HLA-A*02:1093, a variant of HLA-A*02:01:01:01 detected in two Spanish individuals.

A change in one nucleotide in codon 193 of HLA-A*02:01:01:01 results in the new allele HLA-A*02:1093.

Vocalizations of wild West Indian manatee vary across subspecies and geographic location.

Geographic variation in the vocal behavior of manatees has been reported but is largely unexplored. Vocalizations of wild West Indian manatees (Trichechus manatus) were recorded with hydrophones in Florida from Florida manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris), and in Belize and Panama from Antillean manatees (Trichechus manatus manatus) to determine if calls varied between subspecies and geographic regions. Calls were visually classified into five categories: squeaks, high squeaks, squeals, squeak-squeals, and chirps. From these five categories, only three call types (squeaks, high squeaks and squeals) were observed in all three populations. Six parameters from the temporal and frequency domains were measured from the fundamental frequency of 2878 manatee vocalizations. A repeated measures PERMANOVA found significant differences for squeaks and high squeaks between each geographic location and for squeals between Belize and Florida. Almost all measured frequency and temporal parameters of manatee vocalizations differed between and within subspecies. Variables that may have influenced the variation observed may be related to sex, body size, habitat and/or other factors. Our findings provide critical information of manatee calls for wildlife monitoring and highlight the need for further study of the vocal behavior of manatees throughout their range.

Using compartmental models and Particle Swarm Optimization to assess Dengue basic reproduction number R 0 for the Republic of Panama in the 1999-2022 period.

Nowadays, the ability to make data-driven decisions in public health is of utmost importance. To achieve this, it is necessary for modelers to comprehend the impact of models on the future state of healthcare systems. Compartmental models are a valuable tool for making informed epidemiological decisions, and the proper parameterization of these models is crucial for analyzing epidemiological events. This work evaluated the use of compartmental models in conjunction with Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) to determine optimal solutions and understand the dynamics of Dengue epidemics. The focus was on calculating and evaluating the rate of case reproduction, R 0 , for the Republic of Panama. Three compartmental models were compared: Susceptible-Infected-Recovered (SIR), Susceptible-Exposed-Infected-Recovered (SEIR), and Susceptible-Infected-Recovered Human-Susceptible-Infected Vector (SIR Human-SI Vector, SIR-SI). The models were informed by demographic data and Dengue incidence in the Republic of Panama between 1999 and 2022, and the susceptible population was analyzed. The SIR, SEIR, and SIR-SI models successfully provided R 0 estimates ranging from 1.09 to 1.74. This study provides, to the best of our understanding, the first calculation of R 0 for Dengue outbreaks in the Republic of Panama.

Determinación de la concentración mínima inhibitoria de lotes de OLEOZON® tópico frente a Trichophyton rubrum, Trichophyton mentagrophytes y Epidermophyton floccosum

Introducción: En la actualidad las infecciones por hongos afectan entre el 20 y el 25 % de la población. Objetivo: Determinar la concentración mínima inhibitoria de dos lotes de OLEOZON® almacenados a temperaturas de 5 y 30°C en envases de vidrio y polietileno de alta densidad, durante 24 meses como parte del estudio de estabilidad del OLEOZON® tópico. Métodos: Mediante el método dilución en agar fueron evaluadas cinco concentraciones del producto frente a los dermatofitos trichophyton rubrum, trichophyton mentagrophytes y epidermophyton floccosum. Resultados: Se obtuvo que el 8,9 mg/mL fue el valor de la CMI para las cepas evaluadas en el estudio "vida de estante"; se observó en el estudio acelerado el mismo valor frente a las cepas de trichophyton mientras que para epidermophyton floccosum fue de 17,8 mg/mL a excepción del envase frasco de vidrio del lote 803295 donde se obtuvo 8,9 mg/mL. El análisis estadístico, tanto del estudio acelerado como en vida de estante, mostró que existe diferencia estadísticamente significativa entre el primer y el último mes de ensayo, estas son las diferencias más apreciables en los lotes almacenados en frasco de vidrio. El OLEOZON® tópico almacenado en frasco de polietileno de alta densidad presentó mejores valores de actividad frente a los dermatofitos. Conclusiones: Todos los valores de la concentración mínima inhibitoria encontrados, independiente del tipo de envase, el tiempo o la temperatura de almacenamiento, muestran que el producto mantiene su actividad antifúngica. Se evidenció una similitud entre las cepas del género trichophyton en comparación con el género epidermophyton.

