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Advanced age is characterized by several changes, one of which is the impairment of the homeostasis of intestinal microbiota. These alterations critically influence host health and have been associated with morbidity and mortality in older adults. "Inflammaging," an age-related chronic inflammatory process, is a common trait of several conditions, including sarcopenia. Interestingly, imbalanced intestinal microbial community has been suggested to contribute to inflammaging. Changes in gut microbiota accompanying sarcopenia may be attenuated by supplementation with pre- and probiotics. Although muscle aging has been increasingly recognized as a biomarker of aging, the pathophysiology of sarcopenia is to date only partially appreciated. Due to its development in the context of the age-related inflammatory milieu, several studies favor the hypothesis of a tight connection between sarcopenia and inflammaging. However, conclusive evidence describing the signaling pathways involved has not yet been produced. Here, we review the current knowledge of the changes in intestinal microbiota that occur in advanced age with a special emphasis on findings supporting the idea of a modulation of muscle physiology through alterations in gut microbial composition and activity.

Few studies have investigated the influence of age on the relationships between systemic vascular damage, kidney dysfunction, and intrarenal hemodynamic changes in patients with hypertension without overt cardiovascular disease. The authors enrolled 126 elderly patients with hypertension (aged ≥65 years) and 350 nonelderly patients with hypertension (aged <65 years). Carotid intima-media thickness, renal resistive index, and aortic pulse wave velocity were performed in all patients. Elderly patients with hypertension had lower estimated glomerular filtration rates and higher albuminuria, renal resistive index, carotid intima-media thickness, and aortic pulse wave velocity compared with nonelderly patients with hypertension (P < .001). Carotid intima-media thickness independently correlated with renal resistive index and estimated glomerular filtration rate in nonelderly patients with hypertension, whereas it was significantly related to renal resistive index only in elderly patients with hypertension. Aortic pulse wave velocity was independently associated with albuminuria in nonelderly patients with hypertension, whereas it did not independently correlate with any indexes of renal damage in elderly patients with hypertension. Age is an important modifier of the relationships between renal function and renal hemodynamics with subclinical vascular involvement in elderly persons without cardiovascular disease., (©2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Pseudomonas fluorescens is a genetically and phenotypically heterogeneous species that is often reported as a spoiler of fresh foods, but it has recently been implicated in clinical infection. In this study, we sequenced the genome of P. fluorescens strain ITEM 17298, isolated from mozzarella cheese and able to cause several alterations under cold storage., (Copyright © 2017 Fanelli et al.)

The healthy consumers make a strong pressure to natural products that can prevent the chronic diseases and improve the general health status, and therefore an important aspect that have to be considered is the safe level of the nutraceuticals. This study reports the occurrence of Ochratoxin A (OTA) and associated fungal contamination in 35 samples of dried vine fruits imported in the European community potentially used for the development of new nutraceutical supplements. High pressure liquid chromatography analysis identified 18 samples as contaminated by OTA with an average level of 2.6 μg/kg. OTA was measured in 4 samples of currants (mean value of 6.6 μg/kg) and 13 samples of raisins (mean value of 1.4 μg/kg). In one sample of currants and one of raisins from Turkey OTA exceeded the limits set by European Commission of 10 μg/kg, being contaminated with 12.61 and 15.99 μg/kg, respectively. All the positive samples were confirmed by Orbitrap Q Exactive through their molecular weight and the corresponding fragmentation. The worldwide consumption of dried vine fruits contributed to OTA exposure in several group of consumers. In particular, considering the potential nutraceutical approach, this consumption may be represent a severe risk for healthy consumers that consider these products like healthy and salutistic for their contents in antioxidants, flavonoids, and polyphenols. Data reported in this study confirmed the need to regularly monitor mycotoxin levels in these food products and optimize the process of fruits drying in order to reduce the development of toxigenic molds., (© 2017 Institute of Food Technologists®.)

Ophiobolin A (O-A) is a sesterpenoid with numerous biological activities, including potential anticancer effects. Its production at an industrial level is hampered due to inability of fungus Bipolaris maydis to biosynthesise it in vitro in large amount. Among the environmental factors regulating fungal metabolism, light plays a crucial role. In this study, the use of different light wavelength (light emitting diodes (LEDs)) was evaluated to increase the O-A production. The white light allowed the highest production of the metabolite. The blue and green lights showed an inhibitory effect, reducing the production to 50%, as well as red and yellow but at a lower level. No correlation between fungal growth and metabolite production was found in relation to the light type. A novel application of LED technologies, which can be optimised to foster specific pathways and promote the production of metabolites having scientific and industrial interest was proposed.

Background and Aims: In experimental investigations conducted in rats, raising serum uric acid (SUA) levels resulted in the stimulation of intrarenal renin expression. Studies in humans exploring the association of SUA with plasma renin activity (PRA) yielded conflicting results. Moreover, little is known about the relationship of SUA with plasma aldosterone concentration (PAC). The study aimed to assess the relationship between SUA levels, PRA, and PAC and the influence of age, gender, body mass index (BMI), and hyperuricemia on these relationships in subjects with essential hypertension (EH)., Methods and Results: We enrolled 372 hypertensive patients (mean age 45 ± 12 years, men 67%) with uncomplicated EH that was not pharmacologically treated. The study population was divided in tertiles according to SUA levels. While PRA did not differ significantly across the three tertiles, PAC was higher in subjects belonging to the uppermost tertile of SUA than those in the lower ones (p = 0.0429); however, this difference lost statistical significance after adjustment for age, sex, BMI, and serum creatinine. Univariate correlation analyses showed significant associations of SUA with PRA (r = 0.137; p = 0.008) and PAC (r = 0.179; p < 0.001). However, these relationships were not significant after correcting for confounding factors in multiple linear regression analyses. We did not observe statistically significant effect modification by gender, age, BMI, and hyperuricemia., Conclusion: SUA levels are weakly associated with PRA and PAC in adults with untreated EH. These relationships were lost after adjustment for age, sex, BMI, and serum creatinine., (Copyright © 2016 The Italian Society of Diabetology, the Italian Society for the Study of Atherosclerosis, the Italian Society of Human Nutrition, and the Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, Federico II University. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Worldwide mycotoxins contamination has a significant impact on animal and human health, and leads to economic losses accounted for billions of dollars annually. Since the application of pre- and post- harvest strategies, including chemical or physical removal, are not sufficiently effective, biological transformation is considered the most promising yet challenging approach to reduce mycotoxins accumulation. Although several microorganisms were reported to degrade mycotoxins, only a few enzymes have been identified, purified and characterized for this activity. This review focuses on the biotransformation of mycotoxins performed with purified enzymes isolated from bacteria, fungi and plants, whose activity was validated in in vitro and in vivo assays, including patented ones and commercial preparations. Furthermore, we will present some applications for detoxifying enzymes in food, feed, biogas and biofuel industries, describing their limitation and potentialities.

