Prion protein regulates invasiveness in glioblastoma stem cells.

Background: Glioblastoma (GBM) is an aggressive brain tumor driven by glioblastoma stem cells (GSCs), which represent an appealing target for therapeutic interventions. The cellular prion protein (PrP), a scaffold protein involved in diverse cellular processes, interacts with various membrane and extracellular matrix molecules, influencing tumor biology. Herein, we investigate the impact of PrP expression on GBM.

Genetic and biochemical determinants in potentially toxic metals resistance and plant growth promotion in Rhizobium sp LBMP-C04.

The association of bacteria resistant to potentially toxic metals (PTMs) with plants to remove, transfer, or stabilize these elements from the soil is an appropriate tool for phytoremediation processes in metal-contaminated environments. The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential of Rhizobium sp. LBMP-C04 for phytoremediation processes and plant growth promotion in metal-contaminated soils.

Is There an Interplay between Environmental Factors, Microbiota Imbalance, and Cancer Chemotherapy-Associated Intestinal Mucositis?

Interindividual variation in drug efficacy and toxicity is a significant problem, potentially leading to adverse clinical and economic public health outcomes. While pharmacogenetics and pharmacogenomics have long been considered the primary causes of such heterogeneous responses, pharmacomicrobiomics has recently gained attention. The microbiome, a community of microorganisms living in or on the human body, is a critical determinant of drug response and toxicity.

Socioeconomic factors increase the risk of teenage pregnancy: spatial and temporal analysis in a Brazilian municipality.

Objective: To evaluate the distribution of the proportion of teenage mothers (PTM) in time and space and its relationship with socioeconomic indicators and social vulnerability.

Methods: An ecological study was carried out with teenage mothers living in 322 census tracts in Foz do Iguaçu (state of Paraná, Brazil) between 2013 and 2019. Spatial clusters of teenage mothers were identified by spatial scanning and grouped into strata with different prevalence.

Automatic mapping of high-risk urban areas for Aedes aegypti infestation based on building facade image analysis.

Background: Dengue, Zika, and chikungunya, whose viruses are transmitted mainly by Aedes aegypti, significantly impact human health worldwide. Despite the recent development of promising vaccines against the dengue virus, controlling these arbovirus diseases still depends on mosquito surveillance and control. Nonetheless, several studies have shown that these measures are not sufficiently effective or ineffective.

Integrated transcriptomics uncovers an enhanced association between the prion protein gene expression and vesicle dynamics signatures in glioblastomas.

Background: Glioblastoma (GBM) is an aggressive brain tumor that exhibits resistance to current treatment, making the identification of novel therapeutic targets essential. In this context, cellular prion protein (PrP) stands out as a potential candidate for new therapies. Encoded by the PRNP gene, PrP can present increased expression levels in GBM, impacting cell proliferation, growth, migration, invasion and stemness.

Low-cost simulator for intra-abdominal bleeding.

Background: training in critical surgical situations is crucial for a safe outcome. The use of simulators is well established, although many are quite expensive, requiring the search for financially viable solutions for training centers.

Methods: we built a low-cost simulator for intra-abdominal bleeding with inexpensive materials, such as a manikin chest, latex tubes, silicone rubber, and waterproof fabric, seeking to mimic the abdominal viscera and vessels and their anatomical correlations.

Effects of Starch Overload and Cecal Buffering on Fecal Microbiota of Horses.

Starch overload in horses causes gastrointestinal and metabolic disorders that are associated with microbiota changes. Therefore, we identified the fecal microbiota and hypothesized that intracecal injection of alkaline solution (buffer; Mg(OH)2 + Al(OH)3) could stabilize these microbiota and clinical changes in horses submitted to corn starch overload. Ten crossbred horses (females and geldings) were allocated to group I (water−saline and starch−buffer treatments) and group II (water−buffer and starch−saline treatments).

