We provided evidence that competitive inhibition of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerases in mammalian cells treated with 3-aminobenzamide causes DNA hypermethylation in the genome and anomalous hypermethylation of CpG islands. The molecular mechanism(s) connecting poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation with DNA methylation is still unknown. Here we show that DNMT1 is able to bind long and branched ADP-ribose polymers in a noncovalent way. Binding of poly ADP-ribose on DNMT1 inhibits DNA methyltransferase activity. Co-immunoprecipitation reactions indicate that PARP1 and DNMT1 are associated in vivo and that in this complex PARP1 is present in its ADP-ribosylated isoform. We suggest that this complex is catalytically inefficient in DNA methylation.

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In patients with Myelofibrosis (MF) treated with ruxolitinib (RUX), the response is unpredictable at therapy start. We retrospectively evaluated the impact of clinical/laboratory factors on responses in 408 patients treated with RUX according to prescribing obligations in 18 Italian Hematology Centers. At 6 months, 114 out of 327 (34.9%) evaluable patients achieved a spleen response. By multivariable Cox proportional hazard regression model, pre-treatment factors negatively correlating with spleen response were: high/intermediate-2 IPSS risk (p=0.024), large splenomegaly (p=0.017), transfusion dependency (p=0.022), platelet count <200×109/l (p=0.028), and a time-interval between MF diagnosis and RUX start >2 years (p=0.048). Also, patients treated with higher (≥10 mg BID) average RUX doses in the first 12 weeks achieved higher response rates (p=0.019). After adjustment for IPSS risk, patients in spleen response at 6 months showed only a trend for better survival compared to non-responders. At 6 months, symptoms response was achieved by 85.5% of 344 evaluable patients; only a higher (>20) Total Symptom Score significantly correlated with lower probability of response (p<0.001). Increased disease severity, a delay in RUX start and titrated doses <10 mg BID were associated with patients achievinglower response rates. An early treatment and higher RUX doses may achieve better therapeutic results.

Although our study suggests an important role for hepcidin in regulating iron homeostasis in HD patients on ESA, our findings do not support its utility as a predictor of iron needs, offering no advantage over established markers of iron status.

The effect of the stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD) gene on milk fatty acid composition was tested. Cows of 3 breeds of northern Italy, Piedmontese, Valdostana, and Jersey, were genotyped at exon 5 of the SCD gene. This has been suggested as a primary candidate gene to change the proportion of saturated vs. unsaturated fatty acids in milk, wherein a single nucleotide polymorphism (C/T) gives rise to a different AA codon. It was possible to ascribe a reduced desaturase activity to the T allele only in the case of caproleic and myristoleic fatty acids. In contrast with the findings of SCD effects on carcass fat, it was not possible to confirm the higher desaturation activity of this single nucleotide polymorphism on long-chain fatty acids, due to the different pathways that originate milk fatty acids of different carbon length; long-chain fatty acids are highly influenced by the complex metabolic events that affect the ingested nutrients during their transfer to milk fat.

The absence of urticaria or angioedema in severe reactions to Hymenoptera stings with hypotension might represent the most relevant factor in identifying patients with mastocytosis, regardless of their serum tryptase levels.

In this work, the genetic variation of milk FA was investigated in three different bovine breeds, the Jersey, the Piedmontese and the Valdostana, and at different lactation stages. All animals were genotyped for 21 Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms located within nine candidate genes involved in lipid synthesis: diacylglycerol acyltransferase 1 and 2 (DGAT1, 2); stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD); growth hormone receptor (GHR); fatty acid synthase (FASN); acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (ACAD); fatty acid binding protein (FABP4); lipoprotein lipase (LPL); and leptin gene (LEP). The highest milk-fat Jersey breed also showed the highest content of saturated FA. Throughout lactation, the breeds showed a similar variation in the FA, with a decrease in the short-chain, this was accompanied by a general increase in the long chain FA at the end of lactation. The increase in long chain saturated FA was particularly evident in the case of the Jersey. The effect of SCD gene on the C14 desaturation index was confirmed; the DGAT1 gene was polymorphic only in the Jersey breed, but its effect was confirmed only on milk fat content; three further potential candidate genes were identified: first, the FABP4 gene, which was found to influence medium and long chain FA in all the breeds, but not the desaturation indices; second, the FASN gene, which was found to influence the amount of PUFA in the Piedmontese and the Valdostana, and third, the LPL gene, which was found to affect fat content in the Piedmontese.