Particulate systems based on pectin/chitosan association for the delivery of manuka honey components and platelet lysate in chronic skin ulcers.

The aim of the present work was the development of a powder formulation for the delivery of manuka honey (MH) bioactive components and platelet lysate (PL) in chronic skin ulcers. In particular pectin (PEC)/chitosan (CS) particles were prepared by ionotropic gelation in the presence of calcium chloride and subsequently characterized for particle size, hydration properties and mechanical resistance. Different experimental conditions (calcium chloride and CS concentrations; rest time in the cationic solution) were considered in order to obtain particles characterized by optimal size, hydration properties and mechanical resistance. Two different fractions of MH were examined: one (Fr1), rich in methylglyoxal and the other (Fr2), rich in polyphenols. Particles were loaded with Fr1, fraction able to enhance in vitro proliferation of human fibroblasts, and with PL. The presence of CS in Fr1-loaded particles produced an improvement in cell proliferation. Moreover, PL loading into particles did not affect the biological activity of the hemoderivative. In vivo efficacy of PL- and Fr1-loaded particles was evaluated on a rat wound model. Both treatments markedly increased wound healing to the same extent.

Natural and synthetic biodegradable polymers: different scaffolds for cell expansion and tissue formation.

The formation of tissue produced by implanted cells is influenced greatly by the scaffold onto which they are seeded. In the long term it is often preferable to use a biodegradable material scaffold so that all the implanted materials will disappear, leaving behind only the generated tissue. Research in this area has identified several natural biodegradable materials. Among them, hydrogels are receiving increasing attention due to their ability to retain a great quantity of water, their good biocompatibility, their low interfacial tension, and the minimal mechanical and frictional irritation that they cause. Biocompatibility is not an intrinsic property of materials; rather it depends on the biological environment and the tolerability that exists with respect to specific polymer-tissue interactions. The most often utilized biodegradable synthetic polymers for 3D scaffolds in tissue engineering are saturated poly-a-hydroxy esters, including poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and poly(glycolic acid) (PGA), as well as poly(lactic-co-lycolide) (PLGA) copolymers. Hard materials provide compressive and torsional strength; hydrogels and other soft composites more effectively promote cell expansion and tissue formation. This review focuses on the future potential for understanding the characteristics of the biomaterials considered evaluated for clinical use in order to repair or to replace a sizable defect by only harvesting a small tissue sample.

Can a bacterial endotoxin be a key factor in the kinetics of amyloid fibril formation?

Data found in literature have reported that bacterial endotoxins may be involved in the inflammatory and pathological processes associated with amyloidosis and Alzheimer's disease (AD). In fact, it has been observed that the chronic infusion of the bacterial lipopolysaccharide, the outer cell wall component of Gram negative bacteria, into the fourth ventricle of rats reproduces many of the inflammatory and pathological features seen in the brain of AD patients. In this context, a key player in the pathogenesis of AD is the amyloid-ß peptide (Aß) that is capable of aggregating in fibrils that represent the main component of amyloid plaques. These deposits that accumulate among brain cells are indeed one of the hallmarks of AD. This aggregation in fibrils seems to correlate with Aß toxic effects. However, recent data have shown that amyloid fibril formation not only results in toxic aggregates but also provides biologically functional molecules; such amyloids have been identified on the surface of fungi and bacteria. The aim of this work was to gain insight into the influence of bacterial endotoxins on Aß fibrillogenesis; factors that influence fibril formation may be important for Aß toxic potential. Following three days of incubation at 37°C, Aß was organized in compact fibrils and the in vitro Aß fibrillogenesis was potentiated by the Escherichia coli endotoxin. This suggests the importance of infectious events in the pathogenesis of AD and proposes a new aspect related to the putative pathological factors that can be implicated in the mechanisms involved in Aß25-35 fibrillogenesis.

Effects of thermal water on skin regeneration.

