Amyloid β peptide affects erythrocyte morphology: Role of intracellular signaling pathways

Morphometric and Nanomechanical Screening of Peripheral Blood Cells with Atomic Force Microscopy for Label-Free Assessment of Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease, and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Neurodegenerative disorders (NDDs) are complex, multifactorial disorders with significant social and economic impact in today's society. NDDs are predicted to become the second-most common cause of death in the next few decades due to an increase in life expectancy but also to a lack of early diagnosis and mainly symptomatic treatment. Despite recent advances in diagnostic and therapeutic methods, there are yet no reliable biomarkers identifying the complex pathways contributing to these pathologies. The development of new approaches for early diagnosis and new therapies, together with the identification of non-invasive and more cost-effective diagnostic biomarkers, is one of the main trends in NDD biomedical research. Here we summarize data on peripheral biomarkers, biofluids (cerebrospinal fluid and blood plasma), and peripheral blood cells (platelets (PLTs) and red blood cells (RBCs)), reported so far for the three most common NDDs-Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD), and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). PLTs and RBCs, beyond their primary physiological functions, are increasingly recognized as valuable sources of biomarkers for NDDs. Special attention is given to the morphological and nanomechanical signatures of PLTs and RBCs as biophysical markers for the three pathologies. Modifications of the surface nanostructure and morphometric and nanomechanical signatures of PLTs and RBCs from patients with AD, PD, and ALS have been revealed by atomic force microscopy (AFM). AFM is currently experiencing rapid and widespread adoption in biomedicine and clinical medicine, in particular for early diagnostics of various medical conditions. AFM is a unique instrument without an analog, allowing the generation of three-dimensional cell images with extremely high spatial resolution at near-atomic scale, which are complemented by insights into the mechanical properties of cells and subcellular structures. Data demonstrate that AFM can distinguish between the three pathologies and the normal, healthy state. The specific PLT and RBC signatures can serve as biomarkers in combination with the currently used diagnostic tools. We highlight the strong correlation of the morphological and nanomechanical signatures between RBCs and PLTs in PD, ALS, and AD.

Lipolytic effects of nano particle sized polyenylphosphatidylcholine on adipose tissue: First promising in vitro and in vivo results

BACKGROUND

Lipolytic injectables for body contouring procedures have been reported for necrotic effects on adipose tissue causing side effects as swelling, pain and hematoma. Deoxycholic acid is widely used as a solvent in lipolytic injectables and is associated with necrosis when applied to cells. A new lipolytic preparation (NWL-10) containing only polyenylphosphatidylcholine in nano particle size, glycerrhizinate and maltose has been reported for its lipolytic action on adipose tissue. However, no data exist whether the NWL-10 mixture is responsible for apoptosis or necrosis in adipose tissue which can be associated with severer side effects as reported for deoxycholic acid preparation.

METHODS

3T3-L1 mouse cells and human adipose tissue derived stem cells were exposed to the NWL-10 mixture and to each ingredient of the mix in order to investigate cytotoxic, lipolytic, necrotic or apoptotic effects. Furthermore, a Balb/C mouse animal model was used to investigate inflammatory responses to NWL-10 by bioluminescence monitoring and histological examination.

RESULTS

A high extent of lipolysis was detected for the NWL-10 mixture when applied to both cell types with no cytotoxic effect. Interestingly, low concentration of NWL-10 resulted in necrosis whereas high concentration of NWL-10 showed a certain amount of apoptosis. Application of single ingredients of NWL-10 or various combinations of two component mixtures did not result in any apoptosis or necrosis. In addition, no inflammatory effects of NWL-10 were observed in the mouse model.

CONCLUSIONS

The NWL-10 mixture provided promising results regarding lipolysis on adipose tissue with limited apoptosis and necrosis when compared to currently available injectables. These first promising results require further fundamental and more detailed research on essentials for drug approval. NWL-10 has the potential to become a second generation product for future lipolytic injectables.

Determination of frail state and association of frailty with inflammatory markers among cardiac surgery patients in a Central European patient population

INTRODUCTION

With the aging of the population, the screening of frail patients, especially before high-risk surgery, come to the fore. The background of the frail state is not totally clear, most likely inflammatory processes are involved in the development.

METHODS

Our survey of patients over age of 65 who were on cardiac surgery were performed with Edmonton Frail Scale (EFS). Patients' demographic, perioperative data, incidence of complications and correlations of inflammatory laboratory parameters were studied with the severity of the frail state.

RESULTS

On the basis of EFS, 313 patients were divided into non-frail (NF,163,52%), pre-frail (PF,89,28.5%) and frail (F,61,19.5%) groups. Number of complications in the three groups were different (NF:0.67/patient, PF:0.76/patient, F:1.08/patient). We showed significant difference between NF and F in both intensive care and hospital stay, but there was no statistical difference between the groups in hospital deaths (NF:5/163, PF:3/89, F:5/61). We also found a significant difference between NF and F patients in preoperative fibrinogen-, CRP- and white blood cell count levels.

CONCLUSIONS

We first present the incidence of frailty in patients with heart surgery in a Central-European population. According to our results, inflammatory processes are likely to play a role in the development of the frail state.