Cytokines and chemokines are immune response molecules that display diverse functions, such as inflammation and immune regulation. In Plasmodium vivax infections, the uncontrolled production of these molecules is thought to contribute to pathogenesis and has been proposed as a possible predictor for disease complications. The objective of this study was to evaluate the cytokine profile of P. vivax malaria patients with different clinical outcomes to identify possible immune biomarkers for severe P. vivax malaria. The study included patients with non-severe (n = 56), or severe (n = 50) P. vivax malaria and healthy controls (n = 50). Patient plasma concentrations of IL-4, IL-2, CXCL10, IL-1β, TNF-α, CCL2, IL-17A, IL-6, IL-10, IFN-γ, IL-12p70, CXCL8 and active TGF-β1 were determined through flow cytometry. The levels of several cytokines and chemokines, CXCL10, IL-10, IL-6, IL-4, CCL2 and IFN-γ were found to be significantly higher in severe, compared to non-severe P. vivax malaria patients. Severe thrombocytopenia was positively correlated with IL-4, CXCL10, IL-6, IL-10 and IFN-γ levels, renal dysfunction was related to an increase in IL-2, IL-1β, IL-17A and IL-8, and hepatic impairment with CXCL10, MCP-1, IL-6 and IFN-γ. A Lasso regression model suggests that IL-4, IL-10, CCL2 and TGF-β might be developed as biomarkers for severity in P. vivax malaria. Severe P. vivax malaria patients present specific cytokine and chemokine profiles that are different from non-severe patients and that could potentially be developed as biomarkers for disease severity.

Plasmodium vivax has high morbidity, it is the Plasmodium species with the greatest worldwide distribution, and its ability to trigger severe symptoms is currently recognized. The present study aims to compare the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of patients with P. vivax malaria, with and without complication criteria, in an endemic area for malaria transmission in northwest Colombia. A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out between 2017 and 2019, patients with P.vivax severe malaria (n = 50), non-severe malaria (n = 56) and healthy controls (n = 50) were included. Sociodemographic, clinical, hematological, and biochemical characteristics were analyzed. Clinical follow-up was carried out in a group of patients with severe malaria. The statistical analysis was carried out in GraphPad Prism; the Chi-square test analyzed categorical variables, comparisons of variables for the three groups were carried out by the Kruskal-Wallis test and comparison between two groups by the Mann-Whitney test. A multiple correspondence analysis described the relationship between variables, which was carried out through the R software. One hundred fifty-six individuals were linked to the study, 76 women and 80 men, between 3 and 71 years old. For 50% of the patients, it was their first malaria episode; 42% of the patients classified with severe malaria required hospitalization, compared to 7.1% of the patients with non-severe malaria. Parasitaemia was similar in both clinical groups; however, 10% of severe patients presented high parasitemia, between 20,000-135,000. The most frequent clinical characteristics in patients with severe malaria were severe thrombocytopenia in 54%, hypoglycemia in 48%, and liver and kidney failure in 30%. Biochemical and hematological parameters returned to normal in 90% of the patients with severe malaria on the third day after starting treatment. Thrombocytopenia, hypoglycemia, and liver and kidney dysfunctions were the most frequent P. vivax malaria complications in this study. Hemoglobin concentration and parasite count were not related to the clinical condition of patients. Thrombocytopenia was the most frequent finding in patients with malaria, and its severity presented an inverse relationship with the number of previous malaria episodes.

Chagas disease (CD) is a systemic parasitic infection caused by the flagellated form of Trypanosoma cruzi. Córdoba department, located in the Colombian Caribbean Coast, was not considered as a region at risk of T. cruzi transmission. In this article, we describe the first acute CD case in Salitral village in Sahagún, Córdoba, confirmed by microscopy and serological tests. Our results draw attention to a new scenario of transmission of acute CD in nonendemic areas of Colombia and highlight the need to include CD in the differential diagnosis of febrile syndromes in this region.

Considering the limitations of monotherapies due to chemoresistance and side effects, this research aimed to determine whether low doses of sulforaphane (SFN) combined with docetaxel (DCT) could enhance therapeutic efficacy. Prostate cancer cell lines LNCaP and PC-3 were treated with individual IC50 doses of SFN and DCT and half-reduced IC50 values for the SFN:DCT combination. Metabolic markers, including glucose consumption, lactate production, reactive oxygen species (ROS), mitochondrial mass, and caspase activity, were assessed. In LNCaP cells, the SFN:DCT combination reduced cell viability to 50%, comparable to DCT monotherapy (48%). Caspase 3 activation was also higher with SFN:DCT (2.4 ± 0.75 RFU) than DCT alone (2.1 ± 0.47 RFU), while caspase 8 activation remained comparable, indicating equivalent effectiveness at lower concentrations. In PC-3 cells, the combination induced caspase 3 activation (1.16 ± 0.0484 RFU) at levels slightly lower than DCT (1.51 ± 0.2062 RFU) but achieved greater reductions in mitochondrial mass, reflecting its ability to target metabolic vulnerabilities in aggressive phenotypes. Our findings suggest that the SFN:DCT combination is a promising strategy for early-stage prostate cancer. By achieving comparable efficacy to DCT monotherapy at low doses, the SFN:DCT combination maintains the therapeutic impact, mitigating the adverse effects of conventional DCT treatment.

This study evaluates the cytotoxic and genotoxic effects of PM_2.5 collected from an open-cast coal mining area in northern Colombia. Cyclohexane (CH), dichloromethane (DCM), and acetone (ACE) extracts were obtained using Soxhlet extraction to isolate compounds of different polarities. Human lymphocytes were exposed to the extracted compounds, and cytotoxicity and genotoxicity were assessed using the cytokinesis block micronucleus (CBMN) and comet assays, incorporating FPG and ENDO III enzymes to detect oxidative DNA damage. Chemical analysis revealed that the organic fractions consisted mainly of modified hydrocarbons and volatile organic compounds. The CBMN assay showed a significant increase in micronuclei in binucleated (MNBN) and mononucleated (MNMONO) cells and nucleoplasmic bridges (NPB) in exposed lymphocytes. The comet assay revealed substantial oxidative DNA damage, particularly with the ACE extract, which significantly increased oxidized purines and pyrimidines. DCM induced similar effects, while CH showed moderate effects. CREST immunostaining revealed aneugenic activity, particularly in cells exposed to ACE and DCM extracts. These results suggest that polar fractions of PM_2.5, likely containing metals and modified PAHs, contribute to DNA damage and chromosomal instability. The study highlights the need to monitor the composition of PM_2.5 in mining regions to implement stricter environmental policies to reduce exposure and health risks.

Bats are mammals of great ecological and medical importance, which have associations with different pathogenic microorganisms. DNA barcoding is a tool that can expedite species identification using short DNA sequences. In this study, we assess the DNA barcoding methodology in bats from the Colombian Northern region, specifically in the Córdoba department. Cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) gene sequences of nine bat species were typified, and their comparison with other Neotropic samples revealed that this marker is suitable for individual species identification, with ranges of intra-species variation from 0.1 to 0.9%. Bat species clusters are well supported and differentiated, showing average genetic distances ranging from 3% between Artibeus lituratus and Artibeus planirostris, up to 27% between Carollia castanea and Molossus molossus. C. castanea and Glossophaga soricina show geographical structuring in the Neotropic. The findings reported in this study confirm DNA barcoding usefulness for fast species identification of bats in the region.