CD163+ Macrophages Induce Endothelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition in Atheroma.

BACKGROUND: Cell phenotype switching is increasingly being recognized in atherosclerosis. However, our understanding of the exact stimuli for such cellular transformations and their significance for human atherosclerosis is still evolving. Intraplaque hemorrhage is thought to be a major contributor to plaque progression in part by stimulating the influx of CD163+ macrophages. Here, we explored the hypothesis that CD163+ macrophages cause plaque progression through the induction of proapoptotic endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EndMT) within the fibrous cap. METHODS: Human coronary artery sections from CVPath's autopsy registry were selected for pathological analysis. Athero-prone ApoE-/- and ApoE-/-/CD163-/- mice were used for in vivo studies. Human peripheral blood mononuclear cell-induced macrophages and human aortic endothelial cells were used for in vitro experiments. RESULTS: In 107 lesions with acute coronary plaque rupture, 55% had pathological evidence of intraplaque hemorrhage in nonculprit vessels/lesions. Thinner fibrous cap, greater CD163+ macrophage accumulation, and a larger number of CD31/FSP-1 (fibroblast specific protein-1) double-positive cells and TUNEL (terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-dUTP nick end labeling) positive cells in the fibrous cap were observed in nonculprit intraplaque hemorrhage lesions, as well as in culprit rupture sections versus nonculprit fibroatheroma sections. Human aortic endothelial cells cultured with supernatants from hemoglobin/haptoglobin-exposed macrophages showed that increased mesenchymal marker proteins (transgelin and FSP-1) while endothelial markers (VE-cadherin and CD31) were reduced, suggesting EndMT induction. Activation of NF-κB (nuclear factor kappa ß) signaling by proinflammatory cytokines released from CD163+ macrophages directly regulated the expression of Snail, a critical transcription factor during EndMT induction. Western blot analysis for cleaved caspase-3 and microarray analysis of human aortic endothelial cells indicated that apoptosis was stimulated during CD163+ macrophage-induced EndMT. Additionally, CD163 deletion in athero-prone mice suggested that CD163 is required for EndMT and plaque progression. Using single-cell RNA sequencing from human carotid endarterectomy lesions, a population of EndMT was detected, which demonstrated significant upregulation of apoptosis-related genes. CONCLUSIONS: CD163+ macrophages provoke EndMT, which may promote plaque progression through fibrous cap thinning.

Apolipoprotein E-ε2 and Resistance to Atherosclerosis in Midlife: The PESA Observational Study.

BACKGROUND: APOE is a known genetic contributor to cardiovascular disease, but the differential role APOE alleles play in subclinical atherosclerosis remains unclear. METHODS: The PESA (Progression of Early Subclinical Atherosclerosis) is an observational cohort study that recruited 4184 middle-aged asymptomatic individuals to be screened for cardiovascular risk and multiterritorial subclinical atherosclerosis. Participants were APOE-genotyped, and omics data were additionally evaluated. RESULTS: In the PESA study, the frequencies for APOE -ε2, -ε3, and -ε4 alleles were 0.060, 0.844, and 0.096, respectively. This study included a subcohort of 3887 participants (45.8±4.3 years of age; 62% males). As expected, APOE-ε4 carriers were at the highest risk for cardiovascular disease and had significantly greater odds of having subclinical atherosclerosis compared with ε3/ε3 carriers, which was mainly explained by their higher levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol. In turn, APOE-ε2 carriers were at the lowest risk for cardiovascular disease and had significantly lower odds of having subclinical atherosclerosis in several vascular territories (carotids: 0.62 [95% CI, 0.47-0.81]; P=0.00043; femorals: 0.60 [0.47-0.78]; P=9.96×10-5; coronaries: 0.53 [0.39-0.74]; P=0.00013; and increased PESA score: 0.58 [0.48-0.71]; P=3.16×10-8). This APOE-ε2 atheroprotective effect was mostly independent of the associated lower LDL-cholesterol levels and other cardiovascular risk factors. The protection conferred by the ε2 allele was greater with age (50-54 years: 0.49 [95% CI, 0.32-0.73]; P=0.00045), and normal (<150 mg/dL) levels of triglycerides (0.54 [0.44-0.66]; P=4.70×10-9 versus 0.90 [0.57-1.43]; P=0.67 if ≥150 mg/dL). Omics analysis revealed an enrichment of several canonical pathways associated with anti-inflammatory mechanisms together with the modulation of erythrocyte homeostasis, coagulation, and complement activation in ε2 carriers that might play a relevant role in the ε2's atheroprotective effect. CONCLUSIONS: This work sheds light on the role of APOE in cardiovascular disease development with important therapeutic and prevention implications on cardiovascular health, especially in early midlife. REGISTRATION: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov: NCT01410318.

