Sex hormones modulate the immune response to Plasmodium berghei ANKA in CBA/Ca mice.

Susceptibility to malaria differs between females and males, and this sexual dimorphism may have important implications for the effects of vaccines and drugs. However, little is known about the mechanisms mediating these sexual differences. Because the main differences between sexes are dictated by sex hormones, we studied the effect of gonadal steroids on immune responses to malaria in CBA/Ca mice.

Gonadal steroids negatively modulate oxidative stress in CBA/Ca female mice infected with P. berghei ANKA.

We decreased the level of gonadal steroids in female and male mice by gonadectomy. We infected these mice with P. berghei ANKA and observed the subsequent impact on the oxidative stress response.

Detection of an ABCA1 variant associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus susceptibility for biochemistry and genetic laboratory courses.

We selected diabetes mellitus for this laboratory exercise to provide students with an explicit model for scientific research concerning the association between the R230C polymorphism and susceptibility to type 2 diabetes mellitus, which is highly prevalent in the Mexican population. We used a collaborative project-based learning to engage students to direct their own learning process. Students worked in small groups with the same learning goal to research, organize data, and present seminars to experimentally genotype the C230 variant and correctly interpret their results.