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A bienzyme amperometric composite biosensor for the determination of free and total cholesterol in food samples is reported. Cholesterol oxidase and horseradish peroxidase, together with potassium ferrocyanide as a mediator, are incorporated into a graphite-70% Teflon matrix. The compatibility of this biosensor design with predominantly nonaqueous media allows the use of reversed micelles as working medium. The reversed micelles are formed with ethyl acetate as continuous phase (in which cholesterol is soluble), a 4% final concentration of 0.05 mol L(-1) phosphate buffer solution, pH 7.4, as dispersed phase, and 0.1 mol L(-1) AOT as emulsifying agent. Studies on the repeatability of the amperometric response obtained at +0.10 V, with and without regeneration of the electrode surface by polishing, on the useful lifetime of one single biosensor and on the reproducibility in the fabrication of different pellets illustrate the robustness of the biosensor design. Determination of free and total cholesterol in food samples such as butter, lard, and egg yoke was carried out, and the obtained results were advantageously compared with those provided by using a commercial Boehringer test kit.

Different rate of development of productive infections (as low grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasias), or high grade lesions and cervical malignant tumors associated with infections of the Transformation zone (TZ) by High-Risk Human Papillomavirus (HR-HPV), could suggest that different epithelial host target cells could exist. If there is more than one target cell, their differential infection by HR-HPV may play a central role in the development of cervical cancer. Recently, the concept that cancer might arise from a rare population of cells with stem cell-like properties has received support in several solid tumors, including cervical cancer (CC). According to the cancer stem cell (CSC) hypothesis, CC can now be considered a disease in which stem cells of the TZ are converted to cervical cancer stem cells by the interplay between HR-HPV viral oncogenes and cellular alterations that are thought to be finally responsible for tumor initiation and maintenance. Current studies of CSC could provide novel insights regarding tumor initiation and progression, their relation with viral proteins and interplay with the tumor micro-environment. This review will focus on the biology of cervical cancer stem cells, which might contribute to our understanding of the mechanisms responsible for cervical tumor development.

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Cervical cancer is the second most frequent tumor type in women worldwide with cases developing clinical recurrence, metastasis, and chemoresistance. The cancer stem cells (CSC) may be implicated in tumor resistance to therapy. RESveratrol (RES), a natural compound, is an antioxidant with multiple beneficial activities. We previously determined that the expression of RAD51 is decreased by RES. The aim of our study was to examine molecular mechanism by which CSC from HeLa cultures exhibit chemoresistance. We hypothesized CSC repair more efficiently DNA breaks and that RAD51 plays an important role in this mechanism. We found that CSC, derived from cervical cancer cell lines, overexpress RAD51 and are less sensitive to Etoposide (VP16). We inhibited RAD51 in CSC-enriched cultures using RES or siRNA against RAD51 messenger RNA and observed a decrease in cell viability and induction of apoptosis when treated simultaneously with VP16. In addition, we found that inhibition of RAD51 expression using RES also sensitizes CSC to VP16 treatment. Our results suggest that resveratrol is effective to sensitize cervical CSC because of RAD51 inhibition, targeting high RAD51 expressing CD49f-positive cells, which supports the possible therapeutic application of RES as a novel agent to treat cancer.