Suchergebnisse

The authors acknowledge funding by MINECO BIO2015-70483-R to AF, by CAM S2013/ABI-2734 and by ERC GA260468 to MMC, by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, grant TRR175-C05) to DL, by NSF IOS 1444561 and NSF IOS PAPM-EAGER 1650139 to AS, and by Bio4Energy, a Strategic Research Environment appointed by the Swedish government to JH. ; Ferrando Monleón, AR.; Castellano, M.; Lisón, P.; Leister, D.; Stepanova, AN.; Hanson, J. (2017). Relevance of Translational Regulation on Plant Growth and Environmental Responses. Frontiers in Plant Science. 8:1-2. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2017.02170 ; S ; 1 ; 2 ; 8 ; Hummel, M., Cordewener, J. H. G., de Groot, J. C. M., Smeekens, S., America, A. H. P., & Hanson, J. (2012). Dynamic protein composition of Arabidopsis thaliana cytosolic ribosomes in response to sucrose feeding as revealed by label free MSE proteomics. PROTEOMICS, 12(7), 1024-1038. doi:10.1002/pmic.201100413 ; Vermeulen, S. J., Campbell, B. M., & Ingram, J. S. I. (2012). Climate Change and Food Systems. Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 37(1), 195-222. doi:10.1146/annurev-environ-020411-130608 ; Vogel, C., & Marcotte, E. M. (2012). Insights into the regulation of protein abundance from proteomic and transcriptomic analyses. Nature Reviews Genetics, 13(4), 227-232. doi:10.1038/nrg3185

[EN] An increase of bone diseases incidence has boosted the study of ceramic biomaterials as potential osteo-inductive scaffolds. In particular, mesoporous bioactive glasses have demonstrated to possess a broad application in the bone regeneration field, due their osteo-regenerative capability and their ability to release drugs from the mesoporous structure. These special features have been studied as an option to fight against bone infection, which is one of the most common problems regarding bone regeneration therapies. In this work, a mesoporous bioglass functionalized with polyamines and capped with adenosine triphosphate (ATP) as the molecular gate was developed for the controlled release of the antibiotic levofloxacin. Phosphate bonds of ATP were hydrolyzed in the presence of acid phosphatase (APase), the concentration of which is significantly increased in bone infection due to the activation of bone resorption processes. The solid was characterized and tested successfully against bacteria. The final gated solid induced bacterial death only in the presence of acid phosphatase. Additionally, it was demonstrated that the solid is not toxic against human cells. The double function of the prepared material as a drug delivery system and bone regeneration enhancer confirms the possible development of a new approach in the tissue engineering field, in which controlled release of therapeutic agents can be finely tuned and, at the same time, osteoinduction is favored. ; The authors thank the Spanish Government for projects MAT2015-64139-C04-01-R, MAT2015-64831-R and MAT2016-75611-R (AEI/FEDER, UE). Generalitat Valenciana (project PROMETEOII/2014/047) and CIBER-BBN (project SPRING) are also acknowledged for their support. M.V.R. acknowledges funding from the European Research Council (Advanced Grant VERDI; ERC-2015-AdG Proposal 694160). L.P. thanks Universitat Politecnica de Valencia for her FPI grant. N.G.C. and A.G. thank to Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion and Ministerio de Educacion, Cultura y Deporte for ...

