Giuseppina Autore

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• Professor
• Professor (Associate) at University of Salerno

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a condition caused by the gradual decline of renal function that approximatively affects 10–12% of the world population, thus representing a public health priority. In CKD patients, chronic and systemic low-grade inflammation is observed, and it significantly contributes to disease development and progression, especi...

Under physiological conditions, the inflammatory response acts as a biological defense against tissue damage or infection, and is rapidly resolved once the infection is cleared. However, chronic inflammatory diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), have become increasingly widespread in the last decades, placing a burden on the quality...

Nutrition has a significant effect and a crucial role in disease prevention. Low consumption of fruit and vegetables and a sedentary lifestyle are closely related with the onset and development of many types of cancer. Recently, nutraceuticals have gained much attention in cancer research due to their pleiotropic effects and relatively non-toxic be...

5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) is a pyrimidine analogue used as an antineoplastic agent to treat multiple solid tumors. Despite its use and efficacy, it also has important side effects in healthy cells, including skin reactions, related to its pro-oxidant and pro-inflammatory potential. Although there are numerous remedies for chemotherapy-induced skin reac...

The intestines are recognized as the main source of chronic inflammation in chronic kidney disease (CKD) and, among other cells, macrophages are involved in modulating this process as well as in the impaired immune response which also occurs in CKD patients. In this study, we evaluated the effect of Indoxyl Sulfate (IS), a protein bound uremic toxi...

Intestinal epithelial barrier impairment plays a key pathogenic role in inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs). In particular, together with oxidative stress, intestinal epithelial barrier alteration is considered as upstream event in ulcerative colitis (UC). In order to identify new products of natural origin with a potential activity for UC treatment...

Intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) play a pivotal role in maintaining intestinal homeostasis. Different noxious agents, among them also anticancer therapies, can impair intestinal epithelial integrity triggering inflammation and oxidative stress. A frequent complication of chemotherapy is gastrointestinal mucositis, strongly influencing the effecti...

The interest towards nutraceuticals able to counteract drug side effects is continuously growing in current chemotherapeutic protocols. In the present study, we demonstrated that smoothies containing mixtures of Citrus sinensis and Vitis vinifera L. cv. Aglianico N, two typical fruits of the Mediterranean diet, possess bioactive polyphenols that pr...

Inflammation and oxidative stress are always more recognized as responsible for chronic disease at the intestinal level. Currently, a growing interest is addressed to the discovery of diet-derived products which have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. This work aims to characterize the pharmacological potential of dehydrated potatoes. Fo...

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) are characterized by an inflammatory and oxidative stress condition in the intestinal tissue. In this study, we evaluated the effect of plumericin, one of the main bioactive components of Himatanthus sucuuba (Woodson) bark, on intestinal inflammation and oxidative stress, both in vitro and in vivo. The effect of p...

In this paper, the isolation of five new guaianolides (1 – 5) and four (6 – 9) known sesquiterpenes from Ormenis mixta aerial parts is reported. The structural determination of the guaianolides was obtained by NMR spectroscopic data, as well as MS experiments. Their relative configurations were assigned by a combined quantum mechanical/NMR approach...

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is characterized by an oxidative stress status, driving some CKD-associated complications, even at the gastrointestinal level. Indoxyl Sulfate (IS) is a protein-bound uremic toxin, poorly eliminated by dialysis. This toxin is able to affect the intestinal system, but its molecular mechanism/s in intestinal epithelial ce...

A series of 1,3,5-substituted indole derivatives was prepared to explore the anti-proliferative activity against a panel of human tumour cell lines. A 5-carboxamide derivative (27) emerged as the most potent compound of this series, inhibiting the HeLa cell growth at sub-micromolar concentrations. Target fishing of 27 using a combination of inverse...

Citrus fruits are often employed as ingredients for functional drinks. Among Citrus, the variety, “Lempso”, a typical hybrid of the Calabria region (Southern Italy), has been reported to possess superior antioxidant activity when compared to other common Citrus varieties. For these reasons, the aim of this study is to investigate in vitro the nutra...

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) involves multiple organ dysfunction, and the neurological complications that are often present in CKD patients support the idea of a crosstalk between the kidneys and the brain. Evidence suggests a possible role for products accumulating in these patients as uremic toxins in various CKD complications, including neurodeg...

Background: In end-stage renal disease (ESRD), gut-derived uremic toxins play a fundamental role in the systemic inflammation and oxidative stress promoting the excess morbidity and mortality. The biochemical derangement is in part a consequence of an insufficient generation of short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) due to the dysbiosis of the gut and an...

