Publications by authors named "Pilar Martin"

Introduction: CD8 cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) are highly effective in defending against viral infections and tumours. They are activated through the recognition of peptide-MHC-I complex by the T-cell receptor (TCR) and co-stimulation. This cognate interaction promotes the organisation of intimate cell-cell connections that involve cytoskeleton rearrangement to enable effector function and clearance of the target cell.

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  • Allergic diseases, starting early in life, create a chronic inflammatory environment that is linked to metabolic disorders and cardiovascular risks, but the exact mechanisms are still unclear.
  • Researchers conducted experiments using a mouse model and various methods to study how allergic inflammation impacts lipid metabolism, specifically focusing on triglyceride levels and gene expression related to fat metabolism.
  • The findings indicate that allergic inflammation leads to a specific lipid profile and increased triglycerides in the blood, primarily driven by IgG-mediated responses rather than traditional T-cell reactions.
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  • - Obesity is linked to low-grade inflammation and issues with energy balance and heat production, and the influence of regulatory T cells (Treg) on these processes is not well understood.
  • - Research shows that the p38 pathway is crucial for T cell-related inflammation and thermogenesis in fat tissue; mice lacking specific p38 activators are less likely to become obese and have better metabolic health.
  • - IL-35, which promotes fat cell thermogenesis and reduces inflammation, is found in lower levels in obese patients; the study reveals that p38 regulates IL-35 expression through the mTOR pathway in Treg cells.
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Globe-LFMC 2.0, an updated version of Globe-LFMC, is a comprehensive dataset of over 280,000 Live Fuel Moisture Content (LFMC) measurements. These measurements were gathered through field campaigns conducted in 15 countries spanning 47 years.

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Infiltration of the myocardium with various cell types, cytokines and chemokines plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of cardiomyopathies including inflammatory cardiomyopathies and myocarditis. A more comprehensive understanding of the precise immune mechanisms involved in acute and chronic myocarditis is essential to develop novel therapeutic approaches. This review offers a comprehensive overview of the current knowledge of the immune landscape in cardiomyopathies based on etiology.

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Background: APOE is a known genetic contributor to cardiovascular disease, but the differential role alleles play in subclinical atherosclerosis remains unclear.

Methods: The PESA (Progression of Early Subclinical Atherosclerosis) is an observational cohort study that recruited 4184 middle-aged asymptomatic individuals to be screened for cardiovascular risk and multiterritorial subclinical atherosclerosis. Participants were -genotyped, and omics data were additionally evaluated.

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Despite improvements in cancer survival, cancer therapy-related cardiovascular toxicity has risen to become a prominent clinical challenge. This has led to the growth of the burgeoning field of cardio-oncology, which aims to advance the cardiovascular health of cancer patients and survivors, through actionable and translatable science. In these Global Cardio-Oncology Symposium 2023 scientific symposium proceedings, we present a focused review on the mechanisms that contribute to common cardiovascular toxicities discussed at this meeting, the ongoing international collaborative efforts to improve patient outcomes, and the bidirectional challenges of translating basic research to clinical care.

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  • Autosomal dominant loss-of-function variants in CTLA-4 cause immune system issues like autoimmunity and immunodeficiency, known as IDAIL, which show variability in symptoms due to genetic modifiers.* -
  • The study identifies a patient with a pathogenic CTLA-4 variant and a rare DECTIN-1 variant that affects DECTIN-1's function, leading to reduced immune regulation.* -
  • DECTIN-1 is shown to enhance the differentiation of regulatory T cells and plays a critical role as a modifier that influences the severity of immune defects caused by CTLA-4 haploinsufficiency.*
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The central nervous system (CNS) has long been considered an immune-privileged site, with minimal interaction between immune cells, particularly of the adaptive immune system. Previously, the presence of immune cells in this organ was primarily linked to events involving disruption of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) or inflammation. However, current research has shown that immune cells are found patrolling CNS under homeostatic conditions.

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Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) have changed the prognosis of many tumors. However, concerning associated cardiotoxicity has been reported. Little is known about the real-life incidence-specific surveillance protocols or the translational correlation between the underlying mechanisms and the clinical presentation of ICI-induced cardiotoxicity.

