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Background: Patients with Crohn s disease can develop anal and perianal lesions, such as fistulas, ulcers, skin tags, perianal abscesses and strictures. Perianal Crohn s disease (PCD) is a condition that has a major impact on patients quality of life. The multidisciplinary team includes a nurse who manages the patient according to evidence-based medicine. Clinical practice and post-registration training are the way forward for nurses to acquire the skills needed to deliver quality care. Aims: This study explored the assessment of nurses knowledge of PCD. A cross-sectional survey was used to look at the nurses knowledge. Methods: The questionnaire was administered over 2 months, between September and October 2019. The questionnaire was anonymous, validated by a panel of experts in the field and consisted of 30 questions to assess knowledge and two questions to assess the need for training. It was directed to 120 clinical nurses in the departments of medicine and abdominal surgery. Results: There were 120 nurses enrolled, and 64.2% of nurses had cared for patients with PCD at least once. The survey showed a fairly low level of knowledge of the diagnostic and therapeutic care pathways for patients affected by PCD. On the other hand, a high need for training and in-depth study of the subject emerged. Conclusion: The nurse, an integral part of the multidisciplinary team, plays an important role in the education of these patients. Nurses present level of knowledge can certainly be improved thanks to their willingness to undertake training courses or to use information tools.

Background: We evaluated whether integration of novel diets for donors and patients, in addition to faecal transplantation [FT], could increase FT remission rate in refractory ulcerative colitis [UC]. Methods: This was a blinded, randomised, controlled trial in adults with active UC, defined by a simple clinical colitis activity index [SCCAI] of ≥5 and ≤11 and endoscopic Mayo score 2-3, refractory to medication. Group 1 received free diet and single donor standard FT by colonoscopy on Day 1and rectal enemas on Days 2 and 14 without dietary conditioning of the donor. Group 2 received FT as above but with dietary pre-conditioning of the donor for 14 days and a UC Exclusion Diet [UCED] for the patients. Group 3 received the UCED alone. The primary endpoint was Week 8 clinical steroid-free remission, defined as SCCAI <3. Results: Of 96 planned patients, 62 were enrolled. Remission Week 8 Group 1 was 2/17 [11.8%], Group 2 was 4/19 [21.1%], Group 3 was 6/15 [40%] [non-significant]. Endoscopic remission Group 1 was 2/17 [12%], Group 2 was 3/19 [16%], Group 3 was 4/15 [27%] [Group 1 vs 3 p = 0.38]. Mucosal healing [Mayo 0] was achieved only in Group 3 [3/15, 20%] vs 0/36 FT patients [p = 0.022]. Exacerbation of disease occurred in 3/17 [17.6%] of Group 1, 4/19 [21.1%] of Group 2, and 1/15 [6.7%] of Group 3 [Group 2 vs 3, p = 0.35]. Conclusions: UCED alone appeared to achieve higher clinical remission and mucosal healing than single donor FT with or without diet. The study was stopped for futility by a safety monitoring board.

Italy is one of the countries on track with the WHO’s agenda to eliminate hepatitis C virus (HCV) by 2030. Healthcare facilities play a crucial role in seeking patients who are infected but have not yet been treated. We assessed the effectiveness of a recall strategy, named ‘Telepass’ project, for patients exposed to HCV infection who have not yet been linked to care in a large tertiary care centre. The ‘Telepass’ project was structured in two phases: (a) a retrospective analysis first identified all anti–HCV-positive subjects among patients who underwent pre-operative assessment in the facility in the course of one year; (b) a following prospective phase, aimed to recall patients in need either of further diagnostic tests (ie HCV-RNA) or treatment. A total of 12246 records of patients tested for HCV antibodies were reviewed. The overall prevalence of anti–HCV-positive subjects was 1.83% (224/12246) with a male/female ratio of 2.07. Out of the 224 anti–HCV-positive patients, 123 (54.91%) did not have documented HCV-RNA tests and were therefore selected for recall. Of these, 123 were reachable and 26 (21.13%) were successfully linked to care. Ten patients (38.46%) tested HCV-RNA positive and initiated treatment with direct-acting antivirals (DAAs). The Telepass study highlights that a recall strategy starting from internal hospital databases can help identify patients with chronic HCV infection who have not yet been linked to care, and provides an epidemiological insight into the prevalence of HCV infection in Italy in the late DAAs era.

Background: Probiotics are defined as live, nonpathogenic bacteria that confer health benefits beyond their nutritional value. In particular, VSL#3 exhibits demonstrated efficacy in the management of diseases characterized by an increased intestinal permeability. Our study aimed to understand how VSL#3 promotes gut health by secreting bioactive factors and identify which human pathways are modulated by secretome derived from the VSL#3 formula. Methods: Two different lots of VSL#3 were used, and Caco-2 cell line was treated with conditioned media (CM) prepared using 1 g of the probiotic formula. We evaluated the effects of the probiotics on cellular proliferation and apoptosis by cytometry and the expression of tight junction proteins by western blotting. A proteomics analysis of both culture media and the whole proteome of Caco-2 cells treated with VSL#3-CM was performed by nano-ultra performance liquid chromatography - tandem mass (nUPLC MS/MS) spectrometry. Results: The probiotic formula increased cell proliferation, decreased cellular apoptosis cells, and increased re-epithelialization in the scratch assay. Several peptides specifically synthetized by all the species within the probiotic preparation were recognized in the proteomics analysis. Human proteins synthesized by CaCo-2 cells were also identified. Conclusions: To our knowledge, this manuscript describes the first evaluation of the probiotic secretome, and the results showed that the improvement in intestinal barrier functions induced by probiotics seems to be accompanied by the modulation of some human cellular pathways.

