Browsing by Author "Costa Pereira, Cristiana"
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- Association between Polymorphisms in Antioxidant Genes and Inflammatory Bowel DiseasePublication . Costa Pereira, Cristiana; Durães, Cecília; Coelho, Rosa; Grácio, Daniela; Silva, Marco; Peixoto, Armando; Lago, Paula; Pereira, Márcia; Catarino, Telmo; Pinho, Salomé; Teixeira, João Paulo; Macedo, Guilherme; Annese, Vito; Magro, FernandoInflammation is the driving force in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and its link to oxidative stress and carcinogenesis has long been accepted. The antioxidant system of the intestinal mucosa in IBD is compromised resulting in increased oxidative injury. This defective antioxidant system may be the result of genetic variants in antioxidant genes, which can represent susceptibility factors for IBD, namely Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the antioxidant genes SOD2 (rs4880) and GPX1 (rs1050450) were genotyped in a Portuguese population comprising 436 Crohn's disease and 367 ulcerative colitis patients, and 434 healthy controls. We found that the AA genotype in GPX1 is associated with ulcerative colitis (OR = 1.93, adjusted P-value = 0.037). Moreover, we found nominal significant associations between SOD2 and Crohn's disease susceptibility and disease subphenotypes but these did not withstand the correction for multiple testing. These findings indicate a possible link between disease phenotypes and antioxidant genes. These results suggest a potential role for antioxidant genes in IBD pathogenesis and should be considered in future association studies.
- Harmonized definition of occupational burnout: a systematic review, semantic analysis, and Delphi consensus in 29 countriesPublication . Guseva Canu, Irina; Marca, Sandy Carla; Dell'Oro, Francesca; Balázs, Ádám; Bergamaschi, Enrico; Besse, Christine; Bianchi, Renzo; Bislimovska, Jovanka; Koscec Bjelajac, Adrijana; Bugge, Merete; Busneag, Carmen Iliana; Çağlayan, Çiğdem; Cernițanu, Mariana; Costa Pereira, Cristiana; Dernovšček Hafner, Nataša; Droz, Nadia; Eglite, Maija; Godderis, Lode; Gündel, Harald; Hakanen, Jari J; Iordache, Raluca Maria; Khireddine-Medouni, Imane; Kiran, Sibel; Larese-Filon, Francesca; Lazor-Blanchet, Catherine; Légeron, Patrick; Loney, Tom; Majery, Nicole; Merisalu, Eda; Mehlum, Ingrid Sivesind; Michaud, Laurent; Mijakoski, Dragan; Minov, Jordan; Modenese, Alberto; Molan, Marija; van der Molen, Henk; Nena, Evangelia; Nolimal, Dusan; Otelea, Marina; Pletea, Elisabeta; Pranjic, Nurka; Rebergen, David; Reste, Jelena; Schernhammer, Eva; Wahlen, AnnyObjective: A consensual definition of occupational burnout is currently lacking. We aimed to harmonize the definition of occupational burnout as a health outcome in medical research and reach a consensus on this definition within the Network on the Coordination and Harmonisation of European Occupational Cohorts (OMEGA-NET). Methods: First, we performed a systematic review in MEDLINE, PsycINFO and Embase (January 1990 to August 2018) and a semantic analysis of the available definitions. We used the definitions of burnout and burnout-related concepts from the Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine Clinical Terms (SNOMED-CT) to formulate a consistent harmonized definition of the concept. Second, we sought to obtain the Delphi consensus on the proposed definition. Results: We identified 88 unique definitions of burnout and assigned each of them to 1 of the 11 original definitions. The semantic analysis yielded a first proposal, further reformulated according to SNOMED-CT and the panelists` comments as follows: "In a worker, occupational burnout or occupational physical AND emotional exhaustion state is an exhaustion due to prolonged exposure to work-related problems". A panel of 50 experts (researchers and healthcare professionals with an interest for occupational burnout) reached consensus on this proposal at the second round of the Delphi, with 82% of experts agreeing on it. Conclusion: This study resulted in a harmonized definition of occupational burnout approved by experts from 29 countries within OMEGA-NET. Future research should address the reproducibility of the Delphi consensus in a larger panel of experts, representing more countries, and examine the practicability of the definition.
