Combination of Conventional Drugs with Biocompounds Derived from Cinnamic Acid: A Promising Option for Breast Cancer Therapy.

Despite the options available for breast cancer (BC) therapy, several adverse effects and resistance limit the success of the treatment. Furthermore, the use of a single drug is associated with a high failure rate. We investigated through a systematic review the in vitro effects of the combination between conventional drugs and bioactive compounds derived from cinnamic acid in BC treatment. The information was acquired from the following databases: PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Scopus, Lilacs and Cochrane library. We focused on "Cinnamates", "Drug Combinations" and "Breast neoplasms" for publications dating between January 2012 and December 2022, based on the PRISMA statement. The references of the articles were carefully reviewed. Finally, nine eligible studies were included. The majority of these studies were performed using MCF-7, MDA-MB-231, MDA-MB-468 and BT-20 cell lines and the combination between cisplatin, paclitaxel, doxorubicin, tamoxifen, dactolisib and veliparib, with caffeic acid phenethyl ester, eugenol, 3-caffeoylquinic acid, salvianolic acid A, ferulic acid, caffeic acid, rosmarinic acid and ursolic acid. The combination improved overall conventional drug effects, with increased cytotoxicity, antimigratory effect and reversing resistance. Combining conventional drugs with bioactive compounds derived from cinnamic acid could emerge as a privileged scaffold for establishing new treatment options for different BC types.

Recent HPV self-sampling use for cervical cancer screening in Latin America and Caribbean: a systematic review.

Objective: Cervical cancer is one of the deadliest cancers among women in Latin America and Caribbean (LAC), where most of the countries have not been successful in implementing population-level cytology-based screening programs. An increasing body of evidence supports the validity of self-sampling as an alternative to clinician collection for primary Human papillomavirus (HPV) screening. Therefore, this work aims to summarize recent HPV self-sampling approaches in LAC. Method: We performed a systematic review to identify studies focused on "Self-sampling", and "Human Papillomavirus DNA test" and "Latin America" in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane library and SCOPUS databases for publications dating between 01 January 2017 and 15 March 2022 based on the Preferred Reporting Items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis (PRISMA) statement. Additionally, the references of the articles were carefully reviewed. Results: Of the 97 records selected, 20 studies including 163,787 participants, with sample sizes for individual studies ranging from 24 to 147,590 were included in this review. Studies were conducted in 10 LAC countries (18.5%), most with upper medium-income economies (70%). The range of age was 18 to ≥65 years. The vast majority of the studies (85%) addressed the HPV self-sampling strategy for primary cervical cancer screening with overall success for all women including under/never screened and those from special populations (rural, indigenous and gender minorities). Women generally found HPV self-sampling highly acceptable regardless of age, setting of collection, target population or country of residence. Conclusions: HPV self-sampling is a promising strategy to overcome the multiple barriers to cervical cancer screening in LAC settings and increasing attendance in underscreened women in countries/territories with well-established screening programs. Furthermore, this strategy is useful even in LAC countries/territories without organized cervical cancer screening and in special populations such as indigenous, rural and transgender women. Therefore, the information generated by the recent initiatives for HPV self-sampling approach in LAC can be beneficial for decision-making in both new and existing programs in the region.

Association of Righ-Risk Human Papillomavirus and Ureaplasma parvum Co-Infections with Increased Risk of Low-Grade Squamous Intraepithelial Cervical Lesions.

OBJECTIVE: The present report investigated the rates of coinfections between high-rik human papillomavirus (hrHPV) and the most important human mycoplasmas including Mycoplasma hominis, M. genitalium, Ureaplasma urealyticum and U. parvum in cervical samples of asymptomatic brazilian population. METHODS: Were included a total of 283 women aged 25-64 years screened by Papanicolaou smears for determining cervical abnormalities, single-target polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and real-time PCR (rt-PCR) for hrHPV and mycoplasmas, respectively. RESULTS: A total of 273 (94.5%) women were negative for intraepithelial lesions or malignancy cytology (NILM) and 10 (3.5%) presented abnormal cytology, all low-grade intraepithelial lesions (LSIL). The prevalence of hrHPV was 12.7% and 53.7% for mycoplasmas. U. parvum was the most frequently bacteria detected, followed by Mycoplasma hominis and U. urealyticum. M. genitalium was not detected. Women positive for U. parvum presented a 5-fold increased risk of LSIL (OR = 5.33; 95% CI = 1.09-26.04, P = 0.02) and co-infections between U. parvum and hrHPV increased the risk for LSIL (OR = 3.88; 95% CI = 1.75-8.58, P = 0.0003). However, these associations were not dependent on the concentration of the bacteria. CONCLUSION: Our results reinforced the hypothesis that some mycoplasmas may play a role as cofactors in HPV-mediated cervical carcinogenesis, at least in some populations.
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COVID-19 Infection in the Human Reproductive Tract of Men and Nonpregnant Women.

