Germinabilidad y metabolismo antioxidante en semillas de Passiflora caerulea L. expuestas a estrés salino

P. caerulea es la especie Passiflora con más amplia distribución en Argentina. Si bien es necesario implementar prácticas de cultivo para disminuir el impacto debido a su extracción indiscriminada, la información sobre cómo los factores ambientales afectan la germinabilidad de sus semillas es escasa. A fin de evaluar la germinabilidad y el rol del metabolismo antioxidante frente al estrés salino, semillas frescas se germinaron en presencia de 0 (control), 30, 60 o 90 mM NaCl. Se evaluó el porcentaje de germinación, el contenido de proteínas solubles y carboniladas, la actividad de enzimas antioxidantes y la generación de especies reactivas de oxígeno tanto en la fase pre-germinativa como durante la germinación. La remoción del arilo y del tegumento micropilar después de 3 h de imbibición, indujo una rápida germinación y activación de las enzimas catalasa, glutatión S-transferasa y peroxidasas, junto con un aumento y una disminución en la generación de O2 - y H2 O2 , respectivamente, en el ápice radical. Si bien la germinabilidad y la actividad de algunas de las enzimas estudiadas disminuyeron con el incremento de NaCl, al comparar poblaciones con porcentajes de germinación similares de los tratamientos control y 90 mM NaCl, se observó una marcada inducción de la actividad peroxidasa en estas últimas. La proporción de proteínas carboniladas no difirió entre tratamientos, lo que sugiere que, a pesar de que esta especie no puede considerarse como halo-tolerante, la prevención de daño oxidativo al proteoma puede constituir un mecanismo importante para facilitar su establecimiento en ambientes con moderado estrés salino.P. caerulea is the Passiflora species with the widest distribution in Argentina. Despite the need to cultivate it to decrease the extraction impact on its natural populations, the information on how environmental factors affect seed germinability is scarce. In order to evaluate the greminative response and the role of the antioxidant metabolism against saline stress, freshly collected seeds were germinated at 26° C in the presence of 0 (control), 30, 60 or 90 mM NaCl. The percentage of germination, the content of soluble and carbonylated proteins, the activity of antioxidant enzymes and the generation of reactive oxygen species both in the pre-germination phase and during germination were evaluated. The removal of the aryl and the micropylar integument after 3 h imbibition proved to induce a rapid germination and activation of the enzymes catalase, glutathione S-transferase and peroxidases, together with an increase and a decrease in the generation of O2 - and H2 O2 , respectively, at the root apex. Even though the germination and activity of some of the studied enzymes decreased with the increase in external NaCl levels, when comparing populations of the control and 90 mM NaCl treatments having similar germination percentages, a marked induction of peroxidase activity was observed in the latter group. The proportion of carbonylated proteins did not differ among treatments, which suggests that, despite this species cannot be considered as halo-tolerant, the fact that the antioxidant metabolism efficiently contributed to prevent oxidative damage to the proteome may constitute an important mechanism to facilitate its establishment in environments with moderate salinity.Fil: Chaín, José María. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental y Aplicada. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental y Aplicada; ArgentinaFil: Causin, Humberto Fabio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental y Aplicada. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental y Aplicada; Argentin

Predictive validity of the CriSTAL tool for short-term mortality in older people presenting at Emergency Departments: a prospective study

© 2018, The Author(s). Abstract: To determine the validity of the Australian clinical prediction tool Criteria for Screening and Triaging to Appropriate aLternative care (CRISTAL) based on objective clinical criteria to accurately identify risk of death within 3 months of admission among older patients. Methods: Prospective study of ≥ 65 year-olds presenting at emergency departments in five Australian (Aus) and four Danish (DK) hospitals. Logistic regression analysis was used to model factors for death prediction; Sensitivity, specificity, area under the ROC curve and calibration with bootstrapping techniques were used to describe predictive accuracy. Results: 2493 patients, with median age 78–80 years (DK–Aus). The deceased had significantly higher mean CriSTAL with Australian mean of 8.1 (95% CI 7.7–8.6 vs. 5.8 95% CI 5.6–5.9) and Danish mean 7.1 (95% CI 6.6–7.5 vs. 5.5 95% CI 5.4–5.6). The model with Fried Frailty score was optimal for the Australian cohort but prediction with the Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) was also good (AUROC 0.825 and 0.81, respectively). Values for the Danish cohort were AUROC 0.764 with Fried and 0.794 using CFS. The most significant independent predictors of short-term death in both cohorts were advanced malignancy, frailty, male gender and advanced age. CriSTAL’s accuracy was only modest for in-hospital death prediction in either setting. Conclusions: The modified CriSTAL tool (with CFS instead of Fried’s frailty instrument) has good discriminant power to improve prognostic certainty of short-term mortality for ED physicians in both health systems. This shows promise in enhancing clinician’s confidence in initiating earlier end-of-life discussions

