Two-Sided Antibacterial Cellulose Combining Probiotics and Silver Nanoparticles

This work was funded by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacion y Universidades (MICIU) (projects FEDER PID2019-111461GB-I00 and Ramon y Cajal RYC-2016-21042). L.S. acknowledges the Spanish MICIU for the predoctoral contract within the FPU program (FPU16/01360).The constant increase of antibiotic-resistant bacteria demands the design of novel antibiotic-free materials. The combination of antibacterials in a biocompatible biomaterial is a very promising strategy to treat infections caused by a broader spectrum of resistant pathogens. Here, we combined two antibacterials, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and living probiotics (Lactobacillus fermentum, Lf), using bacterial cellulose (BC) as scaffold. By controlling the loading of each antibacterial at opposite BC sides, we obtained a two-sided biomaterial (AgNP-BC-Lf) with a high density of alive and metabolically active probiotics on one surface and AgNPs on the opposite one, being probiotics well preserved from the killer effect of AgNPs. The resulting two-sided biomaterial was characterized by Field-Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) and Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy (CLSM). The antibacterial capacity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA), an opportunistic pathogen responsible for a broad range of skin infections, was also assessed by agar diffusion tests in pathogen-favorable media. Results showed an enhanced activity against PA when both antibacterials were combined into BC (AgNP-BC-Lf) with respect to BC containing only one of the antibacterials, BC-Lf or AgNP-BC. Therefore, AgNP-BC-Lf is an antibiotic-free biomaterial that can be useful for the therapy of topical bacterial infections.Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacion y Universidades (MICIU) (project FEDER) PID2019-111461GB-I00Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacion y Universidades (MICIU) (Project Ramon y Cajal) RYC-2016-21042Spanish MICIU FPU16/0136

Electrochromic polyoxometalate material as a sensor of bacterial activity

L. fermentum, a bacterium of human microbiota, acts as an electron donor to the electrochromic [P2MoVI18O62]6. Since, the reductive capacity of L. fermentum correlates with its metabolic activity, the reaction with [P2MoVI18O62]6- affords a means of evaluating its activity. Following this logic, we have concluded that vancomycin severely affects the activity of L. fermentum whereas omeprazole does not.FQM368 Bionanopartículas Metálicas (BioNanomet)Departamento de Química InorgánicaThis work was funded by MINECO and FEDER (project CTQ2012-32236

Insights on the (Auto)Photocatalysis of Ferritin

Traditionally, ferritin has been considered a photocatalyst capable of photo-oxidizing organic molecules and transferring electrons to external electron acceptors when irradiated by UV–visible light. We have designed new approaches to resolve the uncertainties regarding its photocatalytical mechanism. Experiments with an Fe(II) chelator, an electrochromic indicator, and recombinant ferritin proteins indicate that the excited electrons at the conduction band of the ferritin core do not cross the protein shell. Instead, irradiation causes the electrons to reduce the ferrihydrite core to produce Fe(II) ions. These Fe(II) ions exit the protein shell to reduce electron acceptors. In the absence of electron acceptors or chelators, Fe(II) re-enters ferritin.This work was funded by MINECO and FEDER (CTQ2015-64538). N.S. would like to acknowledge funding from the U.S. Student Fulbright Scholarship

Magneto-optical hyperthermia agents based on probiotic bacteria loaded with magnetic and gold nanoparticles

