2,081 results match your criteria: "Institute of Molecular Biology of Barcelona CSIC ; Barcelona[Affiliation]"

Transient cerebral ischaemia alters mesenteric arteries in hypertensive rats: Limited reversal despite suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid cerebroprotection.

Life Sci

December 2024

Department of Pharmacology, Therapeutic and Toxicology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain; Institute of Neurosciences, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Cardiovasculares (CIBERCV), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain. Electronic address:

Stroke induces brain injury, especially severe in hypertensive patients, and elevates mortality rates through non-neurological complications. However, the potential effects of a transient ischaemic episode on the peripheral vasculature of hypertensive individuals remain unclear. We investigated whether transient cerebral ischaemia (90 min)/reperfusion (1 or 8 days) induces alterations in mesenteric resistance artery (MRA) properties in adult male spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR).

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Noninvasive Methods Unveil the Trophic Transmission of the Tapeworm in Gull-Billed Terns.

Ecol Evol

November 2024

Departamento de Anatomía, Biología Celular y Zoología, Facultad de Ciencias Universidad de Extremadura Badajoz Spain.

Recent developments in microscopic and molecular tools have allowed the implementation of new approaches for assessing parasitic infections in wildlife populations. This is particularly important for the noninvasive detection and quantification of endoparasites in live animals. Here, we combined copromicroscopic (Mini-FLOTAC) and molecular (qPCR) techniques to detect the infection of the macroparasite (Cestoda, Pseudophyllidea) in fresh droppings of Gull-billed Terns (Charadriiformes, Laridae) breeding in southwestern Spain.

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Introduction: Pharmacogenetics (PGx) has the potential to improve patient care, allowing to transform medical interventions by providing personalized therapeutic strategies. Scientific evidence supports the use of PGx in clinical practice and international organizations are developing clinical guidelines to facilitate the utilization of PGx testing. However, clinical implementation of PGx is limited and unequal worldwide.

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Glioblastoma (GB) is an aggressive malignant central nervous system tumor that is currently incurable. One of the main pitfalls of GB treatment is resistance to the chemotherapeutic standard of care, temozolomide (TMZ). The role of aldehyde dehydrogenases (ALDHs) in the glioma stem cell (GSC) subpopulation has been related to chemoresistance.

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The development of novel tools to tackle viral processes has become a central focus in global health, during the COVID-19 pandemic. The spike protein is currently one of the main SARS-CoV-2 targets, owing to its key roles in infectivity and virion formation. In this context, exploring innovative strategies to block the activity of essential factors of SARS-CoV-2, such as spike proteins, will strengthen the capacity to respond to current and future threats.

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Immunometabolic Effect of Nitric Oxide on Human Macrophages Challenged With the SARS-CoV2-Induced Cytokine Storm. A Fluxomic Approach.

Adv Healthc Mater

January 2025

Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas Sols-Morreale, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas-Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Arturo Duperier 4, Madrid, 28029, Spain.

The cytokine storm associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection is one of the most distinctive pathological signatures in COVID-19 patients. Macrophages respond to this pro-inflammatory challenge by reprogramming their functional and metabolic phenotypes. Interestingly, human macrophages fail to express the inducible form of the NO synthase (NOS2) in response to pro-inflammatory activation and, therefore, NO is not synthesized by these cells.

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Expanding the landscape of systemic sclerosis-related autoantibodies through RNA immunoprecipitation coupled with massive parallel sequencing.

J Autoimmun

December 2024

Systemic Autoimmune Diseases Unit, Internal Medicine Department, Vall d'Hebron University Hospital (HUVH), Vall d'Hebron Barcelona Hospital Campus, Barcelona, Spain; Systemic Autoimmune Diseases Group, Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), Vall d'Hebron Barcelona Hospital Campus, Barcelona, Spain.

