Development and validation of a new nephrotoxicity model mimicking cell physiology microenvironment

Los riñones son órganos muy eficientes que llevan a cabo múltiples funciones en el organismo. Una de las principales funciones que realizan es la eliminación de productos de desecho y exceso de fluido del cuerpo a través de la orina. La regulación de las sales y el contenido de ácido, son funciones desempeñados por estos órganos. En el riñón también tiene lugar la producción de diferentes hormonas. El riñón está constituido por las nefronas, que son las unidades estructurales y funcionales de estos órganos. Dentro de las nefronas podemos diferenciar las siguientes estructuras: El glomérulo, que es la primera parte de la nefrona donde el plasma es filtrado desde la sangre. Inmediatamente después, encontramos el túbulo, cuya estructura es semejante a un tubo largo y estrecho, donde el fluido filtrado desde la sangre es procesado y convertido en orina. A lo largo del túbulo, encontramos los siguientes segmentos: túbulo proximal, asa de Henle, túbulo distal y tubo colector.En esta Tesis Doctoral, nos centraremos en el estudio del segmento formado por el túbulo proximal (TP) [1]. La principal función desempeñada por el TP es la reabsorción y secreción de metabolitos y para realizar estas funciones las células del TP cuentan con un gran contenido de diferentes transportadores de membrana [2-5]. El túbulo proximal está formado por células epiteliales, las cuales están polarizadas, característica que nos permite distinguir entre dos zonas bien diferenciadas, la zona apical y la zona basolateral. Las células del TP contienen una estructura denominada borde en cepillo que aumenta el área de superficie de las células y este incremento es útil durante los procesos de reabsorción [6]. Conviene destacar que las células renales están continuamente expuestas al ultra filtrado del plasma y que el flujo luminal genera una fuerza de cizallamiento (shear stress, SS) sobre la superficie apical de las células. Las células del TP pueden detectar estas SS a través del cilio primario o de las microvellosidades del borde en cepillo. La señalización intracelular desencadenada por la SS luminal es un estímulo fisiológico clave para las células tubulares renales [7]. A pesar de la relevancia del flujo luminal en la nefrona, así como en el desarrollo de enfermedades, hay relativamente pocos estudios in vitro que incluyan este estímulo. El flujo luminal debería ser un requisito imprescindible para la generación de un modelo de función tubular in vitro, fisiológicamente más similar al que encontramos in vivo.Las células del TP in vivo presentan unas características dinámicas diferentes en ambos compartimentos. Cuando se trabaja in vitro, se alteran esas características dinámicas ya que las células son expuestas a la inmovilización de su compartimento basolateral, en contacto con la superficie donde las células crecen y en el lado apical se renueva el medio cada 2-4 días, eliminando el efecto que el SS ejerce en ambos compartimentos. La ausencia del flujo luminal, así como la alteración de las características dinámicas de las células en ambos compartimentos, son dos de los problemas que encontramos en las condiciones de cultivo convencional 2D, eliminando la posibilidad de reproducir la función tubular renal, la cual consiste en concentrar o diluir los solutos en el fluido luminal. Por tanto, es evidente que las técnicas de cultivo convencionales 2D, a pesar del gran conocimiento que nos han aportado sobre la función celular y molecular, no son capaces de reproducir el ambiente fisiológico de las células del TP. Esto a la vez, podría explicar la dificultad en la traslación de los resultados in vitro a aplicaciones in vivo [8].En los últimos años y con el objetivo de aproximarse a la creación in vitro de microambientes fisiológicamente más similares a los encontrados in vivo, han surgido colaboraciones entre las áreas de Ingeniería y las áreas de Biología [9] interesadas en el desarrollo de dispositivos microfluídicos [10] para su uso en estudios de epitelio renal. Los dispositivos mencionados anteriormente, son estructuras situadas en la escala micro y nano, que han posibilitado el desarrollo de los microchips, dispositivos miniaturizados capaces de imitar sistemas naturales de forma precisa si se acoplan a sistemas continuos de perfusión en los canales que componen estos dispositivos, los cuales son habitados por las células sembradas en ellos. Estos dispositivos ofrecen ventajas como la reproducción de la arquitectura multicelular o de la interfaz tejido-tejido, la recreación del microambiente físico-químico y la perfusión vascular, originando niveles de tejidos funcionales, que no pueden obtenerse con los métodos de cultivo 2D o 3D. Otra ventaja, es que al trabajar en escala micro-nanométrica, el ahorro de las soluciones necesarias paras el mantenimiento de las células, o para la ejecución de experimentos, se ve drásticamente reducido. A nivel experimental, este tipo de dispositivos presentan gran potencial en el área de la organogénesis y la fisiología y, en el contexto del descubrimiento y desarrollo de nuevos fármacos, tiene especial valor en el estudio de los mecanismos de acción, toxicidad e identificación de biomarcadores.A partir de la información expuesta