Evaluation of one-dimensional model of C-14 atmospheric transport in vegetated canopies.

The evaluation of the previously developed one-dimensional model of radiocarbon atmospheric transport in vegetated canopies against C-14 concentration data collected at the site of SMEAR-II research station was presented. In most cases, the simulated vertical profiles of C-14 concentrations within the canopy layer agreed reasonably with measurements, the correlation coefficient of simulated vs. observed concentrations was 0.72. The developed model could be used to evaluate vertical variations of C-14 concentrations in vegetated canopy layers.

Targeting antisense mitochondrial noncoding RNAs induces bladder cancer cell death and inhibition of tumor growth through reduction of survival and invasion factors.

Knockdown of the antisense noncoding mitochondrial RNAs (ASncmtRNAs) induces apoptotic death of several human tumor cell lines, but not normal cells, supporting a selective therapy against different types of cancer. In this work, we evaluated the effects of knockdown of ASncmtRNAs on bladder cancer (BCa). We transfected the BCa cell lines UMUC-3, RT4 and T24 with the specific antisense oligonucleotide Andes-1537S, targeted to the human ASncmtRNAs. Knockdown induced a strong inhibition of cell proliferation and increase in cell death in all three cell lines. As observed in UMUC-3 cells, the treatment triggered apoptosis, evidenced by loss of mitochondrial membrane potential and Annexin V staining, along with activation of procaspase-3 and downregulation of the anti-apoptotic factors survivin and Bcl-xL. Treatment also inhibited cell invasion and spheroid formation together with inhibition of N-cadherin and MMP 11. In vivo treatment of subcutaneous xenograft UMUC-3 tumors in NOD/SCID mice with Andes-1537S induced inhibition of tumor growth as compared to saline control. Similarly, treatment of a high-grade bladder cancer PDX with Andes-1537S resulted in a strong inhibition of tumor growth. Our results suggest that ASncmtRNAs could be potent targets for bladder cancer as adjuvant therapy.

Proliferaciones Oncocíticas de Glándulas Salivales: Estudio Estructural e Inmunohistoquímico de 7 Casos / Oncocytic Proliferations of Salivary Glands: Structural and Immunohistochemical Study of 7 Cases

RESUMEN: Los oncocitos son células originadas probablemente por transformación metaplásica del epitelio ductal o acinar de parótida y submandibular. Su proliferación puede originar condiciones patológicas que incluyen hiperplasias oncocíticas adenomatosas multinodulares (HOAM), oncocitomas y carcinomas oncocíticos. Los tumores oncocíticos constituyen el 1 % de todos los tumores salivales y entre el 82 y 90 % se desarrollan en la parótida; el resto se divide entre la glándula submandibular y las glándulas salivales menores. Las hiperplasias oncocíticas multinodulares son extremadamente raras. En el presente trabajo se analizaron 5 casos de oncocitomas de parótida y dos casos de HOAM, uno de parótida y otro de submandibular y se describieron las características estructurales e inmunohistoquímicas de los oncocitos. Cortes seriados de las biopsias incluidas en parafina se colorearon con Hematoxilina - Eosina, Hematoxilina/ácido fosfotúngstico (PTA/H), PAS y se marcaron con AC antimitocondrial, CK 5/6, CK 20 y EMA. Los tumores mostraron un crecimiento nodular encapsulado por tejido conectivo denso. En los cortes histológicos se identificaron oncocitos eosinófilos (oscuros) y granulaciones violáceas con PTA/H. En dos casos de parótida y el caso de HOAM de submandibular presentaron además oncocitos claros PAS positivos. La inmunomarcación fue positiva en todas las células siendo la marcación para mitocondrias periférica en los oncocitos claros. Las células eosinofílicas PTA/H positivas y con fuerte marcación con AC antimitocondrial, CKs y EMA confirman el diagnóstico de patología oncocítica. En tres casos coexisten oncocitos claros y oscuros. Las células claras son oncocitos que acumulan glucógeno en su citoplasma desplazando a las mitocondrias hacia la periferia. En el diagnóstico diferencial de este tumor debemos considerar los tumores salivales con células claras, el carcinoma renal metastásico, el tumor de Whartin, la variante de células claras del carcinoma epitelial/mioepitelial y el carcinoma mucoepidermoide con metaplasia oncocítica.

