Ankrd2: a link between the sarcomere and the nucleus in skeletal muscle

Ankrd2 is an ankyrin repeat protein mainly expressed in skeletal muscle and heart and localized in the sarcomeric I-line, adjacent to the Z-line. Z-lines define the boundaries of each sarcomere, the contractile units of the myofibril and are composed by a highly intricate network of protein-protein interactions. Nowadays it has clearly emerged that several sarcomeric components are moving between this district and other subcellular compartments, such as the nucleus. Hence the sarcomere and in particular the Z-line are considered to be central nodes in which signals arrive and from which signals depart. Since Ankrd2 is detectable both in the sarcomere and in the nucleus, it is supposed to shuttle between these two compartments to transmit a still unknown signal. Moreover Ankrd2 expression increases after skeletal muscle stretch and during the myoblasts differentiation into multinucleated myotubes. Therefore it has been hypothesized an Ankrd2 involvement in hypertrophy or in myogenesis

Characterization of antibodies directed against the Ankrd2 human muscle protein

Protein Ankrd2 poseduje ankirinske ponovke, specifično se eksprimira u skeletnim mišićima i srcu i može biti lokalizovan i u jedru i u citoplazmi mišićne ćelije Pošto antitela na ovaj protein nisu komercijalno dostupna, u ovom radu je opisano generisanje i karakterizacija tri mišja poliklonska i jednog monoklonskog antitela dobijenih na ceo, kao i na amino-terminalni i karboksi-terminalni deo proteina. Korišćenjem rekombinantnih deletanata mapiran je epitop monoklonskog antitela veličine 10 aminokiselina (323-333 ak), a takođe je pokazano da poliklonska antitela na amino-terminalni i karboksiterminalni deo proteina specifično prepoznaju Ankrd2, a ne ankirinske ponovke koji su prisutni u velikom broju­proteina. Sva četiri antitela su visoko specifična za endogeni Ankrd2 koji se eksprimira u srcu i skeletnim mišićima.In order to study the function of the Ankrd2 protein, for which commercial antibodies are not available, we report the production and analysis of polyclonal antibodies to full-length Ankrd2 and its C-terminal and N-terminal regions, as well as a monoclonal antibody to the C-terminus of the protein. Epitope mapping making use of recombinant deletion mutants showed that an epitope located in region 323-333 aa of Ankrd2 is detected by the monoclonal antibody. The high specificity of all four anti-Ankrd2 antibodies for recombinant and endogenous Ankrd2 protein is also demon­strated

How could patient reported outcomes improve patient management in chronic myeloid leukemia?

Introduction: Patients reported outcome (PRO) are still under-used in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) treated with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), though data on the correlation between quality of life (QoL) and therapeutic efficacy are increasingly known. Chronic low-grade toxicities can reduce patient's QoL and negatively impact on adherence.Areas covered: This review will focus on the role of QoL questionnaires in patients with CML, receiving imatinib or newer TKIs (dasatinib, nilotinib, bosutinib, ponatinib). Physicians tend to underestimate the impact of TKI-related symptoms, in particular fatigue, that negatively affect QoL and can be a reason of poor adherence to therapy, with detrimental effect on long-term response. Few studies pointed out the role of PRO in CML, and there is paucity of questionnaires specifically designed for CML patients.Expert commentary: We recommend a wider use of PRO to join the pursuit of a rapid and deep responses with an optimization of QoL

