Chemical ecology of echinoderms: Impact of environment and diet in metabolomic profile

The phylum Echinodermata constitutes a successful and widespread group comprising Asteroidea, Ophiuroidea, Echinoidea, Holothuroidea and Crinodeia. Nowadays, marine organisms are being given a lot of attention in drug discovery pipelines. In these studies, sponges and nudibranchs are frequently addressed, however an increasing number of works focus their attention in echinoderms. Given the fact that many of the bioactive molecules found in echinoderms are diet-derived, different feeding behavior and surrounding environment plays a critical role in the chemical composition of echinoderms. In this work, the most relevant chemical classes of small molecules present in echinoderms, such as fatty acids, carotenoids and sterols will be addressed. When data is available, the influence of the environment on the chemical profile of these organisms will be discussed.(undefined

Insights into angiogenesis in non-small cell lung cancer : molecular mechanisms, polymorphic genes, and targeted therapies

We would like to thank Dr. Miguel Nunes from Department of Informatic of Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto, Porto, Portugal, for his help in technical support, and Prof. Henrique Queiroga, Department of Pneumology of Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto, Porto, Portugal, for his critical contribution in this manuscript reviewLung cancer is a highly prevalent disease worldwide. Currently, there are more than 150 million patients with lung cancer in the world, with more than 1 million new cases diagnosed per year. Tumoral angiogenesis is an important hallmark of this disease, but despite being extensively studied, the complete angiogenic mechanisms are not fully elucidated. Recent studies have reported a correlation between pharmacological inhibition of these angiogenic mechanisms and improvement of overall survival in lung cancer patients, mainly for those in advanced stages. The family of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) proteins has critical roles in tumoral angiogenesis. An interaction between VEGF-A and VEGF receptor 2 (VEGFR-2) is the main pathway of activation and maintenance of angiogenesis. In tumors, this process is intimately correlative with progression and metastasis. Some studies suggested that serum levels of VEGF are higher in patients with lung cancer, especially in some types of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Other studies revealed that genetic polymorphisms of VEGF correlate with susceptibility, prognosis, and therapeutic response of some patients with NSCLC. This paper aims to review the impact of angiogenesis, especially on VEGF pathways, in NSCLC, and highlights the relevance of known and new patents disclosed of anti-angiogenic therapies in these patients

Biomaterials as Tendon and Ligament Substitutes: Current Developments

Tendon and ligament have specialized dynamic microenvironment characterized by a complex hierarchical extracellular matrix essential for tissue functionality, and responsible to be an instructive niche for resident cells. Among musculoskeletal diseases, tendon/ligament injuries often result in pain, substantial tissue morbidity, and disability, affecting athletes, active working people and elder population. This represents not only a major healthcare problem but it implies considerable social and economic hurdles. Current treatments are based on the replacement and/or augmentation of the damaged tissue with severe associated limitations. Thus, it is evident the clinical challenge and emergent need to recreate native tissue features and regenerate damaged tissues. In this context, the design and development of anisotropic bioengineered systems with potential to recapitulate the hierarchical architecture and organization of tendons and ligaments from nano to macro scale will be discussed in this chapter. Special attention will be given to the state-of-the-art fabrication techniques, namely spinning and electrochemical alignment techniques to address the demanding requirements for tendon substitutes, particularly concerning the importance of biomechanical and structural cues of these tissues. Moreover, the poor innate regeneration ability related to the low cellularity and vascularization of tendons and ligaments also anticipates the importance of cell based strategies, particularly on the stem cells role for the success of tissue engineered therapies. In summary, this chapter provides a general overview on tendon and ligaments physiology and current conventional treatments for injuries caused by trauma and/or disease. Moreover, this chapter presents tissue engineering approaches as an alternative to overcome the limitations of current therapies, focusing on the discussion about scaffolds design for tissue substitutes to meet the regenerative medicine challenges towards the functional restoration of damaged or degenerated tendon and ligament tissues.Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology for the post-doctoral grant (SFRH/BPD/111729/2015) and for the projects Recognize (UTAP-ICDT/CTM-BIO/0023/2014) and POC I-01-0145-FEDER-007

Fabrication of anisotropically aligned nanofibrous scaffolds based on natural/synthetic polymer blends reinforced with cellulose nanocrystals for tendon tissue engineering

[Excerpt] Introduction: Tendon disorders and injuries are among the most common musculoskeletal problems and their regeneration after injury remains a significant challenge. Given the prevalent fibrous nature of tendons’ ECM, which exhibits an aligned and hierarchical organization in structures from the nano to the macro scale, uniaxial aligned electrospun nanofibers produced from natural/synthetic polymer blends are among the most successful tendon scaffolds in tissue engineering (TE) strategies[1]. These biomaterials can provide the topographical cues to direct cell adhesion and proliferation, as well as positively affecting cell’s differentiation, phenotype maintenance and matrix deposition. However, the limited mechanical properties of electrospun biomaterials restrict their potential application in this field. In the present study, we propose the use of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs), the “nature carbon nanotubes”, as a strategy for the reinforcement of electrospun poly­ɛ­caprolactone­chitosan (PCL­C) nanofiber scaffolds without compromising their biological performance and thus expand their potential range of application in tendon TE strategies. (...