ABSTRACT: Oncocytes are cells probably originated by metaplastic transformation of the ductal or acinar epithelium of parotid and submandibular. Its proliferation can cause pathological conditions that include multinodular adenomatous oncocytic hiperplasia (HOAM), oncocytomas and oncocytic carcinomas. Oncocytic tumors make up 1 % of all salivary tumors and between 82 and 90 % develop in the parotid; the rest of the tumors are divided between the submandibular gland and the minor salivary glands. Multinodular oncocytic hyperplasias are extremely rare. In the present work we analyzed five cases of parotid oncocytomas and two cases of HOAM, one of parotid and the other of submandibular; structural and immunohistochemical characteristics of the oncocytes were described. Biopsies were included in paraffin, serial cuts were stained with H&E, Hematoxylin / phosphotungstic acid (PTA / H), PAS and were marked with antimitochondrial AC, CK 5/6, CKs 20 and EMA. The tumors showed a nodular growth encapsulated by dense connective tissue. The histological cuts showed dark eosinophilic oncocytes and violaceous granulations with PTA / H. In two cases of parotid and the case of submandibular HOAM, PAS positive clear oncocytes were also present. The immunostaining was positive in all the cells, being the labeling for peripheral mitochondria in the clear oncocytes. Eosinophilic cells PTA / H positive with strongly marked with antimitochondrial AC, CKs and EMA confirm the diagnosis of oncocytic pathology. In three cases, light and dark oncocytes coexist. Clear cells are oncocytes that accumulate glycogen in their cytoplasm, displacing the mitochondria to the periphery. In the differential diagnosis we should consider salivary tumors with clear cells, metastatic renal carcinoma, Whartin's tumor, the clear cell variant of epithelial / myoepithelial carcinoma and mucoepidermoid carcinoma with oncocytic metaplasia.

[Prostate carcinoma and syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion]. / Carcinoma de próstata y síndrome de secreción inadecuada de hormona antidiurética.

Prostate cancer is an extremely rare cause of syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone (SIADH) secretion. These tend to be aggressive tumors and SIADH can carry serious clinical consequences. A 64 years old patient was diagnosed with Gleason 4+3: 7 prostate adenocarcinoma in December 2014 and received hormonal blockade therapy. By March 2015 he was admitted for symptomatic hyponatremia and SIADH secretion was diagnosed, with no other probable cause than prostate cancer. He suffered a rapid progression of his oncologic disease, surprisingly with PSA in normal range, and died in the short term. There is great clinical and histopathological variability in the cases reported in the literature of association of prostate carcinoma and SIADH. However, they all agree on the aggressiveness of these tumors. This characteristic is present in tumors that have neuroendocrine features. They are frequently resistant to hormonal treatment and may present with paraneoplastic syndromes such as SIADH. The profile of its molecular alterations is under study for the development of target therapies. The association of prostate adenocarcinoma and SIADH is very uncommon and could involve neuroendocrine differentiation. For this reason, it is essential to perform a new biopsy of the tumor or its metastases at the progressive disease in order to conduct an appropriate treatment according to its morphological, immunohistochemical and, in the future, molecular characteristics.

Carcinoma de próstata y síndrome de secreción inadecuada de hormona antidiurética / Prostate carcinoma and syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretio

