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- Sterlini, B, et al.
(author)
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An interaction between PRRT2 and Na+/K+ ATPase contributes to the control of neuronal excitability
- 2021
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In: Cell death & disease. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2041-4889. ; 12:4, s. 292-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Mutations in PRoline Rich Transmembrane protein 2 (PRRT2) cause pleiotropic syndromes including benign infantile epilepsy, paroxysmal kinesigenic dyskinesia, episodic ataxia, that share the paroxysmal character of the clinical manifestations. PRRT2 is a neuronal protein that plays multiple roles in the regulation of neuronal development, excitability, and neurotransmitter release. To better understand the physiopathology of these clinical phenotypes, we investigated PRRT2 interactome in mouse brain by a pulldown-based proteomic approach and identified α1 and α3 Na+/K+ ATPase (NKA) pumps as major PRRT2-binding proteins. We confirmed PRRT2 and NKA interaction by biochemical approaches and showed their colocalization at neuronal plasma membrane. The acute or constitutive inactivation of PRRT2 had a functional impact on NKA. While PRRT2-deficiency did not modify NKA expression and surface exposure, it caused an increased clustering of α3-NKA on the plasma membrane. Electrophysiological recordings showed that PRRT2-deficiency in primary neurons impaired NKA function during neuronal stimulation without affecting pump activity under resting conditions. Both phenotypes were fully normalized by re-expression of PRRT2 in PRRT2-deficient neurons. In addition, the NKA-dependent afterhyperpolarization that follows high-frequency firing was also reduced in PRRT2-silenced neurons. Taken together, these results demonstrate that PRRT2 is a physiological modulator of NKA function and suggest that an impaired NKA activity contributes to the hyperexcitability phenotype caused by PRRT2 deficiency.
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- Benfenati, E., et al.
(author)
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A large comparison of integrated SAR/QSAR models of the Ames test for mutagenicity($)
- 2018
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In: SAR and QSAR in environmental research (Print). - : Taylor & Francis. - 1062-936X .- 1029-046X. ; 29:8, s. 591-611
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Results from the Ames test are the first outcome considered to assess the possible mutagenicity of substances. Many QSAR models and structural alerts are available to predict this endpoint. From a regulatory point of view, the recommendation from international authorities is to consider the predictions of more than one model and to combine results in order to develop conclusions about the mutagenicity risk posed by chemicals. However, the results of those models are often conflicting, and the existing inconsistency in the predictions requires intelligent strategies to integrate them. In our study, we evaluated different strategies for combining results of models for Ames mutagenicity, starting from a set of 10 diverse individual models, each built on a dataset of around 6000 compounds. The novelty of our study is that we collected a much larger set of about 18,000 compounds and used the new data to build a family of integrated models. These integrations used probabilistic approaches, decision theory, machine learning, and voting strategies in the integration scheme. Results are discussed considering balanced or conservative perspectives, regarding the possible uses for different purposes, including screening of large collection of substances for prioritization.
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- Durso, M., et al.
(author)
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Biomimetic graphene for enhanced interaction with the external membrane of astrocytes
- 2018
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In: Journal of Materials Chemistry B. - : Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). - 2050-7518 .- 2050-750X. ; 6:33, s. 5335-5342
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Graphene and graphene substrates display huge potential as material interfaces for devices and biomedical tools targeting the modulation or recovery of brain functionality. However, to be considered reliable neural interfaces, graphene-derived substrates should properly interact with astrocytes, favoring their growth and avoiding adverse gliotic reactions. Indeed, astrocytes are the most abundant cells in the human brain and they have a crucial physiological role to maintain its homeostasis and modulate synaptic transmission. In this work, we describe a new strategy based on the chemical modification of graphene oxide (GO) with a synthetic phospholipid (PL) to improve interaction of GO with brain astroglial cells. The PL moieties were grafted on GO sheets through polymeric brushes obtained by atom-transfer radical-polymerization (ATRP) between acryloyl-modified PL and GO nanosheets modified with a bromide initiator. The adhesion of primary rat cortical astrocytes on GO-PL substrates increased by about three times with respect to that on glass substrates coated with standard adhesion agents (i.e. poly-d-lysine, PDL) as well as with respect to that on non-functionalized GO. Moreover, we show that astrocytes seeded on GO-PL did not display significant gliotic reactivity, indicating that the material interface did not cause a detrimental inflammatory reaction when interacting with astroglial cells. Our results indicate that the reported biomimetic approach could be applied to neural prosthesis to improve cell colonization and avoid glial scar formation in brain implants. Additionally, improved adhesion could be extremely relevant in devices targeting neural cell sensing/modulation of physiological activity.
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