Association between COX-2 rs 6681231 Genotype and Interleukin-6 in Periodontal Connective Tissue. A Pilot Study

This study was partially undertaken at the UCL Eastman Dental Institute, which received a proportion of funding from the Department of Health’s National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centres funding scheme

Exosomes derived from mesenchymal stem cells enhance radiotherapy-induced cell death in tumor and metastatic tumor foci

We have recently shown that radiotherapy may not only be a successful local and regional treatment but, when combined with MSCs, may also be a novel systemic cancer therapy. This study aimed to investigate the role of exosomes derived from irradiated MSCs in the delay of tumor growth and metastasis after treatment with MSC + radiotherapy (RT). The tumor cell loss rates found after treatment with the combination of MSC and RT and for exclusive RT, were: 44.4% % and 12,1%, respectively. Concomitant and adjuvant use of RT and MSC, increased the mice surviving time 22,5% in this group, with regard to the group of mice treated with exclusive RT and in a 45,3% respect control group. Moreover, the number of metastatic foci found in the internal organs of the mice treated with MSC + RT was 60% less than the mice group treated with RT alone. We reasoned that the exosome secreted by the MSC, could be implicated in tumor growth delay and metastasis control after treatment. Our results show that exosomes derived form MSCs, combined with radiotherapy, are determinant in the enhancement of radiation effects observed in the control of metastatic spread of melanoma cells and suggest that exosome-derived factors could be involved in the bystander, and abscopal effects found after treatment of the tumors with RT plus MSC. Radiotherapy itself may not be systemic, although it might contribute to a systemic effect when used in combination with mesenchymal stem cells owing the ability of irradiated MSCs-derived exosomes to increase the control of tumor growth and metastasis.This work was supported by CNPq, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico – Brasil, Junta de Andalucía, project of Excellence from Junta de Andalucía P12-CTS-383 to FJO, Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness SAF2015-70520-R to FJO and JMRdA, RTICC RD12/0036/0026 and CIBER Cáncer ISCIII CB16/12/00421 to FJO

Image analysis application for automatic quantification of intramuscular connective tissue in meat

An image analysis application for the quantification of meat intramuscular connective tissue (IMCT) and fibre retraction is presented. This image analysis method was applied to microscopic images of Sirius red-stained tissue sections from various animal species (pig, cow, pigeon, and lamb), including different breeds of pig (Large White crossbreed and Iberian) and cow (Kobe and Rubia Gallega). Results obtained showed statistically significant differences among the species in area and percentage of IMCT, perimysium and fibre retraction in meat (p < 0.001, Kruskal-Wallis). Significant differences were also observed between the two breeds of pig in percentages of IMCT (4.00 ± 2.15 vs. 17.02 ± 14.99; p = 0.028, Mann-Whitney U test) and perimysium (22.59 ± 0.87 vs. 9.93 ± 4.95; p = 0.009, Mann-Whitney U test) in longissimus thoracis (LT). This original design software permits the accurate, objective, reliable, and fully reproducible quantification of IMCT and fibre retraction in meat

Antiproliferative effect of topic hyaluronic acid gel. Study in gingival biopsies of patients with periodontal disease

Hyaluronic acid (HA) is the most abundant glycosaminoglycan of high molecular weight in the extracellular matrix of soft periodontal tissues. Our group recently demonstrated an HA-induced reduction in lymphoplasmocyte inflammatory infiltrate in periodontal disease. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of an HA gel of high molecular weight on cell proliferation, inflammation, and different periodontal lesion parameters. A double-blind clinical trial was conducted on the effect of an HA gel on cell proliferation in gingival biopsies from 28 patients with periodontal disease. A split-mouth design was used, randomly applying the gel to one quadrant and a placebo to the contralateral one. A gingival biopsy was taken for histopathological and immunohistochemical study, in order to determine the expression of cell proliferation antigen Ki-67 and to evaluate the inflammatory infiltrate. HA gel treatment induced a significant reduction in the proliferation index of the gingival epithelium, with 276 (range 234-317) Ki-67-positive cells per mm2 in treated samples versus 514 (range 158-876) per mm2 in controls (Mann-Whitney U test, p<0.003). In 13 patients, the number of Ki-67-positive fibroblastic cells was reduced by the treatment, whereas in 6 patients no differences were found (global difference, p=0.12). In 10 patients, Ki-67-positive cells were decreased in chronic inflammatory infiltrate present in the lamina propria, whereas in 6 patients no differences were found (global difference, p=0.054). We conclude that high molecular-weight HA gel reduces cell proliferation in epithelial cells such as fibroblasts and lymphocytes, abates the inflammatory process, and improves the periodontal lesion in patients with chronic periodontitis

Detection of hepatitis B virus in the liver by in situ hybridization (ISH) in HBsAg seropositive and seronegative patients

The presence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA in the liver of 119 patients was studied to assess the diagnostic value of in situ hybridization (ISH) and its relationship with viral replication and histological liver damage. Liver biopsies of 119 patients (55 hepatitis B surface antigen -HBsAg- seropositive and 64 HBsAg seronegative) were studied retrospectively. Among the HBsAg seropositive patients, the ISH was positive in 26 cases (47%) and negative in 29 (53%) and the former group had higher levels of serum transaminases. The hepatocyte number with positivity for HBsAg and hepatitis B core antigen (HBcAg) in the liver were similar in both ISH-positive and -negative patients. The histological activity index (Knodell) was higher in ISHpositive patients (11 vs 7, p<0.001). Six patients out of 12 were positive by PCR. In the HBsAg seronegative patients, the ISH was negative in 57 cases and positive in 7. These 7 were positive for anti-HBs (5 cases) andlor anti-HBc (6 cases); 4 were confirmed by PCR. Thus, our data suggest that the ISH technique is useful for detecting viral nucleic acid in the liver, but that the HBV-DNA cannot always be considered as a replication marker, because we also show that some HBsAg seronegative patients with chronic liver disease do have HBV-DNA in their liver cells

Acute Myocardial Infarct Size Is Related to Periodontitis Extent and Severity

Curves of degree 6 in the complex projective space can be interpreted as surfaces. These sur-faces can have holes, how many holes a surface has is called its genus. This thesis will investigate exactly what genera these surfaces can have. First, an upper bound for the genus is found, which turns out to be 4. Then, examples of curves of each genera are found and we conclude that it is possible to construct sextic space curves of all genera up to 4.Kurvor av grad 6 i det komplexa projektiva rummet kan tolkas som ytor. Dessa ytor kan ha hål och hur många hål en yta har kallas för ytans genus. Denna uppsats undersöker exakt vilka genus som dessa ytor kan ha. Först bestäms en övre gräns för deras genus, denna övre begränsning visar sig vara 4. Sedan hittas exempel på kurvor för varje genus och vi drar slutsatsen att det är möjligt att skapa sjättegradsrymdkurvor av varje genus upp till och med 4