Growth kinetics and phenotypic markers expression in human dermal stem cells

Human dermal stem cells (DSCs) have generated significant interest in the field of regenerative medicine due to their prospects of autologous transplantation. The present study evaluated the growth kinetics and phenotypic markers expression in human DSCs. The primary cultures of DSCs (n=3) were established by explant culture and characterization of the cells was carried out by assessing morphology, viability, proliferation rate, population doubling time (PDT), cell cycle status and the expression of cell surface markers such as CD29, CD73, CD90 and CD166. The cells released from tissue explants showed spindleshaped fibroblast morphology with the mean percentage viability varying between 93.43% and 100% from passages 1 to 4. DSCs displayed a strong and steady proliferative potential with an average PDT of 42.55 hrs. Cell cycle profile of DSCs demonstrated the majority of cells (59.80% to 76.29%) at G0/G1 phase. Further, the phenotypic profile of markers confirmed the stromal origin of DSCs by exhibiting positivity for CD29, CD73, CD90 and CD166. In conclusion, the growth kinetics and expression of phenotypic markers are consistent with the notion that skin dermis contains a population of stem cells and can serve as a potential autologous source for therapeutic applications.

Development of phenotypic markers and contrast genotype candidates of target minerals related to cassava

Pratama SN, Sudarsono, Ardie W, Khumaida N, Sukma D. 2021. Development of phenotypic markers and contrast genotype candidates of target minerals related to cassava. Biodiversitas 22: 3049- 3056. Cassava leaves have various macro and micro-nutrients with varying levels, such as magnesium, iron, and zinc. The differences in genotypes of cassava may result in different mineral content in cassava leaves. This study aims to determine the estimator phenotypic markers and contrast genotype candidate selection related to target minerals. This study used a one-factor treatment composed of 12 cassava genotypes and arranged in a randomized block design (RBD) which each treatment was repeated 3 times. The observation was conducted on the leaves' qualitative and quantitative characters such as plant growth, leaf morphology, and leaf mineral content characters. The observation was performed at 3 and 6 months after planting. The results showed that the quantitative and qualitative characters that could be used as estimator for mineral content in cassava leaves are the Soil Plant Analysis Development (SPAD)- Chlorophyll value and leaf color. Genotypes G6-1-15-4-3, G6-2-15-1-1, G6-2-15-3-3 (lowest) and Malang (G4D0), G4D1-222, G3D2-413 (highest) could be categorized as contrast genotypes based on SPAD-value and mineral content. The strong positive correlation between Mg and Fe content with SPAD suggested that SPAD is a possible marker for high Mg and Fe content in leaves. Adversely, a weak relationship between SPAD and Zn content in leaves showed that SPAD is a weak marker for Zn content in leaves. Further research related to molecular markers development can be carried out based on these results.

Improved diagnostic prediction of the pathogenicity of bloodstream isolates of Staphylococcus epidermidis

With an estimated 440,000 active cases occurring each year, medical device associated infections pose a significant burden on the US healthcare system, costing about $9.8 billion in 2013. Staphylococcus epidermidis is the most common cause of these device-associated infections, which typically involve isolates that are multi-drug resistant and possess multiple virulence factors. S. epidermidis is also frequently a benign contaminant of otherwise sterile blood cultures. Therefore, tests that distinguish pathogenic from non-pathogenic isolates would improve the accuracy of diagnosis and prevent overuse/misuse of antibiotics. Attempts to use multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) with machine learning for this purpose had poor accuracy (~73%). In this study we sought to improve the diagnostic accuracy of predicting pathogenicity by focusing on phenotypic markers (i.e., antibiotic resistance, growth fitness in human plasma, and biofilm forming capacity) and the presence of specific virulence genes (i.e., mecA, ses1, and sdrF). Commensal isolates from healthy individuals (n = 23), blood culture contaminants (n = 21), and pathogenic isolates considered true bacteremia (n = 54) were used. Multiple machine learning approaches were applied to characterize strains as pathogenic vs non-pathogenic. The combination of phenotypic markers and virulence genes improved the diagnostic accuracy to 82.4% (sensitivity: 84.9% and specificity: 80.9%). Oxacillin resistance was the most important variable followed by growth rate in plasma. This work shows promise for the addition of phenotypic testing in clinical diagnostic applications.

PECULIARITY OF ADAPTATION OF BABIES ARE BORN PREMATURELY FROM MOTHERS WITH UNDIFFERENTIATED CONNECTIVE TISSUE DYSPLASIA

The aim: To evaluate the peculiarity of clinical manifestations of neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (NRDS) in deeply premature infants from mothers with phenotypic markers of undifferentiated connective tissue dysplasia (UCTD). Materials and methods: The study represent the results of a retrospective clinical and statistical analysis of 268 premature birth report card and newborn report sheet. .The main (1 group) included 50 pregnants with obvious phenotypic markers of UCTD, the comparison group (group 2) consisted of 50 pregnant women without phenotypic markers of UDCTD. Results: According to the study, in 12 (24%) pregnant women of the main group at the time of admission to the clinic had contractions,which required specific therapy. Cervical cerclage was performed in 38 (76%) patients of the main group due to the presence of cervical insufficiency (CI). In these cases, the severity of the CI on the Steinber scale was 7.2 ± 0.4 points in the main group against 4.4 ± 0.2 points in the comparison group (p <0.05). Group I patients were more likely to have complications of labor such as:premature rupture of membranes, uterine contraction abnormalities and fetal distress, which required in most cases cesarean delivery (7% and 2%), respectively (p <0.05). The incidence of neonatal complications requiring respiratory support was 67% in group I and 48% in group II. According to our observations, the clinical manifestations of bronchopulmonary dysplasia were twice as high in infants of the main group (66%) against (44%) of the comparison group (p <0.05). Conclusions:1.Neonatal respiratory distress syndrome in premature infants is more often associated from mothers with UDCTD. 2. The high importance of steroid prophylaxis of NRDS and antioxidant therapy in reducing the frequency of mechanical ventilation and the development of bronchopulmonary pathology, especially in infants from mothers with UDCTD syndrome, has been proven. 3. The possibility of diagnosing disorders of functional maturation of the lungs in the fetal period using a non-invasive method of ultrasonography has been confirmed.

Situation of and phenotypic markers of susceptibility to helminth infection among sheep on farms in the Brazilian cerrado biome

This study aimed to determine the intensity, seasonality, and distribution by genera of, as well as to identify phenotypic markers of susceptibility to, gastrointestinal parasites among sheep on farms within the Brazilian savanna (cerrado) biome. We evaluated 1271 sheep, on seven farms, during the rainy season (in December 2017 and December 2018) and dry season (in July 2018 and July 2019). Parasitological evaluation was based on culture and EPG. We calculated hematocrit, as well as the body condition score and feces score. Of the sheep evaluated, 34.15% had moderate-to-severe parasitic infection. The factors of herds’ phenotypic characterization about helminth infections were (p ≤ 0.05 for all): anemia (OR = 5.72); leanness (OR = 1.80); loose stools or diarrhea (OR = 1.54); breed other than Santa Inês (OR = 2.31); “weaned lamb” category (OR = 4.76); “lambing ewe” category (OR = 4.66); and dry season (OR = 2.37). Haemonchus, Trichostrongylus, Oesophagostomum, and Cooperia accounted for 76.40%, 20.23%, 2.89%, and 0.47%, respectively, of the helminth genera identified, with their proportional distributions being comparable between the rainy and dry seasons. Changes in health management, with regard to helminth infection control, are urgently needed in order to combat the disease more effectively and sustainably.