Científicos asturianos hallan un nuevo método para detectar el cáncer de páncreas

Artículo periodístico de divulgación científica escrito por Marcos Palicio.Peer Reviewe

Comparación de la eficacia de distintos productos químicos aplicados mediante tratamiento aéreo en el control del muérdago (Viscum album) sobre Pinus halepensis

El objetivo de este trabajo fue comparar la eficacia de diversos productos químicos en el control del muérdago (Viscum album var austriacum) sobre Pinus halepensis. La experiencia consistió en la aplicación mediante tratamiento aéreo de diversas concentraciones de etefon, ácido giberélico y glifosato. Las combinaciones de ácido giberélico y glifosato obtuvieron las mayores eficacias, especialmente la que aplicó 7,8 g/ha de ácido giberélico y 540 g/ha de glifosato.The aim of this work was to compare the effectiveness of several products (such as ethephon, giberelic acid and glyphosate) in the chemical control of mistletoe {Viscum album var austriacum) on Pinus halepensis. The experiment consisted in applying various concentrations of these products by aerial treatment. The combinations of giberelic acid and glyphosate appeared to be the most effective treatments, especially the treatment that applied giberelic acid - 7,8 g/ha and glyphosate - 540 g/ha

DNA methylation patterns in newborns exposed to tobacco in utero

[Background] Maternal smoking during pregnancy is a major risk factor for adverse health outcomes. The main objective of the study was to assess the impact of in utero tobacco exposure on DNA methylation in children born at term with appropriate weight at birth.[Methods] Twenty mother-newborn dyads, after uncomplicated pregnancies, in the absence of perinatal illness were included. All mothers were healthy with no cardiovascular risk factors, except for the associated risks among those mothers who smoked. Umbilical cord blood and maternal peripheral venous blood were collected and an epigenome-wide association study was performed using a 450 K epigenome-wide scan (Illumina Infinium HumanMethylation 450BeadChip) with adjustment to normalize the DNA methylation for data cell variability in whole blood.[Results] The maternal plasmatic cotinine levels ranged from 10.70-115.40 ng/ml in the exposed group to 0-0.59 ng/ml in the non-exposed group. After adjusting for multiple comparisons in 427102 probes, statistically significant differences for 31 CpG sites, associated to 25 genes were observed. There was a greater than expected proportion of statistically-significant loci located in CpG islands (Fisher’s exact test, p = 0.029) and of those CpG islands, 90.3% exhibit higher methylation levels in the exposed group. The most striking and significant CpG site, cg05727225, is located in the chromosome 11p15.4, within the adrenomedullin gene.[Conclusions] In utero tobacco exposure, even in the absence of fetal growth restriction, may alter the epigenome, contributing to global DNA hypomethylation. Therefore, DNA status can be used as a biomarker of prenatal insults. Considering the possibility to reverse epigenetic modifications, a window of opportunity exists to change the programmed chronic disease.The study was partially funded by grant number PI11/00144, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Spain and CIBER Fisiopatología Obesidad y Nutrición (CB06/03), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Spain.Peer reviewe

Generation of a human control iPSC line with a European mitochondrial haplogroup U background

Human iPSC line N44SV.5 was generated from primary normal human dermal fibroblasts belonging to the European mitochondrial haplogroup U. For this purpose, reprogramming factors Oct3/4, Sox2, Klf4, and cMyc were delivered using a non-integrative methodology that involves the use of Sendai virus.This work was supported by grants from the “Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en enfermedades raras” (CIBERER) (grant 13-717/132.05 to RG), the “Instituto de Salud Carlos III” [Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria and Regional Development Fund (ERDF/FEDER) funds PI10/0703 and PI13/00556 to RG and PI15/00484 to MEG], “Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid” (grant number S2010/BMD-2402 to R.G); T.G. receives grant support from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, FPI-UAM and F.Z.D. from the Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte, grant number FPU13/00544. M.E.G. is staff scientist at the “Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Enfermedades Raras” (CIBERER

Generation of a human iPSC line from a patient with a mitochondrial encephalopathy due to mutations in the GFM1 gene

