Publications by authors named "Paula Guerrero"

Inflammatory responses must be tightly coordinated with the activation of emergency myelopoiesis to produce potent myeloid cells that fight infection without causing excessive host damage. Here, we show that granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) programs myeloid-committed progenitors to produce trained macrophages (increased cytokine response), but programs the upstream noncommitted LKS+ progenitors (defined as Lin- c-Kit+ Sca-1+ cells) to produce tolerized macrophages (decreased cytokine response). In myeloid progenitors, GM-CSF strongly activates signal transducer and activator of transcription 5 (STAT5), Ras-Raf-extracellular signal regulated kinase (ERK), and Akt-mTOR signaling pathways, which are essential to establish a training program, whereas in LKS+ progenitors, GM-CSF induces NF-κB translocation to the nucleus to establish a tolerization program.

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During an infection, hematopoiesis is altered to increase the output of mature myeloid cells to fight off the pathogen. Despite convincing evidence that hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) can sense pathogens directly, more mechanistic studies are needed to reveal whether pattern recognition receptor (PRR) signaling initiates myeloid development directly, or indirectly through the production of cytokines by HSPCs that can act in an autocrine/paracrine manner, or by a combination of both direct and indirect mechanisms. In this study, we have used an in vitro model of murine HSPCs to study myeloid differentiation in response to the TLR2 ligand Pam3CSK4 and showed that, besides indirect mechanisms, TLR2 stimulation of HSPCs promotes myelopoiesis directly by initiating a MyD88-dependent signaling.

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SignificanceScramblases translocate lipids across the lipid bilayer without consumption of ATP, thereby regulating lipid distributions in cellular membranes. Cytosol-to-lumen translocation across the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane is a common process among lipid glycoconjugates involved in posttranslational protein modifications in eukaryotes. These translocations are thought to be mediated by specific ER-resident scramblases, but the identity of these proteins and the underlying molecular mechanisms have been elusive.

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More mechanistic studies are needed to reveal the hidden details of -induced trained immunity. Here, using a live vaccine mouse model we show that vaccination protects mice against a secondary infection and increases the number of bone marrow, and especially, splenic trained monocytes. Moreover, vaccination expands and reprograms hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) early during infection and mobilize them transiently to the spleen to produce trained macrophages.

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The attachment of proteins to the cell membrane using a glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchor is a ubiquitous process in eukaryotic cells. Deficiencies in the biosynthesis of GPIs and the concomitant production of GPI-anchored proteins lead to a series of rare and complicated disorders associated with inherited GPI deficiencies (IGDs) in humans. Currently, there is no treatment for patients suffering from IGDs.

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Chagas disease (ChD), a complex and persistent parasitosis caused by , represents a natural model of chronic infection, in which some people exhibit cardiac or digestive complications that can result in death 20-40 years after the initial infection. Nonetheless, due to unknown mechanisms, some -infected individuals remain asymptomatic throughout their lives. Actually, no vaccine is available to prevent ChD, and treatments for chronic ChD patients are controversial.

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Despite study of sperm cryopreservation in more than 200 fish species, production of broods from cryopreserved sperm in live-bearing fish has not been demonstrated. This has not been due to a lack of effort, but instead is a result of the unique morphology, biology, and biochemistry of reproduction in viviparous fishes. For example, sperm of Xiphophorus helleri have a cylindrical nucleus, can swim for days after being activated, have glycolytic capabilities, and can reside in the female reproduction tract for months before fertilization.

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The effect of interspecies hybridization on gene regulation was examined using real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to measure the expression of five base-excision repair genes in brain, eye, gill, liver, and tailfin tissues from Xiphophorus parental species and F(1) hybrids. Relative mRNA levels of uracil N-glycosylase (Ung), Apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease (Ape1), polymerase-beta (Polb), flap endonuclease (Fen1), and DNA ligase (Lig1) were measured in three parental Xiphophorus species (X. maculatus Jp 163 B, X.

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Objective: To analyse the geographical distribution of multiple sclerosis in Spain from 1975 to 1998.

Methods: Age-adjusted mortality rates by province were obtained by the indirect method using the whole Spanish population as the reference. Then, standardised mortality ratios (SMRs) and their 95% confidence intervals were estimated.

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