Elisabetta Caramelli - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Elisabetta Caramelli
Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part B: Applied Biomaterials, 2008
Titanium is the gold standard among materials used for prosthetic devices, because of its good me... more Titanium is the gold standard among materials used for prosthetic devices, because of its good mechanical and chemical properties. When exposed to oxygen, titanium becomes an oxide that is biocompatible and able to induce osseointegration. Three allotropic forms of titanium dioxide exist, that is brookite, rutile, and anatase. Anatase can be prepared as a colloidal suspension and then used to coat surfaces. Anatase coating (AC) can potentially have specific biological effects. Here we are testing the effect of AC on osteoblast-like cells (MG63) by using microarray techniques to identify genes that are differently regulated in osteoblasts exposed to AC. By using DNA microarrays containing 20,000 genes, we identified in osteoblast-like cell lines (MG-63) cultured on AC, several genes whose expression was significantly up- or downregulated. They cover a broad range of functional activities: signaling transduction, immunity, cell cycle regulation, lysosomes composition and vesicular transport, cell adhesion, cytoskeleton and extracellular matrix components, proliferation, and apoptosis. The data reported constitute, to our knowledge, the first genetic portrait of AC effects. They can be relevant to a better understanding of the molecular mechanism of bone regeneration and as a model for comparing other materials with similar clinical effects.
Human Mutation, 2004
The pathogenesis of cleft lip with or without cleft palate (CL/P) is complex; its onset could be ... more The pathogenesis of cleft lip with or without cleft palate (CL/P) is complex; its onset could be due to the interaction of various genetic and environmental factors. Recently MTHFR functional polymorphisms were found to increase the risk of this common malformation; however, this finding is still debated. We investigated 110 sporadic CL/P patients, their parents and 289 unrelated controls for c.665C>T (commonly known as 677C>T; p.Ala222Val) and c.1286A>C (known as 1298A>C; p.Glu429Ala) polymorphism in the MTHFR gene. Transmission disequilibrium test (TDT) showed no distortion in allele transmission. Nevertheless, association studies revealed significant differences in allele frequencies between mothers of CL/P patients and controls. This work supports the hypothesis that a lower MTHFR enzyme activity in pregnant women, mostly related to the c.665C>T variant form, is responsible for a higher risk of having CL/P affected offspring. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc. KEY WORDS: Orofacial cleft; cleft lip with or without cleft palate; MTHFR
Annals of Human Genetics, 2008
Nonsyndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate (CL/P) is the most common orofacial malformat... more Nonsyndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate (CL/P) is the most common orofacial malformation, having a non-Mendelian and multifactorial aetiology. It has been shown that polymorphic variants of genes encoding key proteins of folate and methionine metabolism might be important maternal risk factors for having a child with these craniofacial anomalies. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of two polymorphisms of the methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase 1 (MTHFD1) gene, the A1958G and the G401A variants, on the risk of CL/P in the Italian population.
Bollettino della Società italiana di biologia sperimentale
One case of a patient with Chronic Granulocytic Leukemia showing a double Ph' together with t... more One case of a patient with Chronic Granulocytic Leukemia showing a double Ph' together with trisomy 17 during blastic crisis is reported. The Ph' chromosome resulting from a standard translocation of the chromosomes 9 and 22 was present in all the 16 mitoses observed, while the trisomy 17 was found in 15. This case is an additional contribution which demonstrates the presence of the alterations of the chromosome group E during the blastic crisis.
Bollettino della Società italiana di biologia sperimentale
We report the cytogenetic data of two patients with erythroleukemia showing the chromosome Ph'... more We report the cytogenetic data of two patients with erythroleukemia showing the chromosome Ph'. In one case the chromosome Ph', as revealed with the GTG band technique was the result of a translocation involving the chromosomes 19 and 22. The aim of this work is to provide more contribution to the knowledge of the origin of the Ph' and to give data in the field of this disease for which few cytogenetic data are available after the introduction of the banding techniques.
Physiological chemistry and physics
Negatively charged phosphatidylserine vesicles increase RNA polymerase activity of isolated rat l... more Negatively charged phosphatidylserine vesicles increase RNA polymerase activity of isolated rat liver nuclei, whereas inhibition is obtained with sphingomyelin, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylcholine, and phosphatidylinositol vesicles. The effect of phosphatidylserine on template activity is dose-dependent and similar to that reported for acidic polymers like heparin. These data indicate that the nature of the polar head is mainly responsible for the different effects and suggest that the phospholipids may be involved in mediating gene expression.
American Journal Of Pathology
The expression, cellular distribution, and activity of PIP(2)-specific phospholipase C (PLC) in h... more The expression, cellular distribution, and activity of PIP(2)-specific phospholipase C (PLC) in healthy human gastric-mucosa cells have been recently studied in our laboratories and a direct evidence for an almost exclusive expression of PLC beta isoforms, with the exception of PLC beta4, has been provided. These results addressed our attention to possible modification of PLC expression and activity during neoplastic transformation of the human gastric mucosa. In the present article we present results indicating that PLC delta2 is markedly expressed in type II intestinal metaplasia and in the adenocarcinoma whereas traces of other PLC isoforms were sometime detected. Interestingly, we found that type I intestinal metaplasia was in the majority of the cases PLC delta2-negative, but when expressed, this type of metaplasia generally considered as benignant, always evolved toward neoplastic transformation. These results therefore readdress the question of surveillance of the patients wi...
The American journal of gastroenterology, 2002
Promising results from clinical studies on the effect of probiotics as maintenance therapy in inf... more Promising results from clinical studies on the effect of probiotics as maintenance therapy in inflammatory bowel disease and in the prevention of onset of pouchitis ask for studies to unravel the still poorly understood mechanism of action of probiotics. To evaluate whether the probiotic bacteria that were used in the clinical studies (VSL#3, Escherichia coli Nissle 1917, and Lactobacillus GG) are able to induce chemokine production in epithelial cells, HT29/19A monolayers were incubated with cell debris and cell extract fractions of single strains of the probiotic bacteria in doses ranging from 10(3) to 10(9) colony-forming units/ml for 32 h. Supernatants were measured for interleukin 8 by ELISA. Lactobacilli and bifidobacteria strains from VSL#3 and Lactobacillus GG did not induce interleukin 8, whereas both cell debris and cell extracts from E. coli Nissle 1917 induced interleukin 8 production in a dose-dependent way. Cell extracts from streptococcal strains induced interleukin 8...
Non-syndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate (NSCLP) is a malformation with variable phen... more Non-syndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate (NSCLP) is a malformation with variable phenotypes, resulting from a mixture of genetic and environmental factors. Some studies have supported a role for the 16q24 region and its candidate gene, CRISPLD2, in clefting. A replication study is necessary to confirm these findings. The aim of the present study was to test, by genetic linkage and association analyses, whether the candidate gene, CRISPLD2, represents a risk factor for NSCLP. The analysis of 39 multigenerational families provided formal exclusion of a linkage between NSCLP and the CRISPLD2 locus under different genetic models and non-parametric analyses. The family-based study of 239 unrelated probands and their parents revealed no association between any particular allele or haplotype and NSCLP. Therefore, the present investigation did not support the hypothesis of the involvement of CRISPLD2 in NSCLP malformation, at least with regard to the Italian population.
Objectives To test the distribution of fetal DNA in maternal plasma expressed as gen/eq in a popu... more Objectives To test the distribution of fetal DNA in maternal plasma expressed as gen/eq in a population of normal pregnancies.
Journal of Histochemistry & Cytochemistry, 2004
During organ differentiation, cell-extracellular matrix (ECM) interactions are required. The comp... more During organ differentiation, cell-extracellular matrix (ECM) interactions are required. The components of the ECM, such as glycosaminoglycans, fibronectin, laminin, and collagens, change in relation to cytokine and enzyme activity. Moreover, glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) are components of the ECM that play an important role in both cytokine regulation and cell activities. In this work we studied the accumulation of hyaluronic acid and
Cytometry, 1986
In this paper, we analyze by flow cytometry the mechanism of interaction of liposomes with nuclei... more In this paper, we analyze by flow cytometry the mechanism of interaction of liposomes with nuclei by means of a fluorophore transfer technique. Specifically, we employ isolated rat liver nuclei and PC unilamellar vesicles containing quenched concentrations of carboxyfluorescein (CF).