El cáncer de próstata es una causa extremadamente rara de síndrome de secreción inadecuada de hormona antidiurética (SIADH). Se trata de tumores agresivos asociados a un síndrome que puede aparejar consecuencias graves. Un paciente de 64 años fue diagnosticado de adenocarcinoma de próstata Gleason 4+3: 7 en 2014 y recibió terapia de bloqueo hormonal. En 2015 debió ser ingresado por hiponatremia sintomática y se le diagnosticó un SIADH, sin otra causa probable más que el cáncer de próstata. Sufrió rápida progresión de su enfermedad oncológica, llamativamente cuando su PSA se encontraba en valores normales, y falleció al corto plazo. Existe gran variabilidad clínica e histopatológica de los casos informados en la literatura de asociación de carcinoma de próstata y SIADH, sin embargo, todos coinciden en la agresividad de estos tumores. Estas características se presentan en tumores con diferenciación neuroendocrina, frecuentemente resistentes al tratamiento hormonal y que pueden presentar síndromes paraneoplásicos como el SIADH. El perfil de sus alteraciones moleculares se encuentra en estudio para el desarrollo de terapias target. La asociación de adenocarcinoma de próstata y SIADH es muy infrecuente y podría implicar diferenciación neuroendocrina. Por tal motivo es esencial una nueva biopsia del tumor o de sus metástasis a la progresión de la enfermedad para poder conducir un tratamiento adecuado de acuerdo a sus características morfológicas, inmunohistoquímicas y, en un futuro, moleculares.

Prostate cancer is an extremely rare cause of syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone (SIADH) secretion. These tend to be aggressive tumors and SIADH can carry serious clinical consequences. A 64 years old patient was diagnosed with Gleason 4+3: 7 prostate adenocarcinoma in December 2014 and received hormonal blockade therapy. By March 2015 he was admitted for symptomatic hyponatremia and SIADH secretion was diagnosed, with no other probable cause than prostate cancer. He suffered a rapid progression of his oncologic disease, surprisingly with PSA in normal range, and died in the short term. There is great clinical and histopathological variability in the cases reported in the literature of association of prostate carcinoma and SIADH. However, they all agree on the aggressiveness of these tumors. This characteristic is present in tumors that have neuroendocrine features. They are frequently resistant to hormonal treatment and may present with paraneoplastic syndromes such as SIADH. The profile of its molecular alterations is under study for the development of target therapies. The association of prostate adenocarcinoma and SIADH is very uncommon and could involve neuroendocrine differentiation. For this reason, it is essential to perform a new biopsy of the tumor or its metastases at the progressive disease in order to conduct an appropriate treatment according to its morphological, immunohistochemical and, in the future, molecular characteristics.

Reporte de caso Adenocarcinoma de celulas basales de glandula parotida: estudio clinico/patologico e inmunohistoquimico / Case report of Basal cell adenocarcinoma of the parotid gland: clinicopathological and immunohistochemical study

El adenocarcinoma de células basales es una neoplasia epitelial con las características citológicas del adenoma de células basales pero con un patrón morfológico de crecimiento infiltrante indicativo de malignidad. Debido a su baja incidencia es a menudo difícil de diagnosticar. El objetivo del presente estudio fue identificar características morfológicas e inmunohistoquímicas que contribuyen a su diagnóstico. Se resecó un tumor de parótida en una paciente de 52 años; se realizó biopsia postoperatoria e inmunomarcación con Ki-67, CK19, p63 y alfa actina de músculo liso. Se diagnosticó adenocarcinoma de células basales mixto sólido y tubular con invasión perineural y de la cápsula tumoral, grasa periglandular y nodos linfoides. La inmunomarcación con Ki-67, CK19, p63 y alfa actina de músculo liso resultó positiva. Posteriormente se diagnosticó una metástasis en seno maxilar. Las características morfológicas, la inmunomarcación Ki-67 positiva y la metástasis le dan el carácter maligno a este tumor, lo que lo diferencia del adenoma de células basales

Basal cell adenocarcinoma is an epithelial neoplasm with the cytological characteristics of a basal cell adenoma but with a morphological pattern of infiltrative growth indicative of malignancy. It is often difficult to diagnose it because of its low incidence. The objective of this study is to identify the morphological and immunohistochemical characteristics that aid its diagnosis. A parotid tumor was resected in a 52-year-old patient; postoperative biopsy and immunostaining with Ki-67, CK19, p63 and α-smooth muscle actin were performed. The diagnosis was basal cell adenocarcinoma invading the tumor capsule, periglandular fat and lymph nodes. Immunolabeling with Ki-67, CK19, p63 and α-smooth muscle actin was positive. Subsequently, maxillary sinus metastasis was diagnosed. Given the morphological characteristics, elevated Ki-67 expression and metastasis, this is a malignant tumor, which differentiates it from the basal cell adenoma