Introduction: Currently fungal infections affect between 20 and 25% of the population. Objective: To determine the minimum inhibitory concentration of two batches of OLEOZON® stored at temperatures of 5 and 30 0C in glass and high-density polyethylene containers, for 24 months as part of the stability study of topical OLEOZON®. Methods: Using the agar dilution method, five concentrations of the product were evaluated against the dermatophytes Trichophyton rubrum, Trichophyton mentagrophytes and Epidermophyton floccosum. Results: It was found that 8.9 mg/mL was the MIC value for the strains evaluated in this shelf life study; and the same value was observed in the accelerated study against the trichophyton strains, while for epidermophyton floccosum it was 17.8 mg/mL with the exception of the glass bottle container of batch 803295 where 8.9 mg/mL was obtained. The statistical analysis, both in the accelerated study and in shelf life, showed that there is a statistically significant difference between the first and the last month of the trial, these are the most appreciable differences in the batches stored in glass jars. Topical OLEOZON® stored in a high-density polyethylene bottle presented better activity values against dermatophytes. Conclusions: All the values of the minimum inhibitory concentration found, regardless of the type of container, the time or the storage temperature, show that the product maintains its antifungal activity during the months of study. A similarity was apparent between the strains of the genus trichophyton compared to the genus epidermophyton.

Infant Mortality Rates Among US-Born and Foreign-Born Latinx Women: The Effect of Black Race.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the extent to which Black race is associated with the infant mortality rate (< 365 day, IMR) of births to US-born and foreign-born Latinx women. METHODS: Stratified and multivariable binominal log-linear regression analyses were performed on the 2010-2013 National Center for Health Statistics linked birth-death certificate files of singleton infants. RESULTS: The IMR of births to US-born Black Latinx women (N = 54,542) exceeded that of births to US-born White Latinx women (N = 1,320,084): 5.7/1000 vs 4.2/1000, RR = 1.4 (1.2, 1.5). In contrast, the IMR of births to foreign-born Black Latinx women (N = 35,544) approximated that of births to foreign-born White Latinx women (N = 1,372,172): 3.8/1000 vs 3.6/1000, RR = 1.0 (0.9, 1.2) The adjusted (controlling for maternal age, education, prenatal care, high parity, and region of residence) RR of infant mortality for births to US-born and foreign-born Black (versus non-Latinx White) Latinx women equaled 1.4 (1.2, 1.6) and 1.0 (0.8, 1.2), respectively. The adjusted RR of infant mortality for births to US-born and foreign-born White (versus non-Latinx White) Latinx women equaled 1.0 (0.9, 1.0) and 0.8 (0.7, 0.8), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Black race is associated with a 1.4-fold higher IMR among births to US-born Latinx women. A similar phenomenon does not occur among foreign-born Latinx women. These intriguing findings highlight that the social construct of Black race across the life-course of Latinx women are detrimental to infant outcome.

Probing the axion-nucleon coupling with the next generation of axion helioscopes.

A finite axion-nucleon coupling, nearly unavoidable for QCD axions, leads to the production of axions via the thermal excitation and subsequent de-excitation of 57 Fe isotopes in the sun. We revise the solar bound on this flux adopting the up to date emission rate, and investigate the sensitivity of the proposed International Axion Observatory IAXO and its intermediate stage BabyIAXO to detect these axions. We compare different realistic experimental options and discuss the model dependence of the signal. Already BabyIAXO has sensitivity far beyond previous solar axion searches via the nucleon coupling and IAXO can improve on this by more than an order of magnitude.

