Impact of blood source and component manufacturing on neurotrophin content and in vitro cell wound healing

BackgroundWe evaluated neurotrophin (NF) levels and their impact on in vitro cell wound healing in eye drops from differently prepared blood sources (cord blood [CB], and peripheral blood [PB]) in the same donor, to avoid intrasubject biological variability.Materials and methodsTwenty healthy adult donor PB samples, and twenty CB samples acquired at the time of delivery were processed to obtain serum (S), platelet-rich plasma (PRP), platelet-poor plasma (PPP), and S retrieved from PRP after activation with Ca-gluconate (PRP-R). The levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), nerve growth factor (NGF), glial-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), fibroblast growth factor (FGF), and epidermal growth factor (EGF) were assessed with a Luminex xMAP (Luminex Corporation), and by using multikine kits from R&D system, and were statistically analysed in the eight different preparations. The impact of S, PRP, PPP, PRP-R from both sources on a cell line responding to NF supplementation (MIO-M1, UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, London, UK) was tested with a scratch wound assay, and analysed by IncuCyte S3 equipment.ResultsAll the preparations from CB showed higher NF levels, except for BDNF where no difference was found as compared to PB. PRP showed higher NF levels with respect to S, PPP and PRP-R in this decreasing order. Younger donors in PB contributed with higher NF levels. The scratch assay showed different cell migration results, with a complete wound closure only recorded with the supplementation of CB-S, and a progressive reduction by using PRP, PRP-R, and PPP from both sources.DiscussionProtocols of preparation and choice of blood source determine different NF levels in the final products. The therapeutic use of a natural neurotrophin pool from blood sources might have a clinical impact in several different settings. Efforts are needed to standardise the manufacturing and the product content in order to establish and modulate the posology of the final supplementation.     

New methods in mammary gland development and cancer: proteomics, epigenetics, symmetric division and metastasis

ABSTRACT: The European Network for Breast Development and Cancer (ENBDC) meeting on 'Methods in Mammary Gland Development and Cancer' has become an annual international rendezvous for scientists with interests in the normal and neoplastic breast. The fourth meeting in this series, held in April in Weggis, Switzerland, focused on proteomics, epigenetics, symmetric division, and metastasis.     

Anti-apoptotic gene transcription signature of salivary gland neoplasms

Background  

Development of accurate therapeutic approaches to salivary gland neoplasms depends on better understanding of their molecular pathogenesis. Tumour growth is regulated by the balance between proliferation and apoptosis. Few studies have investigated apoptosis in salivary tumours relying almost exclusively on immunohistochemistry or TUNEL assay. Furthermore, there is no information regarding the mRNA expression profile of apoptotic genes in salivary tumors. Our objective was to investigate the quantitative expression of BCL-2 (anti-apoptotic), BAX and Caspase3 (pro-apoptotic genes) mRNAs in salivary gland neoplasms and examine the association of these data with tumour size, proliferative activity and p53 staining (parameters associated with a poor prognosis of salivary tumours patients).     

Treatment of central giant cell lesions using bisphosphonates with intralesional corticosteroid injections

ABSTRACT: Central giant cell lesions are benign intraosseous proliferative lesions that have considerable local aggressiveness. Nonsurgical treatment methods, such as intralesional corticosteroid injections, systemic calcitonin and interferon have been reported. Recently, bisphosphonates have been used to treat central giant cell lesions. A case of a 36-year-old male with a central giant cell lesion crossing the mandibular midline was treated with intralesional corticosteroids combined with alendronate sodium for the control of systemic bone resorption. The steroid injections and the use of bisphosphonates were stopped after seven months when further needle penetration into the lesion was not possible due to new bone formation. After two years, the bony architecture was near normal, and only minimal radiolucency was present around the root apices of the involved teeth. The patient was followed up for four years, and panoramic radiography showed areas of new bone formation. Thus far, neither recurrence nor side effects of the medication have been detected.     

Declining blood lead and zinc protoporphyrin levels in Ecuadorian Andean children

ObjectivesTo investigate current lead (Pb) exposure in children living in Andean Ecuadorian communities. Blood Pb (PbB) and zinc protoporphyrin (ZPP) levels were used respectively as biomarkers of acute and chronic Pb poisoning. The current PbB–ZPP levels were compared with previous pediatric PbB–ZPP levels recorded over years in the study area.Design and methodsSamples of whole blood were collected from 22 Andean children of Quechua and Mestizo backgrounds and measured for PbB concentrations by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectroscopy. ZPP/heme ratio and ZPP whole blood (ZPP WB) levels were measured with a hematofluorometer.ResultsThe mean PbB level for children in the current study group was 14.5 μg/dL, which was significantly lower than the mean PbB level of 41.1 μg/dL found in the same study area in the 1996–2000 test period, and lower than the 22.2 μg/dL mean level found in the 2003–2007 period. The current mean ZPP/heme ratio was 102.1 μmol/mol, and the mean ZPP WB level was 46.3 μg/dL, both lower than values previously found in children in the study area.ConclusionWhile the current pediatric PbB–ZPP levels in the study area remain elevated in some children, the overall levels indicate a decline relative to levels observed in the same Pb-contaminated area in the period between 1996 and 2007. The elevated ZPP levels suggest a history of chronic Pb exposure, and potential iron deficiency in some children. The overall reduction in PbB–ZPP levels suggests a positive outcome of a Pb-exposure education and prevention program, and the therapeutic intervention of succimer chelation therapy.     

Characterization of Recombinant Fluoroquinolone-Resistant Pneumococcus-Like Isolates

Fourteen fluoroquinolone-resistant streptococcal isolates with recombinant DNA topoisomerase genes, preliminarily identified as pneumococci, were further characterized using phenotypic and genotypic approaches. Phenotypic tests classified them as atypical pneumococci. Phylogenetic relationships were analyzed by using the sequences of seven housekeeping alleles from these isolates and from isolates of Streptococcus pneumoniae, Streptococcus mitis, Streptococcus oralis, and Streptococcus pseudopneumoniae. Four isolates grouped with S. pneumoniae, seven grouped with S. pseudopneumoniae, and three grouped with S. mitis. These results generally agreed with those obtained with an optochin susceptibility test and with the organization of the atp operon chromosomal region, encoding the F_oF₁ H⁺-ATPase (the target of optochin). All seven isolates grouping with S. pseudopneumoniae share the same spr1368-atpC-atpA gene order; all four grouping with S. pneumoniae share the spr1368-IS1239-atpC-atpA order, and two out of the three grouping with S. mitis share the spr1284-atpC-atpA order. In addition, evidence for recombination within the seven housekeeping alleles of the S. pseudopneumoniae population was provided by several methods: the index of association (0.4598, P < 0.001), the pairwise homoplasy index, and the split-decomposition method. This study confirms the existence of pneumococci among the alpha-hemolytic streptococci with DNA topoisomerase genes showing a mosaic structure and reveals a close relationship between atypical pneumococci and S. pseudopneumoniae.     

Round the Bend: A Brief History of Mental Health Nursing in Victoria,Australia 1848 to 1950's

This paper presents a history of mental health nursing in Victoria, Australia from 1848 to the 1950's, or the asylum years to the era of the mental hospital. The research for this historical overview was conducted as part of a literature review for a mental health nursing doctoral thesis, which included an account of the evolution of the profession from asylum attendant to the present time. The literature reviewed for this project revealed a distinct lack of a coherent, chronological account of the historical development of mental health nursing in Victoria, and this paper seeks to address that knowledge gap.