Florigio Lista - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Florigio Lista

Early detection of pathogens in vectors is important in preventing the spread of arboviral diseas... more Early detection of pathogens in vectors is important in preventing the spread of arboviral diseases, providing a timely indicator of pathogen circulation before outbreaks occur. However, entomological surveillance may face logistical constraints, such as maintaining the cold chain, and resource limitations, such as the field and laboratory workload of mosquito processing. We propose an FTA card-based trapping system that aims to simplify both field and laboratory phases of arbovirus surveillance. We modified a BG-Sentinel trap to include a mosquito collection chamber and a sugar feeding source through an FTA card soaked in a long-lasting viscous solution of honey and hydroxy-cellulose hydrogel. The FTA card ensures environmental preservation of nucleic acids, allowing continuous collection and feeding activity of specimens for several days and reducing the effort required for viral detection. We tested the trap prototype during two field seasons (2019 and 2021) in North-eastern Ital...

Acta Neuropathologica Communications

Regeneration of the neuromuscular junction (NMJ) leverages on extensive exchange of factors relea... more Regeneration of the neuromuscular junction (NMJ) leverages on extensive exchange of factors released from motor axon terminals (MATs), muscle fibers and perisynaptic Schwann cells (PSCs), among which hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is a major pro-regenerative signal. To identify critical determinants of NMJ remodeling in response to injury, we performed temporal transcriptional profiling of NMJs from 2 month-old mice during MAT degeneration/regeneration, and cross-referenced the differentially expressed genes with those elicited by H2O2 in SCs. We identified an enrichment in extracellular matrix (ECM) transcripts, including Connective Tissue Growth Factor (Ctgf), which is usually expressed during development. We discovered that Ctgf levels are increased in a Yes-associated protein (YAP)-dependent fashion in response to rapid, local H2O2 signaling generated by stressed mitochondria in the injured sciatic nerve, a finding highlighting the importance of signals triggered by mechanical force t...

Biomedicines

The environmental conditions generated by war and characterized by poverty, undernutrition, stres... more The environmental conditions generated by war and characterized by poverty, undernutrition, stress, difficult access to safe water and food as well as lack of environmental and personal hygiene favor the spread of many infectious diseases. Epidemic typhus, plague, malaria, cholera, typhoid fever, hepatitis, tetanus, and smallpox have nearly constantly accompanied wars, frequently deeply conditioning the outcome of battles/wars more than weapons and military strategy. At the end of the nineteenth century, with the birth of bacteriology, military medical researchers in Germany, the United Kingdom, and France were active in discovering the etiological agents of some diseases and in developing preventive vaccines. Emil von Behring, Ronald Ross and Charles Laveran, who were or served as military physicians, won the first, the second, and the seventh Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for discovering passive anti-diphtheria/tetanus immunotherapy and for identifying mosquito Anopheline...

PLOS ONE

BackgroundTyping ofNeisseria meningitidisisolates is crucial for the surveillance of invasive men... more BackgroundTyping ofNeisseria meningitidisisolates is crucial for the surveillance of invasive meningococcal disease (IMD). We performed a molecular epidemiology study ofN.meningitidisserogroup B (MenB) causing IMD in Italy between 2014 and 2017 to describe circulating strains belonging to this serogroup, with particular regards to the two factor H-binding protein (FHbp) subfamilies present in the bivalent MenB vaccine.Materials and methodsA total of 109 culture positive and 46 culture negative MenB samples were collected within the National Surveillance System (NSS) of IMD in Italy and molecularly analyzed by conventional methods.ResultsOverall, 71 MenB samples showed the FHbp subfamily A and 83 the subfamily B. The subfamily variants were differently distributed by age. The most frequent variants, A05 and B231, were associated with cc213 and cc162, respectively. All MenB with the FHbp A05 variant displayed the PorA P1.22,14 and 85.7% of them the FetA F5-5. The majority of MenB with...