anteriormente, se detectó un problema y se propuso una hipótesis: las herramientas de cultivo convencionales no recrean con precisión el ambiente fisiológico donde crecen las células y por tanto, esto puede originar la pérdida de reproducibilidad de la respuesta celular contra agentes tóxicos y mecanismos de reparación unidos a daño renal. Con el objetivo de aceptar o rechazar la hipótesis propuesta se propone la creación de un modelo de nefrotoxicidad, usando dispositivos de cultivo biomiméticos que tendrán acoplados las herramientas necesarias para poder usar flujo, y de esta manera reproducirán mejor el microambiente de las células del TP.La elección del TP para desarrollar esta Tesis, se basa en que en este segmento de la nefrona se procesa la mayoría de tóxicos y fármacos y tiene lugar el daño agudo y crónico renal. Por tanto, desde el punto de vista clínico y con el objetivo de estudiar nefrotoxicidad, el TP representa un segmento cuyos estudios pueden aportar mucho conocimiento. Con el objetivo de crear un modelo de nefrotoxicidad, el uso de cultivos primarios de células del TP humanas (hPTPC), daría lugar a una fácil traslación de los resultados a la clínica.La molécula elegida para la creación del modelo de nefrotoxicidad es el cisplatino, un compuesto antitumoral usado en el tratamiento contra diversos tipos de cánceres, entre los que destacan pulmón, testículo y cérvix. Uno de los principales efectos secundarios de este compuesto es la nefrotoxicidad [11] en el TP. Los mecanismos de acción del cisplatino incluyen su paso al interior de las células del TP mediante los transportadores basolaterales OCT2 y CTR-1, así como la enzima GGT1, encargada de la conversión del cisplatino en una molécula mucho más reactiva tras entrar en contacto con esta enzima [12]. A partir de las hPTPC y del modelo de nefrotoxicidad que se desarrolló, se estudió el efecto de la estimulación mecánica proporcionado por el flujo, sobre la sensibilidad al cisplatino, permitiendo recrear un ambiente más semejante al que encontramos in vivo. Los resultados obtenidos a lo largo de esta tesis nos sugieren que:1. El protocolo de aislamiento empleado para la obtención de células primarias de TP procedentes de nefrectomías humanas, hPTPC, y la posterior caracterización de las células, nos permitió obtener un cultivo formado mayoritariamente por células de TP que expresaban los principales marcadores de este segmento de la nefrona.2. El uso combinado del ensayo de actividad enzimática de GGT1 y el ensayo de viabilidad, nos permitió distinguir los efectos del cisplatino. La combinación de estos ensayos se validó como una herramienta útil a la hora de monitorizar la función celular y viabilidad celular.3. El modelo de nefrotoxicidad empleando cisplatino fue consistente para su uso en células creciendo en dispositivos fluídicos.4. El cultivo de hPTPC aislado y caracterizado durante esta tesis, no mostró diferencia en la sensibilidad al modelo de cisplatino en dispositivos fluídicos en presencia de la estimulación mecánica proporcionada por el flujo y comparado con células en condiciones estáticas.The kidneys are very efficient organs that perform multiple functions in the body. One of the main functions performed by the kidneys is the elimination of waste products and excess fluid from the body through the urine. The regulation of body salts and acid content are functions played by these organs. In the kidney also takes place the production of different hormones. The kidney is made up of nephrons, which are the structural and functional units of these organs. The nephrons are composed by the following structures: The glomerulus, which is the first part of the nephron, where the plasma is filtered from the blood. Immediately afterward, we find the tubule, which structure is like a long narrow tube, where the filtered fluid from the blood is processed into the urine. The tubule is divided into different segments: proximal tubule, loop of Henle, distal tubule and collecting tube. In this Thesis, we focused on the study of the segment formed by the proximal tubule (PT). The main role played by the PT is the reabsorption and secretion of metabolites and to perform these functions, PT cells have a high content of different membrane transporters. The PT is formed by epithelial cells, which are polarized, a feature that allows us to distinguish between two distinct areas, the apical zone, and the basolateral zone. PT cells contain a structure called brush border that increases the surface area of the cells, and this increase is useful during the reabsorption processes. It should be noted that renal cells are continually exposed to ultrafiltration of the plasma and that the luminal flux generates a shear stress (SS) on the apical surface of the cells. PT cells can detect this SS through the primary cilium or the brush border. The intracellular signaling triggered by the luminal SS is a physiological stimulus essential for renal tubular cells. Despite the relevance of luminal flow in the nephron, as well as in the development of diseases, there are relatively few in vitro studies including this stimulus. Luminal flow should be a prerequisite for the generation of an in vitro physiological model to study tubular function, similar to what is found in in vivo environment. PT cells