7 results on '"Osculati, F"'
Search Results
2. Taste in Parkinson's disease.
- Author
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Cecchini MP, Fasano A, Boschi F, Osculati F, and Tinazzi M
- Subjects
- Humans, Parkinson Disease complications, Perceptual Disorders diagnosis, Perceptual Disorders etiology, Perceptual Disorders physiopathology, Taste Perception physiology
- Abstract
Parkinson's disease is now considered a complex systemic disease also characterized by the occurrence of a variety of non-motor symptoms. Among them, a chemosensory impairment defined as a deficient olfactory performance is now acknowledged to be one of the prevalent symptoms since the early stages of the disease. Less clear are the incidence, extent and pathophysiology of taste function. The purpose of the present review is to summarize the state of the art in taste literature. To provide a better understanding of the available results, we will also discuss the different methods for taste evaluation and the other potential confounders to be addressed by future research.
- Published
- 2015
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
3. Taste performance in Parkinson’s disease.
- Author
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Cecchini MP, Osculati F, Ottaviani S, Boschi F, Fasano A, and Tinazzi M
- Subjects
- Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Analysis of Variance, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Olfaction Disorders etiology, Severity of Illness Index, Smell physiology, Statistics, Nonparametric, Taste Disorders diagnosis, Parkinson Disease complications, Taste physiology, Taste Disorders etiology
- Abstract
While olfactory deficit is already known to be associated with early-stage Parkinson’s disease (PD), taste perception has not fully clarified so far. In this study, we investigated the taste performance in 61 patients with PD and 66 healthy controls (HC) using the Whole Mouth (WMT) and Taste Strip Tests (TST). In addition, we evaluated their olfactory function by means of the Sniffin’ Sticks Test (SST). TST score was significantly lower in PD patients than in HC (TST score 11.0 ± 2.8 vs. 12.2 ± 2.1; p<0.018) while WMT showed no difference. The olfactory evaluation confirmed the results reported in the literature with a significant reduction of the SST score in PD patients than in HC (SST score 7.0 ± 2.8 vs. 11.3 ± 2.8; p<0.0001). The conflicting results revealed by TST and WMT could rely on a taste impairment not detectable at supra-threshold concentration of tastes, typical of the daily life. Possible biological correlates of taste impairment in PD are discussed.
- Published
- 2014
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
4. The status of olfactory function and the striatal dopaminergic system in drug-induced parkinsonism.
- Author
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Bovi T, Antonini A, Ottaviani S, Antonioli A, Cecchini MP, Di Francesco V, Bassetto MA, Zamboni M, Fiaschi A, Moretto G, Sbarbati A, Osculati F, and Tinazzi M
- Subjects
- Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Antiparkinson Agents adverse effects, Corpus Striatum diagnostic imaging, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Olfaction Disorders diagnostic imaging, Olfaction Disorders etiology, Parkinson Disease complications, Parkinson Disease metabolism, Parkinson Disease physiopathology, Parkinson Disease, Secondary complications, Parkinson Disease, Secondary physiopathology, Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon, Corpus Striatum metabolism, Dopamine metabolism, Olfaction Disorders metabolism, Parkinson Disease, Secondary metabolism
- Abstract
Olfactory impairment has been reported in drug-induced parkinsonism (DIP), but the relationship between dopaminergic dysfunction and smell deficits in DIP patients has not been characterized. To this end, we studied 16 DIP patients and 13 patients affected by Parkinson's disease (PD) using the "Sniffin' Sticks" test and [(123)I] FP-CIT SPECT (single-photon emission computed tomography). DIP patients were divided based on normal (n = 9) and abnormal (n = 7) putamen dopamine transporter binding. Nineteen healthy age- and sex-matched subjects served as controls of smell function. Patients with DIP and pathological putamen uptake had abnormal olfactory function. In this group of patients, olfactory TDI scores (odor threshold, discrimination and identification) correlated significantly with putamen uptake values, as observed in PD patients. By contrast, DIP patients with normal putamen uptake showed odor functions-with the exception of the threshold subtest-similar to control subjects. In this group of patients, no significant correlation was observed between olfactory TDI scores and putamen uptake values. The results of our study suggest that the presence of smell deficits in DIP patients might be more associated with dopaminergic loss rather than with a drug-mediated dopamine receptor blockade. These preliminary results might have prognostic and therapeutic implications, as abnormalities in these individuals may be suggestive of an underlying PD-like neurodegenerative process.
