Strategii pentru identificarea factoriilor genetice a ictusului multifactorial

Institute of Genetics and Plant Physiology, Academy of Sciences of MoldovaStroke remains a major cause of death and disability both in developed and developing world countries. Understanding the genetic contributions to ischemic stroke is important not only so as to explain, or predict, the minority of cases that occur in the absence of well-established risk factors, such as smoking, hypertension and diabetes. Since many of the candidate genes tested for an association with ischemic stroke. Furthermore, the effect of each underlying gene may depend upon interaction with other loci and with environmental and lifestyle factors, as reported for some of the mendelian forms of stroke. Here we would like to describe important strategies for identifying genetic factors in multifactorial stroke. Strategii pentru identificarea factoriilor genetice a ictusului multifactorial Ictusul cerebrovascular rămâne a fi cauza majoră de deces şi invaliditate, atît în ţările dezvoltate cît şi în cele în curs de dezvolatre. Înţelegerea contribuţiilor genetice în accidentele vascular-cerebrale ischemice, este importantă nu doar pentru a explica sau a prezice minoritatea de cazuri care apar în absenţa unor factori de risc bine stabiliţi cum ar fi fumatul, hipertensiunea şi diabetul zaharat. Astfel, multe dintre genele candidate au fost testate în asociere cu ictusul ischemic. În plus, efectul fiecărei gene de bază, ar putea depinde de interacţiunea cu alţi loci şi cu factorii de mediu şi stilul de viaţa, cum s-a raportat pentru unele forme mendeliene ale ictusului. În acest articol, ne-am dori să descriem strategiile importante pentru identificarea factorilor genetici în ictusul multifactorial

Relaxation of Subgraph Queries Delivering Empty Results

Graph databases with the property graph model are used in multiple domains including social networks, biology, and data integration. They provide schema-flexible storage for data of a different degree of a structure and support complex, expressive queries such as subgraph isomorphism queries. The exibility and expressiveness of graph databases make it difficult for the users to express queries correctly and can lead to unexpected query results, e.g. empty results. Therefore, we propose a relaxation approach for subgraph isomorphism queries that is able to automatically rewrite a graph query, such that the rewritten query is similar to the original query and returns a non-empty result set. In detail, we present relaxation operations applicable to a query, cardinality estimation heuristics, and strategies for prioritizing graph query elements to be relaxed. To determine the similarity between the original query and its relaxed variants, we propose a novel cardinality-based graph edit distance. The feasibility of our approach is shown by using real-world queries from the DBpedia query log

Colagenul în medicicna regenerativă – present şi perspective

Laboratory of Tissue Engineering and Cells Cultures, SMPhU „Nicolae Testemiţanu”In the new paradigms of regenerative medicine, the use of materials in contact with biological materials (cells, tissues/organs, physiological fluids and biomolecules) is a current illustration of the need of interdisciplinary scientific approaches that combine the most recent advances in materials science and technology, basic sciences and life sciences. In tissue engineering, matrices are developed for cells support, promoting their differentiation and proliferation towards the formation of a new tissue. Such strategies allow for producing hybrid constructs that can be implanted in patients to induce the regeneration of tissues or replace failing or malfunctioning organs. Different materials have been proposed to be used in the processing of scaffolds, namely biodegradable polymers. In this review, the natural-based materials of collagen that have been proposed to be used in tissue engineering strategies and isolation methods of collagen will be overviewed. Colagenul în medicicna regenerativă – present şi perspective În paradigma nouă a medicinei regenerative utilizarea materialelor care vin în contact cu materialele biologice (celule, ţesututi, organe, lichide fiziologice şi biomolecule) necesită studii ştiinţifice interdisciplinare, care combină cele mai recente performanţe în ştiinţa şi tehnologia materialelor, ştiinţele de bază şi a vieţii. În ingineria tisulară sunt dezvoltate matrice pentru suportul celulelor, cu proprietăţi de a induce diferenţierea şi prolifirarea în direcţia formării noului ţesut. Se necesită obţinerea construcţiilor hibride care pot fi implantantate la pacienţi pentru a induce regenerarea ţesuturilor sau înlocuirea oreganelor nefuncţionale sau cu funcţia redusă. În acest articol de sinteză sunt descrise şi analizate materiale de origine naturală, anume a colagenului, metodele cunoscute de izolare şi purificare a colagenului ce sunt propuse pentru a fi utilizate în perspectiva ingineriei tisulare. Cuvinte cheie: Ingineria tisulară, colagen tip I, metode de izolare, matrice 3D

