Serum MicroRNAs as Biomarkers of Sepsis and Resuscitation

There is a lack of biomarkers of sepsis and the resuscitation status. Our objective was to prove that the serum expression of certain microribonucleic acids (miRNAs) is differentially regulated in sepsis and is sensitive to different resuscitation regimes. Anesthetized pigs (Sus scrofa domesticus) received no treatment (n = 15) or intravenous live E. coli (n = 24). The septic animals received 0.9% saline at 4 mL/kg/h (n = 8) (low resuscitation group (LoR)) or 10–17 mL/kg/h (high resuscitation group (HiR)) (n = 8 each group). Blood samples were obtained at the end of the experiment for measurement of seven different miRNAs (RT-qPCR, Qiagen, Hilden, Germany). The serum expression of miR-146a-5p and miR-34a-5p increased significantly in the septic group, and miR-146a-5p was significantly lower in the HiR group than in the LoR group. The toll-like receptor signaling pathway involving 22 target proteins was significantly (adjusted p = 3.87 × 10−4) regulated by these two microRNAs (KEGG). Highly significant (p value = 2.22 × 10−16) protein–protein interactions (STRING) were revealed for these 22 hits. MiR-146a-5p and miR-34a-5p were identified as biomarkers of sepsis, and miRNA146a-5p seemed to be a biomarker of the intensity of the resuscitation.

Detección de Leishmania spp. (Trypanosomatidae) e identificación de ingestas sanguíneas en flebotomíneos de un nuevo foco de leishmaniasis en el Caribe colombiano.

Introducción: Aunque la leishmaniasis visceral (LV) es endémica en el Caribe colombiano, en los últimos años se ha observado un incremento en su área de distribución, con el registro de casos en nuevas localidades. Objetivos: En este estudio se caracterizaron los flebotomíneos, parásitos del género Leishmania y algunos vertebrados domésticos asociados al primer caso humano de LV en la vereda Toro, San Juan Nepomuceno, Bolívar, Colombia. Metodología: Los insectos fueron sometidos a extracción, amplificación y secuenciación de ADN para establecer si estaban infectados con Leishmania spp. e identificar sus ingestas sanguíneas. Adicionalmente, en los caninos se determinaron los títulos de anticuerpos anti-Leishmania mediante la técnica de inmunofluorescencia indirecta. Resultados: En total se recolectaron 2178 flebotomíneos, el 99,6% de los cuales fue identificado como Lutzomyia evansi. Los parásitos Leishmania infantum y Leishmania braziliensis fueron detectados en esta especie, con una frecuencia mínima de infección de 0,003% (3/1070) y 0,0009% (1/1070), respectivamente. El 16,73% de las hembras de Lu. evansi se encontraron alimentadas de Homo sapiens sapiens, el 16,32% de Capra hircus , el 12,45% de Sus scrofa domesticus, el 11,63 % de Bos indicus y el 9,79% de Canis familiaris. Uno de ocho caninos serológicamente evaluados fue positivo para leishmaniasis canina. Conclusión: El hallazgo en Lu. evansi de ingestas de sangre mixtas de humanos y caninos, evidencia el vínculo epidemiológico entre las Lutzomyia infectados con el parásito, los potenciales reservorios y la población humana, lo que explicaría la aparición del primer caso de LV en esta localidad del Caribe colombiano.

Research on the Distribution of Coronary Arteries in Pig (Sus Scrofa Domesticus)

Pigs are some of the most widely used experimental models, an advantage being the characteristics of homeostasis and many morphological features comparable to those in humans. For this reason, we addressed this topic in this paper, with the major objective of completing the data and even identifying some features not described in the literature. The present study was performed on 20 pig carcasses, with different weights and ages (2-4 months). The aim was to highlight some peculiarities regarding the coronary artery system in this species, using as a method the injection of vessels with contrasting plastic material. The collaterals and terminals of the coronary arteries, their distribution territories as well as the identified individual variants were described. As a general conclusion, regardless of the polymorphism in all dissected cases, the left coronary artery was the dominant artery, there being no exception from the data known in the literature.