Studies on lipid peroxidation using whole liver cells: Influence of damaged cells on the prooxidant effect of ADP-Fe3+ and CCl4

Summary An increase in the number of damaged cells produces an enhancement of lipid peroxidation induced by ADP-Fe³⁺ or CCl₄ in vitro on hepatocytes in single cell suspension.This work has been supported by the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Roma, Italy, and the National Foundation for Cancer Research, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.     

In vivo imaging of therapy-induced anti-cancer immune responses in humans

Immunotherapy aims to re-engage and revitalize the immune system in the fight against cancer. Research over the past decades has shown that the relationship between the immune system and human cancer is complex, highly dynamic, and variable between individuals. Considering the complexity, enormous effort and costs involved in optimizing immunotherapeutic approaches, clinically applicable tools to monitor therapy-induced immune responses in vivo are most warranted. However, the development of such tools is complicated by the fact that a developing immune response encompasses several body compartments, e.g., peripheral tissues, lymph nodes, lymphatic and vascular systems, as well as the tumor site itself. Moreover, the cells that comprise the immune system are not static but constantly circulate through the vascular and lymphatic system. Molecular imaging is considered the favorite candidate to fulfill this task. The progress in imaging technologies and modalities has provided a versatile toolbox to address these issues. This review focuses on the detection of therapy-induced anticancer immune responses in vivo and provides a comprehensive overview of clinically available imaging techniques as well as perspectives on future developments. In the discussion, we will focus on issues that specifically relate to imaging of the immune system and we will discuss the strengths and limitations of the current clinical imaging techniques. The last section provides future directions that we envision to be crucial for further development.     

Dengue virus life cycle: viral and host factors modulating infectivity

Dengue virus (DENV 1-4) represents a major emerging arthropod-borne pathogen. All four DENV serotypes are prevalent in the (sub) tropical regions of the world and infect 50–100 million individuals annually. Whereas the majority of DENV infections proceed asymptomatically or result in self-limited dengue fever, an increasing number of patients present more severe manifestations, such as dengue hemorrhagic fever and dengue shock syndrome. In this review we will give an overview of the infectious life cycle of DENV and will discuss the viral and host factors that are important in controlling DENV infection.     

Enhancement by caffeine of the frequency of anaphase-telophase chromatin bridges induced by triethylenemelamine (TEM)

Summary Treatment of BHK cells for 8 h with triethylenemelamine (TEM) followed by caffeine for 4 or 8 h, increased the frequency of anaphase-telophase chromatin bridges in relation to controls and TEM-treated cells. These results indicate that TEM-induced chromosome lesions detected as chromatin bridges at anaphase-telophase could be potentiated by caffeine.This work was supported by grants from CIC, CONICET and CAFPTA.     

Patterns of asymmetry in body traits and genitalia in two distant populations of a Neotropical scorpion

The ability of a genotype to control the stable development of a phenotype under different environmental conditions may explain the level of developmental instability. An indicator to developmental instability is Fluctuating Asymmetry. Traits under pressures of sexual selection exhibit greater values of asymmetry that others. These traits have more physiological requirements during morphogenesis and a more complex development. The aims of this work are to analyze asymmetry patterns of genitalic and somatic traits in the scorpion Bothriurus bonariensis (Bothriuridae) and to compare these values between central and peripheral populations of its distribution. We observed that types of asymmetry in genitalic traits differed in both populations. Also, traits of the hemispermatophores (two halves that constitute the spermatophore) showed the highest levels of fluctuating asymmetry, particularly in those characteristics with important role for insemination success. This work offers fundamental baseline knowledge for further works focused on asymmetry of genitalia and mating success in scorpions.