University of Naples Federico II

About: University of Naples Federico II is a education organization based out in Naples, Campania, Italy. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Cancer. The organization has 29291 authors who have published 68803 publications receiving 1920149 citations. The organization is also known as: Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II & Naples University.

Leptin increase in multiple sclerosis associates with reduced number of CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells

Abstract: We analyzed the serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leptin secretion and the interaction between serum leptin and CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells (TRegs) in naive-to-therapy relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patients. Leptin production was significantly increased in both serum and CSF of RRMS patients and correlated with IFN-γ secretion in the CSF. T cell lines against human myelin basic protein (hMBP) produced immunoreactive leptin and up-regulated the expression of the leptin receptor (ObR) after activation with hMBP. Treatment with either anti-leptin or anti-leptin-receptor neutralizing antibodies inhibited in vitro proliferation in response to hMBP. Interestingly, in the RRMS patients, an inverse correlation between serum leptin and percentage of circulating TRegs was also observed. To better analyze the finding, we enumerated TRegs in leptin-deficient (ob/ob) and leptin-receptor-deficient (db/db) mice and observed the significant increase in TRegs. Moreover, treatment of WT mice with soluble ObR fusion protein (ObR:Fc) increased the percentage of TRegs and ameliorated the clinical course and progression of disease in proteolipid protein peptide (PLP139–151)-induced relapsing-experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (R-EAE), an animal model of RRMS. These findings show an inverse relationship between leptin secretion and the frequency of TRegs in RRMS and may have implications for the pathogenesis of and therapy for multiple sclerosis.

Antioxidant nutritional quality of tomato.

Abstract: Regular consumption of tomatoes has been associated with decreased risk of chronic degenerative diseases. Epidemiological findings confirm the observed health effects are due to the presence of different antioxidant molecules such as carotenoids, particularly lycopene, ascorbic acid, vitamin E and phenol compounds, particularly flavonoids. In this work, eight components contributing to the healthy quality of tomato (i. e. lycopene, beta-carotene, other carotenoids, flavonoids, phenolic acids, vitamins C and E, dry residue) were studied in the framework of breeding programs aiming to develop nutritional superior genotypes. Twelve tomato advanced breeding lines and six open pollinated cultivars were grown in strictly controlled conditions and analysed for their content of antioxidants. Among the 18 genotypes analysed, 10 showed a high level of total carotenoids, 6 high level of beta-carotene, 9 high lycopene levels, 15 high flavonoids and 2 relevant concentration of vitamin E. Based on such data and on a literature survey on tomato composition, an index, called index of antioxidant nutritional quality (I(QUAN)), was proposed as a tool to address the breeding programs in selecting tomato genotypes with antioxidant nutritional qualities.

Multicenter Surveillance of Women at High Genetic Breast Cancer Risk Using Mammography, Ultrasonography, and Contrast-Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging (the High Breast Cancer Risk Italian 1 Study): Final Results

Abstract: Objectives:To prospectively compare clinical breast examination, mammography, ultrasonography, and contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in a multicenter surveillance of high-risk women.Materials and Methods:We enrolled asymptomatic women aged ≥25: BRCA mutation carriers; first-degree r