Massimo Pinto's Publications List

Direct determination of the absorbed dose to water from 125I low dose rate brachytherapy seeds using the new absorbed dose primary standard developed at ENEA-INMRI

2012-03-27T08:54:52Z

Low intensity radioactive sources emitting low energy photons are used in the clinic for low dose rate brachytherapy treatments of tumours. The dosimetry of these sources is based on reference air kerma rate measurements. The absorbed dose rate to water at the reference depth d0=1 cm, ̇ , is then obtained by a conversion procedure with a large relative standard uncertainty of about 5%. This paper...

MP Toni, M Pimpinella, M Pinto, M Quini, G Cappadozzi, C Silvestri, O Bottauscio (2012) Metrologia in press:

Key comparison BIPM.RI(I)-K2 of the air-kerma standards of the ENEA-INMRI, Italy and the BIPM in low-energy x-rays

2011-08-25T15:01:14Z

A key comparison has been made between the air-kerma standards of the ENEA-INMRI, Italy and the BIPM in the low-energy x-ray range. The results show the standards to be in agreement at the level of the standard uncertainty for the comparison of 1.9 parts in 103. No significant trend with radiation quality is observed. The results are analysed and presented in terms of degrees of equivalence, suita...

DT Burns, C Kessler, P Roger, MP Toni, M Pinto, M Bovi, G Cappadozzi, C Silvestri (2011) 48

Investigation of Adaptive Responses in Bystander Cells in 3D Cultures Containing Tritium-Labeled and Unlabeled Normal Human Fibroblasts

2010-12-29T08:27:47Z

The study of radiation-induced bystander effects in normal human cells maintained in three-dimensional (3D) architecture provides more in vivo-like conditions and is relevant to human risk assessment. Linear energy transfer, dose and dose rate have been considered as critical factors in propagating radiation-induced effects. This investigation uses an in vitro 3D tissue culture model in which norm...

Massimo Pinto, Edouard I Azzam, and Roger W Howell (2010) Radiation Research 174: 2 216-227

Effects of deprivation of background environmental radiation on cultured human cells

2010-07-13T22:28:25Z

In this paper we present results from an experiment aimed at investi- gating whether living cells are influenced by background ionizing radiation. Parallel human cell cultures were set-up in two separate laboratories and maintained for sev- eral months under identical conditions but for a 80× different level of background ionizing radiation. Periodically, the cell cultures were monitored for the ...

M. C. Carbone, M. Pinto, F. Antonelli, M. Balata, M. Belli, L. Conti Devirgiliis, O. Sapora, G. Simone, E. Sorrentino, M. A. Tabocchini and L. Satta (2010) Nuovo Cimento B :

Adaptive Response: Modelling and Experimental Studies

2010-12-29T08:26:07Z

Adaptive response (AR) is a term that has been generally accepted to describe the ability of a low ‘priming’ radiation dose to decrease the cell response to a subsequent higher ‘challenging’ dose. The main proposed mechanisms to explain AR are: increased efficiency of DNA repair and induction of antioxidant enzymes. A model that considers a modulation of the efficiency of DNA repair activi...

G Esposito, A Campa, M Pinto, G Simone, MA Tabocchini, and M Belli (2010) Radiation Protection Dosimetry 142:

The Cosmic Silence Experiment: on the putative adaptive role of environmental ionizing radiation

2009-02-11T12:59:02Z

We have previously reported that yeast and Chinese Hamster V79 cells cultured under reduced levels of environmental ionizing radiation background show enhanced susceptibility to damage caused by acute doses of genotoxic agents. Reduction of environmental radiation dose rate was achieved by setting up an underground laboratory at Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso, central Italy. We now report on ...

MC Carbone, M Pinto, F Antonelli, F Amicarelli, M Balata, M Belli, L Conti De Virgilis, L Ioannucci, S Nisi, O Sapora, L Satta, G Simone, E Sorrentino, MA Tabocchini (2009) Radiation and Environmental Biophysics :

PULEX: Influence of environment radiation background on biochemistry and biology of cultured cells and on their response to genotoxic agents

2008-09-17T20:50:02Z

Some years ago we performed two experiments aimed at studying the influence of the background radiation on living matter by exploiting the low radiation background environment in the underground Gran Sasso Laboratory of the INFN. Their results were consistent with the hypothesis that the “normal” background radiation determines an adaptive response, although they cannot be considered conclusi...

F. Antonelli, M. Belli, M. Pinto, O. Sapora, E. Sorrentino, G. Simone, M. A. Tabocchini, F. Amicarelli, L. Conti De Virgiliis, M. C. Carbone, M. Balata, L. Ioannuci, S. Nisi, L. Satta (2008) Il Nuovo Cimento C :

Concomitant quantification of targeted drug delivery and biological response in individual cells.

2010-04-02T10:06:02Z

Targeted therapies result in heterogeneous drug delivery, often with highly variable drug uptake in the targeted cells and significant numbers of cells that are essentially untargeted. However both the variably targeted cells and neighboring bystander cells may respond to the treatment. Using ionizing radiation as an example of a targeted therapeutic agent, we describe a quantitative immunofluores...