Ecological Status of two Mountain Streams of the South of Córdoba, Argentina

Los métodos que diagnostican deterioro de ambientes fluviales a partir del análisis de componentes bióticos del ecosistema han recibido considerable atención en las últimas décadas. Con el objetivo de evaluar el estado ecológico de dos arroyos serranos que en tramos de piedemonte atraviesan comunas de interés turístico, se combinaron índices biológicos de calidad del agua y del bosque de ribera. En cada arroyo se seleccionaron dos estaciones de muestreo, una río arriba y otra río abajo de los sectores de recreación, y en cada una de ellas se registraron datos ambientales y se recolectó bentos en los principales hábitats fluviales, durante períodos de aguas altas y aguas bajas. Se calcularon índices métricos y el Índice Biótico Carcarañá (IBC), y se determinó la calidad de los ecosistemas ribereños mediante el índice de Calidad del Bosque de Ribera (QBR). Los resultados se integraron mediante una modificación del índice ECOSTRIMED para evaluar el estado ecológico del sistema. En ambos arroyos, las variables físicoquímicas no indicaron alteración de la calidad del agua, los índices métricos determinaron que la calidad varió entre "moderadamente deteriorada" y "poco deteriorada", mientras que el IBC reveló una calidad "ambiente no contaminado" en todas las situaciones de muestreo. El QBR indicó que el bosque de ribera presenta importantes alteraciones y degradación extrema en los tramos aledaños a las áreas de balnearios, mientras que en el resto el grado de alteración se tradujo en juicios de calidad aceptable y buena. Al combinarse los resultados de los índices métricos con los del QBR, en ambos arroyos se obtuvieron juicios de calidad que indicaron un estado ecológico "bueno" y "moderado" en los tramos situados río arriba de las áreas de recreación y "moderado" aguas abajo de las mismas. Los resultados confirman que, al menos desde una perspectiva biológica, la aplicación de un conjunto de métricos es la metodología más eficaz y económica para evaluar la calidad del agua ya que integran información derivada de diversos aspectos de la comunidad bentónica. En los ríos estudiados, los tramos más deteriorados son los cercanos a las áreas de recreación donde, si bien la calidad del agua presentó poco deterioro, el estado ecológico resultó alterado debido a la degradación o eliminación del bosque marginal.The development of methodology that allows us to assess the environmental deterioration of fluvial systems from the biotic components has been of high attention in the last time. With the aim to evaluate the ecological state of two mountains streams in sections that cross communes of tourist interest, indexes of water and riparian forest quality were combined. In each stream, two stations were selected, one downstream and the other upstream of the recreation areas. Environmental data were registered and benthos samples were collected in the main geomorphological units, during high and low water periods. Metric indexes and Índice Biótico Carcarañá (IBC) based on benthic macroinvertebrates were calculated, and the marginal forest quality was determined by the Riparian Quality Index (QBR). The results were integrated by a modification of index ECOSTRIMED to evaluate the ecological status of the fluvial system. In both streams, the physico-chemical variables showed normal values and the metric indexes determined that the water quality vary between "moderately deteriorated" and "little deteriorated", whereas the IBC revealed a "unpolluted environment" in all sampling situations. Application of QBR showed that the riparial forest with important alterations and extreme degradation were located close to urban areas, while in the other reaches the alteration degree was translated in judgments of acceptable and good quality. When combining the results of the metric indexes with those of the QBR, in both streams were obtained quality judgments that indicated "good" and "intermediate" ecological status in the stretches located upstream of urban areas and "intermediate" in the stretches downstream of recreation areas. The results of this study contribute to corroborate that, from a biological perspective; the application of a set of metric is the most efficient and economic methodology, to evaluate the quality of the water since they integrate information derived from diverse aspects of the benthonic community. Although in the studied streams the water didn't have very good biological quality, in urban reaches, the degradation or elimination of the marginal vegetation was the main determinant of the altered ecological quality.Fil: Gualdoni, Cristina Mabel. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Fisicoquímicas y Naturales. Departamento de Ciencias Naturales; ArgentinaFil: Duarte, Claudia Alejandra. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas; ArgentinaFil: Medeot, Erica Alejandra. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Fisicoquímicas y Naturales. Departamento de Ciencias Naturales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Hiponutrición perinatal y depresión: estudio de la reversión de las conductas depresivas facilitadas por la injuria nutricional temprana.

