9 research outputs found

    Epidermal growth factor enhances osteogenic differentiation of dental pulp stem cells in vitro

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    Introduction: Epidermal growth factor (EGF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) play an important role in extracellular matrix mineralization, a complex process required for proper bone regeneration, one of the biggest challenges in dentistry. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the osteogenic potential of EGF and bFGF on dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs). Material and methods: Human DPSCs were isolated using CD105 magnetic microbeads and characterized by flow cytometry. To induce osteoblast differentiation, the cells were cultured in osteogenic medium supplemented with EGF or bFGF at a low concentration. Cell morphology and expression of CD146 and CD10 surface markers were analyzed using fluorescence microscopy. To measure mineralization, an alizarin red S assay was performed and typical markers of osteoblastic phenotype were evaluated by RT-PCR. Results: EGF treatment induced morphological changes and suppression of CD146 and CD10 markers. Additionally, the cells were capable of producing calcium deposits and increasing the mRNA expression to alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and osteocalcin (OCN) in relation to control groups (p < 0.001). However, bFGF treatment showed an inhibitory effect. Conclusion: These data suggests that DPSCs in combination with EGF could be an effective stem cell-based therapy for bone tissue engineering applications in periodontics and oral implantology

    The NER-related gene GTF2H5 predicts survival in high-grade serous ovarian cancer patients

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    We aimed to evaluate the prognostic and predictive value of the nucleotide excision repair-related gene GTF2H5, which is localized at the 6q24.2-26 deletion previously reported by our group to predict longer survival of high-grade serous ovarian cancer patients. In order to test if protein levels of GTF2H5 are associated with patients' outcome, we performed GTF2H5 immunohistochemical staining in 139 high-grade serous ovarian carcinomas included in tissue microarrays. Upon stratification of cases into high- and low-GTF2H5 staining categories (> and ≤ median staining, respectively) Kaplan-Meier and log-rank test were used to estimate patients' survival and assess statistical differences. We also evaluated the association of GTF2H5 with survival at the transcriptional level by using the on-line Kaplan-Meier plotter tool, which includes gene expression and survival data of 855 high-grade serous ovarian cancer patients from 13 different datasets. Finally, we determined whether stable short hairpin RNA-mediated GTF2H5 downregulation modulates cisplatin sensitivity in the SKOV3 and COV504 cell lines by using cytotoxicity assays. Low expression of GTF2H5 was associated with longer 5-year survival of patients at the protein (hazard ratio [HR], 0.52; 95% CI, 0.29 to 0.93; p=0.024) and transcriptional level (HR, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.65 to 0.97; p=0.023) in high-grade serous ovarian cancer patients. We confirmed the association with 5-year overall survival (HR, 0.55; 95% CI, 0.38 to 0.78; p=0.0007) and also found an association with progression-free survival (HR, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.54 to 0.96; p=0.026) in a homogenous group of 388 high-stage (stages III-IV using the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics staging system), optimally debulked high-grade serous ovarian cancer patients. GTF2H5- silencing induced a decrease of the half maximal inhibitory concentration upon cisplatin treatment in GTF2H5 -silenced ovarian cancer cells. Low levels of GTF2H5 are associated with enhanced prognosis in high-grade serous ovarian cancer patients and may contribute to cisplatin sensitization

    The effect of coral reef degradation on the trophic structure of reef fishes from Bahía Culebra, north Pacific coast of Costa Rica

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    Fishes play numerous key ecological roles that are critical for maintaining the structure and function of coral reefs. Natural and anthropogenic disturbances can produce structural changes in coral reef habitats, which consequently may affect the trophic structure and dynamics of reef fish assemblages. Therefore, changes in the coral cover of coral reefs, caused by disturbance events can impact the abundance of reef fishes. This study determined the effect of habitat degradation on the trophic structure of coral reef fishes from Bahía Culebra, a bay located in the north Pacific of Costa Rica. We examined whether spatial and temporal changes in live coral cover (LCC) and substrate type between two periods (1995–1996 and 2014–2016) influenced the trophic structure of coral reef fishes. While planktivorous fishes maintained similar abundances between periods, omnivorous fishes (mainly facultative corallivores) were less abundant in sites with low LCC. There was a decline in abundance of mesopredators (e.g. sharks, groupers, snappers), probably because of both shelter loss and overfishing. Macroalgae feeders, herbivores-detritivores and invertivores showed high abundance in disturbed coral reefs, which could be related to predator decline or to increased algal resource abundance. Despite high abundance of herbivorous fishes, high macroalgae coverage persisted during the 2014–2016 period. The results from this study suggest that degradation of coral reef habitats from Bahía Culebra have affected the trophic structure of reef fish assemblages, and potentially the functioning of this coastal ecosystem.UCR::Vicerrectoría de Investigación::Unidades de Investigación::Ciencias Básicas::Centro de Investigación en Ciencias del Mar y Limnología (CIMAR

    The NER-related gene GTF2H5 predicts survival in high-grade serous ovarian cancer patients

    No full text
    We aimed to evaluate the prognostic and predictive value of the nucleotide excision repair-related gene GTF2H5, which is localized at the 6q24.2-26 deletion previously reported by our group to predict longer survival of high-grade serous ovarian cancer patients. In order to test if protein levels of GTF2H5 are associated with patients' outcome, we performed GTF2H5 immunohistochemical staining in 139 high-grade serous ovarian carcinomas included in tissue microarrays. Upon stratification of cases into high- and low-GTF2H5 staining categories (> and ≤ median staining, respectively) Kaplan-Meier and log-rank test were used to estimate patients' survival and assess statistical differences. We also evaluated the association of GTF2H5 with survival at the transcriptional level by using the on-line Kaplan-Meier plotter tool, which includes gene expression and survival data of 855 high-grade serous ovarian cancer patients from 13 different datasets. Finally, we determined whether stable short hairpin RNA-mediated GTF2H5 downregulation modulates cisplatin sensitivity in the SKOV3 and COV504 cell lines by using cytotoxicity assays. Low expression of GTF2H5 was associated with longer 5-year survival of patients at the protein (hazard ratio [HR], 0.52; 95% CI, 0.29 to 0.93; p=0.024) and transcriptional level (HR, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.65 to 0.97; p=0.023) in high-grade serous ovarian cancer patients. We confirmed the association with 5-year overall survival (HR, 0.55; 95% CI, 0.38 to 0.78; p=0.0007) and also found an association with progression-free survival (HR, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.54 to 0.96; p=0.026) in a homogenous group of 388 high-stage (stages III-IV using the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics staging system), optimally debulked high-grade serous ovarian cancer patients. GTF2H5- silencing induced a decrease of the half maximal inhibitory concentration upon cisplatin treatment in GTF2H5 -silenced ovarian cancer cells. Low levels of GTF2H5 are associated with enhanced prognosis in high-grade serous ovarian cancer patients and may contribute to cisplatin sensitization

    Libro de Resúmenes de las Jornadassobre el EEES de la Facultad de Biología

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    Las Jornadas sobre la Adaptación al EEES en la Facultad de Biología forman parte de las actividades del Proyecto de Innovación Educativa de la Facultad de Biología "Iniciativas para la integración en el EEES", y pretenden difundir las experiencias desarrolladas en el marco de la Convergencia con el Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior a lo largo de estos últimos cinco años. Las Jornadas están abiertas a toda la comunidad universitaria que este interesada en conocer nuestras iniciativas, pero muy expecialmente a la relacionada con la Facultad de Biologí
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