Life sciences such as medical, nutritional, and those related to agrarian biotechnologies are experiencing a constant increase. Therefore, food consumption is today related to health state. Aiming to create an innovative spinneret system that defines the tight correlation between high nutritional and nutraceutical value of foods and their beneficial effects on consumer's health state, we tested the effects related to the administration of 40 g of the Tonda Gentile Romana Italian hazelnut cultivar (Viterbo, Italy). To this end, we enrolled 24 subjects for a period of 14 weeks, based on a crossover design. Although several papers and reviews on hazelnut intake benefits are available, few studies have investigated the effects of hazelnut-enriched diet on plasma key parameters commonly used to ascertain the individual's well-being status. The primary endpoint of the trial was to assess LDL change related to hazelnut administration, which resulted in significant beneficial effects on cholesterol parameters (LDL dropped from 133.09 mg/dl to 119.18 mg/dl). Interestingly, despite within the normal ranges, uric acid and serum creatinine mean values significantly decreased after hazelnut intake. A significant increment was also observed for ALT (from 30.9 U/L to 35.22 U/L, P = 0.01), while GGT significantly decreased from 38.04 mg/dl at T0 to 35.27 mg/dl at T1 (P = 0.001). No significant changes were also observed in azotemia, serum iron, glycemia, AST, total bilirubin, Hb, WBCs, RBCs, platelet count, and total plasma proteins. All the blood parameters analyzed appeared to be reversible after 6 weeks from the end of the treatment. Mann-Whitney U test did not show any 634significant differences in T0 -T1 Δ% LDL considering gender, age and baseline LDL. These findings may be of help in the development of strategies for personalized nutrition and diseases management.

Our previous studies on autoimmune haemolytic anaemia (AIHA) have shown a hyperactivation concerning cytokine production in T and B lymphocytes obtained from AIHA patients. In this study the production of interleukin (IL)-10, basal and stimulated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS), was determined in cultured monocytes obtained from patients affected by AIHA, either idiopathic or associated with other autoimmune diseases, e.g. idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), myastenia gravis (MG). In cultured AIHA monocytes the IL-10 basal production (mean+/-SD) was increased in all but one patient, compared to the controls, 125.96+/-76.10 pg/mL and 19.18+/-15.80 pg/mL respectively. Specifically, LPS stimulation was able to induce a higher IL-10 production by monocytes in two AIHA cases, whereas in five patients there was no difference and in two cases the LPS stimulated IL-10 production was even decreased compared to the levels observed in the controls. Interestingly in the latter two cases AIHA was associated with other autoimmune diseases (ITP, SLE). These results indicate a constitutively higher basal IL-10 production in monocytes from AIHA patients. The increased level of IL-10 could play an important role in the modified pathways of the immune response in AIHA.

Abstract. In this study the potential of clinically relevant alumina ceramic and metal wear particles to induce an in vitro inflammatory response was assessed in human monocytes and lymphocytes isolated from healthy donors by measuring prostaglandin E2 (PGE 2 ) levels and mRNA expression of various pro-inflammatory cytokines. Bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was used as positive control. LPS significantly increased PGE 2 levels in the incubation medium of monocyte cultures after 24 h. Alumina had no effect on PGE 2 production, whereas metals induced a concentration-dependent increase in PGE 2 release, that was statistically significant at the dose of 0.1 mg/ ml. In lymphocytes, LPS elicited a weak but significant increase in PGE 2 release, whereas both alumina and metals did not modify PGE 2 amounts at any of the concentrations tested. The gene expression of a number of pro-and anti-inflammatory cytokines was assessed in monocytes and lymphocytes exposed to LPS, 0.1 mg/ml alumina or 0.1 mg/ml metals for 24 h. In monocytes, LPS caused a 2-fold increase in interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß) mRNA levels. The exposure of monocytes to metals resulted in a selective increase in IL-1ß mRNA accumulation (+48% compared to control). By contrast, alumina did not modify IL-1ß mRNA levels. None of the test substances elicited any response on purified lymphocyte population. These findings suggest that PGE 2 production and IL-1 mRNA expression are a reliable marker to study the pro-inflammatory effects of wear debris in vitro. The lower activity of alumina compared to metals suggests that the former should be preferred in implants for its favorable biological and mechanical behavior.

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