Background: Some data support the concept that aortic root diameter (ARD) in hypertension may be regarded as a marker of subclinical organ damage. The impact of type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) on cardiac structure and function is known, although the relationship between DM and ARD is not clear. The aim of our study was to evaluate the influence of DM on ARD in hypertensive patients., Methods: We enrolled 1693 hypertensive patients (aged 63.7±9.6years). The population was divided into two groups: the first one with DM (n=747) and the second one without DM (n=946). ARD was measured by echocardiography at level of Valsalva's sinuses using echocardiography M-mode tracings. It was considered as absolute measure and normalized to height (ARD/H) and body surface area (ARD/BSA). Left ventricular mass index (LVMI) and some parameters of systolic and diastolic function have been valued by means of echocardiography and tissue Doppler imaging., Results: The DM group was characterized by more elevated values of LVMI and a worst systolic and diastolic function. ARD value was significantly lower in DM group in comparison to patients without DM only when indexed for BSA (ARD/BSA=18.7±2.3mm/m 2 vs 18.3±2.0mm/m 2 , p=0.01). This difference remained statistically significant, even after correction by age, sex and BMI (p=0.01). A multivariate linear regression analysis demonstrated an inverse relationship between DM and ARD/BSA after correction for potential confounders (β=0.10, p<0.001)., Conclusions: Our results confirm the hypothesis of a protective role of DM on aortic root dilatation., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Members of the fungal genus Fusarium can produce numerous secondary metabolites, including the nonribosomal mycotoxins beauvericin (BEA) and enniatins (ENNs). Both mycotoxins are synthesized by the multifunctional enzyme enniatin synthetase (ESYN1) that contains both peptide synthetase and S-adenosyl-l-methionine-dependent N -methyltransferase activities. Several Fusarium species can produce ENNs, BEA or both, but the mechanism(s) enabling these differential metabolic profiles is unknown. In this study, we analyzed the primary structure of ESYN1 by sequencing esyn1 transcripts from different Fusarium species. We measured ENNs and BEA production by ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with photodiode array and Acquity QDa mass detector (UPLC-PDA-QDa) analyses. We predicted protein structures, compared the predictions by multivariate analysis methods and found a striking correlation between BEA/ENN-producing profiles and ESYN1 three-dimensional structures. Structural differences in the β strand's Asn789-Ala793 and His797-Asp802 portions of the amino acid adenylation domain can be used to distinguish BEA/ENN-producing Fusarium isolates from those that produce only ENN.

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a nephrotoxic and potentially carcinogenic mycotoxin produced by several species of Aspergillus and Penicillium , contaminating grapes, wine and a variety of food products. We recently isolated from OTA contaminated soil vineyard a novel free-living strain of Acinetobacter sp. neg1 , ITEM 17016, able to degrade OTA into the non-toxic catabolic product ochratoxin α. Biochemical studies suggested that the degradation reaction proceeds via peptide bond hydrolysis with phenylalanine (Phe) release. In order to identify genes responsible for OTA degradation we performed a differential gene expression analysis of ITEM 17016 grown in the presence or absence of the toxin. Among the differentially expressed genes, six peptidases up-regulated at 6 h were identified. The degrading activity of the carboxypeptidase PJ&#95;1540 was confirmed in vitro in a heterologous system. The enrichment analysis for Gene Ontology terms confirmed that OTA degradation proceeds through peptidase activities and revealed the over-representation of pathways related to Phe catabolism. These results indicate that Phe may represent an energy source for this Acinetobacter sp. neg1 strain and that OTA degrading reaction triggers the modulation of further catabolic activities.

Thoracic aortic aneurysms rupture and dissection are among the most devastating vascular diseases, being characterized by elevated mortality, despite improvements in diagnostic imaging and surgical techniques.An increased aortic root diameter (ARD) represents the main risk factor for thoracic aortic dissection and rupture and for aortic valve regurgitation.Even though arterial hypertension is commonly regarded as a predisposing condition for the development of thoracic aorta aneurysms, the role of blood pressure (BP) as determinant of aortic root enlargement is still controversial. The use of different methods for indexation of ARD may have in part contributed to the heterogeneous findings obtained in the investigations exploring the relationships between ARD and BP. Indeed, the best methods for ARD indexation, as well as the normal values of aortic root size, are still a matter of debate.Several non-hemodynamic factors influence ARD, including age, gender, and anthropometric variables, such as height, weight and their derivatives body surface area (BSA) and body mass index. Of these factors, anthropometric variables have the greatest impact.Several studies documented an association between ARD enlargement, assessed by echocardiography, and some indices of hypertensive target organ damage such as left ventricular hypertrophy, diastolic dysfunction, and carotid intima-media thickening. Recently, we found that ARD, expressed either as absolute values or normalized for BSA (ARD/BSA) or height (ARD/H), was significantly greater in hypertensive subjects with chronic kidney disease (CKD) when compared to their counterparts with normal renal function. Moreover, at univariate analyses estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) showed significant inverse correlations with ARD not indexed and with ARD/BSA and ARD/H. Taking into account the effect of age, sex, duration of hypertension and other potentially confounding factors, in multiple regression analyses, only the association of GFR with ARD/H and that between GFR and ARD/BSA remained statistically significant. The receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis revealed that an estimated GFR of about 50 ml/min/1.73 m 2 represents the better threshold to distinguish hypertensive patients with dilated aortic root from those with a normal one.Some population-based studies showed that an enlarged ARD might predict an adverse prognosis, even in absence of aneurysmatic alterations.In the Cardiovascular Health Study, a dilated aortic root was independently associated with an increased risk for stroke, cardiovascular and total mortality in both sexes and with incident congestive heart failure only in men. The relationship between ARD and heart failure has been observed also in the Framingham Heart Study. More recently, the PAMELA (Pressioni Arteriose Monitorate E Loro Associazioni) study demonstrated an independent relationship of ARD/H with incident cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.Although the relationship between BP and aortic root size is still a matter of debate, increasing evidence seems to support the notion that aortic root dilatation, even in absence of aneurysmatic alterations, may be regarded as an hypertensive organ damage paralleling other preclinical markers whose unfavourable prognostic significance is firmly established. Future studies are needed to assess whether or not antihypertensive therapy is able to reduce aortic root dimension and the increased risk associated with its enlargement.

