RESUMEN
MicroRNAs (miRNAs), which are short single-stranded RNA sequences between 18 and 24 nucleotides, are known to play a crucial role in gene expression. Changes in their expression are not only involved in many diseases but also as a response to physiological changes, such as physical exercise. In this work, a new analytical strategy for the sensitive and specific analysis of miRNA sequences in human plasma is presented. The developed strategy does not depend on any nucleic acid amplification process and can be obtained in direct correlation to the number of events obtained by using single-particle ICP-MS measurements. The high selectivity of the assay (up to single nucleotide polymorphisms) can be achieved by a double hybridization process of the target miRNA with a complementary capture oligonucleotide that is conjugated to a magnetic microparticle and simultaneously with a complementary reporter oligonucleotide conjugated to a gold nanoparticle. Thanks to the novel approach followed in this method, the stoichiometry of the oligonucleotide-nanoparticle conjugates does not need to be addressed for the quantification of the target miRNA, which also represents a big advantage over other similar methods. The optimized method is applied to the determination of a miRNA as a biomarker of physical exercise in non-spiked human serum samples, and the results are validated against rt-qPCR. The achieved sensitivity permits the direct differentiation among sedentary and sportive subjects. This general platform can be easily applied to any other sequence by only modifying the capture and reporter oligonucleotides, paving the way for multiple clinically interesting applications.
RESUMEN
This study investigated the in vitro bioaccessibility of aluminum, copper, iron, manganese, lead, selenium, and zinc in three important species of farmed insects: the yellow mealworm (Tenebrio molitor), the house cricket (Acheta domesticus) and the migratory locust (Locusta migratoria). Results show that all three insect species constitute excellent sources of essential elements (Fe, Cu and Zn) for the human diet, contributing to the recommended dietary allowance, i.e., 10%, 50%, and 92%, respectively. A higher accumulation of Se (≥1.4 mg Se/kg) was observed with increasing exposure concentration in A. domesticus, showing the possibility of using insects as a supplements for this element. The presence of Al and Fe nanoparticles was confirmed in all three species using single particle-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry and transmission electron microscopy. The results also indicate that Fe bioaccessibility declines with increasing Fe-nanoparticle concentration. These findings contribute to increase the nutritional and toxicological insights of farmed insects.
RESUMEN
Ovarian cancer is one of the deadliest cancers in women. The lack of specific symptoms, especially at the initial stages of disease development, together with the malignancy heterogeneity, lower the life expectancy of patients. Aiming to improve survival rates, diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers are increasingly employed in clinics, providing gynecologists and oncologists with new tools to guide their treatment decisions. Despite the vast number of investigations, there is still an urgent need to discover more ovarian cancer subtype-specific markers which could further improve patient classification. To this end, high-throughput screening technologies, like mass spectrometry, are applied to deepen the tumoral cellular landscape and describe the malignant phenotypes. As for disease treatment, new targeted therapies, such as those based on PARP inhibitors, have shown great efficacy in destroying the tumoral cells. Likewise, drug-nanocarrier systems targeting the tumoral cells have exhibited promising results. In this narrative review, we summarize the latest achievements in the pursuit of biomarkers for ovarian cancer and recent anti-tumoral therapies.
