Cellular vaccines in listeriosis: role of the Listeria antigen GAPDH

The use of live Listeria-based vaccines carries serious difficulties when administrated to immunocompromised individuals. However, cellular carriers have the advantage of inducing multivalent innate immunity as well as cell-mediated immune responses, constituting novel and secure vaccine strategies in listeriosis. Here, we compare the protective efficacy of dendritic cells (DCs) and macrophages and their safety. We examined the immune response of these vaccine vectors using two Listeria antigens, listeriolysin O (LLO) and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate-dehydrogenase (GAPDH), and several epitopes such as the LLO peptides, LLO189-201 and LLO91-99 and the GAPDH peptide, GAPDH1-22. We discarded macrophages as safe vaccine vectors because they show anti-Listeria protection but also high cytotoxicity. DCs loaded with GAPDH1-22 peptide conferred higher protection and security against listeriosis than the widely explored LLO91-99 peptide. Anti-Listeria protection was related to the changes in DC maturation caused by these epitopes, with high production of interleukin-12 as well as significant levels of other Th1 cytokines such as monocyte chemotactic protein-1, tumor necrosis factor-α, and interferon-γ, and with the induction of GAPDH1-22-specific CD4(+) and CD8(+) immune responses. This is believed to be the first study to explore the use of a novel GAPDH antigen as a potential DC-based vaccine candidate for listeriosis, whose efficiency appears to highlight the relevance of vaccine designs containing multiple CD4(+) and CD8(+) epitopes

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Contribución de los mecanismos oxidativos intracelulares al procesamiento antigénico

Tesis doctoral inédita leída en la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Facultad de Ciencias, Departamento de Biología Molecular. Fecha de lectura: 12-07-199

Presentación antigénica en un modelo experimental (ratones NOD) de diabetes autoinmune tipo I

Presentación antigénica en un modelo experimental (ratones NOD) de diabetes autoinmune tipo I

Advisors

COMPUTADORE

Time of leaving work pregnancy results during COVID-19 pandemic. The MOACC-19 cohort from Spain

Background COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way pregnancies have been controlled as well as working conditions. In countries with paid leave of work, leaving earlier has been a relevant measure for controlling the pandemic. No study has been published on factors associated with earlier leaving work in pregnancy and the consequences it could have on pregnancy outcomes. Objective We aimed to identify woman and pregnancy characteristics associated with leaving work earlier and its consequences on pregnancy results. Method: A cohort study was carried out in Cantabria, Northern Spain, including 760 women who were pregnant in 2020 and were working at the beginning of their pregnancy. Data on pregnancy characteristics and results were obtained from medical records and gestational age at leaving work was self-reported. In a logistic regression analysis, leaving work before 26th week of pregnancy was the main effect variable. Results Several factors were associated with lower probability of leaving work before 26th week, including university studies (OR=0.49, 95% CI: 0.36, 0.68), having presential work (OR=0.57, 95% CI: 0.40, 0.81), women born in nonEuropean countries (OR=0.55, 95% CI: 0.30, 1.01) and non-smokers (OR for smokers=1.79, 95% CI: 1.12, 2.87). Neither type of delivery, gestational age at delivery nor other pregnancy results were associated with the gestational age of leaving work. Conclusion Several pregnancy and women characteristics were associated with leaving work earlier in the COVID-19 pandemic, although it was not associated with any pregnancy outcome.Funding: This study was funded by the Spanish Instituto de Salud Carlos III and the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER) (grant COV20/00171, RETICs SAMID reference RD16/0022/0001 and RICORS reference RD21/0012/0016). Acknowledgements: The authors acknowledge the cooperation of nursing staff at the maternity ward and Pediatric Emergency Department, Hospital Universitario Marqués de Valdecilla, Santander, Spain

Proyecto piloto. Elaboración de mapas de sostenibilidad, contenidos transversales básicos en sostenibilidad e instrumentos para la sostenibilización curricular en la Facultad de Economía y Empresa.

La Facultad de Economía y Empresa de la Universidad de Murcia reconoce la importancia de la sostenibilización curricular y de las transformaciones que esta implica en prácticamente todos los ámbitos de la educación. Por tanto, la Facultad quiere iniciar un proceso de cambio hacia una educación orientada a los principios del desarrollo humano sostenible en todos los grados del centro. El propósito del proyecto es introducir de forma progresiva la sostenibilización curricular en los planes de estudios de las titulaciones de la Facultad de Economía y Empresa, empezando por el grado en Economía, a partir de la adaptación de las actuales competencias generales del grado a los principios de sostenibilidad. Persigue los siguientes objetivos: i) Definir el mapa de sostenibilidad de la titulación seleccionada; ii) Asociar los resultados de aprendizaje de las competencias con los ODS; iii) Identificar y elaborar contenidos básicos en sostenibilidad para cada una de las dimensiones usadas en el mapa de sostenibilidad: económica, social, ambiental y holística; y, iv) Diagnosticar el estado de las necesidades formativas en sostenibilidad en el profesorado y elaborar y ensayar propuestas de capacitación