Ivana Milic

Aston University · Department of Biomedical Sciences

The c-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNKs) are a family of proteins that, once activated by stress stimuli, can alter neuronal functions and survival. The JNK cascade plays a crucial role in the post-synaptic neuronal compartment by altering its structural organization and leading, at worst, to an overall impairment of neuronal communication. Increasing e...

Fascioliasis is a neglected zoonotic disease that infects humans and ruminant species worldwide. In the absence of vaccines, control of fascioliasis is primarily via anthelminthic treatment with triclabendazole (TCBZ). Parasitic flatworms, including Fasciola hepatica, are active secretors of extracellular vesicles (EVs), but research has not been u...

Tetraspanins exert a wide range of cellular functions of broad medical importance. Despite this, their biophysical characteristics are incompletely understood. Only two high-resolution structures of full-length tetraspanins have been solved. One is that of human CD81, which is involved in the infectivity of human pathogens including influenza, HIV,...

Significance: Inflammation increases during the ageing process. It is linked to mitochondrial dysfunction and increased ROS production. Mitochondrial macromolecules are critical targets of oxidative damage; they contribute to respiratory uncoupling with increased ROS production, redox stress, and a cycle of senescence, cytokine production and impa...

So far, the investigation in cancer cell lines of the modulation of cancer growth and progression by oxysterols, in particular 27-hydroxycholesterol (27HC), has yielded controversial results. The primary aim of this study was the quantitative evaluation of possible changes in 27HC levels during the different steps of colorectal cancer (CRC) progres...

The airways of individuals with cystic fibrosis (CF) are abundantly colonised by Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Co-infecting hypoxic regions of static mucus within CF airways, together with decreases in pulmonary function, mucus plugging and oxygen consumption by host neutrophils gives rise to regions of anoxia. This study determ...

Apoptosis is an essential process for normal physiology and plays a key role in the resolution of inflammation. Clearance of apoptotic cells (ACs) involves complex signalling between phagocytic cells, ACs, and the extracellular vesicles (EVs) they produce. Here, we discuss apoptotic cell-derived extracellular vesicles (ACdEVs) and how their structu...

Apoptosis is a key event in the control of inflammation. However, for this to be successful, dying cells must efficiently and effectively communicate their presence to phagocytes to ensure timely removal of dying cells. Here, we consider apoptotic cell-derived extracellular vesicles and the role of contained lipids and lipid mediators in ensuring e...

Protein sulphenic acid formation during CD4+ T cell activation Ali Hussein Remtulla, Irundika H.K. Dias, Ivana Milic,, Andrew Devitt Helen R. Griffiths 1 Aston University, Life & Health Sciences, Birmingham, UK 2 University of Surrey, Health and Medical Sciences, Guildford, UK T cell receptor signalling requires a reduced cell surface protein envi...

Oxysterols (OHC) are biologically active cholesterol metabolites circulating in plasma that may be formed enzymatically (e.g. 24S-OHC, 25S-OHC and 27-OHC) or by autoxidative mechanisms (e.g. 7-ketocholesterol, 7β-OHC and 25S-OHC). Oxysterols are more soluble than cholesterol and are reported to exert inflammatory, cytoprotective and apoptotic effec...

Extracellular Vesicles (EVs) are gaining interest as central players in liquid biopsies, with potential applications in diagnosis, prognosis and therapeutic guidance in most pathological conditions. These nanosized particles transmit signals determined by their protein, lipid, nucleic acid and sugar content, and the unique molecular pattern of EVs...

Periodontal disease is a prevalent chronic inflammatory condition characterised by an aberrant host response to a pathogenic plaque biofilm resulting in local tissue damage and frustrated healing that can result in tooth loss. Cysteine proteases (gingipains) from the key periodontal pathogen Porphyromonas gingivalis have been implicated in periodon...

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive, neurodegenerative disease, characterised by decline of memory, cognitive function and changes in behaviour. Generic markers of lipid peroxidation are increased in AD and reactive oxygen species have been suggested to be involved in the aetiology of cognitive decline. Carotenoids are depleted in AD serum, t...

In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in nitro fatty acids (NO2-FA) as signaling molecules formed under nitroxidative stress. NO2-FA were detected in vivo in a free form, although it is assumed that they may also be esterified to phospholipids (PL). Nevertheless, insufficient discussion about the nature, origin or role of nitro pho...

Phospholipids are major components of cell membranes and lipoprotein complexes. They are prone to oxidation by endogenous and exogenous reactive oxygen species yielding a large variety of modified lipids including small aliphatic and phospholipid bound aldehydes and ketones. These carbonyls are strong electrophiles that can modify proteins and, the...

Double bonds in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and lipids are one of the major targets of reactive oxygen species (ROS). The resulting lipid peroxidation products (LPP) represent a group of chemically diverse compounds formed by several consecutive oxidative reactions. Oxidative cleavage leads to the formation of small aliphatic and lipid-bound...

Recent research indicates that oxidative stress (OS) affects all levels of cellular organization and induce perturbation in gene expression, epigenetic regulation, mRNA and protein levels, and cellular metabolism. Oxidative modifications of proteins and lipids represent another level of complexity in cellular regulation supported by numerous studie...

The levels of nitro fatty acids (NO2-FA), such as nitroarachidonic, nitrolinoleic, nitrooleic, and dinitrooleic acids, are elevated under various inflammatory conditions, and this results in different anti-inflammatory effects. However, other multiply nitrated and nitro-oxidized FAs have not been studied so far. Owing to the low concentrations in v...

Highly reactive lipid peroxidation-derived carbonyls (oxoLPP) modify protein nucleophiles via Michael addition or Schiff base formation. Once formed, Michael adducts can be further stabilized via cyclic hemiacetals with or without loss of water. Depending on the mechanism of their formation, peptide-oxoLPP can carry aldehyde or keto groups and thus...

Oxidized lipids play a significant role in the pathogenesis of numerous oxidative stress-related human disorders, such as atherosclerosis, obesity, inflammation, and autoimmune diseases. Lipid peroxidation, induced by reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, yields a high variety of modified lipids. Among them, carbonylated lipid peroxidation products...

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) and other oxidative agents such as free radicals can oxidize polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) as well as PUFA in lipids. The oxidation products can undergo consecutive reactions including oxidative cleavages to yield a chemically diverse group of products, such as lipid peroxidation products (LPP). Among them are ald...

This report focuses on studies of lipid peroxidation products reactivity towards the side chains of cysteine, histidine, and lysine residues in structurally unordered peptides. Thus we have analyzed linoleic acid peroxidation products (LaPP) obtained by incubating 1-palmitoyl-2-linoleoyl-sn-glycerophosphatidylcholine (PLPC) overnight with or withou...