Phthalates and their effects on human health: Focus on erythrocytes and the reproductive system

Plastics, long-chain artificial polymers, are used worldwide with a global production of 350 million tonnes per year. Various degradation processes transform plastics into smaller fragments divided into micro, meso and macroplastics. In various industries, such as construction, certain plastic additives are used to improve flexibility and enhance performance. Plastic additives include phthalates (PAE), dibutyl phthalate (DPB) and diethyl phthalate (DEP). Due to the use of plastics and plastic additives, these small fragments of different shapes and colours are present in all environmental compartments. For their characteristics, PAEs can be introduced particularly by ingestion, inhalation and dermal absorption. They can accumulate in the human body, where they have already been identified in blood, amniotic fluid and urine. The purpose of this review is to gather the effects that these plastic additives have on various systems in the human body. Being endocrine disruptors, the effects they have on erythrocytes and how they can be considered targets for xenobiotics have been analysed. The influence on the reproductive system was also examined. Phthalates are therefore often overused. Due to their properties, they can reach human tissues and have a negative impact on health. The aim of this review is to give an overview of the presence of phthalates and their hazards. Therefore, the use of these plastic additives should be reduced, replaced and their disposal improved.

Research progress of whole-cell-SELEX selection and the application of cell-targeting aptamer

BACKGROUND

Aptamers refer to the artificially synthesized nucleic acid sequences (DNA/RNA) that can bind to a wide range of targets with high affinity and specificity, which are generally generated from systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX). As a novel method of aptamers screening, whole-cell-SELEX (WC-SELEX) has gained more and more attention in many fields such as biomedicine, analytical chemistry, and molecular diagnostics due to its ability to screen multiple potential aptamers without knowing the detailed structural information of target molecules.

METHODS AND RESULTS

In recent years, with the deepening of research on application of aptamers, the traditional WC-SELEX cannot meet the practical application because of long experimental period, complicated operation process and low specificity, etc. Therefore, the development of more efficient methods for screening aptamer is always on the road. This paper summarizes the current research status of WC-SELEX for bacteria, parasites and animal cells, and reviews the latest advances of WC-SELEX techniques that are dependent on novel instruments, materials and microelectronics, including fluorescence-activated cell sorting-assisted SELEX, three-dimensional assisted WC-SELEX, and microfluidic chip system-assisted WC-SELEX. In addition, the application of aptamers targeting cells was discussed.

CONCLUSION

Taken together, this review is aimed at providing a reference for WC-SELEX selection and application of aptamer targeting cells.

Review on mechanistic strategy of gene therapy in the treatment of disease

Gene therapy has become a revolution and its breakthrough is a corner stone in modern science. This treatment has rising advantages with limited negative aspects. Gene therapy is a therapeutic method in which, transfer of DNA to an individual to manipulate a defective gene is performed and to mitigate a disease which is not responding to pharmacological therapy. The gene therapy strategies are divided into two main categories such as direct in-vivo gene delivery of manipulated viral vector vehicle into the host and ex-vivo genetically engineered stem cells. In this review, we tried to cover all aspects of gene therapy studies; starting with the concept of gene, its treatment, gene delivery system and types, clinical trial either by vitro or In-Vivo -Clinical Trials and Clinical Intoxication of Gene Therapy. Therefore, the promise of successful treatment with gene therapy could positively affect millions of lives. The main aim of this review is to address the principles of gene therapy, various methods involved in the gene therapy, clinical applications and its merits and demerits.

51Cr-release to monitor NK cell cytotoxicity

Natural killer (NK) cells are cytotoxic lymphocytes that belong to the innate lymphoid cells. They have the ability to attack tumor cells that lack ligands of inhibitory NK receptors and/or express ligands of activating NK receptors. The most important ligands of inhibitory NK receptors are major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecules, which are down regulated on many tumor cells. Several ligands of activating NK receptors, in contrast, are up regulated on tumor cells due to cellular and genotoxic stress. Due to these features, NK cells constitute an important element of the tumor immunosurveillance and are explored as a cellular tool for tumor immunotherapy. Therefore, it is important to be able to monitor the cytotoxic activity of NK cells reliably in preclinical animal models as well as in patients. It is also of interest to determine the susceptibility of tumor cells toward NK cell-mediated cellular cytotoxicity. The ⁵¹Cr-release assay monitors the lysis of target cells by NK cells and is suitable to address both questions. We describe here the experimental set-up of this classic cytotoxicity assay in detail.

Chikungunya virus pathogenesis and immunity

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is an arbovirus associated with acute and chronic arthralgia that re-emerged in the Indian Ocean islands in 2005-2006 and is currently responsible for the ongoing outbreaks in the Caribbean islands and the Americas. We describe here the acute and chronic clinical manifestations of CHIKV in patients that define the disease. We also review the various animal models that have been developed to study CHIKV infection and pathology and further strengthened the understanding of the cellular and molecular mechanisms of CHIKV infection and immunity. A complete understanding of the immunopathogenesis of CHIKV infection will help develop the needed preventive and therapeutic approaches to combat this arbovirosis.

Toscana virus infects dendritic and endothelial cells opening the way for the central nervous system

Toscana virus (TOSV) is a Phlebovirus responsible for human neurological infections in endemic Mediterranean areas. The main viral target is the central nervous system, with viremia as a way of dissemination throughout the host. This study was aimed at understanding the spread of TOSV in the host by identifying the cell population infected by the virus and the vehicle to the organs. In vivo studies provided evidence that endothelial cells are infected by TOSV, indicating their potential role in the diffusion of the virus following viremic spread. These results were further confirmed in vitro. Human peripheral mononuclear blood cells were infected with TOSV; only monocyte-derived dendritic cells were identified as susceptible to TOSV infection. Productive viral replication was then observed in human monocyte-derived dendritic cells (moDCs) and in human endothelial cells by recovery of the virus from a cell supernatant. Interleukin-6 was produced by both cell types upon TOSV infection, mostly by endothelial cells, while moDCs particularly expressed TNF-α, which is known to induce a long-lasting decrease in endothelial cell barrier function. These cells could therefore be implicated in the spread of the virus in the host and in the infection of tissues that are affected by the disease, such as the central nervous system. The identification of in vitro and in vivo TOSV cell targets is an important tool for understanding the pathogenesis of the infection, providing new insight into virus-cell interaction for improved knowledge and control of this viral disease.