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Metabolic alterations are a common problem in people living with HIV (PLHIV), as a result of a stage of chronic inflammation that affects the homeostasis of the organism. Prolonged exposure to antiretroviral therapy has been associated with developing lipodystrophies that modify lipoprotein metabolism and inflammatory markers such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6), which are mediators of the immune response. The study aimed to associate TNF-α and IL-6 levels with their polymorphisms and metabolic alterations in PLIHV. We hypothesized that TNF-α and IL-6 levels and their polymorphisms are associated with metabolic alterations. In total, 185 PLHIV and 51 HIV-negative people were included. Biochemical parameters were determined by colorimetric assay, cytokine levels by immunoassay, and allelic discrimination by quantitative polymerase chain reaction. A correlation was found between TNF-α levels and the variables cholesterol ( r = -0.171, P = 0.020) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) ( r = -0.245, P = 0.001). There are associations between HDL levels ( P = 0.011) and GG genotype of rs1800629. The results suggest a metabolic alteration related to the constant immune response, especially the production of proinflammatory cytokines such as TNF-α and IL-6. It was observed that genetic factors may influence metabolism alteration, mainly in lipids.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV2). COVID-19 can cause a cytokine release syndrome in which cytokines, including interleukin 17 (IL-17), are massively secreted in response to a specific stimulus. This can contribute to mortality and severe forms of COVID-19. The study aimed to determine the association of SARS-CoV2 infection with the IL-17A rs2275913 and IL-17F rs763780 variants, as well as with the associated comorbidities in COVID-19-positive Mexican patients. The study included 178 patients positive to COVID-19 and 177 COVID-19 negative subjects. For genotyping, the samples were amplified with a TaqMan ® probe. There was no association between the AA genotype and A allele of IL-17A variant or the IL-17F C allele with the presence of COVID-19. In regard to comorbidities, a statistically significant association was found between IL-17A rs2275913 AA genotype and hypertension, as well as with the presence of obesity ( P  = 0.003, OR 23, 95% CI: 2.97-178.092 and P  = 0.025, OR 28, 95% CI: 1.52-178.029, respectively) in patients with COVID-19. In conclusion, rs2275913 IL-17A polymorphism in COVID-19 patients seems to confer a higher susceptibility to the presence of hypertension and obesity, increasing the risk of premature cardiovascular disease in this population. However, more studies should be conducted for a better understanding of their relation.

Metabolic alterations, resulting from factors such as obesity or infections (HIV), generate inflammation in the body, affecting the immune system and causing oxidative stress. Prolonged exposure to antiretroviral therapy (ART) conditions the appearance of alterations considered risk factors for metabolic syndrome (MetS), affecting the quality of life in people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). β-klotho is a protein that can counteract levels of oxidative stress. The aim was to determine the relation of β-klotho and oxidative stress with metabolic alterations in PLWHA. We hypothesized that levels of β-klotho and malondialdehyde (MDA) are related in PLWHA on ART with overweight/obesity. As a result of comparing cases versus controls, significant differences were obtained in levels of β-klotho ( p  = 0.011), MDA ( p  < 0.0001), body mass index ( p  = 0.001), and weight ( p  < 0.0001). The presence of MetS in PLWHA was 21.2% and 10.6% according to the World Health Organization and ATP III (National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III) criteria, respectively. The founded correlations were of β-klotho ( r  = 0.019) and MDA ( r  = 0.0001), both with CD4+ cells in PLWHA. In controls, β-klotho was correlated with very low-density lipoprotein ( r  = 0.035) and atherogenic index (AI; r  = 0.037), MDA with AI ( r  = 0.039), cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein ( r  = 0.002). The increase of inflammation in the organism, owing to HIV infection and/or the presence of obesity, conditions metabolic disruption or depletion of elements needed for homeostasis in the human body.

Combined antiretroviral therapy has improved quality and life expectancy of people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). However, this therapy increases oxidative stress (OS), which in turn causes alterations in lipid and carbon metabolism, kidney disease, liver cirrhosis, and increased risk of cardiovascular disease. The Klotho gene has been implicated in cardiovascular risk increase. Klotho protein expression at X level decreases the risk of heart disease. HIV-positive people usually present low plasma levels of Klotho; thus, contributing to some extent to an increase in cardiovascular risk for these types of patients, mostly by favoring atherosclerosis. Therefore, our aim is to provide an overview of the effect of OS on Klotho protein and its consequent cardiometabolic alterations in HIV-positive patients on antiretroviral therapy.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition classified based on needs of support, in order to address impairments in the areas of social communication and restricted and repetitive behavior. The aim of this work is to describe the main clinical features of the ASD severity levels in a group of Mexican pediatric patients. The results show firstly that this condition was more frequent in males than females. Secondly, an inverse relationship was found between the intellectual coefficient and the level of severity of the disorder. Thirdly, deficits in social reciprocity and communication were more evident in Level 3, than in Levels 1 and 2, while the difference was less evident in restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior.

