Plant expression systems, a budding way to confront chikungunya and Zika in developing countries?

Plant expression systems could be used as biofactories of heterologous proteins that have the potential to be used with biopharmaceutical aims and vaccine design. This technology is scalable, safe and cost-effective and it has been previously proposed as an option for vaccine and protein pharmaceutical development in developing countries. Here we present a proposal of how plant expression systems could be used to address Zika and chikungunya outbreaks through development of vaccines and rapid diagnostic kits.

Long-term fish oil supplementation attenuates seizure activity in the amygdala induced by 3-mercaptopropionic acid in adult male rats.

Several studies have provided evidence of significant effects of omega-3 fatty acids on brain functionality, including seizures and disorders such as epilepsy. Fish oil (FO) is a marine product rich in unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids. Considering that the amygdala is one of the brain structures most sensitive to seizure generation, we aimed to evaluate the effect of long-term chronic FO supplementation (from embryonic conception to adulthood) on the severity of seizures and amygdaloid electroencephalographic activity (EEG) in a 3-mercaptopropionic acid (3-MPA)-induced seizure model using adult rats. Female Wistar rats were fed a commercial diet supplemented daily with FO (300mg/kg) from puberty through mating, gestation, delivery, and weaning of the pups. Only the male pups were then fed daily with a commercial diet supplemented with the same treatment as the dam up to the age of 150days postpartum, when they were bilaterally implanted in the amygdala to record behavior and EEG activity before, during, and after seizures induced by administering 3-MPA. Results were compared with those obtained from rats supplemented with palm oil (PO) and rats treated with a vehicle (CTRL). The male rats treated with FO showed longer latency to seizure onset, fewer convulsive episodes, and attenuated severity compared those in the PO and CTRL groups according to the Racine scale. Moreover, long-term FO supplementation was associated with a reduction of the absolute power (AP) of the fast frequencies (12-25Hz) in the amygdala during the seizure periods. These findings support the idea that chronic supplementation with omega-3 of marine origin may have antiseizure properties as other studies have suggested.

Estado nutricional de un grupo de gestantes y su relación con indicadores socioeconómicos y de ingesta dietética. Antioquia, Colombia / The nutritional status of a group of pregnant women and its relationship with socioeconomic and dietary intake indicators. Antioquia, Colombia

OBJETIVO: relacionar el índice de masa corporal de gestantes en tercer trimestre con variables socioeconómicas y de consumo de alimentos. METODOLOGIA: el estudio fue descriptivo longitudinal y prospectivo con seguimiento de la cohorte antes y después de una intervención alimentaria y nutricional. La muestra estuvo compuesta por 80 gestantes voluntarias. En el primer trimestre se diligenció una encuesta socioeconómica. En cada trimestre se aplicó el recordatorio de 24 horas, se evaluó el índice de masa corporal y perímetro braquial de la gestante. RESULTADOS: de las 42 madres que lograron una ganancia de peso ajustada a su índice de masa corporal preconcepcional, 31 tuvieron el índice adecuado al final de la gestación. La edad presentó asociación con el estado nutricional y el aumento en la ingesta de energía y carbohidratos en el tercer trimestre fue significativo en las madres enflaquecidas y con peso adecuado. CONCLUSION: se encontró asociación estadística entre la edad y el índice de masa corporal en el tercer trimestre. Respecto al primer trimestre, se incrementó el consumo de energía y carbohidratos en las gestantes con índice bajo y adecuado.

OBJECTIVE: to link the BMI of subjects in the last three-month period of pregnancy with socioeconomic variables and dietary intake. METHODOLOGY: a longitudinal, prospective and descriptive study with a follow up on the cohort before and after the dietary and nutritional intervention. The group was a sample of 80 volunteers. In the first three-month period of their pregnancy, a socioeconomic survey was carried out. During each threemonth period, a 24-hour dietary recall was applied; their BMI was evaluated, and the arm circumference of each volunteer was measured. RESULTS: of the 42 mothers who achieved a weight gain correspondent to their pre-gestational BMI, 31 had an adequate BMI at the end of the pregnancy period. Age appeared to be significantly related to nutritional status; and the increase of energy and carbohydrate intake in the third threemonth period was significant in both deficient mothers and in those with an adequate body weight. CONCLUSION: statistical association was found between age and BMI at the end of the pregnancy period. As for the first three-month period, pregnant women with low and appropriate BMI had their energy and carbohydrates intake increased.

