TY  - JOUR
AB  - The relation between toxicity and essentiality of selenium (Se) is of growing interest in human health, as the effects may widely differ depending of its different chemical species and the exposure levels. Toenail Se has been proposed as a reliable biomarker of long-term Se exposure, but few studies investigated the correlation between its toenail content and environmental determinants (i.e., dietary food intake). We aimed to determine the relation of toenail Se levels with serum Se species as well as food items. We recruited a random sample of Modena (Northern Italy) municipal residents, from whom we collected detailed personal information, dietary habits, toenail specimen for Se determination and a blood sample for serum Se speciation analysis. Toenail Se mean value was 0.96 µg/g (range, 0.47‑1.60), with slightly higher levels in females, in non-obese subjects and in Se supplements users, while it was lower in current smokers. Toenail Se positively correlated with organic Se forms, mainly selenoprotein P and selenocysteine, and inversely with the inorganic forms (selenite and selenate). Toenail Se was not associated with meat, cereals and dairy products consumption, positively correlated with fruit and slightly with vegetable intake, and negatively with fish and seafood consumption. Finally, no clear association emerged with estimated air Se exposure.
AU  - Filippini, T.*
AU  - Ferrari, A.*
AU  - Michalke, B.
AU  - Grill, P.
AU  - Vescovi, L.*
AU  - Salvia, C.*
AU  - Malagoli, C.*
AU  - Malavolti, M.*
AU  - Sieri, S.*
AU  - Krogh, V.*
AU  - Bargellini, A.*
AU  - Martino, A.*
AU  - Ferrante, M.*
AU  - Vinceti, M.*
C1  - 50788
C2  - 42854
CY  - Athens
SP  - 3405-3412
TI  - Toenail selenium as an indicator of environmental exposure: A cross-sectional study.
JO  - Mol. Med. Report
VL  - 15
IS  - 5
PB  - Spandidos Publ Ltd
PY  - 2017
SN  - 1791-2997
ER  - 

TY  - JOUR
AB  - Manganese (Mn) is both essential and toxic for humans, mainly depending on the total levels and its species. Main sources of exposure include food and air pollution, particularly motorized traffic. We sought to determine the potential influence of these sources on serum total levels of Mn and Mn species. We selected a random sample of municipality residents from an Italian urban municipality, from whom we collected detailed personal information, dietary habits and a blood sample for serum Mn determination. We also assessed outdoor air Mn exposure, by modeling levels of particulate matter ≤10 µm (PM10) from motorized traffic at the residence of geocoded subjects. Serum Mn species generally showed higher levels in males and positive correlation with age, while no such differences were found according to smoking habits or use of dietary supplements. Among nutrients, only iron intake showed a relation with Mn [an inverse correlation with Mn‑ferritin (Mn‑Fer) and a direct one with inorganic‑Mn (Inorg‑Mn)]. Meat consumption directly correlated and fish and seafood inversely correlated with total Mn, Mn‑transferrin (Mn‑Tf) and Mn-citrate (Mn-Cit). Fruits and vegetables, including legumes and nuts, generally showed a positive correlation with all Mn species, especially Mn‑Cit, and an inverse one with Inorg‑Mn. Odds ratios (ORs) of having serum Mn levels above median value increased with increasing PM10 tertiles, with an OR for highest‑to‑lowest tertile of 7.40 (1.36‑40.25) in multivariate analysis. Analyses for Mn species did not highlight a clear comparable pattern. In conclusion, our results seem to demonstrate that PM10 exposure positively influences total Mn serum levels, while single Mn species show conflicting results.
AU  - Filippini, T.*
AU  - Michalke, B.
AU  - Grill, P.
AU  - Malagoli, C.*
AU  - Malavolti, M.*
AU  - Vescovi, L.*
AU  - Sieri, S.*
AU  - Krogh, V.*
AU  - Cherubini, A.*
AU  - Maffeis, G.*
AU  - Lucchini, R.*
AU  - Ferrante, M.*
AU  - Vinceti, M.*
C1  - 50789
C2  - 42853
CY  - Athens
SP  - 3340-3349
TI  - Determinants of serum manganese levels in an Italian population.
JO  - Mol. Med. Report
VL  - 15
IS  - 5
PB  - Spandidos Publ Ltd
PY  - 2017
SN  - 1791-2997
ER  - 

TY  - JOUR
AB  - Retroviral vectors have been considered the most promising vehicles for the transfer of therapeutic genes into cells of the hematopoietic system. In clinical studies, however, cases of leukemoid clonogenic expansion of the transduced cells in vivo caused by semirandom integration of the foreign DNA in the genome have changed the focus to other types of vectors. In addition to their superior safety profile, a higher packaging capacity might be an advantage of non-viral vectors in certain applications. Prolonged transgene expression of non-viral vectors can be achieved by inclusion of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-derived elements mediating episomal replication and retention. Furthermore, a variety of cis acting elements have been explored in an attempt to enhance gene transfer efficiency. Our study confirmed that prolonged transgene expression can be achieved in B-lymphoid cells with EBV-derived vectors containing the EBV latent gene EBNA-1 and the EBV latent origin of replication oriP. In addition, we demonstrated that the inclusion of enhancer elements of the immunoglobulin κ light chain (Ei and E3') associated with its matrix attachment region (MAR) resulted in a 10-fold increase in transgene expression in B-lymphoid cells. It can be concluded that these elements are generally useful modules for improving the efficiencies of non-viral vectors in the B-lymphoid lineage.
AU  - Zehnpfennig, D.
AU  - Deissler, H.*
AU  - Polack, A.
AU  - Herr, D.*
AU  - Bornkamm, G.W.
AU  - Kurzeder, C.*
C1  - 6058
C2  - 29115
SP  - 689-692
TI  - B-cell-specific elements enhance sustained gene expression mediated by self-replicating extrachromosomal vectors.
JO  - Mol. Med. Report
VL  - 3
IS  - 4
PB  - Spandidos Publ.
PY  - 2010
SN  - 1791-2997
ER  -