Polygenic Risk Score Associates With Atherosclerotic Plaque Characteristics at Autopsy.

BACKGROUND: Polygenic risk scores (PRSs) for coronary artery disease (CAD) potentially improve cardiovascular risk prediction. However, their relationship with histopathologic features of CAD has never been examined systematically. METHODS: From 4327 subjects referred to CVPath by the State of Maryland Office Chief Medical Examiner for sudden death between 1994 and 2015, 2455 cases were randomly selected for genotyping. We generated PRS from 291 known CAD risk loci. Detailed histopathologic examination of the coronary arteries was performed in all subjects. The primary study outcome measurements were histopathologic plaque features determining severity of atherosclerosis, including %stenosis, calcification, thin-cap fibroatheromas, and thrombotic CAD. RESULTS: After exclusion of cases with insufficient DNA sample quality or with missing data, 954 cases (mean age, 48.8±14.7 years; 75.7% men) remained in the final study cohort. Subjects in the highest PRS quintile exhibited more severe atherosclerosis compared with subjects in the lowest quintile, with greater %stenosis (80.3%±27.0% versus 50.4%±38.7%; adjusted P<0.001) and a higher frequency of calcification (69.6% versus 35.8%; adjusted P=0.004) and thin-cap fibroatheroma (26.7% versus 9.5%; adjusted P=0.007). Even after adjustment for traditional CAD risk factors, subjects within the highest PRS quintile had higher odds of severe atherosclerosis (ie, ≥75% stenosis; adjusted odds ratio, 3.77 [95% CI, 2.10-6.78]; P<0.001) and plaque rupture (adjusted odds ratio, 4.05 [95% CI, 2.26-7.24]; P<0.001). Moreover, subjects within the highest quintile had higher odds of CAD-associated cause of death, especially among those aged ≤50 years (adjusted odds ratio, 4.08 [95% CI, 2.01-8.30]; P<0.001). No statistically significant associations were observed with plaque erosion after adjusting for covariates. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first autopsy study investigating associations between PRS and atherosclerosis severity at the histopathologic level in subjects with sudden death. Our pathological analysis suggests PRS correlates with plaque burden and features of advanced atherosclerosis and may be useful as a method for CAD risk stratification, especially in younger subjects.

ClinGen variant curation expert panel recommendations for classification of variants in GAMT, GATM and SLC6A8 for cerebral creatine deficiency syndromes.

