| 1. |
- Baldanzi, Gianluca, et al.
(författare)
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Ghrelin and des-acyl ghrelin inhibit cell death in cardiomyocytes and endothelial cells through ERK1/2 and PI 3-kinase/AKT.
- 2002
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Ingår i: The Journal of cell biology. - : Rockefeller University Press. - 0021-9525 .- 1540-8140. ; 159:6, s. 1029-37
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Ghrelin is an acyl-peptide gastric hormone acting on the pituitary and hypothalamus to stimulate growth hormone (GH) release, adiposity, and appetite. Ghrelin endocrine activities are entirely dependent on its acylation and are mediated by GH secretagogue (GHS) receptor (GHSR)-1a, a G protein-coupled receptor mostly expressed in the pituitary and hypothalamus, previously identified as the receptor for a group of synthetic molecules featuring GH secretagogue (GHS) activity. Des-acyl ghrelin, which is far more abundant than ghrelin, does not bind GHSR-1a, is devoid of any endocrine activity, and its function is currently unknown. Ghrelin, which is expressed in heart, albeit at a much lower level than in the stomach, also exerts a cardio protective effect through an unknown mechanism, independent of GH release. Here we show that both ghrelin and des-acyl ghrelin inhibit apoptosis of primary adult and H9c2 cardiomyocytes and endothelial cells in vitro through activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase-1/2 and Akt serine kinases. In addition, ghrelin and des-acyl ghrelin recognize common high affinity binding sites on H9c2 cardiomyocytes, which do not express GHSR-1a. Finally, both MK-0677 and hexarelin, a nonpeptidyl and a peptidyl synthetic GHS, respectively, recognize the common ghrelin and des-acyl ghrelin binding sites, inhibit cell death, and activate MAPK and Akt.These findings provide the first evidence that, independent of its acylation, ghrelin gene product may act as a survival factor directly on the cardiovascular system through binding to a novel, yet to be identified receptor, which is distinct from GHSR-1a.
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| 2. |
- Catapano, Filomena, et al.
(författare)
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In Situ Evidence of Ion Acceleration between Consecutive Reconnection Jet Fronts
- 2021
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - : American Astronomical Society. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 908:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Processes driven by unsteady reconnection can efficiently accelerate particles in many astrophysical plasmas. An example is the reconnection jet fronts in an outflow region. We present evidence of suprathermal ion acceleration between two consecutive reconnection jet fronts observed by the Magnetospheric Multiscale mission in the terrestrial magnetotail. An earthward propagating jet is approached by a second faster jet. Between the jets, the thermal ions are mostly perpendicular to magnetic field, are trapped, and are gradually accelerated in the parallel direction up to 150 keV. Observations suggest that ions are predominantly accelerated by a Fermi-like mechanism in the contracting magnetic bottle formed between the two jet fronts. The ion acceleration mechanism is presumably efficient in other environments where jet fronts produced by variable rates of reconnection are common and where the interaction of multiple jet fronts can also develop a turbulent environment, e.g., in stellar and solar eruptions.
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| 3. |
- Catapano, Filomena, et al.
(författare)
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Swarm Langmuir probes' data quality validation and future improvements
- 2022
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Ingår i: Geoscientific Instrumentation, Methods and Data Systems. - : Copernicus Publications. - 2193-0856 .- 2193-0864. ; 11:1, s. 149-162
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Swarm is the European Space Agency (ESA)'s first Earth observation constellation mission, which was launched in 2013 to study the geomagnetic field and its temporal evolution. Two Langmuir probes aboard each of the three Swarm satellites provide in situ measurements of plasma parameters, which contribute to the study of the ionospheric plasma dynamics. To maintain a high data quality for scientific and technical applications, the Swarm products are continuously monitored and validated via science-oriented diagnostics. This paper presents an overview of the data quality of the Swarm Langmuir probes' measurements. The data quality is assessed by analysing short and long data segments, where the latter are selected to be sufficiently long enough to consider the impact of the solar activity. Langmuir probe data have been validated through comparison with numerical models, other satellite missions, and ground observations. Based on the outcomes from quality control and validation activities conducted by ESA, as well as scientific analysis and feedback provided by the user community, the Swarm products are regularly upgraded. In this paper, we discuss the data quality improvements introduced with the latest baseline, and how the data quality is influenced by the solar cycle. In particular, plasma measurements are more accurate in day-side regions during high solar activity, while electron temperature measurements are more reliable during night side at middle and low latitudes during low solar activity. The main anomalies affecting the Langmuir probe measurements are described, as well as possible improvements in the derived plasma parameters to be implemented in future baselines.
