Scientists from the University of Granada have developed a new fluorescent dye capable of detecting, in a single test lasting 20 minutes, the presence of phosphate and biothiol inside living cells. This scientific breakthrough could contribute significantly to the early diagnosis of diseases such as osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s, type 2 diabetes, and prostate cancer, since abnormal levels of both substances are associated with these diseases.
In a paper published in the academic journal Chemistry – A European Journal, the researchers, who work at the UGR’s Department of Physical Chemistry, illustrate the design, synthesis and photophysical studies carried out with this new fluorescent dye.
The main author behind the study, Luis Crovetto González, explains: «We have successfully managed to create, for the first time, a dual function dye capable of detecting both substances in the same test. Until now, this procedure has been conducted using two separate fluorescent dyes and/or two separate tests.»
The continuation of a patent from 2014
In 2014, the same research group patented a new non-invasive method that allows for the measurement, in real-time, of concentration levels of phosphate ions inside living cells. This new dye that they have developed is, in effect, the continuation of this previous research and subsequent patent.
The importance of being able to measure phosphate ions stems precisely from the fact that these measurements can be employed to assess the bioavailability of drugs used to treat certain diseases, among others, osteoporosis.
At present, the only available method for calculating the concentration levels of phosphates found inside the osteoblasts (the precursor cells of bone) is invasive, employing radioactive phosphorous, the use of which carries serious risks.
As such, the methodology developed by the UGR researchers marks a considerable scientific breakthrough. Given its significance, their paper appeared on the cover of the latest edition of Chemisty – A European Journal.
The paper is dedicated to Professor Carlos Orte Martínez from the UGR’s Department of Physical Chemistry, who passed away in March 2015.
Bibliography:
Frontispiece: New Dual Fluorescent Probe for Simultaneous Biothiol andPhosphate Bioimaging
Sandra Resa, Angel Orte, Delia Miguel, JoseM. Paredes, Virginia Puente-Muñoz, Rafael Salto, Maria D. Giron, Maria J.Ruedas-Rama, Juan M. Cuerva, Jose M. Alvarez-Pez, Luis Crovetto
ChemistryEuropean Journal, 2015, 21, 14772-14779
You can read the full paper here:
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/chem.201502799/full
Contact:
Luis CrovettoGonzález
Department of Physical Chemistry
Phone: +34 958249473 or +34 958243825
Email: luiscrovetto@ugr.es
Des scientifiques de l’Université de Grenade dessinent un nouveau colorant capable de détecter, en une même expérimentation et en seulement 20 minutes, la présence de phosphate et de biothiols à l’intérieur de cellules vivantes.
Des niveaux anormaux de ces deux substances sont en rapport avec des maladies comme l’ostéoporose, l’Alzheimer, le diabète type II ou le cancer de la prostate.
Des scientifiques de l’Université de Grenade ont dessiné un nouveau colorant capable de détecter, en une même expérimentation et en seulement 20 minutes, la présence de phosphate et de biothiols à l’intérieur de cellules vivantes.
Cette avancée scientifique pourrait servir à diagnostiquer de façon précoce des maladies comme l’ostéoporose, l’Alzheimer, le diabète type II ou le cancer de la prostate, vu que les niveaux anormaux de ces deux substances en sont un clair symptôme.
Dans un article publié dans la revue Chemistry A European Journal, les chercheurs, membres du département de Physiochimie de l’Université de Grenade, ont réalisé le dessin, la synthèse et l’étude photo-physique de ce nouveau colorant capable de détecter du phosphate et des biothiols pendant la même expérimentation.
Tel que l’explique l’auteur principal de ce travail, Luis Crovetto González, du département de Physique-Chimie de l’Université de Grenade, « il s’agit de la première fois que l’on arrive à synthétiser une sonde capable par elle-même de détecter les deux substances lors de la même expérimentation, vu que normalement ce processus se fait en utilisant deux fluorophores et/ou différentes expérimentations ».
Continuation d’un brevet de 2014
En 2014, ce même groupe de recherche a breveté une nouvelle méthodologie qui permet de mesurer, de façon invasive et en temps réel, la concentration d’ions phosphate à l’intérieur de cellules vivantes. La sonde qu’ils ont fabriquée maintenant est une continuation de cette recherche-là.
L’intérêt scientifique de mesurer les ions phosphate se trouve, précisément, dans le fait que cela peut s’appliquer à la valorisation de la biodisponibilité de médicaments employés pour des maladies déterminées, parmi lesquelles se trouve l’ostéoporose.
