Catálogo de la flora bentónica marina de Punta Sonabia a Punta Cotolino (Cantabria)

Sin resume

The influence of N-terminal acetylation on micelle-induced conformational changes and aggregation of α-Synuclein

The biological function of α-Synuclein has been related to binding to lipids and membranes but these interactions can also mediate α-Synuclein aggregation, which is associated to Parkinson's disease and other neuropathologies. In brain tissue α-Synuclein is constitutively N-acetylated, a modification that plays an important role in its conformational propensity, lipid and membrane binding, and aggregation propensity. We studied the interactions of the lipid-mimetic SDS with N-acetylated and non-acetylated α-Synuclein, as well as their early-onset Parkinson's disease variants A30P, E46K and A53T. At low SDS/protein ratios α-Synuclein forms oligomeric complexes with SDS micelles with relatively low α-helical structure. These micellar oligomers can efficiently nucleate aggregation of monomeric α-Synuclein, with successive formation of oligomers, protofibrils, curly fibrils and mature amyloid fibrils. N-acetylation reduces considerably the rate of aggregation of WT α-Synuclein. However, in presence of any of the early-onset Parkinson's disease mutations the protective effect of N-acetylation against micelle-induced aggregation becomes impaired. At higher SDS/protein ratios, N-acetylation favors another conformational transition, in which a second type of α-helix-rich, non-aggregating oligomers become stabilized. Once again, the Parkinson's disease mutations disconnect the influence of N-acetylation in promoting this transition. These results suggest a cooperative link between the N-terminus and the region of the mutations that may be important for α-Synuclein function

Reflexiones sobre el diseño de una asignatura de educación en el grado de ingeniería informática

La informática es una de las áreas de conocimiento que más rápido están cambiando. Estos cambios requieren una formación continua, especializada y adaptativa. Más allá de las salidas profesionales como docente en enseñanza reglada, que requieren de formación especializada, existe la necesidad de formación y actualización de profesionales de diversos ámbitos en nuevas herramientas, procedimientos y conocimientos por parte de personas que conozcan la parte técnica y que a su vez sean capaces de realizar una formación de alta calidad. La educación es una salida profesional con cada vez más peso y que no se suele tratar en los estudios de Grado en Ingeniería Informática. Este póster presenta a la comunidad unas reflexiones sobre cómo debería ser una asignatura de educación de la informática que formara parte del plan de estudios del grado.Informatics is one of the fastest changing areas of knowledge. These changes require continuous, specialized and adaptive training. Beyond the profesional opportunities as a teacher in formal education, which require specialized training, there is a need for training and updating of professionals in different fields into new tools, procedures and knowledge by people who know the technical side but who also are capable of providing high quality training. Education is, therefore, an increasingly in-demand professional opportunity for graduates in the Degree of Informatics Engineering, but it is not usually addressed into the curriculum. This poster aims to share with the community some reflections on how it should be a subject of informatics education as part of the curriculum of the undergraduate degree

