Methodological constraints in interpreting serum paraoxonase-1 activity measurements: an example from a study in HIV-infected patients

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Paraoxonase-1 (PON1) is an antioxidant enzyme that attenuates the production of the monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) <it>in vitro</it>. Although oxidation and inflammation are closely related processes, the association between PON1 and MCP-1 has not been completely characterised due, probably, to that the current use of synthetic substrates for PON1 measurement limits the interpretation of the data. In the present study, we explored the relationships between the circulating levels of PON1 and MCP-1 in human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients in relation to the multifunctional capabilities of PON1.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We measured selected variables in 227 patients and in a control group of 409 participants. Serum PON1 esterase and lactonase activities were measured as the rates of hydrolysis of paraoxon and of 5-(thiobutyl)-butyrolactone, respectively. Oxidised LDL and MCP-1 concentrations were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. High-density lipoproteins cholesterol, apolipoprotein A-I, and C-reactive protein concentrations were measured by standard automated methods.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>There were significant relationships between PON1 activity and several indices of oxidation and inflammation in control subjects and in infected patients. However, these relationships varied not only with disease status but also on the type of substrate used for PON1 measurement.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The present study is a cautionary tale highlighting that results of clinical studies on PON1 may vary depending on the methods used as well as the disease studied. Until more specific methods using physiologically-akin substrates are developed for PON1 measurement, we suggest the simultaneous employment of at least two different substrates in order to improve the reliability of the results obtained.</p

MicroRNAs: Promising New Antiangiogenic Targets in Cancer

[EN] MicroRNAs are one class of small, endogenous, non-coding RNAs that are approximately 22 nucleotides in length; they are very numerous, have been phylogenetically conserved, and involved in biological processes such as development, differentiation, cell proliferation, and apoptosis. MicroRNAs contribute to modulating the expression levels of specific proteins based on sequence complementarity with their target mRNA molecules and so they play a key role in both health and disease. Angiogenesis is the process of new blood vessel formation from preexisting ones, which is particularly relevant to cancer and its progression. Over the last few years, microRNAs have emerged as critical regulators of signalling pathways in multiple cell types including endothelial and perivascular cells. This review summarises the role of miRNAs in tumour angiogenesis and their potential implications as therapeutic targets in cancer.This study was partially supported by a Grant from Ministerio de Ciencia e Inovacion de Espana (TRA09-0132), Beca Roche en Onco-Hematologia 2009, and Red Tematica de Investigacion Cooperativa en Cancer (RD12/0036/0025).Gallach, S.; Calabuig-Farinas, S.; Jantus Lewintre, E.; Camps, C. (2014). MicroRNAs: Promising New Antiangiogenic Targets in Cancer. BioMed Research International. 2014. https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/878450S201

Informe final del projecte 2015PID-UB/040: Millora de la capacitat comunicativa: adaptació del registre al tipus de receptor

Projecte: 2015PID-UB/040L’objectiu del present projecte se centra en millorar la capacitat comunicativa del futur professional mitjançant el treball i la reflexió sobre el llenguatge a utilitzar per a dirigir-se a un professional del mateix àmbit o bé a un receptor no especialitzat (per exemple, un pacient). En el context de l'assignatura de “Fonaments d’Immunologia” del Màster URV-UB de Nutrició i Metabolisme, els estudiants han seleccionat un tema i treballat en equip els seus continguts. Els estudiants l’han presentat a classe emprant dos tipus de registre i detectant la terminologia adient en cada cas. L’avaluació de les presentacions s’ha realitzat, a més de pel professor, mitjançant correcció per iguals i autoavaluació. A més, per tal de dinamitzar les classes, els estudiants han realitzat a classe qüestionaris en línia amb els propis dispositius mòbils i han obtingut una retroacció immediata a través del seu dispositiu (utilitzant la plataforma Socrative). Aquestes estratègies docents han estat valorades pels estudiants per a conèixer el grau d’interès i d’aprofitament.Es preveia que els estudiants realitzessin una activitat formativa d’aquest tipus per aprendre no només els continguts del temari sinó que també la importància del tipus de llenguatge emprat en la comunicació. Els resultats assolits es corresponen amb els previstos inicialment ja que tant els indicadors quantitatius com qualitatius del projecte reflecteixen l’aprenentatge assolit i l’àmplia acceptació de l’activitat

Tumour Cell Seeding to Lymph Nodes from In Situ Colorectal Cancer

Lymph node (LN) metastasis is an important prognostic factor in colorectal cancer (CRC). We aimed to search for lymphatic vessels (LVs) in the lamina propria of 39 surgically resected in situ CRC, as well as to detect the presence of tumour burden in the regional LNs. We identified the presence of LVs in the mucosa of all tumours (39/39; 100%) using D240 immunostains. LNs were analysed by both H&E and a RT-PCR-based molecular method. All cases were pN0 with H&E, and the molecular assay detected the presence of low amounts of tumour burden in the LNs of 11/39 (28%) cases, with no clinical consequences at 1 to 5 years of follow-up. The amount of tumour burden in LNs has proven to be a prognostic factor. Despite the fact that pTis is considered to have little or no risk of LN metastasis, our results enabled to quantify the amount of tumour burden within LNs, which may help clinical management. Lymph node (LN) metastasis is an important prognostic factor in colorectal cancer (CRC). We aimed to demonstrate the presence of lymphatic vessels (LV) in the mucosa of in-situ (pTis) CRC, and of detectable tumour burden in regional LNs. This is an observational retrospective study of 39 surgically resected in situ CRCs. The number of LVs was evaluated in both pTis and normal mucosa using D2-40 immunostains. All LNs were assessed with both H&E and the One Step Nucleic Acid Amplification (OSNA) assay, and the results were correlated with clinicopathological features. D2-40 immunohistochemisty revealed LVs in the lamina propria of all pTis CRC (100%), being absent in normal mucosa. A median of 16 LNs were freshly dissected per patient, and all cases were pN0 with H&E. Molecular LN analysis with OSNA revealed the presence of low amounts of tumour burden in 11/39 (28%) cases (range 400 to 4270 CK19 mRNA copies/µL), which had no clinical consequences. This study demonstrates the presence of LVs in the lamina propria in 100% of pTis CRC, as well as the presence of low amounts of tumour burden in regional LNs, only detected by molecular methods. Given the prognostic value of LN tumour burden, its molecular quantification may help a patient's clinical management