Educación continua: el artículo científico original / Continuing education: the original scientific article

El artículo científico original proporciona un método para que los científicos puedan comunicarse con otros científicos sobre los resultados de sus investigaciones. El propósito de esta segunda parte de educación continua es dar una breve guía con consejos para ayudar al proceso de una mejor redacción científica y delinear los principios de la escritura y la edición. Escribir un artículo científico en una revista revisada por pares es un proceso exigente que requiere tiempo y habilidad. El artículo científico que informa sobre una investigación original incluye tres partes importantes: preliminares, cuerpo principal y parte final. El cuerpo principal debe seguir una estructura estándar resumido por el acrónimo IMRAD: introducción, métodos, resultados y discusión/conclusión. Cada sección tiene su propio estilo de la estructura y lenguaje de presentación. Se explica la importancia del empleo de tables y figuras y se analizan otras secciones relevantes como la autoría, afiliación, conflicto de intereses y referencias...

Down-regulation of the antisense mitochondrial non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) is a unique vulnerability of cancer cells and a potential target for cancer therapy.

Hallmarks of cancer are fundamental principles involved in cancer progression. We propose an additional generalized hallmark of malignant transformation corresponding to the differential expression of a family of mitochondrial ncRNAs (ncmtRNAs) that comprises sense and antisense members, all of which contain stem-loop structures. Normal proliferating cells express sense (SncmtRNA) and antisense (ASncmtRNA) transcripts. In contrast, the ASncmtRNAs are down-regulated in tumor cells regardless of tissue of origin. Here we show that knockdown of the low copy number of the ASncmtRNAs in several tumor cell lines induces cell death by apoptosis without affecting the viability of normal cells. In addition, knockdown of ASncmtRNAs potentiates apoptotic cell death by inhibiting survivin expression, a member of the inhibitor of apoptosis (IAP) family. Down-regulation of survivin is at the translational level and is probably mediated by microRNAs generated by dicing of the double-stranded stem of the ASncmtRNAs, as suggested by evidence presented here, in which the ASncmtRNAs are bound to Dicer and knockdown of the ASncmtRNAs reduces reporter luciferase activity in a vector carrying the 3'-UTR of survivin mRNA. Taken together, down-regulation of the ASncmtRNAs constitutes a vulnerability or Achilles' heel of cancer cells, suggesting that the ASncmtRNAs are promising targets for cancer therapy.

Educación continua: la revista científica / Continuous education: the scientific journal

La Revista de la Sociedad Odontológica de La Plata es una publicación periódica científica que pone a disposición de sus lectores artículos científicos e información de actualidad sobre investigaciones y desarrollo acerca del área de la odontología. Como tal, debe cumplir requisitos establecidos y contener distintos tipos de artículos científicos. En esta serie de artículos, denominados Educación continua, se tratará de exponer los lineamientos principales para la creación, redacción y elaboración de manuscritos que permitan lograr el desarrollo de habilidades para tal fin, entre los profesionales odontólogos, hecho que influirá en la calidad y nivel científico-técnico de sus publicaciones...

Multifocal canalicular adenoma of the minor labial salivary glands.

Canalicular adenoma (CA) is an uncommon benign neoplasia of salivary glands which is clinically difficult to recognise. Despite having an excellent prognosis, the histological diagnosis and clinical management of this entity can be troublesome. While the main differential diagnosis to consider is basal cell adenoma (BCA), similar histological patterns and multifocality have been observed in adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) and polymorphous low-grade adenocarcinoma (PLGA), both locally-aggressive malignancies which require radically different treatment to CA. An emphasis has been placed on the value of immunohistochemistry in avoiding diagnostic and surgical errors. CA is positive for AE1/AE3, CD117 and S-100 protein, and negative for p63, α-SMA, Ki 67 and vimentin. Here we discuss the case of a 61-year-old female with CA in her right upper lip, showing multifocal growth histologically. The differential diagnosis with other adenomas is discussed in addition to the role of immunohistochemical studies that can confirm the clinical and surgical findings.

Plant uptake of elements in soil and pore water: field observations versus model assumptions.

