Alfredo Santovito | Università degli Studi di Torino (original) (raw)

Papers by Alfredo Santovito

Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis

CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research - Zenodo, Dec 6, 2021

The discovery of an isolated population of Dichotrachelus meregallii in the Eastern Alps, in Sout... more The discovery of an isolated population of Dichotrachelus meregallii in the Eastern Alps, in South Tyrol, has stimulated a study, based on morphological and molecular analyses, to compare the new find with the typical population of the Western Alps. The results indicate that the two populations differ only by very few substitutions in the mitochondrial genomic sequences, that do not warrant taxonomic recognition. The new data suggest that the species was originally diffused all along the Alpine chain, and its present relict distribution was probably determined by the Pleistocene climatic events. The phylogenetic relationships of D. ulbrichi, originally referred to the D. meregallii group, were also analysed. Based on its mitochondrial genomic sequences, it belongs to the D. rudeni group.

This dataset contains the digitized treatments in Plazi based on the original journal article Mer... more This dataset contains the digitized treatments in Plazi based on the original journal article Meregalli, Massimo, Kahlen, Manfred, Monguzzi, Riccardo, Rossi, Valentina Marzia, Santovito, Alfredo (2021): A new cryptic species of Dichotrachelus from the Bergamasque Prealps, a late Miocene centre of speciation for the alpine fauna (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Cyclominae). Arthropod Systematics & & Phylogeny 79: 281-293, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/asp.79.e64325, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/asp.79.e64325

Archives of Toxicology, 2022

Formaldehyde (FA) is a ubiquitous toxic chemical employed worldwide due to its disinfectant and p... more Formaldehyde (FA) is a ubiquitous toxic chemical employed worldwide due to its disinfectant and preservative properties. Despite being classified as a human carcinogen, FA is still employed as formalin in pathology wards as standard fixative. We evaluated its relationship with the formation of sister-chromatid exchanges (SCEs) in cultured peripheral blood lymphocytes on 57 pathologists and 48 controls and the risk/protective role played by several genetic polymorphisms. All subjects were assessed for SCEs and genotyped for the most common cancer-associated gene polymorphisms: CYP1A1 exon 7 (A > G), CYP1A1*2A (T > C), CYP2C19*2 (G > A), GSTT1 (presence/absence), GSTM1 (presence/absence), GSTP1 (A > G), XRCC1 (G399A), XRCC1 (C194T), XRCC1 (A280G), XPC exon 15 (A939C), XPC exon 9 (C499T), TNFα − 308 G > A), IL10 − 1082 (G > A), and IL6 − 174 (G > C). Air-FA concentration was assessed through passive personal samplers. Pathologists, exposed to 55.2 μg/m3 of air-FA, ...

American Journal of Human Biology, 2020

Longevity is a complex process controlled by both environmental and genetic factors. We evaluated... more Longevity is a complex process controlled by both environmental and genetic factors. We evaluated the association of four cytokine gene polymorphisms with longevity in an Italian cohort. A sample of 1,019 subjects aged 10-100 and belonging to the North-Italian population was genotyped for IL-6 (G>C, rs1800796), IL-10-1082 (G>A, rs1800896), TNF-α-308 (G>A, rs1800629), and TGFβ1 codon 10 (T>C, rs1800471) gene polymorphisms. The association between cytokine gene polymorphisms and longevity was evaluated by dividing the sample into four age groups: 10-24, 25-49, 50-85, and 86-100. We observed a significant decrease in the frequency of IL-10 A allele in the 25-49 (P = 1.1 × 10-3), 50-85 (P<1 × 10-4), and 86-100 (P = 2 × 10-3) age groups compared to that in the youngest age group. Similarly, we found a significant decrease (P<1 × 10-4) in the frequency of TGFβ1 C allele in the 50-85 and 86-100 age groups compared to that in the 10-24 and 25-49 age groups. Previously, high levels of TGFβ1 were detected in elderly subjects, suggesting that this cytokine could counterbalance the harmful effects of inflammation. Similarly, IL-10 has strong antiinflammatory properties and can inhibit the production of proinflammatory cytokines. In the literature, the lowest levels of functional cytokines were found to be associated with TGFβ1 (T>C) and IL-10 (G>A) gene polymorphisms, with consequent increase in the duration of inflammation and cancer risk. For these reasons, it is plausible to observe low rates of these mutations in elderly subjects, as found in our work.

Toxics, 2021

Despite the toxicity and health risk characteristics of formaldehyde (FA), it is currently used a... more Despite the toxicity and health risk characteristics of formaldehyde (FA), it is currently used as a cytological fixative and the definition of safe exposure levels is still a matter of debate. Our aim was to investigate the alterations in both oxidative and inflammatory status in a hospital working population. The 68 workers recruited wore a personal air-FA passive sampler, provided a urine sample to measure 15-F2t-Isoprostane (15-F2t-IsoP) and malondialdehyde (MDA) and a blood specimen to measure tumour necrosis factor α (TNFα). Subjects were also genotyped for GSTT1 (Presence/Absence), GSTM1 (Presence/Absence), CYP1A1 exon 7 (A > G), and IL6 (−174, G > C). Workers were ex post split into formalin-employers (57.3 μg/m3) and non-employers (13.5 μg/m3). In the formalin-employers group we assessed significantly higher levels of 15-F2t-IsoP, MDA and TNFα (<0.001) in comparison to the non-employers group. The air-FA levels turned out to be positively correlated with 15-F2t-Iso...

