Comparative metabolomics analysis of bronchial epithelium during barrier establishment after allergen exposure.

BACKGROUND: Several studies have shown a correlation between an altered metabolome and respiratory allergies. The epithelial barrier hypothesis proposes that an epithelial barrier dysfunction can result in allergic diseases development. Der p 1 allergen from house dust mite is a renowned epithelial barrier disruptor and allergy initiator due to its cysteine-protease activity. Here, we compared the metabolic profile of the bronchial epithelium exposed or not to Der p 1 during barrier establishment to understand its active role in allergy development. METHODS: Calu-3 cells were cultivated in air-liquid interface cultures and exposed to either Der p 1 or Ole e 1 allergens during barrier establishment. The comparative metabolomics analysis of apical and basolateral media were performed using liquid chromatography and capillary electrophoresis both coupled to mass spectrometry. RESULTS: We showed that epithelial barrier disruption by Der p 1 was associated with a specific metabolic profile, which was highly dependent on the state of the epithelium at the time of contact. Moreover, an apical-basolateral distribution of the metabolites was also observed, indicating a compartmentalization of the response with differential metabolic patterns. A number of metabolites were changed by Der p 1, mainly related to amino acids metabolism, such as L-arginine, L-kynurenine and L-methionine. CONCLUSION: This work is the first report on the metabolic response in human bronchial epithelial cells associated with cysteine-protease Der p 1 activity, which could contribute to allergy development. Moreover, it supports a reformulated epithelial barrier hypothesis that might help to explain allergies and their increasing prevalence.

Frequency of hematologic malignancies in the population of Arica, Chile.

Hematologic diseases are a heterogeneous group of malignancies that affect people worldwide such as leukemia, lymphoma and multiple myelomas. The aim of this study was to characterize the frequency of hematological diseases in the population of Arica, Chile (18°S, 70°W), between 2011 and 2014. A total of 108 cases of hematologic malignancies were registered at Dr. Juan Noé Crevani Regional Hospital in this period; 40 male and 52 female cases were included in this retrospective and descriptive analysis. The overall median age at diagnosis for hematological malignancies was 59 years (range, 17 to 96 years). The results indicated that the frequency of hematological diseases such as non-Hodgkin lymphoma and leukemia was not associated with sex, ethnicity and type of disease. However, in 2012 there was an increased number of cases of Hodgkin lymphoma compared with any other year in the study, whereas the number of multiple myeloma cases decreased between 2011 and 2014. No significant differences were observed among different types of disease, nor among the types of leukemia. However, when intervals of age were considered, it was revealed that patients >75 years had the highest incidence of hematological malignancies, mainly multiple myeloma, compared with other age groups. However, young adults were more commonly diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma than other disease types. A non-significant difference was observed in leukemia between 2011 and 2014 when sex was taken into consideration, in which the incidence rate was higher in females compared with males. Hodgkin lymphoma was most commonly at stage II and non-Hodgkin lymphoma was most commonly at stage IV. No significant differences were observed between the nodal and extranodal type, mixed cellularity and nodular sclerosis or in the morphology of non-Hodgkin lymphoma cell type. Overall, there was a decrease in the frequency of hematological malignancies between 2011 and 2014, but no significant differences were observed in males or females. This study provided for the first time the pattern and distribution of hematological diseases in Arica, Chile.

Healthy and wellbeing activities' promotion using a Big Data approach.

The aging population and economic crisis specially in developed countries have as a consequence the reduction in funds dedicated to health care; it is then desirable to optimize the costs of public and private healthcare systems, reducing the affluence of chronic and dependent people to care centers; promoting healthy lifestyle and activities can allow people to avoid chronic diseases as for example hypertension. In this article, we describe a system for promoting an active and healthy lifestyle for people and to recommend with guidelines and valuable information about their habits. The proposed system is being developed around the Big Data paradigm using bio-signal sensors and machine-learning algorithms for recommendations.