We aimed to develop evidence-based multinational recommendations for the diagnosis and management of gout. Using a formal voting process, a panel of 78 international rheumatologists developed 10 key ...clinical questions pertinent to the diagnosis and management of gout. Each question was investigated with a systematic literature review. Medline, Embase, Cochrane CENTRAL and abstracts from 2010-2011 European League Against Rheumatism and American College of Rheumatology meetings were searched in each review. Relevant studies were independently reviewed by two individuals for data extraction and synthesis and risk of bias assessment. Using this evidence, rheumatologists from 14 countries (Europe, South America and Australasia) developed national recommendations. After rounds of discussion and voting, multinational recommendations were formulated. Each recommendation was graded according to the level of evidence. Agreement and potential impact on clinical practice were assessed. Combining evidence and clinical expertise, 10 recommendations were produced. One recommendation referred to the diagnosis of gout, two referred to cardiovascular and renal comorbidities, six focused on different aspects of the management of gout (including drug treatment and monitoring), and the last recommendation referred to the management of asymptomatic hyperuricaemia. The level of agreement with the recommendations ranged from 8.1 to 9.2 (mean 8.7) on a 1-10 scale, with 10 representing full agreement. Ten recommendations on the diagnosis and management of gout were established. They are evidence-based and supported by a large panel of rheumatologists from 14 countries, enhancing their utility in clinical practice.
The chemokines are a family of chemotactic cytokines that mediate their activity by acting on seven-transmembrane-spanning G protein-coupled receptors. Both the ability of the chemokines and their ...receptors to form homo- and heterodimers and the promiscuity of the chemokine-chemokine receptor interaction endow this protein family with enormous signaling plasticity and complexity that are not fully understood at present. Chemokines were initially identified as essential regulators of homeostatic and inflammatory trafficking of innate and adaptive leucocytes from lymphoid organs to tissues. Chemokines also mediate the host response to cancer. Nevertheless, chemokine function in this response is not limited to regulating leucocyte infiltration into the tumor microenvironment. It is now known that chemokines and their receptors influence most-if not all-hallmark processes of cancer; they act on both neoplastic and untransformed cells in the tumor microenvironment, including fibroblasts, endothelial cells (blood and lymphatic), bone marrow-derived stem cells, and, obviously, infiltrating leucocytes. This review begins with an overview of chemokine and chemokine receptor structure, to better define how chemokines affect the proliferation, survival, stemness, and metastatic potential of neoplastic cells. We also examine the main mechanisms by which chemokines regulate tumor angiogenesis and immune cell infiltration, emphasizing the pro- and antitumorigenic activity of this protein superfamily in these interrelated processes.
Population stratification (PS) is a confounding factor in genome‐wide association studies (GWASs) and also an interesting process itself. Latin American populations have mixed genetic ancestry, which ...may account for PS. We have analyzed the relatedness, by means of the identity‐by‐descent (IBD) estimations, in a sample of 1805 individuals and 1.006.703 autosomal mutations from a case–control study of colorectal cancer in Mexico. When using the recommended protocol for quality control assessment, 402 should have been removed due to relatedness. Our purpose was to analyze this value in the context of an admixed population. For that aim, we reanalyzed the sample using two software designed for admixed populations, obtaining estimates of 110 and 70 related individuals to remove. The results showed that the first estimation of relatedness was an effect of the higher Native American contribution in part of the data samples, being a confounding factor for IBD estimations. We conclude in the importance of considering PS and genetic ancestry in order to avoid spurious results, not only in GWAS but also in relatedness analysis.
•Storage at 9 °C promotes sugar and secondary metabolism proteins over-accumulation.•CHSs and F3H proteins over-accumulated during storage at 9 °C vs 4 °C.•GST proteins related with vacuolar ...transport showed an up-accumulation at 9 vs 4 °C.•Defense and oxidative process proteins up-accumulated at 9 °C vs 4 °C storage.•These over-accumulated proteins concurred with an enhanced anthocyanin content.