The kidney is one of the major target organs of hypertension.Kidney damage represents a frequent event in the course of hypertension and arterial hypertension is one of the leading causes of end-stage renal disease (ESRD).ESRD has long been recognized as a strong predictor of cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality. However, over the past 20 years a large and consistent body of evidence has been produced suggesting that CV risk progressively increases as the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) declines and is already significantly elevated even in the earliest stages of renal damage. Data was supported by the very large collaborative meta-analysis of the Chronic Kidney Disease Prognosis Consortium, which provided undisputable evidence that there is an inverse association between eGFR and CV risk. It is important to remember that in evaluating CV disease using renal parameters, GFR should be assessed simultaneously with albuminuria.Indeed, data from the same meta-analysis indicate that also increased urinary albumin levels or proteinuria carry an increased risk of all-cause and CV mortality. Thus, lower eGFR and higher urinary albumin values are not only predictors of progressive kidney failure, but also of all-cause and CV mortality, independent of each other and of traditional CV risk factors.Although subjects with ESRD are at the highest risk of CV diseases, there will likely be more events in subjects with mil-to-moderate renal dysfunction, because of its much higher prevalence.These findings are even more noteworthy when one considers that a mild reduction in renal function is very common in hypertensive patients.The current European Society of Hypertension (ESH)/European Society of Cardiology (ESC) guidelines for the management of arterial hypertension recommend to sought in every patient signs of subclinical (or asymptomatic) renal damage. This was defined by the detection of eGFR between 30 mL/min/1.73 m 2 and 60 mL/min/1.73 m 2 or the presence of microalbuminuria (MAU), that is an amount of albumin in the urine of 30-300 mg/day or an albumin/creatinine ratio, preferentially on morning spot urine, of 30-300 mg/g.There is clear evidence that urinary albumin excretion levels, even below the cut-off values used to define MAU, are associated with an increased risk of CV events. The relationships of MAU with a variety of risk factors, such as blood pressure, diabetes and metabolic syndrome and with several indices of subclinical organ damage, may contribute, at least in part, to explain the enhanced CV risk conferred by MAU. Nonetheless, several studies showed that the association between MAU and CV disease remains when all these risk factors are taken into account in multivariate analyses. Therefore, the exact pathophysiological mechanisms explaining the association between MAU and CV risk remain to be elucidated. The simple search for MAU and in general of subclinical renal involvement in hypertensive patients may enable the clinician to better assess absolute CV risk, and its identification may induce physicians to encourage patients to make healthy lifestyle changes and perhaps would prompt to more aggressive modification of standard CV risk factors.

The role of vascular renal changes in mediating the association between serum uric acid (SUA) and renal damage is unclear. The purposes of this study were to investigate the relationship between SUA and renal resistive index (RRI), assessed by duplex Doppler ultrasonography, and to assess whether hemodynamic renal changes may explain the association between SUA and renal damage in hypertensive patients. A total of 530 hypertensive patients with and without chronic kidney disease were enrolled and divided into SUA tertiles based on sex-specific cutoff values. RRI and albuminuria were greater and glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was lower in the uppermost SUA tertile patients when compared with those in the lowest tertiles (all P<.001). Moreover, SUA strongly correlated with RRI (P<.001) in all patients. However, RRI did not seem to explain the relationship between SUA and renal damage, and GFR significantly related with SUA in the overall population (P<.001) even after adjustment for RRI., (©2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Laccases (LCs) are multicopper oxidases that find application as versatile biocatalysts for the green bioremediation of environmental pollutants and xenobiotics. In this study we elucidate the degrading activity of Lac2 pure enzyme form Pleurotus pulmonarius towards aflatoxin B₁ (AFB₁) and M₁ (AFM₁). LC enzyme was purified using three chromatographic steps and identified as Lac2 through zymogram and LC-MS/MS. The degradation assays were performed in vitro at 25 °C for 72 h in buffer solution. AFB₁ degradation by Lac2 direct oxidation was 23%. Toxin degradation was also investigated in the presence of three redox mediators, (2,2'-azino-bis-[3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid]) (ABTS) and two naturally-occurring phenols, acetosyringone (AS) and syringaldehyde (SA). The direct effect of the enzyme and the mediated action of Lac2 with redox mediators univocally proved the correlation between Lac2 activity and aflatoxins degradation. The degradation of AFB₁ was enhanced by the addition of all mediators at 10 mM, with AS being the most effective (90% of degradation). AFM₁ was completely degraded by Lac2 with all mediators at 10 mM. The novelty of this study relies on the identification of a pure enzyme as capable of degrading AFB₁ and, for the first time, AFM₁, and on the evidence that the mechanism of an effective degradation occurs via the mediation of natural phenolic compounds. These results opened new perspective for Lac2 application in the food and feed supply chains as a biotransforming agent of AFB₁ and AFM₁., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Connective tissue diseases, like systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), are associated with early and accelerated atherosclerosis. Recently, the concept of "early vascular aging" (EVA) has been more widely accepted. Aortic stiffness is one of the important markers of EVA. We evaluated EVA and subclinical atherosclerosis, by measuring aortic pulse wave velocity (aPWV) and carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT), in 50 normotensive patients with SLE (mean age: 39 ± 12 years). We compared these participants with 50 age- and sex-matched patients with essential hypertension (EH) and 20 healthy controls. Each participant underwent 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM), aPWV, and cIMT measurements. Clinic and 24-hour ABPM values were significantly lower in patients with SLE and controls when compared with the participants having EH (all P < .0001), but aPWV and cIMT were significantly lower in the control group when compared with patients having SLE and EH (all P < .001). Overall, patients with SLE and EH had similar cIMT and aPWV values (P = .31 and P = .47, respectively). Our results suggest that SLE has a similar deleterious impact on EVA as EH., (© The Author(s) 2015.)