Unconventional Protein Secretion in Brain Tumors Biology: Enlightening the Mechanisms for Tumor Survival and Progression.

Non-canonical secretion pathways, collectively known as unconventional protein secretion (UPS), are alternative secretory mechanisms usually associated with stress-inducing conditions. UPS allows proteins that lack a signal peptide to be secreted, avoiding the conventional endoplasmic reticulum-Golgi complex secretory pathway. Molecules that generally rely on the canonical pathway to be secreted may also use the Golgi bypass, one of the unconventional routes, to reach the extracellular space.

Extracellular vesicles throughout development: A potential roadmap for emerging glioblastoma therapies.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are membrane-delimited vesicular bodies carrying different molecules, classified according to their size, density, cargo, and origin. Research on this topic has been actively growing through the years, as EVs are associated with critical pathological processes such as neurodegenerative diseases and cancer. Despite that, studies exploring the physiological functions of EVs are sparse, with particular emphasis on their role in organismal development, initial cell differentiation, and morphogenesis.

Metagenome-assembled genome of a Chitinophaga sp. and its potential in plant biomass degradation, as well of affiliated Pandoraea and Labrys species.

The prospection of new degrading enzymes of the plant cell wall has been the subject of many studies and is fundamental for industries, due to the great biotechnological importance of achieving a more efficient depolymerization conversion from plant polysaccharides to fermentable sugars, which are useful not only for biofuel production but also for various bioproducts. Thus, we explored the shotgun metagenome data of a bacterial community (CB10) isolated from sugarcane bagasse and recovered three metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs). The genomic distance analyses, along with phylogenetic analysis, revealed the presence of a putative novel Chitinophaga species, a Pandoraea nosoerga, and Labrys sp.

Analysis on the prokaryotic microbiome in females and embryonic cell cultures of Rhipicephalus sanguineus tropical and temperate lineages from two specific localities in Brazil.

Two lineages of Rhipicephalus sanguineus are known in Brazil: the temperate or southern and the tropical or northern populations. The distribution patterns of both lineages of R. sanguineus have epidemiological implications that can affect vectorial competence concerning Ehrlichia canis, the agent of canine monocytic ehrlichiosis.

Comparative Genomics of and pv. Strains Isolated from a Single Walnut Host Tree.

The recent report of distinct lineages of pv. and within the same walnut tree revealed that this consortium of walnut-associated includes both pathogenic and nonpathogenic strains. As the implications of this co-colonization are still poorly understood, in order to unveil niche-specific adaptations, the genomes of three strains (CPBF 367, CPBF 424, and CPBF 426) and of an pv.

Complete Genome Sequence Obtained by Nanopore and Illumina Hybrid Assembly of Xanthomonas arboricola pv. juglandis CPBF 427, Isolated from Buds of a Walnut Tree.

We report the genome sequence of pv. juglandis strain CPBF 427, which was isolated from early-season buds of a diseased walnut tree, suggesting overwinter potential. This study provides a consistent genomic reference for this pathovar and may contribute to addressing the overwinter survival of these walnut pathogens.

Retinoids delay cell cycle progression and promote differentiation of intestinal epithelial cells exposed to nutrient deprivation.

Objective: Vitamin A is commonly recommended as a treatment for diarrhea and undernutrition; however, little is known about the underlying cellular mechanisms. The aim of this study was to investigate the modulation of cell cycle by vitamin A derivatives (retinyl palmitate or retinol) in undernourished intestinal epithelial crypts (IEC-6).

Methods: IEC-6 cells were exposed to nutrient deprivation (no serum and no glutamine) and supplemented with retinyl palmitate or retinol at a range of 2 to 20 μM.

Multifaceted WNT Signaling at the Crossroads Between Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition and Autophagy in Glioblastoma.

Tumor cells can employ epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) or autophagy in reaction to microenvironmental stress. Importantly, EMT and autophagy negatively regulate each other, are able to interconvert, and both have been shown to contribute to drug-resistance in glioblastoma (GBM). EMT has been considered one of the mechanisms that confer invasive properties to GBM cells.

