients suffering from idiopathic calcium nephrolithiasis with pure calcium oxalate stones (≥ 97%).