Mitochondrial DNA copy number (mtDNA-CN) is a critical marker of mitochondrial health and plays a key role in cellular bioenergetics. Alterations in mtDNA-CN have been associated with aging, metabolic disorders and neurodegenerative diseases. Recent studies have revealed that various plant-derived extracts, as well as the secondary metabolites they produce, known as phytochemicals, can modulate mtDNA-CN through mechanisms including the regulation of mitochondrial biogenesis, oxidative stress, and mtDNA repair. This review examines plant-derived extracts and phytochemical compounds from a wide range of plant species- including Ginkgo biloba, Crocus sativus, Curcumin and many others- able to modulate mtDNA dynamics, scavenging oxygen free radicals and improving antioxidant defense systems.
Grounded in agency theory, this article examines the relationship between family ownership concentration and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance, and analyzes the moderating role of sustainable governance mechanisms. Specifically, it assesses whether sustainability committees and ESG-linked executive compensation moderate the relationship between family ownership concentration and ESG performance. The empirical setting comprises 150 publicly listed European family firms observed over the period 2010-2021. Using panel data regressions with multiple fixed effects to control for unobserved heterogeneity, the results show that higher levels of family ownership are negatively associated with ESG performance. However, this effect is significantly weakened in firms that adopt sustainability committees and ESG-linked executive compensation schemes. These findings indicate that the impact of family ownership on sustainability is contingent upon the governance architecture that shapes the exercise of ownership power. From a theoretical perspective, the results contribute to agency theory by demonstrating that monitoring and incentive alignment mechanisms can mitigate Type II agency tensions between controlling families and minority shareholders in ESG-related domains. From a practical standpoint, the findings suggest that in contexts of highly concentrated family ownership, the introduction of formal ESG-oriented monitoring and incentive mechanisms can reduce discretionary decision-making in ESG-related domains and foster greater alignment between family objectives and broader stakeholder expectations, thereby supporting a more balanced and long-term sustainability orientation.
A monitoring campaign was carried out in a Mediterranean agricultural district by transplantation of thalli of the lichen Evernia prunastri to 32 stations to evaluate the distribution of pesticides, the development of drift events, the dimension of the area, and the level of exposure in the Cantinella village. Spearman correlation coefficients and PCA performed on the database stations × pesticides revealed that they were sprayed as mixtures and mostly bioaccumulated in the northern part. Spirotetramat and Hexythiazox exhibited the highest levels, consistent with the pests, being the former sprayed to contrast Tetranychus urticae, the most diffused species, and the latter used as a multi-spectrum pesticide. Based on the Calabria Region treatment schedule and covariance between pesticide spatial variation, we believe that Hexythiazox and Acetamiprid treatment has gone beyond prescribed deadline. Drift events were associated with the detection of pesticides in Cantinella and zones managed with organic agriculture criteria and to the significant correlation between the concentration patterns and wind flows. All the pesticides were detected inside Cantinella stations pointing to a potential co-exposure of the inhabitants to them. Spirotetramat concentration was 80
Lamotrigine, a clinically approved anticonvulsant, has recently gained interest for its potential anticancer effects. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying its activity in breast cancer remain poorly understood. Here, an integrated mass spectrometry-based proteomic strategy combining data-independent acquisition (DIA) and thermal proteome profiling (TPP) was applied to investigate the cellular effects and potential targets of lamotrigine in the human breast cancer cell line MCF-7. The DIA-based quantitative approach identified 6622 proteins, of which 142 were significantly modulated following lamotrigine exposure. Differentially expressed proteins were mainly associated with mitochondrial energy metabolism, chromatin organization, and protein translation. TPP experiments identified significant thermal stability alterations in ABRAXAS2, MT-CYB, TMEM97, and MTA2 upon lamotrigine treatment. Notably, both DIA and TPP analyses highlighted mitochondrial alterations, with consistent involvement of MT-CYB, suggesting mitochondrial dysfunction as a potential central mechanism of lamotrigine's action. Overall, these findings characterize proteome-level alterations induced by lamotrigine and support its further evaluation in breast cancer.
Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARgamma) has been demonstrated to be anti-neoplastic against various human tumors. The aim of this study was to delineate the molecular mechanism underlying PPARgamma ligand rosiglitazone (BRL) antiproliferative effects in follicular WRO and anaplastic FRO human thyroid carcinoma cells. BRL upregulated the p21Cip1/WAF1 levels in the two thyroid cancer cells, while did not modify the p53 protein content. Different evidences indicate that the p21Cip1/WAF1 upregulation by BRL requires a functional PPARgamma, since it was reversed by silencing PPARgamma and pretreatment with GW9662, an irreversible PPARgamma antagonist. Transient transfection assays showed that BRL triggered the transcriptional activity of p21Cip1/WAF1 promoter gene in a p53-independent way, being a p21Cip1/WAF1 promoter construct deleted in the p53 sites still activated by BRL. The Sp1 inhibitor mithramycin silenced the p21Cip1/WAF1 promoter activity suggesting an important role of Sp1 in mediating BRL activation. The electrophoretic mobility shift and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays evidenced a functional interaction between PPARgamma and Sp1 in regulating p21Cip1/WAF1. Intriguingly, ChIP analysis revealed in the p21Cip1/WAF1 gene promoter an increased recruitment of the RNA Pol II associated with an increased histone H3 acetylation and a reduced H3 methylation. The biological event, consistent with PPARgamma-induced WRO and FRO cell growth inhibition, was reversed by p21Cip1/WAF1 antisense oligonucleotides and was confirmed by increasing the PPARgamma expression, suggesting a crucial role exerted by p21Cip1/WAF1 in PPARgamma action. Our results further candidate BRL as a potential agent able to inhibit tumor progression of follicular and anaplastic thyroid carcinoma.