Human iPSC line GFM1SV.25 was generated from fibroblasts of a child with a severe mitochondrial encephalopathy associated with mutations in the GFM1 gene, encoding the mitochondrial translation elongation factor G1. Reprogramming factors OCT3/4, SOX2, CMYC and KLF4 were delivered using a non integrative methodology that involves the use of Sendai virus.This work was supported by grants from the “Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en enfermedades raras” (CIBERER) (Grant 13-717/132.05 to RG), the “Instituto de Salud Carlos III” [Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria and Regional development fund (ERDF/FEDER) funds PI10/0703 and PI13/00556 to RG and PI15/00484 to MEG], “Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid” (Grant number S2010/BMD-2402 to RG); TG receives grant support from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (FPI-UAM) and FZD from the Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte (Grant FPU13/00544). MEG is staff scientist at the “Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Enfermedades Raras” (CIBERER

Mecp2-null mice provide new neuronal targets for Rett syndrome

BACKGROUND: Rett syndrome (RTT) is a complex neurological disorder that is one of the most frequent causes of mental retardation in women. A great landmark in research in this field was the discovery of a relationship between the disease and the presence of mutations in the gene that codes for the methyl-CpG binding protein 2 (MeCP2). Currently, MeCP2 is thought to act as a transcriptional repressor that couples DNA methylation and transcriptional silencing. The present study aimed to identify new target genes regulated by Mecp2 in a mouse model of RTT. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We have compared the gene expression profiles of wild type (WT) and Mecp2-null (KO) mice in three regions of the brain (cortex, midbrain, and cerebellum) by using cDNA microarrays. The results obtained were confirmed by quantitative real-time PCR. Subsequent chromatin immunoprecipitation assays revealed seven direct target genes of Mecp2 bound in vivo (Fkbp5, Mobp, Plagl1, Ddc, Mllt2h, Eya2, and S100a9), and three overexpressed genes due to an indirect effect of a lack of Mecp2 (Irak1, Prodh and Dlk1). The regions bound by Mecp2 were always methylated, suggesting the involvement of the methyl-CpG binding domain of the protein in the mechanism of interaction. CONCLUSIONS: We identified new genes that are overexpressed in Mecp2-KO mice and are excellent candidate genes for involvement in various features of the neurological disease. Our results demonstrate new targets of MeCP2 and provide us with a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms of RTT

Single-cell derived clones from human adipose stem cells present different immunomodulatory properties

Human adipose mesenchymal stem cells are a heterogeneous population, where cell cultures derived from single cell-expanded clones present varying degrees of differential plasticity. This work focuses on the immunomodulatory/anti-inflammatory properties of these cells. To this end, 5 single cell clones were isolated (generally called 1.X and 3.X) from 2 volunteers. Regarding the expression level of the lineage-characteristic surface antigens, clones 1.10 and 1.22 expressed the lowest amounts, while clones 3.10 and 3.5 expressed more CD105 than the rest and clone 1.7 expressed higher amounts of CD73 and CD44. Regarding cytokine secretion, all clones were capable of spontaneously releasing high levels of IL-6 and low to moderate levels of IL-8. These differences can be explained in part by the distinct methylation profile exhibited by the clones. Furthermore and after lipopolysaccharide stimulation, clone 3.X produced the highest amounts of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-1β, while clones 1.10 and 1.22 highly expressed IL-4 and IL-5. In co-culture experiments, clones 1.X are altogether more potent inhibitors than clones 3.X for proliferation of total, CD3+T, CD4+T and CD8+T lymphocytes and NK cells. The results of this work indicates that adipose stem cell population is heterogeneous in cytokine production profile, and that isolation, characterization and selection of the appropriate cell clone is a more exact method for the possible treatment of different patients or pathologies.Instituto de Salud Carlos IIIFEDER (PS09/01093), Fundacion Salud 2000-Merck Serono, Generalitat Valenciana (PROMETEO/2012/007) and “Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición” CIBERobn (CB12/03/30038) to ER, and VALi+d (APOSTD/2012/021) from Generalitat Valenciana to MIA