Prenatal Diagnosis, 2002
Objectives To test the distribution of fetal DNA in maternal plasma expressed as gen/eq in a popu... more Objectives To test the distribution of fetal DNA in maternal plasma expressed as gen/eq in a population of normal pregnancies.
Prenatal Diagnosis, 2008
Objective β-Human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) and pregnancy-associated plasma protein (PAPP-A) a... more Objective β-Human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) and pregnancy-associated plasma protein (PAPP-A) are placentally produced proteins whose levels are altered in pregnancies with trisomy 21. PLAC4 is located on chromosome 21 and its expression is restricted to the placenta. Here we investigated whether the levels of β-HCG-, PAPP-A-and PLAC4 mRNA could be able to discriminate pregnancies whose fetus is affected by trisomy 21.
Prenatal Diagnosis, 2007
We evaluated whether a discriminant model of prediction based on quantitative distribution of a p... more We evaluated whether a discriminant model of prediction based on quantitative distribution of a panel of biomolecules in maternal serum can discriminate normal pregnancies from those who will develop preeclampsia (PE) prior to onset of clinical symptoms at 11-15 weeks' gestation. Case control study encompassing 56 women destined to develop PE cases matched 1:3 for gestational age with 168 controls. After multiple of median (MoM) conversion of all available markers, comprising total Activin A (t-activin A), P-selectin, and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR) the combined likelihood ratios generated for each marker were used to calculate, for each patient enrolled in the study, the odds of being affected given a positive results (OAPR) of developing PE. For all the analyses performed, the type II error was < 20% with a type I error fixed at 5%. Data were expressed in MoM of controls. P-selectin was identified as the marker with the best discriminant ability between controls and PE, followed by (t-activin A). No significant differences in VEGFR were observed between cases and controls. By using a 3% prevalence of PE (or, about 1:33) we found that the median OAPR of developing PE for the 56 cases was 1:9 or 10% (1:1-1:417). The median OAPR of PE for controls was 1:40 or 2.5% (range, 1:6-1:4205). Detection rate of the statistical model, with a 5% false-positive rate was 59%. This analysis revealed that maternal serum markers assessed at the first and second trimester of pregnancy in asymptomatic patients can improve the early detection of cases at higher risk of developing PE.
Prenatal Diagnosis, 2003
To evaluate if an increased amount of fetal DNA concentration can be found in women screened posi... more To evaluate if an increased amount of fetal DNA concentration can be found in women screened positive for intrauterine growth restriction because of abnormal uterine artery Doppler waveforms. We enrolled eight pregnant women (each bearing a male fetus), with the evidence of abnormal uterine artery Doppler waveforms, and 16 control patients for a case-control study matched for gestational age (1 : 2). Uterine artery Doppler was carried out at 20 to 35 weeks' gestation (median 29). The mean uterine artery resistance index (RI) was subsequently calculated, and a value >0.6 was considered positive for the clinical features of pre-eclampsia. The SRY locus was used to determine the amount of male fetal DNA in the maternal plasma at the time of Doppler analysis. Two controls (normal Doppler) were excluded from the final analysis because they had a pre-term delivery. One case (abnormal Doppler) had evidence of intrauterine growth restriction at the time of enrolment. In four out of eight cases (abnormal Doppler), intrauterine growth restriction was subsequently observed. Multiples of median (MoM) conversion of the fetal DNA values showed an increase of 1.81 times in the cases when compared to the controls. An increase of 2.16 times was instead observed for the cases with a growth-restricted fetus (5 cases out of 8) in comparison with the controls (14 cases). In subjects positive to uterine artery Doppler velocimetry analysis (Doppler analysis for pre-eclampsia screening), the fetal DNA concentration is higher than expected, in the absence of any other clinical feature. Since the increase in fetal DNA seems to be related to the presence or to the future development of intrauterine growth restriction, this paper suggests a possible integration between ultrasound and molecular markers for predicting the disease in some cases.