This work was funded by the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (MCIU), the Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI) and Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) through the projects PID2019- 111461GB-I00 to N.G. and J.M.DV, and PGC2018-096016-B-I00 to LG.). S.T. and J.J.C. acknowledge funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under Grant 823717−ESTEEM3. A.G. acknowledges Junta de Andalucía for the postdoctoral contract within the PAIDI 2020 program (DOC_00791). Y.FA. thanks Santander-Universidad Zaragoza Fellowship program for her PhD position. J.M.D.L. acknowledges the financial support by the Spanish MCIN/AEI /10.13039/501100011033 through the project NanoSmart (RYC-2016-21042)Probiotic bacteria were used as carriers of metallic nanoparticles to develop innovative oral agents for hyperthermia cancer therapy. Two synthetic strategies were used to produce the different therapeutic agents. First, the probiotic bacterium Lactobacillus fermentum was simultaneously loaded with magnetic (MNPs) and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) of different morphologies to produce AuNP+MNP-bacteria systems with both types of nanoparticles arranged in the same layer of bacterial exopolysaccharides (EPS). In the second approach, the probiotic was first loaded with AuNP to form AuNP-bacteria and subsequently loaded with MNP-EPS to yield AuNP-bacteria-EPS-MNP with the MNP and AuNP arranged in two different EPS layers. This second strategy has never been reported and exploits the presence of EPS–EPS recognition which allows the layer-by-layer formation of structures on the bacteria external wall. The AuNP+MNP-bacteria and AuNP-bacteria-EPS-MNP samples were characterized by scanning (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and UV-vis spectroscopy. The potential of these two heterobimetallic systems as magnetic hyperthermia or photothermal therapy agents was assessed, validating their capacity to produce heat either during exposure to an alternating magnetic field or a near-infrared laser light. The probiotic Lactobacillus fermentum has already been proposed as an oral drug carrier, able to overcome the stomach medium and deliver drugs to the intestines, and it is actually marketed as an oral supplement to reinforce the gut microbiota, thus, our results open the way for the development of novel therapeutic strategies using these new heterobimetallic AuNP/MNP-bacteria systems in the frame of gastric diseases, using them, for example, as oral agents for cancer treatment with magnetic hyperthermia and photothermal therapy.Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (MCIU), the Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI) and Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) through the project PID2019- 111461GB-I00Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (MCIU), the Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI) and Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) through the project PGC2018-096016-B-I00European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under Grant 823717−ESTEEM3PAIDI 2020 program (DOC_00791)Spanish MCIN/AEI /10.13039/501100011033 through the project NanoSmart (RYC-2016-21042

Artificial Magnetic Bacteria: Living Magnets at Room Temperature

"This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Martín Marcos, M.A.; et al. Artificial Magnetic Bacteria: Living Magnets at Room Temperature. Advanced Functional Materials, 24(23): 3489-3493 (2014), which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/adfm.201303754 . This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving."Biogenic magnetite is a fascinating example of how nature can generate functional magnetic nanostructures. Inspired by the magnetic bacteria, an attempt is made to mimic their magnetic properties, rather than their structures, to create living magnets at room temperature. The non-magnetic probiotic bacteria Lactobacillus fermentum and Bifidobacteria breve are used as bioplatforms to densely arrange superparamagnetic nanoparticles on their external surfaces, thus obtaining the artificial magnetic bacteria. Magnetic probiotic bacteria can be produced by using superparamagnetic maghemite nanoparticles assembled at their surfaces. They present a collective ferromagnetic phase at room temperature. The blocking temperature of these maghemite nanoparticles increases more than 100 K when assembled at the artificial magnetic bacteria.This work was funded by Biosearch S. A. (POSTBIO project-Agency for Innovation and Development of Andalucia IDEA) and by MINECO and FEDER (project CTQ2012–32236)

Colon cancer therapy with calcium phosphate nanoparticles loading bioactive compounds from Euphorbia lathyris: In vitro and in vivo assay

Amorphous calcium phosphate nanoparticles (ACP NPs) exhibit excellent biocompatibility and biodegradability properties. ACP NPs were functionalized with two coumarin compounds (esculetin and euphorbetin) extracted from Euphorbia lathyris seeds (BC-ACP NPs) showing high loading capacity (0.03% and 0.34% (w/w) for esculetin and euphorbetin, respectively) and adsorption efficiency (2.6% and 33.5%, respectively). BC-ACP NPs, no toxic to human blood cells, showed a more selective cytotoxicity against colorectal cancer (CRC) cells (T-84 cells) (IC50, 71.42 μg/ml) compared to non-tumor (CCD18) cells (IC50, 420.77 μg/ml). Both, the inhibition of carbonic anhydrase and autophagic cell death appeared to be involved in their action mechanism. Interestingly, in vivo treatment with BC-ACPs NPs using two different models of CRC induction showed a significant reduction in tumor volume (62%) and a significant decrease in the number and size of polyps. A poor development of tumor vasculature and invasion of normal tissue were also observed. Moreover, treatment increased the bacterial population of Akkermansia by restoring antioxidant systems in the colonic mucosa of mice. These results show a promising pathway to design innovative and more efficient therapies against CRC based on biomimetic calcium phosphate NPs loaded with natural products.Spanish GovernmentEuropean Commission PTQ-17-09172 RTC-2017-6540-1 RTI2018-100934-B-I00 RTC2019-006870-1 RYC2016-21042Junta de Andalucia FEDER program P18-TP-1420 A-CTS666-UGR20 B-CTS-122-UGR20 P18-HO-3882 P18-TP-0969Andalusian Government AGR145 FQM-368 CTS-10

