Karolina H. Czarnecka

Interactions between light and various cells in cultures, such as bacteria or mammalian cells, are widely applied for optical sensors and optofluidic systems. These microorganisms need to be kept in proper aqueous media, referred to as buffers or cell culture media, that are required, respectively, for stable storage or delivering biochemical nutrients for their growth. When experiments or numerical analyses on optical devices are performed, the properties of these media are usually considered to be similar to those of pure water, with negligible influence of biochemical compounds on the medium’s optical properties. In this work, we investigated the transmission, material dispersion, and scattering properties of selected and widely used buffers and cell culture media. We show that the optical properties of these media may significantly vary from those of water. Well-defined properties of buffers and cell culture media are essential for proper design of various optical sensing or future optofluidic systems dealing with biological structures.

Olive oil application in the cosmetic industry may be extended by its ozonation, bringing about new oil properties and increased stability. Olive oil treated with 0.04 mole O3 or 0.10 mole O3 per 100 g oil was subjected to chemical parameters evaluation and composition scrutinizing by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) GC-MS analysis. The biological activity of refined and ozonated oil included their antimicrobial properties by the agar diffusion method and cytotoxicity by the MTT assay towards two normal (LLC-PK1, HaCaT) and two cancerous (Caco-2, HeLa) cell lines. The oils served as the basis in cosmetic emulsions. The chosen organoleptic features, preservative efficacy in a challenge test, and persistency during six months of these formulations were assessed. However, the ozonation of the olive oil resulted in a decrease in unsaturated acids; several additional compounds were detected in the ozonated oil, which positively affect the physicochemical, sensory, and functional properties of cosmetic emulsions. Emulsions based on the ozonated olive oil retain their properties longer compared to emulsions based on the refined olive oil. Ozonated oil treated with 0.10 mole O3/100 g oil allowed increasing the shelf life of the non-preserved formulation up to six months. A weak inhibitory effect against Candida albicans and Aspergillus brasiliensis was also demonstrated for this emulsion in the challenge test. Moreover, an interesting aroma, slightly enhanced antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, C. albicans, A. brasiliensis, and a lack of cytotoxicity at concentrations 625 µg mL−1 make the ozonated olive oil a promising raw material for the cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of the most prevalent chronic adult diseases, with significant worldwide morbidity and mortality. Although long-term tobacco smoking is a critical risk factor for this global health problem, its molecular mechanisms remain unclear. Several phenomena are thought to be involved in the evolution of emphysema, including airway inflammation, proteinase/anti-proteinase imbalance, oxidative stress, and genetic/epigenetic modifications. Furthermore, COPD is one main risk for lung cancer (LC), the deadliest form of human tumor; formation and chronic inflammation accompanying COPD can be a potential driver of malignancy maturation (0.8-1.7% of COPD cases develop cancer/per year). Recently, the development of more research based on COPD and lung cancer molecular analysis has provided new light for understanding their pathogenesis, improving the diagnosis and treatments, and elucidating many connections between these diseases. Our review emphasizes the biological factors involved in COPD and lung cancer, the advances in their molecular mechanisms' research, and the state of the art of diagnosis and treatments. This work combines many biological and genetic elements into a single whole and strongly links COPD with lung tumor features.

Cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated antigen-4 (CTLA-4) is a potent immunoregulatory molecule that downregulates T-cell activation and thus influences the antitumor immune response. CTLA-4 polymorphisms are associated with various cancers, and CTLA-4 mRNA/protein increased expression is found in several tumor types. However, most of the studies are based on peripheral blood mononuclear cells, and much less is known about the relationship between CTLA-4 expression, especially gene expression, and its polymorphic variants in cancer tissue. In our study we assessed the distribution of CTLA-4 two polymorphisms (+49A/G and -318C/T), using TaqMan probes (rs231775 and rs5742909, resp.), and CTLA-4 gene expression in real-time PCR assay in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tissue samples. The increased CTLA-4 expression was observed in the majority of NSCLC patients, and it was significantly correlated with TT genotype (-318C/T) and with tumor size (T2 versus T3 + T4). The presence of G allele and GG genotype in cancer tissue (+49A/G) was significantly associated with the increased NSCLC risk. Additionally, we compared genotype distributions in the corresponding tumor and blood samples and found statistically significant differences. The shift from one genotype in the blood to another in the tumor may confirm the complexity of gene functionality in cancer tissue.

BACKGROUND: miRNAs control important cellular functions including angiogenesis/angiostasis or fibrosis and reveal altered expression during pathological processes in the lung. METHODS: The aim of the study was to investigate the expression of selected miRNAs (miR-let7f, miR-15b, miR-16, miR-20a, miR-27b, miR-128a, miR-130a, miR-192 miR-221, miR-222) in patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis (n = 94) and controls (n = 50). The expression was assessed by q-PCR in BALF cells and peripheral blood lymphocytes (PB lymphocytes). For statistical analysis, the Kruskal-Wallis test, Mann-Whitney U- test, Neuman-Keuls' multiple comparison test, and Spearman's rank correlation were used. RESULTS: In BALF cells, significantly higher expression of miR-192 and miR-221 and lower expression of miR-15b were found in patients than controls. MiR-27b, miR-192 and miR-221 expression was significantly higher in patients without parenchymal involvement (stages I) than those at stages II-IV. Patients with acute disease demonstrated significantly higher miR-27b, miR-192 and miR-221 expression than those with insidious onset. For PB lymphocytes, patients demonstrated significantly greater miR-15b, miR-27b, miR-192, miR-221 and miR-222 expression, but lower miR-let7f and miR-130a expression, than controls. Stage I patients demonstrated significantly higher miR-16 and miR-15b expression than those in stages II-IV, and patients with the acute form demonstrated higher miR-130a and miR-15b expression. In BALF cells, miR-16 and miR-20a expression was significantly higher in patients with lung volume restriction, and miR-let7f was higher in the PB lymphocytes in patients with obturation. Several correlations were observed between the pattern of miRNA expression, lung function parameters and selected laboratory markers. CONCLUSION: The obtained results suggest that the studied miRNAs play a role in the pathogenesis of sarcoidosis, and that some of them might have negative prognostic value.