Cerebral creatine deficiency syndromes (CCDS) are inherited metabolic phenotypes of creatine synthesis and transport. There are two enzyme deficiencies, guanidinoacetate methyltransferase (GAMT), encoded by GAMT and arginine-glycine amidinotransferase (AGAT), encoded by GATM, which are involved in the synthesis of creatine. After synthesis, creatine is taken up by a sodium-dependent membrane bound creatine transporter (CRTR), encoded by SLC6A8, into all organs. Creatine uptake is very important especially in high energy demanding organs such as the brain, and muscle. To classify the pathogenicity of variants in GAMT, GATM, and SLC6A8, we developed the CCDS Variant Curation Expert Panel (VCEP) in 2018, supported by The Clinical Genome Resource (ClinGen), a National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded resource. We developed disease-specific variant classification guidelines for GAMT-, GATM-, and SLC6A8-related CCDS, adapted from the American College of Medical Genetics/Association of Molecular Pathology (ACMG/AMP) variant interpretation guidelines. We applied specific variant classification guidelines to 30 pilot variants in each of the three genes that have variants associated with CCDS. Our CCDS VCEP was approved by the ClinGen Sequence Variant Interpretation Working Group (SVI WG) and Clinical Domain Oversight Committee in July 2022. We curated 181 variants including 72 variants in GAMT, 45 variants in GATM, and 64 variants in SLC6A8 and submitted these classifications to ClinVar, a public variant database supported by the National Center for Biotechnology Information. Missense variants were the most common variant type in all three genes. We submitted 32 new variants and reclassified 34 variants with conflicting interpretations. We report specific phenotype (PP4) using a points system based on the urine and plasma guanidinoacetate and creatine levels, brain magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) creatine level, and enzyme activity or creatine uptake in fibroblasts ranging from PP4, PP4_Moderate and PP4_Strong. Our CCDS VCEP is one of the first panels applying disease specific variant classification algorithms for an X-linked disease. The availability of these guidelines and classifications can guide molecular genetics and genomic laboratories and health care providers to assess the molecular diagnosis of individuals with a CCDS phenotype.

Single-cell transcriptomic profiling reveals a pathogenic role of cytotoxic CD4+ T cells in giant cell arteritis.

Giant cell arteritis (GCA) is a systemic vasculitis mediated by an aberrant immunological response against the blood vessel wall. Although the pathogenic mechanisms that drive GCA have not yet been elucidated, there is strong evidence that CD4+ T cells are key drivers of the inflammatory process occurring in this vasculitis. The aim of this study was to further delineate the role of CD4+ T cells in GCA by applying single-cell RNA sequencing and T cell receptor (TCR) repertoire profiling to 114.799 circulating CD4+ T cells from eight GCA patients in two different clinical states, active and in remission, and eight healthy controls. Our results revealed an expansion of cytotoxic CD4+ T lymphocytes (CTLs) in active GCA patients, which expressed higher levels of cytotoxic and chemotactic genes when compared to patients in remission and controls. Accordingly, differentially expressed genes in CTLs of active patients were enriched in pathways related to granzyme-mediated apoptosis, inflammation, and the recruitment of different immune cells, suggesting a role of this cell type in the inflammatory and vascular remodelling processes occurring in GCA. CTLs also exhibited a higher clonal expansion in active patients with respect to those in remission. Drug repurposing analysis prioritized maraviroc, which targeted CTLs, as potentially repositionable for this vasculitis. In addition, effector regulatory T cells (Tregs) were decreased in GCA and showed lower expression of genes involved in their suppressive activity. These findings provide further insights into the pathogenic role of CD4+ T cells in GCA and suggest targeting CTLs as a potential therapeutic option.

Lymphoid interstitial pneumonia in a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus: Case report and literature review.

Lymphoid interstitial pneumonia (LIP) is a rare form of interstitial pulmonary disease, which has been described in association with a wide range of autoimmune disorders. Although the association of this entity with Sjogren's syndrome is well known, only a few cases are reported in relation to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The aim of this paper is to review the cases reported in literature to date, as well as to describe the characteristics of these patients including the new case presented herein. We will be focusing on the case of a 36-year-old female patient diagnosed with SLE on hydroxychloroquine treatment who develops pleuritic chest pain and progressive dyspnea after 3 years of follow-up. The chest CT scan showed pleural thickening and both multiple and bilateral micronodules. A lung biopsy was also performed, revealing an infiltration of lymphocytes, plasma cells, and histiocytes in the alveolar septa suggestive of LIP. After conducting a review of the literature, we identified seven other cases describing SLE in association with LIP. The majority of them were young women, and LIP tends to appear early in the course of the disease, even as a form of initial presentation in some cases. Symptoms included cough, dyspnea, and pleuritic pain, with the exception of one case which was asymptomatic. It is noteworthy that half of the patients were positive for anti-SSA/anti-SSB autoantibodies, and some of them also met criteria for Sjogren's syndrome. Treatment with steroids and other immunosuppressive agents improved symptoms in all of them.

