A Brief Analysis of Tissue-Resident NK Cells in Pregnancy and Endometrial Diseases: The Importance of Pharmacologic Modulation

NK cells are lymphocytes involved in the innate and adaptative immune response. These cells are located in peripheral blood and tissues with ample functions, from immune vigilant to tolerogenic reactions. In the endometrium, NK cell populations vary depending on age, hormones, and inflammation. When pregnancy occurs, tissue-resident NK cells and conventional NK cells are recruited to protect the fetus, a tolerogenic response. On the contrary, in the inflamed endometrium, various inflammatory cells down-regulate NK tolerance and impair embryo implantation. Therefore, NK cells’ pharmacological modulation is difficult to achieve. Several strategies have been used, from progesterone, lipid emulsions to steroids; the success has not been as expected. However, new therapeutic approaches have been proposed to decrease the endometrial inflammatory burden and increase pregnancy success based on understanding NK cell physiology

PREVALENCIA DE LA ALERGIA Y DE LA SENSIBILIZACIÓN AL LÁTEX EN EL ESTUDIANTE DE POSTGRADO DE LA FACULTAD DE ODONTOLOGÍA DE LA UCV

La exposición ocupacional al látex incrementa el riesgo de sensibilización al mismo en los profesionales de la salud. El objetivo de este estudio ha sido establecer la prevalencia de la alergia y de la sensibilización al látex en una población conformada por los estudiantes de postgrado de la Facultad de Odontología de la UCV e identificar los posibles factores de riesgo. Pacientes y métodos: Se realizó un cuestionario sobre actividad laboral y antecedentes de síntomas y reacciones alérgicas. También se diagnosticó la hipersensibilidad tipo I mediante la prueba cutánea por técnica de "prick test" como prueba in vivo y un método ELISA utilizando el ENEASystem III como prueba in vitro. Resultados: Estas dos pruebas diagnósticas arrojaron un total de un 32% (27) participantes con hipersensibilidad tipo I al látex. Referente a los factores considerados como de riesgo, 33% (9) de estos pacientes sensibilizados tenían antecedentes familiares de alergia; 44% (12) reportaron antecedentes personales de alergia y 59% (16) habían sido sometidos a intervenciones quirúrgicas. Del total de los individuos sensibilizados al látex 56% (15) manifestaron síntomas respiratorios o cutáneos al entrar en el área odontológica. Conclusiones: En este estudio se encontró una elevada prevalencia de hipersensibilidad tipo I al látex (32%) en los estudiantes de postgrado de la Facultad de Odontología de la UCV, siendo necesario, a futuro, aclarar si esta tendencia se mantiene en un grupo mas heterogéneo (odontólogos y su personal auxiliar). Abstract Occupational exposure increases the risk of latex sensitization in health professionals. The aim of this study was to establish the prevalence of allergy and latex sensitization in graduate students of the Faculty of Dentistry of the Universidad Central de Venezuela and to identify possible risk factors. Patients and methods: We conducted a questionnaire on work activity, history of symptoms and allergic reactions. We diagnosed type I hypersensitivity by skin test as evidence in vivo and an ELISA using ENEASystem III as evidence in vitro. Results: 32% (27) participants were diagnosed with type I hypersensitivity to latex, 33% (9) of sensited participants had family history of allergy, 44% (12) reported a history of allergy and 59% (16) had undergone surgery. Of all patients sensitized to latex 56% (15) reported respiratory symptoms or skin to enter the dental area. Conclusions: This study found a high prevalence of type I hypersensitivity to latex (32%) in students of the Faculty of Dentistry, in future, need to clarify whether this trend continues in a more heterogeneous group (dentists and their staff)

Estudio del sistema fibrinolítico en pacientes con abortos o fallos recurrentes de reproducción asistida

