Ansiedad Materna Prenatal, Desarrollo Psicológico Infantil y Reactividad del Eje HPA en Bebés de 2 a 3 Meses de Edad / Antenatal maternal anxiety, infant psychological development, and HPA axis reactivity in 2-3 month old infants

Los bebés expuestos a altos niveles de ansiedad materna durante la etapa prenatal pueden desarrollar un eje HPA (hipotálamo pituitario adrenal) más reactivo, lo que supone vulnerabilidad a padecer psicopatologías. En este estudio prospectivo investigamos las relaciones entre la ansiedad prenatal maternal, el desarrollo psicológico infantil y la reactividad del eje HPA en bebés de 2 a 3 meses. Recogimos datos de cuarenta y seis díadas de madres y bebés. El análisis principal no reveló relaciones significativas entre las tres variables estudiadas, pero la variabilidad apuntó a que la ansiedad materna prenatal podría asociarse a efectos diferenciales en la reactividad del eje HPA en función del desarrollo psicológico infantil. Además, los resultados indicaron que las madres con ansiedad prenatal presentaban otros síntomas psicopatológicos, como sensibilidad interpersonal (p < .001) y obsesión-compulsión (p < .001). Esto es significativo para futuras investigaciones y a nivel clínico para promover intervenciones psicológicas durante la gestación

Babies exposed to high levels of maternal anxiety during the prenatal period may develop a more reactive HPA (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal) axis, which poses a vulnerability to psychopathology. In this prospective study, we investigated the relationships between antenatal maternal anxiety, infant psychological developmen,t and HPA axis reactivity in 2 to 3-month-old babies. We use data from forty-six mother-child dyads. The main analysis did not reveal significant relationships between the variables studied, but the variability pointed out that antenatal maternal anxiety could be associated with differential effects on the reactivity of the HPA axis according to the child’s psychological development. In addition, the results indicated that mothers with prenatal anxiety presented other psychopathological symptoms, such as interpersonal sensitivity (p < .001) and obsession-compulsion (p < .001). This is significant for future research and - at a clinical level - to promote psychological interventions during pregnancy

Role of the homologous recombination genes RAD51 and RAD59 in the resistance of Candida albicans to UV light, radiomimetic and anti-tumor compounds and oxidizing agents.

We have cloned and characterized the RAD51 and RAD59 orthologs of the pathogenic fungus Candida albicans. CaRad51 exhibited more than 50% identity with several other eukaryotes and the conserved the catalytic domain of a bacterial RecA. As compared to the parental strain, null strains of rad51 exhibited a filamentous morphology, had a decreased grow rate and exhibited a moderate sensitivity to UV light, oxidizing agents, and compounds that cause double-strand breaks (DSB), indicating a role in DNA repair. By comparison, the rad52 null had a higher percentage of filaments, a more severe growth defect and a greater sensitivity to DNA-damaging compounds. Null strains of rad59 showed a UV-sensitive phenotype but behaved similarly to the parental strain in the rest of the assays. As compared to Saccharomyces cerevisiae, C. albicans was much more resistant to bleomycin and the same was true for their respective homologous recombination (HR) mutants. These results indicate that, as described in S. cerevisiae, RAD52 plays a more prominent role than RAD51 in the repair of DSBs in C. albicans and suggest the existence of at least two Rad52-dependent HR pathways, one dependent and one independent of Rad51.