in vivo exhibit different dynamic characteristics in both compartments. When we are working with these cells in vitro, these dynamic characteristics are altered since the cells are exposed to the immobilization of their basolateral compartment, in contact with the surface where the cells grow, and on the apical side, the medium is renewed every 2-4 days, eliminating the effect that the SS exerts on both compartments. The absence of luminal flow, as well as the alteration of the dynamic characteristics of the cells in both compartments, are two of the problems found in conventional 2D culture conditions, eliminating the possibility of reproducing renal tubular function, which consists of concentrating or diluting the solutes present in the luminal fluid. Therefore, it is evident that conventional 2D culture techniques, despite the high knowledge that they have provided us on the cellular and molecular function, are not able to reproduce the physiological environment of the PT cells. This could explain the difficulty we have in translating in vitro results into in vivo applications. In the last years, with the aim of creating in vitro microenvironments physiologically similar to those found in vivo, we observe an increase in the number of collaborations between the areas of Engineering and Biology interested in the development of microfluidic devices for use in renal epithelial studies. The devices mentioned above are structures in the micro and nano scale, which have enabled the development of microchips, miniaturized devices capable of accurately mimicking natural systems since they contain continuous infusion systems in the channels that make up these devices, covered by the cells seeded in them. These devices offer advantages such as reproduction of the multicellular architecture or the tissue-tissue interface, the recreation of the physicochemical microenvironment and the vascular perfusion, resulting in levels of functional tissues, which cannot be obtained with 2D or 3D culture methods. Another advantage is the size of these devices, in the micro-nanometric scale. This supposes to save solutions for the maintenance of the cells, or for the execution of experiments because their volume is drastically reduced. At the experimental level, this type of device has great potential in the area of organogenesis and physiology and, in the context of discovery and development of new drugs, it has a special value in the study of the mechanisms of action, toxicity, and identification of biomarkers. From the above information, a problem was detected and a hypothesis was proposed: the conventional culture tools do not accurately recreate the physiological environment where the cells grow and therefore, this can cause the lack of reproducibility of cellular response to toxic agents and repair mechanisms linked to renal damage. With the objective of accepting or rejecting the proposed hypothesis, it was proposed to create a model of nephrotoxicity using biomimetic culture devices that will have the necessary tools coupled to be able to use flow. This will help to reproduce the microenvironment of PT cells more accurately. The choice of PT to develop this Thesis is based on the fact that in this segment of the nephron the majority of toxins and drugs are processed and here is where acute and chronic renal damage take places. Therefore, from the clinical point of view and with the aim of studying nephrotoxicity, PT represents the segment of choice. In order to create a model of nephrotoxicity, the use of human primary cultures of PT cells (hPTPC), would lead to an easy translation of the results to the clinic. The molecule chosen to create the nephrotoxicity model is cisplatin, an antitumor compound used in the treatment of various types of cancers, including lung, testis and cervix. However, one of the major side effects of this compound is nephrotoxicity in PT. The mechanism of action of cisplatin includes the entrance of the molecule to the hPTPC through the basolateral transporters OCT2 and CTR-1, as well as the enzyme GGT1, responsible for the conversion of cisplatin into a much more reactive molecule after entering in contact with this enzyme. From the hPTPC and the nephrotoxicity model developed, we proposed to study the effect of mechanical stimulation on cisplatin sensitivity produced under flow. This allowed us to recreate a more physiological environment, closer to what we find in vivo. The results obtained along this Doctoral Thesis suggest: 1. The isolation protocol employed to obtain primary PT cells from human nephrectomies, hPTPC, and the posterior cell characterization, allowed us to obtain a highly enriched culture of PT cells, expressing the main PT markers. 2. Combined use of GGT1 activity and cell viability assays allowed us to distinguish different cisplatin effects and were validated as useful assays to monitor cell function and cellular status. 3. The cisplatin nephrotoxicity model was consistent and amenable for its use on cells grown in microfluidic devices. 4. The hPTPC isolated and characterized along this Thesis did not present any difference in the sensitivity to cisplatin model in fluidic devices in the presence of the mechanical stimulation created by flow and compared with cells growing in static condition.<br /