Article Synopsis
  • The study focused on creating a new test to detect specific autoantibodies in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) using RNA immunoprecipitation and massive parallel sequencing techniques.
  • Researchers analyzed serum samples from 307 SSc patients, with 57 undergoing detailed testing that identified 30,966 RNA molecules, ultimately narrowing down to 197 significant molecules linked to SSc-related autoantibodies.
  • The new assay demonstrated high sensitivity and specificity in detecting autoantibodies, revealing not only known targets but also potential new ones associated with different clinical aspects of SSc.
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  • Multiple sequence alignments and phylogenetic trees are essential tools in biology research, providing detailed biological insights.
  • PhyKIT is a software tool designed to streamline the analysis of these alignments and trees, offering various functionalities like constructing supermatrices and identifying errors in orthology inference.
  • The text outlines several protocols for using PhyKIT, covering installation, data processing, and features that aid in understanding gene functions and evolutionary relationships.
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  • Histones have antimicrobial properties, particularly against biofilms, but their clinical use can be limited due to concerns about toxicity.
  • The study found that human recombinant histone H1 subtypes, particularly H1.0 and H1.4, effectively reduced PAO1 bacteria, with H1.4 showing potential to disrupt biofilm formation while being non-toxic to larvae.
  • The research highlights histones as promising alternatives in fighting infections by multidrug-resistant bacteria, especially in combination with existing antibiotics like ciprofloxacin, despite some limitations in improving effectiveness.
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It has been argued that the historical nature of evolution makes it a highly path-dependent process. Under this view, the outcome of evolutionary dynamics could have resulted in organisms with different forms and functions. At the same time, there is ample evidence that convergence and constraints strongly limit the domain of the potential design principles that evolution can achieve.

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Article Synopsis
  • YAT2150 is a new antimalarial drug that shows promise for malaria treatment and diagnosis by increasing fluorescence upon entering cells and blocking key developmental stages in malaria pathogens.
  • The drug's effective uptake mechanisms and favorable pharmacokinetics make it a strong candidate for enhancing transmission-blocking strategies, especially when used in conjunction with immunoliposome encapsulation to reduce toxicity.
  • YAT2150 interacts preferentially with unstructured proteins in parasites, which may lead to decreased protein aggregation, a mechanism also seen with traditional antimalarial treatments, positioning it as a potential leader in innovative malaria therapies.
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Interlaboratory comparison of endotoxin contamination assessment of nanomaterials.

Nanoscale

November 2024

Nanomedicine and Molecular Imaging Group, Department of Clinical Medicine, Trinity Translational Medicine Institute, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.

Endotoxin contamination is a significant hurdle to the translation of nanomaterials for biomedical applications. Multiple reports now describe that more than one-third of nanomaterials fail early pre-clinical assessment due to levels of endotoxin above regulatory requirements. Additionally, most immunological studies or studies testing nanomaterials in the literature lack inclusion of this assessment, which may lead to false-positive or false-negative results if high levels of the contaminant are present.

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Does time matter? Intraspecific diversity of ribosomal RNA genes in lineages of the allopolyploid model grass Brachypodium hybridum with different evolutionary ages.

BMC Plant Biol

October 2024

Plant Cytogenetics and Molecular Biology Group, Institute of Biology, Biotechnology and Environmental Protection, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Silesia in Katowice, Katowice, 40-032, Poland.

Background: Polyploidisation often results in genome rearrangements that may involve changes in both the single-copy sequences and the repetitive genome fraction. In this study, we performed a comprehensive comparative analysis of repetitive DNA, with a particular focus on ribosomal DNA (rDNA), in Brachypodium hybridum (2n = 4x = 30, subgenome composition DDSS), an allotetraploid resulting from a natural cross between two diploid species that resemble the modern B. distachyon (2n = 10; DD) and B.

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Promoter-proximal pausing of RNA polymerase II (Pol II) is a key regulatory step during transcription. Despite the central role of pausing in gene regulation, we do not understand the evolutionary processes that led to the emergence of Pol II pausing or its transition to a rate-limiting step actively controlled by transcription factors. Here we analyzed transcription in species across the tree of life.

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Understanding the evolution of chromatin conformation among species is fundamental to elucidate the architecture and plasticity of genomes. Nonrandom interactions of linearly distant loci regulate gene function in species-specific patterns, affecting genome function, evolution, and, ultimately, speciation. Yet, data from nonmodel organisms are scarce.

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Article Synopsis
  • Understanding pathogen diversity is essential for controlling emerging infectious diseases, as different variants interact uniquely with hosts and the environment.
  • This study focuses on Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal), a fungal pathogen harming European amphibians, by analyzing 13 isolates to examine their reproductive rates and thermal tolerances.
  • The research suggests that the combination of host body temperature and the thermal range of Bsal can significantly affect pathogen growth, highlighting the importance of identifying pathogen variants to assess risk to host populations.
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Quest for Orthologs in the Era of Biodiversity Genomics.

Genome Biol Evol

October 2024

Department for Applied Bioinformatics, Institute of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany.