Implementation feasibility of animal-assisted therapy in a pediatric intensive care unit: effectiveness on reduction of pain, fear, and anxiety.

Animal-assisted therapies are an innovative strategy within health care humanization initiatives, and they could play a role in the reduction of pain or anxiety. The main objective of this work was to evaluate the feasibility of implementing animal-assisted therapy in a pediatric intensive care unit and its effectiveness for the reduction of pain, fear, and anxiety. A prospective, quasi-experimental study of animal-assisted therapy was designed in the pediatric intensive care unit of the Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre of Madrid, from January 2019 to December 2019. The study sample included patients who had been admitted to the unit and were over 3 years old. Satisfaction surveys were collected from the patients, family, and health personnel involved. Physiological variables and the level of pain (visual analog scale or Wong-Baker scale), fear (Child Medical Fear Scale), and anxiety (modified Yale Preoperatory Anxiety Scale) were evaluated before and after each session. Any existence of adverse events was recorded. A total of 74 therapy sessions were performed on 61 patients. All sessions were completed without any adverse effects. A total of 164 surveys were collected, providing an overall project rating of 9.69 out of a possible 10. The survey comments were found to be positive in most cases. No differences were found in the physiological variables measured before and after each session. There was a statistically significant decrease in pain, fear, and anxiety levels (p < 0.01).   Conclusion: The implementation of an animal-assisted therapy project in a pediatric intensive care unit is feasible and safe and has a high degree of acceptance among both participants and healthcare staff. Animal-assisted therapy is effective for the reduction of pain, fear, and anxiety, and therefore, it could be considered an adjunct to non-pharmacological therapy. What is Known: • Animal assisted therapies (AAT) are an innovative strategy that could be beneficial to help pediatrics patients cope with admission difficulties and could even play a role in reducing pain, anxiety and/or delirium. • To date there are not studies to analyze the effectiveness of AAT in the field of Pediatric Intesive Care. What is New: • Our study confirms the feasibility and effectiveness of the implementation of an AAT in the field of Pediatric Intensive Care with a high degree of acceptance by participants, caregivers and healthcare personnel. • AAT demonstrated a reduction in pain, fear and anxiety in pediatrics patients admitted to Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.

Resilience and psychological factors among dentistry students who received face-to-face lectures during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: This research evaluated whether the relationships between factors of resilience, self-esteem, depression, and anxiety in dental students with changes in teaching and learning methods. We also studied the psychological impact of face-to-face lectures during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: This cross-sectional descriptive study used Google Forms to collect data with the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSE), Connor-Davidson Risk Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI and BDI-II). An open-ended question was also asked about important learning difficulties. RESULTS: The analysis revealed very high levels of resilience (30.23 ± 5.84), self-esteem in the normal range (29.08 ± 4.03), minimal depression levels (12.32 ± 8.05), and low anxiety levels (17.20 ± 12.41). There were no significant differences between sociodemographic variables ranges in regard to all psychological questionnaires. No high levels of depression and anxiety were found. CONCLUSIONS: The levels were low compared to other studies in which online teaching was used, which is explained by the fact that the students retained adequate resilience and self-esteem thanks to being able to contact teachers and, above all, their own peers.

Reliability and validity of the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) test for post-traumatic stress disorder in mental health nurses in Spain.

BACKGROUND: Here we report the reliability and test/re-test validity of a Castillan version of the PCL-5 (PCL5-C) in mental health nurses. METHODS: A sample of 52 consecutive nurses was recruited from two psychiatric hospitals and four psychiatrists units of general hospitals in Madrid, Spain. RESULTS: We detected high internal consistency for the study questionnaire at the test assessment (n = 52) and at retest 0.929 and 0.935, respectively, by total Cronbach's α. All of the items at test and re-test correlated with the total score. CONCLUSIONS: Reproducibility analysis showed excellent test/re-test reliability for the total score and each item. Based on our findings, we conclude that the PCL5-C is a valid and reliable questionnaire when applied among Spanish mental health nurses population.

