Environmentally compatible bioconjugated gold nanoparticles as efficient contrast agents for inflammation-induced cancer imaging.

For many cancers, early detection is the key to improve survival and reduce the morbidity, which is associated with radical resections due to late diagnosis. Here, we describe the efficiency of primary antibody-conjugated gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) to specifically target chronic inflammatory processes, specially M2 macrophages, in tissue sections of ulcerative colitis (UC) and steatohepatitis in rats which may lead to colorectal cancer and liver carcinoma, respectively. In this study, we demonstrate that AuNPs synthesized by a simple, inexpensive, and environmentally compatible method can be easily conjugated with the antibodies anti-COX-2, anti-MIF, and Alexa Fluor® 488 (ALEXA) to perform immunofluorescence staining in inflamed tissues. Moreover, we showed that primary antibody-conjugated gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) can be used to target M2 macrophages by flow cytometry. We designed three immunofluorescence staining protocols of tissue section with AuNPs for 30 min and overnight incubation, as well as one flow cytometry protocol of M2 macrophage labeling with AuNPs for 30 min. Immunofluorescence and flow cytometry results suggest that conjugation was achieved by direct adsorption of antibodies on the AuNPs surface. When compared to the standard ALEXA protocol in immunofluorescence (IF) and flow cytometry (FC), our 30-min incubation protocol using AuNPs instead of ALEXA decreased from approximately 23 h to 5 h for IF and from 4 h to 1 h for FC, proving to be less laborious, which makes the method eligible for inflammation-induced cancer diagnostic.

Evaluation of inflammatory processes by FTIR spectroscopy.

Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy is a powerful diagnosis technique and has been used to identify patterns of molecular changes based on vibration modes. The objective of this study was to evaluate inflammatory fibrous hyperplasia (IFH) lesions and oral normal mucosa (NM) initially with histopathological exam and then using micro-FTIR spectroscopy to analyse the samples. Eleven IFH and 11 NM samples were analysed at five different points to cover the largest area possible by the micro-FTIR technique. Bands were observed between 970 and 1743 cm-1 which corresponded to different structural components like collagen, lipids, fatty acids, proteins and amino acids. Spectral bands were more intense mostly for IFH lesions, including collagen bands, which are an important component of inflammatory fibrous hyperplasia. This study demonstrated that differentiation in the inflammatory tissue was observed in FTIR spectral differences, in terms of biochemical composition.

Microglial Over-Activation by Social Defeat Stress Contributes to Anxiety- and Depressive-Like Behaviors.

Hyper activation of the neuroimmune system is strongly related to the development of neuropsychiatric disorders. Psychosocial stress has been postulated to play an important role in triggering anxiety and major depression. In preclinical models, there is mounting evidence that social defeat stress activates microglial cells in the central nervous system. This type of stress could be one of the major factors in the development of these psychopathologies. Here, we reviewed the most recent literature on social defeat and the associated immunological reactions. We focused our attention on microglial cells and kept the effect of social defeat over microglia separate from the effect of this stressor on other immune cells and the influence of peripheral immune components in priming central immune reactions. Furthermore, we considered how social defeat stress affects microglial cells and the consequent development of anxiety- and depressive-like states in preclinical studies. We highlighted evidence for the negative impact of the over-activation of the neuroimmune system, especially by the overproduction of pro-inflammatory mediators and cytotoxins. Overproduction of these molecules may cause cellular damage and loss or decreased function of neuronal activity by excessively pruning synaptic connections that ultimately contribute to the development of anxiety- and depressive-like states.

Analysis of 12 variants in the development of gastric and colorectal cancers.

AIM: To evaluate the relation between 12 polymorphisms and the development of gastric cancer (GC) and colorectal cancer (CRC). METHODS: In this study, we included 125 individuals with GC diagnosis, 66 individuals with CRC diagnosis and 475 cancer-free individuals. All participants resided in the North region of Brazil and authorized the use of their samples. The 12 polymorphisms (in CASP8, CYP2E1, CYP19A1, IL1A, IL4, MDM2, NFKB1, PAR1, TP53, TYMS, UGT1A1 and XRCC1 genes) were genotyped in a single PCR for each individual, followed by fragment analysis. To avoid misinterpretation due to population substructure, we applied a previously developed set of 61 ancestry-informative markers that can also be genotyped by multiplex PCR. The statistical analyses were performed in Structure v.2.3.4, R environment and SPSS v.20. RESULTS: After statistical analyses with the control of confounding factors, such as genetic ancestry, three markers (rs79071878 in IL4, rs3730485 in MDM2 and rs28362491 in NFKB1) were positively associated with the development of GC. One of these markers (rs28362491) and the marker in the UGT1A1 gene (rs8175347) were positively associated with the development of CRC. Therefore, we investigated whether the joint presence of the deleterious alleles of each marker could affect the development of cancer and we obtained positive results in all analyses. Carriers of the combination of alleles RP1 + DEL (rs79071878 and rs28361491, respectively) are at 10-times greater risk of developing GC than carriers of other combinations. Similarly, carriers of the combination of DEL + RARE (rs283628 and rs8175347) are at about 12-times greater risk of developing CRC than carriers of other combinations. CONCLUSION: These findings are important for the comprehension of gastric and CRC development, particularly in highly admixed populations, such as the Brazilian population.

Facing Terminal Ileitis: Going Beyond Crohn's Disease.