Redox signaling regulates different gastrointestinal (G.I.) epithelium functions. At the intestinal level, the loss of redox homeostasis in intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) is responsible for the pathogenesis and development of a wide diversity of G.I. disorders. Thus, the manipulation of oxidative stress in IECs could represent an important phar...

Astragalus membranaceus, dried root extract, also known as Astragali radix, is used in traditional Chinese medicine as a tonic remedy. Moreover, it has been reported that Astragalus membranaceus could attenuate intestinal inflammation; however, the underlying mechanism for its anti-inflammatory activity in intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) remains...

Rhus tripartitum (Ucria) and Periploca laevigata Aiton subsp. angustifolia (Labill.) are two medicinal plants containing several compounds with important pharmacological activities. The obtained results showed that under water deficit, the secondary metabolite levels in root bark were increased significantly for both species and decreased after reh...

Fusarium mycotoxins are fungal metabolites whose ability to affect cereal grains as multi-contaminants is progressively increasing. The trichothecene mycotoxins nivalenol (NIV) and deoxynivalenol (DON) are often found in almost all agricultural commodities worldwide. They are able to affect animal and human health, including at the intestinal level...

Indoxyl sulfate (IS) is a protein-bound uremic toxin resulting from the metabolism of dietary tryptophan which accumulates in patients with impaired renal function, such as chronic kidney disease (CKD). IS is a well-known nephrovascular toxin but little is known about its effects on central nervous system (CNS) cells. Considering the growing intere...

Background: Besides their nutritional value, vegetables are a source of healthy-promoting compounds, such as polyphenols, and their content can be influenced by the particular farming method. In this study polyphenolic extracts from Lactuca sativa (var. Maravilla de verano) plants cultivated with different farming methods were chemically character...

Objectives: Aim of our study was to assess the potential effects of high-tone external muscle stimulation (HTEMS) on improvement of endothelial dysfunction (ED) and kidney damage in elderly patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), sarcopenia and/or serious physical disability with a high Multidisciplinary Prognostic Index (MPI). Methods: We e...

Horseradish (Armoracia rusticana) is a perennial crop belonging to the Brassicaceae family. Horseradish root is used as a condiment due to its extremely pungent flavour, deriving from the high content of glucosinolates and their breakdown products such as isothiocyanates and other sulfur compounds. Horseradish also has a long history in ethnomedici...

Ziziphus jujuba Mill fruits are recognized as an outstanding source of biologically active compounds including triterpenic acids. In order to evaluate the triterpenic profile of these edible and little commercial fruits and to contribute to the improvement of their potential value as food, a quali-quantitative study along with biological assays wer...

Mycotoxins are secondary fungal metabolites often found as contaminants in almost all agricultural commodities worldwide, and the consumption of food or feed contaminated by mycotoxins represents a major risk for human and animal health. Reactive oxygen species are normal products of cellular metabolism. However, disproportionate generation of reac...

The petroleum ether extract of Magydaris tomentosa flowers (Desf.) W. D. J. Koch has been analyzed by GC-MS. It is mainly constituted by furanocoumarins such as xanthotoxin, xanthotoxol, isopimpinellin, and bergaptene. Other coumarins such as 7-methoxy-8-(2-formyl-2-methylpropyl) coumarin and osthole also occurred. The antiproliferative activity of...

Tissue acidosis is an hallmark of inflammatory, ischemic and tumoral processes and although it remains uncertain whether there is a true cause-effect relation between acidosis and adverse clinical outcomes it remains a powerful marker of poor prognosisin critically ill patients. Dysregulation of host defence mechanisms and in particular of the immu...

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess potential effects of high-tone external muscle stimulation (HTEMS) on parameters of endothelial dysfunction (ED) in patients with acute kidney injury (AKI). Background: The bad outcome of AKI patients is markedly influenced by ED, microinflammation, oxidative stress and protein hypercatabolism. Rec...

L-Arginine is a semi essential amino acid synthesised from glutamine, glutamate and proline via the intestinal-renal axis in humans and most mammals. L-Arginine degradation occurs via multiple pathways initiated by arginase, nitric-oxide synthase, Arg: glycine amidinotransferase, and Arg decarboxylase. These pathways produce nitric oxide, polyamine...

Hyaluronic acid (HA), a macropolysaccharidic component of the extracellular matrix, is common to most species and it is found in many sites of the human body, including skin and soft tissue. Not only does HA play a variety of roles in physiologic and in pathologic events, but it also has been extensively employed in cosmetic and skin-care products...