An experimental study was carried out in an animal (New Zealand white rabbit) wound model to evaluate any effects of a hypotonic, bicarbonate-calcium-magnesium mineral water (Comano thermal water) on skin regeneration, comparing the healing rate of split-thickness skin graft donor sites treated with the thermal water wet dressing versus a standard petrolatum gauze dressing versus a saline solution wet dressing. The study was performed in two steps; an overall of 22 animals were enrolled in the study. The wound healing progress was evaluated both by the surgeons and by the histologists. Sixty-four punch biopsies were examined in all. The histological samples were examined after staining with haematoxylin and eosin, Masson's and orcein staining and under a transmission electron microscope. The data were statistically analysed. The Comano thermal water proved to improve skin regeneration, not only by increasing keratinocyte proliferation and migration but also favourably modulating the regenerated collagen and elastic fibres in the dermis. We propose that the results of the topical treatment with the thermal water could be due to the favourable combination of a local wet environment with an anti-inflammatory action and that the regenerative properties of Comano thermal water observed in rabbits could also be applied for human use.

Purinergic P2X3 heteroreceptors enhance parasympathetic motor drive in isolated porcine detrusor, a reliable model for development of P2X selective blockers for detrusor hyperactivity.

Various forms of low urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) seem dependant upon dysregulation of the purinergic pathway which produces sensory- or motor-activated incontinence. A body of evidence in human urinary bladders supports a link between up-regulation of purinergic activity and the pathogenesis of detrusor instability. This study investigated the potential role of adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) in the control of detrusor motor drive in a model of porcine urinary bladder. The involvement of ATP on excitatory activity was assessed by measuring neurally-evoked [(3)H]-acetylcholine (ACh) release and smooth muscle contraction in detrusor strips. Epithelium-deprived preparations were used to minimize the influence of non-neural sources of ACh and ATP on parasympathetic neurotransmission. ACh release and smooth muscle contractility were not significantly affected by neural ATP in normal detrusor, but markedly enhanced when ATP hydrolysis was reduced by ectoATPase inhibitors, as well as by α,ß-methylene-ATP (ABMA), agonist resistant to ecto-enzymes degradation. Prejunctional P2X receptors located on cholinergic nerves are involved in such potentiating effect. These purinergic heteroreceptors were characterized as P2X(3) subunits by means of the putative antagonists: NF449 (P2X(1,3) selective), NF023 (P2X(1,3) selective), PPNDS (P2X(1) selective) and A-317491 (P2X(3) selective). In porcine detrusor, P2X(3) receptors are functionally expressed at neural site facilitating neurogenic ACh release. When purine breakdown is experimentally down-regulated to mimicking the impaired purinergic pathway observed in pathological human bladders, endogenous ATP can markedly enhance detrusor contractility through activation of these receptors. Since P2X(3) blockade represents a potential therapeutic approach for diseases of the urinary tract, isolated porcine detrusor represents a reliable model for development of novel selective P2X(3) antagonists beneficial in the treatment of detrusor hyperactivity.

Exposure to reduced gravity impairs junctional transmission at the semicircular canal in the frog labyrinth.

The effects of microgravity on frog semicircular canals have been studied by electrophysiological and morphological approaches. Reduced gravity (microG) was simulated by a random positioning machine (RPM), which continually and randomly modified the orientation in space of the anesthetized animal. As this procedure stimulates the semicircular canals, the effect of altered gravity was isolated by comparing microG-treatment with an identical rotary stimulation in the presence of normal gravity (normoG). Electrophysiological experiments were performed in the isolated labyrinth, extracted from the animals after the treatment, and mounted on a turntable. Junctional activity was measured by recording quantal events (mEPSPs) and spikes from the afferent fibers close to the junction, at rest and during rotational stimulation. MicroG-treated animals displayed a marked decrease in the frequency of resting and evoked mEPSP discharge, vs. both control and normoG (mean decrease approximately 50%). Spike discharge was also depressed: 57% of microG-treated frogs displayed no spikes at rest and during rotation at 0.1 Hz, vs. 23-31% of control or normoG frogs. Among the firing units, during one cycle of sinusoidal rotation at 0.1 Hz microG-treated units emitted an average of 41.8 + or - 8.06 spikes, vs. 77.2 + or - 8.19 in controls. Patch-clamp analysis on dissociated hair cells revealed altered Ca(2+) handling, after microG, consistent with and supportive of the specificity of microG effects. Marked morphological signs of cellular suffering were observed after microG, mainly in the central part of the sensory epithelium. Functional changes due to microgravity were reversible within a few days.

