Umberto Capasso Palmiero

Last Name

Capasso Palmiero

First Name

Umberto

ORCID

0000-0002-9683-491X

Show all metadata

Search Results

Publications 1 - 10 of 28

Isolation of extracellular vesicles from microalgae: Towards the production of sustainable and natural nanocarriers of bioactive compounds
Picciotto, Sabrina; Paganini, Carolina; Capasso Palmiero, Umberto; et al. (2021)
Biomaterials Science
Safe, efficient and specific nano-delivery systems are essential for current and emerging therapeutics, precision medicine and other biotechnology sectors. Novel bio-based nanotechnologies have recently arisen, which are based on the exploitation of extracellular vesicles (EVs). In this context, it has become essential to identify suitable organisms or cellular types to act as reliable sources of EVs and to develop their pilot- to large-scale production. The discovery of new biosources and the optimisation of related bioprocesses for the isolation and functionalisation of nano-delivery vehicles are fundamental to further develop therapeutic and biotechnological applications. Microalgae constitute sustainable sources of bioactive compounds with a range of sectorial applications including for example the formulation of health supplements, cosmetic products or food ingredients. In this study, we demonstrate that microalgae are promising producers of EVs. By analysing the nanosized extracellular nano-objects produced by eighteen microalgal species, we identified seven promising EV-producing strains belonging to distinct lineages, suggesting that the production of EVs in microalgae is an evolutionary conserved trait. Here we report the selection process and focus on one of this seven species, the glaucophyte Cyanophora paradoxa, which returned a protein yield in the small EV fraction of 1 μg of EV proteins per mg of dry weight of microalgal biomass (corresponding to 109 particles per mg of dried biomass) and EVs with a diameter of 130 nm (mode), as determined by the micro bicinchoninic acid assay, nanoparticle tracking and dynamic light scattering analyses. Moreover, the extracellular nanostructures isolated from the conditioned media of microalgae species returned positive immunoblot signals for some commonly used EV-biomarkers such as Alix, Enolase, HSP70, and β-actin. Overall, this work establishes a platform for the efficient production of EVs from a sustainable bioresource and highlights the potential of microalgal EVs as novel biogenic nanovehicles.
Biodegradable zwitterionic nanoparticles with tunable UCST-type phase separation under physiological conditions
Sponchioni, Mattia; Rodrigues Bassam, Paola; Moscatelli, Davide; et al. (2019)
Nanoscale
Surfactant-free and rinsing-resistant biodegradable nanoparticles with high adsorption on natural fibers for the long-lasting release of fragrances
Capasso Palmiero, Umberto; Ilare, Juri; Romani, Carola; et al. (2020)
Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces
Dynamics of Synthetic Membraneless Organelles in Microfluidic Droplets
Linsenmeier, Miriam; Kopp, Marie R.G.; Grigolato, Fulvio; et al. (2019)
Angewandte Chemie. International Edition
Nanoalgosomes: Introducing extracellular vesicles produced by microalgae
Adamo, Giorgia; Fierli, David; Romancino, Daniele P.; et al. (2021)
Journal of Extracellular Vesicles
Cellular, inter-organismal and cross kingdom communication via extracellular vesicles (EVs) is intensively studied in basic science with high expectation for a large variety of bio-technological applications. EVs intrinsically possess many attributes of a drug delivery vehicle. Beyond the implications for basic cell biology, academic and industrial interests in EVs have increased in the last few years. Microalgae constitute sustainable and renewable sources of bioactive compounds with a range of sectoral applications, including the formulation of health supplements, cosmetic products and food ingredients. Here we describe a newly discovered subtype of EVs derived from microalgae, which we named nanoalgosomes. We isolated these extracellular nano-objects from cultures of microalgal strains, including the marine photosynthetic chlorophyte Tetraselmis chuii, using differential ultracentrifugation or tangential flow fractionation and focusing on the nanosized small EVs (sEVs). We explore different biochemical and physical properties and we show that nanoalgosomes are efficiently taken up by mammalian cell lines, confirming the cross kingdom communication potential of EVs. This is the first detailed description of such membranous nanovesicles from microalgae. With respect to EVs isolated from other organisms, nanoalgosomes present several advantages in that microalgae are a renewable and sustainable natural source, which could easily be scalable in terms of nanoalgosome production.
Sequestration within biomolecular condensates inhibits Aβ-42 amyloid formation
Küffner, Andreas M.; Linsenmeier, Miriam; Grigolato, Fulvio; et al. (2021)
Chemical Science
Biomolecular condensates are emerging as an efficient strategy developed by cells to control biochemical reactions in space and time by locally modifying composition and environment. Yet, local increase in protein concentration within these compartments could promote aberrant aggregation events, including the nucleation and growth of amyloid fibrils. Understanding protein stability within the crowded and heterogeneous environment of biological condensates is therefore crucial, not only when the aggregation-prone protein is the scaffold element of the condensates but also when proteins are recruited as client molecules within the compartments. Here, we investigate the partitioning and aggregation kinetics of the amyloidogenic peptide Abeta42 (Aβ-42), the peptide strongly associated with Alzheimer's disease, recruited into condensates based on low complexity domains (LCDs) derived from the DEAD-box proteins Laf1, Dbp1 and Ddx4, which are associated with biological membraneless organelles. We show that interactions between Aβ-42 and the scaffold proteins promote sequestration and local increase of the peptide concentration within the condensates. Yet, heterotypic interactions within the condensates inhibit the formation of amyloid fibrils. These results demonstrate that biomolecular condensates could sequester aggregation-prone proteins and prevent aberrant aggregation events, despite the local increase in their concentration. Biomolecular condensates could therefore work not only as hot-spots of protein aggregation but also as protective reservoirs, since the heterogenous composition of the condensates could prevent the formation of ordered fibrillar aggregates.