Actuellement, on ne connaît que des méthodologies invasives pour calculer la concentration de phosphate existant à l’intérieur des ostéoblastes, les cellules précurseures des os. Pour cela, on emploie du phosphore radioactif, avec les graves inconvénients que cela entraîne. La méthodologie développée par les chercheurs de l’UGR obtient quelque chose de jamais fait avant.
Étant donné son importance, cet article a fait la couverture du dernier numéro de la revue Chemistry A European Journal. Le travail a été dédié à la mémoire de Carlos Orte Martínez, professeur du département de Physique-Chimie de l’Université de Grenade auquel appartiennent les auteurs, et décédé en mars 2015.
Référence bibliographique :
Frontispiece: New Dual Fluorescent Probe for Simultaneous Biothiol and Phosphate Bioimaging. Sandra Resa, Angel Orte, Delia Miguel, Jose M. Paredes, Virginia Puente-Muñoz, Rafael Salto, Maria D. Giron, Maria J. Ruedas-Rama, Juan M. Cuerva, Jose M. Alvarez-Pez, Luis Crovetto. Chemistry European Journal, 2015, 21, 14772-14779
L’article complet est disponible sur le site suivant :
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/chem.201502799/full
Contact:
Luis Crovetto González. Département de Physique-Chimie de l’Université de Grenade. Tél. : 958249473 – 958243825 ; portable : 690 107 249 ; courriel : luiscrovetto@ugr.es
A research team, with the participation of the University of Granada, has proven that two small structural elements, called decorin and lumican, could be decisive in the development of a resistance to the drugs currently used for treating glioblastoma multiforme, such as temozolamide.
It’s the most frequent and aggressive tumor that affects the central nervous system, and it has a low survival rate: less than a year and a half after being diagnosed.
A research team, with the participation of the University of Granada (UGR), has made some progress indetermining the causes for glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), one of the mostaggressive brain tumors known, to be resistant to the drugs currently used,which is one of the main limitations of its treatment. The results have beenrecently published in two articles in PlosOne magazine.
The researchers have proven that proteoglycans(the cells’ structural elements), called decorin (DCN) and lumican (LUM), couldbe decisive in the behavior and development of a resistance to the drugs usedfor treating glioblastoma multiforme, such as temozolamide (TMZ). In the otherhand, they have laid bare that the inhibition of the transcription of some of thesub-units belonging to the mismatch-repair (MMR) complex, a system thatanalyzes and repairs DNA, could be responsible of the failure of currenttherapies against this kind of tumor.
This is a scientific breakthrough that could beuseful for the search of new resistance markers in GBM as well as for thedevelopment of new therapeutic strategies which avoid the resistance to drugsthat this tumors possess.
The researches on glioblastoma stem-like cellshave been carried out by researchers from the UGR Institute of Biopathology andRegenerative Medicine (Instituto de Biopatología y Medicina Regenerativa,IBIMER) and from the Biosanitary Institute of Granada (group CTS 107), incollaboration with the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (Barcelona) andthe Service of Medical Oncology (Granada) in the one hand, and the NationalInstitute of Biostructures and Biosystems (Istituto Nazionale Biostrutture eBiosistemi, INBB, Rome) and the department of Biomedical Sciences(University of Sassari, Rome) in the other hand.
Low survival rate
GBMs, the most frequent and most aggressivetumors that affect the central nervous system, still present a low survivalrate (less than a year and a half since its diagnosis), despite the use of TMZcombined with other drugs or with radiotherapy. This is due to, among othercauses, the development of a resistance to the treatment.
This work analyzes how the massive, synergisticexpression of DCN and LUM in neurospheres of stem-like cells derived from GBMis correlated with a lower tumor cells proliferation rate and with a lowerdevelopment of apoptosis (a type of cellular death used by pluricellularorganisms to eliminate damaged or unnecessary cells), but also its correlationwith the rise in the resistance against TMZ treatments, which is one of themain drugs currently used in the treatment of this patients.
In the other hand, researches carried out inglioblastoma and neuroblastoma cell lines exposed to some drugs have proventhat TMZ resistance is caused not only by the classic mechanism of theDNA-repairing enzyme MGMT, but it’s also related with the silencing of the MMRcomplex after the exposure to the drug.
The researches are now focused on proving therelevance of these two molecules in the ‘in vivo’ behavior ofglioblastomas and analyzing the resistance mechanism based in the MMR complex.
Bibliographic references:
Perazzoli G. et al. (2015) TemozolomideResistance in Glioblastoma Cell Lines: Implication of MGMT, MMR, P-Glycoproteinand CD133 Expression. PLoS ONE 10(10): e0140131. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0140131
Farace C. et al. (2015) MicroenvironmentalModulation of Decorin and Lumican in Temozolomide-Resistant Glioblastoma andNeuroblastoma Cancer Stem-Like Cells.