The role of systemic vascular involvement in mediating the association between serum uric acid (SUA) and renal function in hypertension has not been explored. Main purpose of our study was to investigate whether morphofunctional vascular changes, assessed as carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) and aortic pulse wave velocity (aPWV), might mediate the association between SUA and renal damage. We enrolled 523 hypertensive subjects with or without chronic kidney disease and divided population into tertiles of SUA based on sex-specific cutoff values. cIMT and aPWV were higher in uppermost SUA-tertile patients when compared to those in the lowest ones (all P < .001). Uricemia strongly correlated with cIMT and aPWV at univariate analysis (P < .001) and with cIMT after adjustment for confounders (P < .001). Adjustment for cIMT attenuated the relationship between SUA and estimated glomerular filtration rate (P = .019). Systemic vascular changes seem partially to mediate the association between SUA and renal function in hypertensive patients, regardless of kidney function., (Copyright © 2016 American Society of Hypertension. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Hypertension guidelines recommend ambulatory blood pressure (ABP), central aortic pressure (CAP), and pulse wave velocity (PWV) as parameters for estimating blood pressure (BP) control and vascular impairment. Recent advances in technology have enabled devices to combine non-invasive estimation of these parameters over the 24-hour ABP monitoring. However, currently there is limited evidence on the usefulness of such an approach for routine hypertension management., Objective: We recently launched an investigator-initiated, international, multicenter, observational, prospective study, the Vascular health Assessment Of The Hypertensive patients (VASOTENS) Registry, aimed at (1) evaluating non-invasive 24-hour ABP and arterial stiffness estimates (through 24-hour pulse wave analysis, PWA) in hypertensive subjects undergoing ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) for clinical reasons; (2) assessing the changes in estimates following treatment; (3) weighing the impact of 24-hour PWA on target organ damage and cardiovascular prognosis; (4) assessing the relationship between arterial stiffness, BP absolute mean level and variability, and prognosis; and (5) validating the use of a 24-hour PWA electronic health (e-health) solution for hypertension screening., Methods: Approximately 2000 subjects, referred to 20 hypertension clinics for routine diagnostic evaluation and follow-up of hypertension of any severity or stage, will be recruited. Data collection will include ABPM, performed with a device allowing simultaneous non-invasive assessment of 24-hour CAP and arterial stiffness (BPLab), and clinical data (including cardiovascular outcomes). As recommended by current guidelines, each patient will be followed-up with visits occurring at regular intervals (ideally every 6 months, and not less than once a year depending on disease severity). A Web-based telemedicine platform (THOLOMEUS) will be used for data collection. The use of the telemedicine system will allow standardized and centralized data collection, data validation by experts and counseling to remote centers, setup and maintenance of the Registry, and prompt data analysis., Results: First follow-up results are expected to be available in the next 2 years., Conclusions: The results of the VASOTENS Registry will help define the normalcy thresholds for current and future indices derived from 24-hour PWA, according to outcome data, and will also provide supporting evidence for the inclusion of this type of evaluation in hypertension management., Trial Registration: Clinicaltrials.gov NCT02577835; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02577835 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.Webcitation.org/6hzZBKY2Q).

Currently, there is very little information available regarding the microbiome associated with the wine production chain. Here, we used an amplicon sequencing approach based on high-throughput sequencing (HTS) to obtain a comprehensive assessment of the bacterial community associated with the production of three Apulian red wines, from grape to final product. The relationships among grape variety, the microbial community, and fermentation was investigated. Moreover, the winery microbiota was evaluated compared to the autochthonous species in vineyards that persist until the end of the winemaking process. The analysis highlighted the remarkable dynamics within the microbial communities during fermentation. A common microbial core shared among the examined wine varieties was observed, and the unique taxonomic signature of each wine appellation was revealed. New species belonging to the genus Halomonas were also reported. This study demonstrates the potential of this metagenomic approach, supported by optimized protocols, for identifying the biodiversity of the wine supply chain. The developed experimental pipeline offers new prospects for other research fields in which a comprehensive view of microbial community complexity and dynamics is desirable.

Recent data suggest that renal hemodynamic parameters obtained by duplex Doppler sonography, especially the intrarenal resistive index (RRI), may be associated with systemic vascular changes. We evaluated the relationships between RRI and arterial stiffness, assessed by aortic pulse wave velocity, and between RRI and subclinical atherosclerosis, assessed by measuring carotid intima-media thickness in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. We enrolled 39 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (mean age 39 y) compared with 19 healthy controls, matched for age and sex. Each participant underwent 24 h of ambulatory blood pressure, aortic pulse wave velocity, carotid intima-media thickness and RRI measurements. RRI correlated significantly with aortic pulse wave velocity (r = 0.44, p = 0.006), and with carotid intima-media thickness (r = 0.46, p = 0.003). Both correlations held (p = 0.01), even after correction for age, mean arterial pressure and glomerular filtration rate. Our results suggest that the RRI may be considered a marker of systemic vascular changes and probably a predictor of cardiovascular risk in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus., (Copyright © 2016 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Structural atherosclerotic damage, arterial stiffness, pulse pressure (PP), and renal hemodynamics may interact and influence each other. Renal resistance index (RRI) appears as a good indicator of systemic vascular changes. The aim of our study was to assess the independent relationships of carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT), aortic pulse wave velocity (aPWV), and peripheral PP with RRI in hypertensives with various degrees of renal function., Methods: We enrolled 463 hypertensive patients (30-70 years) with normal renal function (group 0; n = 280) and with chronic kidney disease (groups I-V; n = 183). All subjects underwent ultrasonographic examination of intrarenal and carotid vasculature, as well as a 24-h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring., Results: A statistically significant difference in RRI, cIMT, aPWV, and clinic PP was observed in the different 6 groups (all P < 0.001), even after adjustment for age. RRI correlated with cIMT (r = 0.460, P < 0.001), aPWV (r = 0.386, P < 0.001), clinic PP (r = 0.279, P < 0.001), and 24-h PP (r = 0.229, P < 0.001) in the entire study population. These correlations were similar in subjects with and without renal dysfunction. In the overall study population, the association between RRI, cIMT, and clinic PP remained statistically significant even after adjustment for various confounding factors, whereas the relationship between RRI and aPWV was lost in multivariate analysis., Conclusions: cIMT and clinic PP rather than directly aPWV are associated with intrarenal hemodynamics. Our results confirm that in hypertensives RRI not only detects derangement of intrarenal circulation but may also be considered as a sensor of systemic vascular changes, independently of level of renal function., (© American Journal of Hypertension, Ltd 2015. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Limited and conflicting data are available about the association between short-term blood pressure (BP) variability and urinary albumin excretion rate (uAER). The objective of our study was to analyze the relationships between microalbuminuria (MAU), defined as an uAER between 20 and 200 μg min(-1), and short-term BP variability (BPV), assessed as average real variability (ARV), weighted s.d. of 24-h BP and as s.d. of daytime and night-time BP. The study population consisted of 315 untreated essential hypertensives with normal estimated glomerular filtration rate (>60 ml min(-1) per 1.73 m(2)), who underwent 24-h ambulatory BP monitoring and 24-h uAER determination. MAU was detected in 82 (26%) patients. ARV of 24-h systolic BP (SBP) was significantly higher in patients with MAU (9.8 (8.5-11.1) mm Hg) when compared with those without it (9.1 (8-10.2) mm Hg; P=0.007). This difference held (P=0.026) after adjustment for age, mean levels of BP and other potential confounders by analysis of covariance. A statistically significant correlation was also found between ARV of 24-h SBP and uAER (r=0.17; P=0.003). This association remained significant (β=0.15; P=0.01), also taking into account the effect of 24-h average systolic and diastolic BP, age, gender, diabetes, serum uric acid, triglycerides, estimated glomerular filtration rate in multiple regression analyses. All the other indices of short-term BPV tested were not independently associated with MAU. Our results seem to suggest that in essential hypertension, short-term BPV, only when estimated by ARV of 24-h SBP, is independently associated with MAU.

