Claudio Medana

Thymic involution is commonly addressed as a loss of epithelial and lymphoid tissue, yet the accompanying remodelling of the microenvironment remains poorly defined. This work applied a biomaterials-centered approach to compare young and aged bovine thymus by integrating histology, oscillatory rheology, untargeted lipidomics, ICP-MS and AP-MALDI mass spectrometry imaging. This holistic approach connects the mechanical, compositional, and spatial features of the native thymus with the development of thymus-inspired biomaterials. Ageing increased both storage and loss moduli by more than one order of magnitude and reduced the linear viscoelastic region approximately fivefold, defining a markedly stiffer and more strain-sensitive material state. This mechanical transition was accompanied by lipid remodelling, with double realtive contribution of triacylglycerols to the lipid pool doubled and loss of membrane-associated phospholipids. The elemental profile also contracted, with total metal content decreasing by one-third and zinc showing a reduction of 70%. At the architectural level, the corticomedullary ratio was more than halved, while AP-MALDI imaging revealed an approximately 40% reduction in the annotated molecular repertoire and a shift from homogeneous to fragmented distributions of choline and representative phosphatidylcholine species. These results show that thymic ageing emerges from the concomitant variations of viscoelastic behaviour, chemical composition, and molecular organization. By defining these interconnected alterations, this study establishes a materials-based foundation for the design of bioinspired systems aimed at reproducing features of the young thymic niche and supporting future thymic repair.

Anticancer drugs are considered pseudo-persistent pollutants for the water environmental compartments due to their continuous emission into water bodies. Many sources contribute to the bioaccumulation of the drugs, and the investigation of their residues and transformation products (TPs) fate is mandatory, in particular for compounds displaying a high degree of toxicity. Here, we present a High-Performance Liquid Chromatography – High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry (HPLC-HRMS) method developed to identify and characterize the TPs of cyclophosphamide (CYC), 5-fluorouracil (5FU) and oxaliplatin (OXA), subjected to heterogenous photocatalysis mediated by titanium dioxide. The irradiation experiments were performed at different times, and the HPLC separation was achieved using a reverse-phase column. A high-resolution Orbitrap mass analyzer was used in the positive and negative ionization modes with a resolution of 30k. Tandem mass spectrometry experiments were acquired in the CID activation mode. With the developed method, we recognized and tentatively assigned the structures of six TPs for CYC, four TPs for 5FU and one TPs for OXA. The developed analytical method was then applied to real environmental water samples coming from nine sampling sites of Po River (Italy). We found the presence of CYC in four site points at level of ppb. The developed HPLC-HRMS method was a satisfactory tool to identify anticancer drugs and their TPs and to quantify them in real water environmental samples.

Food metabolomics is a rapidly evolving discipline that is transforming how we understand, monitor, and ensure the quality, safety, and traceability of food products

The human intestinal microbiota plays a crucial role in health and disease, yet recreating its complex interactions in vitro remains a significant challenge. Gut ³ Gel introduced herein as a novel in vitro mucus model, designed for culturing complex microbial communities without the need for anaerobic conditions. Intestinal microbiota samples from five donors were individually inoculated in Gut ³ Gel and cultured for 72 hours. Taxonomic composition assessment revealed that Gut ³ Gel sustains diverse microbial species and particularly promotes the growth of mucus-associated bacteria including Bifidobacterium , Lactobacillus , and Faecalibacterium . Microbial metabolic activity within Gut ³ Gel was confirmed by the increased production of acetate and butyrate, as well as of exopolysaccharides. Gut ³ Gel reproduces physiological features of intestinal mucus, providing a reproducible and scalable culturing platform. These features make Gut ³ Gel a promising tool for advancing microbiota research with potential applications in drug screening, microbiome mining, and high throughput testing of microbiome-modulating molecules.

P. aeruginosa employs specific quorum sensing (QS) mechanisms to orchestrate biofilm formation, enhancing resistance to host defences. In physiological conditions, QS molecules permeate the lung environment and cellular membrane to reach the cytoplasmic Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor (AhR) that is pivotal for activating the immune response against infection. In pathological conditions like cystic fibrosis (CF) this interkingdom communication is altered, favouring P. aeruginosa persistence and chronic infection. Here, we aim to investigate the molecular journey of QS molecules from CF-like environments to the cytoplasm by quantifying via HPLC-MS the permeability of selected QS molecules (quinolones, lactones, and phenazines) through in vitro models of the two main biological lung barriers: CF-mucus and cellular membrane. While QS molecules not activating AhR exhibit intermediate permeability through the cellular membrane model (PAMPA) (1.0–4.0 × 10⁻⁶ cm/s), the AhR-activating molecule (pyocyanin) shows significantly higher permeability (8.6 ± 1.4 × 10⁻⁶ cm/s). Importantly, combining the CF mucus model with PAMPA induces a 50% decrease in pyocyanin permeability, indicating a strong mucus-shielding effect with pathological implications in infection eradication. This study underscores the importance of quantitatively describing the AhR-active bacterial molecules, even in vitro, to offer new perspectives for understanding P. aeruginosa virulence mechanisms and for proposing new antibacterial therapeutic approaches.