The era of biodiversity genomics is characterized by large-scale genome sequencing efforts that aim to represent each living taxon with an assembled genome. Generating knowledge from this wealth of data has not kept up with this pace. We here discuss major challenges to integrating these novel genomes into a comprehensive functional and evolutionary network spanning the tree of life.

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Article Synopsis
  • A major challenge in treating neurodegenerative diseases is the lack of accurate models that simulate human disease processes, particularly concerning neuromelanin accumulation with aging.
  • Researchers developed a transgenic mouse model, tgNM, that mimics the distribution of neuromelanin in human brains, specifically in catecholamine-producing neurons.
  • This model exhibits age-related neuronal dysfunction and degeneration, presenting symptoms similar to early stages of neurodegenerative diseases, thus offering new opportunities for research in brain aging and neurodegeneration.
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Genetic ancestry in population pharmacogenomics unravels distinct geographical patterns related to drug toxicity.

iScience

October 2024

Group of Algorithms for Population Genomics, Department of Genetics, Institut de Biologia Evolutiva, IBE, (CSIC-Universitat Pompeu Fabra), Barcelona, Spain.

Genetic ancestry plays a major role in pharmacogenomics, and a deeper understanding of the genetic diversity among individuals holds immerse promise for reshaping personalized medicine. In this pivotal study, we have conducted a large-scale genomic analysis of 1,136 pharmacogenomic variants employing machine learning algorithms on 3,714 individuals from publicly available datasets to assess the risk proximity of experiencing drug-related adverse events. Our findings indicate that Admixed Americans and Europeans have demonstrated a higher risk of experiencing drug toxicity, whereas individuals with East Asian ancestry and, to a lesser extent, Oceanians displayed a lower risk proximity.

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Epigenetic changes accompany the dynamic changes in the cell wall composition during the development of callus cells. H3K4me3 is responsible for active gene expression and reaction to environmental cues. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) is a powerful technique for studying the interplay between epigenetic modifications and the DNA regions of interest.

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Article Synopsis
  • Despite the significant diversity of primates in the Amazon, genomic studies on these species are underrepresented, particularly for uakari monkeys.
  • This study presents the first comprehensive population-level genomic analysis of eight uakari species, revealing that bald and black uakaris have remained genetically distinct since their separation 0.92 million years ago, with unique genetic traits and variations related to pathogens.
  • The research suggests that environmental factors, like hydrology and geographic barriers, have influenced the genetic structure of these uakari populations, contributing to a better understanding of primate genomics in the Amazon rainforest.
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Polyphenols and metabolism: from present knowledge to future challenges.

J Physiol Biochem

August 2024

Institut des Maladies Métaboliques et Cardiovasculaires, INSERM UMR1297, Toulouse, 31432, France.

Article Synopsis
  • Eating foods high in polyphenols can help prevent long-term diseases, but we still need to learn more before making strong health recommendations!
  • Future research needs to focus on how safe polyphenols are, how they work together, and how they interact with our gut bacteria for better diets!
  • Scientists will also explore new ways to deliver polyphenols and understand how they can aid sports nutrition and recovery!
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Compensatory activity of the PC-ME1 metabolic axis underlies differential sensitivity to mitochondrial complex I inhibition.

Nat Commun

October 2024

Departamento de Biología Molecular and Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa (UAM-CSIC), Madrid, Spain.

Article Synopsis
  • Deficiencies in the electron transport chain (ETC) contribute to mitochondrial diseases, but the reasons for different cellular sensitivities to this disruption are not fully understood.
  • This study finds that under ETC inhibition, a different type of tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle is activated to maintain malate levels and produce NADPH, which is crucial for cell function.
  • The research highlights how astrocytes, which express specific enzymes like Pyruvate carboxylase (PC) and ME1 more than neurons, demonstrate greater resilience to ETC issues, suggesting potential therapeutic strategies for managing mitochondrial diseases.
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  • Transposable elements (TEs) play a significant role in the evolution of genomes and adaptation to extreme environments, yet their specific impacts in these contexts remain poorly understood.
  • The study utilized PacBio long-read sequencing to identify and analyze TEs in five Drosophila montana genomes, uncovering 489 new TE sequences that represent a substantial portion of the insect's genome.
  • Findings suggest that certain TEs are associated with cold tolerance genes and may contain regulatory elements, indicating their potential role in adaptation to harsh climates.
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