Frontiers in Microbiology, Apr 1, 2022

Listeria monocytogenes is one of the most important foodborne pathogens responsible for listerios... more Listeria monocytogenes is one of the most important foodborne pathogens responsible for listeriosis, a severe disease with symptoms ranging from septicemia, meningoencephalitis, and abortion. Given the strong impact of listeriosis on human health and the difficulty of controlling L. monocytogenes along the food production chain, listeriosis has become a priority subjected to molecular surveillance in European Union/European Economic Area since 2007. From 2018, surveillance is based on whole-genome sequence using the core genome multilocus sequence type. The complete sequences of 132 clinical strains were used to define the evolutionary relatedness among subtypes of L. monocytogenes isolated in Italy from 2010 to 2016, allowing the identification of clades and/or clusters associated with outbreaks or sporadic cases of listeriosis. All the strains analyzed are clustered in lineages I and II, and the majority of the strains were classified as lineage II. A probable epidemic entrance in different years for every clade and cluster from each different region was defined. The persistence of the same specific clonal complexes of L. monocytogenes has been found over long periods; this may be related to the fact that some strains are able to survive better than others in a food production environment. Phylogenic studies, using whole-genome sequence data, are able to identify the emergence of highly persistent pathogenic variants, contributing to improving the hazard characterization of L. monocytogenes.

Life Science Alliance, 2022

Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1 (Lp1) sequence type (ST) 23 is one of the most commonly detect... more Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1 (Lp1) sequence type (ST) 23 is one of the most commonly detected STs in Italy where it currently causes all investigated outbreaks. ST23 has caused both epidemic and sporadic cases between 1995 and 2018 and was analysed at genomic level and compared with ST23 isolated in other countries to determine possible similarities and differences. A core genome multi-locus sequence typing (cgMLST), based on a previously described set of 1,521 core genes, and single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) approaches were applied to an ST23 collection including genomes from Italy, France, Denmark and Scotland. DNAs were automatically extracted, libraries prepared using NextEra library kit and MiSeq sequencing performed. Overall, 63 among clinical and environmental Italian Lp1 isolates and a further seven and 11 ST23 from Denmark and Scotland, respectively, were sequenced, and pangenome analysed. Both cgMLST and SNPs analyses showed very few loci and SNP variations in ...

Clinical and Translational Medicine, 2022

An agonist of the CXCR4 receptor is therapeutic for the neuroparalysis induced by Bungarus snakes... more An agonist of the CXCR4 receptor is therapeutic for the neuroparalysis induced by Bungarus snakes envenoming Dear Editor, Here, we report the therapeutic properties of a small molecule agonist of the CXCR4 receptor on the recovery from the peripheral flaccid neuroparalysis caused by Bungarus snakebites. Snake envenoming is a neglected disease that, each year, causes >100 000 deaths in tropical and subtropical areas of the world and leaves >400 000 envenomed patients with permanent disabilities, with associated high social costs (https://www.who.int/news-room/ fact-sheets/detail/snakebite-envenoming). This is a disease of poverty believed by experts to be under reported. 1 Moreover, snake envenoming strikes particularly in lower income and rural parts of the world where advanced hospital care may not be rapidly available to the envenomed patient. A major number of neuropathological snakebites are produced by snakes of the Bungarus genus widely distributed in Asia. 2 Their venoms induce a descending flaccid paralysis with respiratory failure and autonomic dysfunctions. A large reduction of the function of the neuromuscular junction (NMJ) can be recorded electrophysiologically within few hours from snakebite, 2 and death may occur by respiratory failure. Mechanically ventilated patients survive because the Bungarus neurotoxins do not kill motor neurons but induce a rapid degeneration limited to the axon terminals which is followed by a slow regeneration requiring prolonged hospitalization (3-5 weeks) and eventual recovery. 2,3 However, hospitalization with mechanical ventilation poses major problems in lowincome countries associated with high costs and risks of in-hospital complications. The pathophysiology of Bungarus snake envenoming is primarily driven by neurotoxicity caused by protein neurotoxins. 2,3 The presynaptically acting βbungarotoxins (β-BTX) are phospholipases A 2 that cleave the ester bond of the fatty acid in the sn-2 site of the glycerol moiety of phospholipids, causing accumulation of fatty acids and lysophospholipids leading to rapid degeneration of axon terminals within few hours in mice. 4 This is fol-This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Antibiotics, 2021

Rapid identification and characterization of multidrug-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae strains is... more Rapid identification and characterization of multidrug-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae strains is essential to diagnose severe infections in patients. In clinical routine practice, K. pneumoniae is frequently identified and characterized for outbreak investigation. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis or multilocus sequence typing could be used, but, unfortunately, these methods are time-consuming, laborious, expensive, and do not provide any information about the presence of resistance and virulence genes. In recent years, the decreasing cost of next-generation sequencing and its easy use have led to it being considered a useful method, not only for outbreak surveillance but also for rapid identification and evaluation, in a single step, of virulence factors and resistance genes. Carbapenem-resistant strains of K. pneumoniae have become endemic in Italy, and in these strains the ability to form biofilms, communities of bacteria fixed in an extracellular matrix, can defend the pathogen ...

