SARS-CoV-2: Air pollution highly correlated to the increase in mortality. The case of Guadalajara, Jalisco, México.

Objectives: To determine whether air pollution or changes in SARS-CoV-2 lineages lead to an increase in mortality.

Methods: Descriptive statistics were used to calculate rates of infection (2020-2021). RT-PCR was used to compare viral loads from October 2020 to February 2021.

Kinematic Changes in a Mouse Model of Penetrating Hippocampal Injury and Their Recovery After Intranasal Administration of Endometrial Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Derived Extracellular Vesicles.

Locomotion speed changes appear following hippocampal injury. We used a hippocampal penetrating brain injury mouse model to analyze other kinematic changes. We found a significant decrease in locomotion speed in both open-field and tunnel walk tests.

Antinociception and less gastric injury with the dexketoprofen-tapentadol combination in mice.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the antinociceptive interaction between dexketoprofen and tapentadol in three different dose ratios, as well as the ulcerogenic activity of this combination. Dose-response curves were carried out for dexketoprofen, tapentadol, and dexketoprofen-tapentadol combinations in the acetic acid-induced writhing test in mice. On the other hand, the gastric damage of all treatments was assessed after the surgical extraction of the stomachs.

Protective role of osteocalcin in diabetes pathogenesis.

In diabetes, metabolic, inflammatory, and stress-associated alterations conduce to ß-cell failure and tissue damage. Osteocalcin is a bone protein with several endocrine functions in different tissues. In this review, we gathered scientific evidence of how osteocalcin could modulate functional disorders that are altered in diabetes in an integrative way.

Selective estrogen receptor modulators in the prevention of breast cancer in premenopausal women: a review.

The detection of premenopausal women at high risk of breast cancer is key to chemoprevention. Therapy with selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) induces a significant antiproliferative effect in estrogen receptor (ER) positive breast cancer. This review was designed according the guidelines of the 2009 PRISMA statement.

Challenges and Improvements of Developing an Ischemia Mouse Model Through Bilateral Common Carotid Artery Occlusion.

Brain ischemia is one of the principal causes of death and disability worldwide in which prevention or an effective treatment does not exist. In order to develop successful treatments, an adequate and useful ischemia model is essential. Transient global cerebral ischemia is one of the most interesting pathological conditions in stroke studies because of the observed degeneration of forebrain and delayed neuronal cell death in selective vulnerable regions such as hippocampus.

Establishment of Murine Model of Kidney Failure Induced by Severe Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury Useful to Evaluate Transplantation and Regenerative Therapies.

Background: Severe ischemia-reperfusion injury (SIRI) seems to be the key factor that can significantly affect the function of both native kidneys and renal allografts. Therefore, the development of a successful strategy is of a paramount importance in both basic and clinical research.

Methods: To determine the effects of SIRI on the native kidney function, a murine model was planned as follows: group 1 (n = 6) mice underwent to nephrectomy plus ischemia-reperfusion injury for 30 minutes; group 2 (n = 6) mice underwent to nephrectomy without ischemia-reperfusion injury and thus served as sham controls for SIRI.

Participation of ATP-sensitive K+ channels and μ-opioid receptors in the antinociceptive synergism of the paracetamol-tapentadol co-administration in the formalin-induced pain assay in mice.

Preclinical Research & Development The purpose of this study was to assess the interaction and mechanisms of action of the paracetamol-tapentadol combination in the formalin-induced pain model in mice. Paracetamol (56.23-562.

Locomotion in intact and in brain cortex-ablated cats.

The current decerebration procedures discard the role of the thalamus in the motor control and decortication only rules out the brain cortex part, leaving a gap between the brain cortex and the subthalamic motor regions. In here we define a new preparation denominated Brain Cortex-Ablated Cat (BCAC), in which the frontal and parietal brain cortices as well as the central white matter beneath them were removed, this decerebration process may be considered as suprathalamic, since the thalamus remained intact. To characterize this preparation cat hindlimb electromyograms (EMG), kinematics and cutaneous reflexes (CR) produced by electrical stimulation of sural (SU) or saphenous (SAPH) nerves were analyzed during locomotion in intact and in BCAC.

Serum levels of undercarboxylated osteocalcin are related to cardiovascular risk factors in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and healthy subjects.

Aim: To determine a potential relationship between serum undercarboxylated (ucOC) concentration and cardiovascular risk factors in type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients and healthy subjects (HS).

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 140 subjects classified into two groups, 70 with T2D and 70 HS. Medical history and physical examination with anthropometric measurements were obtained from all subjects.

The role of endothelial cells on islet function and revascularization after islet transplantation.

Islet transplantation has become a widely accepted therapeutic option for selected patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus. However, in order to achieve insulin independence a great number of islets are often pooled from 2 to 4 pancreata donors. Mostly, it is due to the massive loss of islets immediately after transplant.

Neovascularization induced around an artificial device implanted in the abdomen by the use of gelatinized fibroblast growth factor 2.

The development of a bioartificial pancreas (BAP) with immunoisolating fashion has been gaining attention as a new method for treating diabetes. We have been proceeding with the development of a bag-type BAP that can be easily implanted and that allows for the optional injection or rejection of cells at any time. If fibrosis develops around a BAP device, then the permeability of substances transmitted through a semipermeable membrane will decrease, thereby reducing the reactivity with glucose, so it is necessary for the material of the device to have an excellent histocompatibility.

Laparoscopy-assisted creation of a liver failure model in pigs.