Characteristics of Whale Muller Glia in Primary and Immortalized Cultures

[EN] Muller cells are the principal glial cells in the retina and they assume many of the functions carried out by astrocytes, oligodendrocytes and ependymal cells in other regions of the central nervous system. Muller cells express growth factors, neurotransmitter transporters and antioxidant agents that could fulfill important roles in preventing excitotoxic damage to retinal neurons. Vertebrate Muller cells are well-defined cells, characterized by a common set of features throughout the phylum. Nevertheless, several major differences have been observed among the Muller cells in distinct vertebrates, such as neurogenesis, the capacity to reprogram fish Muller glia to neurons. Here, the Muller glia of the largest adult mammal in the world, the whale, have been analyzed, and given the difficulties in obtaining cetacean cells for study, these whale glia were analyzed both in primary cultures and as immortalized whale Muller cells. After isolating the retina from the eye of a beached sei whale (Balaenoptera borealis), primary Muller cell cultures were established and once the cultures reached confluence, half of the cultures were immortalized with the simian virus 40 (SV40) large T-antigen commonly used to immortalize human cell lines. The primary cell cultures were grown until cells reached senescence. Expression of the principal molecular markers of Muller cells (GFAP, Vimentin and Glutamine synthetase) was studied in both primary and immortalized cells at each culture passage. Proliferation kinetics of the cells were analyzed by time-lapse microscopy: the time between divisions, the time that cells take to divide, and the proportion of dividing cells in the same field. The karyotypes of the primary and immortalized whale Muller cells were also characterized. Our results shown that W21M proliferate more rapidly and they have a stable karyotype. W21M cells display a heterogeneous cell morphology, less motility and a distinctive expression of some typical molecular markers of Muller cells, with an increase in dedifferentiation markers like alpha-SMA and beta-III tubulin, while they preserve their GS expression depending on the culture passage. Here we also discuss the possible influence of the animal's age and size on these cells, and on their senescence.This study was supported by ELKARTEK (KK-2019/00086), MINECO-Retos (PID2019-111139RB-I00), Grupos UPV/EHU (GIU 2018/150), and Proyectos de Investigación Básica y/o Aplicada (PIBA_2020_1_0026) to EV, Basque Government postdoctoral grant (POS_2020_2_0031) to XP, UPV/EHU- Bordeaux predoctoral grant (PIFBUR20/10) to SB, and UPV/EHU postdoctoral grant (ESPDOC20/058) to NR

Dexamethasone Protects Retinal Ganglion Cells But Not Muller Glia Against Hyperglycemia In Vitro

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a common complication of diabetes, for which hyperglycemia is a major etiological factor. It is known that retinal glia (Muller cells) and retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) are affected by diabetes, and there is evidence that DR is associated with neural degeneration. Dexamethasone is a glucocorticoid used to treat many inflammatory and autoimmune conditions, including several eye diseases like DR. Thus, our goal was to study the effect of dexamethasone on the survival of RGCs and Muller glial cells isolated from rat retinas and maintained in vitro under hyperglycemic conditions. The behavior of primary RGC cell cultures, and of mixed RGC and Muller cell co-cultures, was studied in hyperglycemic conditions (30 mM glucose), both in the presence and absence of Dexamethasone (1 mu M). RGC and Muller cell survival was evaluated, and the conditioned media of these cultures was collected to quantify the inflammatory cytokines secreted by these cells using a multiplex assay. The role of IL-1 beta, IL-6 and TNF alpha in RGC death was also evaluated by adding these cytokines to the co-cultures. RGC survival decreased significantly when these cells were grown in high glucose conditions, reaching 54% survival when they were grown alone and only 33% when co-cultured with Muller glia. The analysis of the cytokines in the conditioned media revealed an increase in IL-1 beta, IL-6 and TNF alpha under hyperglycemic conditions, which reverted to the basal concentration in co-cultures maintained in the presence of dexamethasone. Finally, when these cytokines were added to co-cultures they appeared to have a direct effect on RGC survival. Hence, these cytokines could be implicated in the death of RGCs when glucose concentrations increase and dexamethasone might protect RGCs from the cell death induced in these conditions.This work was funded by the support of Retos-MINECO Fondos Feder (RTC-2016-48231) and Grupos Consolidados del Gobierno Vasco (IT437-10) to E.V

Reflexiones sobre el diseño de una asignatura de educación en el grado de ingeniería informática

La informática es una de las áreas de conocimiento que más rápido están cambiando. Estos cambios requieren una formación continua, especializada y adaptativa. Más allá de las salidas profesionales como docente en enseñanza reglada, que requieren de formación especializada, existe la necesidad de formación y actualización de profesionales de diversos ámbitos en nuevas herramientas, procedimientos y conocimientos por parte de personas que conozcan la parte técnica y que a su vez sean capaces de realizar una formación de alta calidad. La educación es una salida profesional con cada vez más peso y que no se suele tratar en los estudios de Grado en Ingeniería Informática. Este póster presenta a la comunidad unas reflexiones sobre cómo debería ser una asignatura de educación de la informática que formara parte del plan de estudios del grado.Informatics is one of the fastest changing areas of knowledge. These changes require continuous, specialized and adaptive training. Beyond the professional opportunities as a teacher in formal education, which require specialized training, there is a need for training and updating of professionals in different fields into new tools, procedures and knowledge by people who know the technical side but who also are capable of providing high quality training. Education is, therefore, an increasingly in-demand professional opportunity for graduates in the Degree of Informatics Engineering, but it is not usually addressed into the curriculum. This poster aims to share with the community some reflections on how it should be a subject of informatics education as part of the curriculum of the undergraduate degree.Peer ReviewedObjectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::4 - Educació de QualitatPostprint (published version

Comparative study of the lipid profile of tears and plasma enriched in growth factors.