Relationships between neighborhood disadvantage and cardiovascular findings at autopsy in subjects with sudden death.

BACKGROUND: Neighborhood disadvantage is associated with a higher risk of sudden cardiac death. However, autopsy findings have never been investigated in this context. Here, we sought to explore associations between neighborhood disadvantage and cardiovascular findings at autopsy in cases of sudden death in the State of Maryland. METHODS: State of Maryland investigation reports from 2,278 subjects within the CVPath Sudden Death Registry were screened for street addresses and 9-digit zip codes. Area deprivation index (ADI), used as metric for neighborhood disadvantage, was available for 1,464 subjects; 650 of whom self-identified as Black and 814 as White. The primary study outcome measurements were causes of death and gross and histopathologic findings of the heart. RESULTS: Subjects from most disadvantaged neighborhoods (i.e., ADI ≥ 8; n = 607) died at younger age compared with subjects from less disadvantaged neighborhoods (i.e., ADI ≤ 7; n = 857; 46.07 ± 14.10 vs 47.78 ± 13.86 years; P = 0.02) and were more likely Black or women. They were less likely to die from cardiac causes of death (61.8% vs 67.7%; P = 0.02) and had less severe atherosclerotic plaque features, including plaque burden, calcification, intraplaque hemorrhage, and thin-cap fibroatheromas. In addition, subjects from most disadvantaged neighborhoods had lower frequencies of plaque rupture (18.8% vs 25.1%, P = 0.004). However, these associations were omitted after adjustment for traditional risk factors and race. CONCLUSION: Neighborhood disadvantage did not associate with cause of death or coronary histopathology after adjustment for cardiovascular risk factors and race, implying that social determinants of health other than neighborhood disadvantage play a more prominent role in sudden cardiac death.

Specifications of the ACMG/AMP guidelines for ACADVL variant interpretation.

Very long-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (VLCAD) deficiency (VLCADD) is a relatively common inborn error of metabolism, but due to difficulty in accurately predicting affected status through newborn screening, molecular confirmation of the causative variants by sequencing of the ACADVL gene is necessary. Although the ACMG/AMP guidelines have helped standardize variant classification, ACADVL variant classification remains disparate due to a phenotype that can be nonspecific, the possibility of variants that produce late-onset disease, and relatively high carrier frequency, amongst other challenges. Therefore, an ACADVL-specific variant curation expert panel (VCEP) was created to facilitate the specification of the ACMG/AMP guidelines for VLCADD. We expect these guidelines to help streamline, increase concordance, and expedite the classification of ACADVL variants.

Variant Classification for Pompe disease; ACMG/AMP specifications from the ClinGen Lysosomal Diseases Variant Curation Expert Panel.

Accurate determination of the clinical significance of genetic variants is critical to the integration of genomics in medicine. To facilitate this process, the NIH-funded Clinical Genome Resource (ClinGen) has assembled Variant Curation Expert Panels (VCEPs), groups of experts and biocurators which provide gene- and disease- specifications to the American College of Medical Genetics & Genomics and Association for Molecular Pathology's (ACMG/AMP) variation classification guidelines. With the goal of classifying the clinical significance of GAA variants in Pompe disease (Glycogen storage disease, type II), the ClinGen Lysosomal Diseases (LD) VCEP has specified the ACMG/AMP criteria for GAA. Variant classification can play an important role in confirming the diagnosis of Pompe disease as well as in the identification of carriers. Furthermore, since the inclusion of Pompe disease on the Recommended Uniform Screening Panel (RUSP) for newborns in the USA in 2015, the addition of molecular genetic testing has become an important component in the interpretation of newborn screening results, particularly for asymptomatic individuals. To date, the LD VCEP has submitted classifications and supporting data on 243 GAA variants to public databases, specifically ClinVar and the ClinGen Evidence Repository. Here, we describe the ACMG/AMP criteria specification process for GAA, an update of the GAA-specific variant classification guidelines, and comparison of the ClinGen LD VCEP's GAA variant classifications with variant classifications submitted to ClinVar. The LD VCEP has added to the publicly available knowledge on the pathogenicity of variants in GAA by increasing the number of expert-curated GAA variants present in ClinVar, and aids in resolving conflicting classifications and variants of uncertain clinical significance.