Sustained low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol <70 mg/dl is associated with improved cardiovascular outcomes in the clinical setting.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Clinical trials have shown that intensive low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) lowering improves cardiovascular outcomes among patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), but data are limited in real clinical practice, particularly for patients with ASCVD informing different territories. METHODS: FRENA was a prospective registry of consecutive outpatients with coronary, cerebrovascular or peripheral artery disease. We compared the incidence of recurrent events in patients with sustained LDL-C levels <70 mg/dl compared with those with ≥70 mg/dl. RESULTS: As of December 2018, 1182 patients were eligible for this study. Among them, 172 (14.5%) had mean LDL-C levels ≤70 mg/dl, and 1010 (85.5%) had <70 mg/dl. Their clinical characteristics at baseline were similar. During 5 years of follow-up, 252 patients (21%) suffered major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE). The incidence rates of MACE were 3.42 events per 100 patient-years (95% confidence interval [95% CI] 2.17-5.14) in patients with levels <70 mg/dl and 5.57 (95% CI, 4.87-6.34) in those with ≥70 mg/dl; the rate ratio was 0.61 (95% CI, 0.39-0.92), p = 0.019. On multivariable analysis, patients with LDL-C levels <70 mg/dl were at lower risk for MACE (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.61 [95% CI, 0.39-0.93] p < 0.05). MACE reduction was driven by a decrease in coronary and peripheral events with no significant effect on stroke. CONCLUSIONS: Long-term sustained LDL-C <70 mg/dl in the clinical practice is associated with reduction in cardiovascular and peripheral vascular events with no apparent effect on stroke.

Assessing the Effect of Climate Variables on the Incidence of Dengue Cases in the Metropolitan Region of Panama City.

The present analysis uses the data of confirmed incidence of dengue cases in the metropolitan region of Panama from 1999 to 2017 and climatic variables (air temperature, precipitation, and relative humidity) during the same period to determine if there exists a correlation between these variables. In addition, we compare the predictive performance of two regression models (SARIMA, SARIMAX) and a recurrent neural network model (RNN-LSTM) on the dengue incidence series. For this data from 1999-2014 was used for training and the three subsequent years of incidence 2015-2017 were used for prediction. The results show a correlation coefficient between the climatic variables and the incidence of dengue were low but statistical significant. The RMSE and MAPE obtained for the SARIMAX and RNN-LSTM models were 25.76, 108.44 and 26.16, 59.68, which suggest that any of these models can be used to predict new outbreaks. Although, it can be said that there is a limited role of climatic variables in the outputs the models. The value of this work is that it helps understand the behaviour of cases in a tropical setting as is the Metropolitan Region of Panama City, and provides the basis needed for a much needed early alert system for the region.

ETS1, ELK1, and ETV4 Transcription Factors Regulate Angiopoietin-1 Signaling and the Angiogenic Response in Endothelial Cells.

BACKGROUND: Angiopoietin-1 (Ang-1) is the main ligand of Tie-2 receptors. It promotes endothelial cell (EC) survival, migration, and differentiation. Little is known about the transcription factors (TFs) in ECs that are downstream from Tie-2 receptors. OBJECTIVE: The main objective of this study is to identify the roles of the ETS family of TFs in Ang-1 signaling and the angiogenic response. METHODS: In silico enrichment analyses that were designed to predict TF binding sites of the promotors of eighty-six Ang-1-upregulated genes showed significant enrichment of ETS1, ELK1, and ETV4 binding sites in ECs. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were exposed for different time periods to recombinant Ang-1 protein and mRNA levels of ETS1, ELK1, and ETV4 were measured with qPCR and intracellular localization of these transcription factors was assessed with immunofluorescence. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays and reporter assays were used to assess activation of ETS1, ELK1, and ETV4 in response to Ang-1 exposure. The functional roles of these TFs in Ang-1-induced endothelial cell survival, migration, differentiation, and gene regulation were evaluated by using a loss-of-function approach (transfection with siRNA oligos). RESULTS: Ang-1 exposure increased ETS1 mRNA levels but had no effect on ELK1 or ETV4 levels. Immunostaining revealed that in control ECs, ETS1 has nuclear localization whereas ELK1 and ETV4 are localized to the nucleus and the cytosol. Ang-1 exposure increased nuclear intensity of ETS1 protein and enhanced nuclear mobilization of ELK1 and ETV4. Selective siRNA knockdown of ETS1, ELK1, and ETV4 showed that these TFs are required for Ang-1-induced EC survival and differentiation of cells, while ETS1 and ETV4 are required for Ang-1-induced EC migration. Moreover, ETS1, ELK1, and ETV4 knockdown inhibited Ang-1-induced upregulation of thirteen, eight, and nine pro-angiogenesis genes, respectively. CONCLUSION: We conclude that ETS1, ELK1, and ETV4 transcription factors play significant angiogenic roles in Ang-1 signaling in ECs.

Challenges to detect SARS-CoV-2 on environmental media, the need and strategies to implement the detection methodologies in wastewaters.

