Caracterización de Moléculas Bioactivas Presente en los Extractos de la Anémona Condylactis gigantea

Los organismos marinos en las últimas décadas han sido blanco de interés para la búsqueda de moléculas con actividad biológica. Condylactis gigantea es una anemona presente en el suelo del fondo del océano; contiene células productoras de veneno (nematocistos) utilizadas para la caza y defensa. El objetivo del presente trabajo es evaluar el extracto de este organismo en busca de moléculas con actividad biológica. Del extracto total del cuerpo, se caracterizaron las actividades proteolíticas mediante zigmograma en geles SDS-PAGE, así como la actividad hemolítica y fosfolipasa A2. Encontrándose una actividad proteolítica de aproximadamente 23KDa que se activa con la temperatura y es independiente de pH e iones y dos actividades de naturaleza metaloproteasas con afinidad al Na+ , Ca2+ y Zn2+ de alto peso molecular, se determinó la capacidad hemolítica y la actividad fosfolipasa A2, lo que nos permite concluir que las proteínas presentes pueden ser de interés como compuestos bioactivos

Mortality from gastrointestinal congenital anomalies at 264 hospitals in 74 low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries: a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study

Summary Background Congenital anomalies are the fifth leading cause of mortality in children younger than 5 years globally. Many gastrointestinal congenital anomalies are fatal without timely access to neonatal surgical care, but few studies have been done on these conditions in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We compared outcomes of the seven most common gastrointestinal congenital anomalies in low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries globally, and identified factors associated with mortality. Methods We did a multicentre, international prospective cohort study of patients younger than 16 years, presenting to hospital for the first time with oesophageal atresia, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, intestinal atresia, gastroschisis, exomphalos, anorectal malformation, and Hirschsprung’s disease. Recruitment was of consecutive patients for a minimum of 1 month between October, 2018, and April, 2019. We collected data on patient demographics, clinical status, interventions, and outcomes using the REDCap platform. Patients were followed up for 30 days after primary intervention, or 30 days after admission if they did not receive an intervention. The primary outcome was all-cause, in-hospital mortality for all conditions combined and each condition individually, stratified by country income status. We did a complete case analysis. Findings We included 3849 patients with 3975 study conditions (560 with oesophageal atresia, 448 with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, 681 with intestinal atresia, 453 with gastroschisis, 325 with exomphalos, 991 with anorectal malformation, and 517 with Hirschsprung’s disease) from 264 hospitals (89 in high-income countries, 166 in middleincome countries, and nine in low-income countries) in 74 countries. Of the 3849 patients, 2231 (58·0%) were male. Median gestational age at birth was 38 weeks (IQR 36–39) and median bodyweight at presentation was 2·8 kg (2·3–3·3). Mortality among all patients was 37 (39·8%) of 93 in low-income countries, 583 (20·4%) of 2860 in middle-income countries, and 50 (5·6%) of 896 in high-income countries (p<0·0001 between all country income groups). Gastroschisis had the greatest difference in mortality between country income strata (nine [90·0%] of ten in lowincome countries, 97 [31·9%] of 304 in middle-income countries, and two [1·4%] of 139 in high-income countries; p≤0·0001 between all country income groups). Factors significantly associated with higher mortality for all patients combined included country income status (low-income vs high-income countries, risk ratio 2·78 [95% CI 1·88–4·11], p<0·0001; middle-income vs high-income countries, 2·11 [1·59–2·79], p<0·0001), sepsis at presentation (1·20 [1·04–1·40], p=0·016), higher American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score at primary intervention (ASA 4–5 vs ASA 1–2, 1·82 [1·40–2·35], p<0·0001; ASA 3 vs ASA 1–2, 1·58, [1·30–1·92], p<0·0001]), surgical safety checklist not used (1·39 [1·02–1·90], p=0·035), and ventilation or parenteral nutrition unavailable when needed (ventilation 1·96, [1·41–2·71], p=0·0001; parenteral nutrition 1·35, [1·05–1·74], p=0·018). Administration of parenteral nutrition (0·61, [0·47–0·79], p=0·0002) and use of a peripherally inserted central catheter (0·65 [0·50–0·86], p=0·0024) or percutaneous central line (0·69 [0·48–1·00], p=0·049) were associated with lower mortality. Interpretation Unacceptable differences in mortality exist for gastrointestinal congenital anomalies between lowincome, middle-income, and high-income countries. Improving access to quality neonatal surgical care in LMICs will be vital to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 of ending preventable deaths in neonates and children younger than 5 years by 2030

