Towards screening Barrett’s Oesophagus: current guidelines, imaging modalities and future developments

Barrett’s oesophagus is the only known precursor to oesophageal adenocarcinoma (OAC). Although guidelines on the screening and surveillance exist in Barrett’s oesophagus, the current strategies are inadequate. Oesophagogastroduodenoscopy (OGD) is the gold standard method in screening for Barrett’s oesophagus. This invasive method is expensive with associated risks negating its use as a current screening tool for Barrett’s oesophagus. This review explores current definitions, epidemiology, biomarkers, surveillance, and screening in Barrett’s oesophagus. Imaging modalities applicable to this condition are discussed, in addition to future developments. There is an urgent need for an alternative non-invasive method of screening and/or surveillance which could be highly beneficial towards reducing waiting times, alleviating patient fears and reducing future costs in current healthcare services. Vibrational spectroscopy has been shown to be promising in categorising Barrett’s oesophagus through to high-grade dysplasia (HGD) and OAC. These techniques need further validation through multicentre trials

Recrudescence induced by cyclophosphamide of chronic Trypanosoma cruzi infection in mice is influenced by the parasite strain

Reactivation of chronic chagasic patients may occur upon use of immunosuppressive drugs related to kidney or heart transplantation or when they are affected by concomitant HIV infection. This recrudescence, however, does not occur in all chagasic patients exposed to immunosuppressive agents. We therefore investigated the influence of Trypanosoma cruzi strains in the recrudescence of the parasitism in mice at the chronic phase treated with cyclophosphamide, an immunosuppressor that blocks lymphocytes DNA synthesis and therefore controls B cells response. A large variation was detected in the percentages of newly established acute phases in the groups of mice inoculated with the different strains. We suggest that reactivation of chronic T. cruzi infections is influenced by the parasite intrinsic characteristics, a phenomenon that might occur in the human disease

The role of strigolactones in plant-microbe interactions

Plants associate with an infinite number of microorganisms that interact with their hosts in a mutualistic or parasitic manner. Evidence is accumulating that strigolactones (SLs) play a role in shaping these associations. The best described function of SLs in plant–microbe interactions is in the rhizosphere, where, after being exuded from the root, they activate hyphal branching and enhanced growth and energy metabolism of symbiotic arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi (AMF). Furthermore, an impact of SLs on the quantitative development of root nodule symbiosis with symbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacteria and on the success of fungal and bacterial leaf pathogens is beginning to be revealed. Thus far, the role of SLs has predominantly been studied in binary plant–microbe interactions. It can be predicted that their impact on the bacterial, fungal, and oomycetal communities (microbiomes), which thrive on roots, in the rhizosphere, and on aerial tissues, will be addressed in the near future