Complete Genome Sequences of Walnut-Associated Strains CPBF 367 and CPBF 426 Obtained by Illumina/Nanopore Hybrid Assembly.

We present the complete genome sequences of two strains isolated from buds of a walnut tree. The whole-genome sequences of strains CPBF 367 and CPBF 426 consist of two circular chromosomes of 4,923,218 bp and 4,883,254 bp and two putative plasmids of 45,241 bp and 17,394 bp, respectively. These data may contribute to the understanding of species-specific adaptations to walnut.

A New Take on Prion Protein Dynamics in Cellular Trafficking.

The mobility of cellular prion protein (PrP) in specific cell membrane domains and among distinct cell compartments dictates its molecular interactions and directs its cell function. PrP works in concert with several partners to organize signaling platforms implicated in various cellular processes. The scaffold property of PrP is able to gather a molecular repertoire to create heterogeneous membrane domains that favor endocytic events.

Prion Protein at the Leading Edge: Its Role in Cell Motility.

Cell motility is a central process involved in fundamental biological phenomena during embryonic development, wound healing, immune surveillance, and cancer spreading. Cell movement is complex and dynamic and requires the coordinated activity of cytoskeletal, membrane, adhesion and extracellular proteins. Cellular prion protein (PrP) has been implicated in distinct aspects of cell motility, including axonal growth, transendothelial migration, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, formation of , and tumor migration and invasion.

sp. nov., a new xanthomonad species including pathogenic and non-pathogenic strains of walnut.

We describe a novel species isolated from walnut () which comprises non-pathogenic and pathogenic strains on walnut. The isolates, obtained from a single ornamental walnut tree showing disease symptoms, grew on yeast extract-dextrose-carbonate agar as mucoid yellow colonies characteristic of species. Pathogenicity assays showed that while strain CPBF 424 causes disease in walnut, strain CPBF 367 was non-pathogenic on walnut leaves.

Investigation of Lipid Profile and Clinical Manifestations in SCA Children.

Introduction: Clinical complications in sickle cell anemia (SCA) are heterogeneous and involve several molecules. It has been suggested that SCA individuals present a dyslipidemic phenotype and that lipid parameters are associated with severe clinical complications, such as pulmonary hypertension. We sought to investigate associations between lipid parameters and clinical manifestations, as well as other laboratory parameters in a population of pediatric SCA patients.

Modulation in the expression of type 1 (CR1/CD35) and type 3 (CR3/CD11b) complement receptors on leukocytes from patients with Visceral leishmaniasis.

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is an anthropozoonosis endemic in Brazil. We included 20 patients with confirmed diagnosis of VL and 20 healthy individuals to evaluate the expression levels of complement receptor 1 (CR1)/CD35 and CR3/CD11b on leukocytes in the peripheral blood and determine their correlation with the clinical state of patients. CR1/CD35 expression increased on CD11bCD35granulocytes of patients, while CR1/CD35 and CR3/CD11b expression levels increased on CD14CD11bCD35 monocytes.

Use of drugs for gastrointestinal disorders: evidence from National Survey on Access, Use and Promotion of Rational Use of Medicines.

Objective To estimate the prevalence of use of drugs to treat gastrointestinal disorders, according to demographic, socioeconomic, and health characteristics of the Brazilian population. Methods This is a population-based survey that interviewed individuals residing in cities of the five regions in Brazil. The study sample was composed of 32,348 individuals aged 20 or more years.

Emotional problems and the use of psychotropic drugs: investigating racial inequality.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the existence of racial inequalities in the prevalence of emotional problems, the search for healthcare services and the use of psychotropic drugs. A population-based, cross-sectional study was conducted with data from the 2014/15 Campinas Health Survey. Sample of 1953 individuals aged 20 years or older was analyzed.