1. Abstract Hyaluronic acid (HA), a macropolysaccharidic component of the extracellular matrix, is common to most species and it is found in many sites of the human body, including skin and soft tissue. HA plays not only a variety of roles in physiologic and, as well, in pathologic events, but it has been also extensively employed in cosmetic and s...

Indoxyl sulphate (IS) is a protein-bound uremic toxin that results from the metabolism of dietary tryptophan normally excreted by kidney through the proximal tubules. Thus the toxin accumulates in the blood of patients with impaired renal function such as in chronic kidney disease (CKD). High IS serum levels in patients with CKD suggest its involve...

Background and objectives: High levels of indoxyl sulfate (IS) are associated with chronic kidney disease (CKD) progression and increased mortality in CKD patients. The aim of this pilot study was to assess whether a very low protein diet (VLPD; 0.3 g/kg bw/day), with a consequent low phosphorus intake, would reduce IS serum levels compared to a l...

As a part of our investigation on Tunisian medicinal plants, we have carried out a phytochemical investigation of the hexane extracts from leaves of Cistus libanotis, C. villosus and C. monspeliensis, evualuating also their possible antiproliferative activity in vitro. The major compounds of hexane extracts were identified and quantified by GC-MS....

Abstract Oxidative response regulates many physiological response in human health but if not properly regulated it could also lead to a number of deleterious effects. The importance of oxidative stress injury depends on the molecular target, the severity of the stress, and the mechanism by which the oxidative stress is imposed: it has been implicat...

Critical illness is exemplified by a state of profound disruption in physiological homeostatic mechanisms. Tissue acidosis is an hallmark of inflammation/ischemia and tumor processes and although it remains uncertain whether there is a true cause-effect relation between acidosis and adverse clinical outcomes it remains a powerful marker of poor pro...

Methylguanidine (MG) is a nitrogen compound deriving from protein catabolism that accumulates in Chronic kidney disease (CKD). Changes in monocyte functions have been recognised as one of the most important key factor responsible for the immunological disorders associated with uremia and it has been demonstrated that high blood concentrations of ni...

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) has been usually associated with accumulation of some nitrogen compounds deriving from protein catabolism like creatine (CRT), creatinine (CRTN), guanidine (GN) and methylguanidine (MG) proposed as responsible of some manifestations of uremic syndrome. Changes in monocyte functions have been recognised as one of the mos...

Hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) is an highly reactive compound produced by cells after secondary reactions as result of the leakage of electrons from the electron transport chain in mitochondria or as a consequence of other enzymatic reactions. H 2 O 2 is able to oxidize and thereby to induce damage in numerous cellular constituents. Over the last dec...

The integrity of the gastrointestinal tract represents a crucial first level defence against ingested toxins. Among them, Nivalenol is a trichotecenes mycotoxin frequently found on cereals and processed grains; when it contaminates human food and animal feed it is often associated with another widespread contaminant, Deoxynivalenol. Following their...

Non-dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are stable and lipophilic chemicals that persist in the environment and tend to bioaccumulate in the food chains. In the present study, we have investigated the effect of PCBs 101, 153, and 180 on macrophage J774A.1 by assessing cell viability and apoptotic cell death. We have combined morphological...

Guanidino compounds, as methylguanidine (MG), may play an important role in the etiology of neurological complications which occur in uremic syndrome. Dementia is a neurological complication more common in uremic patients than in general population and several types of dementia are associated to astroglial apoptosis. Here we report the effect of MG...

The arachidonic acid is a precursor in the synthesis of eicosanoids: through the action of cyclooxygenase and peroxidase, it gives rise to prostaglandins then is converted into different substances involved in inflammation and in many physiological reactions as protectors of gastric mucosa. The aim of this research was to verify the pharmacological...

Over the past years, there was an explosion in the knowledge of the protein target and molecular mechanism associated with various disease types and in the new research of drugs of natural origin. The key idea is to evaluate bioactive natural products interacting with protein domains of different genetic origin but structurally preserved to develop...

This study reports the synthesis and antioxidant activity of some new acetamide derivatives. The compounds’ structures were elucidated by NMR analysis and their melting points were measured. The in vitro antioxidant activity of these compounds was tested by evaluating the amount of scavenged ABTS radical and estimating ROS and NO production in tBOH...

ChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 100 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract of an article which was published elsewhere, please select a “Full Text” option. The original article is trackable via the “References” option.

Herbal drugs are more and more used both in human and veterinary medicine to mitigate and prevent minor diseases and to support conventional medicine using allopathic drugs. Nevertheless, 'natural product' does not mean lack of adverse effects, and many people and veterinarians do not know enough about the adverse reactions that can occur following...

