94 results match your criteria: "IIIUC - Institute for Interdisciplinary Research[Affiliation]"

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) constitutes a major threat to public health systems worldwide on account of its widespread prevalence and increasing incidence. More effective tools to raise awareness and increase health communication are therefore needed. Comics may constitute an effective language for this purpose, given the permanence, adaptability and ability of this form of communication to convey complex information, using both visual components and the creation of narrative involvement, thus promoting both awareness and health-conscious behaviours.

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Mitochondrial Functional Assessment in Mammalian Gametes Using Fluorescent Probes.

Methods Mol Biol

August 2021

CNC-Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, CIBB, Polo 3, University of Coimbra, Azinhaga de Santa Comba, Celas, 3004-504, Coimbra, Portugal.

A positive relationship between mitochondrial functionality and gamete quality, ultimately contributing to fertilization success and normal embryo development has been established for some years now. Both mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production are major indicators of mitochondrial function, and the need for accurate biomarkers mirroring gamete quality highlights the importance of a precise assessment of mitochondrial quality and function. In this chapter, we discuss the use of some mitochondrial fluorescent probes coupled to flow cytometry and/or fluorescence microscopy to specifically assess mitochondrial ROS production and MMP in both sperm and oocytes.

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Exosomes: Innocent Bystanders or Critical Culprits in Neurodegenerative Diseases.

Front Cell Dev Biol

May 2021

CNC-Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are nano-sized membrane-enclosed particles released by cells that participate in intercellular communication through the transfer of biologic material. EVs include exosomes that are small vesicles that were initially associated with the disposal of cellular garbage; however, recent findings point toward a function as natural carriers of a wide variety of genetic material and proteins. Indeed, exosomes are vesicle mediators of intercellular communication and maintenance of cellular homeostasis.

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Improving pollutants environmental risk assessment using a multi model toxicity determination with in vitro, bacterial, animal and plant model systems: The case of the herbicide alachlor.

Environ Pollut

October 2021

Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, 3000-456 Coimbra, Portugal; CNC - Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, CIBB - Centre for Innovative Biomedicine and Biotechnology, University of Coimbra, IIIUC - Institute for Interdisciplinary Research, Coimbra, Portugal. Electronic address:

Several environmental pollutants, including pesticides, herbicides and persistent organic pollutants play an important role in the development of chronic diseases. However, most studies have examined environmental pollutants toxicity in target organisms or using a specific toxicological test, losing the real effect throughout the ecosystem. In this sense an integrative environmental risk of pollutants assessment, using different model organisms is necessary to predict the real impact in the ecosystem and implications for target and non-target organisms.

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Sex-dependent vulnerability of fetal nonhuman primate cardiac mitochondria to moderate maternal nutrient reduction.

Clin Sci (Lond)

May 2021

CNC-Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, CIBB - Centre for Innovative Biomedicine and Biotechnology, IIIUC - Institute for Interdisciplinary Research, University of Coimbra, Coimbra 3004-504, Portugal.

Poor maternal nutrition in pregnancy affects fetal development, predisposing offspring to cardiometabolic diseases. The role of mitochondria during fetal development on later-life cardiac dysfunction caused by maternal nutrient reduction (MNR) remains unexplored. We hypothesized that MNR during gestation causes fetal cardiac bioenergetic deficits, compromising cardiac mitochondrial metabolism and reserve capacity.

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Neurodegenerative movement disorders, such as Huntington's disease (HD), share a progressive and relentless course with increasing motor disability, linked with neuropsychiatric impairment. These diseases exhibit diverse pathophysiological processes and are a topic of intense experimental and clinical research due to the lack of therapeutic options. Restorative therapies are promising approaches with the potential to restore brain circuits.

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Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common cause of senile dementia worldwide, characterized by both cognitive and behavioral deficits. Amyloid beta peptide (Aβ) oligomers (AβO) have been found to be responsible for several pathological mechanisms during the development of AD, including altered cellular homeostasis and synaptic function, inevitably leading to cell death. Such AβO deleterious effects provide a way for identifying new molecules with potential anti-AD properties.

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The biological signals of hunger, satiety, and memory are interconnected. The role of the hormone ghrelin in regulating feeding and memory makes ghrelin receptors attractive targets for associated disorders. We investigated the effects of the high ligand-independent activity of the ghrelin receptor GHS-R1a on the physiology of excitatory synapses in the hippocampus.