Journal of Periodontology, 2004
P-15 is an analog of the cell-binding domain of collagen. P-15 has been shown to facilitate physi... more P-15 is an analog of the cell-binding domain of collagen. P-15 has been shown to facilitate physiological processes in a way similar to collagen; to serve as an anchorage for cells; and to promote the binding, migration, and differentiation of cells. Expression profiling by DNA microarray is a molecular technology that allows the analysis of gene expression in a cell system. By using DNA microarrays containing 19,200 genes, we identified in osteoblast-like cell line (MG-63) cultured with P-15 several genes whose expression was significantly up- or downregulated. The differentially expressed genes cover a broad range of functional activities: 1) signaling transduction, 2) differentiation, 3) apoptosis, and 4) cell-cycle regulation. It was also possible to detect some genes whose function is unknown. The data reported are, to our knowledge, the first genetic portrait of P-15 effects. They can help us to better understand the molecular mechanism of osteogenesis and can serve as a model for comparing different cell cultures and/or other materials with similar effect.
Journal of Periodontology, 2003
Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) interference with interleukin 6 (IL-6) activity and th... more Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) interference with interleukin 6 (IL-6) activity and the role of the latter in early human embryonic development prompted us to examine the effects IL-6 on matrix synthesis and the effects of TGF-beta3 on IL-6 expression human cleft lip and palate (CLP) fibroblasts. Collagen and glycosaminoglycan (GAG) synthesis were determined by radiolabeled precursors and biglycan expression by Northern blotting before and after adding IL-6. The effects of TGF-beta3 on IL-6 production were assayed by evaluating IL-6 transcript by Northern blotting and IL-6 protein secretion by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The results showed that IL-6 elicited an inhibitory effect on collagen and GAG levels in CLP fibroblasts by lowering hyaluronan and dermatan sulfate secretion. IL-6 up-regulated biglycan expression, but less strongly than TGF-beta3. TGF-beta3 significantly down-regulated IL-6 transcript and secretion in CLP fibroblasts. These data suggest the increase in matrix components that characterize the CLP fibroblast phenotype might be due to a concerted TGF-beta3-IL-6 action. We hypothesize changes in cross-talk between TGF-beta3 and IL-6 signal transduction pathways are involved in the induction of cleft palate.
Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part B: Applied Biomaterials, 2008
Titanium is the gold standard among materials used for prosthetic devices, because of its good me... more Titanium is the gold standard among materials used for prosthetic devices, because of its good mechanical and chemical properties. When exposed to oxygen, titanium becomes an oxide that is biocompatible and able to induce osseointegration. Three allotropic forms of titanium dioxide exist, that is brookite, rutile, and anatase. Anatase can be prepared as a colloidal suspension and then used to coat surfaces. Anatase coating (AC) can potentially have specific biological effects. Here we are testing the effect of AC on osteoblast-like cells (MG63) by using microarray techniques to identify genes that are differently regulated in osteoblasts exposed to AC. By using DNA microarrays containing 20,000 genes, we identified in osteoblast-like cell lines (MG-63) cultured on AC, several genes whose expression was significantly up- or downregulated. They cover a broad range of functional activities: signaling transduction, immunity, cell cycle regulation, lysosomes composition and vesicular transport, cell adhesion, cytoskeleton and extracellular matrix components, proliferation, and apoptosis. The data reported constitute, to our knowledge, the first genetic portrait of AC effects. They can be relevant to a better understanding of the molecular mechanism of bone regeneration and as a model for comparing other materials with similar clinical effects.
Human Mutation, 2004
The pathogenesis of cleft lip with or without cleft palate (CL/P) is complex; its onset could be ... more The pathogenesis of cleft lip with or without cleft palate (CL/P) is complex; its onset could be due to the interaction of various genetic and environmental factors. Recently MTHFR functional polymorphisms were found to increase the risk of this common malformation; however, this finding is still debated. We investigated 110 sporadic CL/P patients, their parents and 289 unrelated controls for c.665C>T (commonly known as 677C>T; p.Ala222Val) and c.1286A>C (known as 1298A>C; p.Glu429Ala) polymorphism in the MTHFR gene. Transmission disequilibrium test (TDT) showed no distortion in allele transmission. Nevertheless, association studies revealed significant differences in allele frequencies between mothers of CL/P patients and controls. This work supports the hypothesis that a lower MTHFR enzyme activity in pregnant women, mostly related to the c.665C>T variant form, is responsible for a higher risk of having CL/P affected offspring. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc. KEY WORDS: Orofacial cleft; cleft lip with or without cleft palate; MTHFR
Annals of Human Genetics, 2008
Nonsyndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate (CL/P) is the most common orofacial malformat... more Nonsyndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate (CL/P) is the most common orofacial malformation, having a non-Mendelian and multifactorial aetiology. It has been shown that polymorphic variants of genes encoding key proteins of folate and methionine metabolism might be important maternal risk factors for having a child with these craniofacial anomalies. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of two polymorphisms of the methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase 1 (MTHFD1) gene, the A1958G and the G401A variants, on the risk of CL/P in the Italian population.
