TIMP1 mediates astrocyte-dependent local immunosuppression in brain metastasis acting on infiltrating CD8+ T cells.

Immunotherapies against brain metastases have shown clinical benefits when applied to asymptomatic patients, but they are largely ineffective in symptomatic cases for unknown reasons. Here we dissect the heterogeneity in metastasis-associated astrocytes using scRNAseq and report a population that blocks the antitumoral activity of infiltrating T cells. This pro-tumoral activity is mediated by the secretion of TIMP1 from a cluster of pSTAT3+ astrocytes that acts on CD63+ CD8+ T cells to modulate their function.

Structure-Activity Relationships of Bis-Intercalating Peptides and Their Application as Antibody-Drug Conjugate Payloads.

Synthetic analogs based on the DNA bis-intercalating natural product peptides sandramycin and quinaldopeptin were investigated as antibody drug conjugate (ADC) payloads. Synthesis, biophysical characterization, and potency of 34 new analogs are described. Conjugation of an initial drug-linker derived from a novel bis-intercalating peptide produced an ADC that was hydrophobic and prone to aggregation.

An anti-HER2 biparatopic antibody that induces unique HER2 clustering and complement-dependent cytotoxicity.

Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) is a receptor tyrosine kinase that plays an oncogenic role in breast, gastric and other solid tumors. However, anti-HER2 therapies are only currently approved for the treatment of breast and gastric/gastric esophageal junction cancers and treatment resistance remains a problem. Here, we engineer an anti-HER2 IgG1 bispecific, biparatopic antibody (Ab), zanidatamab, with unique and enhanced functionalities compared to both trastuzumab and the combination of trastuzumab plus pertuzumab (tras + pert).

Oral squamous cell carcinoma in coca chewers from a north region of Argentina: A case series and review of literature.

Chewing coca leaves is a habit still practiced in Bolivia, Peru and Argentina. There is scarce evidence in the relationship between this habit and development of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), some authors have found oral epithelial changes in coca chewers. This study aimed to present a case series of patients with a coca chewing habit that developed OSCC, in the absence of risk factors for oral cancer.

Pharmacological Inhibition of S-Nitrosoglutathione Reductase Reduces Cardiac Damage Induced by Ischemia-Reperfusion.

The cardioprotective effects of nitric oxide (NO) have been described through S-nitrosylation of several important proteins in the mitochondria of the cardiomyocyte. S-nitrosoglutathione reductase (GSNOR) is an enzyme involved in the metabolism of S-nitrosothiols by producing denitrosylation, thus limiting the cardioprotective effect of NO. The effect of GSNOR inhibition on the damage by cardiac ischemia-reperfusion is still unclear.

Atmospheric pressure air microplasma current time series for true random bit generation.

Generating true random bits of high quality at high data rates is usually viewed as a challenging task. To do so, physical sources of entropy with wide bandwidth are required which are able to provide truly random bits and not pseudorandom bits, as it is the case with deterministic algorithms and chaotic systems. In this work we demonstrate a reliable high-speed true random bit generator (TRBG) device based on the unpredictable electrical current time series of atmospheric pressure air microplasma (APAMP).

Dickkopf-1 reduces hypertrophic changes in human chondrocytes derived from bone marrow stem cells.

The in vitro process of chondrogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) induces a pre-apoptotic hypertrophic phenotype, guided by the active status of the WNT/β‑catenin pathway. To achieve a stable chondrocyte phenotype for cartilage tissue engineering, it is necessary to gain a better understanding of specific genes that regulate the cartilage tissue phenotype. RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) analysis of tissue samples from bone, cartilage, growth plate and muscle show that Dickkopf-1 (DKK1), a natural WNT canonical signaling inhibitor, is expressed in cartilage tissue.

[First case of meningitis by Streptococcus suis in the norwest area of Argentina].

Streptococcus suis causes meningitis, bacteremia, endocarditis, endophthalmitis, artrithis and toxic shock in both pigs and human beings. The incidence of this pathogen is increasing worldwide. A case of 54 years old men from a rural zone of Tucumán, Argentina with two days of headache, vomit and photophobia was admitted septic, with purulent meningitis.

Selective concentration of human cancer cells using contactless dielectrophoresis.

This work is the first to demonstrate the ability of contactless dielectrophoresis (cDEP) to isolate target cell species from a heterogeneous sample of live cells. Since all cell types have a unique molecular composition, it is expected that their dielectrophoretic (DEP) properties are also unique. cDEP is a technique developed to improve upon traditional and insulator-based DEP devices by replacing embedded metal electrodes with fluid electrode channels positioned alongside desired trapping locations.

Development of a sandwich enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the quantification of iduronate-2-sulfate sulfatase.

Iduronate-2-sulfate sulfatase (IDS; EC 3.1.6.

Electromagnetically controlled biological assembly of aligned bacterial cellulose nanofibers.

We have developed a new biofabrication process in which the precise control of bacterial motion is used to fabricate customizable networks of cellulose nanofibrils. This article describes how the motion of Acetobacter xylinum can be controlled by electric fields while the bacteria simultaneously produce nanocellulose, resulting in networks with aligned fibers. Since the electrolysis of water due to the application of electric fields produces the oxygen in the culture media far from the liquid-air boundary, aerobic cellulose production in 3D structures is readily achievable.