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  • - CD69 is an important marker for early activation of immune cells and plays a crucial role in regulating immune responses through various ligands it interacts with.
  • - Research has identified four key ligands for CD69 and highlighted its connections to other molecules like calreticulin and specific receptors that influence immune cell behavior.
  • - Recent findings reveal that activation of CD69 can lead to increased expression of PD-1, a receptor that plays a significant role in T cell regulation, suggesting its potential impact on immunological responses.
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Extracellular vesicles (EVs) carry diverse bioactive components including nucleic acids, proteins, lipids and metabolites that play versatile roles in intercellular and interorgan communication. The capability to modulate their stability, tissue-specific targeting and cargo render EVs as promising nanotherapeutics for treating heart, lung, blood and sleep (HLBS) diseases. However, current limitations in large-scale manufacturing of therapeutic-grade EVs, and knowledge gaps in EV biogenesis and heterogeneity pose significant challenges in their clinical application as diagnostics or therapeutics for HLBS diseases.

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Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have recently emerged as strong therapies for a broad spectrum of cancers being the first-line treatment for many of them, even improving the prognosis of malignancies that were considered untreatable. This therapy is based on the administration of monoclonal antibodies targeting inhibitory T-cell receptors, which boost the immune system and prevent immune evasion. However, non-specific T-cell de-repression can result in a wide variety of immune-related adverse events (irAEs), including gastrointestinal, endocrine, and dermatologic, with a smaller proportion of these having the potential for fatal outcomes such as neurotoxicity, pulmonary toxicity, and cardiotoxicity.

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  • The study examines the role of T cells, particularly CD69+ Tregs, in managing immune responses and cardiac function after a heart attack (myocardial infarction).
  • Analysis of 283 patients showed that overexpression of CD69 on Tregs is linked to improved survival rates.
  • Experiments in mice revealed that CD69+ Tregs reduce harmful inflammation and improve heart function, suggesting CD69 as a potential biomarker and therapeutic target to reduce heart failure risk post-MI.
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Over 10 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines based on RNA technology, viral vectors, recombinant protein, and inactivated virus have been administered worldwide. Although generally very safe, post-vaccine myocarditis can result from adaptive humoral and cellular, cardiac-specific inflammation within days and weeks of vaccination. Rates of vaccine-associated myocarditis vary by age and sex with the highest rates in males between 12 and 39 years.

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Flash nanoprecipitation (FNP) is an efficient and scalable nanoparticle synthesis method that has not previously been applied to nanosensor fabrication. Current nanosensor fabrication methods have traditionally exhibited poor replicability and consistency resulting in high batch-to-batch variability, highlighting the need for a more tunable and efficient method such as FNP. We used FNP to fabricate nanosensors to sense oxygen based on an oxygen-sensitive dye and a reference dye, as a tool for measuring microbial metabolism.

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  • Allergic diseases are immunological disorders triggered by allergens, leading to type 2 immunity and IgE responses, with a rising prevalence similar to cardiovascular diseases (CVD).
  • CVD often stems from atherosclerosis, characterized by endothelial dysfunction and Th1 inflammation, raising questions about the relationship between allergic conditions and heart health.
  • The review explores the phases of allergic pathology, immunological mechanisms of atherosclerosis, and the complex clinical connections between allergic diseases (like asthma and food allergies) and CVD, including the role of various immune cells and mediators in these conditions.
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  • Air pollutants can increase the risk and mortality of heart attacks, known as myocardial infarctions (MIs).
  • This study examined how short-term exposure to air pollution affects immune cells and microRNAs in patients with acute coronary syndromes and compared them to stable angina controls.
  • Findings revealed that patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) exposed to particulate matter (PM) experienced a decrease in regulatory T cells and increases in specific microRNAs, indicating significant inflammatory responses linked to air pollution.
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Polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs) in particulate matter contribute considerably to the health risk of air pollution. As such, we have optimized a method to determine the levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, especially nitrated and oxygenated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, in samples of PM particulate matter using microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) and gas chromatography coupled to a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer (GC-MS/MS). The proposed method was applied to the analysis of real samples collected in the urban area of Ciudad Real (Spain) during one year.

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