A phytochemical analysis of Lantana fucata dried leaves led to the isolation of three new phenylethanoid glycosides, fucatosides A-C, along with parvifloroside A and six known methoxyflavones. Their structures were established by NMR and ESIMS experiments. In vitro assays showed that the alcoholic extract and fucatoside C have significant anti-infl...

Nivalenol (NIV) and deoxynivalenol (DON) are trichothecenes mycotoxins produced by Fusarium fungi that occur in cereal grains alone or in combination. Several studies have shown that exposure to high concentrations of these mycotoxins resulted in decreased cell proliferation; however, the molecular mechanism underlying their activities are still pa...

Mechanisms of normalization of blood pressure in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) during pregnancy were investigated. We hypothesized that at the end of pregnancy (20th day), the modified renal renin-angiotensin system (RAS) plays a pivotal role in this effect associated with reduced inflammation and oxidative damage. We measured blood pressur...

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common form of chronic liver disease in the pediatric population. Preliminary evidence suggests a potential therapeutic utility of probiotics for this condition. Here, we tested the potential effect of the probiotic VSL#3 (a multistrain preparation composed of Streptococcus thermophilus and sever...

The analysis of the polar extracts of the Pacific sponge Haliclona sp. yielded new dimeric (1), trimeric (2), and polymeric 3-alkylpyridinium alkaloids. Their isolation and structural elucidation, based on NMR and MS data, are discussed in detail, along with their cytotoxic activity.

Erythropoietin (EPO) is a hypoxia-inducible hormone that is essential for normal erythropoiesis in the bone marrow. Administration of recombinant human-EPO is currently being used for the therapy of anemia associated with chronic renal failure and cancer. Moreover, EPO reduces organ injury in experimental hemorrhagic as well as in splanchnic artery...

1,3-Alternate cationic calix[4]arene proved highly selective for proton/halogens symport transport and showed antiproliferative activity against murine monocyte/macrophage J774.A1 cancer cells.

Verminoside and verbascoside are natural compounds present in plants used in traditional medicine. They exhibit several biological activities including anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial and anti-tumor properties. The potential applications of these compounds as ingredients in pharmaceutical formulations and cosmetics prompted us to investigate on c...

Hypertension in pregnancy is often associated to placental deficiency. Therefore several physiopathological modifications occur to sustain fetal well-being through protective mechanisms. Here, we used spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) and normotensive Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) counterpart to evaluate in late gestation (d 20) modification of placental p...

Phytotherapy is one of the most utilized non conventional medicines (NCM) both in human and veterinary medicine. It can be used to mitigate and prevent slight diseases and to support conventional medicine using allopathic drugs. In this paper the Authors report the phytoterapeutics most utilized in both dogs and cats, in which the use of phytothera...

The aim of this work is to evaluate the rat intestinal transit as well as the expression of enzymes involved in this process and in gastrointestinal homeostasis as ciclooxygenase (COX-1 and COX-2), the inducibile isoform of nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), ICAM-1 and heat shock proteins HSP70 and HSP90. The modeled microgravity conditions were perform...

Phytotherapy is one of the most utilized non conventional medicines (NCM) both in human and veterinary medicine. It can be used to mitigate and prevent slight diseases and to support conventional medicine using allopathic drugs. In this paper the Authors report the phytoterapeutics most utilized in both dogs and cats, in which the use of phytothera...

Carrageenan-induced rat paw oedema is a widely used model to investigate the physiopathology of an acute local inflammation. Recently, much attention has been focused on the link between haemostasis and inflammation, and on the impact that inflammation might have on thrombotic events. It is known that the systemic response to inflammation is the "a...

Leptin and/or ghrelin, initially thought to be considered messengers of energy metabolism, are now considered to play a role in normal and complicated pregnancy. In this study, pregnant, spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) have been used to evaluate, for the first time, the modification of leptin and ghrelin both at serum and tissue levels. In SH...

Wendita calysina is a Paraguayan herbaceous plant commonly known as burrito. Our previous study indicated that burrito leaves are a very good source of phenylpropanoid glycosides, principally verbascoside. From W. calysina leaves, a standardized, water-soluble extract (WSE) rich in phenylpropanoid glycosides has been developed on an industrial scal...

Flavonoids, natural compounds widely distributed in the plant kingdom, are reported to affect the inflammatory process and to possess anti-inflammatory as well as immunomodulatory activity in-vitro and in-vivo. Since nitric oxide (NO) produced by inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) is one of the inflammatory mediators, the effects of the ethanol...

