Nanotecnología: ¿Revolución científico-tecnológica de pequeños riesgos?

La nanotecnología es un campo de las ciencias aplicadas dedicado al control y manipulación de la materia a nivel de átomos y moléculas, en un rango comprendido entre uno y cien nanómetros. Permite la creación de materiales, dispositivos y sistemas mediante el control de la materia a esa escala. En el campo de la Odontología se han desarrollado bio-sensores altamente especializados, que permitirían la identificación de enfermedades en la saliva. En un futuro cercano será clave su uso en el diagnóstico de enfermedades de alto impacto como el cáncer de mama, ovario y páncreas, enfermedad de Alzheimer, SIDA, diabetes y osteoporosis.Fil: Olmedo, Daniel Gustavo. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Odontología. Cátedra de Anatomía Patologica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Tasat, Deborah R.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Odontología; ArgentinaFil: Cabrini, Rómulo L.. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Odontología. Cátedra de Anatomía Patologica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Audebert, Fernando Enrique. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ingeniería. Departamento de Ingeniería Mecánica; ArgentinaFil: Guglielmotti, Maria Beatriz. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Odontología. Cátedra de Anatomía Patologica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

The Effect of Statins on Mortality in Septic Patients: a Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

OBJECTIVE: Statins are among the most prescribed drugs worldwide and their recently discovered anti-inflammatory effect seems to have an important role in inhibiting proinflammatory cytokine production, chemokines expression and counteracting the harmful effects of sepsis on the coagulation system. We decided to perform a meta-analysis of all randomized controlled trials ever published on statin therapy in septic patients to evaluate their effect on survival and length of hospital stay. DATA SOURCES AND STUDY SELECTION: Articles were assessed by four trained investigators, with divergences resolved by consensus. BioMedCentral, PubMed, Embase and the Cochrane Central Register of clinical trials were searched for pertinent studies. Inclusion criteria were random allocation to treatment and comparison of statins versus any comparator in septic patients. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: Data from 650 patients in 5 randomized controlled studies were analyzed. No difference in mortality between patients receiving statins versus control (44/322 [14%] in the statins group vs 50/328 [15%] in the control arm, RR = 0.90 [95% CI 0.65 to 1.26], p = 0.6) was observed. No differences in hospital stay (p = 0.7) were found. CONCLUSIONS: Published data show that statin therapy has no effect on mortality in the overall population of adult septic patients. Scientific evidence on statins role in septic patients is still limited and larger randomized trials should be performed on this topic

Studies for the application of boron neutron capture therapy to the treatment of differentiated thyroid cancer

The aim of these studies was to evaluate the possibility of treating differentiated thyroid cancer by BNCT. These carcinomas are well controlled with surgery followed by therapy with 131I; however, some patients do not respond to this treatment. BPA uptake was analyzed both in vitro and in nude mice implanted with cell lines of differentiated thyroid carcinoma. The boron intracellular concentration in the different cell lines and the biodistribution studies showed the selectivity of the BPA uptake by this kind of tumor.Fil: Dagrosa, María Alejandra. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica; ArgentinaFil: Carpano, Marina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica; ArgentinaFil: Perona, Marina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Thomasz, Lisa. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica; ArgentinaFil: Nievas, S.. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica; ArgentinaFil: Cabrini, R.. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica; ArgentinaFil: Juvenal, Guillermo Juan. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica; ArgentinaFil: Pisarev, Mario Alberto. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Hyperpigmentant activity of leaves and flowers extracts of Pyrostegia venusta on murine B16F10 melanoma

AbstractEthnopharmacological relevancePyrostegia venusta is a native Brazilian plant which has a variety of uses in traditional folk medicine including the treatment of vitiligo. However, its effectiveness on melanogenesis is not yet elucidated.Aim of the studyThis study aimed to investigate the melanogenic activity of hydroalcoholic extracts from the leaves and flowers of P. venusta on murine B16F10 melanoma cells.Materials and methodsDifferent concentrations of the hydroalcoholic extracts of flowers and leaves of P. venusta were evaluated in trials of spontaneous melanin content (4 days), and cell viability by the MTT assay in murine B16F10 cells, and in the mushroom tyrosinase activity in vitro.ResultsBoth extracts, leaves (0.1; 0.3; 1 and 3μg/mL) and flowers (0.03 and 0.1μg/mL) increased the melanin content in a concentration dependent manner after 4 days of incubation on melanoma cells. Leaves extract promoted enhancement of melanogenesis with maximum effect of 33.3±3% (3μg/mL), and the flower extract increased in 23.4±3% (0.1μg/mL). The cell viability test using MTT showed that in the same tested concentrations of both extracts no cell death was detected. Actually, either extract was not able to cause any change in the tyrosinase activity. HPLC analysis of P. venusta extracts found 0.09% and 1.08% of allantoin on leaves and flowers extracts, respectively.ConclusionsThe leaves and flowers extracts of P. venusta stimulates B16F10 melanogenesis at very low concentrations. These findings support the folk medicinal use of P. venusta on the treatment of hypopigmentation diseases, such as vitiligo

Plasmonic lenses for ultrafast electron nanoemission

We show the capability of plasmonic lenses for next-generation ultrafast electron sources. Using electromagnetic simulations, we design structures capable of femtosecond, nanoscale electron pulses. Plasmonic properties of template-stripped gold prototypes are characterized using cathodoluminescence spectromicroscopy

Unravelling the role of sphingolipids in cystic fibrosis lung disease.

Abstract Cystic fibrosis (CF), one of the most common lethal hereditary diseases of white European populations, is caused by loss-of-function mutations in the CF Transmembrane conductance Regulator (CFTR) gene. One of the main causes of mortality is the onset of CF lung disease, which is characterized by chronic infection and inflammation resulting in the progressive remodelling, irreversible damage and fibrosis of the airways. An increasing number of studies indicate that sphingolipids are crucial players in pulmonary manifestations of CF, even if their direct involvement in CF lung disease is still unclear. In this review, we give an overview of the role of sphingolipids in CF pulmonary disease, focusing on the relationship between glycosphingolipids and lung inflammation, which represents the main hallmark of this disease

A peptide-nucleic acid targeting miR-335-5p enhances expression of cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene with the possible involvement of the CFTR scaffolding protein NHERF1

(1) Background: Up-regulation of the Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator gene (CFTR) might be of great relevance for the development of therapeutic protocols for cystic fibrosis (CF). MicroRNAs are deeply involved in the regulation of CFTR and scaffolding proteins (such as NHERF1, NHERF2 and Ezrin). (2) Methods: Content of miRNAs and mRNAs was analyzed by RT-qPCR, while the CFTR and NHERF1 production was analyzed by Western blotting. (3) Results: The results here described show that the CFTR scaffolding protein NHERF1 can be upregulated in bronchial epithelial Calu-3 cells by a peptide-nucleic acid (PNA) targeting miR-335-5p, predicted to bind to the 3′-UTR sequence of the NHERF1 mRNA. Treatment of Calu-3 cells with this PNA (R8-PNA-a335) causes also up-regulation of CFTR. (4) Conclusions: We propose miR-335-5p targeting as a strategy to increase CFTR. While the efficiency of PNA-based targeting of miR-3355p should be verified as a therapeutic strategy in CF caused by stop-codon mutation of the CFTR gene, this approach might give appreciable results in CF cells carrying other mutations impairing the processing or stability of CFTR protein, supporting its application in personalized therapy for precision medicine