Bright nanoparticles for an even brighter future: efficient production of luminescent carbon nanodots from olive mill wastewater

Este trabalho foi financiado pelo Concurso Anual para Projetos de Investigação, Desenvolvimento, Inovação e Criação Artística (IDI&CA) 2016 do Instituto Politécnico de Lisboa. Código de referência IPL/2016/NANOLIVE/ISELCarbon nanodots (CNDs) are a very recent class of spherical-shaped nanosized carbon materials possessing average typical diameters < 10 nm. Since the very first reports on carbon dots,1,2 a variety of methods (top-down and bottom-up strategies), carbon sources and passivating agents, have dealt with their synthesis.3 The bottom-up approach, encompassing the use of pyrolytic/solvothermal processes, is more amenable for large-scale production and can cope with a large diversity of carbon precursors, either from natural or synthetic sources, typically endowed with acid, alcohol and amine functionalities.4 Some of the interesting CNDs properties include tunable photoluminescence, outstanding photostability and negligible cytotoxicity. These unique properties have prompted their intense and widespread use in several fields, such as fluorescent bioimaging and nanomedicine, chemo/biosensing, photocatalysis and optoelectronics.4info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Genomics and proteomics approaches to the study of cancer-stroma interactions

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The development and progression of cancer depend on its genetic characteristics as well as on the interactions with its microenvironment. Understanding these interactions may contribute to diagnostic and prognostic evaluations and to the development of new cancer therapies. Aiming to investigate potential mechanisms by which the tumor microenvironment might contribute to a cancer phenotype, we evaluated soluble paracrine factors produced by stromal and neoplastic cells which may influence proliferation and gene and protein expression.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The study was carried out on the epithelial cancer cell line (Hep-2) and fibroblasts isolated from a primary oral cancer. We combined a conditioned-medium technique with subtraction hybridization approach, quantitative PCR and proteomics, in order to evaluate gene and protein expression influenced by soluble paracrine factors produced by stromal and neoplastic cells.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We observed that conditioned medium from fibroblast cultures (FCM) inhibited proliferation and induced apoptosis in Hep-2 cells. In neoplastic cells, 41 genes and 5 proteins exhibited changes in expression levels in response to FCM and, in fibroblasts, 17 genes and 2 proteins showed down-regulation in response to conditioned medium from Hep-2 cells (HCM). Nine genes were selected and the expression results of 6 down-regulated genes (<it>ARID4A</it>, <it>CALR</it>, <it>GNB2L1</it>, <it>RNF10</it>, <it>SQSTM1</it>, <it>USP9X</it>) were validated by real time PCR.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>A significant and common denominator in the results was the potential induction of signaling changes associated with immune or inflammatory response in the absence of a specific protein.</p

Chagas disease and triatomine biology (Heteroptera, Triatominae), with emphasis on aspects of spermatogenesis

A century after the discovery of Chagas disease, it is still one of the most important parasitic diseases affecting humans. The subfamily Triatominae is important in medical health, because these insects are vectors of Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiologic agent of Chagas disease. These insects are also of important cytological relevance because they have particular cell characteristics, such as persistence of nucleolar material in spermatogenesis. The germ cells of the animal kingdom have chromatoid bodies (CBs) in their cytoplasm that can originate from nucleolar material that is fragmented in the early stages of spermatogenesis and plays an important role in cellular communication between the spermatids during spermiogenesis. Currently, there are few studies on the function and formation of the CB in nucleologenesis, especially with emphasis on the ultrastructure of the cells involved in spermatogenesis of insects. Considering the importance of knowledge about the triatomine fauna, we conducted a study of the biogeography and reports of these insects and a survey of patients with Chagas disease in the northwestern region of São Paulo State. Data collected from 1995 to 2009 indicated 700 individuals with Chagas disease, demonstrating a range of 0 to 40 years, which shows that the disease may be active in this region. Moreover, of the 1150 patients treated for cardiomyopathy, 44% were chagasic. Regarding the triatomines noted and captured in the period from 2004 to 2009, the species were Triatoma sordida and Rhodnius neglectus, with T. sordida being the most abundant. In addition, some triatomines were infected by T. cruzi in various developmental stages. We also analyzed the nucleolar cycle and fibrillarin nucleolar protein expression in CB of spermatogenic cells of T. infestans and T. sordida, using histological, ultrastructural and immunocytochemical techniques. The results revealed fibrillarin nucleolar protein expression in the nucleus and in some cytoplasmic spots of germ cells during spermatogenesis in triatomines. These data suggest that fibrillarin could be a constituent of CB, which was most likely derived from nucleolar fragmentation. This is the first time that fibrillarin protein expression has been shown in CB during spermatogenesis progression in triatomines. Knowledge about the biology of triatomines was deepened in this study and, in particular, the structural and ultrastructural aspects of spermatogenesis in triatomines. This study showed that the disease may be active in the northwestern region of São Paulo and expanded our knowledge of the biology of triatomines, the main vectors of Chagas disease. © FUNPEC-RP

Annexin 1: differential expression in tumor and mast cells in human larynx cancer.

