Objective: Sjögren's syndrome (SS) is a systemic autoimmune disease with a variety of presenting symptoms that may delay its diagnosis. We previously discovered a number of candidate salivary biomarkers for primary SS using both mass spectrometry and expression microarray analysis. In the current study, we aimed to verify these candidate biomarkers in independent patient populations and to evaluate their predictive values for primary SS detection.Methods: In total, 34 patients with primary SS, 34 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and 34 healthy individuals were enrolled for the validation studies. Salivary protein biomarkers were measured using either Western blotting or enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay, and the messenger RNA (mRNA) biomarkers were measured using quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Statistical analysis was performed using R software, version 2.9.Results: Three protein biomarkers (cathepsin D [CPD], α‐enolase, and β₂‐microglobulin [β₂m]) and 3 mRNA biomarkers (myeloid cell nuclear differentiation antigen [MNDA], guanylate binding protein 2 [GBP‐2], and low‐affinity IIIb receptor for the Fc fragment of IgG) were significantly elevated in patients with primary SS compared with both SLE patients and healthy controls. The combination of 3 protein biomarkers, CPD, α‐enolase, and β₂m, yielded a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) value of 0.99 in distinguishing primary SS from healthy controls. The combination of protein biomarkers β₂m and 2 mRNA biomarkers, MNDA and GBP‐2, reached an ROC of 0.95 in discriminating primary SS from SLE.Conclusion: We have successfully verified a panel of protein and mRNA biomarkers that can discriminate primary SS from both SLE and healthy controls. If further validated in patients with primary SS and those with sicca symptoms but no autoimmune disease, these biomarkers may lead to a simple yet highly discriminatory clinical tool for diagnosis of primary SS.

The use of nanomaterials is becoming increasingly widespread, leading to substantial research focused on nanomedicine. Nevertheless, the lack of complete toxicity profiles limits nanomaterials’ uses, despite their remarkable diagnostic and therapeutic results on in vitro and in vivo models. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), particularly Argovit™, have shown microbicidal, virucidal, and antitumoral effects. Among the first-line toxicity tests is the hemolysis assay. Here, the hemolytic effect of Argovit™ AgNPs on erythrocytes from one healthy donor (HDE) and one diabetic donor (DDE) is evaluated by the hemolysis assay against AgNO₃. The results showed that Argovit™, in concentrations ≤24 µg/mL of metallic silver, did not show a hemolytic effect on the HDE or DDE. On the contrary, AgNO₃ at the same concentration of silver ions produces more than 10% hemolysis in both the erythrocyte types. In all the experimental conditions assessed, the DDE was shown to be more prone to hemolysis than the HDE elicited by Ag⁺ ions or AgNPs, but much more evident with Ag⁺ ions. The results show that Argovit™ is the least hemolytic compared with the other twenty-two AgNP formulations previously reported, probably due to the polymer mass used to stabilize the Argovit™ formulation. The results obtained provide relevant information that contributes to obtaining a comprehensive toxicological profile to design safe and effective AgNP formulations.

Due to their antibacterial and antiviral effects, silver nanoparticles (AgNP) are one of the most widely used nanomaterials worldwide in various industries, e.g., in textiles, cosmetics and biomedical-related products. Unfortunately, the lack of complete physicochemical characterization and the variety of models used to evaluate its cytotoxic/genotoxic effect make comparison and decision-making regarding their safe use difficult. In this work, we present a systematic study of the cytotoxic and genotoxic activity of the commercially available AgNPs formulation Argovit™ in Allium cepa. The evaluated concentration range, 5–100 µg/mL of metallic silver content (85–1666 µg/mL of complete formulation), is 10–17 times higher than the used for other previously reported polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)-AgNP formulations and showed no cytotoxic or genotoxic damage in Allium cepa. Conversely, low concentrations (5 and 10 µg/mL) promote growth without damage to roots or bulbs. Until this work, all the formulations of PVP-AgNP evaluated in Allium cepa regardless of their size, concentration, or the exposure time had shown phytotoxicity. The biological response observed in Allium cepa exposed to Argovit™ is caused by nanoparticles and not by silver ions. The metal/coating agent ratio plays a fundamental role in this response and must be considered within the key physicochemical parameters for the design and manufacture of safer nanomaterials.

Worldwide demands of Vanilla planifolia lead to finding new options to produce large-scale and contaminant-free crops. Particularly, the Mexican Government has classified Vanilla planifolia at risk and it subject to protection programs since wild species are in danger of extinction and no more than 30 clones have been found. Nanotechnology could help to solve both demands and genetic variability, but toxicological concerns must be solved. In this work, we present the first study of the cytotoxic and genotoxic effects promoted by AgNPs in Vanilla planifolia plantlets after a very long exposure time of six weeks. Our results show that Vanilla planifolia plantlets growth with doses of 25 and 50 mg/L is favored with a small decrease in the mitotic index. A dose-dependency in the frequency of cells with chromosomal aberrations and micronuclei was found. However, genotoxic effects could be considered as minimum due to with the highest concentration employed (200 mg/L), the total percentage of chromatic aberrations is lower than 5% with only three micronuclei in 3000 cells, despite the long-time exposure to AgNP. Therefore, 25 and 50 mg/L (1.5 and 3 mg/L of metallic silver) were identified as safe concentrations for Vanilla planifolia growth on in vitro conditions. Exposure of plantlets to AgNPs increase the polymorphism registered by inter-simple sequence repeat method (ISSR), which could be useful to promote the genetic variability of this species.