Angiotensin II receptor agonist antibodies are associated with microvascular damage in lupus nephritis.

Angiotensin II type 1 receptor agonist antibodies (AT1R-AAs) have been associated with hypertension, atherosclerosis and vascular inflammation in human diseases. The aim of the study was to evaluate the prevalence of AT1R-AAs in active lupus nephritis (LN) patients and their association with vascular damage. One hundred and seven active LN patients underwent a complete clinical examination, measurement of AT1R-AAs, ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, carotid intima-media thickness measurement and morphometric analysis of subintimal fibrosis and medial hyperplasia of the vessels in the kidney tissue. Plasma AT1R-AAs were positive in 58 (54.2%) patients. The Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index 2000 (SLEDAI-2K) score, complement C3 and C4 levels and titers of anti-dsDNA antibodies were higher in the group with positive AT1R-AAs compared with those with negative AT1R-AAs. The AT1R-AA titers correlated with anti-dsDNA antibody titers and with complement C3 and C4 serum levels. In the kidney biopsy, the percentage of subintimal fibrosis and the area of medial hyperplasia were greater in the AT1R-AA-positive patients. No differences in arterial pressure, carotid intima-media thickness and response to therapy were detected. In conclusion, AT1R-AAs are prevalent in active LN patients and are associated with histologic features of microvascular damage.

Tuberculosis and cigarette smoke exposure: An update of in vitro and in vivo studies.

Tuberculosis (TB) has been declared the first cause of death by an infectious agent. Annually, 10.4 million people suffer active TB. Most infected individuals live in low-income countries, where social and economic conditions enhance the dissemination and progression of the disease. These countries have a high percentage of smokers. Thousands of studies have linked cigarette smoke (CS) with increased risk of many diseases, such as cancer and lung diseases. Numerous in vitro studies have been conducted to evaluate the general and specific toxic effects of CS in lung immune function. Smoke exposure increases the risk of TB development three-fold. However, until now, only few animal studies have been performed to analyze the association between smoke and TB. In the present work, we review in vitro and in vivo studies whose aim was to analyze the molecular basis of TB susceptibility caused by exposure to CS.

Ecotoxicidad aguda en Physa cubensis P. y Artemia salina L. de 8 antibacterianos con riesgo ambiental / Acute toxicity in Physa cubensis P. and Artemia salina L. of 8 antibiotics with environmental risk

Los productos farmacéuticos son ampliamente utilizados en todo el planeta. Existe una creciente preocupación por los efectos que los medicamentos consumidos y los desechos de estos producen en el ambiente. A pesar del gran uso de los antibacterianos no son muy investigados como contaminantes, prestándose mayor atención a la antibioresistencia por lo que el objetivo de la investigación fue evaluar la ecotoxicidad aguda de antibacterianos. Teniendo en cuenta el consumo de los antibacterianos y la predicción de sus concentraciones ambientales así como su ecoxicidad en Lactuca sativa L ya previamente determinados en anteriores investigaciones se determinó el riesgo ecotoxicológico en Artemia salina L. y Physa cubensis P. En el ensayo de Artemia salina la Ceftazidima se clasifica como muy tóxico con valor de CL50 de 0,060773 g/L, la Cefepima con valor de 0,993731 g/L como moderadamente tóxica y el resto de los antibacterianos evaluados se clasifican como no tóxicos. En los bioensayos en Physa cubensis Cefepima y Cefazolina ocasionaron la mayor mortalidad con CL50 de 0,000270 y 0,025684 g/L respectivamente y los que indujeron menor mortalidad fueron Vancomicina y Amoxicilina/Sulbactam con CL50 de 1,528440 y 1,055492 g/L. El vertimiento de residuos de antibacterianos puede ser causa de contaminación ambiental perjudicial para algunas especies (AU)

Pharmaceuticals are widely used all over the planet. There is growing concern about the effects that drugs and its residues produce in the environment. Despite the wide use of antibacterial, they are not very investigated as pollutants, paying greater attention to the antibiotic resistance, so the objective of this research was to evaluate the antibacterial acute ecotoxicity. Taking into account the antibacterial consumption and the prediction of their environmental concentrations as well as their ecotoxicity in Lactuca sativa L already determined in previous research, the ecotoxicological risk was determined in Artemia salina L. and Physa cubensis P. In the Artemia salina trial Ceftazidime is classified as very toxic with LC50 value of 0.060773g/L, Cefepime with value of 0.993731g/L is classified as moderately toxic and the rest of antibacterial evaluated are classified as non-toxic. In bio trials of Physa cubensis, Cefepime and Cefazolin caused the greatest mortality with LC50 0.000270 and 0.025684g/L respectively, and the ones that led lower mortality were Vancomycin and Amoxicillin/Sulbactam with LC50 of 1.528440 and 1.055492 g/L. The dumping of antibiotics residues can be the cause of environmental pollution, detrimental to some species (AU)

Mass spectrometry applied to the identification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and biomarker discovery.

An adequate and effective tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis system has been identified by the World Health Organization as a priority in the fight against this disease. Over the years, several methods have been developed to identify the bacillus, but bacterial culture remains one of the most affordable methods for most countries. For rapid and accurate identification, however, it is more feasible to implement molecular techniques, taking advantage of the availability of public databases containing protein sequences. Mass spectrometry (MS) has become an interesting technique for the identification of TB. Here, we review some of the most widely employed methods for identifying Mycobacterium tuberculosis and present an update on MS applied for the identification of mycobacterial species.

Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Modified Adenoviral Vectors for Gene Therapy: A View through Animal Models Tested.

The central dogma of gene therapy relies on the application of novel therapeutic genes to treat or prevent diseases. The main types of vectors used for gene transfer are adenovirus, retrovirus, lentivirus, liposome, and adeno-associated virus vectors. Gene therapy has emerged as a promising alternative for the treatment of inflammatory diseases. The main targets are cytokines, co-stimulatory molecules, and different types of cells from hematological and mesenchymal sources. In this review, we focus on molecules with anti-inflammatory effects used for in vivo gene therapy mediated by adenoviral gene transfer in the treatment of immune-mediated inflammatory diseases, with particular emphasis on autoinflammatory and autoimmune diseases.