Serum TNF-Alpha and IL-10 Predict Reduced Sensitivity to Fear- and Anxiety-Related Traits in Healthy Older Dogs: Preliminary Evidence for Immune-Personality Signatures in Later Life.

As dogs live longer, they face an increased risk of functional age-related changes, including physiological and behavioral alterations. However, data on these age-related processes in domestic dogs remain limited. In this study, we assessed serum concentrations of cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6, IL-10), personality and cognition using validated scales (Dog Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory Personality Questionnaire (RSTQ-D), Dog Impulsivity Assessment Scale (DIAS), and Canine Cognitive Assessment Scale (CCAS)) in 44 healthy pet dogs from two non-overlapping age groups (1-4 years old and ≥11 years old).

Environmental Temperature Variation Affects Brain Lipid Composition in Adult Zebrafish ().

This study delves deeper into the impact of environmental temperature variations on the nervous system in teleost fish. Previous research has demonstrated that exposing adult zebrafish () to 18 °C and 34 °C for 4 or 21 days induces behavioural changes compared to fish kept at a control temperature of 26 °C, suggesting alterations in the nervous system. Subsequent studies revealed that these temperature conditions also modify brain protein expression, indicating potential neurotoxic effects.

Preliminary investigation on the impact of salty and sugary former foods on pig liver and plasma profiles using OMICS approaches.

Replacing cereals with food leftovers could reduce feed-food competition and keep nutrients and energy in the food chain. Former food products (FFPs) are industrial food leftovers no more intended for human but still suitable as alternative and sustainable feedstuffs for monogastric. In this study, omics approaches were applied to evaluate the impact of dietary FFPs on pig liver proteome and plasma peptidome.

Antioxidant capacity and peptidomic analysis of in vitro digested Camelina sativa L. Crantz and Cynara cardunculus co-products.

In recent decades, the food system has been faced with the significant problem of increasing food waste. Therefore, the feed industry, supported by scientific research, is attempting to valorise the use of discarded biomass as co-products for the livestock sector, in line with EU objectives. In parallel, the search for functional products that can ensure animal health and performances is a common fundamental goal for both animal husbandry and feeding.

The Neurotoxic Effect of Environmental Temperature Variation in Adult Zebrafish ().

Neurotoxicity consists of the altered functionality of the nervous system caused by exposure to chemical agents or altered chemical-physical parameters. The neurotoxic effect can be evaluated from the molecular to the behavioural level. The zebrafish is a model organism used in many research fields, including ecotoxicology and neurotoxicology.

Serine metabolism during differentiation of human iPSC-derived astrocytes.

Astrocytes are essential players in development and functions, being particularly relevant as regulators of brain energy metabolism, ionic homeostasis and synaptic transmission. They are also the major source of l-serine in the brain, which is synthesized from the glycolytic intermediate 3-phosphoglycerate through the phosphorylated pathway. l-Serine is the precursor of the two main co-agonists of the N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor, glycine and d-serine.

Mass spectrometry-based proteomic strategy for ecchymotic skin examination in forensic pathology.

Mass spectrometry (MS)-based proteomics has recently attracted the attention from forensic pathologists. This work is the first report of the development of a shotgun bottom-up proteomic approach based on rapid protein extraction and nano-liquid chromatography/high-resolution mass spectrometry applied to full-thickness human skin for the differential analysis of normal and ecchymotic tissues to identify new biomarkers for bruise characterization and dating. We identified around 2000 proteins from each pooled extract.

Response to microplastic exposure: An exploration into the sea urchin immune cell proteome.

It is now known that the Mediterranean Sea currently is one of the major hotspot for microplastics (MPs; < 5 mm) pollution and that the risks will be even more pronounced in the coming years. Thus, the in-depth study of the mechanisms underlying the MPs toxicity in key Mediterranean organisms, subjected to high anthropic pressures, has become a categorical imperative to pursue. Here, we explore for the first time the sea urchins immune cells profile combined to their proteome upon in vivo exposure (72 h) to different concentrations of polystyrene-microbeads (micro-PS) starting from relevant environmental concentrations (10, 50, 10, 10 MP/L).

Phosphoproteomic mapping of CCR5 and ACKR2 signaling properties.

ACKR2 is an atypical chemokine receptor which is structurally uncoupled from G proteins and is unable to activate signaling pathways used by conventional chemokine receptors to promote cell migration. Nonetheless, ACKR2 regulates inflammatory and immune responses by shaping chemokine gradients in tissues scavenging inflammatory chemokines. To investigate the signaling pathways downstream to ACKR2, a quantitative SILAC-based phosphoproteomic analysis coupled with a systems biology approach with network analysis, was carried out on a HEK293 cell model expressing either ACKR2 or its conventional counterpart CCR5.

Insulin and serine metabolism as sex-specific hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease in the human hippocampus.

Healthy aging is an ambitious aspiration for humans, but neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), strongly affect quality of life. Using an integrated omics approach, we investigate alterations in the molecular composition of postmortem hippocampus samples of healthy persons and individuals with AD. Profound differences are apparent between control and AD male and female cohorts in terms of up- and downregulated metabolic pathways.

Molecular response of Sargassum vulgare to acidification at volcanic CO vents: Insights from proteomic and metabolite analyses.

Ocean acidification is impacting marine life all over the world. Understanding how species can cope with the changes in seawater carbonate chemistry represents a challenging issue. We addressed this topic using underwater CO vents that naturally acidify some marine areas off the island of Ischia.

Brain Proteome and Behavioural Analysis in Wild Type, BDNF and BDNF Adult Zebrafish () Exposed to Two Different Temperatures.