Clinical symptoms of chronic Chagas disease occur in around 30% of the individuals infected with Trypanosoma cruzi and are characterized by heart inflammation and dysfunction. The pathogenesis of chronic chagasic cardiomyopathy (CCC) is not completely understood yet, partially because disease evolution depends on complex host-parasite interactions. Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) is a pleiotropic proinflammatory cytokine that promotes numerous pathophysiological processes. In the current study, we investigated the link between MIF and CCC progression. Immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated MIF overexpression in the hearts from chronically T. cruzi-infected mice, particularly those showing intense inflammatory infiltration. We also found that MIF exogenously added to parasite-infected murine macrophage cultures is capable of enhancing the production of TNF-α and reactive oxygen species, both with pathogenic roles in CCC. Thus, the integrated action of MIF and other cytokines and chemokines may account for leukocyte influx to the infected myocardium, accompanied by enhanced local production of multiple inflammatory mediators. We further examined by ELISA the level of MIF in the sera from chronic indeterminate and cardiomyopathic chagasic patients, and healthy subjects. CCC patients displayed significantly higher MIF concentrations than those recorded in asymptomatic T. cruzi-infected and uninfected individuals. Interestingly, increased MIF levels were associated with severe progressive Chagas heart disease, in correlation with elevated serum concentration of high sensitivity C-reactive protein and also with several echocardiographic indicators of left ventricular dysfunction, one of the hallmarks of CCC. Our present findings represent the first evidence that enhanced MIF production is associated with progressive cardiac impairment in chronic human infection with T. cruzi, strengthening the relationship between inflammatory response and parasite-driven pathology. These observations contribute to unravel the elements involved in the pathogenesis of CCC and may also be helpful for the design of novel therapies aimed to control long-term morbidity in chagasic patients. ; Fil: Cutrullis, Romina Andrea. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital General de Niños "Ricardo Gutiérrez". Servicio de Parasitología y Chagas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina ; Fil: Petray, Patricia Beatriz. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital General de Niños "R. Gutierrez". Servicio de Parasitología y Chagas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina ; Fil: Schapachnik, Edgardo. Ministerio de Defensa. Ejército Argentino. Hospital Militar Central Cirujano Mayor "Dr. Cosme Argerich"; Argentina ; Fil: Sánchez, Rubén Ismael. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital General de Agudos "Ramos Mejía". Servicio de Cardiología; Argentina ; Fil: Postan, Miriam. Dirección Nacional de Instituto de Investigación. Administración Nacional de Laboratorio e Instituto de Salud. Instituto Nacional de Parasitología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina ; Fil: González, Mariela Natacha. Dirección Nacional de Instituto de Investigación. Administración Nacional de Laboratorio e Instituto de Salud. Instituto Nacional de Parasitología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina ; Fil: Martín, Valentina. Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Escuela de Ciencia y Tecnología. Centro de Estudios en Salud y Medio Ambiente; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina ; Fil: Corral, Ricardo Santiago. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital General de Niños "Ricardo Gutiérrez". Servicio de Parasitología y Chagas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina

[EN] BackgroundForest species ranges are confined by environmental limitations such as cold stress. The natural range shifts of pine forests due to climate change and proactive-assisted population migration may each be constrained by the ability of pine species to tolerate low temperatures, especially in northern latitudes or in high altitudes. The aim of this study is to characterize the response of cold-tolerant versus cold-sensitive Pinus halepensis (P. halepensis) seedlings at the physiological and the molecular level under controlled cold conditions to identify distinctive features which allow us to explain the phenotypic difference. With this objective gas-exchange and water potential was determined and the photosynthetic pigments, soluble sugars, glutathione and free amino acids content were measured in seedlings of different provenances under control and cold stress conditions.ResultsGlucose and fructose content can be highlighted as a potential distinctive trait for cold-tolerant P. halepensis seedlings. At the amino acid level, there was a significant increase and accumulation of glutathione, proline, glutamic acid, histidine, arginine and tryptophan along with a significant decrease of glycine.ConclusionOur results established that the main difference between cold-tolerant and cold-sensitive seedlings of P. halepensis is the ability to accumulate the antioxidant glutathione and osmolytes such as glucose and fructose, proline and arginine. ; This study is a part of the research project: "Application of molecular biology techniques in forest restoration in Mediterranean environments, PAID-05-11" funded by the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia (UPV), program for supporting R&D of new multidisciplinary research lines. The authors are grateful to the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad AGL2014-57431-P and BIO2016-77776-P. AV was supported by project Survive-2 (CGL2015-69773-C2-2-P MINECO/FEDER) by the Spanish Government and Prometeo program (DESESTRES Generalitat Valenciana). CEAM is funded by ...