Understanding risks, putting in place preventative methods to seamlessly continue daily activities are essential tools to fight a pandemic. All social, commercial and leisure activities have an impact on the environmental media. Therefore, to accurately predict the fate and behavior of viruses in the environment, it is necessary to understand and analyze available detection methods, possible transmission pathways and preventative techniques. The aim of this review is to critically analyze and summarize the research done regarding SARS-COV-2 virus detection, focusing on sampling and laboratory detection methods in environmental media. Special attention will be given to wastewater and sewage sludge. This review has summarized the survival of the virus on surfaces to estimate the risk carried by different environmental media (water, wastewater, air and soil) in order to explain which communities are under higher risk. The critical analysis concludes that the detection of SARS-CoV-2 with current technologies and sampling strategies would reveal the presence of the virus. This information could be used to design systematic sampling points throughout the sewage systems when available, taking into account peak flows and more importantly economic factors on when to sample. Such approaches will provide clues for potential future viral outbreak, saving financial resources by reducing testing necessities for viral detection, hence contributing for more appropriate confinement policies by governments and could be further used to define more precisely post-pandemic or additional waves measures if/ when needed.

Proteomic fingerprinting of Neotropical hard tick species (Acari: Ixodidae) using a self-curated mass spectra reference library.

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) time-of-flight mass spectrometry is an analytical method that detects macromolecules that can be used for proteomic fingerprinting and taxonomic identification in arthropods. The conventional MALDI approach uses fresh laboratory-reared arthropod specimens to build a reference mass spectra library with high-quality standards required to achieve reliable identification. However, this may not be possible to accomplish in some arthropod groups that are difficult to rear under laboratory conditions, or for which only alcohol preserved samples are available. Here, we generated MALDI mass spectra of highly abundant proteins from the legs of 18 Neotropical species of adult field-collected hard ticks, several of which had not been analyzed by mass spectrometry before. We then used their mass spectra as fingerprints to identify each tick species by applying machine learning and pattern recognition algorithms that combined unsupervised and supervised clustering approaches. Both Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) classification algorithms were able to identify spectra from different tick species, with LDA achieving the best performance when applied to field-collected specimens that did have an existing entry in a reference library of arthropod protein spectra. These findings contribute to the growing literature that ascertains mass spectrometry as a rapid and effective method to complement other well-established techniques for taxonomic identification of disease vectors, which is the first step to predict and manage arthropod-borne pathogens.

Tumor regression and resistance mechanisms upon CDK4 and RAF1 inactivation in KRAS/P53 mutant lung adenocarcinomas.

KRAS mutant lung adenocarcinomas remain intractable for targeted therapies. Genetic interrogation of KRAS downstream effectors, including the MAPK pathway and the interphase CDKs, identified CDK4 and RAF1 as the only targets whose genetic inactivation induces therapeutic responses without causing unacceptable toxicities. Concomitant CDK4 inactivation and RAF1 ablation prevented tumor progression and induced complete regression in 25% of KRAS/p53-driven advanced lung tumors, yet a significant percentage of those tumors that underwent partial regression retained a population of CDK4/RAF1-resistant cells. Characterization of these cells revealed two independent resistance mechanisms implicating hypermethylation of several tumor suppressors and increased PI3K activity. Importantly, these CDK4/RAF1-resistant cells can be pharmacologically controlled. These studies open the door to new therapeutic strategies to treat KRAS mutant lung cancer, including resistant tumors.

Detection and identification of manatee individual vocalizations in Panamanian wetlands using spectrogram clustering.

This work presents a methodology to automatically detect and identify manatee vocalizations in continuous passive acoustic underwater recordings. Given that vocalizations of each manatee present a slightly different frequency content, it is possible to identify individuals using a non-invasive acoustic approach. The recordings are processed in four stages, including detection, denoising, classification, and manatee counting and identification by vocalization clustering. The main contribution of this work is considering the vocalization spectrogram as an image (i.e., two-dimensional pattern) and representing it in terms of principal component analysis coefficients that feed a clustering approach. A performance study is carried out for each stage of the scheme. The methodology is tested to analyze three years of recordings from two wetlands in Panama to support ongoing efforts to estimate the manatee population.

High infestation of invasive Aedes mosquitoes in used tires along the local transport network of Panama.