Convergence of flow cytometry and bacteriology. Current and future applications: a focus on food and clinical microbiology.

Since its development in the 1960s, flow cytometry (FCM) was quickly revealed a powerful tool to analyse cell populations in medical studies, yet, for many years, was almost exclusively used to analyse eukaryotic cells. Instrument and methodological limitations to distinguish genuine bacterial signals from the background, among other limitations, have hampered FCM applications in bacteriology. In recent years, thanks to the continuous development of FCM instruments and methods with a higher discriminatory capacity to detect low-size particles, FCM has emerged as an appealing technique to advance the study of microbes, with important applications in research, clinical and industrial settings. The capacity to rapidly enumerate and classify individual bacterial cells based on viability facilitates the monitoring of bacterial presence in foodstuffs or clinical samples, reducing the time needed to detect contamination or infectious processes. Besides, FCM has stood out as a valuable tool to advance the study of complex microbial communities, or microbiomes, that are very relevant in the context of human health, as well as to understand the interaction of bacterial and host cells. This review highlights current developments in, and future applications of, FCM in bacteriology, with a focus on those related to food and clinical microbiology.

Adherence to antimalarials and glucocorticoids treatment and its association with self-reported disease activity in systemic lupus erythematosus patients.

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to investigate the rate of non-adherence to antimalarials and glucocorticoids (GCs) and to analyze their potential relationships with sociodemographic characteristics, disease activity and accumulate damage in a cohort of Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 670 patients. The Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Activity Questionnaire (SLAQ) and the Lupus Damage Index Questionnaire (LDIQ) were used to assess disease activity and accumulated damage. RESULTS: The prevalence of non-adherence to antimalarials and GCs were 10.67% and 39.61%. 86.9% of participants indicated that the reason for stopping therapy was the presence of side effects. SLE patients with non-adherence to antimalarials and GCs had significantly higher scores in disease severity (SLAQ) compared to adherence patients (5.03 (2.12) vs 4.39 (2.61); p = .004 and (4.75 (2.29) vs 4.05 (2.78); p ≤ .001). CONCLUSION: Adherence to the treatment indicated in SLE differs from drug to drug. Findings highlight the importance of developing interventions to support adherence and improve outcomes among patients.

Artificial intelligence cloud platform improves arrhythmia detection from insertable cardiac monitors to 25 cardiac rhythm patterns through multi-label classification.

BACKGROUND: Electrocardiogram (ECG) is the gold standard for the diagnosis of cardiac arrhythmias and other heart diseases. Insertable cardiac monitors (ICMs) have been developed to continuously monitor cardiac activity over long periods of time and to detect 4 cardiac patterns (atrial tachyarrhythmias, ventricular tachycardia, bradycardia, and pause). However, interpretation of ECG or ICM subcutaneous ECG (sECG) is time-consuming for clinicians. Artificial intelligence (AI) classifies ECG and sECG with high accuracy in short times. OBJECTIVE: To demonstrate whether an AI algorithm can expand ICM arrhythmia recognition from 4 to many cardiac patterns. METHODS: We performed an exploratory retrospective study with sECG raw data coming from 20 patients wearing a Confirm Rx™ (Abbott, Sylmar, USA) ICM. The sECG data were recorded in standard conditions and then analyzed by AI (Willem™, IDOVEN, Madrid, Spain) and cardiologists, in parallel. RESULTS: In nineteen patients, ICMs recorded 2261 sECGs in an average follow-up of 23 months. Within these 2261 sECG episodes, AI identified 7882 events and classified them according to 25 different cardiac rhythm patterns with a pondered global accuracy of 88%. Global positive predictive value, sensitivity, and F1-score were 86.77%, 83.89%, and 85.52% respectively. AI was especially sensitive for bradycardias, pauses, rS complexes, premature atrial contractions, and inverted T waves, reducing the median time spent to classify each sECG compared to cardiologists. CONCLUSION: AI can process sECG raw data coming from ICMs without previous training, extending the performance of these devices and saving cardiologists' time in reviewing cardiac rhythm patterns detection.

