Evaluation of the Human Placental Microbiota in Early- and Late-Onset Pre-Eclampsia.

Introduction: Despite many decades of research, the exact etiology of pre-eclampsia (PE) remains unknown. Several etiopathologies have been suggested, including the role of the placental microbiota. However, the existence of placental microbiota and its possible contribution to pregnancy complications, particularly PE has remained controversial.

Engineered extracellular vesicles coated with an antimicrobial peptide for advanced control of bacterial sepsis.

Alarming sepsis-related mortality rates present significant challenges to healthcare services globally. Despite advances made in the field, there is still an urgent need to develop innovative approaches that could improve survival rates and reduce the overall cost of treatment for sepsis patients. Therefore, this study aimed to develop a novel multifunctional therapeutic agent for advanced control of bacterial sepsis.

Novel peptide and hyaluronic acid coated biomimetic liposomes for targeting bacterial infections and sepsis.

Sepsis is a life-threatening syndrome resulting from an imbalanced immune response to severe infections. Despite advances in nanomedicines, effective treatments for sepsis are still lacking. Herein, vancomycin free base (VCM)-loaded dual functionalized biomimetic liposomes based on a novel TLR4-targeting peptide (P3) and hyaluronic acid (HA) (HA-P3-Lipo) were developed to enhance sepsis therapy.

Identification of gene signature markers in gestational hypertension and early-onset pre-eclampsia.

Introduction: Hypertensive disorders in pregnancy (HDP) are the leading cause of perinatal mortality worldwide. Inflammatory responses induced by insufficient placental perfusion have become a focal point in understanding the pathogenesis and aetiology of HDP and developing reliable and consistent biomarkers. Therefore, this study aims to identify gene signatures linked to the pathophysiology of HDP (gestational hypertension and early and late-onset pre-eclampsia).

Profile and outcome of multiple myeloma with and without HIV treated at a tertiary hospital in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

Objectives: To profile the outcome of multiple myeloma (MM) patients treated at a South African tertiary hospital in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) and to compare MM in HIV-negative patients and MM in people living with HIV (PLWH).

Methods: A retrospective analysis of patients with MM was conducted over 5 years (2015-2020). Patient demographics, presenting complaints, symptom duration, disease stage, molecular profile, treatment, and survival data were captured.

The role and expression of pro/antiangiogenic factors and microRNAs in gestational hypertension and pre-eclampsia.

Objective: Pre-eclampsia and gestational hypertension are two common hypertensive disorders of pregnancy with pre-eclampsia accounting for high foetal and maternal morbidity and mortality rate. These disorders have an unknown aetiology and their hypertensive and end-organ pathophysiology may present too late in pregnancy. This makes the identification of early detection and differentiation markers vital.

The Success of Treatment Free Remission in Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia in Clinical Practice: A Single-Centre Retrospective Experience from South Africa.

Introduction: Chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) management has evolved from a disease once considered to be incurable just over 2 decades ago to that of one of a "functional cure" as defined by the sustained molecular response on stopping tyrosine kinase inhibitor(TKI) therapy. The next goal of CML management has been treatment-free remission (TFR). The past 4 years have seen much international data on TFR attempts in CML in clinical practice.

An Investigation of Exosome Concentration and Exosomal microRNA (miR-155 and miR-222) Expression in Pregnant Women with Gestational Hypertension and Preeclampsia.

Introduction: Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy are characterized by widespread maternal endothelial dysfunction. Elevated secretion of exosomes has been associated with endothelial dysfunction. Exosomes play a role in cell-cell communication by transferring microRNAs.

An observational study of pro- and anti-angiogenic factors in hypertensive disorders of pregnancy in women of African ancestry.

Hypertensive disorders in pregnancy (HDPs) are the leading cause of maternal and perinatal deaths worldwide. Despite the widely reported multisystemic pathophysiology of pre-eclampsia and other HDPs, it is unknown whether these disorders represent a continuum or separate entities making clinical diagnosis a challenge. This study aimed to investigate angiogenic, metabolic and immunoregulatory specific profiles of hypertensive and gestationally matched normotensive pregnancies.

Hesperidin-loaded nanoemulsions improve cytotoxicity, induce apoptosis, and downregulate miR-21 and miR-155 expression in MCF-7.

Hesperidin, a ubiquitous plant-based flavanone, was encapsulated into nanoemulsions (HP-NEM) using a spontaneous emulsification method to improve its solubility and enhance bioavailability and efficacy in breast cancer treatment using MCF-7 cell lines. The cytotoxic and apoptotic effects of HP-NEM against MCF-7 and its impact on oncomiRs, microRNA-21, and microRNA-155 expression were also assessed. The optimised HP-NEM displayed a spherical shape with 305 ± 40.

The Renin-Angiotensin System, Hypertension, and SARS-CoV-2 Infection: a Review.

Purpose Of Review: This review focuses on the associations between the renin-angiotensin system, hypertension, and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-COV-2) infection. A brief prelude on the current state of affairs with COVID-19 is given. In addition to an overview of ACE2, Ang II, and Ang (1-7), this review presents a brief statement on hypertension, including the function of enzymes involved in the control of hypertension, cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, and other malignancies.

The effect of hesperidin and luteolin isolated from on apoptosis, cell cycle and miRNA expression in MCF-7.

