Expanding therapeutic strategies for intracellular bacterial infections through conjugates of apoptotic body-antimicrobial peptides.

Macrophage intracellular infections are difficult to treat because conventional antibiotics tend to have poor penetration of mammalian cells. As a consequence, the immune response is affected and bacteria remain protected inside macrophages. The use of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) is one of the alternatives developed as new treatments because of their broad spectrum of action. To improve drug delivery into the intracellular space, extracellular vesicles (EVs) have emerged as an innovative strategy for drug delivery. In particular, apoptotic bodies (ApoBDs) are EVs that exhibit attraction to macrophages, which makes them a promising means of improving AMP delivery to treat macrophage intracellular infections. Here, we review important aspects that should be taken into account when developing ApoBD-AMP conjugates.

Genotoxicity of organic material extracted from particulate matter of alternative fuels.

Global demand for energy is rapidly increasing, and resources for the production of petroleum-based fuels are running out. For this, renewable fuels like biodiesel and hydrotreated vegetable oil biofuel are considered important alternatives to replace such fuels. In this study, we evaluated the in vitro genotoxicity effect on HepG2 cells of organic material extracted from particulate matter emissions of an engine fueled with conventional diesel or mixtures of diesel with 10% of biomass. The emissions were collected in two operational modes, 2410 rpm (slope simulation) and 1890 rpm (plane). Genotoxicity was evaluated through two methods, chromosomal aberration test and the alkaline comet assay. The former did not show any genotoxic effect, but the latter exhibited a statistically significant effect despite the operational mode of the engine and the concentration organic material extracted. In conclusion, regardless of the concentration of organic material extracted from particulate matter, the operational mode of the engine, or the fuel used, a significant damage of the DNA was found. In general, at the physicochemical level, a decrease in the amount of emissions of the used fuels is not directly related to a decrease in the genotoxicity potential.