Identification of Novel Candidate Genes for Familial Thyroid Cancer by Whole Exome Sequencing.

Thyroid carcinoma (TC) can be classified as medullary (MTC) and non-medullary (NMTC). While most TCs are sporadic, familial forms of MTC and NMTC also exist (less than 1% and 3-9% of all TC cases, respectively). Germline mutations in RET are found in more than 95% of familial MTC, whereas familial NMTC shows a high degree of genetic heterogeneity. Herein, we aimed to identify susceptibility genes for familial NMTC and non-RET MTC by whole exome sequencing in 58 individuals belonging to 18 Spanish families with these carcinomas. After data analysis, 53 rare candidate segregating variants were identified in 12 of the families, 7 of them located in previously TC-associated genes. Although no common mutated genes were detected, biological processes regulating functions such as cell proliferation, differentiation, survival and adhesion were enriched. The reported functions of the identified genes together with pathogenicity and structural predictions, reinforced the candidacy of 36 of them, suggesting new loci related to TC and novel genotype-phenotype correlations. Therefore, our strategy provides clues to possible molecular mechanisms underlying familial forms of MTC and NMTC. These new molecular findings and clinical data of patients may be helpful for the early detection, development of tailored therapies and optimizing patient management.

Identification of Reference Genes for Precise Expression Analysis during Germination in Chenopodium quinoa Seeds under Salt Stress.

Chenopodium quinoa Willd. (quinoa), a member of the Amaranthaceae family, is an allotetraploid annual plant, endemic to South America. The plant of C. quinoa presents significant ecological plasticity with exceptional adaptability to several environmental stresses, including salinity. The resilience of quinoa to several abiotic stresses, as well as its nutritional attributes, have led to significant shifts in quinoa cultivation worldwide over the past century. This work first defines germination sensu stricto in quinoa where the breakage of the pericarp and the testa is followed by endosperm rupture (ER). Transcriptomic changes in early seed germination stages lead to unstable expression levels in commonly used reference genes that are typically stable in vegetative tissues. Noteworthy, no suitable reference genes have been previously identified specifically for quinoa seed germination under salt stress conditions. This work aims to identify these genes as a prerequisite step for normalizing qPCR data. To this end, germinating seeds from UDEC2 and UDEC4 accessions, with different tolerance to salt, have been analyzed under conditions of absence (0 mM NaCl) and in the presence (250 mM NaCl) of sodium chloride. Based on the relevant literature, six candidate reference genes, Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), Monensin sensitivity1 (MON1), Polypyrimidine tract-binding protein (PTB), Actin-7 (ACT7), Ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme (UBC), and 18S ribosomal RNA (18S), were selected and assessed for stability using the RefFinder Tool encompassing the statistical algorithms geNorm, NormFinder, BestKeeper, and ΔCt in the evaluation. The data presented support the suitability of CqACT7 and CqUBC as reference genes for normalizing gene expression during seed germination under salinity stress. These recommended reference genes can be valuable tools for consistent qPCR studies on quinoa seeds.

Comparison between virtual and hybrid education for psychological factors and academic stress in freshman nursing students: a case-control study.

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has prompted several changes in the learning methods of students. The purpose of this study was to establish whether a relationship between levels of resilience, self-esteem, anxiety, depression, and academic stress in both hybrid and virtual learning education exist. METHODS: A descriptive and observational case-control study was carried out in universities that offer nursing designation. A total sample of 140 freshman nursing students was recruited. Concretely, 70 participants were recruited from an university receiving hybrid education and 70 participants were recruited from another university receiving virtual learning education. Nursing students self-reported the following questionnaires: the Rosenberg Self-Esteem scale, the 10 CD-Risk Connor-Davidson Risk Resilience Scale, the Beck Anxiety Inventory, the Beck Depression Inventory and the Academic Stress Coping Scale. RESULTS: Significant differences (P = 0.001) showed higher depression levels for students who received virtual education versus received hybrid education. Differences in Rosenberg test for self-esteem and Beck Anxiety Inventory for anxiety (P > 0.05) were not found. CONCLUSION: Students who received online education presented higher depression levels which could be due to they had not face-to-face relationships with teachers or classmates, whereas the hybrid education group received a different type of direct interaction with teachers and peers.

