Biology subjects

Catalano, P.

Publications and source records attributed to Catalano, P..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2021

Pregnancy and weaning regulate human maternal liver size and function

BACKGROUNDDuring pregnancy, the rodent liver undergoes hepatocyte proliferation and increases in size, followed by weaning-induced involution via hepatocyte cell death and stromal remodeling, creating a pro-metastatic niche. These data suggest a mechanism for increased liver metastasis in postpartum breast cancer patients. OBJECTIVESInvestigate if the human liver changes in size and function during pregnancy and weaning. METHODSAbdominal imaging was obtained in healthy women at early and late pregnancy, and post-wean. During pregnancy time points, endogenous glucose production was measured and fasting blood taken to measure bile acids. RESULTSIndependent of weight gain, most womens livers increased in size with pregnancy, returning to baseline post-wean. Putative roles for bile acids in liver growth were observed in pregnant women and rodents. CONCLUSIONSThe human liver is regulated by reproductive state with growth during pregnancy and volume loss post-wean. These findings may have broad implications for sex-specific liver diseases and cancer.

physiology↗

bioRxiv2020

Plasticenta: Microplastics in Human Placenta

Summary paragraphMicroplastics are particles smaller than five millimetres obtained from the degradation of plastic objects abandoned in the environment. Microplastics can move from the environment to living organisms and, in fact, they have been found in fishes and mammals. Six human placentas, prospectively collected from consenting women with uneventful pregnancies, were analyzed by Raman Microspectroscopy to evaluate the presence of microparticles. Detected microparticles were characterized in terms of morphology and chemical composition. 12 microparticles, ranging from 5 to 10 m in size, were found in 4 out of 6 placentas: 5 in the foetal side, 4 in the maternal side and 3 in the chorioamniotic membranes. All the analyzed microparticles were pigmented: three of them were identified as stained polypropylene, while for the other nine it was possible to identify only the pigments, which are all used for man-made coatings, paints and dyes. Here we show, for the first time, the presence of microparticles and microplastics in human placenta. This sheds new light on the impact of plastic on human health. Microparticles and microplastics in the placenta, together with the endocrine disruptors transported by them, could have long-term effects on human health.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2020

Food for the Empire: dietary pattern of Imperial Rome inhabitants.

This paper aims to provide a broad diet reconstruction for people buried in archaeologically defined contexts in Rome (1st-3rd centuries CE), in order to combine archaeological and biological evidence focusing on dietary preferences in Imperial Rome. A sample of 214 human bones recovered from 6 funerary contexts were selected for carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis. The baseline for the terrestrial protein component of the diet was set using 17 coeval faunal remains recovered from excavations at Rome supplemented by previously published data for the same geographic and chronological frames. {delta}13C ranges from -19.95{per thousand} to -14.78{per thousand}, whereas {delta}15N values are between 7.17{per thousand} and 10.00{per thousand}. The values are consistent with an overall diet mainly based on terrestrial resources. All the human samples rely on a higher trophic level than the primary consumer faunal samples. Certainly, C3 plants played a pivotal role in the dietary habits. However, C4 plants also seem to have been consumed, albeit they were not as widespread and were not always used for human consumption. The environment played a critical role also for Romans of lower social classes. The topographical location determined the preferential consumption of food that people could obtain from their neighborhood.

evolutionary biology↗