We created a hepatic failure pig model that was suitable for the assessment of cell therapies, such as hepatocyte transplantation and bioartificial livers, using a laparoscopic surgical technique. In our model, all of three hepatic arteries were resected, 5, 7.5, or 10 ml of carbon tetrachloride (CCL4) was injected into the liver through the portal vein, and subsequently the portal vein was mechanically occluded for 30 min.

Reestablishment of microenvironment is necessary to maintain in vitro and in vivo human islet function.

Islet transplantation is associated with an elevated rate of early graft failure. The isolation process leads to structural and functional abnormalities. The reestablishment of the cell-matrix relationship is important to modulate the survival and function of islets.

Pancreas development and beta-cell differentiation of embryonic stem cells.

Embryonic stem (ES) cells may offer an unlimited cell source for the treatment of diabetes. However, a successful derivation of ES cells into islet-cells has proven to be more difficult than it was initially expected. Considering that the pancreas coordinates the global use of energy in the organism by secreting digestive enzymes and hormones, it is understandable that a sophisticated and tight regulation that lies on the pancreas itself to orchestrate its own tissue development and maturation.

Survival of liver failure pigs by transplantation of reversibly immortalized human hepatocytes with Tamoxifen-mediated self-recombination.

Background/aims: Hepatocyte transplantation and bioartificial liver treatment are attractive alternatives to liver transplantation. The availability of well-characterized human hepatocyte lines facilitates such cell therapies.

Methods: Human hepatocytes were immortalized with a retroviral vector SSR#197 expressing catalytic subunit of human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) and enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) cDNAs flanked by a pair of loxP recombination targets.

Differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells to hepatocyte-like cells by co-culture with human liver nonparenchymal cell lines.

This protocol describes a co-culture system for the in vitro differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells into hepatocyte-like cells. Differentiation involves four steps: (i) formation of embryoid bodies (EB), (ii) induction of definitive endoderm from 2-d-old EBs, (iii) induction of hepatic progenitor cells and (iv) maturation into hepatocyte-like cells. Differentiation is completed by 16 d of culture.

Amelioration of diabetes in mice after single-donor islet transplantation using the controlled release of gelatinized FGF-2.

Fibroblast growth factor (FGF)-2 has been recognized to be a key element involved in angiogenesis and a putative factor involved in stem cell-mediated islet regeneration. However, the usefulness of FGF-2 in an islet transplantation setting has not yet been explored. We therefore evaluated the effect of FGF-2 on both islet culture and islet transplantation.

Self-assembling peptide nanofiber as a novel culture system for isolated porcine hepatocytes.

Freshly isolated porcine hepatocytes are a very attractive cell source in the cell-based therapies to treat liver failure because of unlimited availability. However, due to the loss of hepatocyte functions in vitro, there is a need to develop a functional culture system to keep the cells metabolically active. Here we compared the effect of a self-assembling peptide nanofiber (SAPNF) as an extracellular matrix (ECM) with collagen type I on hepatocyte metabolic and secretion activities following hepatocyte isolation.

PuraMatrix facilitates bone regeneration in bone defects of calvaria in mice.

Artificial bones have often used for bone regeneration due to their strength, but they cannot provide an adequate environment for cell penetration and settlement. We therefore attempted to explore various materials that may allow the cells to penetrate and engraft in bone defects. PuraMatrix is a self-assembling peptide scaffold that produces a nanoscale environment allowing both cellular penetration and engraftment.

Maintenance of neovascularization at the implantation site of an artificial device by bFGF and endothelial cell transplant.

Development of a subcutaneously implantable bioartificial pancreas (BAP) with immunoisolatory function could have a great impact on the treatment of diabetes mellitus. We have developed an implantable BAP device with an ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVAL) membrane. In the present study, we used basic fibroblast growth factors (bFGF), which was incorporated in a carrier for sustained release, in order to induce neovascularization when the device was implanted subcutaneously.

Instant hepatic differentiation of human embryonic stem cells using activin A and a deleted variant of HGF.

Human embryonic stem (hES) cells have the ability to differentiate into a variety of different cell lineages and potentially provide a source of differentiated cells for many therapeutic uses. Here we investigated an efficient method of hepatic differentiation from hES cells. A human ES cell line, KhES-1, was used and maintained by a nonfeeder method.

Functional hepatocyte culture and its application to cell therapies.

Since Berry and Friend developed methods to isolate hepatocytes from the liver by a collagenase digestion technique in 1969, studies in laboratory animals have demonstrated that hepatocyte transplantation could potentially be used for the treatment of liver failure and inborn errors of liver-based metabolism. Healthy human hepatocytes are an ideal source for hepatocyte transplantation; however, their relative scarcity is one of the major drawbacks, further compounded by the competing demands of liver transplantation. Notably, most of the hepatocytes are isolated from discarded livers that are not suitable for organ transplantation for a variety of reasons, including excessive fat content.

Cell-permeable pentapeptide V5 inhibits apoptosis and enhances insulin secretion, allowing experimental single-donor islet transplantation in mice.

Objective: Treatment of diabetic patients by pancreatic islet transplantation often requires the use of islets from two to four donors to produce insulin independence in a single recipient. Following isolation and transplantation, islets are susceptible to apoptosis, which limits their function and probably long-term islet graft survival.

Research Design And Methods: To address this issue, we examined the effect of the cell-permeable apoptosis inhibitor pentapeptide Val-Pro-Met-Leu-Lys, V5, on pancreatic islets in a mouse model.