Identification of metabolic indicators for cardiovascular risk in schoolchildren

Objective. CardioVascular Disease (CVD) is one of the most important causes of death worldwide affecting people at younger ages every year. The purpose of this study was to identify the metabolic indicators for cardiovascular risk factors in primary school students from Mexico and Colombia. Methods. A clinical, prospective, cross-sectional and comparative study was conducted in Mexico and Colombia to contrast anthropometric measurements, biochemical and dietetic determinations and physical activity. Results. The Waist-Hip Ratio (WHR) and the Waist-to-Height Ratio (WtHR) showed significant differences (p≤0.001) between Mexico and Colombia (0.8 ± 0.1 versus 0.5 ± 0.1) and (0.4 ± 0.06 vs. 0.78 ± 0.04) respectively. The Automatic Linear Modeling showed that the main predictors for cholesterol levels were WtHR, MonoUnsaturated Fatty Acids (MUFA) and lipids ingestion. For glucose there were four main predictors: WHR, carbohydrates, MUFA and Saturated Fatty Acids (SFA). For triglycerides the pedictors were Products of Animal Origin (PAO), BMI, waist circumference, lipids and cholesterol ingestion and Mean Arterial Pressure (MAP). The Weight Estimation tests weighted per gender showed that for glucose levels the main determinants were carbohydrates, MUFA and oils; for cholesterol these were MUFA, PUFA and oils; and for LDL the significant variables were proteins, SFA, PAO and sugars; and last, for triglycerides the main variables were BMI, cholesterol and vegetables. Conclusions. Mexico has higher values in almost all items of cardiovascular risk in children, but both countries have significant percentages of obesity and the population free of cardiovascular risk is minimal.This work was funded by the Grant 1040/2014RIFC of the UAEMex

MetastamiRs: Non-Coding MicroRNAs Driving Cancer Invasion and Metastasis

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs of ~22 nucleotides that function as negative regulators of gene expression by either inhibiting translation or inducing deadenylation-dependent degradation of target transcripts. Notably, deregulation of miRNAs expression is associated with the initiation and progression of human cancers where they act as oncogenes or tumor suppressors contributing to tumorigenesis. Abnormal miRNA expression may provide potential diagnostic and prognostic tumor biomarkers and new therapeutic targets in cancer. Recently, several miRNAs have been shown to initiate invasion and metastasis by targeting multiple proteins that are major players in these cellular events, thus they have been denominated as metastamiRs. Here, we present a review of the current knowledge of miRNAs in cancer with a special focus on metastamiRs. In addition we discuss their potential use as novel specific markers for cancer progression

Human Papillomavirus (HPV), minireview and collateral expected benefits of the vaccine.

Cervical neoplasia is the second leading cause of neoplastic death in Latin America. It is generally accepted that all cervical carcinomas have at least one high risk Human Papillomavirus (HPV). Due to the causal relationship of specific HPV types and cervical cancer and its role as precursor of skin lesions it is important to identify the involved genotype. HPV, as other tumor-viruses, induces oncogenesis by manipulating an array of different cellular pathways, which leads to immortalization and proliferation of the infected cells by disrupting the mitotic checkpoint upon infection of the host cell. Actually the role of the immune response in the development of cervical cancer is unknown as is the relationship between the type and level of expression of messenger RNA (mRNA) of interferon gamma (IFN-γ), transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-β1) and interleukin (IL)-4 in the cervical microenvironment within each of the stages of carcinogenesis with the HPV genotype causing the infection. An average annual cost to treat cervical cancer is U.S. $10,283 per patient. Taking into account the World Population Prospects: The 2010 Revision, in ten years the accumulated cases of cervical cancer might be 3,286,534, thus making a total budget of U.S.$ 33,795.4 million to treat all women. Universal vaccination against HPV might result in extended benefits as the decrease in mouth and oropharynx cancers as well as the reduction in health cost for the attendance of several neoplasias

Transcriptional profile of the homologous recombination machinery and characterization of the EhRAD51 recombinase in response to DNA damage in Entamoeba histolytica

