Antioxidant capacity and toxicological evaluation of pterospartum tridentatum flower extracts

Pterospartum tridentatum Willk. (prickled broom) is an autochthonous plant, common in Portuguese territory. The yellow flowers are used in traditional medicine, as a potential cure for all body illnesses, mainly for throat irritation treatment or for diabetes, hypertension and hypercholesterolemia therapy.Despite its traditional use, no toxicological assessment has been performed as we know. A high antioxidant activity of P. tridentatum flower water extract was acessed in good agreement with its ESI-MS spectrum that revealed the presence of several flavonoids, as luteolin-O-(O-acetyl)-glucuronide, luteolin-O- glucuronide or isorhamnetin-O-hexoside. Mitocondrial respiratory rates (state 4, state 3 and FCCP-stimulated respiration) and respiratory indexes (respiratory control and P/O ratios) showed no consistent decrease of respiratory and phosphorylative efficiencies for the concentrations tested (up to 500 μg.mL-1). Cytotoxicity evaluation, using MTT assay, was reliable with the previous results. In conclusion, for the concentration range commonly used P. tridentatum flowers usage can be regarded as harmless and trustworthy

BCL11A interacts with SOX2 to control the expression of epigenetic regulators in lung squamous carcinoma.

Patients diagnosed with lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC) have limited targeted therapies. We report here the identification and characterisation of BCL11A, as a LUSC oncogene. Analysis of cancer genomics datasets revealed BCL11A to be upregulated in LUSC but not in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). Experimentally we demonstrate that non-physiological levels of BCL11A in vitro and in vivo promote squamous-like phenotypes, while its knockdown abolishes xenograft tumour formation. At the molecular level we found that BCL11A is transcriptionally regulated by SOX2 and is required for its oncogenic functions. Furthermore, we show that BCL11A and SOX2 regulate the expression of several transcription factors, including SETD8. We demonstrate that shRNA-mediated or pharmacological inhibition of SETD8 selectively inhibits LUSC growth. Collectively, our study indicates that BCL11A is integral to LUSC pathology and highlights the disruption of the BCL11A-SOX2 transcriptional programme as a novel candidate for drug development.Cancer Research UK (CRUK) - C47525/A1734

Characterisation of microbial attack on archaeological bone

As part of an EU funded project to investigate the factors influencing bone preservation in the archaeological record, more than 250 bones from 41 archaeological sites in five countries spanning four climatic regions were studied for diagenetic alteration. Sites were selected to cover a range of environmental conditions and archaeological contexts. Microscopic and physical (mercury intrusion porosimetry) analyses of these bones revealed that the majority (68%) had suffered microbial attack. Furthermore, significant differences were found between animal and human bone in both the state of preservation and the type of microbial attack present. These differences in preservation might result from differences in early taphonomy of the bones. © 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved

Risk Categorization Using New American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Guidelines for Cholesterol Management and Its Relation to Alirocumab Treatment Following Acute Coronary Syndromes

10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.119.042551CIRCULATION140191578-158

Alirocumab and cardiovascular outcomes after acute coronary syndrome

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