Protocol de vigilància epidemiològica per a la prevenció i el control de l’hepatitis C

Hepatitis C; Malalties transmissibles; PrevencióHepatitis C; Enfermedades trasmisibles; PrevenciónHepatitis C; Communicable diseases; PreventionProtocolo de actuación dirigido a los profesionales de la salud para el control y la prevención de la hepatitits CProtocol d'actuació dirigit als professionals de la salut per al control i la prevenció de l'hepatitis CProtocol of action aimed at health professionals to the control and prevention of hepatitis

Effect of cocoa's theobromine on intestinal microbiota of rats

SCOPE: To establish the role of cocoa theobromine on gut microbiota composition and fermentation products after cocoa consumption in rats. METHODS AND RESULTS: Lewis rats were fed either a standard diet (RF diet), a diet containing 10% cocoa (CC diet) or a diet including 0.25% theobromine (TB diet) for 15 days. Gut microbiota (fluorescence in situ hybridization coupled to flow cytometry and metagenomics analysis), SCFA and IgA-coated bacteria were analyzed in fecal samples. CC and TB diets induced lower counts of E. coli whereas TB diet led to lower counts of Bifidobacterium spp., Streptococcus spp. and Clostridium histolyticum-C. perfingens group compared to RF diet. Metagenomics analysis also revealed a different microbiota pattern among the studied groups. The SCFA content was higher after both CC and TB diets, which was mainly due to enhanced butyric acid production. Furthermore, both diets decreased the proportion of IgA-coated bacteria. CONCLUSION: Cocoa's theobromine plays a relevant role in some effects related to cocoa intake, such as the lower proportion of IgA-coated bacteria. Moreover, theobromine modifies gut microbiota although other cocoa compounds could also act on intestinal bacteria, attenuating or enhancing the theobromine effects

On the correlation between GNSS-R reflectivity and L-band microwave radiometry

This work compares microwave radiometry and global navigation satellite systems-reflectometry (GNSS-R) observations using data gathered from airborne flights conducted for three different soil moisture conditions. Two different regions are analyzed, a crops region and a grassland region. For the crops region, the correlation with the I/2 (first Stokes parameter divided by two) was between 0.74 and 0.8 for large incidence angle reflectivity data (30°-50°), while it was between 0.51 and 0.61 for the grassland region and the same incidence angle conditions. For the crops region, the correlation with the I/2 was between 0.64 and 0.69 for lower incidence angle reflectivity data (<;30°), while it was between 0.41 and 0.6 for the grassland region. This indicates that for large incidence angles the coherent scattering mechanism is dominant, while the lower incidence angles are more affected by incoherent scattering. Also a relationship between the reflectivity and the polarization index (PI) is observed. The PI has been used to remove surface roughness effects, but due to its dependence on the incidence angle only the large incidence angle observations were useful. The difference in ground resolution between microwave radiometry and GNSS-R and their strong correlation suggests that they might be combined to improve the spatial resolution of microwave radiometry measurements in terms of brightness temperature and consequently soil moisture retrievals.This work was supported in part by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, “AROSA-Advanced Radio Ocultations and Scatterometry Applications using GNSS and other opportunity signals,” under Grant AYA2011-29183-C02-01/ESP and “AGORA: Tecnicas Avanzadas en Teledetección Aplicada Usando Señales GNSS y Otras Señales de Oportunidad,” under Grant ESP2015-70014-C2-1-R (MINECO/FEDER), in part by the Monash University Faculty of Engineering 2013 Seed Grant, and in part by the Advanced Remote Sensing Ground-Truth Demo and Test Facilities and Terrestrial Environmental Observatories funded by the German Helmholtz-Association. The work of A. A.-Arroyo was supported by the Fulbright Commission in Spain through a Fulbright grant.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Improving the accuracy of soil moisture retrievals using the phase difference of the dual-polarization GNSS-R interference patterns

Soil moisture (SM) is a key parameter in the climate studies at a global scale and a very important parameter in applications such as precision agriculture at a local scale. The Global Navigation Satellite Systems Interference Pattern Technique (IPT) has proven to be a useful technique for the determination of SM, based on observations at vertical polarization (V-Pol) due to the Brewster angle. The IPT can be applied at both V-Pol and horizontal polarization (H-Pol) at the same time, observing the Brewster angle only at V-Pol. This letter presents a measurement technique based on tracking the phase difference between V-Pol and H-Pol interference patterns to improve the accuracy of the Brewster angle determination and, consequently, that of the SM retrievals. This technique benefits from the different phase behavior of the reflection coefficients between H-Pol and V-Pol in the angular observation range. To be sensitive to the phase difference, the Rayleigh criterion for smooth surfaces must be accomplished. This technique is not sensitive to topography as it is intrinsically corrected. Experimental results are presented to validate the proposed algorithm.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author’s final draft