A Polyurethane Electrospun Membrane Loaded with Bismuth Lipophilic Nanoparticles (BisBAL NPs): Proliferation, Bactericidal, and Antitumor Properties, and Effects on MRSA and Human Breast Cancer Cells.

Electrospun membranes (EMs) have a wide range of applications, including use as local delivery systems. In this study, we manufactured a polyurethane Tecoflex™ EM loaded with bismuth-based lipophilic nanoparticles (Tecoflex™ EMs-BisBAL NPs). The physicochemical and mechanical characteristics, along with the antitumor and bactericidal effects, were evaluated using a breast cancer cell line and methicillin-susceptible and resistant (MRSA).

LncRNAs-associated to genomic instability: A barrier to cancer therapy effectiveness.

Although a large part of the genome is transcribed, only 1.9% has a protein-coding potential; most of the transcripts are non-coding RNAs such as snRNAs, tRNAs, and rRNAs that participate in mRNA processing and translation. In addition, there are small RNAs with a regulatory role, such as siRNAs, miRNAs, and piRNAs.

Methylation of Subtelomeric Chromatin Modifies the Expression of the lncRNA TERRA, Disturbing Telomere Homeostasis.

The long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) telomeric repeat-containing RNA (TERRA) has been associated with telomeric homeostasis, telomerase recruitment, and the process of chromosome healing; nevertheless, the impact of this association has not been investigated during the carcinogenic process. Determining whether changes in TERRA expression are a cause or a consequence of cell transformation is a complex task because studies are usually carried out using either cancerous cells or tumor samples. To determine the role of this lncRNA in cellular aging and chromosome healing, we evaluated telomeric integrity and TERRA expression during the establishment of a clone of untransformed myeloid cells.

Genotoxicity of Marijuana in Mono-Users.

Marijuana ( sp.) is among the most recurred controlled substances in the world, and there is a growing tendency to legalize its possession and use; however, the genotoxic effects of marijuana remain under debate. A clear definition of marijuana's genotoxic effects remains obscure by the simultaneous consumption of tobacco and other recreational substances.

Large-scale topological disruption of chromosome territories 9 and 22 is associated with nonresponse to treatment in CML.

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a myeloproliferative neoplasm defined by the presence of t(9;22) translocation whose origin has been associated with the tridimensional genome organization. This rearrangement leads to the fusion of BCR and ABL1 genes giving rise to a chimeric protein with constitutive kinase activity. Imatinib, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI), is used as a first-line treatment for CML, though ~40% of CML patients do not respond.

Proteasome inhibition alters mitotic progression through the upregulation of centromeric α-Satellite RNAs.

Cell cycle progression requires control of the abundance of several proteins and RNAs over space and time to properly transit from one phase to the next and to ensure faithful genomic inheritance in daughter cells. The proteasome, the main protein degradation system of the cell, facilitates the establishment of a proteome specific to each phase of the cell cycle. Its activity also strongly influences transcription.

Differential response of immobile (pneumocytes) and mobile (monocytes) barriers against 2 types of metal oxide nanoparticles.

Background: Inhaled nanoparticles (NPs) challenges mobile and immobile barriers in the respiratory tract, which can be represented by type II pneumocytes (immobile) and monocytes (mobile) but what is more important for biological effects, the cell linage, or the type of nanoparticle? Here, we addressed these questions and we demonstrated that the type of NPs exerts a higher influence on biological effects, but cell linages also respond differently against similar type of NPs.

Design: Type II pneumocytes and monocytes were exposed to tin dioxide (SnO) NPs and titanium dioxide (TiO) NPs (1, 10 and 50 μg/cm) for 24 h and cell viability, ultrastructure, cell granularity, molecular spectra of lipids, proteins and nucleic acids and cytoskeleton architecture were evaluated.

Results: SnO NPs and TiO NPs are metal oxides with similar physicochemical properties.

[Aging: Some theories, genetic, epigenetic and environmental considerations].

In this review several characteristics of the aging process are described and some theories that try to explain it are briefly mentioned. Although none of them fully explains this phenomenon, they can interact between each other in a complex way, out of which cellular senescence is the common outcome. Molecular changes take place on both genetic and epigenetic levels, and several studies have associated senescence with changes in the epigenetic-mediated chromatin condensation, while others consider that free radicals represent a useful mechanism to explain aging and age-related disorders that, along with the alteration of mitochondrial homeostasis, promote the aging process through the accumulation of damage along time.

The use of long non-coding RNAs as prognostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets in prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men and the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths. The most used biomarker to detect prostate cancer is Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA), whose levels are measured in serum. However, it has been recently established that molecular markers of cancer should not be based solely on genes and proteins but should also reflect other genomic traits; long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) serve this purpose.

Regulated expression of the lncRNA TERRA and its impact on telomere biology.

The telomere protects against genomic instability by minimizing the accelerated end resection of the genetic material, a phenomenon that results in severe chromosome instability that could favor the transformation of a cell by enabling the emergence of tumor-promoting mutations. Some mechanisms that avoid this fate, such as capping and loop formation, have been very well characterized; however, telomeric non-coding transcripts, such as long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), should also be considered in this context because they play roles in the organization of telomere dynamics, involving processes such as replication, degradation, extension, and heterochromatin stabilization. Although the mechanism through which the expression of telomeric transcripts regulates telomere dynamics is not yet clear, a non-coding RNA component opens the research options in telomere biology and the impact that it can have on telomere-associated diseases such as cancer.

[Epigenetics, environment and asthma].

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the respiratory tract with a complex genetic background influenced by the exposition to a series of environmental factors. Genetic studies can only elucidate part of the heritability and susceptibility of asthma and even though several diseases have an evident genetic etiology, only a fraction of the genes involved in their pathogenicity have been identified. The epigenetic regulation of the latter is a fact one should bear in mind in order to explain the major triggers of diseases whose understanding is complicated, such as allergies and asthma.

[The role and importance of the microRNAs in the diagnosis and development of diseases].

MicroRNAs are small non-coding ribonucleic acids of endogenous nature. They persist in various groups of eukaryotes and perform critical functions during the development and the cell homeostasis. They have from 19 to 25 nucleotides in length and regulate the translation of the target RNA messenger (mRNA).