Ricerc@Sapienza

A certain number of studies were carried out to address the question of how dysbiosis could affect the onset and development of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), but little is known about the reciprocal influence between microbiota composition and immunosuppressive drugs, and how this interaction may have an impact on the clinical outcome. The aim of this study was to characterize the intestinal microbiota in a groups of RA patients treatment-naïve, under methotrexate, and/or etanercept (ETN).

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are promising carriers in the field of nanomedicine and represent a very intriguing
approach in drug delivery applications, due to their small size and enhanced properties. This work aims to
highlight the interaction between functionalized AuNPs and the immune-system suppressant drug Methotrexate
(MTX) at molecular level. Small and monodisperse (<2RH>5 ± 1 nm) gold nanoparticles were prepared by a
simple chemical route using hydrophilic thiol 3-mercapto-1-propanesulfonate (3MPS) as a functionalizing/

Retroperitoneal fibrosis (RPF), is a rare fibroinflammatory disease. The pathogenesis of RPF is still unclear and numerous theories have
been reported such as environmental factors, immunologic process, genetic component, local inflammation and advanced atherosclerosis.
RPF is characterized by the presence of a particular retroperitoneal fibrotic tissue which is white, woody and involving retroperitoneal
structures such as the great vessels, ureters and psoas muscle. The main complication of RPF is the obstruction of local structures such as