Metal-dependent Glycosylation in Recombinant Metallothioneins

Researchers from Barcelona and Granada want to acknowledge the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación and FEDER for the projects BIO2015-67358-C2-2-P (M.C. and Ò.P.), PID2021-123258NB-I00 (R.A.) and PID2019-111461GB-I00 (J.M.D.V). This study was co-financed by a cooperation grant to R.D. from the Austrian Science Fund (DACH grant No I 3032-B21). M.C. and Ò.P. are members of the “Grup de Recerca de la Generalitat de Catalunya”, ref. 2017SGR-864, and R.A. of ref. 2017SGR-1665. M.G.-R. acknowledges to the UAB the PIF grant. A.G. acknowledges Junta de Andalucía for the postdoctoral contract within the PAIDI 2020 program (DOC_00791). We thank the Servei d’Anàlisi Química (SAQ) at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ICP-AES, ESI-MS) for allocating instrument time. R.D. and V.P.-M. are members of the Center of Molecular Biosciences of the University of Innsbruck.We show for the first time glycosylation of recombinant metallothioneins (MTs) produced in E. coli. Interestingly, our results show that the glycosylation level of the recombinant MTs is inversely proportional to the degree of protein structuration, and reflects their different metal preferences.Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e InnovaciónFEDER: BIO2015-67358-C2-2-P, PID2021-123258NB-I00, PID2019-111461GB-I00Austrian Science Fund I 3032-B21Generalitat de Catalunya 2017SGR-864, 2017SGR-1665Junta de Andalucía PAIDI 2020 program (DOC_00791)Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ICP-AES, ESI-MS)University of Innsbruc

Direct oral anticoagulants in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and atrial fibrillation.

Background: Chronic anticoagulation with vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) is recommended in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) and atrial fibrillation (AF). Direct oral anticoagulants (NOACs) are an alternative to VKAs but there are limited data to support their use in HCM. We sought to describe the pattern of use, thromboembolic events, bleeding and quality of life in patients with HCM and AF treated with NOACs. Methods: Data from patients treated with NOACs (n=99) and VKA (n=433) at 9 inherited cardiac diseases units were retrospectively collected. Annual rates of embolic events, serious bleeding and death were analysed and compared. Quality of life and treatment satisfaction were evaluated with SF-36 and SAFUCA questionnaires in 80 NOAC-treated and 57 VKA-treated patients. Results: After median follow-up of 63 months (IQR:26–109), thromboembolic events (TIA/stroke and peripheral embolism) occurred in 10% of patients on oral anticoagulation. Major/clinically relevant bleeding occurred in 3.8% and the global mortality rate was 23.3%. Thromboembolic event rate was 0.62 per 100 patient-years in the NOAC group vs. 1.59 in the VKA group [subhazard ratio (SHR) 0.32;95%CI:0.04– 2.45;p=0.27]. Major/clinically relevant bleeding occurred in 0.62 per 100 person-years in the NOAC group vs. 0.60 in the VKA group (SHR 1.28;95%CI 0.18–9.30;p=0.85). Quality of life scores were similar in both groups; however, NOAC-treated patients achieved higher scores in the SAFUCA. Conclusions: HCM patients with AF on NOACs showed similar embolic and bleeding rates to those on VKA. Although quality of life was similar in both groups, the NOAC group reported higher treatment satisfaction.pre-print929 K

Dossier y guía de autoayuda para la mejora del malestar docente

Este trabajo tiene como objetivo dar una panorámica sobre el burnout en el ámbito docente y aportar herramientas para la prevención y afrontamiento de situaciones de estres laboral del profesorado, así como el desarrollo de altos niveles de resieliencia, todo desde un enfoque multidisciplinar.127 p

Hemorragia anteparto asociada a placenta succenturiata. Reporte de un caso.

