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Apolipoprotein H is a protein of about 50 kilodaltons, structurally related to the regulators of the complement activation family. Its physiological function is poorly understood but it has been implicated in lipid metabolism and coagulative pathways. The major site of synthesis is thought to be the liver. Several reports indicate that apolipoprotein H is the antigen of the antiphospholipid antibodies and also behaves as an acute-phase reactant. Moreover, 40% of plasma apolipoprotein H is associated with very low-density lipoprotein, high-density lipoprotein, and postprandial chylomicrons. In this study we investigated other sites of synthesis by reverse transcription/polymerase chain reaction and we found apolipoprotein H mRNA expression in intestinal cell lines and tissues. Immunohistochemistry was performed on various fresh and paraffin-embedded tissues and apolipoprotein H was immunolocalized in the cytoplasm of hepatocytes and epithelial cells from colon and jejunum. This study indicates that apolipoprotein H is expressed at both mRNA and protein levels in enterocytes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Family physicians or pediatricians and general practitioners (GPs) work in non-hospital settings. GPs usually visit many patients, frequently at their homes, with low potential, if any, to control the work setting. Particularly during the initial phases of the COVID-19 outbreak, they were not informed about the occurrence of SARS-CoV-2-infected patients, with inadequate information regarding the risk, a lack of suitable protective measures and, in some cases, deficient or poor accessibility to personal protective equipment (PPE). During the first wave of COVID-19, primary care physicians were on the front line and isolated the first cases of the disease. The present study aims to estimate the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in a cohort of 133 GPs working in Catania (Italy) after the first wave of COVID-19. Serological analysis revealed a low seroprevalence (3%) among GPs. The low seroprevalence highlighted in the results can be attributed to correct management of patients by GPs in the first wave. It is now hoped that mass vaccination, combined with appropriate behavior and use of PPE, can help further reduce the risk of COVID-19 disease.

Background: Recent epidemiological studies on workers describe that exposure to pesticides can induce oxidative stress by increased production of free radicals that can accumulate in the cell and damage biological macromolecules, for example, RNA, DNA, DNA repair proteins and other proteins and/or modify antioxidant defense mechanisms, as well as detoxification and scavenger enzymes. This study aimed to assess oxidative stress and DNA damage among workers exposed to pesticides., Methods: For this purpose, 52 pesticide exposed workers and 52 organic farmers were enrolled. They were assessed: the pesticide exposure, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), total glutathione (TG), oxidized glutathione levels (GSSG), and 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-oxodG), levels., Results: Correlation between pesticide exposure was positively associated with high TBARS and 8-oxodG levels (p <  0.001). A negative association was founded with TG and GSSG and pesticide exposure., Conclusions: The present investigation results seem to indicate a mild augment in oxidative stress associated with pesticide exposure, followed by an adaptive response to increase the antioxidant defenses to prevent sustained oxidative adverse effects stress.

Perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) are a large group of man-made chemicals characterized by a completely fluorinated hydrophobic linear carbon chain attached to a hydrophilic head. The presence of PFCs has been related with various adverse effects on several organs and systems. 61 children (6-11 years of age) living in Sicily underwent medical examination and blood and urine routinary tests, as well as the serum concentration of 16 PFCs. These compounds (∑PFCs = 5.888 ng/mL, range 1.035-12.94 ng/mL) were widely detected in the samples of all children, showing that they had been extensively exposed to PFCs, especially perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorohexanesulfonate (PFHxs) and perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA). In addition, long-chained PFCs were found in children's blood correlated with short-chained ones. Perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA) (beta=-0.114) and PFHxS (beta = 0.003) levels were correlated with maternal parity; while the "months of breastfeeding" variable is correlated with perfluoroundecanoic acid (PFUnDA) concentrations (beta = 0.008). Female gender is negatively associated with PFOS (beta = 0.008). The adverse health effects of PFCs on young children should be noted, due to their growing phase. Therefore, further studies are needed to monitor and address adverse health outcomes of PFCs on children, especially those living in industrial regions., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Locus D1S80 is one of the best-known polymorphic loci, showing a variable number of tandem repeats. This article presents the results on D1S80 allele distributions in a sample of 324 unrelated Sicilian individuals, collected and analyzed in two distinct laboratory centers. Although, as expected, the two most frequent alleles were those with 18 and 24 repeat units, the population sample from southeastern Sicily showed a relatively low frequency of allele 29 (2.9%) and allele 31 (3.4%) and a relatively high frequency of allele 25 (6.0%), allele 30 (1.9%), and allele 32 (1.5%) in comparison with other populations. Statistical analysis performed by the five alleles model provided evidence that the population did not follow the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium expectations (observed heterozygosity 70.99% vs. expected heterozygosity 76.31%). The calculated F (fixation index), as a measure of heterozygote deficiency or excess, was positive for four allele groups and negative for one allele group. This finding was consistent with a substantial diversity of human ethnic groups when tested with VNTR systems and might represent a genuine inconsistency, not due to a methodological bias. This scenario deserves further investigation, i.e., by performing a short tandem repeat (STR) units analysis on a greater number of loci in the same population sample., (Copyright 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc.)

The effects of all trans retinoic acid and hyperthermia were studied in the human colon adenocarcinoma cell line HT29. Cell cytotoxicity after exposure to ATRA or heat-shock, alone or in association, was evaluated by the MTT assay while cell surface and ultrastructure modifications and actin fibre assembly changes were investigated by electron microscopy and by the FITC-phalloidin method. Apoptosis was evaluated by flow cytofluorimetry and electron microscopy. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction was employed to study mRNA expression of genes involved in apoptosis, differentiation and growth arrest. Joint treatments were more effective in reducing the vital cell yield, being this effect only partially due to apoptosis. A marked up-regulation of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21WAF1/Cip1 expression, not followed by any differentiation process, was responsible for growth arrest. Modulation of Hsp-70 expression, involved in cell response to treatments, was considered. Our results demonstrate that cell treatment with ATRA followed by heat-shock may elicit useful effects to treat tumours, which are responsive to retinoids, as well as those malignant cells which may be constitutively thermotolerant.

Several studies have shown that different growth factors are involved in the pathogenesis of palmar fibromatosis. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether transforming growth factor alpha (TGF-alpha) and its cellular receptor, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGF-R), are expressed in palmar fibromatosis. Nodules from 20 patients with palmar fibromatosis and control normal palmar fascias were studied by the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and immunohistochemistry. RT-PCR followed by Southern blotting demonstrated that palmar fibromatosis nodules contained high levels of TGF-alpha and EGF-R messenger RNA (mRNA) transcripts, while normal fascias showed only low levels. Depending on the degree of cellularity and fibrosis, the three following histological phases were recognized in palmar fibromatosis nodules: proliferative, involutional, and residual. Immunohistochemistry, using alpha-smooth muscle actin as a cellular marker for myofibroblasts, revealed that TGF-alpha and EGF-R are co-expressed by myofibroblasts in the highly cellular areas of both proliferative and involutional phases, while they are absent or only focally detectable in the fibroblasts of normal fascia and in hypocellular and fibrotic areas of both involutional and residual phases. The restricted co-expression of TGF-alpha and EGF-R to myofibroblasts, the proliferating cellular component of nodules, suggests that an autocrine and/or juxtacrine growth stimulation by TGF-alpha via the EGF-R may be involved in the pathogenesis of palmar fibromatosis.