Metaproteomic analysis from cervical biopsies and cytologies identifies proteinaceous biomarkers representing both human and microbial species.

The detection of HPV infection and microbial colonization in cervical lesions is currently done through PCR-based viral or bacterial DNA amplification. Our objective was to develop a methodology to expand the metaproteomic landscape of cervical disease and determine if protein biomarkers from both human and microbes could be detected in distinct cervical samples. This would lead to the development of multi-species proteomics, which includes protein-based lateral flow diagnostics that can define patterns of microbes and/or human proteins relevant to disease status. In this study, we collected both non-frozen tissue biopsy and exfoliative non-fixed cytology samples to assess the consistency of detecting human proteomic signatures between the cytology and biopsy samples. Our results show that proteomics using biopsies or cytologies can detect both human and microbial organisms. Across patients, Lumican and Galectin-1 were most highly expressed human proteins in the tissue biopsy, whilst IL-36 and IL-1RA were most highly expressed human proteins in the cytology. We also used mass spectrometry to assess microbial proteomes known to reside based on prior 16S rRNA gene signatures. Lactobacillus spp. was the most highly expressed proteome in patient samples and specific abundant Lactobacillus proteins were identified. These methodological approaches can be used in future metaproteomic clinical studies to interrogate the vaginal human and microbiome structure and metabolic diversity in cytologies or biopsies from the same patients who have pre-invasive cervical intraepithelial neoplasia, invasive cervical cancer, as well as in healthy controls to assess how human and pathogenic proteins may correlate with disease presence and severity.

Postbiotics in oncology: science or science fiction?

The gut microbiome has been increasingly understood to play a critical role in carcinogenesis and cancer disease progression. The most recent research advancements have shown that different tools of microbiota manipulation contribute to gut microbiome-immune-oncology axis modulation, offering exciting opportunities for targeted interventions aimed at improving the efficacy of established anti-cancer therapy. Postbiotics are a new entry among the biotics showing beneficial effects on human health while not requiring living cells to obtain the health effect and therefore not subjected to food safety rules for live microorganisms. Postbiotics are recently defined as the "preparation of inanimate microorganisms and/or their components that confers a health benefit on the host" and have gradually become the focus of the scientific community. Since the beginning of research on this topic, numerous studies about postbiotics have been proven to strengthen the gut barrier, reduce inflammation, and promote antimicrobial activity. However, research on the potential application of cancer therapy is still at the early stages of its efforts to uncover all the secrets surrounding postbiotics. This review aims to increase our understanding of the anti-cancer effect of postbiotics throughout a "bibliographic journey" on the biological activity of their components, including exopolysaccharides, cell wall fragments, tryptophan metabolites, enzymes, bacterial lysates, extracellular vesicles, and short-chain fatty acids, highlighting their perspective as a new supportive therapeutic method of treatment and identifying the literature gaps where further research is needed.

Endocrine Autoimmunity in Pregnancy.

Human gestation leads to a number of physiological alterations which peak at the development of placentta known for, among many other functions, being a transient but highly potent endocrine organ. Hormonal activity of placenta is marked by its ability to continuously produce and secrete high levels of progesterone. Progesterone guards the well-being of the fetoplacental unit throughout the gestation and one of the proposed mechanisms of this principle involves the development of local and systemic immune tolerance mainly due to impediment of CD4+ lymphocyte activation. However, though these alterations are present and well-established, autoimmunity is not entirely rare and a wide spectrum of diseases can continue, or develop de novo, throughout the gestation or even after the delivery. Up-to-date data supports the existence of a relationship between the clinical course of chosen autoimmune diseases and levels of circulating sex steroids. The most common autoimmune endocrinopathies in pregnant women are Hashimoto's disease, Graves' disease, and, more rarely, primary adrenal insufficiency in the form of Addison's disease. Gestation can influence the clinical course of these endocrinopathies in patients who were diagnosed before conception. Multiple particles, like TSH-receptor stimulating antibodies, thyroid hormones, glucocorticoids, and anti-thyroid medications, can cross the placental barrier and evoke biological action in fetal tissues. Thyroid pathology in the form of postpartum thyroiditis is particularly prevalent in patients with positive anti-thyroperoxidase and anti-thyroglobulin antibodies. Certain populations are more at risk of developing numerous gestational complications and require regular follow-up. In our paper, we would like to address physiological, physiopathological, and clinical aspects of endocrine autoimmunity throughout human gestation, as well as special circumstances to consider in pregnant women.

Comprehensive Review of Fluorescence Applications in Gynecology.

Since the introduction of indocyanine green (ICG) as a fluorophore in near-infrared imaging, fluorescence visualization has become an essential tool in many fields of surgery. In the field of gynecology, recent new applications have been proposed and found their place in clinical practice. Different applications in gynecology were investigated, subcategorized, and overviewed concerning surgical applications and available dyes. Specific applications in which fluorescence-guided surgery was implemented in gynecology are described in this manuscript-namely, sentinel node biopsy, mesometrium visualization, angiography of different organs, safety issues in pregnant women, ureters visualization, detection of peritoneal metastases, targeted fluorophores for cancer detection, fluorescent contamination hysterectomy, lymphography for lower limb lymphedema prevention, tumor margin detection, endometriosis, and metastases mapping. With evolving technology, further innovative research on the new applications of fluorescence visualization in cancer surgery may help to establish these techniques as standards of high-quality surgery in gynecology. However, more investigations are necessary in order to assess if these innovative tools can also be effective to improve patient outcomes and quality of life in different gynecologic malignancies.