Introduction: placenta succenturiata is a morphological abnormality of the placenta that can result in significant morbidity and mortality for both the fetus and the mother. Aim to describe a clinical case of antepartum hemorrhage associated with placenta succenturiata. Materials and methods: a retrospective descriptive study, clinical case presentation, informed consent of the patient to have access to the clinical history and use of images corresponding to the present investigation. Clinical case: the case of a pregnant woman of 33 weeks, who enters the emergency area, with hemorrhage of the third trimester, was observed in the ultrasound, presence of a lobe that reaches the level of the internal cervical orifice, being confused with placenta previa, patient was stable and under observation, with continuous fetal monitoring, until complete lung maturation was obtained, later I present pain and bleeding before delivery so it was operated surgically by cesarean operation where the presence of succenturiado lobe in the placenta is confirmed. Both developments were favourable. Discussion: The present article demonstrates, a rare variety of placental malformation that causes multiple complications and belongs to the differential of other pathologies that cause third trimester bleeding, being associated with placenta previa, so, we must keep in mind the placenta succenturiata as a cause of bleeding in the third trimester, also take into account that in the postpartum period is cause of retention of a placental portion and can cause bleeding or infection. Conclusions: The placenta succenturiata is an abnormality of rare presentation, which is part of the differential diagnosis of haemorrhages before delivery and must be diagnosed in the prenatal period, so that prenatal control and care of the birth can be performed properly, in addition to giving guidance to the patient and her family. Caesarean delivery is recommended in these cases, with surgical approach and type of incision of choice, according to comorbidities and clinical status of the patient.Introducción: La placenta succenturiata es una anomalía morfológica de la placenta que puede resultar en morbilidad y mortalidad significativas tanto para el feto como para la madre. Objetivo: describir un caso clínico de hemorragia anteparto asociado a placenta succenturiata.   Materiales y métodos: se realizó un estudio descriptivo retrospectivo, presentación de caso clínico, se obtuvo consentimiento informado  de  paciente para tener acceso a la historia clínica y uso de imágenes correspondientes a la presente investigación. Caso clínico:  se presenta el caso de una gestante de 33 semanas, que ingresa al area de emergencias, con hemorragia del tercer trimestre, en la ecografía se observó,  presencia de un  lóbulo que alcanza el  nivel del orificio cervical interno, confundiéndose con placenta previa,  paciente se encontraba  estable y en observación, con monitorización fetal continua,  hasta obtener maduración pulmonar completa, posteriormente presento dolor y sangrado ante parto por lo que fue intervenida quirúrgicamente mediante operación cesárea donde se constata la presencia de lóbulo succenturiado en placenta. La evolución de ambos fue favorable. Discusión: El presente artículo demuestra,  una rara variedad de malformación placentaria que provoca múltiples complicaciones y pertenece al diferencial de otras patologías que provocan hemorragia del tercer trimestre, pudiendo estar asociadas con placenta previa, por lo que,  hay que tener presente la placenta succenturiata como una causa de hemorragia del tercer trimestre, además tener en consideración que en el periodo postparto  es causa de retención de una porción placentaria y  puede ocasionar hemorragia o infección. Conclusiones: La placenta succenturiata es una anomalía de rara presentación, que forma parte del diagnóstico diferencial de las hemorragias ante parto y que debe ser diagnosticada en el periodo prenatal, para poder así, realizar un control prenatal y atención del parto de forma adecuada, además de dar una orientación a la paciente y su familia. Se recomienda en estos casos el parto por cesárea, con abordaje quirúrgico y tipo de incisión a elección, de acuerdo a comorbilidades y estado clínico de paciente