HERVs Role in the Pathogenesis, Diagnosis or Prognosis of Aging Diseases: A Systematic Review.

INTRODUCTION: HERVs are human endogenous retroviruses, which represent about 8% of the human genome, and have various physiological functions, especially in pregnancy, embryo development and placenta formation. However, their involvement in diseases is not well defined. Some studies have observed changes in HERV expression according to age. OBJECTIVE: Therefore, the aim of this systematic review was to analyze their role in pathogenesis and usage as diagnosis or prognosis biomarkers in aging disorders. METHODS: In this study, a search on the Pubmed interface was performed for papers published from January 1953 to June 1st, 2021. RESULTS: 45 articles have been included, which matched the eligibility criteria and evaluated the following diseases: breast cancer, prostate cancer, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), osteoarthritis, Alzheimer's disease, immuno-senescence, cognitive impairment, cataract, glaucoma and hypertension. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, the results suggested that HERVs play a role in the pathogenesis and can be used as biomarkers for the diagnosis or prognosis of aging disorders.

MicroRNA target prediction tools for animals: Where we are at and where we are going to - A systematic review.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are non-coding RNAs containing 19-26 nucleotides, and they directly regulate the translation of mRNAs by binding to them. MiRNAs participate in various physiological processes and are associated with the development of diseases, such as cancer. Therefore, understanding miRNAs regulation on targets is crucial for understanding the mechanisms of diseases and for obtaining a more suitable treatment. In animals, the base complementarity between miRNAs and the mRNA is imperfect, hindering the prediction of these targets. Thus, over the past 15 years, several computational tools have emerged for the prediction of miRNA targets in animals, generally with a focus on human expression data. Taking into account the wide range of prediction tools, a systematic review is presented here to analyze and classify these methods and features to enable the most appropriate choice according to the needs of each researcher. In this study, only articles whose methods met the inclusion and exclusion criteria established in the protocol were considered. The search was performed in November 2020, in two search engines PubMed and VHL Regional Portal. Among the initial 5315 journals found in the two searches, 78 articles were accepted, comprising 49 different tools analyzed and grouped by features and method similarities. As we limited our criteria to animals, all tools found in our search were suitable for human studies. The results demonstrated the evolution of prediction tools, including the most used features, such as alignment and thermodynamics, the methods used, as well as performance issues. It is possible to conclude that the currently available miRNA target prediction tools and methods can be aggregated with new features or other methods to improve accuracy.

Evaluation of sutures after immersion in nonalcoholic benzydamine hydrochloride mouthrinse by scanning electron microscopy.

This study evaluated the surface integrity of sutures after immersion in mouthrinse or water, by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis. Pieces of resorbable suture remaining after oral surgery were immediately collected. Twelve pieces each of catgut, chromed catgut, and polyglactin 910 were divided into four groups and immersed in pure mouthrinse, mouthrinse diluted in water at 1:1 and 1:2, or water (positive control), for 24 h. Three pieces each of new sutures were used as negative control. Specimens were placed on stubs and sputter coated with gold for SEM analysis. Observation of experimental groups and comparison with controls revealed that immersion in the mouthrinse at different dilutions did not alter their surface; slight, nonsignificant changes were found in some experimental specimens yet also in the positive control group. It was concluded that immersion of resorbable sutures in water or non-alcoholic benzydamine hydrochloride mouthrinse did not produce any significant change; therefore, this mouthrinse may be safely employed after oral surgery.