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The role of sperm and oocyte in fetal programming: Is Lamarck making a comeback?

Eur J Clin Invest

October 2021

CNC-Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, CIBB, Azinhaga de Santa Comba, Polo 3, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.

Compelling evidence has shown that parental experiences and age at conception may potentially shape the future health of the next generation(s). Certain factors may affect both the female and, strikingly, the male gametes potentially causing the transmission of acquired traits, which was strongly defended by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck. Neurodevelopmental psychiatric disorders, trinucleotide repeat-associated diseases, cardiovascular pathologies, diabetes, obesity and cancer in the offspring, among others, have now been associated with events occurring at the preconception level.

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Insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF1R)-mediated signaling pathways modulate important neurophysiological aspects in the central nervous system, including neurogenesis, synaptic plasticity and complex cognitive functions. In the present study, we intended to characterize the impact of IGF1R deficiency in the brain, focusing on PI3K/Akt and MAPK/ERK1/2 signaling pathways and mitochondria-related parameters. For this purpose, we used 13-week-old ; male mice in which was conditionally deleted.

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Downregulation of long non-protein coding RNA MVIH impairs glioblastoma cell proliferation and invasion through an miR-302a-dependent mechanism.

Hum Mol Genet

March 2021

CNC - Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, CIBB - Centre for Innovative Biomedicine and Biotechnology, University of Coimbra, IIIUC - Institute for Interdisciplinary Research, Coimbra, Portugal.

Glioblastoma (GB) is the most frequent and malignant type of brain tumor, for which no effective therapy exists. The high proliferative and invasive nature of GB, as well as its acquired resistance to chemotherapy, makes this type of cancer extremely lethal shortly after diagnosis. Long non-protein coding RNAs (lncRNA) are a class of regulatory RNAs whose levels can be dysregulated in the context of diseases, unbalancing several physiological processes.

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Differentiation of glioblastoma stem cells promoted by miR-128 or miR-302a overexpression enhances senescence-associated cytotoxicity of axitinib.

Hum Mol Genet

April 2021

CNC-Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, CIBB-Centre for Innovative Biomedicine and Biotechnology, University of Coimbra, IIIUC-Institute for Interdisciplinary Research, Coimbra, Portugal.

Despite the intense global efforts towards an effective treatment of glioblastoma (GB), current therapeutic options are unsatisfactory with a median survival time of 12-15 months after diagnosis, which has not improved significantly over more than a decade. The high tumoral heterogeneity confers resistance to therapies, which has hindered a successful clinical outcome, GB remaining among the deadliest cancers. A hallmark of GB is its high recurrence rate, which has been attributed to the presence of a small subpopulation of tumor cells called GB stem-like cells (GSC).

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Mitochondrial supplementation was proposed as a complementary treatment to assisted reproductive technologies to improve oocyte competence and support post-fertilization development. This strategy is based on the fact that poor-quality/aged oocytes contain lower and dysfunctional mitochondria. However, the efficacy and safety of mitochondrial supplementation are still controversial.

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The crisis caused by COVID-19 has affected research in a variety of ways. As far as research on sustainable development is concerned, the lockdown has significantly disrupted the usual communication channels and, among other things, has led to the cancellation of meetings and long-planned events. It has also led to delay in the delivery of research projects.

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Background: After decades of research recognizing it as a complex multifactorial disorder, sporadic Alzheimer's disease (sAD) still has no known etiology. Adding to the myriad of different pathways involved, bacterial neurotoxins are assuming greater importance in the etiology and/or progression of sAD. β-N-Methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA), a neurotoxin produced by some microorganisms namely cyanobacteria, was previously detected in the brains of AD patients.

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Mitochondrial deregulation has gained increasing support as a pathological mechanism in Huntington's disease (HD), a genetic-based neurodegenerative disorder caused by CAG expansion in the gene. In this study, we thoroughly investigated mitochondrial-based mechanisms in HD patient-derived iPSC (HD-iPSC) and differentiated neural stem cells (NSC) control cells, as well as in cells subjected to CRISPR/Cas9-CAG repeat deletion. We analyzed mitochondrial morphology, function and biogenesis, linked to exosomal release of mitochondrial components, glycolytic flux, ATP generation and cellular redox status.