Technical challenges for complete implementation of automated growth-based methods for microbiological examination of advanced therapy medicinal products. What's wrong with Candida albicans?

BACKGROUND: Automated growth-based methods for sterility testing of cell-therapy products should be qualified to demonstrate that they are equivalent to, or better than, the conventional reference method. The aim of the present study was to assess the ability of the BACTEC FX40 system to detect low microbial contamination and to confirm the suitability of the method in the presence of seven different human mesenchymal cell-based products, according to Ph. Eur. 2.6.27. Additionally, a study to select the best vial to detect fungus contamination was performed. METHODS: Microorganisms representing Gram-negative, Gram-positive, aerobic, anaerobic, spore-forming, slow-growing bacteria, yeast and mold were prepared in either Dulbecco's PBS or seven biological matrices containing approximately 5, 10, and 15 colony-forming units (CFU) per sample. These preparations were inoculated to the specific media required for each test method: (i) BACTEC aerobic and anaerobic vials; (ii) aerobic and anaerobic media for direct inoculation; and (iii) Trypcase soy 3P or Brucella blood agar plates. Colonies from cultures were identified using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. RESULTS: The BACTEC FX40 system, in both Dulbecco's PBS and the biological matrices with a 5-CFU inoculum, detected most of the microorganisms significantly faster than the conventional method, despite the presence of a matrix containing gentamicin and several matrices containing 10% DMSO. Conversely, it showed an extremely delayed detection of Candida albicans compared with the conventional method. The addition of a Mycosis IC/F (MYC) vial decreased radically the time to detection (TTD) of C. albicans (28.2 ± 1.8 h) compared with the conventional method (36 h). CONCLUSIONS: When a MYC vial was added to the standard aerobic and anaerobic vials to test each sample, BACTEC FX40 was shown to be a superior alternative sterility method for cell-therapy products contaminated with low inocula, with a faster TTD for microbial growth compared with the conventional method (5 versus 14 days). The studies were carried out in different cell-based matrices with sensitivities and specificities of 100% for all the tested strains at 15-, 10- and 5-CFU inoculum, with the exception of Kocuria rhizophila at 5 CFU (90.48% sensitivity and 100% specificity).

Case report: BA.1 subvariant showing a BA.2-like pattern using a variant-specific PCR assay due to a single point mutation downstream the spike 69/70 deletion.

BACKGROUND: SARS-CoV-2 variant tracking is key to the genomic surveillance of the COVID-19 pandemic. While next-generation sequencing (NGS) is commonly used for variant determination, it is expensive and time-consuming. Variant-specific PCR (vsPCR) is a faster, cheaper method that detects specific mutations that are considered variant-defining. These tests usually rely on specific amplification when a mutation is present or a specific melting temperature peak after amplification. CASE PRESENTATION: A discrepant result between vsPCR and NGS was found in seventeen SARS-CoV-2 samples from Galicia, Spain. A cluster of BA.1 Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant showed a BA.2-like melting temperature pattern due to a point mutation (C21772T) downstream the deletion of the spike amino acids 69/70. As the 69/70 deletion is widely used for differentiation between BA.1 and BA.2 by vsPCR, C21772T can cause BA.1 samples to be misinterpreted as BA.2. Over a thousand BA.1 sequences in the EpiCoV database contain this mutation. CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge, this is the first case of a point mutation causing a vsPCR algorithm to misclassify BA.1 samples as BA.2. This is an example of how mutations in the probe target area of vsPCR tests based on melting curve analysis can lead to variant misclassification. NGS confirmation of vsPCR results is relevant for the accuracy of the epidemiological surveillance. In order to overcome the possible impact of novel mutations, diagnostic tools must be constantly updated.