Prediction of Early- and Late-Onset Pre-Eclampsia in the Preclinical Stage via Placenta-Specific Extracellular miRNA Profiling

Pre-eclampsia (PE) is one of the severe complications of pregnancy in 3–8% of all cases and is one of the leading causes of maternal and perinatal mortality. The fundamental role in the pathogenesis of PE is assigned to maternal and/or placental factors, whereby the combination and manifestation of which determines the time of onset of the clinical symptoms of PE (before or after 34 weeks of gestation) and their severity. It is known that the expression level of miRNAs, the regulators of signaling cascades in the cell, depends on gestational age. In the present study, we focused on the identification of the placenta-specific miRNAs that differentiate between early- and late-onset pre-eclampsia (ePE and lPE) throughout pregnancy, from the first to the third trimester. A total of 67 patients were analyzed using small RNA deep sequencing and real-time quantitative PCR, which resulted in a core list of miRNAs (let-7b-5p, let-7d-3p, let-7f-5p, let-7i-5p, miR-22-5p, miR-451a, miR-1246, miR-30e-5p, miR-20a-5p, miR-1307-3p, and miR-320e), which in certain combinations can predict ePE or lPE with 100% sensitivity and 84–100% specificity in the 1st trimester of pregnancy. According to the literature data, these miRNA predictors of PE control trophoblast proliferation, invasion, migration, syncytialization, the endoplasmic reticulum unfolded protein response, immune tolerance, angiogenesis, and vascular integrity. The simultaneous detection of let-7d-3p, miR-451a, and miR-1307-3p, resistant to the repeated freezing/thawing of blood serum samples, in combination with biochemical (b-hCG and PAPP-A) and ultrasound (UAPI) parameters, allowed us to develop a universal model for the prediction of ePE and lPE onset (FPR = 15.7% and FNR = 9.5%), which was validated using a test cohort of 48 patients and demonstrated false-positive results in 26.7% of cases and false negatives in 5.6% of cases. For comparison, the use of the generally accepted Astraia program in the analysis of the test cohort of patients led to worse results: FPR = 62.1% and FNR = 33.3%

Sorption and mechanism studies of Cu2+, Sr2+ and Pb2+ ions on mesoporous aluminosilicates/zeolite composite sorbents

The research aimed to develop a novel mesoporous aluminosilicate/zeolite composite by the template co-precipitation method. The effect of aluminosilicate (AlSi) and zeolite (NaY) on the basic properties and adsorption capacity of the resultant composite was conducted at different mass ratios of AlSi/NaY (i.e., 5/90, 10/80, 15/85, 20/80, and 50/50). The adsorption characteristics of such composite and its feedstock materials (i.e., aluminosilicates and zeolite) towards radioactive Sr2+ ions and toxic metals (Cu2+ and Pb2+ ions) in aqueous solutions was investigated. Results indicated that BET surface area (SBET), total pore volume (VTotal), and mesopore volume (VMeso) of prepared materials followed the decreasing order: aluminosilicate (890 m2/g, 0.680 cm3/g, and 0.644 cm3/g) > zeolite (623 m2/g, 0.352 cm3/g, and 0.111 cm3/g) > AlSi/NaY (20/80) composite (370 m2/g, 0.254 cm3/g, and 0.154 cm3/g, respectively). The Langmuir maximum adsorption capacity (Qm) of metal ions (Sr2+, Cu2+, and Pb2+) in single-component solution was 260 mg/g, 220 mg/g, and 161 mg/g (for zeolite), 153 mg/g, 37.9 mg/g, and 66.5 mg/g (for aluminosilicate), and 186 mg/g, 140 mg/g, and 77.8 mg/g for (AlSi/NaY (20/80) composite), respectively. Ion change was regarded as a domain adsorption mechanism of metal ions in solution by zeolite; meanwhile, inner-surface complexation was domain one for aluminosilicate. Ion change and inner-surface complexation might be mainly responsible for adsorbing metal ions onto the AlSi/NaY composite. Pore-filling mechanism was a less important contributor during the adsorption process. The results of competitive adsorption under binary-components (Cu2+ and Sr2+) and ternary-components (Cu2+, Pb2+, and Sr2) demonstrated that the removal efficacy of target metals by the aluminosilicate, zeolite, and their composite remarkably decreased. The synthesized AlSi/NaY composite might serve as a promising adsorbent for real water treatment.peerReviewe