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a mycotoxin with a main nephrotoxic activity contaminating several foodstuffs. In the present report, five soil samples collected from OTA-contaminated vineyards were screened to isolate microorganisms able to biodegrade OTA. When cultivated in OTA-supplemented medium, OTA was converted in OTα by 225 bacterial isolates. To reveal clonal relationships between isolates, molecular typing by using an automated rep-PCR system was carried out, thus showing the presence of 27 different strains (rep-PCR profiles). The 16S-rRNA gene sequence analysis of an isolate representative of each rep-PCR profiles indicated that they belonged to five bacterial genera, namely Pseudomonas, Leclercia, Pantoea, Enterobacter, and Acinetobacter. However, further evaluation of OTA-degrading activity by the 27 strains revealed that only Acinetobacter calcoaceticus strain 396.1 and Acinetobacter sp. strain neg1, consistently conserved the above property; their further characterization showed that they were able to convert 82% and 91% OTA into OTα in six days at 24 °C, respectively. The presence of OTα, as the unique OTA-degradation product was confirmed by LC-HRMS. This is the first report on OTA biodegradation by bacterial strains isolated from agricultural soils and carried out under aerobic conditions and moderate temperatures. These microorganisms might be used to detoxify OTA-contaminated feed and could be a new source of gene(s) for the development of a novel enzymatic detoxification system.

Comparisons of draft genome sequences of three geographically distinct isolates of Fusarium fujikuroi with two recently published genome sequences from the same species suggest diverse profiles of secondary metabolite production within F. fujikuroi. Species- and lineage-specific genes, many of which appear to exhibit expression profiles that are consistent with roles in host-pathogen interactions and adaptation to environmental changes, are concentrated in subtelomeric regions. These genomic compartments also exhibit distinct gene densities and compositional characteristics with respect to other genomic partitions, and likely play a role in the generation of molecular diversity. Our data provide additional evidence that gene duplication, divergence, and differential loss play important roles in F. fujikuroi genome evolution and suggest that hundreds of lineage-specific genes might have been acquired through horizontal gene transfer., (© The Author(s) 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution.)

Several studies analyzed 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) and blood pressure (BP) relationship with mixed results. Moreover, a relationship between the risk of hypertension and vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene polymorphisms, FokI and BsmI, was reported. This study was aimed to analyze these relationships in essential hypertensive (EH) patients. Seventy-one EH patients, 18-75 years old, were enrolled. Patients underwent clinical BP, 24-h ambulatory BP monitoring, 25[OH]D and plasma renin activity (PRA) evaluations. FokI and BsmI VDR polymorphisms were analyzed and compared with those of 72 healthy controls. In EH patients, the median 25[OH]D levels were lower than 30 ng ml(-1). We found a significant negative correlation between 25[OH]D and 24-h systolic BP (r = -0.277, P = 0.043). This correlation persisted in backward stepwise multivariate analyses (β = -0.337; P = 0.022), after adjustment for age, gender, body mass index, glomerular filtration rate, and PRA. We did not observe statistically significant correlation between 25[OH]D and PRA. We compared the allelic frequencies and genotype distribution between patients and controls, and FokI and BsmI VDR polymorphisms were not associated either with hypertensive status or with PRA. Further wide studies are needed to clarify this relationship.

The authors aimed to analyze the relationship between subclinical renal damage, defined as the presence of microalbuminuria or an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) between 30 mL/min/1.73 m(2) and 60 mL/min/1.73 m(2) and short-term blood pressure (BP) variability, assessed as average real variability (ARV), weighted standard deviation (SD) of 24-hour BP, and SD of daytime and nighttime BP. A total of 328 hypertensive patients underwent 24-hour ambulatory BP monitoring, 24-hour albumin excretion rate determination, and eGFR calculation using the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration equation. ARV of 24-hour systolic BP (SBP) was significantly higher in patients with subclinical renal damage (P=.001). This association held (P=.04) after adjustment for potential confounders. In patients with microalbuminuria, ARV of 24-hour SBP, weighted SD of 24-hour SBP, and SD of daytime SBP were also independently and inversely related to eGFR. These results seem to suggest that in essential hypertension, short-term BP variability is independently associated with early renal abnormalities., (© 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Background: Recent data suggest that renal haemodynamic parameters obtained by duplex Doppler sonography, especially the intrarenal resistive index (RI), may be associated with systemic vascular changes. However, conflicting data exist about the independent relationship between aortic stiffness and RI. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between RI and arterial stiffness, assessed by aortic pulse wave velocity (aPWV), in hypertensive patients., Design: Cross-sectional study., Methods: We enrolled 264 hypertensive subjects aged between 30 and 70 years. They were divided into two groups, either with normal renal function (n = 140) or with chronic kidney disease (CKD) (n = 124). Each patient underwent assessment of ultrasonographic renal RI and measurement of aPWV through oscillometric device., Results: Patients with renal RI>0.7 showed higher values of aPWV, both in the overall population (p < 0.001) and in the subgroups with (p < 0.01) and without CKD (p < 0.01). Moreover, statistically significant correlations were observed between aPWV and RI in the whole population (r = 0.38, p < 0.001) and in the subgroups with (r = 0.35, p < 0.001) and without CKD (r = 0.31, p < 0.001). These correlations held even after adjustment for several confounding factors in multivariate analyses., Conclusions: Our results seem to corroborate the concept that the RI may be considered as a marker of systemic vascular changes and therefore a predictor of cardiovascular risk., (© The European Society of Cardiology 2014 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav.)

Plasma aldosterone concentrations (PACs) are often increased in the advanced stages of chronic kidney disease (CKD); however, PAC has not been fully investigated in early CKD. Moreover, little is known about the relationship between aldosteronemia and left ventricular (LV) mass in subjects with mild-to-moderate CKD. The study objectives were to analyze PAC, LV mass (LVM), LV geometry and their relationships, in a group of hypertensive patients with stage I-III CKD. One hundred ninety-five hypertensive patients with stage I-III CKD were enrolled and compared with a control group of 82 hypertensive patients without renal dysfunction. LVM was higher in subjects with CKD than in the control group and increased progressively with advancing stages of CKD (P=0.004). A similar trend was observed for PAC (P<0.0001), in which PAC was greater in CKD subjects with LV concentric geometry than in those with eccentric LV hypertrophy (P=0.01). Furthermore, in CKD patients, PAC was directly and significantly correlated with LVM (r=0.29; P<0.0001) and with relative wall thickness (RWT; r=0.36; P<0.0001). These associations remained significant even after adjustment for various confounding factors in multiple regression analyses (P<0.001). In summary, the results demonstrated that in CKD hypertensive patients, LVM, RWT and PAC are increased and related to each other from the earliest stages of renal dysfunction. Furthermore, it seems biologically plausible to speculate that aldosterone may promote a concentric geometry of the left ventricle and increase LVM in hypertensive patients with early CKD.