Plasma membrane Ca2+-ATPase isoforms in frog crista ampullaris: identification of PMCA1 and PMCA2 specific splice variants.

Ca2+ ions play a pivotal role in inner ear hair cells as they are involved from the mechano-electrical transduction to the transmitter release. Most of the Ca2+ that enters into hair cells via mechano-transduction and voltage-gated channels is extruded by the plasma membrane Ca2+-ATPases (PMCAs) that operate in both apical and basal cellular compartments. Here, we determined the identity and distribution of PMCA isoforms in frog crista ampullaris: we showed that PMCA1, PMCA2 and PMCA3 are expressed, while PMCA4 appears to be negligible. We also identify PMCA1bx, PMCA2av and PMCA2bv as the major splice variants produced from PMCA1 and PMCA2 genes. PMCA2av appears to be the major Ca2+-pump operating at the apical pole of the cell, even if PMCA1b is also expressed in the stereocilia. PMCA1bx is, instead, the principal PMCA of hair cell basolateral compartment, where it is expressed together with PMCA2 (probably PMCA2bv) and PMCA3. Frog crista ampullaris hair cells lack a Na/Ca exchanger, therefore PMCAs are the only mechanism of Ca2+ extrusion. The coexpression of specific isozymes in the different cellular compartments responds to the need of a fine regulation of both basal and dynamic Ca2+ levels at the apical and basal pole of the cell.

IP3 receptor in the hair cells of frog semicircular canal and its possible functional role.

The presence and functional role of inositol trisphosphate receptors (IP3R) was investigated by electrophysiology and immunohistochemistry in hair cells from the frog semicircular canal. Intracellular recordings were performed from single fibres of the posterior canal in the isolated, intact frog labyrinth, at rest and during rotation, in the presence of IP3 receptor inhibitors and drugs known to produce Ca2+ release from the internal stores or to increase IP3 production. Hair cell immunolabelling for IP3 receptor was performed by standard procedures. The drug 2-aminoethoxydiphenyl borate (2APB), an IP3 receptor inhibitor, produced a marked decrease of mEPSP and spike frequency at low concentration (0.1 mm), without affecting mEPSP size or time course. At high concentration (1 mm), 2APB is reported to block the sarcoplasmic-endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase (SERCA pump) and increase [Ca2+]i; at the labyrinthine cytoneural junction, it greatly enhanced the resting and mechanically evoked sensory discharge frequency. The selective agonist of group I metabotropic glutamate receptors (RS)-3,5-dihydroxyphenylglycine (DHPG, 0.6 mm), produced a transient increase in resting mEPSP and spike frequency at the cytoneural junction, with no effects on mEPSP shape or amplitude. Pretreatment with cyclopiazonic acid (CPA, 0.1 mm), a SERCA pump inhibitor, prevented the facilitatory effect of both 2APB and DHPG, suggesting a link between Ca2+ release from intracellular stores and quantal emission. Consistently, diffuse immunoreactivity for IP3 receptors was observed in posterior canal hair cells. Our results indicate the presence and a possibly relevant functional role of IP3-sensitive stores in controlling [Ca2+]i and modulating the vestibular discharge.

Nature and expression of dihydropyridine-sensitive and -insensitive calcium currents in hair cells of frog semicircular canals.

Ca(2+) currents in hair cells of the frog crista ampullaris were studied using the whole-cell patch-clamp technique. Currents were recorded in situ from hair cells in peripheral, intermediate and central regions of the sensory epithelium. Two types of Ca(2+) currents were found: a partially inactivating current that was expressed by nearly all central cells and by about 65% of intermediate and peripheral cells, and a sustained current expressed by the remaining cell population. The mean Ca(2+) current amplitude was larger in intermediate cells than in central or peripheral cells. The two types of Ca(2+) currents were composed of two components: a large, nifedipine-sensitive (NS) current and a small, nifedipine-insensitive (NI) current. The latter was resistant to SNX-482, omega-conotoxin MVIIC and omega-agatoxin IVA and to omega-conotoxin GVIA, antagonists of R, P/Q and N-type Ca(2+) channels. The amplitude of NS and NI currents varied among peripheral cells, where the current density gradually increased from the beginning of the region toward its end. No significant variation of Ca(2+) current density was detected in hair cells of either intermediate or central regions. These results demonstrate the presence of regional and intraregional variations in the expression of L and non-L Ca(2+) channels in the frog crista ampullaris. Finally, immunocytochemical investigations revealed the presence of Ca(2+) channel subunits of the alpha(1D) type and the unexpected expression of alpha(1B)-subunits.

