Volume 9 (2021): Edition 4 (December 2021)

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a microorganism that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Mutations affect evolutionary conservation of microorganisms. The fast pace evolutionary changes are currently affecting pathogenicity of SARS-CoV-2. In this study, the structural fluctuations of the amino acid residues in the spike glycoprotein and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (nsp12) of SARS-CoV-2 were investigated by in silico approach using structural flexibility dynamics to decipher susceptibility to mutation. The result of this study implicated key amino acid residues (with rmsf) which could be very susceptible to mutation, which include residues 50 (3.79 Å), 119 (4.56 Å), 120 (3.53 Å), 220 (3.84 Å), 265 (4.31 Å) of RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (nsp12), as well as residues 477 (4.21 Å), 478 (4.82 Å), 479 (5.40 Å), 481 (5.94 Å), 560 (4.63 Å), 704 (4.02 Å), 848 (4.58 Å), 1144 (4.56 Å) and 1147 (4.61 Å) of spike glycoprotein. The SARS-CoV-2 mutations destabilized the overall protein structure in multiples of amino acid residues which could interfere with active site leading to insensitivity or resistance to the inhibitors. Mutation T478K of Spike glycoprotein showed the highest deviation in the structure. Overall, spike glycoprotein has the highest number of mutations, and these variants could increase the risk to human health if not mitigated in the population.

Heart failure (HF) is a clinical status defined as a final stage of many cardiac diseases featured by severely impaired systolic myocardial performance in a result of dramatic decline in a number of properly functioning cardiomyocytes. Currently, the available therapeutic options for HF patients are not applicable in all of them. Up to now, many strategies to increase a number of normal cardiomyocytes have been proposed. One of them, the most physiological one at glance, seems to be a stimulation of post-mitotic cardiomyocytes to proliferate/or cardiac stem cells to differentiate. In this review article, detailed background of such method of myocardial regeneration, including the physiological processes of cardiomyocyte transformation and maturation, is presented. Moreover, the latest directions of basic research devoted to develop sufficient and safe cardiomyocyte-based therapies of the end-stage HF individuals are discussed. Concluding, this direction of further research seems to be justified particularly in a view of human population aging, an increased prevalence of HF and higher expectations of improved efficiency of patients’ care.

There are multiple possible applications of stem cells in medicine, from cell-based therapies for degenerative and dystrophic conditions, through novel approaches in cancer treatment, to in vitro organ printing. However, there are still several challenges that need to be overcame before stem cells therapies can be successfully introduced worldwide on a large scale. These include sourcing of stem cells, preventing their aberrant progression and ethical concerns regarding their use in animals and humans. Among the multiple stem cell types present in the human organism from the period of embryonic development to adulthood, this review focuses on the three types that gain the most attention in relation to modern research: embryonic stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cells and adult stem cells. There are a number of obstacles that need to be removed before these cells can be widely applied in clinical practice, including the choice of the perfect source of stem cells, full elucidation of the mechanisms of stem cell differentiation and plasticity, and minimization of adverse side effect potential. Nonetheless, the focus of the scientific community on the topic of stem cells remains unhindered, bringing hope that all of the possible concerns will be addressed in the future.

The endocrine disruptors are chemicals with the capacity to influence physiological processes in the organism, most often through hormonal control. They are present in the environment and in the products of daily use. They are often found in food, released from plastic bottles for water, present in cosmetics or fertilizers. Latest research suggests that they can be released from plastics used in the IVF laboratories and can be even present in the manipulation and cultivation media used for isolation and fertilization of gametes and subsequent cultivation of embryos. Permanent and long-term utilization of these substances has adverse effects in human reproductive health, mainly by the means of interfering with synthesis and action mechanisms of reproductive hormones. Moreover, some endocrine disruptors show a range of adverse effects directly on the gametes or embryos cultured in the in vitro conditions. The article provides an overview on bisphenols detected in plastics and media commonly used in the IVF laboratory and considers their possible impact on effectiveness of the IVF methods in a human laboratory.

Trophoblast cells can be detected and isolated from the cervical epithelial cells obtained via various techniques of trans-cervical samples collection such as a mucus aspiration, endocervical lavage, or standard cervical brushing in the early first trimester, even from the 5 weeks’ gestation. Isolated fetal cells can be used in the early prediction of fetal sex, prenatal diagnostics of the most common aneuploidies, and any other genetic abnormalities. Nevertheless, the collection of trophoblastic cells has limited efficacy compared to currently used methods of detection of free fetal DNA in maternal circulation or other protocols of invasive prenatal diagnostics available at later stages of pregnancy. In the past years, trans-cervical cell samples were collected mainly in women before planned pregnancy termination. The early trophoblastic cells isolation from women in ongoing pregnancies opens new perspectives for further studies focused on the elucidation of pathophysiology of numerous pregnancy-related complications.

Maintaining of female fertility is strictly dependent on proper hormonal regulation. Granulosa cells (GCs) are components of ovarian follicles, and they are important in paracrine regulation of the ovary. Preovulatory follicle GCs are responsible for production of estrogens to the ovary microenvironment and lead to the LH surge. Proper functioning of GCs is necessary to ensure appropriate conditions for oocyte development, maturation, ovulation and its release to the oviduct. Long-term in vitro culture of GCs show significant stem-like characteristics. Understanding the molecular processes underlying GCs differentiation towards different cell lineages may reveal other possible stem cell markers. A transcriptomic analysis of short-term primary in vitro cultured GCs, which were isolated from porcine preovulatory follicles was the major focus of the study. The ontological groups herby considered are associated with endodermal and epithelial tissues. Results were and compare to freshly isolated GC cells. 6 the most reduced expression: HSD17B1, DAPL1, NEBL, MAL2, DAB1, ITM2A were chosen for analysis. These genes have been response for processes associated with GCs development and differentiation towards endodermal and epithelial tissues, which make them important for further consideration.