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| 4. |
- Granata, Riccarda, et al.
(författare)
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Acylated and unacylated ghrelin promote proliferation and inhibit apoptosis of pancreatic beta-cells and human islets: involvement of 3',5'-cyclic adenosine monophosphate/protein kinase A, extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2, and phosphatidyl inositol 3-Kinase/Akt signaling.
- 2007
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Ingår i: Endocrinology. - : The Endocrine Society. - 0013-7227 .- 1945-7170. ; 148:2, s. 512-29
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Among its pleiotropic actions, ghrelin modulates insulin secretion and glucose metabolism. Herein we investigated the role of ghrelin in pancreatic beta-cell proliferation and apoptosis induced by serum starvation or interferon (IFN)-gamma/TNF-alpha, whose synergism is a major cause for beta-cell destruction in type I diabetes. HIT-T15 beta-cells expressed ghrelin but not ghrelin receptor (GRLN-R), which binds acylated ghrelin (AG) only. However, both unacylated ghrelin (UAG) and AG recognized common high-affinity binding sites on these cells. Either AG or UAG stimulated cell proliferation through Galpha(s) protein and prevented serum starvation- and IFN-gamma/TNF-alpha-induced apoptosis. Antighrelin antibody enhanced apoptosis in either the presence or absence of serum but not cytokines. AG and UAG even up-regulated intracellular cAMP. Blockade of adenylyl cyclase/cAMP/protein kinase A signaling prevented the ghrelin cytoprotective effect. AG and UAG also activated phosphatidyl inositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt and ERK1/2, whereas PI3K and MAPK inhibitors counteracted the ghrelin antiapoptotic effect. Furthermore, AG and UAG stimulated insulin secretion from HIT-T15 cells. In INS-1E beta-cells, which express GRLN-R, AG and UAG caused proliferation and protection against apoptosis through identical signaling pathways. Noteworthy, both peptides inhibited cytokine-induced NO increase in either HIT-T15 or INS-1E cells. Finally, they induced cell survival and protection against apoptosis in human islets of Langerhans. These expressed GRLN-R but showed also UAG and AG binding sites. Our data demonstrate that AG and UAG promote survival of both beta-cells and human islets. These effects are independent of GRLN-R, are likely mediated by AG/UAG binding sites, and involve cAMP/PKA, ERK1/2, and PI3K/Akt.
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| 5. |
- Sorriso-Valvo, Luca, et al.
(författare)
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Sign Singularity of the Local Energy Transfer in Space Plasma Turbulence
- 2019
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Physics. - : FRONTIERS MEDIA SA. - 2296-424X. ; 7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In weakly collisional space plasmas, the turbulent cascade provides most of the energy that is dissipated at small scales by various kinetic processes. Understanding the characteristics of such dissipative mechanisms requires the accurate knowledge of the fluctuations that make energy available for conversion at small scales, as different dissipation processes are triggered by fluctuations of a different nature. The scaling properties of different energy channels are estimated here using a proxy of the local energy transfer, based on the third-order moment scaling law for magnetohydrodynamic turbulence. In particular, the sign-singularity analysis was used to explore the scaling properties of the alternating positive-negative energy fluxes, thus providing information on the structure and topology of such fluxes for each of the different type of fluctuations. The results show the highly complex geometrical nature of the flux, and that the local contributions associated with energy and cross-helicity non-linear transfer have similar scaling properties. Consequently, the fractal properties of current and vorticity structures are similar to those of the Alfvenic fluctuations.
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| 6. |
- Sorriso-Valvo, Luca, et al.
(författare)
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Turbulence-Driven Ion Beams in the Magnetospheric Kelvin-Helmholtz Instability
- 2019
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Ingår i: Physical Review Letters. - : AMER PHYSICAL SOC. - 0031-9007 .- 1079-7114. ; 122:3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The description of the local turbulent energy transfer and the high-resolution ion distributions measured by the Magnetospheric Multiscale mission together provide a formidable tool to explore the cross-scale connection between the fluid-scale energy cascade and plasma processes at subion scales. When the small-scale energy transfer is dominated by Alfvenic, correlated velocity, and magnetic field fluctuations, beams of accelerated particles are more likely observed. Here, for the first time, we report observations suggesting the nonlinear wave-particle interaction as one possible mechanism for the energy dissipation in space plasmas.
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