Evaluar el proceso hemostático en mujeres con abortos recurrentes o fallos recurrentes de reproducción asistida por causas desconocidas, mediante el tiempo de tromboplastina parcial activado y la formación y disolución de la red de fibrina. Se seleccionaron 20 pacientes y 20 controles. Se les determinó el tiempo de tromboplastina parcial activado y la concentración de fibrinógeno por método gravimétrico. La cinética de formación de la malla de fibrina fue estudiada en plasma pobre en plaquetas. Se empleó la técnica de lisis de euglobulina para el estudio del proceso de disolución de la malla de fibrina. El tiempo de tromboplastina parcial activado del grupo de pacientes fue de 27,3 ± 3,4 segundos y el de los controles 28,6 ± 1,7 segundos, sin diferencia estadística (rango normal de 25 - 45 segundos). La concentración del fibrinógeno fue: 2,8 ± 0,5 mg/mL en los pacientes y 3,0 ± 0,6 mg/mL en los controles. En general, la cinética de formación de la malla de fibrina de las pacientes fue similar a la de los controles. El tiempo de lisis de euglobulina de las pacientes fue aproximadamente un 22 % más prolongado con respecto al grupo control (487 ± 203 min vs. 404 ± 241 min, respectivamente), aunque esta diferencia no fue estadísticamente significativa. En este grupo de pacientes no se encontraron alteraciones significativas en los parámetros evaluados que pudieran explicar las pérdidas recurrentes o los fallos de reproducción asistida.To evaluate the hemostatic process in women with recurrent abortions or recurrent failures of assisted reproductive technology due to unknown causes, by means of activated partial thromboplastin time, and the formation and dissolution of the fibrin network. A total of 20 patients and 20 controls were selected. The activated partial thromboplastin time was measured and fibrinogen concentration was determined by gravimetric method. The kinetic of fibrin formation was studied in platelet poor plasma. The euglobulin lysis technique was used to study the dissolution process of the fibrin network. The activated partial thromboplastin time of patients was 27.3 ± 3.4 seconds, and 28.6 - 1.7 seconds in controls, without statistical significance (normal range of 25 - 45 seconds). The concentration of fibrinogen was:2.8 ± 0.5 mg / mL in patients and 3.0 ± 0.6 mg / mL in controls. In general, the kinetic of patients fibrin formation were similar to those of controls. The patients euglobulin lysis time was approximately 22% higher compared to the control group (487 ± 203 min vs. 404 ± 241 min, respectively), although this difference was not statistically significant. In this group of patients no significant alterations were found in the parameters studied that could explain the recurrent losses or failures of assisted reproductive technology

BancTrad : un banco de corpus anotados con interfaz web

BancTrad es un proyecto que proporciona, vía web, acceso a corpus alineados. Lo novedoso del proyecto es la integración de herramientas de PLN, explotación de corpus e interacción cliente/servidor (CGI).BancTrad has the goal of creating a web interface to aligned corpora. The novelty of BancTrad is the integration of a few pre-existing tools: morphosyntactic parsers, corpus exploitation tools and client/server communication tools (CGIs)

Overview of Memory NK Cells in Viral Infections: Possible Role in SARS-CoV-2 Infection

NK cells have usually been defined as cells of the innate immune system, although they are also involved in adaptative responses. These cells belong to the innate lymphocyte cells (ILC) family. They remove unwanted cells, tumoral cells and pathogens. NK cells are essential for viral infection clearance and are involved in tolerogenic responses depending on the dynamic balance of the repertoire of activating and inhibitory receptors. NK plasticity is crucial for tissue function and vigilant immune responses. They directly eliminate virus-infected cells by recognising viral protein antigens using a non-MHC dependent mechanism, recognising viral glycan structures and antigens by NCR family receptors, inducing apoptosis by Fas-Fas ligand interaction, and killing cells by antibody-dependent cell cytotoxicity via the FcγIII receptor. Activating receptors are responsible for the clearance of virally infected cells, while inhibitory KIR receptor activation impairs NK responses and facilitates virus escape. Effective NK memory cells have been described and characterised by a low NKG2A and high NKG2C or NKG2D expression. NK cells have also been used in cell therapy. In SARS-CoV-2 infection, several contradicting reports about the role of NK cells have been published. A careful analysis of the current data and possible implications will be discussed

Overview of Memory NK Cells in Viral Infections: Possible Role in SARS-CoV-2 Infection

NK cells have usually been defined as cells of the innate immune system, although they are also involved in adaptative responses. These cells belong to the innate lymphocyte cells (ILC) family. They remove unwanted cells, tumoral cells and pathogens. NK cells are essential for viral infection clearance and are involved in tolerogenic responses depending on the dynamic balance of the repertoire of activating and inhibitory receptors. NK plasticity is crucial for tissue function and vigilant immune responses. They directly eliminate virus-infected cells by recognising viral protein antigens using a non-MHC dependent mechanism, recognising viral glycan structures and antigens by NCR family receptors, inducing apoptosis by Fas-Fas ligand interaction, and killing cells by antibody-dependent cell cytotoxicity via the FcγIII receptor. Activating receptors are responsible for the clearance of virally infected cells, while inhibitory KIR receptor activation impairs NK responses and facilitates virus escape. Effective NK memory cells have been described and characterised by a low NKG2A and high NKG2C or NKG2D expression. NK cells have also been used in cell therapy. In SARS-CoV-2 infection, several contradicting reports about the role of NK cells have been published. A careful analysis of the current data and possible implications will be discussed