- Minimum Information for Reporting on the Comet Assay (MIRCA): recommendations for describing comet assay procedures and resultsPublication . Møller, Peter; Azqueta, Amaya; Boutet-Robinet, Elisa; Koppen, Gudrun; Bonassi, Stefano; Milić, Mirta; Gajski, Goran; Costa, Solange; Teixeira, João Paulo; Costa Pereira, Cristiana; Dusinska, Maria; Godschalk, Roger; Brunborg, Gunnar; Gutzkow, Kristine B.; Giovannelli, Lisa; Cooke, Marcus S.; Richling, Elke; Laffon, Blanca; Valdiglesias, Vanessa; Basaran, Nursen; Del Bo’, Cristian; Zegura, Bojana; Novak, Matjaz; Stopper, Helga; Vodicka, Pavel; Vodenkova, Sona; de Andrade, Vanessa Moraes; Sramkova, Monika; Gabelova, Alena; Collins, Andrew; Langie, Sabine A.S.The comet assay is a widely used test for the detection of DNA damage and repair activity. However, there are interlaboratory differences in reported levels of baseline and induced damage in the same experimental systems. These differences may be attributed to protocol differences, although it is difficult to identify the relevant conditions because detailed comet assay procedures are not always published. Here, we present a Consensus Statement for the Minimum Information for Reporting Comet Assay (MIRCA) providing recommendations for describing comet assay conditions and results. These recommendations differentiate between 'desirable' and 'essential' information: 'essential' information refers to the precise details that are necessary to assess the quality of the experimental work, whereas 'desirable' information relates to technical issues that might be encountered when repeating the experiments. Adherence to MIRCA recommendations should ensure that comet assay results can be easily interpreted and independently verified by other researchers.
- Optimization of the harvesting and freezing conditions of human cell lines for DNA damage analysis by the alkaline Comet assayPublication . Bessa, Maria João; Brandão, Fátima; Machado Querido, Micaela; Costa Pereira, Cristiana; Valdiglesias, Vanessa; Laffon, Blanca; Carriere, Marie; Teixeira, João Paulo; Fraga, SóniaThe comet assay is a commonly used method for in vitro and in vivo genotoxicity assessment. This versatile assay can be performed in a wide range of tissues and cell types. Although most of the studies use samples immediately processed after collection, frozen biological samples can also be used. The present study aimed to optimize a collection and freezing protocol to minimize the DNA damage associated with these procedures in human cell line samples for comet assay analysis. This study was conducted in glial A172 and lung alveolar epithelial A549 cells. Two cell detachment methods (mechanical vs enzymatic) and two cryoprotective media [FBS + 10% DMSO vs Cell Culture Media (CCM) + 10% DMSO] were tested, and DNA damage assessed at four time points following storage at −80 °C (one, two, four and eight weeks). In both cell lines, no differences in % tail intensity were detected between fresh and frozen cells up to eight weeks, irrespective of the harvesting method and freezing medium used. However, freshly isolated A172 cells exhibited a significant lower DNA damage when resuspended in CCM + 10% DMSO, while for A549 fresh cells the preferable harvesting method was the enzymatic one since it induced less DNA damage. Although both harvesting methods and cryoprotective media tested were found suitable, our data indicate that enzymatic harvesting and cryopreservation in CCM + 10% DMSO is a preferable method for DNA integrity preservation of human cell line samples for comet assay analysis. Our data also suggest that CCM is a preferable and cost-effective alternative to FBS in cryopreservation media. This optimized protocol allows the analysis of in vitro cell samples collected and frozen at different locations, with minimal interference on the basal DNA strand break levels in samples kept frozen up to eight weeks.
- Oxidative DNA damage among workers exposed to noise - a pilot study on non-auditory effects of noise exposurePublication . Sousa, Catarina; Carvalhais, Carlos; Neves, Maria Paula; Gaivão, Isabel; Teixeira, João Paulo; Costa Pereira, CristianaObjective: This study was designed to assess the effect of occupational noise exposure in nonauditory systems, particularly the cardiovascular system
- Project on genetic and epigenetic effects of maternal environmental exposure to tobacco smoke in newborns (2016-2020)Publication . Costa Pereira, Cristiana; Costa, CarlaPrenatal tobacco smoke exposure in early pregnancy may have important and lasting effects on DNA methylation and consequently influence gene expression and disease phenotypes across the life course. Given the scarcity of studies regarding the genotoxic potential of tobacco smoke during pregnancy and the lack of information regarding the transplacental transfer of different compounds present in tobacco smoke, this project aims to assess DNA damage and some specific epigenetic alterations in newborns resulting from in utero exposure to tobacco smoke using both a descriptive and analytical approach.