Genetic diversity characterization of a Venezuelan in vitro cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) collection with Simple Sequence Repeats (SSR)

Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz), is an important root crop in most Neotropical countries and is one of the richest carbohydrate sources for millions of people in the tropics. This crop has a diversity of different varieties and/or cultivars with a variety of morphological, agronomic and industrial characteristics. To elucidate the genetic differentiation in cassava varieties, recent progress has been made with the application of Simple Sequence Repeats (SSR). In the present study, we characterized the genetic diversity of an in vitro Venezuelan germplasm cassava bank, located at Instituto de Estudios Avanzados, using the SSR described by CIAT (Mba et al., 2001). A total of 20 SSR markers were amplified using genomic DNA isolated from fully in vitro plants of 100 cassava accessions. In preliminary analysis of 7 SSR (SSR 12, 51, 63, 102, 103, 105, 161) a total of 33 alleles (between 2 and 7 alleles per locus) were found with a high level of polymorphism. The genetic diversity value (H) was 0.68. The highest Polymorphism Information Content (PIC) was recorder by de SSR 12 (0.82) and the lowest PIC by SSR 102 (0.38), hence the SSR 12 was found to be highly informative followed by SSR 51 (0.78). With this preliminary study, we can confirm that SSR markers can contribute to a better understanding of the genetic diversity present in this Venezuelan collection of cassava in vitro plants

Snake venomics and antivenomics of Bothrops colombiensis, a medically important pitviper of the Bothrops atrox-asper complex endemic to Venezuela: Contributing to its taxonomy and snakebite management

The taxonomic status of the medically important pitviper of the Bothrops atrox-asper complex endemic to Venezuela, which has been classified as Bothrops colombiensis, remains incertae cedis. To help resolving this question, the venom proteome of B. colombiensis was characterized by reverse-phase HPLC fractionation followed by analysis of each chromatographic fraction by SDS-PAGE, N-terminal sequencing, MALDI-TOF mass fingerprinting, and collision-induced dissociation tandem mass spectrometry of tryptic peptides. The venom contained proteins belonging to 8 types of families. PI Zn2+-metalloproteinases and K49 PLA2 molecules comprise over 65% of the venom proteins. Other venom protein families comprised PIII Zn2+-metalloproteinases (11.3%), D49 PLA2s (10.2%), l-amino acid oxidase (5.7%), the medium-sized disintegrin colombistatin (5.6%), serine proteinases (1%), bradykinin-potentiating peptides (0.8%), a DC-fragment (0.5%), and a CRISP protein (0.1%). A comparison of the venom proteomes of B. colombiensis and B. atrox did not support the suggested synonymy between these two species. The closest homologues to B. colombiensis venom proteins appeared to be toxins from B. asper. A rough estimation of the similarity between the venoms of B. colombiensis and B. asper indicated that these species share approximately 65–70% of their venom proteomes. The close kinship of B. colombiensis and B. asper points at the ancestor of B. colombiensis as the founding Central American B. asper ancestor. This finding may be relevant for reconstructing the natural history and cladogenesis of Bothrops. Further, the virtually indistinguishable immunological crossreactivity of a Venezuelan ABC antiserum (raised against a mixture of B. colombiensis and Crotalus durissus cumanensis venoms) and the Costa Rican ICP polyvalent antivenom (generated against a mixture of B. asper, Crotalus simus, and Lachesis stenophrys venoms) towards the venoms of B. colombiensis and B. asper, supports this view and suggests the possibility of indistinctly using these antivenoms for the management of snakebites by any of these Bothrops species. However, our analyses also evidenced the limited recognition capability or avidity of these antivenoms towards a number of B. colombiensis and B. asper venom components, most notably medium-size disintegrins, bradykinin-potentiating peptides, PLA2 proteins, and PI Zn2+-metalloproteinases.UCR::Vicerrectoría de Investigación::Unidades de Investigación::Ciencias de la Salud::Instituto Clodomiro Picado (ICP