Biosensors, 2021

The recent global events of COVID-19 in 2020 have alerted the world to the risk of viruses and th... more The recent global events of COVID-19 in 2020 have alerted the world to the risk of viruses and their impacts on human health, including their impacts in the social and economic sectors. Rapid tests are urgently required to enable antigen detection and thus to facilitate rapid and simple evaluations of contagious individuals, with the overriding goal to delimitate spread of the virus among the population. Many efforts have been achieved in recent months through the realization of novel diagnostic tools for rapid, affordable, and accurate analysis, thereby enabling prompt responses to the pandemic infection. This review reports the latest results on electrochemical and optical biosensors realized for the specific detection of SARS-CoV-2 antigens, thus providing an overview of the available diagnostics tested and marketed for SARS-CoV-2 antigens as well as their pros and cons.

Biosensors and Bioelectronics, 2021

Botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs) produced by soil bacterium Clostridium botulinum are cause of botul... more Botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs) produced by soil bacterium Clostridium botulinum are cause of botulism and listed as biohazard agents, thus rapid screening assays are needed for taking the correct countermeasures in a timely fashion. The gold standard method relies on the mouse lethality assay with a lengthy analysis time, i.e., 2-5 days, hindering the prompt management of food safety and medical diagnosis. Herein, we propose the first paper-based antibody-free sensor for reliable and rapid detection of BoNT/A and BoNT/C, exploiting their cleavage capability toward a synthetic peptide able to mimic the natural substrate SNAP-25. The peptide is labelled with the electroactive molecule methylene blue and immobilized on the paper-based electrode modified with gold nanoparticles. Because BoNT/A and BoNT/C can cleave the peptide with the removal of methylene blue from electrode surface, the presence of these neurotoxins in the sample leads to a signal decrease proportional to BoNT amount. The biosensor developed with the selected peptide and combined with smartphone assisted potentiostat is able to detect both BoNT/A and BoNT/C with a linearity up to 1 nM and a detection limit equal to 10 pM. The applicability of this biosensor was evaluated with spiked samples of orange juice, obtaining recovery values equal to 104 ± 6% and 98 ± 9% for 1 nM and 0.5 nM of BoNT/A, respectively.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a global health crisis. The difficulty to control the viral spre... more The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a global health crisis. The difficulty to control the viral spread due to the absence of vaccines and prophylactics measures has raised concerns about prevention and control of SARS-CoV-2. Therefore, it becomes more and more crucial the reduction of environmental risk factors through viral inactivation of aerosols and fomites. Photodynamic inactivation of microorganisms by light energy emitted in the visible spectrum region (VIS), not harmful for mammalian cells and safe for humans, has recently been described. A LED-device emitting a special combination of frequencies in the visible light spectrum was tested on SARS-CoV-2 infected cell surnatant dilutions in order to evaluate the antiviral efficacy. This preliminary in vitro study showed for the first time the ability to inactivate SARS-CoV-2 through LED irradiation of visible spectrum wavelengths. If further and more extensive studies will confirm these data, the usage of this LED could potentially...

World Journal of Gastroenterology, 2020

The aim of this review is to offer dietary advice for individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) a... more The aim of this review is to offer dietary advice for individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) and neurogenic bowel dysfunction. With this in mind, we consider health conditions that are dependent on the level of lesion including skeletal muscle atrophy, autonomic dysreflexia and neurogenic bladder. In addition, SCI is often associated with a sedentary lifestyle, which increases risk for osteoporosis and diseases associated with chronic low-grade inflammation, including cardiovascular and chronic kidney diseases. The Mediterranean diet, along with exercise and dietary supplements, has been suggested as an anti-inflammatory intervention in individuals with SCI. However, individuals with chronic SCI have a daily intake of whole fruit, vegetables and whole grains lower than the recommended dietary allowance for the general population. Some studies have reported an increase in neurogenic bowel dysfunction symptoms after high fiber intake; therefore, this finding could explain the low consumption of plant foods.

Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology, 2019

Objective: To test whether the signaling axis CXCL12a-CXCR4 is activated upon crush/cut of the sc... more Objective: To test whether the signaling axis CXCL12a-CXCR4 is activated upon crush/cut of the sciatic nerve and to test the activity of NUCC-390, a new CXCR4 agonist, in promoting nerve recovery from damage. Methods: The sciatic nerve was either crushed or cut. Expression and localization of CXCL12a and CXCR4 were evaluated by imaging with specific antibodies. Their functional involvement in nerve regeneration was determined by antibody-neutralization of CXCL12a, and by the CXCR4 specific antagonist AMD3100, using as quantitative read-out the compound muscle action potential (CMAP). NUCC-390 activity on nerve regeneration was determined by imaging and CMAP recordings. Results: CXCR4 is expressed at the injury site within the axonal compartment, whilst its ligand CXCL12a is expressed in Schwann cells. The CXCL12a-CXCR4 axis is involved in the recovery of neurotransmission of the injured nerve. More importantly, the small molecule NUCC-390 is a strong promoter of the functional and anatomical recovery of the nerve, by acting very similarly to CXCL12a. This pharmacological action is due to the capability of NUCC-390 to foster elongation of motor neuron axons both in vitro and in vivo. Interpretation: Imaging and electrophysiological data provide novel and compelling evidence that the CXCL12a-CXCR4 axis is involved in sciatic nerve repair after crush/cut. This makes NUCC-390 a strong candidate molecule to stimulate nerve repair by promoting axonal elongation. We propose this molecule to be tested in other models of neuronal damage, to lay the basis for clinical trials on the efficacy of NUCC-390 in peripheral nerve repair in humans.

Cells, 2019

The activation of the G-protein coupled receptor CXCR4 by its ligand CXCL12α is involved in a lar... more The activation of the G-protein coupled receptor CXCR4 by its ligand CXCL12α is involved in a large variety of physiological and pathological processes, including the growth of B cells precursors and of motor axons, autoimmune diseases, stem cell migration, inflammation, and several neurodegenerative conditions. Recently, we demonstrated that CXCL12α potently stimulates the functional recovery of damaged neuromuscular junctions via interaction with CXCR4. This result prompted us to test the neuroregeneration activity of small molecules acting as CXCR4 agonists, endowed with better pharmacokinetics with respect to the natural ligand. We focused on NUCC-390, recently shown to activate CXCR4 in a cellular system. We designed a novel and convenient chemical synthesis of NUCC-390, which is reported here. NUCC-390 was tested for its capability to induce the regeneration of motor axon terminals completely degenerated by the presynaptic neurotoxin α-Latrotoxin. NUCC-390 was found to strongl...

Cellular Microbiology, 2019

A large number of bacterial toxins consist of active and cell binding protomers linked by an inte... more A large number of bacterial toxins consist of active and cell binding protomers linked by an interchain disulfide bridge. The largest family of such disulfide-bridged exotoxins is that of the clostridial neurotoxins that consist of two chains and comprise the tetanus neurotoxins causing tetanus and the botulinum neurotoxins causing botulism. Reduction of the interchain disulfide abolishes toxicity, and we discuss the experiments that revealed the role of this structural element in neuronal intoxication. The redox couple thioredoxin reductase-thioredoxin (TrxR-Trx) was identified as the responsible for reduction of this disulfide occurring on the cytosolic surface of synaptic vesicles. We then discuss the very relevant finding that drugs that inhibit TrxR-Trx also prevent botulism. On this basis, we propose that ebselen and PX-12, two TrxR-Trx specific drugs previously used in clinical trials in humans, satisfy all the requirements for clinical tests aiming at evaluating their capacity to effectively counteract human and animal botulism arising from intestinal toxaemias such as infant botulism.