Evaluación del estado nutricional de mujeres gestantes que participaron de un programa de alimentación y nutrición / Assessment of nutritional status of a group of pregnant women who participated in a food and nutrition program

Objective: To evaluate the nutritional status of a group of pregnant women and their newborn infants participating in the MANA program. Methods: Descriptive, longitudinal and prospective study designed to follow the cohort before and after intervention. Results: 53 percent of the household showed food insecurity. With the program, food ingestion had a significant increase and the prevalence of the risk of micronutrient deficiency diminished. The low gestational weight diminished from 27.8 percent in the first trimester to 20.3 percent in the third trimester. 94 percent of the newborns weighed over 2500 g. Anemia were prevented in 86 percent of the mothers with iron deficiency. The mothers at risk of serum foliate deficiency diminished from 30,8 percent in the first trimester to 11 ,5 percent in the second. Conclusion: Since the socioeconomic conditions of the population were unchanged during the study, it is possible to conclude that the MANA program and the products received had a positive and significant impact in the nutritional status of the mothers.

Objetivo: Evaluar el estado nutricional de un grupo de gestantes y sus recién nacidos participantes del programa MANA para la vida. Método: Estudio descriptivo, longitudinal, prospectivo con seguimiento de la cohorte antes y después de una intervención. Resultados: el 53 por ciento de los hogares se percibieron en inseguridad alimentaria. La ingesta de nutrientes tuvo un incremento significativo y se redujo la prevalencia del riesgo de deficiencia de algunos micronutrientes. El bajo peso gestacional disminuyó de 27,8 por ciento en el primer trimestre a 20,3 por ciento en el tercero. El 94 por ciento de los recién nacidos tuvieron un peso superior a 2500g. La anemia se previno en el 86 por ciento de las madres con deficiencia de hierro y se disminuyó la proporción a riesgo de deficiencia de folato. Conclusión: Dado las condiciones socioeconómicas de la población, se concluye que el programa desarrollado y los productos entregados tuvieron un impacto positivo y significativo en el estado nutricional de las madres.

Plasmodium vivax: dimorphic DNA sequences from the MSP-1 gene code for regions that are immunogenic in natural infections.

The merozoite surface protein 1 gene of Plasmodium vivax (PvMSP-1) is becoming a solid genetic marker for studying the polymorphism of natural parasite populations from this prevalent human malaria. Indeed, a conserved and a variant PvMSP-1 gene segments have been amplified from total genomic parasite DNA obtained from isolates representing seven countries and three continents. Interestingly, the variant PvMSP-1 gene segment contains two highly conserved parental allele forms capable of limited genetic exchange at the sexual stage in the mosquito vector. This variant PvMSP-1 gene segment was amplified from 18 Colombian isolates to try to determine whether the same two parental allele forms were also present in this geographical area. Southern blot and DNA sequencing analyses confirmed their existence among the Colombian isolates. Moreover, expression of these two allele forms as recombinant proteins allowed us to demonstrate for the first time that this PvMSP-1 gene segment codes for amino acid sequences that are exposed on the surface of P. vivax schizonts and that are immunogenic in natural infections.

A conserved region of the MSP-1 surface protein of Plasmodium falciparum contains a recognition sequence for erythrocyte spectrin.

The major surface protein MSP-1 of Plasmodium falciparum blood-stage malaria parasites contains notably conserved sequence blocks with unknown function. The recombinant protein 190L, which represents such a block, exhibits a high affinity for red blood cell membranes. We demonstrate that both 190L and native MSP-1 protein bind to the inner red blood cell membrane skeleton protein spectrin. By using overlapping peptides covering the 190L molecule, we show that the spectrin contact site of 190L is included in a linear sequence of 30 amino acid residues. Association of 190L with naturally occurring spectrin deficient red blood cells is drastically reduced. In the same cells parasite invasion is normal, but the intracellular parasite development arrests late in the trophozoite stage. A similar situation arises when synthetic peptides covering the spectrin recognition sequence of 190L are added to P.falciparum cultures. These data and the cellular localization of MSP-1 suggest the possibility that MSP-1 associates with spectrin under natural conditions.