Concentration of cytokines in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee and fibromyalgia

Marta Imamura,1 Rosa Alves Targino,1 Wu Tu Hsing,2,3 Satiko Imamura,1 Raymundo Soares Azevedo,3 Lucy Santos Villas Boas,4 Tania Regina Tozetto-Mendoza,5 Fábio Marcon Alfieri,1,6 Thais Raquel Filippo,1 Linamara Rizzo Battistella1,71Clinical Research Center, Institute of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of São Paulo Medical School, São Paulo, 2Division of Physical Medicine, Center for Acupuncture, Institute of Orthopedics and Traumatology, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, 3Department of Pathology, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, 4Laboratory of Medical Investigation LIM-52-HCFMUSP, Institute of Tropical Medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, 5Tropical Laboratory of Hematology/Medical Research Laboratory-LIM 52, Institute of Tropical Medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, 6Program of Master in Health Promotion, São Paulo Adventist University Center, São Paulo, 7Department of Legal Medicine, Medical Ethics, Social and Labor Medicine – Medicine School, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, BrazilIntroduction: Fibromyalgia and osteoarthritis may present a relationship with the concentration of cytokines. The aim of this study was to compare the serum concentrations of IL-12p70, tumor necrosis factor, IL-10, IL-6, IL-1ß, and IL-8 in patients with knee osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia.Materials and methods: The study included 53 women (71.2±7.6 years old) diagnosed with knee osteoarthritis with moderate-to-severe pain (visual analog scale >4) for at least 3 months. Sixty women (54.1±8.1 years old) diagnosed with fibromyalgia according to the American College of Rheumatology criteria and with moderate-to-severe pain (visual analog scale >4) also participated in this study. For the dosage of cytokines, blood was collected in the morning: 5 mL from the cubital vein. The material was centrifuged at 4°C, separated into 100 µL aliquots and stored at -80°C until processing. Serum concentrations of the studied cytokines were assessed using the BD Cytometric Bead Array method. Data were analyzed with Student’s t-test and the Mann–Whitney U test.Results: We found higher levels of IL-6, IL-10, and IL-1ß in fibromyalgia patients. After adjustment of age as a covariate, there was no statistically significant difference in the concentration of any cytokine between fibromyalgia and knee osteoarthritis patients.Conclusion: Patients with knee osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia with the same duration and intensity of pain demonstrate similar concentrations of cytokines. Aging may play a role in cytokine profile, a finding not so extensively addressed in the literature and one that should be further investigated.Keywords: cytokines, osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia, agin

Shotgun metagenomic sequencing of the first case of monkeypox virus in Brazil, 2022.

Monkeypox virus (MPXV), a zoonotic virus endemic to the African continent, has been reported in 33 non-endemic countries since May 2022. We report an almost complete genome of the first confirmed case of MPXV in Brazil. Shotgun metagenomic sequencing was completed in 18 hours, from DNA extraction to consensus sequence generation

A rapid method for profiling of volatile and semi-volatile phytohormones using methyl chloroformate derivatisation and GC–MS

Phytohormones are central components of complex signalling networks in plants. The interplay between these metabolites, which include abscisic acid (ABA), auxin (IAA), ethylene, jasmonic acid (JA) and salicylic acid (SA), regulate plant growth and development and modulate responses to biotic and abiotic stress. Few methods of phytohormone profiling can adequately quantify a large range of plant hormones simultaneously and without the requirement for laborious or highly specialised extraction protocols. Here we describe the development and validation of a phytohormone profiling protocol, based on methyl-chloroformate derivatisation of the plant metabolites and analysis by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC–MS). We describe the analysis of 11 metabolites, either plant phytohormones or intermediates of phytohormone metabolism; ABA, azelaic acid, IAA, JA and SA, and the phytohormone precursors 1-aminocyclopropane 1-carboxylic acid, benzoic acid, cinnamic acid, 13-epi-12-oxophytodienoic acid (13-epi-OPDA), linoleic acid and linolenic acid, and validate the isolation from foliar tissue of the model legume Medicago truncatula. The preparation is insensitive to the presence of water, facilitating measurement of the volatile metabolites. Quantitation was linear over four orders of magnitude, and the limits of detection between two and 10 ng/mL for all measured metabolites using a single quadrupole GC–MS

Castor Bean Metabolomics: Current Knowledge and Perspectives Toward Understanding of Plant Plasticity Under Stress Condition

Metabolomics provides vital information for the understanding of biological processes and has been vastly applied in plant studies. Several metabolite-profiling studies have correlated physiological events, such as germination or seedling establishment, with metabolic and molecular changes under different environmental conditions. Castor bean displays high plasticity during initial vegetative growth, which is reflected in the metabolome of the seeds and seedlings. In general, several metabolite-profiling techniques are required to obtain a complete response in terms of metabolism plasticity of the studied biological system. Carbohydrates, amino acids, and organic acids have been measured in castor bean seeds and seedlings by nuclear magnetic resonance, gas chromatography coupled to a quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry (GC-TOF-MS), as well as by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Fatty acids and some secondary metabolites have been quantified in castor bean seeds and seedlings by gas chromatography coupled to a triple-axis detector (GC-MS). In this chapter, we initially discuss how metabolomics studies suggested a possible role of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) accumulation during early imbibitions and seedling establishment. Later, we consider a specific metabolic signature of castor bean: a shift in carbon–nitrogen metabolism as its main biochemical response to high temperatures. This metabolic shift is usually associated with adjusted growth, and it is likely involved in maintaining cellular homeostasis under heat stress. The castor bean metabolome has been vastly investigated, especially with regard to its ability to respond to external stimuli. These results might help us understand the molecular requirements for vigorous castor bean seed germination and seedling growth under different environmental conditions