SARS-CoV-2 is an enveloped non-segmented positive-sense RNA virus, classified as a beta coronavirus, responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), reported as a SARS-CoV-2 receptor, is expressed in different human tissues (lung, intestine, and kidney) and in the testis, ovaries, uterus, and vagina. This suggests a potential risk to the human reproductive tract in COVID-19 patients. In addition, SARS-CoV-2 RNA has been detected in the blood, urine, facial/anal swabs, semen, and vaginal secretion, suggesting other potential means of transmission. However, little has been reported about SARS-CoV-2 infection in the male and nonpregnant female reproductive tracts, which may provide direct evidence on sexual transmission and fertility problems. Therefore, we focused this narrative review mainly on the distribution of ACE2 and SARS-CoV-2 positivity in the male and nonpregnant female reproductive tracts, providing an overview of the potential threat of COVID-19 to reproductive health and sexual transmission.

Zika virus infection in the genital tract of non-pregnant females: a systematic review.

This review provides a general overview on the positivity and persistence of Zika virus (ZIKV) in female genital tract (FGT) of non-pregnant women and animals, as well as in cell cultures, and its influence on FGT health. We performed a systematic review based on the PRISMA statement to identify studies focused on "Zika virus" and "non-pregnant female" in PubMed, Embase, Scopus Scholar and Web of Knowledge databases of full-text papers and abstracts published in English, with no restrictions regarding the initial date of publication, up to August 2019. Our search terms yielded 625 records, that were 108 after removal of duplicates, leaving 517 items for title and abstract reviews. Of these, 475 did not meet the inclusion criteria, leaving 42 records for full-text review and resulting in the exclusion of 6 additional records. The remaining 36 met our inclusion criteria. Variations were observed regarding the presence and persistence of ZIKV in lower and upper genital samples. However, the FGT was the place in which ZIKV RNA has been detected, sometimes for relatively long periods, even after the clearance from blood and urine. In addition to the vagina and cervix, the endometrium, uterus and ovary (oocytes and follicles) could also be involved in persistent ZIKV infections. Further prospective studies are needed to assess the effect of ZIKV on FGT health.

Case Reports: Prolonged Detection of Zika Virus RNA in Vaginal and Endocervical Samples from a Brazilian Woman, 2018.

Zika virus (ZIKV) infection is an emerging public health problem, associated with increased risk for Guillain-Barré syndrome and adverse fetal outcomes, including congenital microcephaly. Zika virus sexual transmission is known, but detection of the virus in different parts of the female reproductive tract is not well established. In this case report, we describe prolonged detection of ZIKV RNA in the vaginal secretion and endocervical mucosa from a Brazilian woman convalescent to ZIKV infection. A viral load of 2 × 102 copies/mL was detected up to 31 days after symptom onset in both samples. Other biological fluids, including whole blood, plasma, serum, urine, and saliva samples, were negative for ZIKV RNA. These findings advance the understanding of ZIKV infection and provide data for additional testing strategies.