- Published
- 2010
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
5. Amylase expression in taste receptor cells of rat circumvallate papillae.
- Author
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Merigo F, Benati D, Cecchini MP, Cristofoletti M, Osculati F, and Sbarbati A
- Subjects
- Amylases genetics, Animals, Biomarkers metabolism, Blotting, Western, Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator metabolism, Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic, Microscopy, Confocal, Peroxidase metabolism, Protein Transport, RNA, Messenger genetics, RNA, Messenger metabolism, Rats, Rats, Wistar, Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction, Signal Transduction, Taste, Uteroglobin metabolism, Amylases metabolism, Taste Buds cytology, Taste Buds enzymology
- Abstract
The chemical composition of the luminal content is now accepted to have a profound influence on the performance of chemosensory receptors. Gustatory and intestinal chemoreceptors have in common their expression of molecules involved in taste sensing and signal transduction pathways. The recent finding that enterocytes of the duodenal epithelium are capable of expressing luminal pancreatic amylase suggests that taste cells of the gustatory epithelium might, in the same way, express salivary amylase in the oral cavity. Therefore, we investigated amylase expression in rat circumvallate papillae by using analyses involving immunohistochemistry, Western blot, and reverse transcription with the polymerase chain reaction. In addition, we used double-labeling confocal laser microscopy to compare amylase immunolabeling with that of the following markers: protein gene product 9.5 (PGP 9.5) and chromogranin A (CgA) for endocrine cells, alpha-gustducin and phospholipase C beta 2 (PLC beta 2) as taste-signaling molecules, and cystic fibrosis transmembrane regulator (CFTR) and Clara-cell-specific secretory protein of 10-kDa (CC10) as secretory markers. The results showed that amylase was present in some taste bud cells; its immunoreactivity was observed in subsets of cells that expressed CgA, alpha-gustducin, PLC beta 2, CFTR, or CC10. PGP 9.5 immunoreactivity was never colocalized with amylase. The data suggest that amylase-positive cells constitute an additional subset of taste receptor cells also associated with chemoreceptorial and/or secretory molecules, confirming the occurrence of various pathways in taste buds.
- Published
- 2009
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
6. Secretory cells of the airway express molecules of the chemoreceptive cascade.
- Author
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Merigo F, Benati D, Di Chio M, Osculati F, and Sbarbati A
- Subjects
- Animals, Bronchi chemistry, Bronchi cytology, Bronchi ultrastructure, Chemoreceptor Cells cytology, Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator analysis, Female, Immunohistochemistry, Isoenzymes analysis, Male, Microscopy, Fluorescence, Microscopy, Immunoelectron, Phospholipase C beta, Rats, Rats, Wistar, Respiratory Mucosa cytology, Tongue chemistry, Tongue cytology, Trachea chemistry, Trachea cytology, Trachea ultrastructure, Transducin analysis, Type C Phospholipases analysis, Uteroglobin analysis, Chemoreceptor Cells chemistry, Respiratory Mucosa chemistry
- Abstract
Airway secretion is maintained by specialized non-ciliated epithelial cells whose phenotype varies with their topographical location. In addition, specialized epithelial cells located in the airway contain the molecular machinery of chemoreceptive elements. Our aim has been to evaluate whether the secretory cells themselves possess a chemoreceptive capability, which requires the simultaneous presence of chemosensory and secretory mechanisms. We performed immunohistochemical analysis with antibodies against the Clara-cell-specific secretory proteins, CC10 and CC26, as secretory markers. As chemoreceptive markers, we employed antibodies against alpha-gustducin and phospholipase C beta 2 (PLCbeta2), two components of the taste transduction pathway. We also attempted to characterize further the secretory cell type by using a marker of chloride secretion, cystic fibrosis transmembrane regulator (CFTR). We found alpha-gustducin localized in non-ciliated cells of the epithelium lining the trachea and bronchioles of adult rats, where it was also co-expressed with CC10 and CC26. Ultrastructural immunohistochemistry revealed alpha-gustducin in the apical cytoplasm of secretory cells, concentrated around and inside the granules. CFTR was also observed in a subpopulation of non-ciliated epithelial cells, co-localized with some alpha-gustducin- and PLCbeta2-immunoreactive cells, at all levels of the airway epithelium. We conclude that non-ciliated epithelial cells of the rat airway express components of distinct signaling mechanisms and suggest that secretory events are driven by a molecular mechanism activated by the binding of luminal substances to G-protein-coupled receptors.
- Published
- 2007
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
7. alpha-Gustducin immunoreactivity in the airways.
- Author
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Merigo F, Benati D, Tizzano M, Osculati F, and Sbarbati A
- Subjects
- Animals, Biomarkers metabolism, Female, Fluorescein-5-isothiocyanate, Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect, Fluorescent Dyes, Immunohistochemistry, Isoenzymes metabolism, Larynx ultrastructure, Male, Microscopy, Immunoelectron, Microvilli metabolism, Microvilli ultrastructure, Phospholipase C beta, Rats, Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction, Trachea ultrastructure, Type C Phospholipases metabolism, Ubiquitin Thiolesterase metabolism, Larynx metabolism, Trachea metabolism, Transducin metabolism
- Abstract
The G-protein subunit alpha-gustducin is a marker of chemoreceptive cells. In the present study, we examined the immunohistochemical localization of alpha-gustducin in rat airway epithelium both by light and electron microscopy. alpha-Gustducin immunoreactivity was found in solitary cells that presented ultrastructural features of chemoreceptor cells, i.e. flask-shaped or pear-shaped, with an apical process with thin microvilli protruding into the lumen. The immunostaining was mainly concentrated in the apical process and along the basolateral cell surface. To investigate whether alpha-gustducin-immunoreactive cells represented a distinct cell subset in rat airways, we performed double-label immunocytochemistry with antibodies to protein gene groduct (PGP) 9.5, a marker of neuroendocrine cells, and to phospholipase C beta2 (PLCbeta2), a component of the bitter signalling pathway. alpha-Gustducin-immunoreactive cells were present in a subset of PGP-9.5-immunoreactive elements, although not all alpha-gustducin-positive cells expressed PGP 9.5 labelling. In addition, a subset of alpha-gustducin-expressing cells colocalized PLCbeta2. This work thus demonstrates that solitary alpha-gustducin-immunoreactive cells exist throughout the airways and represent a specialized cell type with morphological and immunohistochemical characteristics of chemoreceptor cells.
- Published
- 2005
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
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