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BEATRICE BIGHI

Dottorando
Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, Informatiche e Matematiche

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Pubblicazioni

2023 - The NF-Y splicing signature controls hybrid EMT and ECM-related pathways to promote aggressiveness of colon cancer [Articolo su rivista]
Rigillo, Giovanna; Belluti, Silvia; Campani, Virginia; Ragazzini, Gregorio; Ronzio, Mirko; Miserocchi, Giacomo; Bighi, Beatrice; Cuoghi, Laura; Mularoni, Valentina; Zappavigna, Vincenzo; Dolfini, Diletta; Mercatali, Laura; Alessandrini, Andrea; Imbriano, Carol
abstract

: Aberrant splicing events are associated with colorectal cancer (CRC) and provide new opportunities for tumor diagnosis and treatment. The expression of the splice variants of NF-YA, the DNA binding subunit of the transcription factor NF-Y, is deregulated in multiple cancer types compared to healthy tissues. NF-YAs and NF-YAl isoforms differ in the transactivation domain, which may result in distinct transcriptional programs. In this study, we demonstrated that the NF-YAl transcript is higher in aggressive mesenchymal CRCs and predicts shorter patients' survival. In 2D and 3D conditions, CRC cells overexpressing NF-YAl (NF-YAlhigh) exhibit reduced cell proliferation, rapid single cell amoeboid-like migration, and form irregular spheroids with poor cell-to-cell adhesion. Compared to NF-YAshigh, NF-YAlhigh cells show changes in the transcription of genes involved in epithelial-mesenchymal transition, extracellular matrix and cell adhesion. NF-YAl and NF-YAs bind similarly to the promoter of the E-cadherin gene, but oppositely regulate its transcription. The increased metastatic potential of NF-YAlhigh cells in vivo was confirmed in zebrafish xenografts. These results suggest that the NF-YAl splice variant could be a new CRC prognostic factor and that splice-switching strategies may reduce metastatic CRC progression.

2021 - Electron Transfer and Electrocatalytic Properties of the Immobilized Met80Ala Cytochrome c Variant in DMSO [Articolo su rivista]
DI ROCCO, Giulia; Bighi, Beatrice; Borsari, Marco; Bortolotti, Carlo Augusto; Ranieri, Antonio; Sola, Marco; Battistuzzi, Gianantonio
abstract

The electrode-immobilized Met80Ala variant of yeast iso-1 cytochrome c in mixed water/dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) solutions up to 60 % v/v DMSO shows thermodynamic and kinetic parameters of electron exchange and electrocatalytic properties towards O2 reduction fully comparable to those in water. This is the result of moderate protein conformational changes thanks to immobilization that, to a certain extent, preserves protein structure, possibly due to the constraints on protein mobility/flexibility induced by the electrostatic interactions with the electrode-coating SAM. Upon increasing the DMSO content of the mixed solution beyond 60 %, a much larger perturbation occurs that leads to the progressive loss of the electrocatalytic ability. Therefore, under these conditions, the organic solvent remarkably affects the structure and properties of the protein probably involving major conformational changes or even the replacement of the 6th axial hydroxide ligand of the heme iron with a strong protein ligand, possibly a lysine residue.

2021 - Gaseous heptanethiol removal by a fe3+-phenanthroline-kaolinite hybrid material [Articolo su rivista]
Bernini, F.; Castellini, E.; Bighi, B.; Borsari, M.; Malferrari, D.; Brigatti, M. F.
abstract

Kaolinite functionalized by the μ-oxo Fe3+-phenanthroline complex (Fe+3Phen) was selected to test its ability to efficiently remove and store gaseous heptanethiol (HPT). Spectroscopic techniques, elemental analysis, and thermal analysis coupled with evolved gas mass spectrometry were employed to characterize the material before and after the exposure to the gas and to define the adsorption process. The amount of HPT trapped by the functionalized kaolinite after 60 days is 0.10940 moles per 100 g of kaolinite which, considering the amount of adsorbed Fe+3Phen (0.00114 moles per 100 g of kaolinite), means a thiol/Fe3+Phen molar ratio of about 100:1, a value much higher than those found in the past for Fe+3Phen functionalized montmorillonite and sepiolite. In addition, the process was found to be efficient also beyond 60 days. This significant removal of the smelly gas was explained by considering a continuous catalytic activity of Fe3+ toward the oxidation of thiol to disulfide.

2021 - Self-Assembled Structures from Solid Cd(II) Acetate in Thiol/Ethanol Solutions: a Novel Type of Organic Chemical Garden [Articolo su rivista]
Bernini, Fabrizio; Castellini, Elena; Sebastianelli, Lorenzo; Bighi, Beatrice; Ignacio Sainz-Díaz, Claro; Mucci, Adele; Malferrari, Daniele; Ranieri, Antonio; Franca Brigatti, Maria; Borsari, Marco
abstract

Cd(II) acetate in tablet form, immersed in ethanol solutions with a high concentration of heptanethiol (30-80 mM) was able to develop self-assembled sail-shaped structures. The solution in which the self-assembled structure is formed is totally organic (both solute and solvent), thus representing a unique case among organic Chemical Gardens. The constituting material for this new Chemical Garden (CG) is made of a single phase, namely a cadmium heptanethiolate with a microcrystalline structure consisting of a central cluster [CdnSn]. The morphological and structural features were studied using different techniques (SEM-EDS, elemental analysis, FT-IR, 113Cd MAS NMR, XRPD). A crystalline cell for the Cd(II) heptanethiolate cluster was obtained that completely differs from that of the solid phase precipitated by mixing an ethanol solution of Cd(II) acetate with heptanethiol. It follows that the conditions under which the formation of Cd(II) thiolate occurs (slowly from solid, quickly from solution) play a critical role in determining the nature and structure of the precipitating phase.

