Abstract: Over the last few decades, copper containing amine oxidase (Cu AO) from vegetal sources and belonging to the class of diamine oxidases has been documented to exhibit beneficial effects in both in vivo and ex vivo animal models of inflammatory, allergic or pseudo-allergic conditions, including asthma like reaction, myocardial or intestinal ischemia reperfusion injuries. Recently, oral supplementation of the enzyme has been proposed and used to control intestinal dysfunctions, based on the ability of the enzyme to catabolize histamine, an important pathological factor for Crohn‘s disease, ulcerative colitis, colon cancer, histaminosis. However, additional properties of the enzyme might underlie its protective action. In this presentation, the potential of Cu-AO purified from Lathyrus sativus (LSAO) to scavenge oxygen and nitrogen reactive species and modulate cellular functions of human neutrophils in in vitro conditions is discussed. Specifically, its ability to inhibit the fMLP dependent superoxide generation, elastase release and cell migration, and to interfere with the calcium flux is documented. The efficacy of LSAO to protect cultured Caco-2 cells from Clostridium difficile toxin A-induced signaling activation and cellular damage is also demonstrated, supporting the idea that LSAO, in addition to its histamine-degrading property, can modulate cellular functions preventing the binding of ligands to their targets.

Biography: Lucia Marcocci is Associate Professor at Sapienza, University of Rome, where she teaches Biochemistry in the School of Pharmacy. She graduated in Biology in 1985 and received her Ph.D. in Biochemistry in 1992 in Sapienza, University of Rome. She has been Post Graduate Fellow at the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of California, Berkeley, USA, and visiting scientist at the Faculty of Pharmacy of University of Nancy, France; at the Department of Pharmacology of Georgetown University, Washington DC, USA; at the Department of Chemistry of the University of Quebec at Montreal, Montreal Canada. Her scientific interest is on oxidative stress and enzymatic antioxidant defense; antioxidant properties of natural and synthetic compounds; biogenic amines and polyamines in cell growth and differentiation; the functional role of FAD and Cu-dependent amine oxidases. She is the author of more than 60 papers published in peer-reviewed international journals and one patent.