Contaminant concentrations in various edible plant parts transfer hazardous substances from polluted areas to animals and humans. Thus, the accurate prediction of plant uptake of elements is of significant importance. The processes involved contain many interacting factors and are, as such, complex. In contrast, the most common way to currently quantify element transfer from soils into plants is relatively simple, using an empirical soil-to-plant transfer factor (TF). This practice is based on theoretical assumptions that have been previously shown to not generally be valid. Using field data on concentrations of 61 basic elements in spring barley, soil and pore water at four agricultural sites in mid-eastern Sweden, we quantify element-specific TFs. Our aim is to investigate to which extent observed element-specific uptake is consistent with TF model assumptions and to which extent TF's can be used to predict observed differences in concentrations between different plant parts (root, stem and ear). Results show that for most elements, plant-ear concentrations are not linearly related to bulk soil concentrations, which is congruent with previous studies. This behaviour violates a basic TF model assumption of linearity. However, substantially better linear correlations are found when weighted average element concentrations in whole plants are used for TF estimation. The highest number of linearly-behaving elements was found when relating average plant concentrations to soil pore-water concentrations. In contrast to other elements, essential elements (micronutrients and macronutrients) exhibited relatively small differences in concentration between different plant parts. Generally, the TF model was shown to work reasonably well for micronutrients, whereas it did not for macronutrients. The results also suggest that plant uptake of elements from sources other than the soil compartment (e.g. from air) may be non-negligible.

Land use and food intake of future inhabitants: outlining a representative individual of the most exposed group for dose assessment.

The radiation doses to humans resulting from a potential release of radionuclides from a geological repository for long-lived waste are assessed over tens or even hundreds of thousands of years. Ingestion is expected to be the major exposure pathway, and the group with the highest exposures will be those that consume the most contaminated food. In this paper, we characterize the group of individuals with the highest exposures by considering the physical and biological characteristics of the contaminated area and human requirements for energy and nutrients. We then calculate intake rates based on land-use scenarios drawn from self-sustained communities spanning prehistoric times to an industrial-age agrarian culture. The approach is illustrated by simulating groundwater release of four radionuclides to an expected discharge area. We argue that the derived intake rates may serve as credible bounding cases when projected doses are evaluated for compliance with regulatory criteria.

Model of the long-term transport and accumulation of radionuclides in future landscapes.

Assessments of radiological impacts on humans and other biota from potential releases to the biosphere from a deep geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel are associated with several challenges. Releases, if any, will likely occur in a far future and to an environment that will have experienced substantial transformations. Such releases would occur over very long periods during which environmental conditions will vary continuously due to climate change and ecosystem succession. Assessments of radiological impacts must therefore be based on simulations using models that can describe the transport and accumulation of radionuclides for a large variety of environmental conditions. In this paper we describe such a model and show examples of its application in a safety assessment, taking into account results from sensitivity and uncertainty analyses of the model predictions.

Creación de un laboratorio virtual para la enseñanza universitaria de la embriología humana en sus aspectos biológicos, éticos y sociales / Create a virtual laboratory for university teaching human embryology in its biological, social and ethical aspects

Las tecnologías de información y comunicación (TICs) tienen un alto potencial de desarrollo en la educación a distancia para apoyar los procesos de enseñanza/aprendizaje. Por otro lado, el desarrollo científico y tecnológico no depende sólo de los conocimientos científicos y de la experiencia técnica cumulada. Por el contrario, están condicionados por factores sociales, económicos, culturales, éticos y políticos. El núcleo central de la Embriología Humana es el desarrollo. Su enseñanza se basa tradicionalmente en métodos explicativos e ilustrativos desarrollados sobre un paradigma biológico. Nuestro objetivo general consistió en diseñar un ambiente virtual (Laboratorio) de apoyo para la enseñanza/aprendizaje a distancia de la Embriología humana en sus aspectos biológicos, éticos y sociales destinado a los alumnos de grado y postgrado de las Ciencias de la Salud. Nuestros objetivos específicos fueron : a-realizar actividades relacionadas al proyecto: búsqueda bibliográfica, encuestas, trabajos académicos, b- producir y seleccionar recursos digitales adecuados a los temas biológicos, éticos y sociales, c- diseñar un laboratorio virtual con los recursos disponibles para la enseñanza universitaria de la embriología humana. -Se realizaron: 1-búsqueda bibliográfica a través de las plataformas PubMed/Medline, Scimago/Scopus y Biblioteca Virtual en Salud (BVS)/Cielo, Cochrane. 2- encuestas estructuradas en base a opciones múltiples a fin de conocer la opinión de los estudiantes sobre la incorporación de actividades opcionales virtuales. 3- trabajos académicos con las experiencias presenciales y virtuales locales e internacionales entre diferentes unidades académicas de Argentina, Chile y Brasil ( grado y post-grado).