Bollettino della Società italiana di biologia sperimentale
One case of a patient with Chronic Granulocytic Leukemia showing a double Ph' together with t... more One case of a patient with Chronic Granulocytic Leukemia showing a double Ph' together with trisomy 17 during blastic crisis is reported. The Ph' chromosome resulting from a standard translocation of the chromosomes 9 and 22 was present in all the 16 mitoses observed, while the trisomy 17 was found in 15. This case is an additional contribution which demonstrates the presence of the alterations of the chromosome group E during the blastic crisis.
Bollettino della Società italiana di biologia sperimentale
We report the cytogenetic data of two patients with erythroleukemia showing the chromosome Ph'... more We report the cytogenetic data of two patients with erythroleukemia showing the chromosome Ph'. In one case the chromosome Ph', as revealed with the GTG band technique was the result of a translocation involving the chromosomes 19 and 22. The aim of this work is to provide more contribution to the knowledge of the origin of the Ph' and to give data in the field of this disease for which few cytogenetic data are available after the introduction of the banding techniques.
Physiological chemistry and physics
Negatively charged phosphatidylserine vesicles increase RNA polymerase activity of isolated rat l... more Negatively charged phosphatidylserine vesicles increase RNA polymerase activity of isolated rat liver nuclei, whereas inhibition is obtained with sphingomyelin, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylcholine, and phosphatidylinositol vesicles. The effect of phosphatidylserine on template activity is dose-dependent and similar to that reported for acidic polymers like heparin. These data indicate that the nature of the polar head is mainly responsible for the different effects and suggest that the phospholipids may be involved in mediating gene expression.
American Journal Of Pathology
The expression, cellular distribution, and activity of PIP(2)-specific phospholipase C (PLC) in h... more The expression, cellular distribution, and activity of PIP(2)-specific phospholipase C (PLC) in healthy human gastric-mucosa cells have been recently studied in our laboratories and a direct evidence for an almost exclusive expression of PLC beta isoforms, with the exception of PLC beta4, has been provided. These results addressed our attention to possible modification of PLC expression and activity during neoplastic transformation of the human gastric mucosa. In the present article we present results indicating that PLC delta2 is markedly expressed in type II intestinal metaplasia and in the adenocarcinoma whereas traces of other PLC isoforms were sometime detected. Interestingly, we found that type I intestinal metaplasia was in the majority of the cases PLC delta2-negative, but when expressed, this type of metaplasia generally considered as benignant, always evolved toward neoplastic transformation. These results therefore readdress the question of surveillance of the patients wi...
The American journal of gastroenterology, 2002
Promising results from clinical studies on the effect of probiotics as maintenance therapy in inf... more Promising results from clinical studies on the effect of probiotics as maintenance therapy in inflammatory bowel disease and in the prevention of onset of pouchitis ask for studies to unravel the still poorly understood mechanism of action of probiotics. To evaluate whether the probiotic bacteria that were used in the clinical studies (VSL#3, Escherichia coli Nissle 1917, and Lactobacillus GG) are able to induce chemokine production in epithelial cells, HT29/19A monolayers were incubated with cell debris and cell extract fractions of single strains of the probiotic bacteria in doses ranging from 10(3) to 10(9) colony-forming units/ml for 32 h. Supernatants were measured for interleukin 8 by ELISA. Lactobacilli and bifidobacteria strains from VSL#3 and Lactobacillus GG did not induce interleukin 8, whereas both cell debris and cell extracts from E. coli Nissle 1917 induced interleukin 8 production in a dose-dependent way. Cell extracts from streptococcal strains induced interleukin 8...