2021 - The Copper Chemical Garden as a Low Cost and Efficient Material for Breaking Down Air Pollution by Gaseous Ammonia [Articolo su rivista]
Castellini, Elena; Bernini, Fabrizio; Sebastianelli, Lorenzo; Bighi, Beatrice; Ignacio Sainz-Diaz, Claro; Mucci, Adele; Malferrari, Daniele; Ranieri, Antonio; Gorni, Giulio; Marini, Carlo; Brigatti, Maria Franca; Borsari, Marco
abstract

Chemical garden (CG) from copper(II) sulfate, nitrate and chloride (CG CuSO4, CG Cu(NO3)2, CG CuCl2) were grown and characterized from the structural and compositional point of view using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, elemental analysis, thermogravimetric analyses coupled with mass spectrometry, and DR (Diffuse Reflectance) UV-Vis-Nir spectroscopy. The main crystalline phases, controlled by the anion of the starting salt, were brochantite and kobyashevite for CG CuSO4, gerhardtite, rouaite and anthonyite for CG Cu(NO3)2, and atacamite for CG CuCl2. The materials were then exposed to ammonia vapors to test the effectiveness of their entrapping property. All materials proved to be very efficient and rapid in the uptake of ammonia which invariably results in the formation of a Cu(II)/NH3 complex. However, after a few tens of minutes, CG Cu(NO3)2 and CG CuCl2 release water and get wet, thereby resulting unsuitable for applications. Only CG CuSO4 keeps dry for at least 25 hours. This makes it a valid candidate for building devices for trapping ammonia and possibly other gases capable of interacting with Cu (II). The entrapment of ammonia by this material was also characterized by 1H and 29Si MAS-NMR XAS spectroscopies.

2020 - A new material based on montmorillonite and Cu(II)-phenanthroline complex for effective capture of ammonia from gas phase [Articolo su rivista]
Castellini, E.; Malferrari, D.; Bernini, F.; Bighi, B.; Mucci, A.; Sainz-Diaz, I. C.; Serrano, A.; Castro, G. R.; Brigatti, M. F.; Borsari, M.
abstract

The intercalation of [Cu(Phen)(H2O)2]2+ (CuPhen) in montmorillonite (Mt) produces a stable hybrid material that is very efficient in removing NH3 from gas phase even at extremely low pressures. The process was studied by elemental analysis, X-ray powder diffraction, thermal analysis coupled with evolved gas mass spectrometry and DR UV–Vis, NMR and X-ray absorption spectroscopy. The adsorption of CuPhen on Mt consists of two consecutive steps. During the first one, CuPhen intercalates alone into Mt through a cation exchange process, afterwards CuPhen and SO42− ions entry jointly into the mineral interlayer. The two-steps adsorption process is described by a VI-type isotherm, successfully fitted by two independent Frumkin isotherms. NH3 trapping is long-lasting, easy, fast even at extremely low gas pressure and reversible under mild conditions. Mt containing CuPhen always results well performant in removing ammonia from gas phase, but an appreciably higher adsorption capacity of NH3 is obtained when SO42− ion is absent from the interlayer. This hybrid montmorillonite is thus a promising material to be used in industrial or environmental contexts, as an efficient air-cleaner.

2020 - Tuning of halobenzenes uptake in montmorillonite from gas phase through a functionalization process involving Cu(II)-phenanthroline and heptanethiol [Articolo su rivista]
Castellini, Elena; Malferrari, Daniele; Bernini, Fabrizio; Bighi, Beatrice; Mucci, Adele; Sainz Diaz, Ignacio Claro; Serrano, Aida; Castro, German R.; Brigatti, Maria Franca; Borsari, Marco
abstract

In this paper, montmorillonite functionalized with a Cu(II)-phenanthroline complex (Mt-CuPhen) and then exposed to heptanethiol vapors (Mt-CuPhen-HPT) was tested for the capture of halobenzenes in gas phase. The treatment of Mt-CuPhen with heptanethiol vapors produced important compositional changes involving Cu(II) reduction, oxidation of thiol to disulfide and dehydration of the mineral interlayer space. Entrapping experiments were carried out on fluorobenzene, chlorobenzene and bromobenzene at 25 and 45°C. The hybrid material proved to be very efficient for all halobenzenes and especially for fluorobenzene. Observed performances are slightly affected by temperature. Halobenzene desorption occurred even at 100°C, a temperature quite lower than that required for decomposition of Mt-CuPhen-HPT. The Mt-CuPhen-HPT hybrid material, therefore, can be reused several times and requires low energy costs for regeneration. An alternative regeneration procedure based on disulfide removal has been proposed as well. Mt-CuPhen-HPT was extensively characterized before and after halobenzenes immobilization through elemental analysis, UV-Vis measurements, thermogravimetric analyses, FTIR, NMR and X-ray absorption spectroscopies.

2019 - Sulfur bearing and aromatic compound trapping by layered silicates: a great start for innovative technological applications [Abstract in Atti di Convegno]
Malferrari, D.; Bernini, F.; Bighi, B.; Borsari, M.; Brigatti, M. F.; Castellini, E.; Mucci, A.; Sebastianelli, L.
abstract