Preeclampsia: The Interplay between Oxygen-Sensitive miRNAs and Erythropoietin

Changes in the oxygen partial pressure caused by a violation of uteroplacental perfusion are considered a powerful inducer of a cascade of reactions leading to the clinical manifestation of preeclampsia (PE). At the same time, the induction of oxygen-dependent molecule expression, in particular, miRNA and erythropoietin, is modulated. Therefore, the focus of our study was aimed at estimating the miRNA expression profile of placental tissue and blood plasma in pregnant women with preeclampsia using deep sequencing and quantitative RT-PCR, as well as determining the concentration of erythropoietin. The expression of miR-27b-3p, miR-92b-3p, miR-125b-5p, miR-181a-5p, and miR-186-5p, as regulated by hypoxia/reoxygenation, was significantly increased in blood plasma during early-onset preeclampsia. The possibility of detecting early PE according to the logistic regression model (miR-92b-3p, miR-125b-5p, and miR-181a-5p (AUC = 0.91)) was evaluated. Furthermore, the erythropoietin level, which is regulated by miR-125b-5p, was significantly increased. According to PANTHER14.1, the participation of these miRNAs in the regulation of pathways, such as the hypoxia’s response via HIF activation, oxidative stress response, angiogenesis, and the VEGF signaling pathway, were determined

Effect of Mg2+ ions on competitive metal ions adsorption/desorption on magnesium ferrite : mechanism, reusability and stability studies

The adsorption behavior of magnesium ferrite in single- and multicomponent metal ions solutions in the presence of Mg2+ ions were studied. A dramatic decrease in the adsorption capacity of magnesium ferrite towards Mn2+, Co2+, and Ni2+ ions for comparison study of single- and multicomponent solutions was established. The affinity of the sorbent in accordance with the maximum sorption capacities increases in the following order Cu2+ > Co2+ > Ni2+ > Mn2+. High efficiency of magnesium ferrite regeneration (~100%) with aqueous solutions of magnesium chloride in the concentration range of 0.001-0.1 M was shown. The low degree of toxic metal ions desorption combined with XRD, IR spectroscopy, and EDX analysis data indicate the key role of Mg2+ ion adsorption in the magnesium ferrite adsorbent regeneration. The positive effect of the introduction of Mg2+ ions into multicomponent solutions on metal ions adsorption was established, which is accompanied by an increase in the maximum sorption capacity for all metal ions and especially significant increase in the selectivity towards Cu2+ ions (2.41 mmol/g). The stability of the crystal structure of magnesium ferrite and a low degree of Mg2+ and Fe3+ ions leaching during multiple cycles of adsorption and regeneration of the adsorbent were observed.peerReviewe

Design of Nickel-Containing Nanocomposites Based on Ordered Mesoporous Silica: Synthesis, Structure, and Methylene Blue Adsorption

Mesoporous materials containing heteroelements have a huge potential for use as catalysts, exchangers, and adsorbents due to their tunable nanometer-sized pores and exceptionally large internal surfaces accessible to bulky organic molecules. In the present work, ordered mesoporous silica containing Ni atoms as active sites was synthesized by a new low-temperature method of condensation of silica precursors on a micellar template from aqueous solutions in the presence of nickel salt. The homogeneity of the resulting product was achieved by introducing ammonia and ammonium salt as a buffer to maintain a constant pH value. The obtained materials were characterized by nitrogen sorption, X-ray and neutron diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, infrared spectroscopy, and thermal analysis. Their morphology consists of polydisperse spherical particles 50–300 nm in size, with a hexagonally ordered channel structure, high specific surface area (ABET = 900–1200 m2/g), large pore volume (Vp = 0.70–0.90 cm3/g), average mesopore diameter of about 3 nm, and narrow pore size distribution. Adsorption tests for methylene blue show sorption capacities reaching 39–42 mg/g at alkaline pH. The advantages of producing nickel silicates by this method, in contrast to precipitation from silicon alkoxides, are the low cost of reagents, fire safety, room-temperature processing, and the absence of specific problems associated with the use of ethanol as a solvent, as well as the absence of the inevitable capture of organic matter in the precipitation process

Effects of Traumatic Brain Injury on the Gut Microbiota Composition and Serum Amino Acid Profile in Rats

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) heavily impacts the body: it damages the brain tissue and the peripheral nervous system and shifts homeostasis in many types of tissue. An acute brain injury compromises the “brain–gut-microbiome axis”, a well-balanced network formed by the brain, gastrointestinal tract, and gut microbiome, which has a complex effect: damage to the brain alters the composition of the microbiome; the altered microbiome affects TBI severity, neuroplasticity, and metabolic pathways through various bacterial metabolites. We modeled TBI in rats. Using a bioinformatics approach, we sought to identify correlations between the gut microbiome composition, TBI severity, the rate of neurological function recovery, and blood metabolome. We found that the TBI caused changes in the abundance of 26 bacterial genera. The most dramatic change was observed in the abundance of Agathobacter species. The TBI also altered concentrations of several metabolites, specifically citrulline and tryptophan. We found no significant correlations between TBI severity and the pre-existing gut microbiota composition or blood metabolites. However, we discovered some differences between the two groups of subjects that showed high and low rates of neurological function recovery, respectively. The present study highlights the role of the brain–gut-microbiome axis in TBI