Journal of Veterinary Behavior, 2021

Zoology and Ecology, 2021

Bisphenol A (BPA) is one of the most used additives in the production of many plastic products an... more Bisphenol A (BPA) is one of the most used additives in the production of many plastic products and may be released into the environment by commonly used products, such as food containers and polycarbonate bottles. BPA is recognized as an endocrine disruptor able to produce adverse effects on the reproduction system of benthonic and pelagic species. Polychaetes of the genus Ophryotrocha are small worms living amongst the interstitial fauna in nutrient-rich and polluted habitats. Owing to easy rearing in the laboratory and short generation times, this species is a useful model organism for studying different biological aspects. This study describes the effects of different BPA concentrations on egg production in Ophryotrocha diadema. We tested six different concentrations of BPA in a 5-week experiment. Strong negative correlation between BPA concentrations and the number of eggs produced was found. The t-test revealed a significant reduction in egg production after exposure to BPA con...

Forensic Science International: Genetics, 2019

This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the ad... more This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the addition of a cover page and metadata, and formatting for readability, but it is not yet the definitive version of record. This version will undergo additional copyediting, typesetting and review before it is published in its final form, but we are providing this version to give early visibility of the article. Please note that, during the production process, errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.

Journal of Biological Research - Bollettino della Società Italiana di Biologia Sperimentale, 2006

International Journal of Immunogenetics, 2017

Allelic and genotype frequencies of four cytokine genes were obtained from 738 subjects from Nort... more Allelic and genotype frequencies of four cytokine genes were obtained from 738 subjects from North-and South-Italy. Populations were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium for all genes but significantly differed in the frequency of all SNPs and three haplotypes. In the MDS graph, they were plotted in separate positions close to Europeans and an Ivorian population, respectively.

Journal of Immunotoxicology, 2015

Cytokine gene polymorphisms have been found to be associated with a pre-disposition to a variety ... more Cytokine gene polymorphisms have been found to be associated with a pre-disposition to a variety of diseases, including inflammatory and cancer diseases. The present study evaluated the influence of six cytokine gene polymorphisms on the level of genomic damage observed in peripheral blood lymphocytes from hospital pathologists chronically exposed to low doses of different xenobiotics. Lymphocytes from 50 pathologists and 50 control subjects were recruited and analyzed in Sister Chromatid Exchange (SCE) and Chromosomal Aberrations (CA) assays. The frequencies of six cytokine gene polymorphisms and their relationships with the cytogenetic damage levels were also evaluated. The results indicated that significant differences were found between pathologists and controls in terms of SCE frequency (p &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt; 0.001) and RI values (p &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt; 0.001), as well as in terms of CA and cells with aberrations (p &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt; 0.001). No associations were found between all analyzed cytokine gene polymorphisms and CA frequency in both pathologists and control groups. Vice versa, among pathologists, homozygote individuals for the IL-6 G allele showed a significantly (p = 0.017) lower frequency of SCE with respect to heterozygote subjects. Similarly, for TGFβ1 codon 10 locus, homozygote for T allele and heterozygote TC subjects showed a significantly (p = 0.021) lower frequency of SCE with respect to homozygote CC individuals. Among controls, no significant differences were found in the frequency of SCE between genotypes at all loci. Based on these results, we speculate that high circulating levels of a pro-inflammatory cytokine like IL-6 and lower levels of the immunosuppressant cytokine TGFβ1 could be associated directly with a longer duration and/or greater intensity of inflammatory processes, and indirectly with significantly higher levels of genomic damage.

Journal of biochemical and molecular toxicology, Jan 2, 2015

Occupational exposure to anaesthetic gases is one of the major hazards to healthcare personnel. W... more Occupational exposure to anaesthetic gases is one of the major hazards to healthcare personnel. We evaluated the cytogenetic effects of chronic exposure to low concentrations of anaesthetic gases in operating theatres. The study included 21 anesthetists and 21 control subjects who matched in age and gender. Chromosome aberrations (CAs) and sister chromatid exchanges (SCEs) assays were performed. All subjects were also genotyped for glutathione S-transferase T1 (GSTT1) gene polymorphisms. Significant differences were found between exposed and controls in terms of SCEs frequency (P = 0.001) and replication index value (P = 0.005), but not in terms of CAs (P = 0.201) and aberrant cells (P = 0.227) frequencies. Regression analyses indicated that age and the years of employment did not influence the level of chromosomal damage in both groups. Finally, among anesthetists, GSTT1 null individuals showed a significant higher frequency of SCE with respect to GSTT1-positive subjects.

Mutation Research/Genetic Toxicology and Environmental Mutagenesis, 2012

(AAM) is copyrighted and published by Elsevier. It is posted here by agreement between Elsevier a... more (AAM) is copyrighted and published by Elsevier. It is posted here by agreement between Elsevier and the University of Turin. Changes resulting from the publishing process-such as editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanismsmay not be reflected in this version of the text. The definitive version of the text was subsequently published in Alfredo Santovito, Piero Cervella, Massimiliano Delpero (2012) Micronucleus frequency in human lymphocytes after exposure to diphenylamine in vitro, MUTATION RESEARCH (