Effects of Policosanol on Patients with Ischemic Stroke: A Pilot Open Study

R. Mas,L.L.Ortega,J. Schez,L. Ferndez,S. Mendoza,R. Gamez,J.C. Fernadez,J. Illnait,E. Alvarez 한국식품영양과학회 2006 Journal of medicinal food Vol.9 No.3

Stroke is a major health problem worldwide. Its pharmacological management includes thrombolytic therapyfor the acute phase and antiplatelet drugs for stroke recovery and prevention. Statins can help in the acute phase and in pre-venting stroke in secondary prevention patients. Policosanol is a cholesterol-lowering drug with concomitant antiplatelet ef-fects, with protective effects in stroke models. This observational study investigated the effects of policosanol (20 mg/day)with antiplatelets and vitamins. After hospital discharge, patients were followed up every 3 (first year) and 6 (thereafter)months. Neurological improvement was assessed with the modified Canadian Neurological Scale. Adverse events wererecorded. Fifty patients were included; all completed the study. Neurological score improved throughout the study. No pa-tient died, and most [40 (80.0%)] did not experience new vascular events; only one (2.0%) suffered a new stroke, and two(4.0%) suffered more than one transient ischemic attack. The time to the first recurrent event was 46.2 months. Policosanolpersistently lowered serum total cholesterol, with such reduction correlating with the neurological improvement (R.chemic stroke treated with aspirin and vitamins showed good results on neurological outcomes and recurrent events. Thisstudy, however, has limitations, since it was open and uncontrolled, and patients also consumed aspirin and vitamins. Newrandomized, controlled studies are needed to assess the usefulness of policosanol in stroke management.

Surface guidance of stem cell behavior: Chemically tailored co-presentation of integrin-binding peptides stimulates osteogenic differentiation in vitro and bone formation in vivo

Fraioli, R.,Dashnyam, K.,Kim, J.H.,Perez, R.A.,Kim, H.W.,Gil, J.,Ginebra, M.P.,Manero, J.M.,Mas-Moruno, C. Elsevier BV 2016 Acta Biomaterialia: structure-property-function re Vol.43 No.-

Surface modification stands out as a versatile technique to create instructive biomaterials that are able to actively direct stem cell fate. Chemical functionalization of titanium has been used in this work to stimulate the differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) into the osteoblastic lineage, by covalently anchoring a synthetic double-branched molecule (PTF) to the metal that allows a finely controlled presentation of peptidic motifs. In detail, the effect of the RGD adhesive peptide and its synergy motif PHSRN is studied, comparing a random distribution of the two peptides with the chemically-tailored disposition within the custom made synthetic platform, which mimics the interspacing between the motifs observed in fibronectin. Contact angle measurement and XPS analysis are used to prove the efficiency of functionalization. We demonstrate that, by rationally designing ligands, stem cell response can be efficiently guided towards the osteogenic phenotype: In vitro, PTF-functionalized surfaces support hMSCs adhesion, with higher cell area and formation of focal contacts, expression of the integrin receptor α5β1 and the osteogenic marker Runx2, and deposition a highly mineralized matrix, reaching values of mineralization comparable to fibronectin. Our strategy is also demonstrated to be efficient in promoting new bone growth in vivo in a rat calvarial defect. These results highlight the efficacy of chemical control over the presentation of bioactive peptides; such systems may be used to engineer bioactive surfaces with improved osseointegrative properties, or can be easily tuned to generate multi-functional coatings requiring a tailored disposition of the peptidic motifs. Statement of significance: Organic coatings have been proposed as a solution to foster osseointegration of orthopedic implants. Among them, extracellular matrix-derived peptide motifs are an interesting biomimetic strategy to harness cell-surface interactions. Nonetheless, the combination of multiple peptide motifs in a controlled manner is essential to achieve receptor specificity and fully exploit the potentiality of synthetic peptides. Herein, we covalently graft to titanium a double branched molecule to guide stem cell fate in vitro and generate an osseoinductive titanium surface in vivo. Such synthetic ligand allows for the simultaneous presentation of two bioactive motifs, thus is ideal to test the effect of synergic sequences, such as RGD and PHSRN, and is a clear example of the versatility and feasibility of rationally designed biomolecules.

Overexpression of EGFR Protein in Bruneian Lung Cancer Patients

Han, Yu Hao,Hamid, Mas R.W. Abdul,Telisinghe, Pemasiri Upali,Hussin, Juniadah Binti Haji,Mabruk, Mohamed Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2015 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.16 No.1

Background: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in Brunei Darussalam, accounting for almost 20% of the total. The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is a member of the erbB family of tyrosine kinase receptor proteins, which includes c-erbb2(HER2/neu), erb-B3, and erb-B4. EGFR overexpression is found in a third of all epithelial cancers, often associated with a poor prognosis. Materials and Methods: Protein expression of EGFR in 27 cases of lung cancer tissue samples and 9 cases of normal lung tissue samples was evaluated using an immunohistochemical approach. Results: The results demonstrated significant increase and overexpression of EGFR in Bruneian lung cancer tissue samples in comparison to normal lung tissue. However, there was no significant relationship between clinicopathologic variables (age and sex) of patients and EGFR protein expression. Conclusions: EGFR is overexpressed in Bruneian lung cancer patient tissue samples in comparison to normal lung tissue samples. This may indicate that EGFR protein over expression plays an important role in the genesis of this type of cancer in Brunei Darussalam.

Practical sample pretreatment techniques coupled with capillary electrophoresis for real samples in complex matrices

Jarvas, Gabor,Guttman, Andras,Mię,kus, Natalia,Bą,czek, Tomasz,Jeong, Sunkyung,Chung, Doo Soo,Pä,toprstý,, Vladimir,Masá,r, Mariá,n,Hutta, Milan,Datinská,, Vladim Elsevier 2020 Trends in analytical chemistry Vol.122 No.-

<P><B>Abstract</B></P> <P>By coupling a sample pretreatment technique of sample clean up and enrichment power with capillary electrophoresis (CE) of high-performance separation, the task of analyzing trace analytes in a complex matrix such as a biological sample can be carried out successfully with ease. This review aims for providing an overview of strategies to couple sample pretreatment techniques with capillary and related microscale (e.g., microchip) electrophoresis, practically adoptable in an automatic manner, without requiring serious modification of existing instruments to install sophisticated interfaces. In-line sample pretreatment techniques based on liquid phase microextraction performed before sample injection and on-line sample preconcentration techniques performed during or after sample injection are discussed with emphasis on the applicability to samples of high conductivity, commonly encountered for biological samples. An overview of the recent developments in microfluidic immobilized enzymatic microreactors which fit excellently to microchip CE is also given.</P> <P><B>Highlights</B></P> <P> <UL> <LI> Recent advances and major trends in sample pretreatment for capillary electrophoresis are summarized. </LI> <LI> In-line and on-line sample pretreatment techniques are discussed with emphasis on biological samples. </LI> <LI> We provide an overview of strategies to couple sample pretreatment techniques with capillary and microchip electrophoresis. </LI> </UL> </P>

Organization of the Mammalian Metabolome according to Organ Function, Lineage Specialization, and Longevity

Ma, S.,Yim, S.,Lee, S.G.,Kim, E.,Lee, S.R.,Chang, K.T.,Buffenstein, R.,Lewis, Kaitlyn N.,Park, Thomas J.,Miller, Richard A.,Clish, Clary B.,Gladyshev, Vadim N. Cell Press 2015 Cell metabolism Vol.22 No.2

Biological diversity among mammals is remarkable. Mammalian body weights range seven orders of magnitude and lifespans differ more than 100-fold among species. While genetic, dietary, and pharmacological interventions can be used to modulate these traits in model organisms, it is unknown how they are determined by natural selection. By profiling metabolites in brain, heart, kidney, and liver tissues of 26 mammalian species representing ten taxonomical orders, we report metabolite patterns characteristic of organs, lineages, and species longevity. Our data suggest different rates of metabolite divergence across organs and reveal patterns representing organ-specific functions and lineage-specific physiologies. We identified metabolites that correlated with species lifespan, some of which were previously implicated in longevity control. We also compared the results with metabolite changes in five long-lived mouse models and observed some similar patterns. Overall, this study describes adjustments of the mammalian metabolome according to lifespan, phylogeny, and organ and lineage specialization.