The effects of advanced maternal age on T- cell subsets at the maternal- fetal interface prior to term labor and in the offspring: a mouse study

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/155904/1/cei13437.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/155904/2/cei13437_am.pd

Amniotic fluid neutrophils can phagocytize bacteria: A mechanism for microbial killing in the amniotic cavity

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/138926/1/aji12723_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/138926/2/aji12723.pd

Combinatorial gene therapy renders increased survival in cirrhotic rats

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Liver fibrosis ranks as the second cause of death in México's productive-age population. This pathology is characterized by acummulation of fibrillar proteins in hepatic parenchyma causing synthetic and metabolic disfunction. Remotion of excessive fibrous proteins might result in benefit for subjects increasing survival index. The goal of this work was to find whether the already known therapeutical effect of human urokinase Plasminogen Activator and human Matrix Metalloprotease 8 extends survival index in cirrhotic animals.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Wistar rats (80 g) underwent chronic intoxication with CCl₄: mineral oil for 8 weeks. Cirrhotic animals were injected with a combined dose of Ad-delta-huPA plus Ad-MMP8 (3 × 10¹¹and 1.5 × 10¹¹vp/Kg, respectively) or with Ad-beta-Gal (4.5 × 10¹¹) and were killed after 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 days. Then, liver and serum were collected. An additional set of cirrhotic animals injected with combined gene therapy was also monitored for their probability of survival.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Only the cirrhotic animals treated with therapeutical genes (Ad-delta-huPA+Ad-MMP-8) showed improvement in liver fibrosis. These results correlated with hydroxyproline determinations. A significant decrement in alpha-SMA and TGF-beta1 gene expression was also observed. Cirrhotic rats treated with Ad-delta-huPA plus Ad-MMP8 had a higher probability of survival at 60 days with respect to Ad-beta-Gal-injected animals.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>A single administration of Ad-delta-huPA plus Ad-MMP-8 is efficient to induce fibrosis regression and increase survival in experimental liver fibrosis.</p

Inflammasome assembly in the chorioamniotic membranes during spontaneous labor at term

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/137494/1/aji12648.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/137494/2/aji12648_am.pd

Are B cells altered in the decidua of women with preterm or term labor?

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/149277/1/aji13102_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/149277/2/aji13102.pd

A tidally induced global corrugation pattern in an external disk galaxy similar to the milky way

We study the two-dimensional (2D) line-of-sight velocity (Vlos) field of the low-inclination, late-type galaxy VV304a. The resulting 2D kinematic map reveals a global, coherent, and extended perturbation that is likely associated with a recent interaction with the massive companion VV304b. We use multiband imaging and a suite of test-particle simulations to quantify the plausible strength of in-plane flows due to nonaxisymmetric perturbations and show that the observed velocity flows are much too large to be driven either by a spiral structure or by a bar. We use fully cosmological hydrodynamical simulations to characterize the contribution from in- and off-plane velocity flows to the Vlos field of recently interacting galaxy pairs like the VV304 system. We show that, for recently perturbed low-inclination galactic disks, the structure of the residual velocity field, after subtraction of an axisymmetric rotation model, can be dominated by vertical flows. Our results indicate that the Vlos perturbations in VV304a are consistent with a corrugation pattern. Its Vlos map suggests the presence of a structure similar to the Monoceros ring seen in the Milky Way. Our study highlights the possibility of addressing important questions regarding the nature and origin of vertical perturbations by measuring the line-of-sight velocities in low-inclination nearby galaxies

In Vitro Murine Lymphoma L5178y-R Cells Growth Inhibition By Endophytic Fungi Isolated From Lophocereus Marginatus

Background: Chemotherapy is one of the main treatments to fight cancer. However, about 90% of failures in this procedure are due to the invasion and metastasis of drug-resistant cancer cells. Therefore, the search for new drugs has become critical in oncology. Endophytic fungi, as important sources of bioactive compounds, represent an alternative for the isolation, characterization, and development of new pharmacological treatments for cancer control. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the cytotoxic activity of liquid culture extracts of endophytic fungi isolated from Lophocereus marginatus against murine lymphoma L5178Y-R cells. Methods: Endophytic fungi obtained from L. marginatus stems were isolated and morphologically characterized. Aqueous, methanolic, and ethyl acetate extracts were obtained from fungal liquid cultures. To evaluate the anticancer activity, we used tumor L5178Y-R cells and control peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Extracts were evaluated at 250 and 25 µg/mL and 250 µg/mL, using the 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazoliumbromide) colorimetric reduction assay to determine cytotoxicity. Vincristine and 1% DMSO were used as positive and negative controls, respectively. The IC50 value and selectivity index (SI) were determined only for the extracts that presented the highest antitumor activity. These isolates were molecularly identified from sequencing of the spacer region of the ribosomal DNA internal transcript (ITS). A metabolite production curve was performed with selected isolates to determine the time of the highest antitumor activity. Results: Ten endophytic fungi from L. marginatus were isolated and morphologically characterized. Results showed that aqueous extracts presented lower lymphoma cells growth inhibition (\u3c 50%) at the highest concentration evaluated (250 µg/mL), as compared with ethyl acetate and methanolic extracts, which showed up to 93.4% and 94.3% cells growth inhibition, respectively. Ten extracts with \u3e 80% tumor cells growth inhibition were selected and evaluated at 250 µg/mL on PBMCs viability. Extracts showing less than 50% cytotoxicity to PBMCs were selected and IC50 and IS were determined. Strain PME-H005 presented the highest toxicity against L5178Y-R cells and the highest SI with IC50 of 39.7 µg/mL and IS \u3e 6.2, as compared with PBMCs. Four isolates that showed the highest antitumor activity were molecularly identified, corresponding to the species Penicillium citrinum, Aspergillus versicolor, Metarhizium anisopliae, and Cladosporium sp. When performing the metabolite production curve, it was observed that only A. versicolor PME-H005 and M. anisopliae PME-H007 strains retained antitumor activity, where the ethyl acetate extracts showed the highest activity with IC50 values of 23.2 µg/ mL (28 d) for the PME-H005 strain and 2.7 µg/mL (21 d) for PME-H007. Conclusions: A. versicolor PME-H005 and M. anisopliae PME-H007 strains extracts showed significant antitumor activity against L5178Y-R lymphoma cells. Further research is required to characterize bioactive compounds responsible for this activity