Non-syndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate (NSCLP) is a malformation with variable phen... more Non-syndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate (NSCLP) is a malformation with variable phenotypes, resulting from a mixture of genetic and environmental factors. Some studies have supported a role for the 16q24 region and its candidate gene, CRISPLD2, in clefting. A replication study is necessary to confirm these findings. The aim of the present study was to test, by genetic linkage and association analyses, whether the candidate gene, CRISPLD2, represents a risk factor for NSCLP. The analysis of 39 multigenerational families provided formal exclusion of a linkage between NSCLP and the CRISPLD2 locus under different genetic models and non-parametric analyses. The family-based study of 239 unrelated probands and their parents revealed no association between any particular allele or haplotype and NSCLP. Therefore, the present investigation did not support the hypothesis of the involvement of CRISPLD2 in NSCLP malformation, at least with regard to the Italian population.
Objectives To test the distribution of fetal DNA in maternal plasma expressed as gen/eq in a popu... more Objectives To test the distribution of fetal DNA in maternal plasma expressed as gen/eq in a population of normal pregnancies.
Journal of Histochemistry & Cytochemistry, 2004
During organ differentiation, cell-extracellular matrix (ECM) interactions are required. The comp... more During organ differentiation, cell-extracellular matrix (ECM) interactions are required. The components of the ECM, such as glycosaminoglycans, fibronectin, laminin, and collagens, change in relation to cytokine and enzyme activity. Moreover, glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) are components of the ECM that play an important role in both cytokine regulation and cell activities. In this work we studied the accumulation of hyaluronic acid and
Cytometry, 1986
In this paper, we analyze by flow cytometry the mechanism of interaction of liposomes with nuclei... more In this paper, we analyze by flow cytometry the mechanism of interaction of liposomes with nuclei by means of a fluorophore transfer technique. Specifically, we employ isolated rat liver nuclei and PC unilamellar vesicles containing quenched concentrations of carboxyfluorescein (CF).
Prenatal Diagnosis, 2002
Objectives To test the distribution of fetal DNA in maternal plasma expressed as gen/eq in a popu... more Objectives To test the distribution of fetal DNA in maternal plasma expressed as gen/eq in a population of normal pregnancies.
Prenatal Diagnosis, 2008
Objective β-Human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) and pregnancy-associated plasma protein (PAPP-A) a... more Objective β-Human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) and pregnancy-associated plasma protein (PAPP-A) are placentally produced proteins whose levels are altered in pregnancies with trisomy 21. PLAC4 is located on chromosome 21 and its expression is restricted to the placenta. Here we investigated whether the levels of β-HCG-, PAPP-A-and PLAC4 mRNA could be able to discriminate pregnancies whose fetus is affected by trisomy 21.
Prenatal Diagnosis, 2007
We evaluated whether a discriminant model of prediction based on quantitative distribution of a p... more We evaluated whether a discriminant model of prediction based on quantitative distribution of a panel of biomolecules in maternal serum can discriminate normal pregnancies from those who will develop preeclampsia (PE) prior to onset of clinical symptoms at 11-15 weeks' gestation. Case control study encompassing 56 women destined to develop PE cases matched 1:3 for gestational age with 168 controls. After multiple of median (MoM) conversion of all available markers, comprising total Activin A (t-activin A), P-selectin, and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR) the combined likelihood ratios generated for each marker were used to calculate, for each patient enrolled in the study, the odds of being affected given a positive results (OAPR) of developing PE. For all the analyses performed, the type II error was < 20% with a type I error fixed at 5%. Data were expressed in MoM of controls. P-selectin was identified as the marker with the best discriminant ability between controls and PE, followed by (t-activin A). No significant differences in VEGFR were observed between cases and controls. By using a 3% prevalence of PE (or, about 1:33) we found that the median OAPR of developing PE for the 56 cases was 1:9 or 10% (1:1-1:417). The median OAPR of PE for controls was 1:40 or 2.5% (range, 1:6-1:4205). Detection rate of the statistical model, with a 5% false-positive rate was 59%. This analysis revealed that maternal serum markers assessed at the first and second trimester of pregnancy in asymptomatic patients can improve the early detection of cases at higher risk of developing PE.