Conservar el agua es conservar tu vida

This article was written to raise awareness among people about the use of water in the home throughout the daily tasks, proposing consumption alternatives, and tips. The first part deals with the problem of the number of resources available and the importance of water for human beings. The second part presents some of the instruments that are being developed at the national and international level to save water. It also indicates some savings figures related to these tools and feasibility analysis for their implementation in Colombian households.Este artículo se realizó con el fin de crear conciencia en las personas respecto al uso que se le da al agua en el hogar a lo largo de las labores cotidianas, proponiendo alternativas de consumo, y consejos. En la primera parte se trata la problemática respecto a la cantidad de recurso disponible, y la importancia que tiene el agua para el ser humano. En la segunda parte se expone algunos de los instrumentos que se están desarrollando a nivel nacional e internacional para el ahorro de agua. También se indican algunas cifras de ahorro relacionadas con estas herramientas, y análisis de viabilidad para su implementación en los hogares colombianos

An overview of feed-in tariffs, premiums and tenders to promote electricity from biogas in the EU-28

The EU has assumed objectives for energy sustainability and the fight against climate change. In this regard, the generation of biogas allows contributions to the 2020 established targets. The EU is leader in the production of biogas, representing 60% of total global production in 2011. The estimates of the contribution of biogas to electricity generation for 2020 in the EU-28 represent 1.5% within the total energy mix. This paper analyzes the measures implemented in the EU-28 to promote biogas, relating them to the country targets established in their National Renewable Energy Action Plans. Currently, 19 countries apply some measure of price and/or amount: 14 use Feed-in Tariffs, 6 Premium Tariffs and 1 uses tenders. A trend has been observed to reduce public financial support to promote biogas, linked to the reduction of the cost of this technology, and to the attempt to increasingly link it to the markets. However, excessive linking to the market hinders its development, putting the attainment of 2020 targets at risk. Consequently, the Feed-in Tariff or Premium Tariff systems, used in each country, must be designed in agreement with the peculiarities of the development of their markets, to be able to guarantee suitable development.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad de España ECO2014-56399-RFundación Roger Torné. Cátedra de Economía de la Energía y del Medio Ambiente. Universidad de Sevill