BACKGROUND: The long-distance dispersal of the invasive disease vectors Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus has introduced arthropod-borne viruses into new geographical regions, causing a significant medical and economic burden. The used-tire industry is an effective means of Aedes dispersal, yet studies to determine Aedes occurrence and the factors influencing their distribution along local transport networks are lacking. To assess infestation along the primary transport network of Panama we documented all existing garages that trade used tires on the highway and surveyed a subset for Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus. We also assess the ability of a mass spectrometry approach to classify mosquito eggs by comparing our findings to those based on traditional larval surveillance. RESULTS: Both Aedes species had a high infestation rate in garages trading used tires along the highways, providing a conduit for rapid dispersal across Panama. However, generalized linear models revealed that the presence of Ae. aegypti is associated with an increase in road density by a log-odds of 0.44 (0.73 ± 0.16; P = 0.002), while the presence of Ae. albopictus is associated with a decrease in road density by a log-odds of 0.36 (0.09 ± 0.63; P = 0.008). Identification of mosquito eggs by mass spectrometry depicted similar occurrence patterns for both Aedes species as that obtained with traditional rearing methods. CONCLUSIONS: Garages trading used tires along highways should be targeted for the surveillance and control of Aedes-mosquitoes and the diseases they transmit. The identification of mosquito eggs using mass spectrometry allows for the rapid evaluation of Aedes presence, affording time and cost advantages over traditional vector surveillance; this is of importance for disease risk assessment.

Application of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry to identify species of Neotropical Anopheles vectors of malaria.

BACKGROUND: Malaria control in Panama is problematic due to the high diversity of morphologically similar Anopheles mosquito species, which makes identification of vectors of human Plasmodium challenging. Strategies by Panamanian health authorities to bring malaria under control targeting Anopheles vectors could be ineffective if they tackle a misidentified species. METHODS: A rapid mass spectrometry identification procedure was developed to accurately and timely sort out field-collected Neotropical Anopheles mosquitoes into vector and non-vector species. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) mass spectra of highly-abundant proteins were generated from laboratory-reared mosquitoes using different extraction protocols, body parts, and sexes to minimize the amount of material from specimen vouchers needed and optimize the protocol for taxonomic identification. Subsequently, the mass spectra of field-collected Neotropical Anopheles mosquito species were classified using a combination of custom-made unsupervised (i.e., Principal component analysis-PCA) and supervised (i.e., Linear discriminant analysis-LDA) classification algorithms. RESULTS: Regardless of the protocol used or the mosquito species and sex, the legs contained the least intra-specific variability with enough well-preserved proteins to differentiate among distinct biological species, consistent with previous literature. After minimizing the amount of material needed from the voucher, one leg was enough to produce reliable spectra between specimens. Further, both PCA and LDA were able to classify up to 12 mosquito species, from different subgenera and seven geographically spread localities across Panama using mass spectra from one leg pair. LDA demonstrated high discriminatory power and consistency, with validation and cross-validation positive identification rates above 93% at the species level. CONCLUSION: The selected sample processing procedure can be used to identify field-collected Anopheles species, including vectors of Plasmodium, in a short period of time, with a minimal amount of tissue and without the need of an expert mosquito taxonomist. This strategy to analyse protein spectra overcomes the drawbacks of working without a reference library to classify unknown samples. Finally, this MALDI approach can aid ongoing malaria eradication efforts in Panama and other countries with large number of mosquito's species by improving vector surveillance in epidemic-prone sites such as indigenous Comarcas.

Chronic Pulmonary Aspergillosis in Patients with Underlying Respiratory Disorders in Cuba-A Pilot Study.

Chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (CPA) is a fungal infection with high mortality and morbidity rates. This disease is caused by several Aspergillus species and affects patients with an underlying respiratory condition. This pilot study aims to recognize CPA among patients with different respiratory diseases. Twenty-one out of 47 patients were classified as CPA based on the examination of clinical signs and symptoms, radiological findings, mycological culture of respiratory samples and analysis of Aspergillus IgG antibodies. There was a close association between high levels of Aspergillus IgG antibodies and the presence of cavities. Although Aspergillus flavus was the predominant species among clinical isolates, the number of isolates was small to reach conclusions on the prevalence of this species as main cause of CPA in Cuba. From the eleven evaluable patients for the treatment with itraconazole (Lozartil®), nine improved their health status while two did not show any recovery. This drug is included in the therapy schemes for aspergillosis in Cuba.