Experimental evidence suggests that environmental stress conditions can alter the expression of BDNF and that the expression of this neurotrophin influences behavioural responses in mammalian models. It has been recently demonstrated that exposure to 34 °C for 21 days alters the brain proteome and behaviour in zebrafish. The aim of this work was to investigate the role of BDNF in the nervous system of adult zebrafish under control and heat treatment conditions.

A Wide-Proteome Analysis to Identify Molecular Pathways Involved in Kidney Response to High-Fat Diet in Mice.

The etiopathogenesis of obesity-related chronic kidney disease (CKD) is still scarcely understood. To this aim, we assessed the effect of high-fat diet (HF) on molecular pathways leading to organ damage, steatosis, and fibrosis. Six-week-old male C57BL/6N mice were fed HF diet or normal chow for 20 weeks.

Ovothiol ensures the correct developmental programme of the sea urchin embryo.

Ovothiols are π-methyl-5-thiohistidines produced in great amounts in sea urchin eggs, where they can act as protective agents against the oxidative burst at fertilization and environmental stressors during development. Here we examined the biological relevance of ovothiol during the embryogenesis of the sea urchin by assessing the localization of the key biosynthetic enzyme OvoA, both at transcript and protein level, and perturbing its protein translation by morpholino antisense oligonucleotide-mediated knockdown experiments. In addition, we explored the possible involvement of ovothiol in the inflammatory response by assessing gene expression and protein localization following exposure to bacterial lipopolysaccharide.

Covalent inhibition of P. falciparum ferredoxin-NADP reductase: Exploring alternative strategies for the development of new antimalarial drugs.

The protozoan Plasmodium falciparum is the main aetiological agent of tropical malaria. Characteristic of the phylum is the presence of a plastid-like organelle which hosts several homologs of plant proteins, including a ferredoxin (PfFd) and its NADPH-dependent reductase (PfFNR). The PfFNR/PfFd redox system is essential for the parasite, while mammals share no homologous proteins, making the enzyme an attractive target for novel and much needed antimalarial drugs.

Methionine Supplementation Affects Metabolism and Reduces Tumor Aggressiveness in Liver Cancer Cells.

Liver cancer is one of the most common cancer worldwide with a high mortality. Methionine is an essential amino acid required for normal development and cell growth, is mainly metabolized in the liver, and its role as an anti-cancer supplement is still controversial. Here, we evaluate the effects of methionine supplementation in liver cancer cells.

Protective effect of extract against aging and neurodegeneration.

Aging and age-related neurodegeneration are among the major challenges in modern medicine because of the progressive increase in the number of elderly in the world population. Nutrition, which has important long-term consequences for health, is an important way to prevent diseases and achieve healthy aging. The beneficial effects of on metabolic disorders have been widely documented.

High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry-Based Approaches for the Detection and Quantification of Peptidase Activity in Plasma.

Proteomic technologies have identified 234 peptidases in plasma but little quantitative information about the proteolytic activity has been uncovered. In this study, the substrate profile of plasma proteases was evaluated using two nano-LC-ESI-MS/MS methods. Multiplex substrate profiling by mass spectrometry (MSP-MS) quantifies plasma protease activity in vitro using a global and unbiased library of synthetic peptide reporter substrates, and shotgun peptidomics quantifies protein degradation products that have been generated in vivo by proteases.

Proteomic Analysis Reveals a Mitochondrial Remodeling of βTC3 Cells in Response to Nanotopography.

Recently, using cluster-assembled zirconia substrates with tailored roughness produced by supersonic cluster beam deposition, we demonstrated that β cells can sense nanoscale features of the substrate and can translate these stimuli into a mechanotransductive pathway capable of preserveing β-cell differentiation and function in long-term cultures of human islets. Using the same proteomic approach, we now focused on the mitochondrial fraction of βTC3 cells grown on the same zirconia substrates and characterized the morphological and proteomic modifications induced by the nanostructure. The results suggest that, in βTC3 cells, mitochondria are perturbed by the nanotopography and activate a program involving metabolism modification and modulation of their interplay with other organelles.

Effectiveness of Vigna unguiculata seed extracts in preventing colorectal cancer.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common types of cancer, especially in Western countries, and its incidence rate is increasing every year. In this study, for the first time Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.

Glycosylation Tunes Neuroserpin Physiological and Pathological Properties.

Neuroserpin (NS) is a member of the serine protease inhibitors superfamily. Specific point mutations are responsible for its accumulation in the endoplasmic reticulum of neurons that leads to a pathological condition named familial encephalopathy with neuroserpin inclusion bodies (FENIB). Wild-type NS presents two N-glycosylation chains and does not form polymers in vivo, while non-glycosylated NS causes aberrant polymer accumulation in cell models.

Living in future ocean acidification, physiological adaptive responses of the immune system of sea urchins resident at a CO vent system.

The effects of ocean acidification, a major anthropogenic impact on marine life, have been mainly investigated in laboratory/mesocosm experiments. We used the CO vents at Ischia as a natural laboratory to study the long-term effects of ocean acidification on the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus population resident in low-pH (7.8 ± 0.

Author Correction: Cluster-assembled zirconia substrates promote long-term differentiation and functioning of human islets of Langerhans.

A correction to this article has been published and is linked from the HTML and PDF versions of this paper. The error has not been fixed in the paper.

Cluster-assembled zirconia substrates promote long-term differentiation and functioning of human islets of Langerhans.

Ex vivo expansion and differentiation of human pancreatic β-cell are enabling steps of paramount importance for accelerating the development of therapies for diabetes. The success of regenerative strategies depends on their ability to reproduce the chemical and biophysical properties of the microenvironment in which β-cells develop, proliferate and function. In this paper we focus on the biophysical properties of the extracellular environment and exploit the cluster-assembled zirconia substrates with tailored roughness to mimic the nanotopography of the extracellular matrix.