The widespread industrial application of nanomaterials (NMs) has dramatically increased the likelihood of environmental and occupational exposure of humans to such xenobiotics. This issue, together with the increasing public health interest in understanding the effects of chemicals on endocrine system, encouraged to investigate the disruptive potential of NMs on the endocrine function. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of palladium nanoparticles (Pd-NPs) on the female reproductive system of Wistar rats, intravenously exposed to different doses (0.12, 1.2, and 12 µg/kg), through the assessment of possible quantitative changes in the serum concentrations of several sex hormones. Our results demonstrated that the highest exposure doses significantly reduced the estradiol and testosterone concentrations, while increased the luteinizing hormone levels in treated animals compared to controls. Such alterations are indicative for an abnormal reproductive axis function. However, further investigations are needed to clarify the role of the different NP physicochemical properties in determining such effects, and possible underlining molecular mechanisms, as well as their relevance for the development of diseases in the female reproductive system. Overall, this may be helpful to define accurate risk assessment and management strategies to protect the health of the general and occupational populations exposed to Pd-NPs.

Exosomes are involved in inter-cellular communication. We previously reported that sodium butyrate–induced differentiation of HT29 colon cancer cells is associated with a reduced CD133 expression. Here, we analyzed the role of exosomes in the differentiation of HT29 cells. Exosomes were prepared using ultracentrifugation. Gene expression levels were evaluated by real time-PCR. Cell proliferation rate was assessed by MTT assay and with the ECIS system whereas cell motility was assessed using the scratch test and confocal microscopy. Sodium butyrate–induced differentiation of HT29 and Caco-2 cells increased the levels of released exosomes and their expression of CD133. Cell differentiation and the decrease of cellular CD133 expression levels were prevented by blocking multivescicular body maturation. Exosomes released by HT29 differentiating cells carried increased levels of microRNAs, induced an increased proliferation and motility of both colon cancer cells and normal fibroblasts, increased the colony-forming efficiency of cancer cells, and reduced the sodium butyrate-induced differentiation of HT29 cells. Such effects were associated with an increased phosphorylation level of both Src and Erk proteins and with an increased expression of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition–related genes. Release of exosomes is affected by differentiation of colon cancer cells; exosomes might be used by differentiating cells to get rid of components that are no longer necessary but might continue to exert their effects on recipient cells.

Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is the major life-threatening complication after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT), developing in 35%-70% of all allo-HSCT recipients despite immunosuppressive prophylaxis. The recent application of proteomic tools that allow screening for differentially expressed or excreted proteins in body fluids could possibly identify specific biomarkers for GVHD. Whole saliva is highly attractive for noninvasive specimen collection. In the present study, we collected saliva specimens from 40 consecutives patients who underwent allo-HSCT between December 2008 and March 2011 at our institution. The specimens were analyzed by HPLC coupled to electrospray-ionization mass spectrometry. Variable expression of S100 protein family members (S100A8, S100A9, and S100A7) was detected. Fourteen of 23 patients with GVHD demonstrated the presence of S100A8, compared with only 2 patients without GVHD and 0 patients in the control group (P = .001). S100A7 was detectable in 11 of the 23 patients with GVHD but was absent in the other 2 groups (P = .0001). S100A9-short was detected in 20 patients with GVHD, in 9 patients without GVHD, and in 8 healthy volunteers (P = .01) Further studies are needed to clarify the role of these proteins as a marker of GVHD or as an index of mucosal inflammation.

Saliva is a body fluid of a unique composition devoted to protect the mouth cavity and the digestive tract. Our high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-electrospray ionization-MS analysis of the acidic soluble fraction of saliva from preterm human newborn surprisingly revealed more than 40 protein masses often undetected in adult saliva. We were able to identify the following proteins: stefin A and stefin B, S100A7 (two isoforms), S100A8, S100A9 (four isoforms), S100A11, S100A12, small proline-rich protein 3 (two isoforms), lysozyme C, thymosins β(4) and β(10), antileukoproteinase, histone H1c, and α and γ globins. The average mass value reported in international data banks was often incongruent with our experimental results mostly because of post-translational modifications of the proteins, e.g. acetylation of the N-terminal residue. A quantitative label-free MS analysis showed protein levels altered in relation to the postconceptional age and suggested coordinate and hierarchical functions for these proteins during development. In summary, this study shows for the first time that analysis of these proteins in saliva of preterm newborns might represent a noninvasive way to obtain precious information of the molecular mechanisms of development of human fetal oral structures.

The aberrant induction of salivary/lacrimal proteins is considered to be crucial in the pathogenesis of sicca-symptoms related to primary Sjögren syndrome (SS). We report the case of an 11-year-old boy who was admitted to hospital due to recurrent bilateral parotid gland enlargement and keratoconjunctivitis, which were diagnosed as primary SS upon a combination of laboratory and instrumental tests. The proteomic analysis of the salivary peptide complex in the patient's salivary fluid near diagnosis and after 6 months of pharmacological therapy revealed quantitative and mostly qualitative differences. This observation reveals that clinical and functional changes of the salivary glands driven by non-steroidal antinflammatory drugs might be reflected in different proteomic patterns of the salivary fluid. © 2008 Springer-Verlag.