Celulele stem şi hepatocitele în terapia boliilor hepatice

Laborator de Inginerie tisulară şi culturi celulare USMF “Nicolae Testemiţanu”În prezent, există un interes crescut a utilizării celulelor stem în terapia diferitor boli. Celulele stem au capacitatea de a se devide pentru o perioadă indefinită de timp, de a se autoreînoi şi de a da naştere mai multor tipuri de celule. Terapia celulară poate fi definită ca „utilizarea celulelor în restabilirea, menţinerea şi îmbunătăţirea funcţiilor ţesuturilor şi organelor”. Acest articol de sinteză este adresat hepatocitelor, celulelor stem hepatice, inclusiv originii lor, rolului acestora în regenerarea ficatului şi dezvoltarea fibrozei, şi folosirea lor posibilă în tratarea bolii de ficat. Cele mai multe tulburări hepatice rezultă din disfuncţia hepatocitelor, aici acordîndu-se un mare interes transplantului de hepatocite izolate. În închiere, hepatocitele izolate şi derivate trebuie să demonstreze activitatea normală fiziologică, anume în funcţia de detoxificare şi metabolismul specific, ce se determină prin expresia genelor a proteinelor prezente în hepatocitele adulte. At present, there is growing interest in the therapeutic use of stem cells. A stem cell has the ability to divide for indefinite periods of time, to self-renew and to give rise to many different cell types. Cell therapy can be defined as «the use of living cells to restore, maintain or enhance the function of tissues and organs». This review will address on hepatocytes, hepatic stem cells, including their origin, their role in liver regeneration and fibrosis, and their possible use in the treatment of liver disease. As most liver disorders result from hepatocyte dysfunction, there has been great interest in transplantation of isolated hepatocytes. In summary, isolated and derived hepatocytes should demonstrate drug metabolism and detoxification activity by both gene expression and function, and they should express the hepatic transport proteins and transcription factors present in mature hepatocytes

The oncogenetic security in mesenchymal stem cells cultivation

Laborator Inginerie tisulară şi culturi celulare, USMF “Nicolae Testemiţanu”The article summarizes recent data concerning developing of the new strategy – genetic instability monitoring techniques in the cultures of human mesenchymal stem cells. Stem cells are characterized by their self-renewal ability and high differentiation potential. Described methods detect cell senescence in culture and evaluate changes associated with moderate telomere shortening and characterized by cell cycle arrest, mutations in genes responsible to apoptosis, and cancer-associated genes p53, p15, Rb, NF-kB, Myc and repair machinery

Evaluarea influenţei genelor modificatoare a metabolismului asupra manifestărilor proceselor miopatice (pe exemplul distrofiei musculare Duchenne/Becker)

Prezenta lucrare este dedicată cercetării factorilor genetici modif catori la pacienţii MDD/B. Estimarea rolului lor asupra vitezei progresiei procesului miopatic, determinarea tipului şi forţei de interacţiuni intergenice, precum şi modelarea matematică a vitezei de progresie a procesului miopatic, vor îmbogăţi datele actuale cu privire la mecanismele moleculare ale procesului miopatic şi va deschide posibilitatea prognozării individuale a evoluţiei procesului patologic cu indicarea corecţiei metabolice corespunzătoare. S-a efectuat un studiu epidemiologic- cercetare retrospectivă de cohortă, iar prelucrarea statistică a datelor obţinute a fost realizată cu ajutorul programelor SPSS (versiunea 20) şi MDR. Metoda regresiei logistice multinomiale a permis alegerea modelului optim al intensităţii legăturilor parametrilor genetici şi a altor date clinice cu viteza progresiei procesului patologic. Un rezultat pozitiv pentru genotipul heterozigot al genei MTHFR C677T şi homozigot după mutaţia MTHFR A1298C semnifică faptul că aceste categorii acţionează în calitate de categorii superioare a variabilei dependente (p=0,004 şi 0,039 respectiv). Valoarea matematică a estimărilor parametrilor regresiei a arătat o valoare statistic semnifi cativă pentru compound heterozigot MTHFR C677T, MTHFR A1298C, MTR A2756G (ß=33,7) şi MTHFR C677T, MTRR A66G, MTR A2756G (ß=34,7). Sinergismul pronunţat al interacţiunilor dintre genele ciclurilor folat, metioninic şi genei sintazei endoteliale NO constituie baza genetică a predispoziţiei către progresia procesului miopatic şi invaliditate timpurie (până la 9 ani). Concluzii. Estimarea efectului modificator al unui şir de sisteme genice asupra manifestărilor fenotipice ale patologiei monogenice prezintă o însemnătate fundamentală. Tipul şi forţa interacţiunilor dintre genele cercetate cu variante alelice- diferite la pacienţii MDD/B, imobilizaţi la vârstele de până la 9 şi 12 ani, cel mai probabil joacă un rol important în determinarea predispoziţiei de evoluţie a bolii spre stadiul imobilizării în scaunul cu rotile. Modificarea principiului consultului medico-genetic va permite identifi carea formelor clinice potenţial-grave de MDD/B, precum şi oferă posibilitatea de a alege tratamentul individual timpuriu şi în anumite cazuri ‒ efectuarea terapiei preventive

Potential therapeutic applications of infusions and hydroalcoholic extracts of Romanian glutinous sage (Salvia glutinosa L.)