Aportes del Laboratorio de Micología del Instituto de Medicina Tropical Pedro Kourí al desarrollo de la especialidad en Cuba / Contributions of the Mycology Laboratory at Pedro Kouri Tropical Medicine Institute to the development of the specialty in Cuba

En el marco del 80 aniversario del Instituto de Medicina Tropical Pedro Kourí, se exponen en apretada síntesis, las actividades más relevantes en el campo del diagnóstico, la investigación y la docencia desarrolladas hasta el momento por el Laboratorio de Micología de la referida institución. A 38 años de su creación, este sigue siendo uno de los pocos lugares en Cuba que se desempeña en este campo y que se reconoce por los logros científico-técnicos alcanzados. Sin lugar a duda, estos responden básicamente al cuadro de salud nacional, sin descuidar el entorno regional y mundial. Todos los resultados que se exponen, se encuentran sustentados por más de 100 publicaciones y otras obras científicas, lo que avala la calidad y rigor del trabajo desplegado. Sirva este artículo para homenajear al fundador del Instituto de Medicina Tropical Pedro Kourí y a todos los científicos que en el transcurso de estos años contribuyeron a engrandecer su nombre(AU)

In the framework of the 80th anniversary of Pedro Kouri Tropical Medicine Institute, a succinct presentation is provided of the most relevant activities in the fields of diagnosis, research and teaching so far performed by the Mycology Laboratory at the Institute. Thirty-eight years after its founding, the Laboratory continues to be one of the few places in Cuba devoted to this field and recognized for its scientific and technical achievements, which no doubt essentially respond to the national health status, without neglecting the regional and global environment. All the results presented are endorsed by over 100 publications and scientific works, which is evidence of the quality and rigor of the work done. May this paper be a tribute to the founder of Pedro Kouri Tropical Medicine Institute and all the scientists who have brought prestige to its name throughout these years(AU)

Péptidos antimicrobianos: potencialidades terapéuticas / Antimicrobial peptides: their therapeutic potential

El aumento en la incidencia de las enfermedades infecciosas en los últimos años se ha favorecido por diferentes causas. Entre estas se destacan las inmunodeficiencias adquiridas (sida, trasplantes de órganos, quimioterapia oncológica), la migración de personas que trae consigo la posibilidad de importar enfermedades hacia poblaciones susceptibles, así como el excesivo empleo de antibióticos. Debido a esta situación se ha incrementado la búsqueda de nuevos candidatos terapéuticos para el desarrollo de terapias más efectivas. En este sentido los péptidos antimicrobianos constituyen una opción promisoria, pues presentan un amplio espectro de actividad frente a varios microorganismos patógenos. Además, se encuentran ampliamente distribuidos en la naturaleza, desde organismos unicelulares hasta mamíferos. Algunos péptidos antimicrobianos ya están siendo evaluados en estudios clínicos aunque muchos de ellos no han tenido resultados favorables in vivo debido a su poca estabilidad metabólica y toxicidad, entre otros. Con el fin de optimizar estas propiedades de los péptidos antimicrobianos se han trazado diferentes estrategias como la modificación química de su estructura y la conjugación con nanopartículas magnéticas. Es por eso que este artículo tiene el objetivo de revisar las potenciales aplicaciones terapéuticas de estas moléculas, teniendo en cuenta la información publicada al respecto en MedLine, Web of Science y Scopus en los últimos años

The growing incidence of infectious disease in recent years may be attributed to several causes, among them acquired immunodeficiencies (AIDS, organ transplant, oncological chemotherapy), human migration and the consequent import of diseases into susceptible populations, and the excessive use of antibiotics. This situation has fostered the search for new therapeutic candidates for the development of more effective treatments. Antimicrobial peptides are a promising alternative in this respect, due to their broad spectrum of activity against several pathogenic microorganisms. Moreover, they are widely distributed in nature, from unicellular organisms to mammals. Some antimicrobial peptides are already being evaluated in clinical studies, though many of them have not produced any favorable results in vivo due to their low metabolic stability and their toxicity, among other factors. Several strategies have been developed to overcome the above mentioned drawbacks, among them conjugation of microbial peptides with magnetic nanoparticles and chemical modification of their structure. The present study is aimed at reviewing the potential therapeutic applications of these molecules based on information published in MedLine, the Web of Science and Scopus in recent years.