Publications by authors named "Sonia Mayra Perez-Tapia"

Human dental tissue mesenchymal stem cells (DT-MSCs) constitute an attractive alternative to bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) for potential clinical applications because of their accessibility and anti-inflammatory capacity. We previously demonstrated that DT-MSCs from dental pulp (DP-MSCs), periodontal ligaments (PDL-MSCs), and gingival tissue (G-MSCs) show immunosuppressive effects similar to those of BM, but to date, the DT-MSC-mediated immunoregulation of T lymphocytes through the purinergic pathway remains unknown. In the present study, we compared DP-MSCs, PDL-MSCs, and G-MSCs in terms of CD26, CD39, and CD73 expression; their ability to generate adenosine (ADO) from ATP and AMP; and whether the concentrations of ADO that they generate induce an immunomodulatory effect on T lymphocytes.

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Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a mood disorder that has become a global health emergency according to the World Health Organization (WHO). It affects 280 million people worldwide and is a leading cause of disability and financial loss. Patients with MDD present immunoendocrine alterations like cortisol resistance and inflammation, which are associated with alterations in neurotransmitter metabolism.

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The main objective of the National Project for Research and Incidence of Childhood Leukemias is to reduce early mortality rates for these neoplasms in the vulnerable regions of Mexico. This project was conducted in the states of Oaxaca, Puebla, and Tlaxcala. A key strategy of the project is the implementation of an effective roadmap to ensure that leukemia patients are the target of maximum benefit of interdisciplinary collaboration between researchers, clinicians, surveyors, and laboratories.

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Article Synopsis
  • Acute leukemias (AL) are a leading cause of cancer-related deaths in children under 20 in Mexico, particularly noted in the central-south region, which has been previously understudied compared to Greater Mexico City.
  • A population-based study conducted from 2021-2022 identified 388 new cases of AL among children in Puebla, Tlaxcala, and Oaxaca, calculating various incidence rates using demographic data.
  • The overall age-standardized incidence rate was around 51.5 cases per million children, with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia being the most prevalent subtype, revealing trends and differences in leukemia incidence among the states.
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SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease (Mpro) is an enzyme that cleaves viral polyproteins translated from the viral genome, which is critical for viral replication. Mpro is a target for anti-SARS-CoV-2 drug development. Herein, we performed a large-scale virtual screening by comparing multiple structural descriptors of reference molecules with reported anti-coronavirus activity against a library with >17 million compounds.

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Introduction: The decisive key to disease-free survival in B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia in children, is the combination of diagnostic timeliness and treatment efficacy, guided by accurate patient risk stratification. Implementation of standardized and high-precision diagnostic/prognostic systems is particularly important in the most marginalized geographic areas in Mexico, where high numbers of the pediatric population resides and the highest relapse and early death rates due to acute leukemias are recorded even in those cases diagnosed as standard risk.

Methods: By using a multidimensional and integrated analysis of the immunophenotype of leukemic cells, the immunological context and the tumor microenvironment, this study aim to capture the snapshot of acute leukemia at disease debut of a cohort of Mexican children from vulnerable regions in Puebla, Oaxaca and Tlaxcala and its potential use in risk stratification.

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Abdala is a recently released RBD protein subunit vaccine against SARS-CoV-2. A few countries, including Mexico, have adopted Abdala as a booster dose in their COVID-19 vaccination schemes. Despite that, most of the Mexican population has received full-scheme vaccination with platforms other than Abdala; little is known regarding Abdala's immunological features, such as its antibody production and T- and B-cell-specific response induction.

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Although biosimilar uptake has increased (at a variable pace) in many countries, there have been recent concerns about the long-term sustainability of biosimilar markets. The aim of this manuscript is to assess the sustainability of policies across the biosimilar life cycle in selected countries with a view to propose recommendations for supporting biosimilar sustainability. The study conducted a comparative analysis across 17 countries from North America, South America, Asia-Pacific, Europe and the Gulf Cooperation Council.

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Allergic rhinitis (AR) has considerable impact on the general health of individuals. Therefore, treatment trials should include an evaluation of quality of life. We aimed to determine changes in the quality of life of moderate/severe AR patients treated with standard treatment in addition to dialyzable leukocyte extract (DLE), a peptide-based immunomodulator.

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Background: A symptom scale can be useful for the standardization of clinical evaluations and follow-up of COVID-19 patients in ambultaroy care. Scale development should be accompanied by an assessment of its reliablility and validity.

Objective: To develop and measure the psychometric characteristics of a COVID-19 symptom scale to be answered by either healthcare personnel or adult patients in ambulatory care.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The development of second-generation COVID-19 vaccines is crucial for targeting emerging variants by using multiple antigens from the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
  • - Researchers analyzed the combination of the nucleocapsid (N) protein, Spike protein S1 domain, and receptor binding domain (RBD), finding that these combined antigens provoked a stronger immune response in mice than single antigens alone.
  • - Immunization with the combined antigens increased IgG antibody levels and cytokine production, showing effectiveness against both alpha and beta variants of the virus, which supports the potential for improved vaccine strategies.
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Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is a cheap and easy-to-obtain biomarker that mirrors the balance between innate and adaptive immunity. Cortisol and catecholamines have been identified as major drivers of NLR. High cortisol levels increase neutrophils while simultaneously decreasing lymphocyte counts.