Extracts from locally grown aromatic plants can enhance the geographical characteristics and microbial stability of craft beers, which are often not pasteurized or filtered. Here, the chemical and antimicrobial properties of aqueous extracts from leaves of Myrtus communis L., Pistacia lentiscus L., Artemisia arborescens L., and floral wastes of Crocus sativus L., all cultivated in Sardinia (Italy), were assessed. P. lentiscus extract had the highest polyphenol content (111.20 mg GAE/g), followed by M. communis (56.80 mg GAE/g), C. sativus (32.80 mg GAE/g), and A. arborescens (8.80 mg GAE/g). Notably, only the M. communis extract demonstrated significant inhibitory activity against pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms, with minimum inhibitory concentrations of 0.18, 0.71, and 1.42 mg GAE/mL against Staphylococcus aureus, Lactiplantibacillus plantarum, and Lacticaseibacillus casei, respectively. Additionally, it reduced the growth of Levilactobacillus brevis and Fructilactobacillus lindneri at concentrations of 0.35 and 0.71 mg GAE/mL, respectively. Based on its significant antimicrobial activity, the M. communis extract was further characterized using high-resolution mass spectrometry, revealing high abundances of nonprenylated phloroglucinols, flavonoid derivatives (myricetin), and quinic acids. Lastly, adding M. communis extract (2.84 mg GAE/mL) to commercial beer effectively prevented the growth of L. brevis and F. lindneri, showing its potential to avoid beer’s microbial spoilage.

Bacterial‐derived molecules are at the basis of bacteria–bacteria and bacteria–host communication. In the context of cystic fibrosis (CF), they are considered possible therapeutic molecules for their natural binding capability on the immunomodulatory cytoplasmic aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR). An exponentially growing number of bacteria‐derived molecules are identified as AhR activators, highlighting the need for systems to screen possible lead candidates. This challenge is addressed by applying an in vitro tool mimicking the two main barriers that potential AhR‐targeting drugs must overcome: the cytoplasmic membrane and the CF pathological mucus. A small dataset of AhR ligands with potential therapeutic applications is selected. The apparent permeability of bacterial‐derived molecules across a cellular membrane model is quantified and molecules capable of reaching the cytoplasmic target (AhR) are identified. In a second step, a CF in vitro mucus model is integrated with the phospholipid membrane and the impact of mucus on permeability is assessed. Overall, this study proposes an integrated mucosal platform as a suitable tool in the emerging field of postbiotics as a therapeutic strategy for CF. The mucosal platform can enable the rapid identification of molecules compatible with cytoplasmic targeting of AhR among candidate‐drug representatives.

The World Health Organization (WHO) promotes research aimed at developing new drugs from natural compounds. Fungi are important producers of bioactive molecules, and they are often effective against other fungi and/or bacteria and are thus a potential source of new antibiotics. Basidiomycota crude extracts, which have previously been proven to be active against Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC27853, were subjected to liquid chromatographic separation by RP-18, leading to six macro-fractions for each fungal extract. The various fractions were tested for their bioactivities against P. aeruginosa ATCC27853, and ten of them were characterized by HPLC-HRMS and NMR. Further chromatographic separations were performed for a few selected macro-fractions, yielding seven pure compounds. Bioactivity was mainly found in the lipophilic fractions containing fatty acids and their derivatives, such as hydroxy or keto C-18 unsaturated acids, and in various complex lipids, such as glycolipids and related compounds. More hydrophilic molecules, such as GABA, phenethylamine, two chromogenic anthraquinoids and pistillarin, were also isolated, and their antibacterial activities were recorded. The novelties of this research are as follows: (i) the genera Cortinarius and Mycena have never been investigated before for the synthesis of antibiotic compounds; (ii) the molecules produced by these genera are known, but their production has never been reported in the investigated fungi; (iii) the determination of bacterial siderophore synthesis inhibition by certain compounds from Cortinarius and Mycena.