Noción de trabajo en la comunidad intencional Red Kunagua

La presente investigación tuvo como fin identificar la forma cómo se comprende el trabajo al interior de la comunidad intencional de la “Red Kunagua”. Para lograr dicho objetivo se utilizó una metodología cualitativa, de orientación fenomenológica, donde la técnica principal de recolección de información fue la entrevista en profundidad. Esta entrevista fue realizada a cinco habitantes de la zona pertenecientes a la Red, quienes participaron de manera voluntaria en la realización de las mismas. El análisis, se hizo a la luz de cuatro categorías previamente definidas: noción de desarrollo, surgimiento de comunidades intencionales, prácticas comunitarias y noción de trabajo. A partir de esto, se logró comprender que el trabajo para las personas que viven en una comunidad intencional se encuentra cargado de múltiples y diferentes sentidos, entre los cuales podemos encontrar aspectos espirituales, colectivos, individuales y ecológicos que permiten dar cuenta que el trabajo no se limita a su valor instrumental y económico, sino que trasciende y permite dar sentido e identidad a las personas.The present research had as fundamental purpose identifying the way in which work is understood within the intentional community of the "Red Kunagua". For achieving this purpose, it was used a qualitative methodology with a phenomenological orientation, where the principal technique for recollecting information was the depth interview. This interview was realized to five inhabitants of the region who belong to the community and voluntarily accepted to participate in the realization of this study. The analysis was made by the light of four categories previously defined: notion of development, the arise of intentional communities, community practices, and notion of work. Starting from this, it was able to fulfil that the comprehension of work for the people who live in an intentional community is charged of multiple and different meanings, in which it is possible to find spiritual, collective, individual and ecologic aspects, that allow to realize that work is not only limited to its instrumental or economical value; it transcend and grants sense and identity to people.Psicólogo (a)Pregrad

Perioperative management and early complications after intestinal resection with ileocolonic anastomosis in Crohn’s disease: analysis from the PRACTICROHN study

This study is aimed at describing the prevalence of and risk factors associated with early post-operative complications after Crohn’s disease-related intestinal resection. Methods: This was a retrospective analysis of data from the PRACTICROHN cohort. Adult Crohn’s disease patients who underwent ileocolonic resection with ileocolonic anastomosis between January 2007 and December 2010 were included. The complications evaluated included death, ileus, anastomotic leak, abscess, wound infection, catheter-related infection, digestive bleeding and other extra-abdominal infections that occurred in the 30 days after surgery.Results: A total of 364 patients (median age at surgery 38 years and 50% men) were included. Indication for surgery was: stricturing disease (46.4%), penetrating disease (31.3%), penetrating and stricturing disease (14.0%) or resistance to medical treatment (5.8%). Early complications were recorded in 100 (27.5%) patients, with wound infection, intra-abdominal abscess and anastomotic leakage being the most frequent complications. Median hospitalization duration was 16 days for patients with complications vs. 9 days without complications (P<0.001). Complications were more common among patients with penetrating disease (36/114, 31.6%) and those refractory to treatment (9/21, 42.9%) compared with stricturing disease (45/169, 26.6%) or stricturingþpenetrating disease (6/51, 11.8%) (P¼0.040). The rate of complications was higher among patients with diagnosis made at the time of surgery (15/31, 48.4%) compared with the rest (85/331, 25.7%) (P¼0.013). Medication received at the time of surgery did not affect the rate of complications. Conclusions: Almost a quarter of patients developed early complications after intestinal resection. Penetrating disease and urgent surgery were associated with an increased risk of complicationsThis study was supported by Merck Sharp and Dohme, Spai

CtDNA from body fluids is an adequate source for EGFR biomarker testing in advanced lung adenocarcinoma