Massimo Pinto, Roger W Howell (2007) Biotechniques 43: 1 66-71

Bystander responses in three-dimensional cultures containing radiolabelled and unlabelled human cells.

2010-04-02T10:07:38Z

Research on the radiation-induced bystander effect has been carried out mainly in 2-D tissue culture systems. This study uses a 3-D model, wherein apparently normal human diploid fibroblasts (AG1522) are grown in a carbon scaffold, to investigate the induction of a G(1) checkpoint in bystander cells present alongside radiolabelled cells. Cultures were simultaneously pulse-labelled with (3)H-deoxyc...

M Pinto, E I Azzam, R W Howell (2006) Radiat Prot Dosimetry 122: 1-4 252-255

Challenges and progress in predicting biological responses to incorporated radioactivity.

2010-04-02T10:06:50Z

Prediction of risks and therapeutic outcome in nuclear medicine largely rely on calculation of the absorbed dose. Absorbed dose specification is complex due to the wide variety of radiations emitted, non-uniform activity distribution, biokinetics, etc. Conventional organ absorbed dose estimates assumed that radioactivity is distributed uniformly throughout the organ. However, there have been drama...

R W Howell, P V S V Neti, M Pinto, B I Gerashchenko, V R Narra, E I Azzam (2006) Radiat Prot Dosimetry 122: 1-4 521-527

Evidence for complexity at the nanometer scale of radiation-induced DNA DSBs as a determinant of rejoining kinetics.

2012-05-03T11:50:29Z

The rejoining kinetics of double-stranded DNA fragments, along with measurements of residual damage after postirradiation incubation, are often used as indicators of the biological relevance of the damage induced by ionizing radiation of different qualities. Although it is widely accepted that high-LET radiation-induced double-strand breaks (DSBs) tend to rejoin with kinetics slower than low-LET r...

M Pinto, K M Prise, B D Michael (2005) Radiat Res 164: 1 73-85

A Monte Carlo model of DNA double-strand break clustering and rejoining kinetics for the analysis of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis data.

2008-02-05T17:03:51Z

In studies of radiation-induced DNA fragmentation and repair, analytical models may provide rapid and easy-to-use methods to test simple hypotheses regarding the breakage and rejoining mechanisms involved. The random breakage model, according to which lesions are distributed uniformly and independently of each other along the DNA, has been the model most used to describe spatial distribution of ra...

M Pinto, K M Prise, B D Michael (2004) Radiat Res 162: 4 453-463

Double strand break rejoining after irradiation of human fibroblasts with X rays or alpha particles: PFGE studies and numerical models.

2010-04-02T10:09:07Z

When a charged-particle track intercepts the chromatin fibre in DNA of mammalian cells, clustered damage is induced depending on the DNA conformation, local environment and track structure. Intra-track correlated DNA damage may have a higher probability of being mis-repaired or left un-repaired. Fragment size-distributions of DNA double strand breaks (DSBs) induced in primary human fibroblasts by ...

M Pinto, K M Prise, B D Michael (2002) Radiat Prot Dosimetry 99: 1-4 133-136

Quantification of radiation induced DNA double-strand breaks in human fibroblasts by PFGE: testing the applicability of random breakage models.

2010-04-02T10:09:58Z

PURPOSE: To assess the applicability of methods of quantification of double-strand breaks (DSB) based on the random breakage paradigm, measuring yield and distribution of DSB induced by varying radiation quality. MATERIAL AND METHODS: 240 kVp X-rays and (238)Pu alpha-particles were used to induce DSB in AG01522B primary human fibroblasts. DNA molecular weight distributions were resolved by means o...

M Pinto, K M Prise, B D Michael (2002) Int J Radiat Biol 78: 5 375-388

A review of studies of ionizing radiation-induced double-strand break clustering.

2008-02-05T17:03:51Z

Underpinning current models of the mechanisms of the action of radiation is a central role for DNA damage and in particular double-strand breaks (DSBs). For radiations of different LET, there is a need to know the exact yields and distributions of DSBs in human cells. Most measurements of DSB yields within cells now rely on pulsed-field gel electrophoresis as the technique of choice. Previous meas...

K M Prise, M Pinto, H C Newman, B D Michael (2001) Radiat Res 156: 5 Pt 2 572-576

Quantification of DNA damage by PFGE: development of an analytical approach to correct for the background distribution.

2008-02-05T17:03:51Z

PURPOSE: To analyse the currently existing methods to infer the extent of cellular DNA damage induced by ionizing radiation when the pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) technique is used. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: PFGE is currently the method of choice for the measurement of radiation-induced double-strand breaks (dsb). For accurate determination of both the yields and distributions of breaks, ...

M Pinto, H C Newman, K M Prise, B D Michael (2000) Int J Radiat Biol 76: 6 741-748