Mucormycosis is an angio-invasive infection, predominantly acquired by inhalation of sporangiospores from the environment. However, the burden of Mucormycetes sporangiospores in the air is not well studied. We aimed to estimate the burden of Mucormycetes spores in the outdoor and indoor (hospital) environment across different seasons in north India. A total of 380 air samples from outdoor (n = 180) and indoor (n = 200) environment were included in the study. Air samples were suctioned using air sampler (100 l/min) and cultured on Dichloran Rose Bengal Chloramphenicol (DRBC) with benomyl for selective isolation of Mucormycetes. The isolates were identified by phenotypic and genotypic methods. The mean spore count (±SD) of Mucormycetes (cfu/m3) in outdoor samples varied from 0.73 (±0.96) to 8.60 (±5.70) across different seasons. In hospital, the mean spore count varied from 0.68 (±1.07) to 1.12 (±1.07) and 0.88 (±1.01) to 1.72 (±2.17) for air-conditioned wards and non-air-conditioned wards, respectively. Rhizopus arrhizus was the predominant agent isolated from both indoor and outdoor environment followed by Cunninghamella species. We also report a single isolate of the rare mucormycete agent, Apophysomyces variabilis from outdoor environment. The present study highlights the presence of low spore burden of Mucormycetes in outdoor and hospital settings in north India. This study also reports the first isolation of A. variabilis from air samples in the Indian subcontinent.
Both platelets and cancer cells display an intimate reciprocal crosstalk resulting in alteration of each other's properties. Although many past studies have tried to demonstrate effect of platelets on tumour cells, exact role of platelets in carcinogenesis is still not clear. In the above study, we explored the effect of different concentrations of platelet rich plasma (PRP) on viability, proliferation and adhesion of HeLa cells in culture conditions. The above parameters were found to be slightly increased on incubation with lower two concentrations of PRP (4.4×10 5 & 1×10 6 platelets/μl) while a reverse effect was seen at high PRP concentration (2×10 6 lac platelets/μl) especially at 24 h. To further validate that the above effects were due to platelets we repeated the experiments in the presence of antiplatelet drug aspirin (20 mM). On treatment with aspirin alone, the cell viability, proliferation and adhesion were seen to be decreased indicating cytotoxicity of aspirin towards HeLa cells. However, all of the above parameters were found to increase on addition of all PRP concentrations at 24 h. Overall, variations in the number of platelets produced different effects on the cancer cells. Use of aspirin reduced the viability of the cancer cells, but this effect was seen to be partially reversed by all the concentrations of PRP used.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.