Objectives: Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) biomarker testing using blood-based liquid biopsies remains challenging due to the low concentration of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in certain plasma samples. The aim of this study is to evaluate the usefulness for EGFR biomarker testing of ctDNA from pleural effusions, cerebrospinal fluids, ascites and pericardial effusions obtained during the clinical management of lung adenocarcinoma patients. Methods: For comparison purposes, 23 paired plasma and body fluid samples were collected from 17 patients with EGFR-positive lung adenocarcinoma. After circulating free DNA (cfDNA) isolation, samples were evaluated for the initial EGFR-sensitizing mutation and the p.T790M resistance mutation by array-based digital PCR (dPCR). Results: Body fluids had more cfDNA than plasma samples (1.90 vs. 0.36 ng/µL; p=0.0130), and more samples tested positive for EGFR mutations (21 vs. 16 samples), with a total of 28 vs. 22 variants detected. Furthermore, mutant allele frequencies (MAFs) observed in body fluids were significantly higher than those assessed in the paired plasma samples for EGFR-sensitizing mutations (median MAFs = 15.8 vs. 0.8%; p=0.0004) as well as for the p.T790M resistance mutation (median MAFs = 8.69 vs. 0.16%; p=0.0390). Importantly, two patients who had progressed on first-generation EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitors with a dubious result for p.T790M plasma (MAFs = 0.11%) had an indisputably positive result in their respective body fluid samples (MAFs = 10.25 and 9.66%). Conclusions: ctDNA derived from body fluids is an informative source for EGFR biomarker testing, with greater sensitivity than plasma samples.MB is supported by an i-PFIS predoctoral fellowship (Grant Number IFI18/00051) from ISCIII. ES is funded by the Consejería de Ciencia, Universidades e Innovación de la Comunidad de Madrid (Doctorados Industriales de la Comunidad de Madrid IND2019/BMD-17258), Spain

Arylsulfatase A Remodeling during Human Sperm In Vitro Capacitation Using Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM)

Capacitation drives sperm biophysical and biochemical changes for sperm-oocyte interactions. It is a well-known fact that the molecular complex arylsulfatase A (ARSA), hyaluronidase sperm adhesion molecule 1 (SPAM1), and heat shock protein 2 (HSPA2) plays a significant role in sperm–zona pellucida (ZP) binding. However, the time-dependent capacitation effects on the sperm surface ARSA presence and specific topographic distributions remain to be elucidated. Here, we quantified the ARSA density and specific membrane domain locations before (US) and after in vitro capacitation (one and four hours; CS1–CS4) in human sperm using high-resolution field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and immunogold labeling. Our results showed a significant and progressive capacitation-mediated increase of labeled spermatozoa from the US (37%) to CS4 (100%) physiological conditions. In addition, surface mapping revealed a close relationship between the ARSA residues and their acrosomal repositioning. Compared with the ARSA surface heterogeneous distribution found in US, the CS1–4 conditions exhibited clustering on the peri-acrosomal region, showing that time-dependent capacitation also induced a ARSA residue dramatic translocation on sperm surfaces. Our findings provide novel insights into the molecular remodeling events preceding sperm-oocyte interactions.This research was funded by the Human Fertility Cathedra of the University of Alicante and R&D&I projects financed by competitive public entities (ViGrob-186, UAIND17-03 and PGC2018-094781-B-100)

Bayesian reasoning with emotional material in patients with schizophrenia.

Delusions are one of the most classical symptoms described in schizophrenia. However, despite delusions are often emotionally charged, they have been investigated using tasks involving non-affective material, such as the Beads task. In this study we compared 30 patients with schizophrenia experiencing delusions with 32 matched controls in their pattern of responses to two versions of the Beads task within a Bayesian framework. The two versions of the Beads task consisted of one emotional and one neutral, both with ratios of beads of 60:40 and 80:20, considered, respectively, as the “difficult” and “easy” variants of the task. Results indicate that patients showed a greater deviation from the normative model, especially in the 60:40 ratio, suggesting that more inaccurate probability estimations are more likely to occur under uncertainty conditions. Additionally, both patients and controls showed a greater deviation in the emotional version of the task, providing evidence of a reasoning bias modulated by the content of the stimuli. Finally, a positive correlation between patients’ deviation and delusional symptomatology was found. Impairments in the 60:40 ratio with emotional content was related to the amount of disruption in life caused by delusions. These results contribute to the understanding of how cognitive mechanisms interact with characteristics of the task (i.e., ambiguity and content) in the context of delusional thinking. These findings might be used to inform improved intervention programs in the domain of inferential reasoning.post-print700 K

Composição, abundância e riqueza de cicadellidae (insecta: hemiptera) em um campus universitário na savana de Bogotá, Colômbia

