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The influence of human T-cell leukemia/ lymphoma virus type II (HTLV-II) in individuals also infected with HIV-1 is poorly understood, To evaluate the reciprocal influence of HTLV-II and HIV-1 infection, primary peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) cultures from coinfected individuals were established in the presence of interleukin 2 (IL-2), In these cultures, the kinetics of HTLV-II replication always preceded those of HIV-1. Noteworthy, the kinetics of HIV-1 production were inversely correlated to the HTLV-II proviral load in vi7vo and its replication ex vivo. These observations suggested a potential interaction between the 2 retroviruses, In this regard, the levels of IL-2, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) were measured in the same coinfected PBMC cultures. Endogenous IL-2 was not produced, whereas IL-6 and TNF-alpha were secreted at levels compatible with their known ability to up-regulate HIV-1 expression. The HIV-suppressive CC-chemokines RANTES, macrophage inflammatory protein-1 alpha (MIP-1 alpha), and MIP-1 beta were also determined in IL-2-stimulated PBMC cultures. Of interest, their kinetics and concentrations were inversely related to those of HIV-1 replication. Experiments were performed in which CD8(+) T cells or PBMCs from HTLV-II monoinfected individuals were cocultivated with CD4(+) T cells from HIV-1 monoinfected individuals separated by a semipermeable membrane in the presence or absence of antichemokine neutralizing antibodies. The results indicate that HTLV-II can interfere with the replicative potential of HIV-1 by upregulating viral suppressive CC-chemokines and, in particular, MIP-1 alpha. This study is the first report indicating that HTLV-II can influence HIV replication, at least in vitro, via up-regulation of HIV-suppressive chemokines, (Blood, 2000;95: 2760-2769) (C) 2000 by The American Society of Hematology.

Studio geomorfologico e storico-topografico della media valle del Cesano con ricostruzione dellle cause antropiche e fisiche delle variazioni di corso del fiume

In 20 patients with nephrotic syndrome (10 minimal change glomerulonephritis, MCN; 10 focal glomerulosclerosis, FGS) the peripheral blood lymphocytes showed a statistically significant increase in IgG-bearing cells (SIgG-C) in comparison with 30 patients with other histological types of primary glomerulonephritis with and without nephrotic syndrome (14 and 16, respectively). In the same MCN and FGS patients the serum IgG levels were slightly decreased. Furthermore, 5 cases of MCN in sustained remission for 1 year after steroid therapy showed normalization of the SIgG-C and the serum IgG levels. The possible significance of these phenomena in the pathogenesis of the hypo-IgG-globulinemia in MCN and FGS is discussed.

International audience

Since 2006 the University of Bologna has been conducted research in the Roman town of Ostra (Ancona, Marche region, central Italy), thanks to an agreement with the Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici delle Marche and in particular to the foresight of Giuliano de Marinis. The birth of the city is traditionally linked to the process of Romanization of the Ager Gallicus during the 3rd century BC, in particular after the issue of the Lex Flaminia de agro Gallico et Piceno viritim dividundo (232 BC). The aspect of the center of Ostra in these early stages of urban employment is not well-known, but the latest excavations are instead acquiring more elements about the organization of the north-eastern side of the forum between the 2nd and the 1st century BC. After the acquisition of the status of municipium, the realization of a building with a strong civil connotation linked to the activities of election of magistrates by the citizens is also attested. At last, some aerial surveys and targeted digs, allowing the discovering of several important buildings, monuments and evidence, which are largely contributing to propose a new hypothesis of the urban texture of the roman city and of the ancient roads system.

il contributo mette in evidenza la necessità di affrontare lo studio del territorio in un'ottica sempre e comunque multidisciplinare. in particolare si mette in evidenza il ruolo che ha l'analisi geomorfologica nella comprensione dei fatti antropici, dall'insediamento, alle infrastrutture territoriali, agli stessi avvenimenti storici. si mette poi in evidenza come questa interdisciplinarietà sia l'unica via per arrivare alla realizzazione di piani territoriali che non si limitino a salvaguardare l'esistente, ma che si pongano come obiettivo una corretta gestione del paesaggio. in quest'ottica assume una particolare rilevanza anche la collaborazione con gli urbanisti e quindi, in definitiva, si renda necessario un più generale ripensamento del ruolo dell'archeologo