We have established that docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), the major polyunsaturated fatty acid in the retina, promotes survival of rat retina photoreceptors during early development in vitro and upon oxidative stress by activating the ERK/MAPK signaling pathway. We now investigated whether DHA turns on this pathway through activation of retinoid X receptors (RXR) or by inducing tyrosine kinase (Trk) receptor activation. We also evaluated whether DHA release from phospholipids was required for its protective effect. Addition of RXR antagonists (HX531, PA452) to rat retinal neuronal cultures inhibited DHA protection during early development in vitro and upon oxidative stress induced with paraquat or H2O2. In contrast, the Trk inhibitor K252a did not affect DHA prevention of photoreceptor apoptosis. These results imply that activation of RXR was required for DHA protection whereas Trk receptors were not involved in this protection. Pretreatment with BEL, a phospholipase A2 inhibitor, blocked DHA prevention of oxidative stress-induced apoptosis of photoreceptors. Noteworthy, RXR agonists (HX630, PA024) also rescued photoreceptors from H2O2-induced apoptosis. These results suggest that DHA is first released from phospholipids and then activates RXR to prevent photoreceptor apoptosis. This is the first evidence in which RXR activation can promote the survival of photoreceptors. ; Fil: German, Olga Lorena. Universidad Nacional del Sur; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico CONICET Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas Bahía Blanca (i); Argentina ; Fil: Monaco, Sandra Tanya. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico CONICET Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas Bahía Blanca (i); Argentina ; Fil: Agnolazza, Daniela Luciana. Universidad Nacional del Sur; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico CONICET Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas Bahía Blanca (i); Argentina ; Fil: Politi, Luis Enrique. Universidad Nacional del Sur; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico CONICET Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas Bahía Blanca (i); Argentina ; Fil: Rotstein, Nora Patricia. Universidad Nacional del Sur; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico CONICET Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas Bahía Blanca (i); Argentina

[EN] Eggplant (Solanum melongena) has been described as moderately sensitive to salinity. We characterised the responses to salt stress of eggplant andS. insanum, its putative wild ancestor. Young plants of two accessions of both species were watered for 25 days with an irrigation solution containing NaCl at concentrations of 0 (control), 50, 100, 200, and 300 mM. Plant growth, photosynthetic activity, concentrations of photosynthetic pigments, K+, Na+, and Cl(-)ions, proline, total soluble sugars, malondialdehyde, total phenolics, and total flavonoids, as well as superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione reductase specific activities, were quantified. Salt stress-induced reduction of growth was greater inS. melongenathan inS. insanum.The photosynthetic activity decreased in both species, except for substomatal CO2 concentration (Ci) inS. insanum, although the photosynthetic pigments were not degraded in the presence of NaCl. The levels of Na+ and Cl(-)increased in roots and leaves with increasing NaCl doses, but leaf K(+)concentrations were maintained, indicating a relative stress tolerance in the two accessions, which also did not seem to suffer a remarkable degree of salt-induced oxidative stress. Our results suggest that the higher salt tolerance ofS. insanummostly lies in its ability to accumulate higher concentrations of proline and, to a lesser extent, Na(+)and Cl-. The results obtained indicate thatS. insanumis a good candidate for improving salt tolerance in eggplant through breeding and introgression programmes. ; This work was undertaken as part of the initiative "Adapting Agriculture to Climate Change: Collecting, Protecting and Preparing CropWild Relatives", which is supported by the Government of Norway and managed by the Global Crop Diversity Trust. For further information, see the project website: http://cwrdiversity.org/. Funding was also received from Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacion y Universidades, Agencia Estatal de Investigacion and Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (grant ...

[EN] Nanoparticle-cell-nanoparticle communication by stigmergy was demonstrated using two capped nanodevices. The first community of nanoparticles (i.e.S(RA)(IFN)) is loaded with 9-cis-retinoic acid and capped with interferon-gamma, whereas the second community of nanoparticles (i.e.S(sulf)(PIC)) is loaded with sulforhodamine B and capped with poly(I:C). The uptake ofS(RA)(IFN)by SK-BR-3 breast cancer cells enhanced the expression of TLR3 receptor facilitating the subsequent uptake ofS(sulf)(PIC)and cell killing. ; We thank the Spanish Government (projects RTI2018-100910-B-C41 and RTI2018-101599-B-C22 (MCUI/FEDER, EU)), Generalitat Valenciana (project PROMETEO2018/024) and CIBER-BBN (project NANOCOMMUNITY) for support. A. U. and C. G are grateful to the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport for her doctoral FPU grant. ; Ultimo, A.; De La Torre-Paredes, C.; Giménez, C.; Aznar, E.; Coll, C.; Marcos Martínez, MD.; Murguía, JR. (2020). Nanoparticle-cell-nanoparticle communication by stigmergy to enhance poly(I:C) induced apoptosis in cancer cells. Chemical Communications. 56(53):7273-7276. https://doi.org/10.1039/d0cc02795b ; S ; 7273 ; 7276 ; 56 ; 53 ; Schaming, D., & Remita, H. (2015). Nanotechnology: from the ancient time to nowadays. Foundations of Chemistry, 17(3), 187-205. doi:10.1007/s10698-015-9235-y ; Hauert, S., & Bhatia, S. N. (2014). Mechanisms of cooperation in cancer nanomedicine: towards systems nanotechnology. Trends in Biotechnology, 32(9), 448-455. doi:10.1016/j.tibtech.2014.06.010 ; Theraulaz, G., & Bonabeau, E. (1999). A Brief History of Stigmergy. Artificial Life, 5(2), 97-116. doi:10.1162/106454699568700 ; Llopis-Lorente, A., Díez, P., Sánchez, A., Marcos, M. D., Sancenón, F., Martínez-Ruiz, P., … Martínez-Máñez, R. (2017). Interactive models of communication at the nanoscale using nanoparticles that talk to one another. Nature Communications, 8(1). doi:10.1038/ncomms15511 ; Luis, B., Llopis‐Lorente, A., Rincón, P., Gadea, J., Sancenón, F., Aznar, E., … Martínez‐Máñez, R. (2019). ...

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: B. Lozano-Torres, J. F. Blandez, I. Galiana, A. García-Fernández, M. Alfonso, M. D. Marcos, M. Orzáez, F. Sancenón, R. Martínez-Máñez, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2020, 59, 15152., which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202004142. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving. ; [EN] In vivo detection of cellular senescence is accomplished by using mesoporous silica nanoparticles loaded with the NIR-FDA approved Nile blue (NB) dye and capped with a galactohexasaccharide (S3). NB emission at 672 nm is highly quenched inside S3, yet a remarkable emission enhancement is observed upon cap hydrolysis in the presence of beta-galactosidase and dye release. The efficacy of the probe to detect cellular senescence is tested in vitro in melanoma SK-Mel-103 and breast cancer 4T1 cells and in vivo in palbociclib-treated BALB/cByJ mice bearing breast cancer tumor. ; R.M. thanks financial support from the Spanish Government (RTI2018-100910-B-C41 and RTI2018-101599-B-C22 (MCUI/AEI/FEDER, UE)) and the Generalitat Valenciana (PROMETEO 2018/024). M.O. thanks the financial support from SAF2017-84689-R project and MINECO/AEI/FEDER, UE and the Generalitat Valenciana (PROMETEO/2019/065). B.L.-T. is grateful to the Spanish Ministry of Economy for her PhD grant. I.G. thanks her contract from IDM. J.F.-B. and M.A. thank the UPV for their postdoctoral fellowship. ; Lozano-Torres, B.; Blandez, JF.; Galiana, I.; García-Fernández, A.; Alfonso-Navarro, M.; Marcos Martínez, MD.; Orzáez, M. (2020). Real-Time In Vivo Detection of Cellular Senescence through the Controlled Release of the NIR Fluorescent Dye Nile Blue. Angewandte Chemie International Edition. 59(35):15152-15156. https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202004142 ; S ; 15152 ; 15156 ; 59 ; 35 ; He, S., & Sharpless, N. E. (2017). Senescence in Health and Disease. Cell, 169(6), 1000-1011. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2017.05.015 ; Lozano-Torres, ...

[EN] The induction of senescence produces a stable cell cycle arrest in cancer cells, thereby inhibiting tumor growth; however, the incomplete immune cell-mediated clearance of senescent cells may favor tumor relapse, limiting the long-term anti-tumorigenic effect of such drugs. A combination of senescence induction and the elimination of senescent cells may, therefore, represent an efficient means to inhibit tumor relapse. In this study, we explored the antitumor efficacy of a combinatory senogenic and targeted senolytic therapy in an immunocompetent orthotopic mouse model of the aggressive triple negative breast cancer subtype. Following palbociclib-induced senogenesis and senolysis by treatment with nano-encapsulated senolytic agent navitoclax, we observed inhibited tumor growth, reduced metastases, and a reduction in the systemic toxicity of navitoclax. We believe that this combination treatment approach may have relevance to other senescence-inducing chemotherapeutic drugs and additional tumor types. Significance: While the application of senescence inducers represents a successful treatment strategy in breast cancer patients, some patients still relapse, perhaps due to the subsequent accumulation of senescent cells in the body that can promote tumor recurrence. We now demonstrate that a combination treatment of a senescence inducer and a senolytic nanoparticle selectively eliminates senescent cells, delays tumor growth, and reduces metastases in a mouse model of aggressive breast cancer. Collectively, our results support targeted senolysis as a new therapeutic opportunity to improve outcomes in breast cancer patients. ; The M.O. laboratory members thank the financial support from the Spanish Government (project SAF2017-84689-R (MINECO/AEI/FEDER, EU)) and the Generalitat Valenciana (project PROMETEO/2019/065). The R.M. laboratory members thank the financial support from the Spanish Government (projects RTI2018-100910-B-C41 and RTI2018-101599-B-C22 (MCUI/FEDER, EU) and the Generalitat Valenciana (project ...

[EN] Little information is available on the physiological and biochemical responses to water stress in eggplant (Solanum melongena). We valuated four genetically diverse eggplant varieties (MEL3-MEL6) under control and water stress conditions. Measurements were taken for plant growth, tissue water content, levels of chlorophylls a and b, carotenoids, roline, malondialdehyde, total phenolics, total flavonoids, superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase APX), and glutathione reductase (GR) activities. For most traits, the water stress treatment had a greater contribution than the variety effect to the total sums of squares in an ANOVA analysis, except for total flavonoids, SOD, APX, and GR. The water stress treatment had a strong effect on plant growth and tissue water content. In general, water tress reduced the three photosynthetic pigments, increased proline, malondialdehyde, total phenolics, and total flavonoids, although some varietal differences were ob- served. Different patterns were also detected in the activities of the four enzymes evaluated, but few differences were observed for individual varieties between the control and water stress treatments. Many significant phe- notypic orrelations were observed among the traits studied, but only eight environmental correlations were detected. A PCA analysis distinctly separated individuals according to the treatment, and revealed a clearer separation of varieties under water stress than under control conditions, pointing to varietal differences in the responses to stress. Our results suggest that proline could be used as a marker for drought stress tolerance in this species. The information obtained provides new insight on the physiological and biochemical responses of eggplant to drought stress ; Authors are grateful to the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under grant agreement No 677379 (G2P-SOL project: Linking genetic resources, genomes and phenotypes of Solanaceous crops), to Ministerio de Economfa, ...