This study investigates the molecular mechanisms underlying the anticancer activity of hesperidin and luteolin, isolated from in the human breast carcinoma cell line (MCF-7). The viability of MCF-7 cells, upon treatment with hesperidin and luteolin, was evaluated using the 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazole-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) cytotoxicity assay; apoptotic activity and effect on cell cycle progression were analysed by flow cytometry; effect on expression of key apoptotic regulatory genes (caspase-3, -8, -9, and ) and apoptotic microRNAs (-16, -21 and -34a) were evaluated using quantitative real-time PCR. Hesperidin and luteolin reduced cell viability in a dose and time-dependent manner, caused a significant accumulation of apoptotic cells into the G0/G1 and sub-G1 cell cycle phases, induced apoptosis through the intrinsic and extrinsic pathways, down-regulated anti-apoptotic, , and upregulated pro-apoptotic, .

Placental Microbial Colonization and Its Association With Pre-eclampsia.

The existence and role of the microbiome in regulating physiological and pathophysiological conditions including metabolism, energy homeostasis, immune tolerance, behavior, obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular-related diseases is of immense interest. It is now clear that the human placenta is not sterile, but rather colonized with microbes. The placental and vaginal microbiomes are distinct however, the placental microbiome is comparable with the oral microbiome, with a limited variation when compared with the gut microbiome.

Update on therapeutic approaches and emerging therapies for SARS-CoV-2 virus.

The global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has resulted in over 7,273,958 cases with almost over 413,372 deaths worldwide as per the WHO situational report 143 on COVID-19. There are no known treatment regimens with proven efficacy and vaccines thus far, posing an unprecedented challenge to identify effective drugs and vaccines for prevention and treatment. The urgency for its prevention and cure has resulted in an increased number of proposed treatment options.

Serum levels of vasoactive factors in HIV-infected pre-eclamptic women on HAART.

In South Africa, pre-eclampsia (PE) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection are major causes of pregnancy-related deaths. This study aimed to measure serum levels of endothelin-1 (ET-1), endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 (sFlt-1), soluble endoglin (sEng) and placental growth factor (PlGF) in HIV-infected highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART)-treated and HIV-uninfected PE and normotensive women to ascertain if HIV/HAART alters their concentrations. Mean sFlt-1 levels were significantly up-regulated in the PE (HIV-uninfected 4.

Phytochemical constituents and anticancer screening of isolated compounds from .

This study investigated the anticancer potential of phytochemical constituents isolated from the methanolic extract of . One flavanone (hesperidin) and two flavones (luteolin and apigenin) were isolated for the first time from the plant using column chromatography. Standard MTT assay was used to evaluate the effect of the constituents on cell viability in MCF-7, A549, HepG2 and normal HEK 293 cell lines.

Exosomal microRNA profiling in early and late onset preeclamptic pregnant women reflects pathophysiology.

Preeclampsia is the leading cause of maternal and fetal mortality due to the inability to diagnose and treat the disorder early in pregnancy. This is attributed to the complex pathophysiology and unknown etiology of the disorder, which is modulated by several known and unknown factors. Exosomes have recently been implicated as possible mediators of the pathogenesis of preeclampsia, with, however, no evidence linking these nanovesicles to the pathophysiology of preeclampsia and its subtypes.

Exosomal Th1/Th2 cytokines in preeclampsia and HIV-positive preeclamptic women on highly active anti-retroviral therapy.

Preeclampsia (PE) is a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy which is a leading cause of maternal and foetal morbidity and mortality. Furthermore, HIV/Highly Active Anti-Retroviral Treatment has been associated with the increased risk of preeclampsia due to maternal immune reconstitution, which complicates the clinical diagnosis of PE in these patients. It is therefore necessary to identify biomarkers involved in the pathology of both disorders with the intent to diagnose.

Protective role of wild garlic on isoproterenol-induced myocardial necrosis in wistar rats.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Tulbaghia violacea Harv. (TVL) is a folk medicine, native to South Africa which has previously shown antioxidant, anti-hypertensive and anti-diabetic effects.

The Aim Of The Study: The aim of the current study was to investigate the protective role of wild garlic or TVL on isoproterenol (ISO)-induced myocardial necrosis in rats.

Angiogenic Dysregulation in Pregnancy-Related Hypertension-A Role for Metformin.

In the face of escalating maternal and fetal health threats, hypertensive pregnancy disorders (HPDs) is one of the leading cause of maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. The range of HPDs include white-coat hypertension, chronic hypertension, gestational hypertension, mild-to-moderate and severe preeclampsia and eclampsia. Current evidence implicates an imbalance of circulating anti- and angiogenic factors in HPDs emanating from the placental vasculature, impacting on angiogenesis.

Differential expression of miRNAs are associated with the insulin signaling pathway in preeclampsia and gestational hypertension.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine microRNAs (miRNAs) expression levels in placental tissue and serum samples from preeclampsia (PE) and gestational hypertensive (GH) patients.

Study Design: Using a targeted qPCR method, the selected miRNAs putatively involved in the PE and GH were examined from normotensive (n = 32), PE (n = 32) and GH (n = 28) in South African women. Western blot analysis of protein expressions of AKT and PI3K was performed in the placental tissue of all three groups.

Omega-3 fatty acids supplementation with lithium and aripiprazole for improving the balance of circulating hormones and brain neurotransmitters in manic mice model.

The present study was designed to evaluate the combined effect of lithium and aripiprazole supplemented with omega-3 fatty acids in methylphenidate (MPD)-induced manic mice. Swiss albino mice were administered with MPD or saline for 14 days, and based on changes in behavioral activities animals were treated with lithium, aripiprazole, and omega-3 fatty acids from the 8th day. Behavioral patterns were analyzed by video tracking.