Azithromycin and doxycycline effectiveness has been demonstrated in the treatment of urogenital chlamydiasis, which has remained unchanged for a long time. Autoinoculation has been proposed as a method of reinfection and persistence of the disease in women and probably also owing to azithromycin pharmacokinetics in this tissue. With the new diagnostic methods and tests of cure, a difference has been demonstrated in favor of doxycycline in the treatment of rectal chlamydiasis Antimicrobial resistance has not played a relevant role since no treatment-resistant strains have been found in vivo. Nevertheless, azithromycin remains a first-choice drug, since it can be administered as a single dose, which favors therapeutic adherence., (Copyright: © 2018 SecretarÍa de Salud.)

Background and Aims: Yes-associated protein (YAP) is a transcriptional factor involved in normal cell proliferation, apoptosis and carcinogenesis; however, its contribution to breast cancer (BC) is still controversial. We undertook this study to compare the expression of YAP by immunohistochemistry (IHC) in normal breast tissue of women without breast cancer (BC) (controls), non-neoplastic breast tissue in women with cancer (internal controls) and in four different subtypes of invasive ductal carcinoma., Methods: There were 17 controls and 105 tumor cases (53 luminal A, 15 luminal B, 20 overexpression of HER2 and 17 triple negative cases) studied by IHC. Statistical analysis included χ(2) for linear trend (Extended Mantel-Haenszel)., Results: There were 40% of internal controls that showed expression of YAP in myoepithelial cells, whereas in controls expression was 100%. In controls, 3/17 (17.6%) showed cytoplasmic staining in luminal cells. There was a significant difference in nuclear expression between the ductal BC subtypes. Luminal A had 4% of positive cases with <10% of cells affected in each case; in contrast, there were 17-20% of positive cases in the other groups with 50% or more of stained cells. YAP expression in stromal cells was not observed in controls or in triple-negative cases, and luminal B pattern had the highest YAP nuclear expression (20%)., Conclusions: YAP showed decreased expression in tumor cells compared with normal breast tissue. These findings are consistent with a role of YAP as a suppressor gene in BC and show differences in YAP expression in different patterns of ductal BC., (Copyright © 2014 IMSS. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To assess whether in Mexican population the frequencies of ATM polymorphisms IVS24-9delT, IVS38-8-T>C, and 5557G>A in breast cancer (BC) cases and healthy controls were different from those found in other countries., Materials and Methods: Frequencies of polymorphisms conferring BC risk IVS24-9delT, IVS38-8T>C, and 5557G>A were analyzed by PCR-RFLP in 94 patients with familial and/or early onset BC, and 97 healthy controls randomly selected. Allele frequencies analysis was done using χ(2) and Hardy-Weinberg test., Results: Frequencies of heterozygous were: for 5557G>A, 13% cases, 0%controls (p=0.0009); for IVS24-9delT, 21% cases, 8% controls (p=0.0122); for IVS38-8T>C, only one case. 5557G>A and IVS24-9delT were more frequent in cases than in controls. The allelic frequencies found in 5557G>A are similar to those described by González-Hormazábal in Chile., Conclusion: The similarity of results in this polymorphism between Chilean and Mexican populations may be due to both being crossbred with an Amerindian-Spanish component, while differences may be due to fact that Chilean population has a greater European component than Mexican's.

The molecular epidemiology of subtypes and intersubtype recombinants (IRs) of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) in Mexico has not been characterized fully. Understanding its regional distribution, prevalence, adaptability, viral fitness, pathogenicity, and immunogenicity is decisive for any design of an effective HIV vaccine. The aim of this study was to describe the presence of IRs types BG and BF in a Mexican population. Protease and reverse transcriptase regions of the pol gene were sequenced using an automated sequencing system. A phylogenic tree was constructed and genetic distances were calculated using MEGA 3.1. Recombination analysis was done by bootscan using SimPlot software. Two hundred and twenty-three HIV-1-positive individuals were enrolled in the study. At baseline, the mean plasma viral load was 285,500 HIV-1 RNA copies/ml and the mean CD4 cell count was 213 cells/ml. Subtype B was found in 220 (98.6%) samples, whereas IRs were found in three patients (1.4%): two (0.9%) with BG and one (0.45%) with BF. IRs were observed in 2/124 (1.6%) samples from treated patients and in 1/99 (1.0%) from naive patients. The presence of these HIV forms at low frequency points to the need for research on the diversity, geographic distribution, and evolution of other subtypes including circulating recombinant forms and IRs to understand the molecular epidemiology and tendencies of the HIV infection in Mexico.