ABSTRACT: Communication and Information Technology (TICs) has a high potential for development in distance education to support teaching and learning. Scientific and technological developments do not solely depend on scientific knowledge and technical skills acquired through experience. Rather, they are also shaped by a multitude of factors, including social, economical, cultural, ethical and political influences. The central core of human embryology is development. Teaching of embryology has been traditionally based on explanatory and illustrative methods developed on a biological paradigm. Our overall objective was to design a virtual environment (Lab) to support distance teaching and learning of human embryology in its biological, social and ethical aspects. This environment would be intended for undergraduate and graduate students of the Health Sciences. Our objectives were: a-to produce project-based activities, b-to produce and select appropriate digital resources covering biological, ethical and social issues and c-to design a virtual laboratory with the resources available to the human embryology university education. Were performed: 1-through literature search platforms PubMed / MEDLINE, Scimago / Scopus and Virtual Health Library (VHL) / Heaven, Cochrane. 2 - structured surveys based on multiple options to obtain the views of students on incorporating virtual optional activities. 3 - reports the experiences and virtual local and international between different institutions in Argentina, Chile and Brazil (undergraduate and graduate)l.

Creación de un laboratorio virtual para la enseñanza universitaria de la embriología humana en sus aspectos biológicos, éticos y sociales / Create a virtual laboratory for university teaching human embryology in its biological, social and ethical aspects

Las tecnologías de información y comunicación (TICs) tienen un alto potencial de desarrollo en la educación a distancia para apoyar los procesos de enseñanza/aprendizaje. Por otro lado, el desarrollo científico y tecnológico no depende sólo de los conocimientos científicos y de la experiencia técnica cumulada. Por el contrario, están condicionados por factores sociales, económicos, culturales, éticos y políticos. El núcleo central de la Embriología Humana es el desarrollo. Su enseñanza se basa tradicionalmente en métodos explicativos e ilustrativos desarrollados sobre un paradigma biológico. Nuestro objetivo general consistió en diseñar un ambiente virtual (Laboratorio) de apoyo para la enseñanza/aprendizaje a distancia de la Embriología humana en sus aspectos biológicos, éticos y sociales destinado a los alumnos de grado y postgrado de las Ciencias de la Salud. Nuestros objetivos específicos fueron : a-realizar actividades relacionadas al proyecto: búsqueda bibliográfica, encuestas, trabajos académicos, b- producir y seleccionar recursos digitales adecuados a los temas biológicos, éticos y sociales, c- diseñar un laboratorio virtual con los recursos disponibles para la enseñanza universitaria de la embriología humana. -Se realizaron: 1-búsqueda bibliográfica a través de las plataformas PubMed/Medline, Scimago/Scopus y Biblioteca Virtual en Salud (BVS)/Cielo, Cochrane. 2- encuestas estructuradas en base a opciones múltiples a fin de conocer la opinión de los estudiantes sobre la incorporación de actividades opcionales virtuales. 3- trabajos académicos con las experiencias presenciales y virtuales locales e internacionales entre diferentes unidades académicas de Argentina, Chile y Brasil ( grado y post-grado).(AU)