Nine new ester saponins (1-9) were isolated from the roots of Entada africana. Their structures were elucidated by 1D and 2D NMR experiments including 1D and 2D TOCSY, DQF-COSY, HSQC, and HMBC spectroscopy, as well as ESIMS analysis, and chemical methods. The aglycon moieties were found to be echinocystic acid for compounds 1, 2, 4-6, 8, and 9 and...

The whole plant of Leptadenia pyrotechnica afforded 18 new pregnane glycosides (1-18) with sarcostin, 11-hydroxysarcostin, and deacetylmetaplexigenin as the aglycon moieties and acetyl, benzoyl, cinnamoyl, p-coumaroyl, and nicotinoyl ester moieties linked at C-12 and/or C-20 of the aglycon and hexopyranose, 6-deoxy-3-O-methylhexopyranose, and 2,6-d...

In this study, we evaluated the effect of tyrphostin AG126, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, in the splanchnic artery occlusion (SAO) shock mediated injury. SAO shock was induced in rats by clamping both the superior mesenteric artery and the celiac trunk for 45 min. After 1 h of reperfusion, SAO shocked rats developed a significant fall in mean arteri...

Kigelia africana is a plant used in Africa for anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, and anti-skin-aging effects. Various papers have reported on the composition and biological activities of its CH2Cl2 extracts and dermal formulations. Chemical analysis of a polar extract of fruit from K. africana indicated the presence of verminoside (1), an iridoid,...

Vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) that accumulate in neointima after angioplastic injury show different phenotypic characteristics from those of medial layer and an impaired reactivity to contracting agents. The aim of the study was to correlate the vascular hyporesponsiveness to the changes in intracellular calcium concentration [Ca(2+)](i) and...

Twenty-seven new pregnane glycosides were isolated from the whole plant of Caralluma dalzielii, and their structures elucidated from extensive 2D NMR analysis as well as ESI-MS experiments. All isolated compounds were tested for their antiproliferative activity on J774.A1, HEK-293, and WEHI-164 cell lines. Moderate to high potency of cytotoxicities...

Three new hopane saponins, lotoidosides A - C (1 - 3), and four new oleanane saponins, lotoidosides D - G (4 - 7), were isolated from the roots of Glinus lotoides L. (Molluginaceae). Their structures were determined by extensive 1D- and 2D-NMR spectroscopy and ESI-MS analysis. The antiproliferative activity of compounds 1 - 7 was evaluated using th...

Multiple-organ failure (MOF) is defined as the progressive deterioration in function which occurs in several organs or systems in patients with septic shock, multiple trauma, severe burns, or pancreatitis. This study investigated the effect of 15-deoxy-delta(12,14)-PGJ2 (15d-PGJ2), a PPAR-gamma ligand, in a model of zymosan-induced nonseptic shock...

Novel benzyl- and phenyl-isothioureidic derivatives have been synthesised and evaluated as inhibitors of nitric oxide synthesis, induced in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated J774.A1 macrophage cell line. The most potent iNOS inhibitor resulting was 1-methyl-3-phenyl-S-methyl isothiourea 5l.

Septic shock, a severe form of sepsis, is characterized by cardiovascular collapse following microbial invasion of the body. The progressive hypotension, hyporeactivity to vasopressor agents and vascular leak leads to circulatory failure with multiple organ dysfunction and death. Many inflammatory mediators (e.g. TNF-alpha, IL-1 and IL-6) are invol...

Eight new oleanane and lupane saponins (1-8) as well as two new benzyl glycosides (9 and 10) were isolated from the aerial parts of Schefflera rotundifolia (Ten) Frodin (Araliaceae) together with two known benzyl glycosides. Their structures were established using 1D- and 2D-NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. The antiproliferative activity of...

In the present study we evaluate the effect of methylguanidine (MG), a product of protein catabolism, in a model of acute inflammation (zymosan induced inflammation) in mice where oxyradical and nitric oxide (NO) play a crucial role. Our data show that MG, given intraperitoneally at the dose of 30 mg/Kg, inhibits the inflammatory response reducing...

Yucca schidigera extract finds wide commercial application in foods, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. In a previous paper we have found as the main constituents of yucca bark, yuccaol A, B and C, new and very unusual spiro-derivatives made up of a C15 unit and a stilbenic portion closely related to resveratrol. This study was performed to examine whe...

Melatonin (MT) is the principal secretory product of the pineal gland and its role as an immumo-modulator is well established. Recent evidence shows that MT exerts protective effects in septic shock, hemorrhagic shock and inflammation. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS), from Escherichia coli, administered to animals directly stimulates a number of cells and...