Annexin 1 protein (ANXA1) expression was evaluated in tumor and mast cells in human larynx cancer and control epithelium. The effect of the exogenous ANXA1 (peptide Ac 2-26) was also examined during the cellular growth of the Hep-2 human larynx epidermoid carcinoma cell line. This peptide inhibited the proliferation of the Hep-2 cells within 144 hr. In surgical tissue specimens from 20 patients with larynx cancer, ultrastructural immunocytochemistry analysis showed in vivo down-regulation of ANXA1 expression in the tumor and increased in mast cells and Hep-2 cells treated with peptide Ac2-26. Combined in vivo and in vitro analysis demonstrated that ANXA1 plays a regulatory role in laryngeal cancer cell growth. We believe that a better understanding of the regulatory mechanisms of ANXA1 in tumor and mast cells may lead to future biological targets for the therapeutic intervention of human larynx cancer

Study of nucleolar behavior during spermatogenesis in Martarega brasiliensis (Heteroptera, Notonectidae)

Submitted by sandra infurna ([email protected]) on 2016-05-13T18:01:25Z No. of bitstreams: 1 fff_moreira_etal_IOC_2015.pdf: 239117 bytes, checksum: c7f1f90c2207a5cda43541a3ad54f4ab (MD5)Approved for entry into archive by sandra infurna ([email protected]) on 2016-05-13T18:19:10Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 fff_moreira_etal_IOC_2015.pdf: 239117 bytes, checksum: c7f1f90c2207a5cda43541a3ad54f4ab (MD5)Made available in DSpace on 2016-05-13T18:19:10Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 fff_moreira_etal_IOC_2015.pdf: 239117 bytes, checksum: c7f1f90c2207a5cda43541a3ad54f4ab (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015Universidade Estadual Paulista “Júlio de Mesquita Filho". Instituto de Biociências, Letras e Ciências Exatas. Departamento de Biologia. Laboratório de Citogenética e Molecular de Insetos. São José do Rio Preto, SP, Brasil.Universidade Estadual Paulista “Júlio de Mesquita Filho”. Instituto de Biociências, Letras e Ciências Exatas. Departamento de Biologia. Laboratório de Biologia Celular. São José do Rio Preto, SP, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório Nacional e Internacional de Referência em Taxonomia de Triatomíneos. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, BrasilUniversidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. Departamento de Zoologia. Laboratório de Entomologia. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Universidade Estadual Paulista “Júlio de Mesquita Filho". Instituto de Biociências, Letras e Ciências Exatas. Departamento de Biologia. Laboratório de Citogenética e Molecular de Insetos. São José do Rio Preto, SP, Brasil.Universidade Estadual Paulista “Júlio de Mesquita Filho". Instituto de Biociências, Letras e Ciências Exatas. Departamento de Biologia. Laboratório de Citogenética e Molecular de Insetos. São José do Rio Preto, SP, Brasil.Universidade Estadual Paulista “Júlio de Mesquita Filho". Instituto de Biociências, Letras e Ciências Exatas. Departamento de Biologia. Laboratório de Citogenética e Molecular de Insetos. São José do Rio Preto, SP, Brasil.Universidade Estadual Paulista “Júlio de Mesquita Filho". Instituto de Biociências, Letras e Ciências Exatas. Departamento de Biologia. Laboratório de Citogenética e Molecular de Insetos. São José do Rio Preto, SP, Brasil.Few cytogenetic studies have been undertaken using aquatic heteropterans and the nucleolar behavior of these insects has been described in only four species, Limnogonus aduncus, Brachymetra albinerva, Halobatopsis platensis, and Cylindrostethus palmaris. The nucleolus is a cellular structure related to biosynthetic activity and it exhibits a peculiar behavior in the heteropterans of the Triatominae subfamily; it persists during all stages of meiosis. Thus, this study aims to analyze spermatogenesis in Martarega brasiliensis, with an emphasis on nucleolar behavior. Twenty M. brasiliensis adult males were used and collected from the Municipal reservoir in the city of São José do Rio Preto, São Paulo, Brazil. The species were fixed in methanol:acetic acid (3:1), then dissected, and the testicles were extracted, torn apart, and impregnated with silver ions. During prophase, the nuclei of M. brasiliensis were composed of the nucleolus and nucleolar corpuscles, which varied in number from one to four, emphasizing that this insect has great synthetic activity during meiosis. The analysis of cells in metaphase I showed that M. brasiliensis presents a nucleolar organizing region in at least one autosome. Furthermore, the phenomenon of nucleolar persistence was not observed. All spermatids presented nucleolar markings that varied in number and position according to the stage of elongation. Moreover, it was also possible to highlight the presence of a vesicle in spermatids. Thus, this paper describes the nucleolar behavior of M. brasiliensis and highlights important characteristics during spermatogenesis, thus, increasing the knowledge about the biology of these aquatic heteropterans

Entoepidemiology of Chagas disease in northwest Sao Paulo and cytogenetic analysis of its main vector, Triatoma sordida (Hemiptera: Triatominae)

One century after the discovery of Chagas disease, it is still considered as a major health problem, causing more deaths in the Americas than any other parasitic disease. The northwest region of Sao Paulo, a macro-region that includes cities with a high-quality of life, has particularly high rates of Chagas disease. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the number of patients with Chagas disease, and to identify the triatomine fauna in the northwest region of Sao Paulo State, and to cytogenetically analyze Triatoma sordida mutants, thus providing new knowledge to control these species and avoid possible infections by Chagas disease. A total of 700 Chagas patients of both genders and variable age, who were born in and residents of the northwest region of the State of Sao Paulo were recruited for this study. Regarding the entoepidemiological fauna, both T. sordida and Rhodnius neglectus were captured from 2004 to 2011 in the northwest region of the Sao Paulo; however, T. sordida was the predominant species. Some of these collected triatomines were infected by Trypanosoma cruzi in several developmental stages. Furthermore, the lactoacetic orcein method was used for cytogenetic analysis. Several abnormalities were observed during meiosis of the T. sordida mutants, including condensed chromosomes with no chiasma, chromatin bridges between the autosomes, and some non-pairing homologous chromosomes. Thus, our study suggests that Chagas disease is currently not under control in Brazil. Furthermore, we suggest that cryptic speciation may be occurring in populations of T. sordida of Brazil. Further studies are necessary to understand the mechanisms behind these phenomena.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq