This study establishes that exosomes secreted by cardiomyocytes under ischaemic conditions promote heart angiogenesis, which may pave the way towards the development of add-on therapies to enhance myocardial blood supply.

Ectosomes (Ects) are a subpopulation of extracellular vesicles formed by the process of plasma membrane shedding. In the present study, we profiled ectosome-specific microRNAs (miRNAs) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and analyzed their pro- and anti-angiogenic potential.Methods: We used different approaches for detecting and enumerating Ects, including atomic force microscopy, cryogenic transmission electron microscopy, and nanoparticle tracking analysis. Furthermore, we used bioinformatics tools to analyze functional data obtained from specific miRNA enrichment signatures during angiogenesis and vasculature development.Results: Levels of miR-193b-3p, miR-199a-3p, miR-20a-3p, miR-26b-5p, miR-30b-5p, miR-30c-5p, miR-374a-5p, miR-409-3p, and miR-95-3p were significantly different between Ects obtained from patients with T2DM and those obtained from healthy controls.Conclusion: Our results showed differences in the abundance of pro- and anti-angiogenic miRNAs in Ects of patients with T2DM, and are suggestive of mechanisms underlying the development of vascular complications due to impaired angiogenesis in such patients.

No abstract

This study shows that miR-424(322) has diagnostic and prognostic value in PH patients, correlating with markers of disease severity. Additionally, miR-424(322) can target proteins with a direct effect on heart function, suggesting that this miRNA can act as a messenger linking pulmonary vascular disease and right ventricle hypertrophy.

Pneumonia caused by the opportunistic organism Pneumocystis jirovecii is a clinically important infection affecting AIDS and other immunocompromised patients. The present study aimed to compare and characterise the frequency pattern of DNA sequences from the P. jirovecii mitochondrial large-subunit rRNA (mtLSU rRNA) gene, the dihydropteroate synthase (DHPS) gene and the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions of the nuclear rRNA operon in specimens from Lisbon (Portugal) and Seville (Spain). Total DNA was extracted and used for specific molecular sequence analysis of the three loci. In both populations, mtLSU rRNA gene analysis revealed an overall prevalence of genotype 1. In the Portuguese population, genotype 2 was the second most common, followed by genotype 3. Inversely, in the Spanish population, genotype 3 was the second most common, followed by genotype 2. The DHPS wild-type sequence was the genotype observed most frequently in both populations, and the DHPS genotype frequency pattern was identical to distribution patterns revealed in other European studies. ITS types showed a significant diversity in both populations because of the high sequence variability in these genomic regions. The most prevalent ITS type in the Portuguese population was Eg, followed by Cg. In contrast to other European studies, Bi was the most common ITS type in the Spanish samples, followed by Eg. A statistically significant association between mtLSU rRNA genotype 1 and ITS type Eg was revealed.

Not all studies have proven that cervical human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is a sexually acquired condition. Determinants of HPV infection were analyzed in a survey of 718 asymptomatic women in northeastern Brazil. HPV DNA was detected and typed by polymerase chain reaction. HPV types were classified into low- and high-risk groups on the basis of their association with cervical carcinomas. Overall HPV prevalence (18.3%) was moderately associated with age at first intercourse (P = .111, trend) and number of lifetime sex partners (P = .005, trend). However, separate analyses by risk revealed different degrees of association with sexual activity. Except for a positive association with multiple partners among women < 40 years old (P = .034, trend), infection with low-risk types (9.7%) was not correlated with sexual behavior. On the other hand, infection with high-risk HPV types (11.6%) was strongly and independently associated with both multiple partners (P = .009, trend) and age at first intercourse (P = .007, trend) in all age groups.

Pervasive transcription of the human genome is responsible for the production of a myriad of non-coding RNA molecules (ncRNAs) some of them with regulatory functions. The pivotal role of ncRNAs in cardiovascular biology has been unveiled in the last decade, starting from the characterization of the involvement of micro-RNAs in cardiovascular development and function, and followed by the use of circulating ncRNAs as biomarkers of cardiovascular diseases. The human non-coding secretome is composed by several RNA species that circulate in body fluids and could be used as biomarkers for diagnosis and outcome prediction. In cardiovascular diseases, secreted ncRNAs have been described as biomarkers of several conditions including myocardial infarction, cardiac failure, and atrial fibrillation. Among circulating ncRNAs, micro-RNAs (miRNAs), long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) and circular RNAs (circRNAs) have been proposed as biomarkers in different cardiovascular diseases. In comparison with standard biomarkers, the biochemical nature of ncRNAs offers better stability and flexible storage conditions of the samples, and increased sensitivity and specificity. In this review we describe the current trends and future prospects of the use of the ncRNA secretome components as biomarkers of cardiovascular diseases, including the opening questions related with their secretion mechanisms and regulatory actions.

This study was designed to assess the efficacy of using oral washes (OWs) to diagnose Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) in patients with a low parasite burden and to detect cases of subclinical infection. A total of 104 paired induced sputum (IS) samples and OWs from 104 HIV-seropositive patients and 32 OWs from immunocompetent healthy controls were studied. All of the control samples were negative. Fifty-two IS specimens were positive for Pneumocystis carinii, and 26 of these cases were also detected in the OWs using conventional stain or polymerase chain reaction. Twenty-four of the PCP cases had a high or a moderate parasite load and 28 had a low parasite load; among them, Pneumocystis carinii was detected in the OWs of 15 and 11 cases, respectively. Fifteen of the 104 IS samples studied belonged to patients who were asymptomatic carriers or who had a subclinical infection, and Pneumocystis carinii was detected in the OWs of 4 of these cases. The parasite was not detected in 37 IS samples and in 74 OWs. The results of this study indicate that in patients with a low pulmonary parasite burden, the number of organisms reaching the oral cavity is insufficient for reliable detection in OWs. Thus, OWs are less useful than IS samples for detecting Pneumocystis carinii in cases of pneumonia in which a low parasite burden and/or subclinical infection are present.