MARCHETTI , Carla

N-Methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors (NRs) are glutamate-gated channels critical for the functioning of the nervous system. They are assembled from two types of subunits, the essential GluN1 and at least one type of GluN2 (A, B, C, D) subunit. Nickel (Ni) modulates the NR current in a way dependent on the GluN2 subunit present. Besides...

Nickel (Ni2+) is a toxic metal that affects the function of several neuronal ionic channels. Ni2+ inhibits N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NR) channel in a voltage-dependent manner, but also causes enhancement of NR2B-containing channel activity and voltage-independent inhibition of those containing NR2A. The present work was aimed to find the...

Aims Intracellular calcium (Ca2+) is known to play an important role in cancer development and growth. Resveratrol (Res) is a stilbene polyphenol occurring in several plant species and known for various possible beneficial effects, including its ability to inhibit proliferation and to induce apoptosis in cancer cells. This study was designed to...

The search for natural principles is attracting much interest in the field of skin care. Fabaceae are major agricultural crops and potential sources of bioactive compounds with possible applications in human health and skin care. This study concerns the biological activities of the legume crops Melilotus officinalis (L.) Pall. and Lespedeza...

Seagrasses are high plants sharing adaptive metabolic features with both terrestrial plants and marine algae, resulting in a phytocomplex possibly endowed with interesting biological properties. The aim of this study is to evaluate the in vitro activities on skin cells of an ethanolic extract obtained from the leaves of Posidonia oceanica (L.)...

Malignant mesothelioma is a poor prognosis cancer in urgent need of alternative therapies. Oleuropein, the major phenolic of olive tree (Olea europaea L.), is believed to have therapeutic potentials for various diseases, including tumors. We obtained an oleuropein-enriched fraction, consisting of 60% w/w oleuropein, fromolive leaves, and...

We used MCF-7 human breast cancer cells that endogenously express Cav3.1 and Cav3.2 T-type Ca2+ channels toward a mechanistic study on the effect of EGCG on [Ca2+]i. Confocal Ca2+ imaging showed that EGCG induces a [Ca2+]i spike which is due to extracellular Ca2+ entry and is sensitive to catalase and to low-specificity (mibefradil) and...

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