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Vaccines have been recognized as having a central role in controlling the COVID-19 pandemic; however, most vaccine development research is focused on IgG-induced antibodies. Here, we analyzed the generation of IgGs related to SARS-CoV-2 and the changes in B- and T-lymphocyte proportions following vaccination against COVID-19. We included samples from 69 volunteers inoculated with the Pfizer-BioNTech (BNT162b2), Astra Zeneca (AZD1222 Covishield), or Sputnik V (Gam-COVID-Vac) vaccines.

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The clinical presentation of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), ranges between mild respiratory symptoms and a severe disease that shares many of the features of sepsis. Sepsis is a deregulated response to infection that causes life-threatening organ failure. During sepsis, the intestinal epithelial cells are affected, causing an increase in intestinal permeability and allowing microbial translocation from the intestine to the circulation, which exacerbates the inflammatory response.

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Recently, a link between the biological activity of CD73 and tumorigenicity in solid tumors has been proposed. We previously reported that the generation of adenosine (Ado) by the activity of CD73 in cervical cancer (CC) cells induces transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-β1) production to maintain CD73 expression. In the present study, we analyzed the participation of TGF-β1 in CD73 expression and the development of protumoral characteristics in CaSki CC cells cultured as tumorspheres (CaSki-T) and in monolayers (CaSki-M).

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A key aspect of the inflammatory phenomenon is the involvement of costimulatory molecules expressed by antigen-presenting cells (APCs) and their ability to secrete cytokines to set instructions for an adaptive immune response and to generate tolerance or inflammation. In a novel integrative approach, we aimed to evaluate the kinetic expression of the membrane and soluble B7 costimulatory molecules CD86, ICOS-L, PDL1, PDL2, the transcription factor Interferon Regulatory Factor 4 (IRF4), and the cytokines produced by monocyte-derived dendritic cells (Mo-DCs) after challenging them with different concentrations of stimulation with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) for different lengths of time. Our results showed that the stimuli concentration and time of exposure to an antigen are key factors in modulating the dynamic expression pattern of membrane and soluble B7 molecules and cytokines.

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Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory disease distinguished by an excessive proliferation and abnormal differentiation of keratinocytes. Immune cells, such as T lymphocytes and neutrophils, and inflammatory cytokines, such as Tumor Necrosis Factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin 17 (IL-17), are essential for maintaining psoriatic lesions. Additionally, a hypoxic milieu present in the skin promotes the expression of transcriptional factor hypoxia-inducible factor-1 alpha (HIF-1α).

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Cannabidiol (CBD), a major non-psychotropic component of cannabis, is receiving growing attention as a potential anticancer agent. CBD suppresses the development of cancer in both in vitro (cancer cell culture) and in vivo (xenografts in immunodeficient mice) models. For critical evaluation of the advances of CBD on its path from laboratory research to practical application, in this review, we wish to call the attention of scientists and clinicians to the following issues: (a) the biological effects of CBD in cancer and healthy cells; (b) the anticancer effects of CBD in animal models and clinical case reports; (c) CBD's interaction with conventional anticancer drugs; (d) CBD's potential in palliative care for cancer patients; (e) CBD's tolerability and reported side effects; (f) CBD delivery for anticancer treatment.

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B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) results from the expansion of malignant lymphoid precursors within the bone marrow (BM), where hematopoietic niches and microenvironmental signals provide leukemia-initiating cells (LICs) the conditions to survive, proliferate, initiate disease, and relapse. Normal and malignant lymphopoiesis are highly dependent on the BM microenvironment, particularly on CXCL12-abundant Reticular (CAR) cells, which provide a niche for maintenance of primitive cells. During B-ALL, leukemic cells hijack BM niches, creating a proinflammatory milieu incompetent to support normal hematopoiesis but favoring leukemic proliferation.

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Canine parvovirus type II (CPV-2) infection induces canine parvoviral enteritis (CPE), which in turn promotes sepsis and systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS). Mortality in this disease is usually registered within 48-72 h post-hospitalization, the critical period of the illness. It has been recently described that the use of an immunomodulator, whose major component is monomeric ubiquitin (mUb) without the last two glycine residues (Ub∆GG), in pediatric human patients with sepsis augments survival.

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Brucellosis is a zoonosis affecting 50,000,000 people annually. Most patients progress to a chronic phase of the disease in which neuropsychiatric symptoms upsurge. The biological processes underlying the progression of these symptoms are yet unclear.

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The aim of the study was to identify, interpret, and compare the current perspectives of regulatory agencies in six member countries of BRICS-TM (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Turkey, and Mexico) on the different criteria used for biosimilar development and marketing authorisation process. A semi-quantitative questionnaire was developed covering the organisation of agency, biosimilar development criteria and marketing authorisation process and sent to seven regulatory agencies covering the BRICS-TM countries. All data was kept anonymous and confidential.

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Purpose: During the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare workers (HCWs) are at a considerable risk of being infected with SARS-CoV-2; among them, HCWs from ophthalmology departments are more prone to develop severe symptoms. In Mexico City, the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection among HCWs is 30%. The present work aims to describe the seroprevalence among HCWs at an Ophthalmological Reference Centre in Mexico City.

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Background: Immune cell counts in blood in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection may be useful prognostic biomarkers of disease severity, mortality, and response to treatment.

Objectives: To analyze sub-populations of lymphocytes at hospital admission in survivors and deceased from severe pneumonia due to coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19).

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of healthcare workers confirmed with SARS-CoV-2 in convalescents (control group) and healthy controls (HC) diagnosed with severe COVID-19.

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