Background and Aim: Renal resistance index (RRI), assessed by Duplex-Doppler sonography, has been classically considered as a mere expression of intrarenal vascular resistance. Recent studies, however, have showed that RRI is also influenced by upstream factors, especially arterial compliance, confirming its possible role as a marker of systemic vascular alterations. Several studies have shown that carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) and carotid plaques (cP), assessed by ultrasonography, are documented markers of subclinical organ damage as well as expression of progressive atherosclerotic disease, and that they get worse with the progressive deterioration of renal function. The study was aimed to evaluate the relationship between RRI and severity of carotid atherosclerosis in hypertensive subjects with and without impaired renal function., Methods and Results: The study population, including 263 hypertensive patients (30-70 years), was split into 3 groups based on cIMT and presence of cP (cIMT ≤ 0.9 mm and no cP; cIMT > 0.9 mm and no cP; cP). All patients were also divided into 2 subgroups (normal renal function; CKD stage I-IV). A stepwise increase in RRI corresponding to the groups of progressive severity of carotid atherosclerosis was observed (respectively 0.61 ± 0.07, 0.65 ± 0.06, 0.68 ± 0.06; p < 0.001). A strong positive correlation was observed between RRI and cIMT in the whole population (r = 0.43; p < 0.001) and in the subgroups with (r = 0.42; p < 0.001) and without (r = 0.39; p < 0.001) CKD. These associations remained statistically significant even after adjustment for various confounding factors., Conclusion: Showing a close association between RRI and severity of carotid atherosclerosis, our results strengthen the concept that RRI is a marker of systemic vascular changes., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

For many years, it has been recognized that hypertension tends to cluster with various anthropometric and metabolic abnormalities including abdominal obesity, elevated triglycerides, reduced high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, glucose intolerance, insulin resistance and hyperuricemia. This constellation of various conditions has been transformed from a pathophysiological concept to a clinical entity, which has been defined metabolic syndrome (MetS). The consequences of the MetS have been difficult to assess without commonly accepted criteria to diagnose it. For this reason, on 2009 the International Diabetes Federation, the American Heart Association and other scientific organizations proposed a unified MetS definition. The incidence of the MetS has been increasing worldwide in parallel with an increase in overweight and obesity. The epidemic proportion reached by the MetS represents a major public health challenge, because several lines of evidence showed that the MetS, even without type 2 diabetes, confers an increased risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in different populations including also hypertensive patients. It is likely that the enhanced cardiovascular risk associated with MetS in patients with high blood pressure may be largely mediated through an increased prevalence of preclinical cardiovascular and renal changes, such as left ventricular hypertrophy, early carotid atherosclerosis, impaired aortic elasticity, hypertensive retinopathy and microalbuminuria. Indeed, many reports support this notion, showing that hypertensive patients with MetS exhibit, more often than those without it, these early signs of end organ damage, most of which are recognized as significant independent predictors of adverse cardiovascular outcomes.

Background and Aims: Clinical studies exploring the relationship between serum uric acid (SUA) and arterial stiffness yielded conflicting results. Only in a few of these studies, arterial distensibility was examined by measuring aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV), which is considered the gold standard for evaluating arterial stiffness. In none of the previous investigations was the influence of SUA on aortic distensibility assessed, taking into account the effect of albuminuria. The purpose of our study was to comprehensively analyse the relationships between SUA and aortic PWV in a group of essential hypertensive patients., Methods and Results: We enrolled 222 untreated and uncomplicated hypertensive subjects (mean age: 44 ± 10 years; 60% males), without gout. In all patients, SUA and urinary albumin excretion rate (AER) were determined. Moreover, carotid-femoral (c-f) PWV was measured. C-f PWV was significantly higher in hypertensive patients belonging to the uppermost tertile of SUA distribution, compared to subjects of the lowest tertiles (10.9 ± 2.2 vs. 10 ± 1.8 vs. 9.9 ± 1.7 m s(-1); p = 0.001). In univariate analysis, SUA correlated with c-f PWV (r = 0.24; p < 0.001). This association disappeared when AER was added in a multiple regression model, including SUA, age, mean arterial pressure, gender, metabolic syndrome components and glomerular filtration rate., Conclusion: The results of our study showed that, in essential hypertensive subjects, there is a positive relationship between mild hyperuricaemia and aortic stiffness. This association weakened after adjustment for covariates and lost statistical significance after further correction for albuminuria., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

DNA phylogenetic comparisons have shown that morphology-based species recognition often underestimates fungal diversity. Therefore, the need for accurate DNA sequence data, tied to both correct taxonomic names and clearly annotated specimen data, has never been greater. Furthermore, the growing number of molecular ecology and microbiome projects using high-throughput sequencing require fast and effective methods for en masse species assignments. In this article, we focus on selecting and re-annotating a set of marker reference sequences that represent each currently accepted order of Fungi. The particular focus is on sequences from the internal transcribed spacer region in the nuclear ribosomal cistron, derived from type specimens and/or ex-type cultures. Re-annotated and verified sequences were deposited in a curated public database at the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), namely the RefSeq Targeted Loci (RTL) database, and will be visible during routine sequence similarity searches with NR&#95;prefixed accession numbers. A set of standards and protocols is proposed to improve the data quality of new sequences, and we suggest how type and other reference sequences can be used to improve identification of Fungi. Database URL: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bioproject/PRJNA177353., (Published by Oxford University Press 2013. This work is written by US Government employees and is in the public domain in the US.)

Aims: The aim of this study was to analyse the transcriptional regulation of enniatins (ENs) production in Fusarium avenaceum., Methods and Results: We develop a new method to quantify ENs in FDM agar medium. We performed an LC/MS/MS analysis to evaluate enniatin A, A1, B, B1 and B4 production by seven F. avenaceum strains and, in a time-course experiment, by ITEM 3404 to analyse the transcriptional regulation of the esyn1 gene. The expression profile, achieved by Real time reverse transcriptase assay, showed an activation of gene transcription at the seventh day of incubation, corresponding to the higher increase of total ENs production. Enniatin B was the most abundant ENs analogues, representing the 90% of total ENs. The relative percentage of ENs remained unaltered during the experiment., Conclusions: We reported a transcriptional regulation of esyn1 responsible for the modulation of ENs biosynthesis., Significance and Impact of the Study: Enniatins are cyclic depsipeptides metabolites with a wide range of biological activities. They are also widespread contaminants in grains and cereals due to infection by enniatin-producing Fusarium species. This is the first article describing the transcriptional regulation of esyn1 gene that modulates ENs production in Fusarium avenaceum and provides new knowledge about the molecular mechanism underlying the biosynthesis of these important fungal metabolites in this toxigenic fungal species., (© 2013 The Society for Applied Microbiology.)

