Background: Theranostics, a novel concept in medicine, is based on the use of an agent for simultaneous diagnosis and treatment. Nanomaterials provide promising novel approaches to theranostics. Carbon Dots have been shown to exhibit anti-tumoral properties in various cancer models. The aim of the present study is to develop gadolinium, Fe³⁺, and Mn²⁺-doped N-hydroxyphthalimide-derived Carbon Dots. The resulted doped Carbon Dots should preserve the anti-tumoral properties while gaining magnetic resonance imaging properties. Methods: Normal and cancer cell lines have been treated with doped Carbon Dots, and the cell viability has been measured. The doped Carbon Dots that exhibited the most prominent anti-tumoral effect accompanied by the lowest toxicity have been further in vivo tested. Magnetic resonance imaging evaluates both in vitro and in vivo the possibility of using doped Carbon Dots as a contrast agent. Results: According to the results obtained from both the in vitro and in vivo experimental models used in our study, Mn²⁺-doped Carbon Dots (Mn-CDs-NHF) exhibit anti-tumoral properties, do not significantly impair the cell viability of normal cells, and reduce lung metastasis and the volume of mammary primary tumors while allowing magnetic resonance imaging. Conclusions: Our findings prove that Mn-CDs-NHF can be used as theranostics agents in pre-clinical models.

Bariatric surgery is considered the most effective treatment for obesity and its associated metabolic disorders, yet the underlying mechanisms are only partially understood. Evidence suggests that the gut microbiota plays an important role in metabolic regulation and can be significantly altered by bariatric and metabolic procedures. This prospective, single-center study aimed to evaluate the dynamic changes in the gut microbiota composition and diversity in obese patients undergoing two types of bariatric surgery: laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) and Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB). Fecal samples were collected at three time points—before surgery (T0), and at 3 (T3) and 6 months (T6) postoperatively—and analyzed using 16S rRNA gene sequencing targeting the V3–V4 regions with Illumina technology. Significant shifts in microbial diversity and structure were observed over time, indicating a trend toward microbiota normalization post-surgery. Notable changes included a reduction in the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio and increased relative abundance of Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, and Verrucomicrobia. These alterations occurred in parallel with improvements in body mass index (BMI) and metabolic parameters. Our findings suggest that bariatric surgery induces favorable and sustained modifications in the gut microbiota, which may contribute to its therapeutic effects in obesity management.

Introduction: Antibiotic overuse is driving a global rise in antibiotic resistance, highlighting the need for robust antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) initiatives to improve prescription practices. While antimicrobials are essential for treating sepsis and preventing surgical site infections (SSIs), they can inadvertently disrupt the gut microbiota, leading to postoperative complications. Treatment methods vary widely across nations due to differences in drug choice, dosage, and therapy duration, affecting antibiotic resistance rates, which can reach up to 51% in some countries. In Romania and the Republic of Moldova, healthcare practices for surgical antibiotic prophylaxis differ significantly despite similarities in genetics, culture, and diet. Romania's stricter healthcare regulations result in more standardized antibiotic protocols, whereas Moldova's limited healthcare funding leads to less consistent practices and greater variability in treatment outcomes.Methods: This study presents the results of a prospective cross-border investigation involving 86 colorectal cancer patients from major oncological hospitals in Romania and Moldova. We analyzed fecal samples collected from patients before and 7 days post-antibiotic treatment, focusing on the V3–V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene.Results: Our findings indicate that inconsistent antibiotic prophylaxis policies—varying in type, dosage, or therapy duration—significantly impacted the gut microbiota and led to more frequent dysbiosis compared to stricter prophylactic antibiotic practices (single dose, single product, limited time).Discussion: We emphasize the need for standardized antibiotic prophylaxis protocols to minimize dysbiosis and its associated risks, promoting more effective antimicrobial use, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

(1) Background: Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a highly aggressive tumor, associated with high rates of early distant recurrence and short survival times, and treatment may require surgery, and thus anesthesia. The effects of anesthetic drugs on cancer progression are under scrutiny, but published data are controversial, and the involved mechanisms unclear. Anesthetic agents have been shown to modulate several molecular cascades, including PI3K/AKT/mTOR. AKT isoforms are frequently amplified in various malignant tumors and associated with malignant cell survival, proliferation and invasion. Their activation is often observed in human cancers and is associated with decreased survival rate. Certain anesthetics are known to affect hypoxia cell signaling mechanisms by upregulating hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs). (2) Methods: MCF-10A and MDA-MB 231 cells were cultivated and CellTiter-Blue^® Cell Viability assay, 2D and 3D matrigel assay, immunofluorescence assays and gene expressions assay were performed after exposure to different sevoflurane concentrations. (3) Results: Sevoflurane exposure of TNBC cells results in morphological and behavioral changes. Sevoflurane differently influences the AKT isoforms expression in a time-dependent manner, with an important early AKT3 upregulation. The most significant effects occur at 72 h after 2 mM sevoflurane treatment and consist in increased viability, proliferation and aggressiveness and increased vimentin and HIF expression. (4) Conclusions: Sevoflurane exposure during surgery may contribute to cancer recurrence via AKT3 induced epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) and by all three AKT isoforms enhanced cancer cell survival and proliferation.

Introduction: The intestinal microbiota is vital to human health, and has a profound influence on several biological processes including inflammation and pathogen resistance. Antibiotic intake greatly impacts bacterial diversity, can increase antibiotic resistance and impair the equilibrium between bacterial species. The key to grasping post-antibiotic effects on the gut microbiota rests on the implementation of a suitable procedure to isolate microbial DNA and a meticulous consideration of experimental sequencing artefacts.Methods: We herein report the bacterial community dynamics of a cohort of 128 surgical oncology patients before and after the intravenous administration of cefuroxime, an antibiotic routinely used in surgical antibioprophylaxis with proven efficiency against both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. In our study, we analyzed patient fecal samples collected through rectal examination before and 7 days post cefuroxime treatment by employing a high-throughput sequencing assay which targets the V3–V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene. A first challenge in applying the study design was to extract an appropriate amount of DNA characteristic to the sampled microbiota, which implied the use of both mechanical (ceramic beads) and chemical (proteinase K, lysozyme and lysostaphin) lysis.Results: Gut microbiota richness and composition was significantly different between the two groups, but most differences were determined by additional perioperative procedures, rather than antibioprophylaxis. Intestinal microbiota composition was not significantly changed one week post cefuroxime treatment when compared to pre-treatment condition for patients without mechanical bowel preparation, but some loss in taxonomic variety could be observed.Discussion: Taken together, cefuroxime does not promote short-term dysbiosis in surgical patients without any additional perioperative procedures.

Multiple myeloma results from the clonal proliferation of abnormal plasma cells (PCs) in the bone marrow (BM). In this study, the cell surface expression markers (CD) on atypical PCs (detected by multiparametric flow cytometry (MFC)) were correlated with copy number alterations (CNAs) in the genome (detected by multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA)) to assess their impact on prognosis in newly diagnosed MM patients. Statistically significant results were obtained when different stages of PC maturation (classified based on CD19 and CD81 expression) were associated with CD117 expression and identified CNAs. In the intermediately differentiated PC group (CD19(−) CD81(+)), patients who didn’t express CD117 had a lower median progression free survival (PFS) (p = 0.024). Moreover, within this group, patients with less than three adverse CNAs, which harbor CD117, had a better outcome with a PFS of more than 48 months compared with 19 months (p = 0.008). Considering all the results, our study suggested the need to integrate both the CD markers and copy number alterations to evaluate the prognosis of newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients.