54 documents found, page 1 of 6
Cumulus cell DNA damage linked to fertilization success in females with an ovul...
Rodrigues, Bárbara; Sousa, Vanessa; Esteves, Filipa; Vale-Fernandes, Emídio; Costa, Solange; Sousa, Daniela; Brandão, Raquel; Leal, Carla; Pires, JoanaIntracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is a widely used technique in fertility centers. ICSI success depends on both nuclear and cytoplasmic oocyte maturation. Cumulus cells, which surround the oocytes, play a pivotal role in oocyte competence. However, the significance of DNA damage in cumulus cells as a marker of fertilization success remains largely unexplored. This study aims to investigate the relationshi...
Sulfonyldibenzoate coordination polymers as bioactive dopants for polysaccharid...
Fernandes, Tiago A.; Macedo, Filipa; Cabral, Rafaela G.; Guiu, Telma; Franco, Chris H. J.; Jorge, Paula; Sousa, Ana Catarina; André, Vânia; Cerca, NunoThis work describes the preparation, characterization, and antimicrobial properties of bioactive silver(I) and copper(II) coordination polymers (bioCPs) and derived biopolymer materials. Two bioCPs, [Ag2(6-sdba)]n (1) and [Cu(4-sdba)H2O]n·1.5nH2O (2), were assembled from metal salt precursors and 4,4-sulfonyldibenzoic acid (H2sdba). Both compounds were used as dopants for preparing hybrid biopolymer films based...
New polymyxin analogs to combat Gram-negative biofilm-associated infections
Graínha, Tânia Raquel Rodrigues; Martins, Elsa; Costa, Susana P.; Jorge, Paula; Lopes, Susana P.Introduction: Antimicrobial resistance is a major global health threat, with which the antibiotic discovery pipeline is not keeping up. Polymyxins (PM), notably B (PMB) and E (PME) have resurrected as last-resort drugs (given their toxicity) against difficult-to-treat Gram-negative bacterial infections (often biofilm-related), but PM resistance has already been reported. In recent years, a fast-growing no. of P...
Synthesis of polymyxin analogs with enhanced activity towards Gram-negative bio...
Grainha, Tânia; Martins, Elsa; Costa, Susana Paula; Jorge, Paula; Lopes, Susana Patrícia[Excerpt] Polymyxins (PM) B and E are last-resort drugs against Gram-negative bacterial infections (often biofilm-related), but resistance and toxicity compromise PM use. A fast-growing no. of PM analogs have been reported, but with varied success in improving PM activity and ameliorating toxicity. ,-Dialkylglycines (DAG), unnatural amino acids, hold unique characteristics (bioactivity, metabolic resistance, hy...
Ddevelopment of next-generation polymyxins targeting problematic gram-negative ...
Graínha, Tânia Raquel Rodrigues; Martins, Elsa; Costa, Susana P.; Jorge, Paula; Lopes, Susana PatríciaAntimicrobial resistance is a major global health threat, with which the antibiotic discovery pipeline is not keeping up. Polymyxins (PM) B and E have resurrected as last-resort drugs (given their toxicity) against Gram-negative bacterial infections, but PM resistance has already been reported, resulting in the lack of effective therapies. Taking advantage of these valuable scaffolds, we set out to design new P...
Novel polymyxin analogs with promising activity against Gram-negative bacterial...
Graínha, Tânia Raquel Rodrigues; Martins, Elsa; Costa, Susana P.; Jorge, Paula; Lopes, Susana PatríciaAntimicrobial resistance is a major global health threat, with which the antibiotic discovery pipeline is not keeping up. Polymyxins (PM) B and E have resurrected as last-resort drugs (given their toxicity) against Gram-negative bacterial infections, but PM resistance has already been reported [1], resulting in the lack of effective therapies. Taking advantage of these valuable scaffolds, we set out to design n...
Incorporation of unnatural alpha,alpha-dialkylglycines in polymyxins: synthesis...
Martins, Elsa; Jorge, Paula; Lopes, Susana Patrícia; Costa, Susana P.Lower respiratory infections caused by Gram-negative pathogens classified by the WHO as priority targets (e.g. Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumannii, Klebsiella pneumoniae) pose a great concern as they are often mediated by recalcitrant polymicrobial biofilms and multidrug resistant (MDR) strains. Current antibiotics, and antibacterial agents in clinical development, remain ineffective against these b...
A game with a purpose: designing structural modifications in polymyxin B to fac...
Machado, Inês; Miguel Inácio, João; Jorge, Paula; Teixeira, FilipeAntimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a silent pandemic that presents an urgent threat to human health. Recently, polymyxins have been revived as a last-line therapeutic option, despite their toxicity. As such, there is a need for fast and reliable approaches to devise novel polymyxin analogues. In this work, machine learning was employed to devise a semi-quantitative model of the activity of polymyxin-like molecul...
Degradable copper(ii)-doped starch-based biopolymeric films with antibacterial ...
Trusau, K. I.; Jorge, Paula; Sousa, Ana Catarina; Fernandes, Tiago A.; André, Vânia; Kirillova, M. V.; Usevich, A. I.; Cerca, Nuno; Kirillov, A. M.The search for new bioactive molecules and sustainable materials to address antimicrobial resistance continues to be of significant attention in many research areas. In this work, new copper(II) coordination polymers and complexes containing ammonia and aromatic carboxylate ligands were self-assembled, characterized, and applied as bioactive dopants to produce starch-based biopolymeric films. The structures of ...
Cumulus cells damage can help to indirectly predict oocyte quality in infertile...
Rodrigues, Bárbara; Sousa, Vanessa; Esteves, Filipa; Pires, Joana; Sousa, Daniela; Brandão, Raquel; Leal, Carla; Santos, Rosário; Vale-Fernandes, EmídioIntroduction: Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is currently used in clinical practice for couples with fertility issues. Some studies have shown an association between male reproductive ability and sperm DNA damage levels, assessed by comet assay. However, little is known regarding this endpoint and female fertility, mostly due to tissue accessibility. To overcome this, we used cumulus cells (CC) to anal...