International Journal of Medical Microbiology, 2019

Meningococcal disease incidence in Italy remains quite low in the overall population except for i... more Meningococcal disease incidence in Italy remains quite low in the overall population except for infants. Within a study on carriage isolates among high school students we aimed to define: i) the prevalence of carriage isolates, ii) the phenotypic and iii) the molecular features of meningococci by Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS). A total of 1697 pharyngeal samples from undergraduate students (age range 14-19 years) were collected from 2012 to 2013 from six larger cities in Italy. One hundred and twenty culture positive meningococci (7%) were analyzed. Carriage isolates were sent to the National Reference Laboratory for invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) for PCR-based serogroup identification, Multilocus Sequence Typing, PorA and FetA typing. Moreover, factor H binding protein (fHbp), Neisseria Heparin Binding Antigen (NHBA) and Neisserial adhesin A (NadA) were typed. Core genome MLST (cgMLST) was performed on a subsample of 75 carriage isolates. Capsule null locus (cnl) predominated (47%), followed by serogroup B (27%). The antimicrobial susceptibility profile revealed an high prevalence of reduced susceptibility to penicillin G (54%) and a full susceptibility to ceftriaxone, ciprofloxacin and rifampicin. Carriage isolates presented a high genetic diversity: the clonal complexes (cc s) cc1136, cc198 and cc41/44, were the predominant. An high heterogeneity was also observed for PorA and FetA types. The fhbp and nhba genes were identified in all the carriage isolates; only 5% of the carriage isolates presented the nadA gene. The core genome MLST analysis revealed that the majority of the cnl isolates clustered in a distinct group. The evidence gathered during this study provides the estimate of carriage isolates in high school students in a non-epidemic period in Italy that was lower than expected. Moreover, the highest proportion of carriage isolates were cnl and, overall, they were molecular heterogeneous.

Toxicon, 2019

namely genes encoding the transcriptional regulatory protein (MSMEG_0051) and ClgR (MSMEG_2694), ... more namely genes encoding the transcriptional regulatory protein (MSMEG_0051) and ClgR (MSMEG_2694), a well as ribosome binding protein protease HtpX (MSMEG_0424), and L-lysine-epsilon aminotransferase (MSMEG_1764), were involved in this phenotype. MSMEG_2916, MSMEG_0051, the potential upstream gene, MSMEG_2916, and feasible down-regulated MSMEG_0051, MSMEG_0051 attainable down-regulated MSMEG_0076. MS_Rv2872 also changed the intracellular amino acid content possibly because of down-regulated MSMEG_1764; it modified the M. smegmatis cell wall component as a consequence of altering the fatty acid, plays an important role in loss of vancomycin susceptibility, possibly through down-regulated vancomycin responsive genes. MS_Rv2872 also can alter biofilm formation in M. smegmatis by down-regulation of biofilm synthesis genes. Toxin Rv2872 was first reported to be involved in antibiotic stress responses. Inhibitors of Rv2872 might be ideal vancomycin adjuvants to tackle multi-drug resistant Mycobacteria infections.

Radiation research, 2017

The utility of early-phase (≤5 days) radiation-induced clinical signs and symptoms (e.g., vomitin... more The utility of early-phase (≤5 days) radiation-induced clinical signs and symptoms (e.g., vomiting, diarrhea, erythema and changes in blood cell counts) was examined for the prediction of later occurring acute radiation syndrome (ARS) severity and the development of medical management strategies. Medical treatment protocols for radiation accident victims (METREPOL) was used to grade ARS severities, which were assigned response categories (RCs). Data on individuals (n = 191) with mild (RC1, n = 45), moderate (RC2, n = 19), severe (RC3, n = 20) and fatal (RC4, n = 18) ARS, as well as nonexposed individuals (RC0, n = 89) were generated using either METREPOL (n = 167) or the system for evaluation and archiving of radiation accidents based on case histories (SEARCH) database (n = 24), the latter comprised of real-case descriptions. These data were converted into tables reflecting clinical signs and symptoms, and submitted to eight teams representing five participating countries. The team...

Physica Medica, 2016

in cases (9.92 foci/cell) compared to their matched controls (9.17 foci/cell) (p < 0.01). The ave... more in cases (9.92 foci/cell) compared to their matched controls (9.17 foci/cell) (p < 0.01). The average dose response curve of the G0 MN assay for cases lies above the average dose response curve of the controls. Finally, a pairwise comparison of the G2+caf MN results showed a higher MN yield for cases (351 MN/1000BN) compared to controls (219 MN/1000BN) (p < 0.01). Conclusion. Current results suggest that intrinsic radiosensitivity is involved in the development of late radiotoxic effects. Larger prospective studies are warranted to validate the retrospective findings in order to use in vitro cellular assays in the future to predict late normal tissue radiosensitivity in clinical practice.