A protein analysis in the pulp of Moro blood oranges (Citrus sinensis L. Osbeck) at the onset and after 30 days of storage at either 4 or 9 °C was performed. All differential proteins belonged to different functional classes (sugar, amino acid and secondary metabolism, defense, stress response, oxidative process, transport and cellular component biogenesis), displaying a differential accumulation in those Moro oranges kept at 9 versus 4 °C, and in those stored at 4 °C versus onset. Anthocyanin biosynthesis structural proteins chalcone synthases and flavonone 3-hydroxylase and different glutathione S-transferases related with their vacuolar transport were up-accumulated in fruits kept at 9 versus 4 °C and versus the onset. Proteins related with defense and oxidative stress displayed a similar pattern, concomitant with a higher anthocyanin content, denoting a possible role of defense and other stress response pathways in anthocyanin production/accumulation.
OBJECTIVE The objective of the EPISER study was to estimate the prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), low back pain, hand and knee osteoarthritis (OA), and fibromyalgia in the adult Spanish ...population, and to assess the impact of these diseases on function and quality of life, and use of health and social resources. METHODS 2998 subjects aged 20 years or above were randomly selected by stratified multistage cluster sampling from the censuses of 20 municipalities. Trained rheumatologists carried out structured visits at which subjects were asked about rheumatic symptoms and sociodemographic characteristics, completed validated instruments for measuring function (HAQ) and quality of life (SF-12), and underwent a standardised physical examination. Cases were defined by previously validated criteria. RESULTS The estimated prevalences with 95% confidence intervals were as follows: RA lifetime cumulative: 0.5% (0.3 to 0.9); low back pain: 14.8% (12.2 to 17.4); symptomatic knee OA: 10.2% (8.5 to 11.9); hand OA: 6.2% (5.9 to 6.5); fibromyalgia: 2.4% (1.5 to 3.2). Most conditions significantly impaired function and quality of life. CONCLUSIONS The EPISER study has internal and external validity for application of the results to the adult Spanish population. The diseases studied affect a significant proportion of the population, with various degrees of impact on disability and quality of life resulting in a significant number of physician visits, work disability, and medication use.
The global banana industry is threatened by one of the most devastating diseases: Fusarium wilt of banana. Fusarium wilt of banana is caused by the soilborne fungus
f. sp.
(
), which almost ...annihilated the banana production in the late 1950s. A new strain of
, known as tropical race 4 (TR4), attacks a wide range of banana varieties, including Cavendish clones, which are the source of 99% of banana exports. In 2019,
TR4 was reported in Colombia, and more recently (2021) in Peru. In this study, we sequenced three fungal isolates identified as
TR4 from La Guajira (Colombia) and compared them against 19 whole-genome sequences of
TR4 publicly available, including four genome sequences recently released from Peru. To understand the genetic relatedness of the Colombian
TR4 isolates and those from Peru, we conducted a phylogenetic analysis based on a genome-wide set of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Additionally, we compared the genomes of the 22 available
TR4 isolates, looking for the presence-absence of gene polymorphisms and genomic regions. Our results reveal that (i) the Colombian and Peruvian isolates are genetically distant, which could be better explained by independent incursions of the pathogen to the continent, and (ii) there is a high correspondence between the genetic relatedness and geographic origin of
TR4. The profile of present/absent genes and the distribution of missing genomic regions showed a high correspondence to the clades recovered in the phylogenetic analysis, supporting the results obtained by SNP-based phylogeny.
Anti-tumour necrosis factor (TNF) monoclonal antibodies or soluble TNF receptors have become an invaluable treatment against chronic inflammatory diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory ...bowel disease and psoriasis. Individuals who are treated with TNF antagonists are at an increased risk of reactivating latent infections, especially tuberculosis (TB). Following TNF antagonist therapy, the relative risk for TB is increased up to 25 times, depending on the clinical setting and the TNF antagonist used. Interferon-γ release assays or, as an alternative in individuals without a history of bacille Calmette-Guérin vaccination, tuberculin skin testing is recommended to screen all adult candidates for TNF antagonist treatment for the presence of latent infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Moreover, paediatric practice suggests concomitant use of both the tuberculin skin test and an interferon-γ release assay, as there are insufficient data in children to recommend one test over the other. Consequently, targeted preventive chemotherapy is highly recommended for all individuals with persistent M. tuberculosis-specific immune responses undergoing TNF antagonist therapy as it significantly reduces the risk of progression to TB. This TBNET consensus statement summarises current knowledge and expert opinions and provides evidence-based recommendations to reduce the TB risk among candidates for TNF antagonist therapy.
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