- The hCOMET project: International database comparison of results with the comet assay in human biomonitoring. Baseline frequency of DNA damage and effect of main confoundersPublication . Milić, Mirta; Ceppi, Marcello; Bruzzone, Marco; Azqueta, Amaya; Brunborg, Gunnar; Godschalk, Roger; Koppen, Gudrun; Langie, Sabine; Møller, Peter; Teixeira, João Paulo; Alija, Avdulla; Anderson, Diana; Andrade, Vanessa; Andreoli, Cristina; Asllani, Fisnik; Bangkoglu, Ezgi Eyluel; Barančoková, Magdalena; Basaran, Nursen; Boutet-Robinet, Elisa; Buschini, Annamaria; Cavallo, Delia; Costa Pereira, Cristiana; Costa, Carla; Costa, Solange; Da Silva, Juliana; Del Boˊ, Cristian; Dimitrijević Srećković, Vesna; Djelić, Ninoslav; Dobrzyńska, Malgorzata; Duračková, Zdenka; Dvořáková, Monika; Gajski, Goran; Galati, Serena; García Lima, Omar; Giovannelli, Lisa; Goroshinskaya, Irina A.; Grindel, Annemarie; Gutzkow, Kristine B.; Hernández, Alba; Hernández, Carlos; Holven, Kirsten B.; Ibero-Baraibar, Idoia; Ottestad, Inger; Kadioglu, Ela; Kažimirová, Alena; Kuznetsova, Elena; Ladeira, Carina; Laffon, Blanca; Lamonaca, Palma; Lebailly, Pierre; Louro, Henriqueta; Mandina Cardoso, Tania; Marcon, Francesca; Marcos, Ricard; Moretti, Massimo; Moretti, Silvia; Najafzadeh, Mojgan; Nemeth, Zsuzsanna; Neri, Monica; Novotna, Bozena; Orlow, Irene; Paduchova, Zuzana; Pastor, Susana; Perdry, Hervé; Spremo-Potparević, Biljana; Ramadhani, Dwi; Riso, Patrizia; Rohr, Paula; Rojas, Emilio; Rossner, Pavel; Safar, Anna; Sardas, Semra; Silva, Maria João; Sirota, Nikolay; Smolkova, Bozena; Staruchova, Marta; Stetina, Rudolf; Stopper, Helga; Surikova, Ekaterina I.; Ulven, Stine M.; Ursini, Cinzia Lucia; Valdiglesias, Vanessa; Valverde, Mahara; Vodicka, Pavel; Volkovova, Katarina; Wagner, Karl-Heinz; Živković, Lada; Dušinská, Maria; Collins, Andrew R.; Bonassi, StefanoThe alkaline comet assay, or single cell gel electrophoresis, is one of the most popular methods for assessing DNA damage in human population. One of the open issues concerning this assay is the identification of those factors that can explain the large inter-individual and inter-laboratory variation. International collaborative initiatives such as the hCOMET project - a COST Action launched in 2016 - represent a valuable tool to meet this challenge. The aims of hCOMET were to establish reference values for the level of DNA damage in humans, to investigate the effect of host factors, lifestyle and exposure to genotoxic agents, and to compare different sources of assay variability. A database of 19,320 subjects was generated, pooling data from 105 studies run by 44 laboratories in 26 countries between 1999 and 2019. A mixed random effect log-linear model, in parallel with a classic meta-analysis, was applied to take into account the extensive heterogeneity of data, due to descriptor, specimen and protocol variability. As a result of this analysis interquartile intervals of DNA strand breaks (which includes alkali-labile sites) were reported for tail intensity, tail length, and tail moment (comet assay descriptors). A small variation by age was reported in some datasets, suggesting higher DNA damage in oldest age-classes, while no effect could be shown for sex or smoking habit, although the lack of data on heavy smokers has still to be considered. Finally, highly significant differences in DNA damage were found for most exposures investigated in specific studies. In conclusion, these data, which confirm that DNA damage measured by the comet assay is an excellent biomarker of exposure in several conditions, may contribute to improving the quality of study design and to the standardization of results of the comet assay in human populations.