ABSTRACT: Communication and Information Technology (TICs) has a high potential for development in distance education to support teaching and learning. Scientific and technological developments do not solely depend on scientific knowledge and technical skills acquired through experience. Rather, they are also shaped by a multitude of factors, including social, economical, cultural, ethical and political influences. The central core of human embryology is development. Teaching of embryology has been traditionally based on explanatory and illustrative methods developed on a biological paradigm. Our overall objective was to design a virtual environment (Lab) to support distance teaching and learning of human embryology in its biological, social and ethical aspects. This environment would be intended for undergraduate and graduate students of the Health Sciences. Our objectives were: a-to produce project-based activities, b-to produce and select appropriate digital resources covering biological, ethical and social issues and c-to design a virtual laboratory with the resources available to the human embryology university education. Were performed: 1-through literature search platforms PubMed / MEDLINE, Scimago / Scopus and Virtual Health Library (VHL) / Heaven, Cochrane. 2 - structured surveys based on multiple options to obtain the views of students on incorporating virtual optional activities. 3 - reports the experiences and virtual local and international between different institutions in Argentina, Chile and Brazil (undergraduate and graduate)l.(AU)

Determination of the differential expression of mitochondrial long non-coding RNAs as a noninvasive diagnosis of bladder cancer.

BACKGROUND: Bladder cancer is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality with a high recurrence rate. Early detection of bladder cancer is essential in order to remove the tumor, to preserve the organ and to avoid metastasis. The aim of this study was to analyze the differential expression of mitochondrial non-coding RNAs (sense and antisense) in cells isolated from voided urine of patients with bladder cancer as a noninvasive diagnostic assay. METHODS: The differential expression of the sense (SncmtRNA) and the antisense (ASncmtRNAs) transcripts in cells isolated from voided urine was determined by fluorescent in situ hybridization. The test uses a multiprobe mixture labeled with different fluorophores and takes about 1 hour to complete. We examined the expression of these transcripts in cells isolated from urine of 24 patients with bladder cancer and from 15 healthy donors. RESULTS: This study indicates that the SncmtRNA and the ASncmtRNAs are stable in cells present in urine. The test reveals that the expression pattern of the mitochondrial transcripts can discriminate between normal and tumor cells. The analysis of 24 urine samples from patients with bladder cancer revealed expression of the SncmtRNA and down-regulation of the ASncmtRNAs. Exfoliated cells recovered from the urine of healthy donors do not express these mitochondrial transcripts. This is the first report showing that the differential expression of these mitochondrial transcripts can detect tumor cells in the urine of patients with low and high grade bladder cancer. CONCLUSION: This pilot study indicates that fluorescent in situ hybridization of cells from urine of patients with different grades of bladder cancer confirmed the tumor origin of these cells. Samples from the 24 patients with bladder cancer contain cells that express the SncmtRNA and down-regulate the ASncmtRNAs. In contrast, the hybridization of the few exfoliated cells recovered from healthy donors revealed no expression of these mitochondrial transcripts. This assay can be explored as a non-invasive diagnostic tool for bladder cancer.

El Genoma en los Cordados: Introducción a la Genómica Comparada / The Genome in the Chordates: Introduction to Comparative Genomics

El objetivo del presente trabajo es describir brevemente conceptos de la genómica de los cordados así como de la genómica comparada y sus aspectos éticos. El genoma de los cordados cambió ligeramente dando lugar al genoma de los vertebrados, entre ellos el de los mamíferos, entre los que se incluye el ser humano. La genómica comparada estudia las semejanzas y diferencias entre genomas de diferentes organismos; trata de explicar la información proporcionada por la selección natural para entender la función y los procesos evolutivos que actúan sobre los genomas. La complejidad de los procesos evolutivos constituye todo un desafío a la hora de analizar e interpretar la información biológica generada; en este sentido, la Bioinformática y la Biología Computacional proporcionan un amplio abanico de técnicas estadísticas, matemáticas y algorítmicas para el análisis de datos biológicos. Un reto clave es analizar el caudal de datos de secuencias de ADN con el fin de comprender la información almacenada en términos de estructura, función y evolución proteicas. En Biología computacional BLAST y ClustalW2 son las herramientas más empleadas para el análisis de alineamientos múltiples de secuencias. La Genómica está resultando clave también en el campo de la medicina; conocer la cartografía del genoma humano proporciona una valiosa información a tener en cuenta a la hora de detectar genes implicados en ciertas enfermedades. Esto conlleva que en la actualidad nos centremos más en la predicción de patologías que en la prevención, por lo que la tendencia es que en el futuro la Medicina Genómica acabe desbancando a la Medicina Preventiva. El Proyecto Genoma Humano presenta diversas aplicaciones que, al no tener una clara cobertura legal, traen consigo un nuevo paradigma con problemas éticos, sociales y legales que la comunidad científica trata de resolver para compaginar los aspectos morales con el progreso en la investigación.

