Pulmonary manifestations and clinical management of echinococcosis in a low-endemic region of Mexico: a 15-year retrospective cohort study at a tertiary hospital.

Background: Cystic echinococcosis has a low incidence even in endemic countries. It is a chronic and complex zoonosis that in many cases presents delay in diagnosis; it typically affects the liver in up to 90% of the cases, being disseminated pulmonary disease the most common in young subjects, while the rate of cases located only in the pulmonary parenchyma is low. In Mexico it is considered a disease of low endemicity.

Vaccination with Plasmids Encoding the Fusion Proteins D-S1, D-S1N and O-SN from SARS-CoV-2 Induces an Effective Humoral and Cellular Immune Response in Mice.

Background: Next-generation vaccines against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) focus on inducing a long-lasting immune response against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) and its emerging variants. To achieve this, antigens other than spike proteins have been proposed, and different platforms have been evaluated. Nucleic acid-based vaccines are fundamental for this process.

A(H3N2) antigenic variation of influenza is associated with low vaccine efficacy in the early 2018 influenza season in Mexico City.

Objectives: We evaluated the VE and the mutations of the viruses present in the Mexican population at the beginning of 2018.

Methods: We diagnosed influenza in outpatients with a high-performance Rapid Influenza Diagnostic Test (RIDT) qRT-PCR. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the study population, while the chi-square test was used to determine clinical variables.

Association of the Transmembrane Serine Protease-2 (TMPRSS2) Polymorphisms with COVID-19.

SARS-CoV-2 uses the ACE2 receptor and the cellular protease TMPRSS2 for entry into target cells. The present study aimed to establish if the TMPRSS2 polymorphisms are associated with COVID-19 disease. The study included 609 patients with COVID-19 confirmed by RT-PCR test and 291 individuals negative for the SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed by RT-PCR test and without antibodies anti-SARS-CoV-2.

An RBD-Based Diagnostic Method Useful for the Surveillance of Protective Immunity against SARS-CoV-2 in the Population.

After more than two years, the COVID-19 pandemic is still ongoing and evolving all over the world; human herd immunity against SARS-CoV-2 increases either by infection or by unprecedented mass vaccination. A substantial change in population immunity is expected to contribute to the control of transmission. It is essential to monitor the extension and duration of the population's immunity to support the decisions of health authorities in each region and country, directed to chart the progressive return to normality.

Experimental Tracheal Replacement: Angiogenesis and Null Apoptosis Promote Stenosis.

Background: Tracheal replacement is a challenge for thoracic surgeons due to stenosis in the trachea-prosthesis anastomosis. We propose that stenosis occurs due to fibrosis as a result of an abnormal healing process, characterized by an increased expression of wound healing growth factors (vascular endothelial growth factor [VEGF], survivin, and CD31), which promote angiogenesis and decrease apoptosis. We analyzed the immunoreactivity of VEGF, survivin, CD31, and caspase-3 in the development of fibrotic stenosis in prosthetic tracheal replacement.

Women with COPD by biomass show different serum profile of adipokines, incretins, and peptide hormones than smokers.

Background: The main causes of COPD are tobacco smoking (COPD-TS) and biomass smoke exposure (COPD-BS). COPD-TS is known to induce changes in adipokines, incretins, and peptide hormones, frequent biomarkers of inflammation; however, it is unknown if similar changes occur in COPD-BS.

Methods: Clinical and physiological characteristics, and serum concentration of C-peptide, ghrelin, GIP, GLP-1, glucagon, insulin, leptin, PAI-1, resistin, and visfatin were measured in women with COPD-BS, COPD-TS, and healthy controls.

Synthesis of gamma radiation-induced PEGylated cisplatin for cancer treatment.

The use of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) for the development of novel PEGylated biomolecules is playing an increasingly meaningful role in cancer treatment. Cisplatin (CDDP), is a useful chemotherapy drug. However, it is unclear whether PEGylated cisplatin (CDDPPEG) has potential as an alternative therapeutic agent.

Overexpression of MEOX2 and TWIST1 is associated with H3K27me3 levels and determines lung cancer chemoresistance and prognosis.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of death from malignant diseases worldwide, with the non-small cell (NSCLC) subtype accounting for the majority of cases. NSCLC is characterized by frequent genomic imbalances and copy number variations (CNVs), but the epigenetic aberrations that are associated with clinical prognosis and therapeutic failure remain not completely identify. In the present study, a total of 55 lung cancer patients were included and we conducted genomic and genetic expression analyses, immunohistochemical protein detection, DNA methylation and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays to obtain genetic and epigenetic profiles associated to prognosis and chemoresponse of NSCLC patients.

The T29C (rs1800470) polymorphism of the transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) gene is associated with restenosis after coronary stenting in Mexican patients.

The aim of the present study was to establish the role of IL-6 and TGF-β1 gene polymorphisms in the risk of developing in-stent restenosis. Two IL-6 [rs1800796 (-572 G>C), rs2069827 (-1426 T>G)] and two TGF-β1 [rs1800469 (-509 T>C), rs1800470 (T29C)] gene polymorphisms were analyzed by 5' exonuclease TaqMan genotyping assays in a group of 244 patients, who underwent coronary artery stenting. Basal and procedure coronary angiography were analyzed, looking for angiographic predictors of restenosis and follow-up angiography was performed to screen for binary restenosis.

Tumor necrosis factor alpha promoter polymorphisms in Mexican patients with dengue fever.

Increased levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) in patients with dengue have been reported. Various polymorphisms have been identified in the promoter region of the TNF-α gene that may affect its transcription. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the relationship between polymorphisms of TNF-α gene and the genetic susceptibility to dengue fever in a group of patients from Morelos State, Mexico.

Class I and class II MHC polymorphisms in Mexican patients with Behçet's disease.

Behçet's disease is a multi-system inflammatory disorder of unknown etiology. The disease is more prevalent in Eastern Mediterranean countries and Japan where there is a linkage to HLA-B51. Mexican Mestizos are suitable subjects for studying the role of ethnicity in the susceptibility to Behçet's disease.