Histoplasmosis is the most common endemic mycosis in the Americas. Currently, there is no laboratory test capable to detect subclinical or latent infections by Histoplasma capsulatum (Hc), which might develop as severe infections in immunocompromised individuals. For the first time to our knowledge, we explore the suitability of an interferon gamma release assay (IGRA) to detect latent Hc infection in asymptomatic individuals. A cohort of 126 volunteers was enrolled in the study, 13 of which underwent a Hc infection in the past, and 93 of them showing risk factors for this infection. The remaining 20 participants did not refer any risk factors of Hc infection, but eight of them showed evidences of infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis. All participants were recruited in Medellin, Colombia, between January 2014 and December 2017. Whole blood samples were cultured with four different Hc crude antigens and phytohemaglutinin as positive control. The interferon (IFN)-γ released by T lymphocytes upon antigen stimulation was quantified by ELISA. A defined cutoff value of 20 pg/ml for the IFN-γ concentration allowed us to distinguish between the group with documented past infections and the group of noninfected individuals with high sensitivity (70–92%) and specificity (85–95%), for the four tested antigens. Positive 82–95% and negative 77–92% predictive values were also very high, comparable to those reported for commercially available IGRAs. The new test constitutes a promising screening method to detect individuals with latent Hc infection, even decades after the primary infection, as evidenced in this study.

Colorectal Cancer (CRC) ranks third in terms of incidence and second in terms of mortality and prevalence worldwide. In relation to chemotherapy treatment, the most used drug is 5-fluorouracil (5-FU); however, the use of this drug generates various toxic effects at the systemic level. For this reason, new therapeutic strategies are currently being sought that can be used as neoadjuvant or adjuvant treatments. Recent research has shown that natural compounds, such as genistein, have chemotherapeutic and anticancer effects, but the mechanisms of action of genistein and its molecular targets in human colon cells have not been fully elucidated. The results reported in relation to non-malignant cell lines are also unclear, which does not allow evidence of the selectivity that this compound may have. Therefore, in this work, genistein was evaluated in vitro in both cancer cell lines SW480 and SW620 and in the non-malignant cell line HaCaT. The results obtained show that genistein has selectivity for the SW480 and SW620 cell lines. In addition, it inhibits cell viability and has an antiproliferative effect in a dose-dependent manner. Increased production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) was also found, suggesting an association with the cell death process through various mechanisms. Finally, the encapsulation strategy that was proposed made it possible to demonstrate that bacterial nanocellulose (BNC) is capable of protecting genistein from the acidic conditions of gastric fluid and also allows the release of the compound in the colonic fluid. This would allow genistein to act locally in the mucosa of the colon where the first stages of CRC occur.

No abstract

Seven styrylquinolines were synthesized in this study. Two of these styrylquinolines are new and were elucidated by spectroscopic analysis. The chemopreventive potential of these compounds was evaluated against SW480 human colon adenocarcinoma cells, its metastatic derivative SW620, and normal cells (HaCaT). According to the results, compounds 3a and 3d showed antiproliferative activity in SW480 and SW620 cells, but their effect seemed to be caused by different mechanisms of action. Compound 3a induced apoptosis independent of ROS production, as evidenced by increased levels of caspase 3, and had an immunomodulatory effect, positively regulating the production of different immunological markers in malignant cell lines. In contrast, compound 3d generated a pro-oxidant response and inhibited the growth of cancer cells, probably by another type of cell death other than apoptosis. Molecular docking studies indicated that the most active compound, 3a, could efficiently bind to the proapoptotic human caspases-3 protein, a result that could provide valuable information on the biochemical mechanism for the in vitro cytotoxic response of this compound in SW620 colon carcinoma cell lines. The obtained results suggest that these compounds have chemopreventive potential against CRC, but more studies should be carried out to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of action of each of them in depth.