[EN] Copper and iron are essential micronutrients for most living organisms because they participate as cofactors in biological processes, including respiration, photosynthesis, and oxidative stress protection. In many eukaryotic organisms, including yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and mammals, copper and iron homeostases are highly interconnected; yet, such interdependence is not well established in higher plants. Here, we propose that COPT2, a high-affinity copper transport protein, functions under copper and iron deficiencies in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). COPT2 is a plasma membrane protein that functions in copper acquisition and distribution. Characterization of the COPT2 expression pattern indicates a synergic response to copper and iron limitation in roots. We characterized a knockout of COPT2, copt2-1, that leads to increased resistance to simultaneous copper and iron deficiencies, measured as reduced leaf chlorosis and improved maintenance of the photosynthetic apparatus. We propose that COPT2 could play a dual role under iron deficiency. First, COPT2 participates in the attenuation of copper deficiency responses driven by iron limitation, possibly to minimize further iron consumption. Second, global expression analyses of copt2-1 versus wild-type Arabidopsis plants indicate that low-phosphate responses increase in the mutant. These results open up new biotechnological approaches to fight iron deficiency in crops. ; This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (grant nos. BIO2011-24848 and CSD2007-00057 to L. P. and predoctoral Formacion Personal Investigador fellowships to A. P.-G and A. G.-M.) and by the European Regional Developmental Fund of the European Union. ; Perea García, A.; Garcia Molina, A.; Andres-Colas, N.; Vera Sirera, FJ.; Perez Amador, MA.; Puig, S.; Penarrubia, L. (2013). Arabidopsis copper transport protein COPT2 participates in the crosstalk between iron deficiency responses and low phosphate signaling. Plant Physiology. 162(1):180-194. ...

[EN] DELLA proteins are transcriptional regulators present in all land plants which have been shown to modulate the activity of over 100 transcription factors in Arabidopsis, involved in multiple physiological and developmental processes. It has been proposed that DELLAs transduce environmental information to pre-wired transcriptional circuits because their stability is regulated by gibberellins (GAs), whose homeostasis largely depends on environmental signals. The ability of GAs to promote DELLA degradation coincides with the origin of vascular plants, but the presence of DELLAs in other land plants poses at least two questions: what regulatory properties have DELLAs provided to the behavior of transcriptional networks in land plants, and how has the recruitment of DELLAs by GA signaling affected this regulation. To address these issues, we have constructed gene co-expression networks of four different organisms within the green lineage with different properties regarding DELLAs: Arabidopsis thaliana and Solanum lycopersicum (both with GA- regulated DELLA proteins), Physcomitrella patens (with GA- independent DELLA proteins) and Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (a green alga without DELLA), and we have examined the relative evolution of the subnetworks containing the potential DELLA-dependent transcriptomes. Network analysis indicates a relative increase in parameters associated with the degree of interconnectivity in the DELLA-associated subnetworks of land plants, with a stronger effect in species with GA- regulated DELLA proteins. These results suggest that DELLAs may have played a role in the coordination of multiple transcriptional programs along evolution, and the function of DELLAs as regulatory 'hubs' became further consolidated after their recruitment by GA signaling in higher plants. ; Work in the laboratories was funded by grants BFU2016-80621-P and BIO2014-52425-P of the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness, and H2020-MSCA-RISE-2014-644435 of the European Union. AB-M and JH-G hold ...

[EN] Here, we present the design of smart nano-devices capable of reading molecular information from the environment and acting accordingly by processing Boolean logic tasks. As proof of concept, we prepared Au-mesoporous silica (MS) nanoparticles functionalized with the enzyme glucose dehydrogenase (GDH) on the Au surface and with supramolecular nanovalves as caps on the MS surface, which is loaded with a cargo (dye or drug). The nanodevice acts as an AND logic gate and reads information from the solution (presence of glucose and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADI), which results in cargo release. We show the possibility of coimmobilizing GDH and the enzyme urease on nanoparticles to mimic an INHIBIT logic gate, in which the AND gate is switched off by the presence of urea. We also show that such nanodevices can deliver cytotoxic drugs in cancer cells by recognizing intracellular NAD(+) and the presence of glucose. ; A.L.-L. is grateful to "La Caixa" Banking Foundation for his Ph.D. grant. A.G.-F. and B.de L. thank the Spanish government for FPU fellowships. The authors are grateful to the Spanish Government (MINECO Projects MAT2015-64139-C4-1, CTQ2014-58989-P, and CTQ2015-71936-REDT) and the Generalitat Valencia (Project PROMETEOII/2014/047 and PROMETEOII/2014/061) for support. The Comunidad de Madrid (S2013/MIT-3029, Programme NANOAVANSENS) is also gratefully acknowledged. ; Llopis-Lorente, A.; De Luis-Fernández, B.; García-Fernández, A.; Jiménez-Falcao, S.; Orzaez, M.; Sancenón Galarza, F.; Villalonga, R. (2018). Hybrid Mesoporous Nanocarriers Act by Processing Logic Tasks: Toward the Design of Nanobots Capable of Reading Information from the Environment. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces. 10(31):26494-26500. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.8b05920 ; S ; 26494 ; 26500 ; 10 ; 31