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells, homologous recombination is an accurate mechanism to generate genetic diversity, and it is also used to repair DNA double strand-breaks. <it>RAD52 </it>epistasis group genes involved in recombinational DNA repair, including <it>mre11, rad50, nsb1/xrs2, rad51, rad51c/rad57, rad51b/rad55, rad51d, xrcc2, xrcc3, rad52, rad54, rad54b/rdh54 </it>and <it>rad59 </it>genes, have been studied in human and yeast cells. Notably, the RAD51 recombinase catalyses strand transfer between a broken DNA and its undamaged homologous strand, to allow damaged region repair. In protozoan parasites, homologous recombination generating antigenic variation and genomic rearrangements is responsible for virulence variation and drug resistance. However, in <it>Entamoeba histolytica </it>the protozoan parasite responsible for human amoebiasis, DNA repair and homologous recombination mechanisms are still unknown.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In this paper, we initiated the study of the mechanism for DNA repair by homologous recombination in the primitive eukaryote <it>E. histolytica </it>using UV-C (150 J/m²) irradiated trophozoites. DNA double strand-breaks were evidenced in irradiated cells by TUNEL and comet assays and evaluation of the EhH2AX histone phosphorylation status. In <it>E. histolytica </it>genome, we identified genes homologous to yeast and human RAD52 epistasis group genes involved in DNA double strand-breaks repair by homologous recombination. Interestingly, the <it>E. histolytica </it>RAD52 epistasis group related genes were differentially expressed before and after UV-C treatment. Next, we focused on the characterization of the putative recombinase EhRAD51, which conserves the typical architecture of RECA/RAD51 proteins. Specific antibodies immunodetected EhRAD51 protein in both nuclear and cytoplasmic compartments. Moreover, after DNA damage, EhRAD51 was located as typical nuclear <it>foci</it>-like structures in <it>E. histolytica </it>trophozoites. Purified recombinant EhRAD51 exhibited DNA binding and pairing activities and exchanging reactions between homologous strands <it>in vitro</it>.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p><it>E. histolytica </it>genome contains most of the RAD52 epistasis group related genes, which were differentially expressed when DNA double strand-breaks were induced by UV-C irradiation. In response to DNA damage, EhRAD51 protein is overexpressed and relocalized in nuclear <it>foci</it>-like structures. Functional assays confirmed that EhRAD51 is a <it>bonafide </it>recombinase. These data provided the first insights about the potential roles of the <it>E. histolytica </it>RAD52 epistasis group genes and EhRAD51 protein function in DNA damage response of this ancient eukaryotic parasite.</p

Pathema: a clade-specific bioinformatics resource center for pathogen research

Pathema (http://pathema.jcvi.org) is one of the eight Bioinformatics Resource Centers (BRCs) funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) designed to serve as a core resource for the bio-defense and infectious disease research community. Pathema strives to support basic research and accelerate scientific progress for understanding, detecting, diagnosing and treating an established set of six target NIAID Category A–C pathogens: Category A priority pathogens; Bacillus anthracis and Clostridium botulinum, and Category B priority pathogens; Burkholderia mallei, Burkholderia pseudomallei, Clostridium perfringens and Entamoeba histolytica. Each target pathogen is represented in one of four distinct clade-specific Pathema web resources and underlying databases developed to target the specific data and analysis needs of each scientific community. All publicly available complete genome projects of phylogenetically related organisms are also represented, providing a comprehensive collection of organisms for comparative analyses. Pathema facilitates the scientific exploration of genomic and related data through its integration with web-based analysis tools, customized to obtain, display, and compute results relevant to ongoing pathogen research. Pathema serves the bio-defense and infectious disease research community by disseminating data resulting from pathogen genome sequencing projects and providing access to the results of inter-genomic comparisons for these organisms

Extreme genomic erosion after recurrent demographic bottlenecks in the highly endangered Iberian lynx

Background: Genomic studies of endangered species provide insights into their evolution and demographic history, reveal patterns of genomic erosion that might limit their viability, and offer tools for their effective conservation. The Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus) is the most endangered felid and a unique example of a species on the brink of extinction. Results: We generate the first annotated draft of the Iberian lynx genome and carry out genome-based analyses of lynx demography, evolution, and population genetics. We identify a series of severe population bottlenecks in the history of the Iberian lynx that predate its known demographic decline during the 20th century and have greatly impacted its genome evolution. We observe drastically reduced rates of weak-to-strong substitutions associated with GC-biased gene conversion and increased rates of fixation of transposable elements. We also find multiple signatures of genetic erosion in the two remnant Iberian lynx populations, including a high frequency of potentially deleterious variants and substitutions, as well as the lowest genome-wide genetic diversity reported so far in any species. Conclusions: The genomic features observed in the Iberian lynx genome may hamper short- and long-term viability through reduced fitness and adaptive potential. The knowledge and resources developed in this study will boost the research on felid evolution and conservation genomics and will benefit the ongoing conservation and management of this emblematic species

Targets of the Entamoeba histolytica Transcription Factor URE3-BP

The Entamoeba histolytica transcription factor Upstream Regulatory Element 3-Binding Protein (URE3-BP) is a calcium-responsive regulator of two E. histolytica virulence genes, hgl5 and fdx1. URE3-BP was previously identified by a yeast one-hybrid screen of E. histolytica proteins capable of binding to the sequence TATTCTATT (Upstream Regulatory Element 3 (URE3)) in the promoter regions of hgl5 and fdx1. In this work, precise definition of the consensus URE3 element was performed by electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSA) using base-substituted oligonucleotides, and the consensus motif validated using episomal reporter constructs. Transcriptome profiling of a strain induced to produce a dominant-positive URE3-BP was then used to identify additional genes regulated by URE3-BP. Fifty modulated transcripts were identified, and of these the EMSA defined motif T[atg]T[tc][cg]T[at][tgc][tg] was found in over half of the promoters (54% p<0.0001). Fifteen of the URE3-BP regulated genes were potential membrane proteins, suggesting that one function of URE3-BP is to remodel the surface of E. histolytica in response to a calcium signal. Induction of URE3-BP leads to an increase in tranwell migration, suggesting a possible role in the regulation of cellular motility

Navigating the Patent Minefield Through Consortia

Technology consortia play an increasingly important role in the way new technology products are being developed and brought to market. High technology companies increasingly face situations in which developing new products often involves navigating around dozens or even hundreds of different patents owned by several companies. As a result, innovation is frequently prone to litigation. In addition to making it more costly, the looming threat of lawsuits increases strategic complexity and market uncertainty