Biomarkers in Spinal Cord Injury: from Prognosis to Treatment

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is considered an incurable condition, having a heterogenous recovery and uncertain prognosis. Therefore, a reliable prediction of the improvement in the acute phase could benefit patients. Physicians are unanimous in insisting that at the initial damage of the spinal cord (SC), the patient should be carefully evaluated in order to help selecting an appropriate neuroprotective treatment. However, currently, neurologic impairment after SCI is measured and classified by functional examination. The identification of prognostic biomarkers of SCI would help to designate SC injured patients and correlate to diagnosis and correct treatment. Some proteins have already been identified as good potential biomarkers of central nervous system injury, both in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and blood serum. However, the problem for using them as biomarkers is the way they should be collected, as acquiring CSF through a lumbar puncture is significantly invasive. Remarkably, microRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as interesting biomarker candidates because of their stability in biological fluids and their tissue specificity. Several miRNAs have been identified to have their expressions altered in SCI in many animal models, making them promising candidates as biomarkers after SCI. Moreover, there are yet no effective therapies for SCI. It is already known that altered lysophospholipids (LPs) signaling are involved in the biology of disorders, such as inflammation. Reports have demonstrated that LPs when locally distributed can regulate SCI repair and key secondary injury processes such as apoptosis and inflammation, and so could become in the future new therapeutic approaches for treating SCI.     

Isolation of ergosterol peroxide and its reversion to ergosterol in the pathogenic fungus Sporothrix schenckii

Ergosterol peroxide, a presumed product of the H_{_2}O_{_2}-dependent enzymatic oxidation of ergosterol, has been isolated from yeast forms of the pathogenic fungus Sporothrix schenckii. The substance, which may have a role in fungal virulence, has been characterized mainly using spectroscopic methods (¹H and ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance and high resolution mass spectra). The purified compound showed a molecular formula of C_{_28}H_{_44}O_{_3}, displaying characteristic features of epidioxy sterols and was reverted to ergosterol when submitted to S. schenckii enzymatic extract. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Deceased tissue donor serology and molecular testing for HIV,hepatitis B and hepatitis C viruses: a lack of cadaveric validated tests

Vital to patient safety is the accurate assessment and minimization of risk for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), Hepatitis C (HCV), and Hepatitis B (HBV) virus transmission by deceased donor organ and tissue transplantation. The pathogens are tested by serological kits based on enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), chemiluminescence (CLIA) and eletrochemiluminescence (ECLIA) immunoassays. Organ transplantation is a highly successful life-saving treatment in Brazil, but the Brazilian Health Surveillance Agency currently mandates that all deceased organ donors are screened for HIV, HCV and HBV following living donor policies. In this review, six ELISA (Wama^®, Bio-Rad^®, Biomerieux^®, DiaSorin^®, Acon Biotech^® and Biokit^®), three CLIA (Abbott^®, Siemens^®, Diasorin^®) and one ECLIA (Roche^®) were utilized for evaluating the effectiveness of those serological tests for deceased donors in Brazil according to manufacturer’s guidelines. NAT for HIV, HCV and HBV can assist with detection of pre-seroconversion for those infections, and only Cobas^® TaqScreen MPX^® test, the Tigris System^® Procleix Ultrio Assay^® and the Bio-Manguinhos^® HIV/HCV/HBV NAT are commercially available. Between all the tests, only the manufacturer Abbott^® and Cobas^® TaqScreen MPX^® test are currently validated for cadaver samples.     

Hogfish Lachnolaimus maximus (Labridae) confirmed in the south‐western Atlantic Ocean

Based on material deposited in collections, photographic records and other reports from fishermen and divers, the occurrence of the hogfish Lachnolaimus maximus (Labridae) is confirmed in the south‐western Atlantic Ocean, near the Brazilian coast as far south as southern Brazil. The recognized range of this species should therefore be extended c. 3000 km further south.     

Phylogenetic relationships in the genus Cheracebus (Callicebinae,Pitheciidae)

Cheracebus is a new genus of New World primate of the family Pitheciidae, subfamily Callicebinae. Until recently, Cheracebus was classified as the torquatus species group of the genus Callicebus. The genus Cheracebus has six species: C. lucifer, C. lugens, C. regulus, C. medemi, C. torquatus, and C. purinus, which are all endemic to the Amazon biome. Before the present study, there had been no conclusive interpretation of the phylogenetic relationships among most of the Cheracebus species. The present study tests the monophyly of the genus and investigates the relationships among the different Cheracebus species, based on DNA sequencing of 16 mitochondrial and nuclear markers. The phylogenetic analyses were based on Maximum Likelihood, Bayesian Inference, and multispecies coalescent approaches. The divergence times and genetic distances between the Cheracebus taxa were also estimated. The analyses confirmed the monophyly of the genus and a well-supported topology, with the following arrangement: ((C. torquatus, C. lugens), (C. lucifer (C. purinus, C. regulus))). A well-differentiated clade was also identified within part of the geographic range of C. lugens, which warrants further investigation to confirm its taxonomic status.     

Genetic analysis reveals candidate species in the Scinax catharinae clade (Amphibia: Anura) from Central Brazil

Scinax (Anura: Hylidae) is a species-rich genus of amphibians (113 spp.), divided into five species groups by morphological features. Cladistic analyses however revealed only two monophyletic clades in these groups: Scinax catharinae and Scinax ruber. Most species from the S. catharinae clade are found in Atlantic rainforest, except for Scinax canastrensis,S. centralis, S. luizotavioi, S. machadoi,S. pombali and S. skaios. In the present work, specimens of Scinax collected in Chapada dos Guimarães, central Brazil, were morphologically compatible with species from theS. catharinae group. On the other hand, genetic analysis based on mitochondrial (16S and 12S) and nuclear (rhodopsin) sequences revealed a nucleotide divergence of 6 to 20% between Scinax sp. and other congeners from the Brazilian savannah (Cerrado). Accordingly, Bayesian inference placed Scinax sp. in the S. catharinae clade with high support values. Hence, these findings strongly indicate the presence of a new species in the S. catharinae clade from the southwestern portion of the Brazilian savannah. To be properly validated as a novel species, detailed comparative morphological and bioacustic studies with other taxa from Brazil such asS. canastrensis, S. centralis, S. luizotavioi, S. machadoi, S. pombali and S. skaios are required.     

Evidence for a precursor molecule of Brazil nut 2 S seed proteins from biosynthesis and cDNA analysis

Summary Seed storage proteins were extracted from Brazil nut (Bertholletia excelsa H.B.K.) seed embryos at various maturation stages. Salt-soluble and water-soluble proteins (globulins and albumins) were separated by gel chromatography and exhaustive dialysis against water. Both fractions were analysed by one- and two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Amino acid analysis revealed that both fractions are unusually high in methionine. The albumins consist of a family of low molecular weight polypeptides that are heterogeneous with respect to pI and are identical to the high methionine 2 S proteins described by Youle and Huang (1981). The biosynthesis of this class of proteins in maturing embryos was followed by in vivo labelling combined with immunological studies. Western blotting with monospecific antibodies against purified 2 S albumins and sequencing of a nearly complete cDNA clone revealed that they are synthesized via a precursor polypeptide.