Biology subjects

Aguila, L.

Publications and source records attributed to Aguila, L..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2024

Academic stress through salivary biomarkers: A multivariate analysis of cortisol, IL-1β, CRP, and IgA levels and their variations as a function of sex.

IntroductionAcademic stress can activate physiological changes mediated by the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, triggering the release of biomarkers such as cortisol and proinflammatory cytokines. Although physiological stress has been studied in relation to different inducers and diseases, there is still a gap regarding the association of academic stress with biological markers. Thus, this study aimed to associate the levels of academic stress against biological markers isolated from saliva from undergraduates students. Materials and methods81 students (53 women and 28 men) were recruited and completed the SISCO inventory to determine the level of academic stress. The levels of cortisol, interleukin-1{beta} (IL-1{beta}), C-reactive protein (CRP) and immunoglobulin A (IgA) from saliva samples were determined by ELISA assays, and data were analyzed using ANOVA, Pearson correlation tests. A predictor model was estimated by lineal regression. ResultsStress categorization following the SISCO inventory showed that 37% of the students grouped in the low stress level (<48%), 35% grouped in the moderate stress level (>49% <60%), and 28% in high stress level (>61% <100%). The levels of salivary markers were similar across stress categories, however the trends identified--such as the decrease in cortisol and the increase in pro-inflammatory markers in male participants categorized in the high stress group--suggest a possible association between these biomarkers with academic stress gender-dependent. The multivariable model including the 4 biomarkers resulted in R2 = 0.14 with predictions that were roughly within +/-20% of stress levels. ConclusionIn conclusion, no significance was found in the association of salivary biomarkers with academic stress levels. However, trends were observed with increasing levels of academic stress in men. The concentration of these biomarkers may be affected by sex. Further research will consider individual factors, longitudinal assessments, and the use of multiple psychometric tools to better define the interaction between academic stress and salivary biomarkers.

physiology↗

bioRxiv2023

Haploid androgenetic development in bovines reveals imbalanced WNT signaling and impaired cell fate differentiation.

Haploid embryos have contributed significantly to our understanding of the role of parental genomes in development and can be applied to important biotechnology for human and animal species. However, development to the blastocyst stage is severely hindered in bovine haploid androgenetic embryos (hAE). To further our understanding of such developmental arrest, we performed a comprehensive comparison of the transcriptomic profile of morula-stage embryos, which were validated by qRT-PCR of transcripts associated with differentiation in haploid and biparental embryos. Among numerous disturbances, results showed that pluripotency pathways, especially the wingless-related integration site (WNT) signaling, were particularly unbalanced in hAE. Moreover, transcript levels of KLF4, NANOG, POU5F1, SOX2, CDX2, CTNNBL1, AXIN2, and GSK3B were noticeably altered in hAE, suggesting disturbance of pluripotency and canonical WNT pathway. To evaluate the role of WNT on hAE competence, we exposed early day-5 morula stage embryos to the GSK3B inhibitor CHIR99021. Although no alterations were observed in pluripotency and WNT-related transcripts, exposure to CHIR99021 improved their ability to reach the blastocysts stage, confirming the importance of the WNT pathway in the developmental features of bovine hAE. Summary statementThis study shows the importance of the WNT pathway on bovine haploid androgenetic development by walking through transcriptomics and pluripotency markers associated with cell fate determination during early development.

developmental biology↗

bioRxiv2020

Dysregulated gene expression of imprinted and X-linked genes: a link to poor development of bovine haploid androgenetic embryos

Mammalian uniparental embryos are efficient models for genome imprinting research and allow studies on the contribution of the paternal and maternal genome to early embryonic development. In this study, we analyzed different methodologies for production of bovine haploid androgenetic embryos (hAE) to elucidate the causes behind their poor developmental potential. The results showed that hAE can be efficiently generated by using intracytoplasmic sperm injection and oocyte enucleation at telophase II. Although haploidy does not disturb early development up to around the 3rd mitotic division, androgenetic development is disturbed after the time of zygote genome activation those that reach the morula stage are less capable to become a blastocyst. Analysis of gene expression indicated abnormal levels of methyltransferase 3B and key long non-coding RNAs involved in X-chromosome inactivation and genomic imprinting of the KCNQ1 locus, which is associated to the methylation status of imprinted control regions of XIST and KCNQ1OT1. Thus, our results seem to exclude micromanipulation consequences and chromosomal abnormalities as major factors in developmental restriction, suggesting that their early developmental constraint is regulated at an epigenetic level.

developmental biology↗