Terminal ileitis (TI) is an inflammatory condition of the terminal portion of the ileum that may occur acutely with right lower quadrant pain followed or not by diarrhea, or exhibit chronic obstructive symptoms and bleeding and normally it is associated to Crohn's disease (CD) although it may be associated to other different conditions. This review intended to contribute to a better understanding of TI in order to help in the diagnosis, medical approach and patient care. This work was performed on a survey of articles collected in different databases and a retrospective search was carried out to identify relevant studies in the field. Pathological conditions such as ulcerative colitis, the intake of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, infectious diseases, eosinophilic enteritis, malignant diseases, spondyloarthropathies, vasculitides, ischemia, sarcoidosis, amyloidosis and others may be related to ileitis but it is commonly referred to CD. To a correct therapeutic approach, it is necessary to understand the causes of this inflammation process. The performance of a clinical, laboratory, endoscopic, and histopathological evaluation of the individuals is crucial to the correct diagnosis and treatment once the inflammation of the ileum may occur due to different pathological conditions besides CD, leading to difficulties in the diagnosis. Thus, an individual approach is necessary once the correct diagnosis is crucial for the immediate therapeutic approach and recovering of the patient.

Importancia de la semiología del dolor en el diagnóstico de un proceso inflamatorio pulpar / Significance of pain's Symptomatology in the diagnosis of pulpal inflammatory process

El dolor es un síntoma de extraordinaria importancia en la práctica estomatológica y particularmente en lo concerniente a las alteraciones de la pulpa dentaria. Con el objetivo de profundizar en el conocimiento de las fases por las que atraviesa un proceso inflamatorio pulpar, que permiten predecir sus manifestaciones dolorosas, se realizó una revisión bibliográfica sobre el tema con un enfoque multidisciplinario y básico-clínico. Se utilizó el método documental para el análisis y tratamiento de la información ofrecida por las fuentes teóricas. El sitio en Internet Google fue empleado como fundamental motor de búsqueda y Lilacs, Hinari, Medline y PubMed fueron las bases de datos más revisadas. La clasificación del estado de inflamación pulpar, que atiende a eventos histopatológicos que no se pueden visualizar, resulta más difícil. Se podría lograr mayor precisión en un diagnóstico basado en el curso que sigue el dolor, de acuerdo a la magnitud del compromiso inflamatorio y apoyado en la rica semiología que se puede obtener si se sigue la trayectoria de las variables del estímulo nociceptivo. El incremento y profundización de los conocimientos en este campo contribuiyó significativamente a un mejor diagnóstico y tratamiento de los procesos inflamatorios pulpares(AU)

Pain is a symptom very important in the stomatologic practice and particularly in that concerning to dental pulp alterations. To deep in the knowledge of phases crossed by a pulpal inflammatory process allowing predicting its painful manifestations, authors made a bibliographic review on this subject with a multidisciplinary and basic-clinical approach, using the documentary method for analysis and management of information offered by theoretical sources. Google was used as a fundamental search tool and LILACS, HINARI, Medline and PubMed were the more reviewed databases. The classification of pulpal inflammation state, taking into account non-visualized histopathology events is more difficult and it may to achieve a great accuracy in a diagnosis based on course after pain, according the magnitude of inflammatory compromise and supported by the potential valuable symptomatology if we follow the trajectory of the nociceptive stimulus variables. The know ledges increase and deepening in this field will contribute in a significant way to a better diagnosis and treatment of pulpal inflammatory processes(AU)

Comportamiento de las enfermedades periodontales en adolescentes / Behavior of the periodontal diseases in adolescents

En nuestro sistema nacional de salud son incalculables los esfuerzos realizados en función de dotar a la Estomatología y dentro de ella a la Periodontología, de los medios más modernos y eficaces en las actividades preventivo curativas contra las enfermedades periodontales. Objetivo: determinar el comportamiento de las enfermedades periodontales en adolescentes de los consultorios 11, 51 y 64 del Área de Salud Norte perteneciente al Policlínico Docente Joaquín de Agüero y la Clínica Estomatológica Docente La Vigía. Método: se realizó un estudio descriptivo en adolescentes de once a quince años. La muestra quedó conformada por cuarenta adolescentes a los cuales se le realizó una encuesta de conocimientos sobre salud bucal. Resultados: predominó el sexo femenino, el nivel de información sobre salud bucal fue aceptable, predominaron los procesos inflamatorios. Conclusiones: los adolescentes que más concurrieron al estudio fueron los de 14 años. Más de la mitad de los adolescentes estudiados estaban afectados por la enfermedad periodontal.

In our national system of health are incalculable the efforts carried out in function of endowing Odontology, and inside her to Periodontology, of the most modern and effective means in the preventive curative activities against the periodontal diseases. Objective: to determine the behavior of the periodontal diseases in adolescents from the doctors´ office 11, 51 and 64 of the North Health Area belonging to the Teaching Polyclinic "Joaquín de Agüero" and the Teaching Odontology Clinic "La Vigía". Method: a descriptive study in adolescents from eleven to fifteen years was performed. The sample was constituted by forty adolescents to whom a survey of knowledge on oral health was carried out. Results: the feminine sex prevailed, the level of information on oral health was acceptable, and the inflammatory processes predominated. Conclusions: adolescents that most concurred to the study were those of 14 years. More than the half of the studied adolescents was affected by the periodontal disease.