Publications by authors named "Baltierrez-Hoyos Rafael"

Article Synopsis
  • Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a severe lung disease with no effective treatments, characterized by abnormal lung tissue growth and scarring.
  • This study explored the potential of Allium sativum nanovesicles (AS-NV) in a mouse model of IPF and found that AS-NV reduced collagen levels and improved lung structure without harming healthy cells.
  • The results indicate that AS-NV may reduce key genes associated with fibrosis and inflammation, suggesting a promising avenue for future IPF treatments, though further research is necessary.
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Aims: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic and progressive lung condition, the cause of which remains unknown and for which no effective therapeutic treatment is currently available. Chlorogenic acid (CGA), a natural polyphenolic compound found in different plants and foods, has emerged as a promising agent due to its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antifibrotic properties. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effect of CGA in IPF remain unclear.

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Extracellular vesicles (EVs) represent an attractive source of biomarkers due to their biomolecular cargo. The aim of this study was to identify candidate protein biomarkers from plasma-derived EVs of patients with liver cirrhosis (LC) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Plasma-derived EVs from healthy participants (HP), LC, and HCC patients (eight samples each) were subjected to label-free quantitative proteomic analysis using LC-MS/MS.

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Article Synopsis
  • Researchers aimed to find biomarkers for early diagnosis of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), focusing on the initial stages of steatosis (SS) and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) using bioinformatics.
  • A meta-analysis of transcriptomic data from patient biopsies helped identify 121 genes linked to SS and 402 to NASH, with key alterations related to cellular processes and cholesterol metabolism.
  • The study highlighted specific candidate biomarkers (like ACSS2 and ANGPTL3) that could aid in the early screening and diagnosis of NAFLD in humans.
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  • - Sickle cell anemia, a neglected tropical disease, primarily affects individuals of African descent, prompting a study in Oaxaca, Mexico to identify asymptomatic sickle cell hemoglobin carriers in marginalized groups and validate a new detection method for genetic variants regulating fetal hemoglobin.
  • - Public health screening of 140 African descendants found 30% were HbS-carriers, with most presenting normal hemoglobin levels; only 3 individuals had anemia, while 9 had measurable fetal hemoglobin concentrations.
  • - The study confirmed the effectiveness of an ARMS-PCR method for detecting genetic variants in the BCL11A gene, identifying one significant variant associated with fetal hemoglobin levels, highlighting the importance of increasing sickle cell screening in vulnerable populations.
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Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive lung disease marked by abnormal accumulation of extracellular matrix (ECM) due to dysregulated expression of various RNAs in pulmonary fibroblasts. This study utilized RNA-seq data meta-analysis to explore the regulatory network of hub long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and messenger RNAs (mRNAs) in IPF fibroblasts. The meta-analysis unveiled 584 differentially expressed mRNAs (DEmRNA) and 75 differentially expressed lncRNAs (DElncRNA) in lung fibroblasts from IPF.

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The worst-case scenario related to alcoholic liver disease (ALD) arises after a long period of exposure to the harmful effect of alcohol consumption along with other hepatotoxics. ALD encompasses a broad spectrum of liver-associated disorders, such as steatosis, steatohepatitis, fibrosis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Based on the chronic administration of different hepatotoxics, including ethanol, sucrose, lipopolysaccharide, and low doses of diethylnitrosamine over a short period, here we aimed to develop a multiple hepatotoxic (MHT)-ALD model in the mouse that recapitulates the human ALD-associated disorders.

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Double labeling to identify different markers in the same tissue section represents a useful tool either for in situ diagnosis or characterization of molecular associations. Here, we present a protocol to detect senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA-βGal) and immunoperoxidase (IPO) activity in fresh-frozen murine tissues. We describe steps for tissue collection, solution preparation, SA-βGal staining, IPO staining, hematoxylin counterstaining, microscopic observation, and signal quantification.

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Aging is characterized by increased reactive species, leading to redox imbalance, oxidative damage, and senescence. The adverse effects of alcohol consumption potentiate aging-associated alterations, promoting several diseases, including liver diseases. Nucleoredoxin (NXN) is a redox-sensitive enzyme that targets reactive oxygen species and regulates key cellular processes through redox protein-protein interactions.

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Liver diseases preceding the occurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) play a crucial role in the progression and establishment of HCC, a malignancy ranked as the third deadliest cancer worldwide. Late diagnosis, alongside ineffective treatment, leads patients to a poor survival rate. This scenario argues for seeking novel alternatives for detecting liver alterations preceding the early occurrence of HCC.

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Background: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic, progressive, and irreversible disease with a high mortality rate worldwide. However, the etiology and pathogenesis of IPF have not yet been fully described. Moreover, lung cancer is a significant complication of IPF and is associated with increased mortality.

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Background: Rheumatoid arthritis affects approximately between 0.3 and 1.2% of the world population.