PLoSONE 10(7):e0134111.doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0134111.
Links to complete articles:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4598115/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4521885/
Contact:
José Carlos Prados Salazar
Professor at ‘Departamento de Anatomía yEmbriología Humana. Instituto de Biopatología y Medicina Regenerativa’, University of Granada.
Telephone: (+34) 958 248 819 | (+34) 958 241000 ext. 20015/20032
E-mail: jcprados@ugr.es
A pioneer research carried out by researchers from the University of Granada, in collaboration with the circus company Zen del Sur, shows that performing arts positively influence the spectator’s mood and self-esteem
Their work suggests that this kind of shows have a positive impact on the quality of life.
Researchers from the University of Granada (UGR) belonging to the departmentof Sports and Physical Education, in collaboration with the contemporary circuscompany Zen del Sur (Zen of the South), have scientifically analyzed,for the first time in History, the emotional and physiological impact thatperforming arts (specifically a dance and music show) exert on the spectators.
For that, the authors designed an interventionprogram which consisted in going to a circus show with dance and live music anddoing a series of tests about the identification of dance and music expressivetechniques.
In a pioneer pilot study, the researchers haveproven that frequently going to shows of this kind can notably improve thepatients’ health and quality of life, since performing arts can help preventingemotional and cardiovascular diseases.
Their work reveals that including performingarts in our habits can be beneficial for our health, «not just as a means ofentertainment, but also as a tool that contributes to our emotional managementand well-being. Moreover, it contributes to the development of communicativeskills through the use of body language and its expressive techniques, unlikeother activities such as digital leisure or social networks», Carlos López Aragón and Belén Rueda Villén, researchers from the UGR department of Sports and Physical Educationand authors of this work, explain.
The dancing researcher
In order to carry out their study, theresearchers made an experiment with some students from the UGR Faculty of Physical Education and SportSciences, who assisted as spectators to several shows of dance and music playedby the company Zen del Sur, pioneer in Spain for combining arts andscience. And it turns out that López Aragón, apart of being a UGR researcher, is also a dancer and musician atsaid company.
The participants were registered their heartrate (HR) and given a series of questionnaires for measuring their mood duringthe show.
The results proved that the subjects reacted todifferent scenes in the show both physiologically and emotionally, increasingtheir HR during the most tense moments of dancers and acrobats and reducing itin the moments when the music and the artists’ movements were performed at alower intensity and slower pace.
Co-relation between emotional and physiologicalimpact
«Our work has confirmed that a directco-relation between the emotional and the physiological impact exists, that isto say, between what the spectators affirm to have subjectively felt whilewatching the show (regardless of if they liked it or not) and what theobjective measure of their heart rate indicated us», López and Rueda explain.
The results show differences between theself-esteem (,046) and the POMS (Profile of Mood States) factors of Tension(,058) and Fatigue (,000) of the participants, that is to say, a reduction ofthose emotional variables. Said reduction matches a drop in the HR duringspecific fragments of the performance and responds to the narrative intentionsof the artists, «since the show meant to describe a path to an emotional stateof calm and balance through the dialogue between music, movement and bodycontrol». Accordingly, the emotions and feelings that the participantsexperienced and wrote down the most were Joy, Calm, Relax and Motivation.
The UGR researchers seem convinced of «thepossibility of modifying the spectator’s mood through dance and music. Thecontact with such artistic activities can positively influence our health.Science must take advantage of this resource and elaborate interventionprograms that help improving the people’s quality of life», they say.
Although the researchers from the University of Granada warn about the necessity of furtherdelving into this line of research, they stress the necessity of the spectatorbeing an active element of the show instead of a passive one, «becauseperforming arts may be an amazing tool for creating healthy life habits».
«In addition, the information and the feedbackthe spectators gave us about what they felt while watching the show and howthat affected them in an emotional way may help art companies improving thequality or communicative intention of their show», they conclude.
Video made by the UGR Department of Scientific Culture (Unidad deCultura Científica, UCC) and the Communication Management Office (Oficinade Gestión de la Comunicación): https://youtu.be/pwO7rfbD5LA
Contact:
CarlosLópez Aragón
Departamento de Educación Física y Deportiva dela Universidad de Granada
E-mail: carloslop123@gmail.com
Belén Rueda Villén
Departamento de Educación Física y Deportiva dela Universidad de Granada
Telephone: (+34) 958 246 642
E-mail: belenrv@ugr.es