Tesina (Grado en Ciencias Biológicas)--Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Lugar de Trabajo: Departamento de Farmacología. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. U.N.C. 2017. 31 h.; grafs.; tabls. Contiene Referencia Bibliográfica.El objetivo del presente proyecto es estudiar la participación del factor neurotrófico BDNF en la facilitación de las conductas depresivas inducidas por el déficit nutricional temprano. El estudio de la reversión de la anhedonia y la depresión del humor facilitada por la malnutrición temprana luego del tratamiento crónico con desipramina. Evaluación de la reversión de la depresión del humor facilitada por la malnutrición temprana luego de la administración repetida del gangliosido GM1

Impact of standardization in tissue processing: the performance of different fixatives

Most tissues in clinical practice are formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded for histological as well as molecular analyses. The reproducibility and uniformity of molecular analyses is strictly dependent on the quality of the biomolecules, which is highly influenced by pre-analytical processes. In this study, the effect of different fixatives was compared, including formalin, Bouin's solution, RCL2® and TAG-1™ fixatives, by stringent application of ISO standards in mouse liver tissue processing, including formalin-free transport of tissues and tissue grossing in a refrigerated environment. The effect of fixatives was studied in terms of nucleic acid quality at the time of tissue processing and after one year of tissue storage at room temperature in the dark. Furthermore, a microcomputed tomography (CT) scan analysis was applied to investigate the paraffin embedding. The results show that the application of ISO standards in tissue processing allows analysis of 400 bases amplicons from RNA and 1000 bases from DNA, even in extracts from formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tissues. However, after one year storage at room temperature in the dark, a degradation of the nucleic acids was observed. Nevertheless, extracts can still be analyzed, but for metachronous tests it is highly recommended to repeat the quantitation of housekeeping genes in order to standardize the extent of nucleic acid degradation

Fengycins from Bacillus amyloliquefaciens MEP218 exhibit antibacterial activity by producing alterations on the cell surface of the pathogens Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. vesicatoria and Pseudomonas aeruginosa PA01

Bacillus amyloliquefaciens MEP218 is an autochthonous bacterial isolate with antibacterial and antifungal activities against a wide range of phytopathogenic microorganisms. Cyclic lipopeptides (CLP), particularly fengycins, produced by this bacterium; are the main antimicrobial compounds responsible for the growth inhibition of phytopathogens. In this work, the CLP fraction containing fengycins with antibacterial activity was characterized by LC-ESI-MS/MS. In addition, the antibacterial activity of these fengycins was evaluated on the pathogens Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. vesicatoria (Xav), a plant pathogen causing the bacterial spot disease, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa PA01, an opportunistic human pathogen. In vitro inhibition assays showed bactericidal effects on Xav and PA01. Atomic force microscopy images revealed dramatic alterations in the bacterial surface topography in response to fengycins exposure. Cell damage was evidenced by a decrease in bacterial cell heights and the loss of intracellular content measured by potassium efflux assays. Furthermore, the viability of MRC-5 human normal lung fibroblasts was not affected by the treatment with fengycins. This study shows in vivo evidence on the less-known properties of fengycins as antibacterial molecules and leaves open the possibility of using this CLP as a novel antibiotic.Fil: Medeot, Daniela Beatriz. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Fisicoquímicas y Naturales. Instituto de Biotecnología Ambiental y Salud - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Biotecnología Ambiental y Salud; ArgentinaFil: Fernandez, Maricruz. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Fisicoquímicas y Naturales. Departamento de Ciencias Naturales; ArgentinaFil: Morales, Gustavo Marcelo. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Fisicoquímicas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigaciones en Tecnologías Energéticas y Materiales Avanzados. - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigaciones en Tecnologías Energéticas y Materiales Avanzados; ArgentinaFil: Jofré, Edgardo. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Fisicoquímicas y Naturales. Instituto de Biotecnología Ambiental y Salud - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Biotecnología Ambiental y Salud; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Fisicoquímicas y Naturales. Departamento de Ciencias Naturales; Argentin

Parâmetros de reatividade de amostras de soro com resultados indeterminados por Western blot para anticorpos contra HIV-1 e HTLV I/II em Córdoba, Argentina