Ecto-ATPase activity sites in vestibular tissues: an ultracytochemical study in frog semicircular canals.

The present study describes the localization and distribution of putative ecto-nucleoside-triphosphate-diphosphohydrolases in the frog semicircular canals. These enzymes provide the terminating mechanism of adenosine-5'-triphosphate (ATP) signalling. The localization of the ATP hydrolysis was mapped ultracytochemically using a one-step cerium citrate reaction. Electron-dense precipitates, indicating ecto-adenosine-triphosphatase (ecto-ATPase) activity, were found at the outer surface of plasma membranes of crista hair cells and supporting cells of the sensory epithelium, transitional cells and undifferentiated cells of the ampullar wall and dark cells constituting the secretory epithelium. Non-sensory cells of the ampulla usually exhibited reaction deposits at the level of both apical and basolateral membranes coming into contact with the endolymph and the perilymph respectively, while cells constituting the sensory epithelium showed evident differences in relation to their position. Hair cells and supporting cells of the peripheral regions exhibited clear reaction products both at the level of apical and basolateral membranes, while those of the isthmus region showed abundant reactivity only at the level of their apical membranes. Of particular interest was the observation that hair cell stereocilia exhibited an abundant ecto-ATPase activity, thus suggesting a possible colocalization of enzymatic sites with purinergic receptors and mechanotransduction channels. This strategic expression of ecto-ATPase sites could provide a rapid mechanism of ATP removal able to rapidly restore the sensitivity of transduction channels. In conclusion, the widespread distribution of ecto-ATPase sites at the level of sensory and non-sensory cells of the frog semicircular canals suggests that ATP may have a key role in controlling vestibular function.

An improved method for beta-galactosidase activity detection on muscle tissue. A light and electron microscopic study.

In the present study we describe a method for the histochemical demonstration of bacterial beta-D-galactosidase activity on skeletal muscle tissue processed for light and transmission electron microscopy. Hence allowing this enzyme to be accurately detected, bacterial beta-galactosidase expression was studied in transgenic mouse where the enzyme, with the nuclear localization signal (nlacZ), is under the transcriptional control of the striated muscle-specific promoter MLC3F. The chromogenic substrate, 5-bromo-3-indolyl-beta-D-galactopyranoside (Bluo-Gal), was used both to recognize labelled myofibers, and beta-gal positive organelles inside single myofibers. Moreover, because the preservation of enzyme is highly dependent on tissue fixation, we developed a suitable fixation solution allowing good preservation of both tissue and enzymatic activity. This was achieved by briefly fixing tissue (3 hours) in glutaraldehyde (2.5%) and paraformaldehyde (1%) in combination. This method should be taken into consideration when studying the gene therapy of muscle diseases because it is sensitive, inexpensive and not time consuming.

Ca++ - and Na+ , K+ -ATPase activities in the fungiform papilla of the tongue of Rana Esculenta (Anura Ranidae).

In the fungiform papilla of Rana esculenta (Anura Ranidae), the Ca++ -ATPase is mainly distributed on the basolateral membrane of the sensory area cells (i.e., neuroepithelial, supporting, and mucous cells). Apical membranes of all cells facing the surface present a slight enzymatic activity. Lateral wall cells have a strong Ca++ -ATPase activity on basolateral and apical membranes. Strong Na+ , K+ -ATPase activity occurs on the apical surface of neuroepithelial cells. Ca++ -ATPase activity is absent on the surface of endothelial cells of the capillaries located under the sensory area. These observations lead us to conclude that the sensory area of fungiform papilla is the selective way for calcium influx. Furthermore the absence of ATPase activity on the surface of the endothelial cells indicates that there is no functional barrier to calcium influx into capillary, and that calcium can be removed by vessels from the sensory area.