Acute febrile illness is associated with Rickettsia spp infection in dogs

BACKGROUND: Rickettsia conorii is transmitted by Rhipicephalus sanguineus ticks and causes Mediterranean Spotted Fever (MSF) in humans. Although dogs are considered the natural host of the vector, the clinical and epidemiological significance of R. conorii infection in dogs remains unclear. The aim of this prospective study was to investigate whether Rickettsia infection causes febrile illness in dogs living in areas endemic for human MSF. METHODS: Dogs from southern Italy with acute fever (n = 99) were compared with case–control dogs with normal body temperatures (n = 72). Serology and real-time PCR were performed for Rickettsia spp., Ehrlichia canis, Anaplasma phagocytophilum/A. platys and Leishmania infantum. Conventional PCR was performed for Babesia spp. and Hepatozoon spp. Acute and convalescent antibodies to R. conorii, E. canis and A. phagocytophilum were determined. RESULTS: The seroprevalence rates at first visit for R. conorii, E. canis, A. phagocytophilum and L. infantum were 44.8%, 48.5%, 37.8% and 17.6%, respectively. The seroconversion rates for R. conorii, E. canis and A. phagocytophilum were 20.7%, 14.3% and 8.8%, respectively. The molecular positive rates at first visit for Rickettsia spp., E. canis, A. phagocytophilum, A. platys, L. infantum, Babesia spp. and Hepatozoon spp. were 1.8%, 4.1%, 0%, 2.3%, 11.1%, 2.3% and 0.6%, respectively. Positive PCR for E. canis (7%), Rickettsia spp. (3%), Babesia spp. (4.0%) and Hepatozoon spp. (1.0%) were found only in febrile dogs. The DNA sequences obtained from Rickettsia and Babesia PCRs positive samples were 100% identical to the R. conorii and Babesia vogeli sequences in GenBank®, respectively. Febrile illness was statistically associated with acute and convalescent positive R. conorii antibodies, seroconversion to R. conorii, E. canis positive PCR, and positivity to any tick pathogen PCRs. Fourteen febrile dogs (31.8%) were diagnosed with Rickettsia spp. infection based on seroconversion and/or PCR while only six afebrile dogs (12.5%) seroconverted (P = 0.0248). The most common clinical findings of dogs with Rickettsia infection diagnosed by seroconversion and/or PCR were fever, myalgia, lameness, elevation of C-reactive protein, thrombocytopenia and hypoalbuminemia. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates acute febrile illness associated with Rickettsia infection in dogs living in endemic areas of human MSF based on seroconversion alone or in combination with PCR

Immunometabolism is a key factor for the persistent spontaneous elite control of HIV-1 infection

Approximately 25% of elite controllers (ECs) lose their virological control by mechanisms that are only partially known. Recently, immunovirological and proteomic factors have been associated to the loss of spontaneous control. Our aim was to perform a metabolomic approach to identify the underlying mechanistic pathways and potential biomarkers associated with this loss of control. Methods: Plasma samples from EC who spontaneously lost virological control (Transient Controllers, TC, n=8), at two and one year before the loss of control, were comparedwith a control group of ECwho persistently maintained virological control during the same follow-up period (Persistent Controllers, PC, n=8). The determination of metabolites and plasma lipids was performed by GC-qTOF and LC-qTOF using targeted and untargeted approaches. Metabolite levels were associated with the polyfunctionality of HIV-specific CD8+T-cell response. Findings: Our data suggest that, before the loss of control, TCs showed a specific circulating metabolomic profile characterized by aerobic glycolytic metabolism, deregulated mitochondrial function, oxidative stress and increased immunological activation. In addition, CD8+ T-cell polyfunctionality was strongly associated with metabolite levels. Finally, valine was the main differentiating factor between TCs and PCs. Interpretation: All these metabolomic differences should be considered not only as potential biomarkers but also as therapeutic targets in HIV infection.Instituto Carlos III PI10/02635 PI13/00796 PI16/00503 PI12/02283 PI16/00684 CPII014/00025 FI14/00431 FI17/00186 INT11/240 INT12/282 INT15/226Fondos Europeos para el Desarrollo Regional PI10/02635 PI13/00796 PI16/00503 PI12/02283 PI16/00684 CPII014/00025 FI14/00431 FI17/00186FEDER PI10/02635 PI13/00796 PI16/00503 PI12/02283 PI16/00684 CPII014/00025 FI14/00431 FI17/00186FEDER PI10/02635 PI13/00796 PI16/00503 PI12/02283 PI16/00684 CPII014/00025 FI14/00431 FI17/00186Programa de Suport als Grups de Recerca 2017SGR948 2014SGR250Gilead Fellowship Program GLD14/293 GLD17/00299Red de Investigación en Sida RD12/0017/0005 RD16/0025/0006 RD12/0017/0029 RD16/0025/0020Junta de Andalucía C-0032/17Generalitat de Catalunya PERIS SLT002/16/0010