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Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is the most frequent and severe idiopathic interstitial pneumonia. It is a chronic and progressive disease with a poor prognosis and is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. This disease has no cure; therefore, there is a clinical need to search for alternative treatments with greater efficacy.

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Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is an autoimmune disease characterized by microvascular compromise and fibrosis. Pulmonary fibrosis, a prominent pulmonary complication in SSc, results in impaired lung function due to excessive accumulation of extracellular matrix components. This study aimed to investigate the effects of coadministration of 3'5-dimaleamylbenzoic acid (AD) and quercetin (Q) on key events in the development and maintenance of pulmonary fibrosis in a bleomycin (BLM)-induced SSc mouse model.

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Objectives: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is an autoimmune disease of unknown etiology with a high mortality rate. Renal crisis has been reported as one of the predictors of early mortality in these patients. The present study was performed to evaluate bleomycin-induced SSc using an osmotic minipump as a possible model for the analysis of renal damage in SSc.

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Chickpeas are one of the most widely consumed legumes worldwide and they might prevent diseases such as cancer. Therefore, this study evaluates the chemopreventive effect of chickpea ( L.) on the evolution of colon carcinogenesis induced with azoxymethane (AOM) and dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) in a mice model at 1, 7, and 14 weeks after induction.

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The extracellular vesicles (EVs) in a tumoral microenvironment can exert different functions by transferring their content, which has been poorly described in cervical cancer. Here, we tried to clarify the proteomic content of these EVs, comparing those derived from cancerous HPV (+) keratinocytes (HeLa) versus those derived from normal HPV (-) keratinocytes (HaCaT). We performed a quantitative proteomic analysis, using LC-MS/MS, of the EVs from HeLa and HaCaT cell lines.

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Platelets play a crucial role in hemostasis and the immune response, mainly by recognizing signals associated with vascular damage. However, it has recently been discovered that the antimicrobial peptide LL-37 activates platelets in functions related to thrombus formation and inflammation. Therefore, this work aims to evaluate the effect of LL-37 on the activation of antimicrobial functions of human platelets.

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Neutrophils function as the first line of cellular defense in an innate immune response by employing diverse mechanisms, such as the formation of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs). This study analyzes the morphological and compositional changes in NETs induced by microbial and chemical stimuli using standardized in vitro methodologies for NET induction and characterization with human cells. The procedures described here allow the analysis of NET morphology (lytic or non-lytic) and composition (DNA-protein structures and enzymatic activity), and the effect of soluble factors or cellular contact on such characteristics.

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Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic lung disease characterized by parenchymal scarring, leading progressively to alveolar architecture distortion, respiratory failure, and eventually death. Currently, there is no effective treatment for IPF. Previously, 3'5-dimaleamylbenzoic acid (3'5-DMBA), a maleimide, demonstrated pro-apoptotic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer properties; however, its potential therapeutic effects on IPF have not been addressed.

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Platelets play a significant role in hemostasis and perform essential immune functions, evidenced by the extensive repertoire of antimicrobial molecules. Currently, there is no clear description of the presence of azurocidin in human platelets. Azurocidin is a 37 kDa cationic protein abundant in neutrophils, with microbicidal, opsonizing, and vascular permeability-inducing activity.

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Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic, progressive, irreversible lung disorder of unknown cause. This disease is characterized by profibrotic activation of resident pulmonary fibroblasts resulting in aberrant deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins. However, although much is known about the pathophysiology of IPF, the cellular and molecular processes that occur and allow aberrant fibroblast activation remain an unmet need.

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Nucleoredoxin (NXN), an oxidoreductase enzyme, contributes to cellular redox homeostasis by regulating different signaling pathways in a redox-dependent manner. By interacting with seven proteins so far, namely disheveled (DVL), protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A), phosphofructokinase-1 (PFK1), translocation protein SEC63 homolog (SEC63), myeloid differentiation primary response gene-88 (MYD88), flightless-I (FLII), and calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II type alpha (CAMK2A), NXN is involved in the regulation of several key cellular processes, including proliferation, organogenesis, cell cycle progression, glycolysis, innate immunity and inflammation, motility, contraction, protein transport into the endoplasmic reticulum, neuronal plasticity, among others; as a result, NXN has been implicated in different pathologies, such as cancer, alcoholic and polycystic liver disease, liver fibrogenesis, obesity, Robinow syndrome, diabetes mellitus, Alzheimer's disease, and retinitis pigmentosa. Together, this evidence places NXN as a strong candidate to be a master redox regulator of cell physiology and as the hub of different redox-sensitive signaling pathways and associated pathologies.

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Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic, progressive lung disease. Lesions in the lung epithelium cause alterations in the microenvironment that promote fibroblast accumulation. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) transport proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids, such as microRNAs (miRNAs).

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