Elaboração de fertilizante orgânico a partir dos recursos locais no assentamento Tamarineiro II Sul, Corumbá, MS.

Pelo solo ser 80% argiloso, numa região de calcário a vinte centímetros da superfície de algumas regiões da propriedade, e a água muito salobra, notou-se que muitas culturas sofrem para se desenvolver, pois o solo apresenta insuficiência de micronutrientes, como o zinco (Zn) e de macronutrientes, como o magnésio (Mg). O cultivo de plantas nos assentamentos de Corumbá- MS sofre a influência do solo e da água calcária, que formam uma crosta branca que é projetada no caule, levando a tal planta a parar de absorver os nutrientes do solo. Com base nas características que o solo apresenta, foi elaborado um fertilizante orgânico para suprir as necessidades da planta. O fertilizante pode ser utilizado puro, tanto foliar como direto no solo. Nos testes realizados com orégano, hortelã e poejo, foi possível observar os resultados após o terceiro dia, dependendo da cultura.Também em: SEMINÁRIO DE AGROECOLOGIA DE MATO GROSSO DO SUL, 4.; ENCONTRO DE PRODUTORES AGROECOLÓGICOS DE MS, 3., 2012, Glória de Dourados. O saber tradicional e o científico: a interação encurtando caminhos para o desenvolvimento sustentável: anais. Brasília, DF: Embrapa, 2012. 1 CD-ROM. Editado por: Leandro Fávio Carneiro, Milton Parron Padovan

Epitope-imprinted polymers: design principles of synthetic binding partners for natural biomacromolecules

Molecular imprinting (MI) has been explored as an increasingly viable tool for molecular recognition in various fields. However, imprinting of biologically relevant molecules like proteins is severely hampered by several problems. Inspired by natural antibodies, the use of epitopes as imprinting templates has been explored to circumvent those limitations, offering lower costs and greater versatility. Here, we review the latest innovations in this technology, as well as different applications where MI polymers (MIPs) have been used to target biomolecules of interest. We discuss the several steps in MI, from the choice of epitope and functional monomers to the different production methods and possible applications. We also critically explore how MIP performance can be assessed by various parameters. Last, we present perspectives on future breakthroughs and advances, offering insights into how MI techniques can be expanded to new fields such as tissue engineering.This work was supported by Project NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000021 supported by the Norte Portugal Regional Operational Program (NORTE 2020), under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF); by the European Union Framework Program for Research and Innovation HORIZON 2020, under the Twinning grant agreement no. 810850–Achilles, European Research Council grant agreement no. 772817; and by FCT/MCTES (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia/Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia, e Ensino Superior) through PhD grant PD/BD/143039/2018 for S.P.B.T., financed through the Doctoral Program in Advanced Therapies for Health (PATH) (FSE/POCH/ PD/169/2013), project PTDC/NAN-MAT/30595/2017, and individual contract 2020.03410. CEECIND for R.M.A.D. N.A.P. acknowledges support from the Cockrell Family Chair Foundation; the Institute for Biomaterials, Drug Delivery, and Regenerative Medicine; and the UT-Portugal Collaborative Research Program

Platelet lysate cell-laden hydrogel-coated suture threads for tendon repair

Tendon injuries constitute a major healthcare burden owing to the limited healing ability of these tissues and the poor clinical outcomes of surgical repair treatments. Recent advances in tendon tissue engineering (TTE) strategies, particularly through the use of biotextile technologies, hold great promise toward the generation of artificial living tendon constructs. We have previously developed a braided construct based on suture threads coated with gelMA:alginate hydrogel encapsulating human tendon cells. These cell-laden composite fibers enabled the replication of cell and tissue-level properties simultaneously. Based on this concept, in this study we explored the use of platelet lysate (PL), a pool of supra-physiological concentrations of growth factors (GFs), to generate a hydrogel layer, which is envisioned to act as a depot of therapeutic factors to induce tenogenic differentiation of encapsulated human adipose stem cells (hASCs). For this purpose, commercially available suture threads were first embedded in a thrombin solution and then incubated in PL containing hASCs. Herein, thrombin induces the gelation of PL and consequent hydrogel formation. After coating suture threads with the mixture of PL-ASCs, cells were found to be viable and homogeneously distributed along the fibers. Strikingly, hASCs encapsulated within the PL hydrogel layer around the suture thread were able to sense chemotactic factors present in PL and to establish connections between adjacent independent fibers, suggesting a tremendous potential of PL cell-laden hydrogel fibers as building blocks in the development of living constructs aimed at tendon repair applications.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio