Disseminated Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in Colombia: Report of 27 Cases.

Disseminated leishmaniasis (DL) is a poorly described disease that is frequently misdiagnosed as other clinical manifestations of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) such as diffuse CL or post-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis. Twenty-seven cases of DL diagnosed between 1997 and 2015 are described. A higher prevalence was observed in men (mean age 32 years).

Linalool reverses neuropathological and behavioral impairments in old triple transgenic Alzheimer's mice.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an age-related progressive neurodegenerative disorder. Several types of treatments have been tested to block or delay the onset of the disease, but none have been completely successful. Diet, lifestyle and natural products are currently the main scientific focuses.

The human gene damage index as a gene-level approach to prioritizing exome variants.

The protein-coding exome of a patient with a monogenic disease contains about 20,000 variants, only one or two of which are disease causing. We found that 58% of rare variants in the protein-coding exome of the general population are located in only 2% of the genes. Prompted by this observation, we aimed to develop a gene-level approach for predicting whether a given human protein-coding gene is likely to harbor disease-causing mutations.

Variants in the CYP7B1 gene region do not affect natural resistance to HIV-1 infection.

Background: The genetic bases of natural resistance to HIV-1 infection remain largely unknown. Recently, two genome-wide association studies suggested a role for variants within or in the vicinity of the CYP7B1 gene in modulating HIV susceptibility. CYP7B1 is an appealing candidate for this due to its contribution to antiviral immune responses.

Synthesis, leishmanicidal, trypanocidal and cytotoxic activity of quinoline-hydrazone hybrids.

Cutaneous leishmaniasis and Chagas disease are vector-borne parasitic disease causing serious risks to million people living in poverty-stricken areas. Both diseases are a major health problem in Latin America, and currently drugs for the effective treatment of these diseases have important concerns related with efficacy or toxicity than need to be addressed. We report herein the synthesis and biological activities (cytotoxicity, leishmanicidal and trypanocidal activities) of ten quinolone-hydrazone hybrids.

Cortical dynamics and subcortical signatures of motor-language coupling in Parkinson's disease.

Impairments of action language have been documented in early stage Parkinson's disease (EPD). The action-sentence compatibility effect (ACE) paradigm has revealed that EPD involves deficits to integrate action-verb processing and ongoing motor actions. Recent studies suggest that an abolished ACE in EPD reflects a cortico-subcortical disruption, and recent neurocognitive models highlight the role of the basal ganglia (BG) in motor-language coupling.

CDK5 knockdown prevents hippocampal degeneration and cognitive dysfunction produced by cerebral ischemia.

Acute ischemic stroke is a cerebrovascular accident and it is the most common cause of physical disabilities around the globe. Patients may present with repeated ictuses, experiencing mental consequences, such as depression and cognitive disorders. Cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (CDK5) is a kinase that is involved in neurotransmission and plasticity, but its dysregulation contributes to cognitive disorders and dementia.

Syntax, action verbs, action semantics, and object semantics in Parkinson's disease: Dissociability, progression, and executive influences.

Several studies have recently shown that basal ganglia (BG) deterioration leads to distinctive impairments in the domains of syntax, action verbs, and action semantics. In particular, such disruptions have been repeatedly observed in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. However, it remains unclear whether these deficits are language-specific and whether they are equally dissociable from other reported disturbances -viz.

Alzheimer's Disease, Drosophila melanogaster and Polyphenols.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an insidious neurological disorder that affects memory, one of the human brain's main cognitive functions. Around 5.2 million Americans currently have AD, and the number threatens to climb to 7 million by 2020.

A comparison between the recombinant expression and chemical synthesis of a short cysteine-rich insecticidal spider peptide.

Background: The choice between heterologous expression versus chemical synthesis for synthesizing short cysteine-rich insecticidal peptides from arthropods may impact the obtainment of yields and well-folded bioactive molecules for scientific research. Therefore, two recombinant expression systems were compared to that of chemical synthesis for producing Ba1, a cysteine-rich spider neurotoxin.

Methods: The transcription of the insecticidal neurotoxin Ba1 was obtained from a cDNA library of venom glands of the spider Brachypelma albiceps.

Antileishmanial Effect of 5,3'-Hydroxy-7,4'-dimethoxyflavanone of Picramnia gracilis Tul. (Picramniaceae) Fruit: In Vitro and In Vivo Studies.

Species of Picramnia genus are used in folk medicine to treat or prevent skin disorders, but only few species have been studied for biological activity and chemical composition. P. gracilis Tul.

Extracts of Renealmia alpinia (Rottb.) MAAS Protect against Lethality and Systemic Hemorrhage Induced by Bothrops asper Venom: Insights from a Model with Extract Administration before Venom Injection.

Renealmia alpinia (Rottb.) MAAS, obtained by micropropagation (in vitro) and wild forms have previously been shown to inhibit some toxic activities of Bothrops asper snake venom if preincubated before injection. In this study, assays were performed in a murine model in which extracts were administered for three days before venom injection.

Use of Bacillus thuringiensis supernatant from a fermentation process to improve bioremediation of chlorpyrifos in contaminated soils.

The aim of this research was to investigate the potential of a nutrient-rich organic waste, namely the cell-free supernatant of Bacillus thuringiensis (BtS) gathered from fermentation, as a biostimulating agent to improve and sustain microbial populations and their enzymatic activities, thereby assisting in the bioremediation of chlorpyrifos-contaminated soil at a high dose (70 mg kg(-1)). Experiments were performed for up to 80 d. Chlorpyrifos degradation and its major metabolic product, 3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol (TCP), were quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC); total microbial populations were enumerated by direct counts in specific medium; and fluorescein diacetate (FDA) hydrolysis was measured as an index of soil microbial activity.

Perspective of synaptic protection after post-infarction treatment with statins.

Stroke is the second most common cause of death in people over 45 years of age in Colombia and is the leading cause of permanent disability worldwide. Cerebral ischemia is a stroke characterized by decreased blood flow due to the occlusion of one or more cerebral arteries, which can cause memory problems and hemiplegia or paralysis, among other impairments. The literature contains hundreds of therapies (invasive and noninvasive) that exhibit a neuroprotective effect when evaluated in animal models.

p35 and Rac1 underlie the neuroprotection and cognitive improvement induced by CDK5 silencing.

CDK5 plays an important role in neurotransmission and synaptic plasticity in the normal function of the adult brain, and dysregulation can lead to Tau hyperphosphorylation and cognitive impairment. In a previous study, we demonstrated that RNAi knock down of CDK5 reduced the formation of neurofibrillary tangles (NFT) and prevented neuronal loss in triple transgenic Alzheimer's mice. Here, we report that CDK5 RNAi protected against glutamate-mediated excitotoxicity using primary hippocampal neurons transduced with adeno-associated virus 2.

Doxorubicin induces apoptosis in Jurkat cells by mitochondria-dependent and mitochondria-independent mechanisms under normoxic and hypoxic conditions.

In this study, we investigated the molecular mechanism of doxorubicin (dxr)-induced cytotoxicity on Jurkat cells - a model cell of human acute lymphoblastic leukemia - under normoxic (20% O2) and hypoxic (5% O2) conditions. Using in-cell western analysis, immunofluorescence, flow cytometry analysis, and biochemical inhibitors, we evaluated several oxidative stress (OS) and cell death markers. It was found that dxr (5-100 μmol/l) induced apoptosis by OS mechanisms involving DNA fragmentation (8-48%), loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm, 33-92%), and H2O2 production (15-42%) under normoxia.

Isolation of chitosan from Ganoderma lucidum mushroom for biomedical applications.

Chitin biopolymer production and its by-product chitosan show great potential. These biomaterials have great applicability in various fields because they are non-toxic, biodegradable, biocompatible, and have antimicrobial effects. The most common source of chitin and chitosan is the crustaceous shell; however, mushrooms are an alternative source for isolating these biopolymers because their cellular wall has a high content of chitin, which may be transformed into chitosan through a deacetylation reaction.

Protection after stroke: cellular effectors of neurovascular unit integrity.

Neurological disorders are prevalent worldwide. Cerebrovascular diseases (CVDs), which account for 55% of all neurological diseases, are the leading cause of permanent disability, cognitive and motor disorders and dementia. Stroke affects the function and structure of blood-brain barrier, the loss of cerebral blood flow regulation, oxidative stress, inflammation and the loss of neural connections.

Astrocytic modulation of blood brain barrier: perspectives on Parkinson's disease.

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a tightly regulated interface in the Central Nervous System (CNS) that regulates the exchange of molecules in and out from the brain thus maintaining the CNS homeostasis. It is mainly composed of endothelial cells (ECs), pericytes and astrocytes that create a neurovascular unit (NVU) with the adjacent neurons. Astrocytes are essential for the formation and maintenance of the BBB by providing secreted factors that lead to the adequate association between the cells of the BBB and the formation of strong tight junctions.

Horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum L.) starch: Basic physico-chemical characteristics and use as thermoplastic material.

Starch isolated from non-edible Aesculus hippocastanum seeds was characterized and used for preparing starch-based materials. The apparent amylose content of the isolated starch was 33.1%.

Response to rotenone is glucose-sensitive in a model of human acute lymphoblastic leukemia: involvement of oxidative stress mechanism, DJ-1, Parkin, and PINK-1 proteins.

To establish the effect of low (11 mM) and high (55 mM) glucose concentrations (G11, G55) on Jurkat cells exposed to rotenone (ROT, a class 5 mitocan). We demonstrated that ROT induces apoptosis in Jurkat cells cultured in G11 by oxidative stress (OS) mechanism involving the generation of anion superoxide radical (O2(∙-), 68%)/hydrogen peroxide (H2O2, 54%), activation of NF-κB (32%), p53 (25%), c-Jun (17%) transcription factors, and caspase-3 (28%), apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF, 36%) nuclei translocation, c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) activation, and loss of mitochondria transmembrane potential (ΔΨm, 62%) leading to nuclei fragmentation (~10% and ~40% stage I-II fragmented nuclei, resp.).

The excitation-contraction coupling mechanism in skeletal muscle.

First coined by Alexander Sandow in 1952, the term excitation-contraction coupling (ECC) describes the rapid communication between electrical events occurring in the plasma membrane of skeletal muscle fibres and Ca release from the SR, which leads to contraction. The sequence of events in twitch skeletal muscle involves: (1) initiation and propagation of an action potential along the plasma membrane, (2) spread of the potential throughout the transverse tubule system (T-tubule system), (3) dihydropyridine receptors (DHPR)-mediated detection of changes in membrane potential, (4) allosteric interaction between DHPR and sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) ryanodine receptors (RyR), (5) release of Ca from the SR and transient increase of Ca concentration in the myoplasm, (6) activation of the myoplasmic Ca buffering system and the contractile apparatus, followed by (7) Ca disappearance from the myoplasm mediated mainly by its reuptake by the SR through the SR Ca adenosine triphosphatase (SERCA), and under several conditions movement to the mitochondria and extrusion by the Na/Ca exchanger (NCX). In this text, we review the basics of ECC in skeletal muscle and the techniques used to study it.