Fungos micorrízicos arbusculares, biomassa e atividade microbiana de solo sob banana, braquiária e degradado / Abuscular mycorrhizal fungi, microbial soil biomass and activity under banana, brachiaria and degraded soil / Hongos micorrízicos arbusculares, actividad y biomasa microbiana en suelo cultivado con banana, brachiaria y degradado

O uso e manejo adequado do solo podem ser medidos por meio de bio-indicadores de qualidade do solo. Os objetivos deste trabalho foram determinar a densidade de esporos de fungos micorrízicos arbusculares (FMAs), carbono da biomassa microbiana do solo (C-BMS), respiração basal do solo (RBS) e quociente metabólico (qCO2) de áreas com cultivo orgânico com banana e com braquiária sem pastejo, comparativamente com uma área próxima degradada com palmeiras imperiais em Umuarama, PR. O solo foi coletado na profundidade de 0-10 cm com 4 repetições em cada área e analisadas em duplicata no laboratório. Os resultados foram submetidos à análise de variância (ANOVA) e teste de Tukey (p ? 0,05), usando o programa SPSS v.16. A densidade de esporos de FMAs foi significantemente menor na área degrada. O C-BMS foi significantemente maior na área com braquiária, comparativamente com o solo cultivado com banana e degradado. Na área com banana o C-BMS foi maior que na área degradada. A análise química do solo revelou na área degradada apresentou baixo teor de fósforo, carbono, cálcio e potássio, o que pode ter contribuído para o baixo C-BMS, devido ao estresse elevado neste solo. Não houve diferença significativa na RBS entre as áreas, mas o qCO2 foi significantemente maior no solo degradado, indicando novamente um nível de estresse elevado neste solo. Manejo e uso adequado do solo como o cultivo orgânico de bananas e/ou braquiária aumentou a densidade de esporos de FMAs e C-BMS, além disso, diminuiu o qCO2 comparado com a área degradada.(AU)

The sustainable use and management of soil can be measured using soil quality bioindicators. The objectives of this study were to determine arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) spore density, carbon in soil microbial biomass (MB-C), soil basal respiration (SBR) and metabolic quotient (qCO2) in different areas under organic cultivation of banana and brachiaria without grazing compared to nearby degraded area growing imperial palms in the city of Umuarama, in the state of Parana. Soil samples were collected at 0-10 cm depth with four repetitions in each area and analyzed in duplicate. All the results were submitted to the analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey?s test (p ? 0.05), utilizing the statistical program SPSS, version 16.0 for Windows. The results showed that AMF spore density was significantly lower in the degraded area. MB-C was significantly higher in the area cultivated with brachiaria in comparison with banana and degraded areas. However, in the banana area, the MB-C was higher than that in the degraded area. Soil chemical analysis showed that the degraded area had low soil phosphorus, carbon, calcium and potassium content, which could have contributed to the decrease in MB-C, due to a high stress condition in this soil. No significant differences were found for SBR among the analyzed areas. However, qCO2 increased significantly in the degraded area, indicating high stress under this condition. Soil use and management under organic cultivation with banana and/or brachiaria increased AMF spore density and MB-C, as well as decreasing qCO2 when compared to the degraded area.(AU)

El uso y manejo adecuado del suelo pueden ser medidos mediante indicadores biológicos de calidad del suelo. Los objetivos de este estudio fueron determinar la densidad de esporas de hongos micorrízicos arbusculares (HMA), carbono de la biomasa microbiana del suelo (C-BMS), respiración basal del suelo (RBS) y cociente metabólico (qCO2) en áreas con cultivo orgánico de banana, brachiaria sin pastoreo, comparativamente con una zona cercana degradada con palmeras imperiales en Umuarama, PR. Se ha recogido suelo a una profundidad de 0-10 cm con 4 repeticiones en cada área y analizados por duplicado en el laboratorio. Los resultados han sido sometidos a análisis de varianza (ANOVA) y la prueba de Tukey (p ? 0,05), utilizando el programa SPSS v.16. La densidad de esporas de HMA fue significativamente menor en el área degradada. El C-BMS fue significativamente mayor en el área con brachiaria en comparación con el suelo cultivado con banana y degradado. En el área con banana C-BMS fue mayor que en el área degradada. El análisis químico del suelo reveló en el área degradada bajo tenor en fósforo, carbono, calcio y potasio, lo que puede haber contribuido a la baja C-BMS, debido al estrés elevado en el suelo. No hubo diferencia significativa en RBS entre las áreas, pero el qCO2 fue significativamente mayor en el suelo degradado, indicando nuevamente alto nivel de estrés en ese suelo. Manejo y uso adecuado del suelo como el cultivo de bananas y/o brachiaria aumentaron la densidad de esporas de HMAs y C-BMS, además disminuyó el qCO2 en comparación con el área degradada.(AU)