Radiotherapy is a key treatment option for a wide variety of human tumors, employed either alone or alongside with other therapeutic interventions. Radiotherapy uses high-energy particles to destroy tumor cells, blocking their ability to divide and proliferate. The effectiveness of radiotherapy is due to genetic and epigenetic factors that determine how tumor cells respond to ionizing radiation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease that has a prevalence of over one percent of the world population, causing substantial pain, joint deformity, and functional disability in patients. The identification and measurement of miRNAs are relatively easy to perform. Future studies will corroborate if miRNAs can fulfill their roles as biomarkers with either predictive or diagnostic evaluation of treatment potential and provide actual clinical utility.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Bone repair aims to restore the anatomical, biomechanical, and functional integrity of the affected structure. Here we study the effects of ascorbic acid (AA) and epidermal growth factor (EGF) applied in a single dose and in combination on the repair of a noncritical bone defect model.
Methods: Twenty-four rats were divided into four groups: an intact G-1 control group, and three groups that underwent a noncritical bone defect in the right tibia: G-2 treated with AA, G-3 treated with EGF, and G-4 treated with AA in combination with EGF.
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is responsible for the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, affecting more than 219 countries and causing the death of more than 5 million people worldwide. The genetic background represents a factor that predisposes the way the host responds to SARS-CoV-2 infection. In this sense, genetic variants of and could explain the observed interindividual variability to COVID-19 outcomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: The NLR family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) signaling pathway has an important role in inflammation mediated by monosodium urate crystals in gout, and the characterization of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have helped to recognize disease susceptibility.
Objective: The aim of this review is to provide an overview of the potential role of the inflammasome gene SNPs as a susceptibility factor for gout, discussing the current evidence available.
Methods: This review analyzes the relevant literature in the field of inflammasome SNPs and gout published in the last 10 years.
Calicivirus infection causes intrinsic apoptosis, leading to viral propagation in the host. During murine norovirus infection, a reduction in the anti-apoptotic protein survivin has been documented. Here we report that in feline calicivirus infection, a downregulation of the anti-apoptotic proteins survivin and XIAP occur, which correlates with the translocation of the pro-apoptotic protein Smac/DIABLO from the mitochondria to the cytoplasm and the activation of caspase-3.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: We have reported the presence of varicella-zoster virus (VZV) DNA and viral particles in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients during exacerbation. It is not known whether these viruses are infective.
Aim: To determine whether the VZV found in CSF of MS patients in exacerbation phase are infective.
Tuberculous meningitis (TBM) is the most severe form of tuberculosis. It is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis; MT) and it is very difficult to diagnose.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFColumnar cacti have been traditionally classified as crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) plants, though recent research indicates some cactus seedlings employ the C(3) pathway. To verify this last result, we measured acidity fluctuations for five columnar and one globular cactus species in seedlings from 1 to 48 d old after experimental exposure to 60% and 30% full sunlight, and in adult plants in the field. Using light-response curves of chlorophyll fluorescence, we determined photosynthetic efficiency (ΔF/Fm'), maximum electron transport rate (ETR(max)) and saturating photosynthetically active photon flux density (PPFD(sat)).
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