Despite their importance as disease vectors, there is limited information on the biology and ecology of leafhoppers in Colombia. Therefore, the present study assesses Cicadellidae composition, abundance, and richness at the Military Nueva Granada University (UMNG) campus in Cajicá, Cundinamarca (Colombia), which is located within an exurban rural area. For these purposes, linear insect sweeps were conducted in rectangular fields, 50 meters in length and 2 meters in width, in the following three different areas: short grasslands, tall grasslands, and the Bogotá river bend. Sampling was performed between 11:30 am and 12:30 pm for three weeks between March 2015 and April 2015. The insects were collected using an entomological net and preserved in 70% ethanol. At completion, a total of 2399 individuals had been captured, with Amplicephalus funzaensis and Exitianus atratus being the most abundant species. The composition similarities among the three zones exceeded by 40%, with the greatest similarity recorded between the tall grasslands and the river bend. However, no relationship was found between the number of Cicadellidae species and the number of plant species. In addition, the areas that exhibited the lower species richness were the short grasslands. In fact, the data suggests that frequent grass cutting affects the structure of the Cicadellidae community and increases the abundance of phytoplasmic vectors. Hence, the results provide an approximation of leafhopper composition, abundance, and richness at the UMNG campus, and offers suggestions on how to manage campus traits based on this information.A pesar de su importancia como vectores de patógenos, es escasa la información sobre la biología y la ecología de los cicadélidos en Colombia. Por esta razón, se analizó la composición, la abundancia y la riqueza de Cicadellidae en el campus de la Universidad Militar Nueva Granada (UMNG) en Cajicá, Cundinamarca (Colombia). El campus se encuentra en un contexto rural exurbano. Se realizaron recorridos lineales de 50 m de longitud y 2 m de ancho, en tres zonas diferentes: pastizal corto, pastizal largo y meandro del río Bogotá. Los muestreos se llevaron a cabo entre las 11:30 h y las 12:30 h, durante tres semanas entre marzo y abril del 2015. Los insectos se capturaron con una red entomológica y se preservaron en etanol al 70%. Se capturaron un total de 2399 individuos, y fueron Amplicephalus funzaensis y Exitianus atratus las especies más abundantes. La similitud de la composición entre las tres zonas fue superior al 40% y la mayor similitud se presentó entre el pastizal largo y el meandro. No se encontró correlación entre el número de especies de Cicadellidae y el número de especies vegetales. La zona con menor riqueza fue el pastizal corto. Los datos sugieren que el corte frecuente del pasto afecta la estructura de la comunidad de Cicadellidae e incrementa la abundancia de vectores de fitoplasmas. Los resultados brindan una aproximación sobre la composición, la abundancia y la riqueza de cicadélidos en el campus de la UMNG, y se sugiere de qué manera las características del campus podrían manejarse.Apesar de sua importância como vetores de patógenos, há poucas informações sobre a biologia e a ecologia dos cicadelídeos na Colômbia. Portanto, o presente estudo avaliou a composição, a abundância e a riqueza de Cicadellidae no campus da Universidade Militar Nueva Granada (UMNG) em Cajicá, Cundinamarca (Colômbia). O campus está localizado em uma área rural exurbana. Realizaram-se varreduras lineares à procura de insetos em campos retangulares de 50 m de comprimento por 2 m de largura em três áreas diferentes: prados de grama baixa, de grama alta e no meandro do rio Bogotá. As coletas foram realizadas entre as 11:30 e as 12:30 horas, durante três semanas, entre março e abril de 2015. Os insetos foram coletados usando uma rede entomológica e preservados em etanol a 70%. No total, 2.399 indivíduos foram capturados, com Amplicephalus funzaensis e Exitianus atratus sendo as espécies mais abundantes. A semelhança na composição das três áreas foi superior a 40% e a maior semelhança foi registrada entre os prados de grama alta e o meandro do rio. Não foi encontrada nenhuma relação entre o número de espécies de Cicadellidae e o número de espécies vegetais. As áreas que apresentaram a menor riqueza de espécies foram os prados de grama baixa. Os dados sugerem que o corte frequente da grama afeta a estrutura da comunidade de Cicadellidae e aumenta a abundância de vetores de fitoplasmas. Portanto, os resultados apresentam uma avaliação aproximada da composição, abundância e riqueza de cicadelídeos no campus da UMNG e oferecem sugestões sobre como manejar as características do campus