Serum samples (n: 110) from blood donors and high risk individuals from Cordoba, Argentina with indeterminate HIV-1 and HTLV-I/II Wb profiles were studied for specific antibodies to HTLV-I/II and HIV-1 by indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) and for the presence or absence of HIV-1 and HTLV-I/II specific bands by Wb. This study was carried out in order to characterize their putative reactions with HIV-1 and HTLV-I/II proteins and to resolve the retrovirus infection status of these individuals. Results indicated that blood donors sera displaying indeterminate HIV-1 or HTLV-I/II Wb patterns were not immunoreactive to HTLV-I/II and HIV-1 on IFA. However, a high rate of indeterminate HIV-1 and HTLV-I/II Wb samples from high risk individuals had positive HTLV-I/II and HIV-1 IFA results respectively. Our study supports the growing evidence that HTLV-HIV indeterminate seroreactivity in low risk population is due to a cross reaction against nonviral antigens, and in high risk populations the indeterminate samples show serological cross-recognition between HIV-1 proteins and HTLV-I/II proteins on Wb. These results point out the necessity to investigate the HTLV-I/II reactivity in indeterminate HIV-1 samples and viceversa in order to confirm the diagnosis. Finally, this study shows the potential usefulness of IFA in elucidating the status of HIV-1 and HTLV-I/II infection of individuals with indeterminate Wb profiles, thus enabling resolution of retrovirus infection status.Amostras de soro sangüíneo (n: 110) de indivíduos de comportamento de risco e doadores de sangue da cidade de Córdoba, na Argentina, com perfis de reactividade para HIV-1 e HTLV-I/II indeterminada por Western blot (Wb), foram estudadas para anticorpos específicos contra HTLV-I/II e HIV-1 por meio do Ensaio de Imunofluorescência Indireta (IFI). Este estudo foi realizado para caracterizar as reações putativas com proteínas HIV-1 e HTLV-I/II e resolver o estado da infecção por retrovírus destes indivíduos. Os resultados mostram que os soros dos doadores sangüíneos que apresentam padrões indeterminados para HTLV-I/II e HIV-1 no Wb não são reagentes contra HTLV-I/II e HIV-1 por IFI. Mas, um alto índice de amostras de individuos com alto risco com resultado indeterminado no Wb para HIV-1 e HTLV-I/II apresentaram resultados positivos para HTLV-I/II e HIV-1 por IFI, respectivamente. Nosso estudo sugere que a reatividade indeterminada para HTLV-HIV na população de baixo risco deve-se a uma reação cruzada contra antígenos não virais; e que na população de alto risco as amostras indeterminadas apresentam reação cruzada entre as proteínas HIV-1 e HTLV-I/II no Wb. Estes resultados indicam que se faz preciso pesquisar a reatividade de HTLV-I/II nas amostras indeterminadas de HIV-1 e vice-versa, para confirmar o diagnóstico. Por último, este trabalho mostra a utilidade potencial da IFI para determinar o estado de infecção HIV-1 e HTLV-I/II dos indivíduos com perfis indeterminados por Wb, permitindo assim, a resolução do estado real de infecção por retrovírus

Entre lápices, papeles, teclados y pantallas: prácticas de escritura en entornos virtuales

En este artículo, nos ocupamos del análisis de algunas dimensiones que favorecieron o condicionaron la práctica de escritura en el contexto de educación remota, en un Instituto Superior de Formación Docente, de una localidad de Córdoba, Argentina. Específicamente, nos interesó saber qué modificaciones o continuidades se produjeron en las significaciones que los actores escolares otorgaron a dicha práctica, a partir del 2020. Para ello recurrimos a un diseño exploratorio-interpretativo y cotejamos los resultados obtenidos con indagaciones que realizamos en investigaciones anteriores, en contexto de educación presencial. Abordamos el análisis desde una perspectiva transdisciplinaria, es decir, consideramos tanto las dimensiones pedagógicas, lingüístico-discursivas como las intersubjetivas implicadas en el acto de escribir. Nos ayudan a comprender este fenómeno autores del campo de la Lingüística como Cassany, Navarro y Revel Chion, Carlino, Ramos, quienes estudian la escritura desde una perspectiva procesual; y, del campo de la Filosofía y la Sociología, autores como Bourdieu, Berardi y Han. Como una primera aproximación analítica, en relación con la escritura, consideramos que los avances pedagógicos-didácticos que se venían sucediendo en los últimos años fueron interrumpidos a partir de la digitalización de las prácticas educativas. Esto es, se puso en suspenso la apertura sociocultural que venía cobrando fuerza en cuanto a su enseñanza y aprendizaje. Si bien se reconocen los beneficios y posibilidades de los medios y recursos virtuales, estos mismos entornos también pueden operar como barreras para que la experiencia académica pueda acontecer