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Background: It is estimated that around 70% of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus patients (T2DM) have Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD). Awareness and education are amongst the major shortcomings of the public health response to the increasing threat of NAFLD. Characterizing the specific NAFLD-related information needs of particular high-risk metabolic communities, for instance, T2DM patients, might aid in the development of evidence-based health promotion strategies, ultimately promoting NAFLD-awareness, treatment adherence and therapeutic success rates.

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Stabilization of blood for long-term storage can affect antibody-based recognition of cell surface markers.

J Immunol Methods

January 2021

Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine Solna, Center for Molecular Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Department of Infectious Diseases, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden. Electronic address:

Whole-blood fixation provides a rapid and simplified method for cell preservation compared to isolation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). This can be especially important for sample acquisition and storage in resource-limited settings. However, some caveats have been reported, such as reduced cell marker recognition.

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Background: Machado-Joseph disease (MJD), also known as spinocerebellar ataxia type 3, is the most common of the dominantly inherited ataxias worldwide and is characterized by mutant ataxin-3 aggregation and neuronal degeneration. There is no treatment available to block or delay disease progression. In this work we investigated whether trehalose, a natural occurring disaccharide widely used in food and cosmetic industry, would rescue biochemical, behavioral and neuropathological features of an in vitro and of a severe MJD transgenic mouse model.

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is so far the most thermophilic among mycobacteria as it grows optimally at 50 °C and up to 65 °C in a glycerol-based medium, as verified in this study. Since this and other nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) thrive in diverse natural and artificial environments, from where they may access and infect humans, we deemed essential to probe resistance to heat, a strategy routinely used to control microbial growth in water-supply systems, as well as in the food and drink industries. In addition to possibly being a threat in its own right in rare occasions, is also a good surrogate for studying other NTM species more often associated with opportunistic infection, namely and as well as their strictly pathogenic counterparts and .

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Mitochondrial ribosomes (mitoribosomes) are organelles that translate mitochondrial messenger RNA in the matrix and, in mammals, have evolved to translate 13 polypeptides of the pathway that performs oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS). Although a number of devastating diseases result from defects in this mitochondrial translation apparatus, most are associated with genetic mutations and little is known about allelopathic defects caused by antibiotics, toxins, or nonproteinogenic amino acids. The levels of mitochondrial ribosomal subunits 12S and 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) in cells/tissues from patients carrying mutations in these genes have been associated with alterations in mitochondrial translation efficiency and with impaired OXPHOS activities, as well as with the severity of clinical phenotypes.

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Fluorescent probes for the detection of reactive oxygen species in human spermatozoa.

Asian J Androl

August 2021

Biology of Reproduction and Stem Cell Group, CNC-Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, Coimbra 3004-504, Portugal.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) production is a by-product of mitochondrial activity and is necessary for the acquisition of the capacitated state, a requirement for functional spermatozoa. However, an increase in oxidative stress, due to an abnormal production of ROS, has been shown to be related to loss of sperm function, highlighting the importance of an accurate detection of sperm ROS, given the specific nature of this cell. In this work, we tested a variety of commercially available fluorescent probes to detect ROS and reactive nitrogen species (RNS) in human sperm, to define their specificity.

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Mitochondrial remodeling in human skin fibroblasts from sporadic male Parkinson's disease patients uncovers metabolic and mitochondrial bioenergetic defects.

Biochim Biophys Acta Mol Basis Dis

March 2020

CNC - Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, UC Biotech, Biocant Park, 3060-197 Cantanhede, Portugal; IIIUC - Institute for Interdisciplinary Research, University of Coimbra, 3030-789 Coimbra, Portugal. Electronic address:

Parkinson's Disease (PD) is characterized by dopaminergic neurodegeneration in the substantia nigra. The exact mechanism by which dopaminergic neurodegeneration occurs is still unknown; however, mitochondrial dysfunction has long been implicated in PD pathogenesis. To investigate the sub-cellular events that lead to disease progression and to develop personalized interventions, non-neuronal cells which are collected in a minimally invasive manner can be key to test interventions aimed at improving mitochondrial function.

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Mitochondria play a central role in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) progression and in the control of cell death signalling during the progression to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Associated with the metabolic syndrome, NAFLD is mostly driven by insulin-resistant white adipose tissue lipolysis that results in an increased hepatic fatty acid influx and the ectopic accumulation of fat in the liver. Upregulation of beta-oxidation as one compensatory mechanism leads to an increase in mitochondrial tricarboxylic acid cycle flux and ATP generation.

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