[EN] The Tear Film Lipid Layer (TFLL) acts primarily as an interface between the aqueous layer and air. Tear film lipid is composed of a thin layer of polar lipids that interact with the secretory layer of the underlying mucosa and a thicker layer of non-polar lipids at the air interface. The tear film has a complex structure and composition that protects the cornea, promotes wound healing, and maintains high-quality vision. Plasma Rich in Growth Factor (PRGF) eye drops emerged as an exciting new treatment for corneal epitheliopathies, including aqueous deficient dry eye. The purpose of this study was to compare the lipidomic profile of eye drops obtained from PRGF with tear lipidome to determine whether PRGF drops could be an adequate complement to tears in patients with impaired TFLL. To address this study, tears and blood was collected and processed from healthy donors to obtain PRGF eye drops. Samples were aliquoted and stored at -80°C until use. The lipid profiles of these samples were analysed by Ultrahigh Performance Liquid Chromatography (UHPLC) using a Vanquish UHPLC system to obtain untargeted lipidome profiles on a Q-Exactive HF-X hybrid quadrupole-Orbitrap mass spectrometer. In PRGF eye drops, 408 lipids were identified in ESI+mode and 183 in ESI- mode, and they were grouped into 15 different lipid classes from four distinct categories. By contrast, 112 lipid species were identified from tear samples in ESI+mode and 36 in ESI- mode, belonging to 12 lipid classes from six different categories. The relative abundance of most lipid species was much greater in the PRGF eye drops than in the tear, although there were some lipids present in tears that were not found in the PRGF, such as wax esters and (O-acyl)-omega-hydroxy fatty acids. In summary, these results suggest that the lipids present in PRGF eye drops could serve as a tear supplement in individuals in whom tear lipid composition is altered, although there are differences in the lipid profile of these two fluids.The authors wish to acknowledge the financial support received to carry out this work from: MINECO-Retos Fondos Fender (RTC-2016-48231), Gobierno Vasco (PUE_2018_1_0004), ELKARTEK (KK-2019/00086), PIBA 2020-1-0026, MINECO-Retos (PID2019-111139RB-I00), ELKARTEK (KK-2021-00023) to EV and FISS-21-RD21/0002/0041 to AA

Reviewing the ecosystem services, societal goods, and benefits of marine protected areas

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are globally important environmental management tools that provide protection from the effects of human exploitation and activities, supporting the conservation of marine biological diversity, habitats, ecosystems and the processes they host, as well as resources in a broad sense. Consequently, they are also expected to manage and enhance marine ecosystem services and material, non-material, consumptive and non-consumptive goods, and benefits for humans. There is however certain confusion on what constitutes an ecosystem service, and it is not always easy to distinguish between them and societal benefits. The main nuance is that an ecosystem service is the aptitude an ecosystem has or develops naturally or as consequence of a management action, and that manifests through its own properties (productivity, diversity, stability, quality of its key parameters, etc.), while a societal benefit is the economic or other profitability (emotional, educational, scientific, etc.) that humans obtain from said service or quality. In this work, 268 publications, together with our own experiences in the different investigations carried out in the MPAs that are part of the BiodivERsA3-2015-21 RESERVEBENEFIT European project, have been selected, reviewed and discussed to analyze the knowledge status of the expected ecosystem services of MPAs and the societal benefits derived from them, sometimes providing information on their evidence, when they exist. We define and classify the effects of protection, ecosystem services and societal benefits and elaborate a conceptual model of the cause-effect relationships between them