Prenatal Diagnosis, 2003
To evaluate if an increased amount of fetal DNA concentration can be found in women screened posi... more To evaluate if an increased amount of fetal DNA concentration can be found in women screened positive for intrauterine growth restriction because of abnormal uterine artery Doppler waveforms. We enrolled eight pregnant women (each bearing a male fetus), with the evidence of abnormal uterine artery Doppler waveforms, and 16 control patients for a case-control study matched for gestational age (1 : 2). Uterine artery Doppler was carried out at 20 to 35 weeks' gestation (median 29). The mean uterine artery resistance index (RI) was subsequently calculated, and a value >0.6 was considered positive for the clinical features of pre-eclampsia. The SRY locus was used to determine the amount of male fetal DNA in the maternal plasma at the time of Doppler analysis. Two controls (normal Doppler) were excluded from the final analysis because they had a pre-term delivery. One case (abnormal Doppler) had evidence of intrauterine growth restriction at the time of enrolment. In four out of eight cases (abnormal Doppler), intrauterine growth restriction was subsequently observed. Multiples of median (MoM) conversion of the fetal DNA values showed an increase of 1.81 times in the cases when compared to the controls. An increase of 2.16 times was instead observed for the cases with a growth-restricted fetus (5 cases out of 8) in comparison with the controls (14 cases). In subjects positive to uterine artery Doppler velocimetry analysis (Doppler analysis for pre-eclampsia screening), the fetal DNA concentration is higher than expected, in the absence of any other clinical feature. Since the increase in fetal DNA seems to be related to the presence or to the future development of intrauterine growth restriction, this paper suggests a possible integration between ultrasound and molecular markers for predicting the disease in some cases.
Journal of Periodontology, 2004
P-15 is an analog of the cell-binding domain of collagen. P-15 has been shown to facilitate physi... more P-15 is an analog of the cell-binding domain of collagen. P-15 has been shown to facilitate physiological processes in a way similar to collagen; to serve as an anchorage for cells; and to promote the binding, migration, and differentiation of cells. Expression profiling by DNA microarray is a molecular technology that allows the analysis of gene expression in a cell system. By using DNA microarrays containing 19,200 genes, we identified in osteoblast-like cell line (MG-63) cultured with P-15 several genes whose expression was significantly up- or downregulated. The differentially expressed genes cover a broad range of functional activities: 1) signaling transduction, 2) differentiation, 3) apoptosis, and 4) cell-cycle regulation. It was also possible to detect some genes whose function is unknown. The data reported are, to our knowledge, the first genetic portrait of P-15 effects. They can help us to better understand the molecular mechanism of osteogenesis and can serve as a model for comparing different cell cultures and/or other materials with similar effect.
Journal of Periodontology, 2003
Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) interference with interleukin 6 (IL-6) activity and th... more Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) interference with interleukin 6 (IL-6) activity and the role of the latter in early human embryonic development prompted us to examine the effects IL-6 on matrix synthesis and the effects of TGF-beta3 on IL-6 expression human cleft lip and palate (CLP) fibroblasts. Collagen and glycosaminoglycan (GAG) synthesis were determined by radiolabeled precursors and biglycan expression by Northern blotting before and after adding IL-6. The effects of TGF-beta3 on IL-6 production were assayed by evaluating IL-6 transcript by Northern blotting and IL-6 protein secretion by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The results showed that IL-6 elicited an inhibitory effect on collagen and GAG levels in CLP fibroblasts by lowering hyaluronan and dermatan sulfate secretion. IL-6 up-regulated biglycan expression, but less strongly than TGF-beta3. TGF-beta3 significantly down-regulated IL-6 transcript and secretion in CLP fibroblasts. These data suggest the increase in matrix components that characterize the CLP fibroblast phenotype might be due to a concerted TGF-beta3-IL-6 action. We hypothesize changes in cross-talk between TGF-beta3 and IL-6 signal transduction pathways are involved in the induction of cleft palate.