A flow cytometry-based assay to measure neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 virus.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus has highlighted the need for serological assays that can accurately evaluate the neutralizing efficiency of antibodies produced during infection or induced by vaccines. However, conventional assays often require the manipulation of live viruses on a level-three biosafety (BSL3) facility, which presents practical and safety challenges. Here, we present a novel, alternative assay that measures neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) against SARS-CoV-2 in plasma using flow cytometry.

Effects of different maternal diets on adipose tissue inflammation and liver tissue oxidative stress in dams and their female offspring.

Pregnancy and lactation are important stages of fetal development. Therefore, this study investigated how different maternal diets offered during gestation and lactation periods affect adipose tissue inflammation and liver tissue oxidative stress of dams and their female offspring. Female BALB/c albino mice (60 days old) were randomized into three groups receiving a standard (CONT), hypercaloric (HD), or restricted (RD) diet during the pregnancy.

Metastatic Melanoma: A Preclinical Model Standardization and Development of a Chitosan-Coated Nanoemulsion Containing Temozolomide to Treat Brain Metastasis.

Melanoma is the most aggressive type of skin cancer. Brain metastasis is the worst scenario in metastatic melanoma and the treatment options for these patients are limited. Temozolomide (TMZ) is a chemotherapy agent used to treat primary central nervous system tumors.

Nasal administration of a temozolomide-loaded thermoresponsive nanoemulsion reduces tumor growth in a preclinical glioblastoma model.

Glioblastoma (GB) is the worst and most common primary brain tumor. Temozolomide (TMZ), an alkylating agent, is widely used for treating primary and recurrent high-grade gliomas. However, at least 50% of TMZ treated patients do not respond to TMZ and the development of chemoresistance is a major problem.

Endophytic Fungus of Achyrocline satureioides: Molecular Identification, Chemical Characterization, and Cytotoxic Evaluation of its Metabolites in Human Melanoma cell line.

Endophytic fungi are important sources of anticancer compounds. An endophytic fungus was isolated from the medicinal plant Achyrocline satureioides, and molecularly identified as Biscogniauxia sp. (family Xylariaceae) based on partial nucleotide sequences of the internal transcribed spacer genomic region (GenBank Accession No.

A high CMV-specific T cell response associates with SARS-CoV-2-specific IL-17 T cell production.

Human cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a widespread persistent herpes virus requiring lifelong immune surveillance to maintain latency. Such long-term interactions with the immune system may be associated with deleterious effects including immune exhaustion and senescence. Regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, we asked whether CMV-specific cellular and humoral activity could influence immune responses toward SARS-CoV-2 and/or disease severity.

SARS-CoV-2 infected children form early immune memory responses dominated by nucleocapsid-specific CD8+ T cells and antibodies.

This is the third year of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, and yet most children remain unvaccinated. COVID-19 in children manifests as mostly mild or asymptomatic, however high viral titers and strong cellular and humoral responses are observed upon acute infection. It is still unclear how long these responses persist, and if they can protect from re-infection and/or disease severity.

Nek1-inhibitor and temozolomide-loaded microfibers as a co-therapy strategy for glioblastoma treatment.

Malignant glioblastoma (GB) is the predominant primary brain tumour in adults, but despite the efforts towards novel therapies, the median survival of GB patients has not significantly improved in the last decades. Therefore, localised approaches that treat GB straight into the tumour site provide an alternative to enhance chemotherapy bioavailability and efficacy, reducing systemic toxicity. Likewise, the discovery of protein targets, such as the NIMA-related kinase 1 (Nek1), which was previously shown to be associated with temozolomide (TMZ) resistance in GB, has stimulated the clinical development of target therapy approaches to treat GB patients.

Pediatric COVID-19 patients in South Brazil show abundant viral mRNA and strong specific anti-viral responses.

COVID-19 manifests as a milder disease in children than adults, but the underlying mechanisms are not fully characterized. Here we assess the difference in cellular or humoral immune responses of pediatric and adult COVID-19 patients to see if these factors contribute to the severity dichotomy. Children's non-specific immune profile is dominated by naive lymphocytes and HLA-DRCX3CR1 dendritic cells; meanwhile, children show strong specific antibody and T cell responses for viral structural proteins, with their T cell responses differing from adults by having weaker CD8TNF T cells responses to S peptide pool but stronger responses to N and M peptide pools.

Extracellular ectonucleotidases are differentially regulated in murine tissues and human polymorphonuclear leukocytes during sepsis and inflammation.

Sepsis is life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated inflammatory and immune response to infection. Sepsis involves the combination of exaggerated inflammation and immune suppression. During systemic infection and sepsis, the liver works as a lymphoid organ with key functions in regulating the immune response.

Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Novel 2-imino-4-thiazolidinones as Potential Antitumor Agents for Glioblastoma.

Aims: The purpose of our study was to explore the molecular hybridization between 2- imino-4-thizolidione and piridinic scaffolds and its potential antitumor activity.

Background: Glioblastoma is the most aggressive glioma tumor clinically diagnosed malignant and highly recurrent primary brain tumor type. The standard of treatment for a glioblastoma is surgery, followed by radiation and chemotherapy using temozolomide.

The effects of retinol oral supplementation in 6-hydroxydopamine dopaminergic denervation model in Wistar rats.

Vitamin A (retinol) is involved in signaling pathways regulating gene expression and was postulated to be a major antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compound of the diet. Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder, characterized by loss of nigral dopaminergic neurons, involving oxidative stress and pro-inflammatory activation. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the neuroprotective effects of retinol oral supplementation against 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA, 12 μg per rat) nigrostriatal dopaminergic denervation in Wistar rats.

Inflammatory landscape of human brain tumors reveals an NFκB dependent cytokine pathway associated with mesenchymal glioblastoma.

The tumor microenvironment is being increasingly recognized as a key factor in cancer aggressiveness. In this study, we characterized the inflammatory gene signatures altered in glioma cell lines and tumor specimens of differing histological and molecular subtypes. The results showed that glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) shows upregulation of a subset of inflammatory genes when compared to astrocytomas and oligodendrogliomas.

Decreased Toll-Like Receptor 2 and Toll-Like Receptor 7/8-Induced Cytokines in Parkinson's Disease Patients.

Objectives: Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are expressed in several immune cells including blood monocytes and resident macrophages, such as microglia in the central nervous system. TLRs recognize pathogen- or damage-associated molecular patterns, leading to the release of inflammatory and toxic molecules, which can contribute to neuroinflammation associated with Parkinson's disease (PD). The aim of this study was to compare the potential of peripheral blood cells from PD patients or healthy subjects to produce cytokines after exposure to TLR agonists, and to investigate TLR2 and TLR4 expression on monocyte subsets.