Ethnopharmacological relevance: Salvia glutinosa, also known as the glutinous sage, has been used in Romanian folk medicine in the treatment of inflammation, injuries, and mild infections. However, there is no direct scientific evidence to demonstrate these activities. Aim of the Study: The present research was based on evaluating antioxidant, antiproliferative, and α-glucosidase inhibitory activity of S. glutinosa extracts, as well as the in vivo anti-inflammatory activity. Materials and Methods: Infusions and 70% (v:v) ethanol solution extracts of S. glutinosa stems and leaves, collected from two different locations in Romania, were prepared. Ten phenolic compounds were identified and quantified using the LC-DAD-ESI/MSn method, and total phenolic and flavonoid content, as well as in vitro antioxidant (DPPH, ABTS, and FRAP assays), antiproliferative, antiinflammatory and alpha-glucosidase inhibitory activities were determined. A rat model of induced inflammation with turpentine oil was used for the examination of in vivo effects of the extracts, using diclofenac as an antiinflammatory control. Results: The highest inhibitory α-glucosidase activity was determined to be IC50 = 0.546 mg/ml for the hydroalcoholic extract made with plant material collected on the road to Sighișoara. The highest cytotoxic activity against HepG2 cell line was determined to be GI50 = 131.68 ± 5.03 μg/ml, for the hydroalcoholic extract made with plant material from Sighișoara. In vivo administration of extract (200 mg lyophilized powder/ml) showed a significant reduction of NO production.Conclusion: Our findings indicate that S. glutinosa extracts exhibit antioxidant, α-glucosidase inhibitory activity, as well as a modest cytotoxic effect on HepG2 cell line. By in vivo administration, the extracts show antiinflammatory and antioxidant activity, which correlates with the traditional use of the species. The environmental conditions seemed to induce important changes in the chemical composition and the bioactivity of the herbal preparations derived from S. glutinosa.This work was supported by a grant of the Romanian Ministry of Education and Research, CNCS–UEFISCDI, project number PN-III-P2-2.1-PED-2019–5360.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The International Natural Product Sciences Taskforce (INPST) and the power of Twitter networking exemplified through #INPST hashtag analysis

Background: The development of digital technologies and the evolution of open innovation approaches have enabled the creation of diverse virtual organizations and enterprises coordinating their activities primarily online. The open innovation platform titled "International Natural Product Sciences Taskforce" (INPST) was established in 2018, to bring together in collaborative environment individuals and organizations interested in natural product scientific research, and to empower their interactions by using digital communication tools. Methods: In this work, we present a general overview of INPST activities and showcase the specific use of Twitter as a powerful networking tool that was used to host a one-week "2021 INPST Twitter Networking Event" (spanning from 31st May 2021 to 6th June 2021) based on the application of the Twitter hashtag #INPST. Results and Conclusion: The use of this hashtag during the networking event period was analyzed with Symplur Signals (https://www.symplur.com/), revealing a total of 6,036 tweets, shared by 686 users, which generated a total of 65,004,773 impressions (views of the respective tweets). This networking event's achieved high visibility and participation rate showcases a convincing example of how this social media platform can be used as a highly effective tool to host virtual Twitter-based international biomedical research events

Identificarea riscului genetic la ictus – studii de asociere largă a genomului şi meta-analiză

Institute of Genetics and Plant Physiology, Academy of Sciences of MoldovaA GWAS is an approach that involves rapidly scanning markers of many samples across the complete genome, to find genetic variations associated with a particular disease. Such studies are particularly useful in finding genetic variations that contribute to common complex diseases such as ictus. We have shown analysis of recent articles dedicated to GWA studies of stroke with scopes to demonstrate positive associations with ischemic stroke. Here we proposed next candidate genes and their polymorphisms such as factor V Leiden Gln506, ACE I/D, MTHFR C677T, prothrombin G20210A, PAI-1 5G allele, ACE I/D and glycoprotein IIIa Leu33Pro to use in research of patients with ischemic stroke from Moldavian population. Identificarea riscului genetic la ictus – studii de asociere largă a genomului şi meta-analiză GWAS (Genome wide association study sau Studii de asociere largă a genomului) este o metodologie care implică scanarea rapidă a markerelor de mai multe probe în genomul complet, pentru a găsi variaţii genetice associate cu o anumită boală. Aşa studii sunt utilizate particular în gasirea variaţiilor genetice care pot să descrie predispoziţia la bolile comune complexe, cum ar fi ictus cerebral. Am arătat analiza articolelor recente dedicate studiului despre GWAS cu scopul de a demonstra asocierea pozitivă la ictusul ischemic. Aici ne-am propus următoarele gene candidate şi polimorfismul lor cum ar fi factor V Leiden Gln506, ACE I/D, MTHFR C677T, prothrombina G20210A, PAI-1 5G allele, ACE I/D şi glycoproteina IIIa Leu33Pro pentru a le utiliza în cercetarea pacienţilor cu ictus cerebral din populaţia Republicii Moldova