Biological Databases for Hematology Research

First Clinical Nutrition Outpatient Consultation: A Review of Basic Principles in Nutritional Care of Adults with Hematologic Disease

Methods

A bibliographic survey was carried out between 2020 and 2022 using two databases: PubMed/MEDLINE and Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO) and the information source Academic Google, irrespective of language or geography.

Results

In the first nutrition consultation (FNC), there should be an investigative direction focused on nutritional interventions in the short, medium, and long term. The record in the patient's medical record is relevant for carrying out the consultation, according to the recommendations of the normative councils of medicine and nutrition. The main steps to be followed are the investigation of the presence of food allergies and intolerances; the drugs/nutritional supplements in use; changes in the digestive tract; the presence or absence of picamalacia; and socioeconomic and lifestyle data. In addition, it is necessary to carry out laboratory evaluations, semiological assessment, anthropometric assessment, and assessment of food consumption. In the end, the nutritional approach should be composed of calculation of energy and macronutrient and micronutrient needs, intervention in nutritional status deviations, nutritional guidelines, and nutritional therapeutic planning of return, focusing on adherence to treatment.

Conclusion

The first nutrition consultation may represent investigative steps that help the clinical nutritionist in the management, allowing a longitudinal and specific nutritional therapeutic planning for patients assisted in large reference centers for hematological disease.

The Effect of Low Doses of Zearalenone (ZEN) on the Bone Marrow Microenvironment and Haematological Parameters of Blood Plasma in Pre-Pubertal Gilts

The aim of this study was to determine whether low doses of zearalenone (ZEN) influence the carry-over of ZEN and its metabolites to the bone marrow microenvironment and, consequently, haematological parameters. Pre-pubertal gilts (with a body weight of up to 14.5 kg) were exposed to daily ZEN doses of 5 μg/kg BW (group ZEN5, n = 15), 10 μg/kg BW (group ZEN10, n = 15), 15 μg/kg BW (group ZEN15, n = 15), or were administered a placebo (group C, n = 15) throughout the entire experiment. Bone marrow was sampled on three dates (exposure dates 7, 21, and 42—after slaughter) and blood for haematological analyses was sampled on 10 dates. Significant differences in the analysed haematological parameters (WBC White Blood Cells, MONO—Monocytes, NEUT—Neutrophils, LYMPH—Lymphocytes, LUC—Large Unstained Cells, RBC—Red Blood Cells, HGB—Haemoglobin, HCT—Haematocrit, MCH—Mean Corpuscular Volume, MCHC—Mean Corpuscular Haemoglobin Concentrations, PLT—Platelet Count and MPV—Mean Platelet Volume) were observed between groups. The results of the experiment suggest that exposure to low ZEN doses triggered compensatory and adaptive mechanisms, stimulated the local immune system, promoted eryptosis, intensified mycotoxin biotransformation processes in the liver, and produced negative correlations between mycotoxin concentrations and selected haematological parameters.

BloodSpot: a database of healthy and malignant haematopoiesis updated with purified and single cell mRNA sequencing profiles

BloodSpot is a gene-centric database of mRNA expression of haematopoietic cells. The web-based interface to the database includes three concomitant levels of visualization for a gene query; foremost is the expression across hematopoietic cell types, second is analysis of survival of Acute Myeloid Leukaemia patients based on gene expression, and lastly, the expression visualized in an interactive developmental tree. With the introduction of single cell data we have now also included an unbiased dimensionality reduction method to show gene expression over the continuum of haematopoiesis. The webserver includes a few select analysis functionalities, like Student's t-test, identification of correlating genes and lookup of whole genetic signatures, with the aim of making generation and testing of hypotheses quick and intuitive. The visualizations have been updated to accommodate new datatypes and the database has been largely expanded with RNA-sequencing datasets, both purified in bulk and at single cell resolution, increasing the number of single samples more than 10 fold, while keeping simplicity in presentation. The database should be of interest for any researcher within leukaemia, haematopoiesis, cellular development, or stem cells. The database is freely available at www.bloodspot.eu

Genetic variation influencing hemoglobin levels and risk for anemia across populations

Hemoglobin (Hb) concentration is the outcome of the interaction between genetic variation and environmental factors, including nutritional status, sex, age, and altitude. Genetic diversity influencing this protein is complex and varies widely across populations. Variants related to abnormal Hb or altered characteristics of the erythrocytes increase the risk for anemia. The most prevalent are related to the inherited globin abnormalities affecting Hb production and structure. Malaria-endemic regions harbor the highest frequencies of variants associated with the most frequent monogenic diseases and the risk for nonnutritional anemia and are considered as public health problems. Variation in genes encoding for enzymes and membrane proteins in red blood cells also influence erythrocyte life span and risk for anemia. Most of these variants are rare. Interindividual variability of hematological parameters is also influenced by common genetic variation across the whole genome. Some of the identified variants are associated with Hb production, erythropoiesis, and iron metabolism. Specialized databases have been developed to organize and update the large body of available information on genetic variation related to Hb variation, their frequency, geographical distribution, and clinical significance. Our present review analyzed the underlying genetic factors that affect Hb concentrations, their clinical relevance, and geographical distribution across populations.