Systemic delivery of mRNA and DNA to the lung using polymer-lipid nanoparticles
Kaczmarek, James C.; Patel, Asha Kumari; Rhym, Luke H.; et al. (2021)
Biomaterials
Non-viral vectors offer the potential to deliver nucleic acids including mRNA and DNA into cells in vivo. However, designing materials that effectively deliver to target organs and then to desired compartments within the cell remains a challenge. Here we develop polymeric materials that can be optimized for either DNA transcription in the nucleus or mRNA translation in the cytosol. We synthesized poly(beta amino ester) terpolymers (PBAEs) with modular changes to monomer chemistry to investigate influence on nucleic acid delivery. We identified two PBAEs with a single monomer change as being effective for either DNA (D-90-C12-103) or mRNA (DD-90-C12-103) delivery to lung endothelium following intravenous injection in mice. Physical properties such as particle size or charge did not account for the difference in transfection efficacy. However, endosome co-localization studies revealed that D-90-C12-103 nanoparticles resided in late endosomes to a greater extent than DD-90-C12-103. We compared luciferase expression in vivo and observed that, even with nucleic acid optimized vectors, peak luminescence using mRNA was two orders of magnitude greater than pDNA in the lungs of mice following systemic delivery. This study indicates that different nucleic acids require tailored delivery vectors, and further support the potential of PBAEs as intracellular delivery materials. © 2021 Elsevier Ltd.
Acceleration of an Enzymatic Reaction in Liquid Phase Separated Compartments Based on Intrinsically Disordered Protein Domains
Küffner, Andreas M.; Prodan, Marc; Zuccarini, Remo; et al. (2020)
ChemSystemsChem
Spontaneous liquid demixing of biomolecules appears to be an efficient strategy developed by cells to organize reactions in space and time. This process allows cells to modulate biochemical reactions by locally changing the concentration and the environment of specific components. Here, we develop a strategy to couple the formation of biomolecular liquid compartments with reactions occuring within them. In particular, we conjugate a kinase enzyme with biologically derived low complexity domains and develop synthetic micro‐reactors that locally increase the enzyme concentration up to 140‐fold. We show that these micro‐reactors are characterized by a polarity comparable to methanol which promotes recruitment of small molecules. Despite exhibiting higher viscosity with respect to the surrounding solution, the reactors are liquid‐like and allow molecular diffusion within their interior. We demonstrate that the local increase in enzyme concentration accelerates the corresponding enzymatic rate up to 5‐fold. This flexible strategy enables the generation of biomolecular micro‐reactors with enhanced reactivity, with potential applications in heterogeneous biocatalysis. © 2020 Wiley‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.
Rapid Characterization and Quantification of Extracellular Vesicles by Fluorescence‐Based Microfluidic Diffusion Sizing
Paganini, Carolina; Hettich, Britta; Kopp, Marie R.G.; et al. (2022)
Advanced Healthcare Materials
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are emerging as promising diagnostic and therapeutic tools for a variety of diseases. The characterization of EVs requires a series of orthogonal techniques that are overall time- and material-consuming. Here, a microfluidic device is presented that exploits the combination of diffusion sizing and multiwavelength fluorescence detection to simultaneously provide information on EV size, concentration, and composition. The latter is achieved with the nonspecific staining of lipids and proteins combined with the specific staining of EV markers such as EV-associated tetraspanins via antibodies. The device can be operated as a single-step immunoassay thanks to the integrated separation and quantification of free and EV-bound fluorophores. This microfluidic technique is capable of detecting and quantifying components associated to EV subtypes and impurities and thus to measure EV purity in a time scale of minutes, requiring less than 5 µL of sample and minimal sample handling before the analysis. Moreover, the analysis is performed directly in solution without immobilization steps. Therefore, this method can accelerate screening of EV samples and aid the evaluation of sample reproducibility, representing an important complementary tool to the current array of biophysical methods for EV characterization, particularly valuable for instance for bioprocess development.
RNA modulates hnRNPA1A amyloid formation mediated by biomolecular condensates
Morelli, Chiara; Faltova, Lenka; Capasso Palmiero, Umberto; et al. (2024)
Nature Chemistry
Several RNA binding proteins involved in membraneless organelles can form pathological amyloids associated with neurodegenerative diseases, but the mechanisms of how this aggregation is modulated remain elusive. Here we investigate how heterotypic protein-RNA interactions modulate the condensation and the liquid to amyloid transition of hnRNPA1A, a protein involved in amyothropic lateral sclerosis. In the absence of RNA, formation of condensates promotes hnRNPA1A aggregation and fibrils are localized at the interface of the condensates. Addition of RNA modulates the soluble to amyloid transition of hnRNPA1A according to different pathways depending on RNA/protein stoichiometry. At low RNA concentrations, RNA promotes both condensation and amyloid formation, and the catalytic effect of RNA adds to the role of the interface between the dense and dilute phases. At higher RNA concentrations, condensation is suppressed according to re-entrant phase behaviour but formation of hnRNPA1A amyloids is observed over longer incubation times. Our findings show how heterotypic nucleic acid-protein interactions affect the kinetics and molecular pathways of amyloid formation.

Publications 1 - 10 of 28

Umberto Capasso Palmiero

Last Name

First Name

ORCID

Organisational unit

Filters

Search Results