Il contributo presenta le recenti ricerche e le nuove scoperte nella città romana di Ostra (Marche, Italia), grazie agli scavi del Dipartimenti di Archeologia dell'Università di Bologna.

il contributo prende in analisi il rapporto tra il popolamento antio della valle del cesano e l'evoluzione della geografia fisica, allo scopo di ricostruire le variazioni del paesaggio legate in particolare alle vicende della città romana di suasa

Archeologia Piceno e Dalmazia

A dimeric copper complex of the unsubstituted pyridoxal thiosemicarbazone (H(2)L), [[Cu(HL)(OH(2))](2)]Cl(2).2H(2)O, previously tested on Friend murine cell lines has been recently resynthesized to evaluate its behavior on different murine and human leukemic cell lines and has been compared, in vitro and in vivo, with its monomeric counterpart [Cu(H(2)L)(OH(2))Cl]Cl. On TS/A murine adenocarcinoma cell line in vitro, both compounds significantly inhibit cell proliferation at micromolar concentrations, although the dimeric compound is more active. Despite this cytotoxicity they lack in vivo activity on TLX5 lymphoma. The unsubstituted dimeric [[Cu(HL)(OH(2))](2)]Cl(2).2H(2)O induces apoptosis on CEM and U937 human cell lines, with IC(50) concentrations of 1.2 x 10(-5) and 6.7 x 10(-6) M, respectively, but it is inactive on K562. Moreover, it alters significantly the cell cycle of U937 and CEM lines and decreases the telomerase activity of U937. To verify if other dimeric copper complexes show relevant biological activity new complexes with N-substituted pyridoxal thiosemicarbazones have been synthesized and characterized using spectroscopic techniques. Three of them, namely [Cu(Me(2)-HL)Cl](2).6H(2)O (Me(2)-H(2)L=pyridoxal N1,N1-dimethylthiosemicarbazone) (1), [Cu(MeMe-HL)Cl](2)Cl(2).4H(2)O (MeMe-HL=pyridoxal N1,N2-dimethylthiosemicarbazone) (2), [Cu(Et-H(2)L)Cl](2)Cl(2).2H(2)O (Et-H(2)L=pyridoxal N1-ethylthiosemicarbazone) (3), were also characterized by X-ray diffractometry. These complexes are dimeric and all three present a square pyramidal coordinative geometry with the ligand showing an SNO tridentate behavior. Their biological activities have been tested in vitro on U937, CEM and K562 cell lines to ascertain their effectiveness in comparison to the corresponding unsubstituted complex [[Cu(HL)(OH(2))](2)]Cl(2).2H(2)O. Compound 1 shows weak proliferation inhibition on all three cell lines, but it does not induce apoptosis and it does not inhibit telomerase activity, compound 2 is not effective at low concentration and is toxic at higher doses; compound 3 inhibits CEM cell growth better than complex 1 but it does not exert any other biological effect.

Human T cell leukemia virus (HTLV) type-2 is a human retrovirus whose infection has not been tightly linked to human diseases. However, the fairly high prevalence of this infection among HIV-1-positive individuals indicates the importance of better understanding the potential interference of HTLV-2 infection on HIV-1 infection and AIDS. We previously demonstrated that one signature of PBMC freshly derived from HIV-1-infected individuals is the constitutive activation of a C-terminal truncated STAT5 (STAT5Δ). Therefore, we analyzed the potential activation of STATs in HTLV-2 monoinfected and HTLV-2/HIV-1 dually infected individuals. We observed that PBMC of HTLV-2-infected individuals do not show STAT activation unless they are cultivated ex vivo, in the absence of any mitogenic stimuli, for at least 8 h. The emergence of STAT activation, namely of STAT1, in culture was mostly related to the secretion of IFN-γ. Of note, this phenomenon is not only a characteristic feature of HTLV-2-infected individuals but also occurred with PBMC of HIV-1+ individuals. Surprisingly, HTLV-2/HIV-1 coinfection resulted in low/absent STAT activation in vivo that paralleled a diminished secretion of IFN-γ after ex vivo cultivation. Our findings indicate that both HTLV-2 and HIV-1 infection prime T lymphocytes for STAT1 activation, but they also highlight an interference exerted by HTLV-2 on HIV-1-induced STAT1 activation. Although the nature of such a phenomenon is unclear at the present, these findings support the hypothesis that HTLV-2 may interfere with HIV-1 infection at multiple levels.