[EN] Apoptotic signaling pathways are altered in numerous pathologies such as cancer. In this scenario, caspase-9/PP2Ac alpha interaction constitutes a key target with pharmacological interest to re-establish apoptosis in tumor cells. Very recently, a short peptide (C9h) known to disrupt caspase-9/PP2Ac alpha interaction with subsequent apoptosis induction was described. Here, we prepared two sets of mesoporous silica nanoparticles loaded with safraninO (S2) or with C9h peptide (S4) and functionalized with epsilon-polylysine as capping unit. Aqueous suspensions of both nanoparticles showed negligible cargo release whereas in the presence of pronase, a marked delivery of safraninO or C9h was observed. Confocal microscopy studies carried out with HeLa cells indicated that both materials were internalized and were able to release their entrapped cargos. Besides, a marked decrease in HeLa cell viability (ca. 50%) was observed when treated with C9h-loaded S4 nanoparticles. Moreover, S4 provides peptide protection from degradation additionally allowing for a dose reduction to observe an apoptotic effect when compared with C9h alone or in combination with a cell-penetrating peptide (i.e., Mut3DPT-C9h). Flow cytometry studies, by means of Annexin V-FITC staining, showed the activation of apoptotic pathways in HeLa as a consequence of S4 internalization, release of C9h peptide and disruption of caspase-9/PP2Ac alpha interaction. ; The authors wish to express their gratitude to the Spanish government (Projects MAT2015-64139-C4-1, SAF2012-31405, SAF2015-67077-R, AGL2015-70235-C2-2-R (MINECO/FEDER)), the Generalitat Valencia (Projects PROMETEOII/2014/047, PROMETEO/2012/061) and the CIBER-BBN for their support. C.T. is grateful to the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation for her Ph.D. fellowship. ; De La Torre-Paredes, C.; Domínguez-Berrocal, L.; Murguía, JR.; Marcos Martínez, MD.; Martínez-Máñez, R.; Bravo, J.; Sancenón Galarza, F. (2018). epsilon-Polylysine-Capped Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles as Carrier of the C9h ...

[EN] Gypsophila tomentosa and G. struthium are closely related species, characteristic of two European priority habitats, salt and gypsum inland steppes, respectively. Germination strategies of the two taxa were investigated in plants from two nearby populations, growing under the same climatic conditions but on different types of soil, and belonging to different plant communities. Their germination patterns were studied at five constant temperatures in darkness: 5 degrees C, 10 degrees C, 15 degrees C, 20 degrees C and 25 degrees C, and the base temperature and the thermal time requirement were calculated. As the distribution area of both species is subjected to a Mediterranean continental climate with significant differences between day and night, the possible preferences for an alternating temperature regime (25/10 degrees C) were contrasted, as well as the influence of cold stratification and freezing. The effects on seed germination of light at constant 20 degrees C and a 12/12 h photoperiod were also compared in the two species. The main conclusions of the work are the similarity of behaviour of both species, with an absence of seed dormancy, their opportunistic germination strategy, and water availability as the principal limitation to seed germination and plant establishment. The base temperature and thermal time indicate higher competitiveness of G. struthium at low temperatures, but seed germination of G. tomentosa is the most efficient at temperatures higher than 13.3 degrees C. Optimal temperature and illumination conditions for nursery propagation depend on the species. The high viability of seeds observed after freezing prove the orthodox character of these seeds, providing additional information for long term seed conservation procedures. ; The experiments were conducted at the Botanical Garden of the University of Valencia and were co-financed by the European Union Interreg Project GENMEDOC (Création d'un reseau de centres de conservation du matériel génétique de la flore des régions ...