The aim of this paper is to briefly describe concepts of genomics of chordates and comparative genomics and its ethical aspects. The genome of chordates changed slightly resulting in the genome of vertebrates, including mammals. The human being belongs to the phylum chordates. Comparative genomics studies the similarities and differences between genomes of different organisms, trying to explain the information provided by natural selection to understand the function and evolutionary processes that act on genomes. Evolutive processes' complexity is considered a major challenge in terms of analyzing and interpreting all the biological information generated; in this sense, Bioinformatics and Computational Biology provide an enormous range of statistical, mathematical and algorythmical techniques for biological data analyses. A key challenge for bioinformatics is to analyze the flow of DNA sequence data to understand the information stored in terms of structure, function and protein evolution. BLAST and ClustalW2 tools are used for the analysis of multiple sequence alignments in Computational Biology. Genomics is also playing a key role in Medicine; human genome's cartography provides valuable information to detect genes involved in certain diseases. It entails that nowadays it is better to focus on prediction much more than on prevention. The current tendency is that in the future Genomic Medicine will displace Preventive Medicine. The Human Genome Project implies diverse applications that do not have clear legal coverage. This brings a new paradigm with ethical, social and legal problems that the scientific community is trying to resolve in order to combine morality and research progress.

Identificación de colágeno I y III con picrosirius red/ polarización en el estroma de tumores salivales / Identification of type I and III collagen by picrosirius red/polarization of tumoral salivary stroma

El estroma juega un rol importante en los procesos tumorales de invasión y metástasis. Las fibras de colágeno tipo I son el principal componente estructural del estroma en distintos tumores. Sin embargo, hay muy pocos estudios en los tumores de glándulas salivales. Basándonos en estos antecedentes el objetivo de la presente comunicación fue estudiar las características del colágeno con Picrosirius red/polarización en tumores benignos y malignos de glándulas salivales para evaluar su posible rol en los mecanismos de progresión tumoral. Cortes histológicos de adenoma pleomórfico, carcinoma adenoide quístico y carcinoma epitelial mioepitelial se colorearon con H/E y Picrosirius red y se examinaron con microscopio de polarización. La birrefringencia del colágeno con Picrosirius/polarización resultó diferente en el estroma de los tumores malignos (carcinoma adenoide quístico y carcinoma epitelial mioepitelial), con predominio de colágeno I, en comparación con el tumor benigno (adenoma pleomórfico), con predominio de colágeno III. El diferente perfil de coloración en las fibras colágenas producidas en el estroma de los tumores analizados podría relacionarse con diferentes mecanismos de expansión tumoral, los que fueron poco estudiados en los tumores de glándulas salivales. Más estudios son necesarios para obtener resultados más concluyentes que contribuyan al diagnóstico, pronóstico y tratamiento.

The stroma plays an important rol in tumoral invasion and metastasis. Type I collagen is the main structural component of the stroma in several tumors. However, there are few studies on salivary gland tumors. Based on this background the objective of the present communication was to study collagen characteristics with picrosirius red/polarization on malignant and benign tumors of salivary glands to evaluate its posible rol in the tumoral progression mechanism. Histological sections of pleomorphic adenoma, adenoid cystic carcinoma and epithelial/myoepithelial carcinoma were stained with H/E and picrosirius red and were studied with polarization microscope. Collagen birefringence with Picrosirius/polarization was different in the malignant tumor stroma (adenoid cystic carcinoma and epithelialmyoepithelial carcinoma), with predominance of type I collagen, compared with a benign tumor (pleomorphic adenoma), with predominance of type III collagen. The different staining profile in collagen fibers produced in the benign and malignant stroma tumors analized could be related with different tumoral expansion mechanism, which were scarce studied on the salivary glands tumors. More studies are needed to obtain more conclusive results to contribute to diagnosis, prognosis and treatment.