Fumonisins (FBs), which are carcinogenic mycotoxins, are known to be typically produced by several phytopathogenic fungal species belonging to the genus Fusarium. F. proliferatum and F. verticillioides, two important pathogens of maize worldwide, are the most common species that produce FBs. The main FBs produced by these species are FB1, FB2 and FB3. Moreover, recently, fungal strains belonging to Aspergillus niger have been also reported to produce FBs (in particular, FB2 and FB4). In a survey on maize carried out in Central Italy, 17 maize kernel samples were collected at harvest and analysed for FB1, FB2 and FB3, as well as fungal contamination, with a particular attention to the species-producing FBs. All 17 samples were contaminated by F. verticillioides and/or F. proliferatum at a level ranging from 13% to 100% of kernels. However, 10 out of 17 samples were also contaminated by Aspergillus section Nigri with a range from 6% to 68% of kernels. There was a significant inverse logarithmic relationship between levels of Fusarium and Aspergillus contamination. All samples were contaminated by FBs; FB1 ranged from 0.09 to 30.2 μg g(-1), whereas FB2 ranged from 0.04 to 13.2 μg g(-1). The ratio of FB2/FB1 contamination in the maize samples was evaluated and the highest values occurred in samples contaminated with Aspergillus section Nigri. Thirty strains of Aspergillus section Nigri isolated from these samples were molecularly identified (based on sequences of two housekeeping genes) and analysed for their capability to produce FB2. Among the 30 strains isolated, 12 were identified as Aspergillus welwitschiae (syn. A. awamori) and 18 as A. tubingensis. FB2 was produced by five out of 12 strains of A. welwitschiae within a range of 0.20-5 μg g(-1). This is the first report showing the capability of Aspergillus section Nigri from maize to produce FB2 and its possibility to contribute to FB accumulation in kernels.

Powdery mildew (PM), caused by the fungus Erysiphe necator, is one of the most widespread fungal disease of grape and may cause extensive openings on the berry surface during the infection. We evaluated the effect of damage caused by PM in grape berries on the growth of and mycotoxin production by Aspergillus and on the oxidative stress in infected berries. Berries of Vitis vinifera L. cv. Negroamaro with sound skin (SS) and those naturally infected by PM were surface sterilized and inoculated with either fumonisin B2(FB2)-producing strains of Aspergillus niger or ochratoxin A (OTA)-producing strains of Aspergillus carbonarius and incubated at 20 and 30°C. The PM berries were significantly more susceptible to both Aspergillus colonization (5 to 15 times more susceptible) and OTA and FB2 contamination (2 to 9 times more susceptible) than were SS berries. The highest toxin concentration was detected in inoculated PM berries both for OTA (9 ng/g) at 20°C and for FB2 (687 ng/g) at 30°C. In inoculated SS and PM berries, although malondialdehyde and hydrogen peroxide concentrations did not increase, the two black Aspergillus species caused a significant decrease in ascorbate content, thus inducing a pro-oxidant effect. These results indicate that grape berries affected by PM are more susceptible to black Aspergillus growth and to production and/or accumulation of FB2 and OTA. Thus, preventive control of E. necator on grape berries could reduce the mycotoxicological risk from black Aspergillus infection.

Background: Electrocardiography (ECG) has low sensitivity for detecting left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), while echocardiography cannot be routinely performed., Design/methods: In this study we evaluate the prevalence of LVH and diastolic dysfunction in hypertensive patients with normal ECG. We excluded patients with cardiovascular (CV) diseases, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, or presenting ECG-LVH or other ECG anomalies. The enrolled 440 hypertensive patients underwent echocardiographic examination (Acuson Sequoia 512); LV mass was indexed by body surface area (LVMI) and LVH was defined as LVMI >125 g/m(2) in men and >110 g/m(2) in women. Diastolic function was evaluated by mitral inflow and tissue Doppler imaging (TDI)., Results: The prevalence of LVH was 8.18% (95% confidence interval [CI] 5.97-11.1%). Multiple regression analysis showed that the only variable independently associated with LVH was duration of hypertension (p < 0.001). The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve showed that duration of hypertension was a powerful predictor of LVH, with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.878 and p < 0.0001. Further, in patients with LVH the mean difference of LVMI from the cut-off value for LVH was 12.3 ± 9.19 g/m(2). Diastolic dysfunction, defined as early diastolic myocardial velocity (Em) <0.08 m/s, was detected only in 3.2% of patients., Conclusions: The prevalence of LVH among hypertensive patients with normal ECG, free of diabetes and of CV diseases is low; moreover, patients with echocardiographic LVH presented LVMI values that identified mild LVH. Few cases of impaired diastolic function were registered. We suggest that in hypertensive patients with such characteristics the echocardiographic examination should be reserved to those who present with higher duration of hypertension.

Background and Aim: Experimentally uric acid may induce cardiomyocyte growth and interstitial fibrosis of the heart. However, clinical studies exploring the relationship between serum uric acid (SUA) and left ventricular (LV) mass yielded conflicting results. The aim of our study was to evaluate the relationships between SUA and LV mass in a large group of Caucasian essential hypertensive subjects., Methods and Results: We enrolled 534 hypertensive patients free of cardiovascular complications and without severe renal insufficiency. In all subjects routine blood chemistry, including SUA determination, echocardiographic examination and 24 h ambulatory blood pressure (BP) monitoring were obtained. In the overall population we observed no significant correlation of SUA with LV mass indexed for height(2.7) (LVMH(2.7)) (r = 0.074). When the same relationship was analysed separately in men and women, we found a statistically significant correlation in female gender (r = 0.27; p < 0.001), but not in males (r = -0.042; p = NS). When we grouped the study population in sex-specific tertiles of SUA, an increase in LVMH(2.7) was observed in the highest tertiles in women (44.5 ± 15.6 vs 47.5 ± 16 vs 55.9 ± 22.2 g/m(2.7); p < 0.001), but not in men. The association between SUA and LVMH(2.7) in women lost statistical significance in multiple regression analyses, after adjustment for age, 24 h systolic BP, body mass index, serum creatinine and other potential confounders., Conclusions: Our findings do not support an independent association between SUA and LV mass in Caucasian men and women with arterial hypertension., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Dried vine fruits may be heavily colonized by Aspergillus species. The molecular biodiversity of an Aspergillus population (234 strains) isolated from dried vine fruit samples of worldwide origin were analyzed by investigating four housekeeping gene loci (calmodulin, β-tubulin, elongation factor 1-α, RPB2). Aspergillus Sect. Nigri was dominant and the strains were identified as A. tubingensis (138), A. awamori (38), A. carbonarius (27), A. uvarum (16) and A. niger (11). Four Aspergillus flavus strains were also identified from Chilean raisins. Two clusters closely related to the A. tubingensis species with a significant bootstrap (60% and 99%) were identified as distinct populations. Among the four loci, RPB2 showed the highest genetic variability. This is the first complete study on the worldwide distribution of black Aspergilli occurring on dried vine fruits identified by a molecular approach., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The intima-media thickness (IMT) is considered as a surrogate marker for atherosclerotic disease. The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship of carotid IMT with fetuin-A in patients with essential hypertension (EH) and normal renal function. The plasma levels of fetuin-A, interleukin 6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and the biomarker of oxidative stress 8-iso-PGF2alpha were assayed in samples from 105 untreated EH patients. Carotid IMT measurements were also performed. EH was studied overall and after dividing in EH with IMT ≥ and <0.9 mm. All of the biomarkers were significantly different between the two subgroups, in particular, the fetuin-A level was lower in the patients with an IMT ≥0.9 mm. In the overall group, the linear analysis of correlation demonstrated that the IMT was significantly inversely correlated with the fetuin-A level (r=-0.40, P<0.0001) and directly with TNF-α (r=0.39, P<0.0001), IL-6 (r=0.38, P<0.0001) and 8-iso-PGF2alpha (r=0.356, P<0.0003). The multiple regression analysis performed that assigned IMT as a dependent variable showed that fetuin-A (β=-0.268, P<0.0001) was independently correlated with the IMT. Receiver-operator curves demonstrated that fetuin-A levels have a predictive power of IMT>0.9 mm (AUC (area under the curve) 0.738, P<0.0001). Our results suggest that in EH, fetuin-A is associated with the IMT independently of oxidative stress and renal function, thus predicting increases in the IMT.

Fusarium verticillioides is the main source of fumonisins, a group of mycotoxins that can contaminate maize-based food and feed and cause diseases in humans and animals. The study of the effect of different environmental conditions on toxin production should provide information that can be used to develop strategies to minimize the risk. This study analysed the effect of temperature (15°C-35°C), water activity (a(w): 0.999-0.93), salinity (0-125 g l(-1) NaCl) and pH (5-8) on the growth and production of fumonisins B(1) (FB1), B(2) (FB2) and B(3) (FB3) and the expression of FUM1 and FUM21 in F. verticillioides. The highest growth rate was measured at 25°C, a(w) of 0.998-0.99 and 0-25 g l(-1) of NaCl. Optimal conditions for fumonisin production were 30°C, a(w) of 0.99, 25 g l(-1) of NaCl and pH 5; nevertheless, the strain showed a good adaptability and was able to produce moderate levels of fumonisins under a wide range of conditions. Gene expression mirrored fumonisin production profile under all conditions with the exception of temperature: FUM1 and FUM21 expression was highest at 15°C, while maximum fumonisin production was at 30°C. These data indicate that a post-transcriptional regulation mechanism could account for the different optimal temperatures for FUM gene expression and fumonisin production.

Ochratoxin A (OTA), a mycotoxin produced by Aspergillus and Penicillium species, is composed of a dihydroisocoumarin ring linked to phenylalanine, and its biosynthetic pathway has not yet been completely elucidated. Most of the knowledge regarding the genetic and enzymatic aspects of OTA biosynthesis has been elucidated in Penicillium species. In Aspergillus species, only pks genes involved in the initial steps of the pathway have been partially characterized. In our study, the inactivation of a gene encoding a nonribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) in OTA-producing A. carbonarius ITEM 5010 has eliminated the ability of this fungus to produce OTA. This is the first report on the involvement of an nrps gene product in OTA biosynthetic pathway in an Aspergillus species. The absence of OTA and ochratoxin α, the isocoumaric derivative of OTA, and the concomitant increase of ochratoxin β, the dechloro analog of ochratoxin α, were observed in the liquid culture of transformed strain. The data provide the first evidence that the enzymatic step adding phenylalanine to polyketide dihydroisocoumarin precedes the chlorination step to form OTA in A. carbonarius and that ochratoxin α is a product of hydrolysis of OTA, giving an interesting new insight into the biosynthetic pathway of the toxin.

Fumonisins are a group of mycotoxins, mainly found in maize and maize-based food and feed, associated with several diseases in animals. The impact of these toxins on the economy and health worldwide has driven several efforts to clarify the role of environmental factors that can influence fumonisin biosynthesis by the toxigenic species. We analyzed the influence of light of varying wavelength on growth and fumonisin biosynthesis by the fungus Fusarium proliferatum ITEM 1719. Light in general had a positive influence on growth, with a mean increase of the grow rate of about 40% under light exposure in comparison to the dark incubation. Wavelengths from both sides of the spectrum, from long (627 nm) to short wavelength (470-455 nm) had a stimulating effect on fumonisin biosynthesis compared to the dark incubation: fumonisins B(1) (FB(1)) and B(2) (FB(2)) production increased of about 40 fold under red, 35 fold under blue, 20 fold under royal blue, 10 fold under green, 5 fold under yellow and 3 fold under white light in comparison to the dark incubation. The transcriptional regulation of the FUM1 fumonisin biosynthesis gene was analyzed by Real time reverse transcriptase PCR quantification, revealing a correlation between fumonisin biosynthesis and gene expression. These findings show a role of light on the growth and the modulation of fumonisin biosynthesis and provide new information on the physiology of an important toxigenic maize pathogen., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Light is a very important signal for fungi since it influences many different physiological responses. We analyzed the influence of light of varying wavelength and intensity on growth, conidiation and biosynthesis of fumonisin B(1) (FB(1)), B(2) (FB(2)), and B(3) (FB(3)) by Fusarium verticillioides ITEM 10027. Wavelengths across the visible spectrum, from red (627 nm) to blue (470-455 nm), stimulated the growth and increased the fumonisin production, by up to 150 % over dark incubation. If the intensity of the 455 nm blue light increased from 200 to 1700 lx, the fumonisin biosynthesis decreased. Incubation under a short wave blue light (390 nm) showed reduced fungal growth and fumonisin production by up to 85 %. White pulsing light had no effect on growth but reduced fumonisin production to half of what observed during dark incubation. Real time reverse transcriptase (RT)-PCR was used to measure the expression level of Fum1, Fum21 and FvVE1 transcripts, which encode proteins involved in fumonisin biosynthesis. There was a significant correlation between gene expression and fumonisin production., (Copyright © 2011 British Mycological Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)