Background: Increased telomere shortening has been demonstrated in several diseases including type 2 diabetes. However, it is not known whether telomere length changes during the course of type 2 diabetes. Objective: To determine telomere length at different stages of type 2 diabetes, including early and late stages. Methods: A total of 93 males with type 2 diabetes and 10 years or more since original diagnosis; 96 males with less than one year of diagnosis; 98 age matched healthy males. Telomere length was estimated by means of real-time polymerase chain reaction. Fasting venous blood samples were obtained for measurement of lipid peroxidation and inflammation markers.Results: We found a greater telomere shortening in group (A) with type 2 diabetes of 10 years or more since original diagnosis, compared with the control group (C) of healthy males (5.4 vs 9.6 Kb) (p = 0.04) and with group B (5.4 vs 8.7kb) (p = 0.05). With regard to inflammatory markers TNF-α, malondialdehyde peroxidation and adiponectin we found significant differences. Conclusion: Telomere shortening increases with the duration of diabetes. The time of exhibition suggests in parallel that the progressive increase of inflammation and/or oxidative stress plays a direct role in telomere shortening.

Background. Increased oxidative stress is a well described feature of patients in hemodialysis. Their need for multiple blood transfusions and supplemental iron causes a significant iron overload that has recently been associated with increased oxidation of polyunsaturated lipids and accelerated aging due to DNA damage caused by telomere shortening. Methods. A total of 70 patients were evaluated concomitantly, 35 volunteers with ferritin levels below 500 ng/mL (Group A) and 35 volunteers with ferritin levels higher than 500 ng/mL (Group B). A sample of venous blood was taken to extract DNA from leukocytes and to measure relative telomere length by real‐time PCR. Results. Patients in Group B had significantly higher plasma TBARS (p = 0.008), carbonyls (p = 0.0004), and urea (p = 0.02) compared with those in Group A. Telomeres were significantly shorter in Group B, 0.66 (SD, 0.051), compared with 0.75 (SD, 0.155) in Group A (p = 0.0017). We observed a statistically significant association between relative telomere length and ferritin levels (r = −0.37, p = 0.001). Relative telomere length was inversely related to time on hemodialysis (r = −0.27, p = 0.02). Conclusions. Our findings demonstrate that iron overload was associated with increased levels of oxidative stress and shorter relative telomere length.

Recently, a direct correlation with telomere length, proliferative potential and telomerase activity has been found in the process of aging in peripheral blood cells. The objective of the study was to evaluate telomere length and proliferative potential in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) after stimulation with Concanavalin A (ConA) of young adults compared with older adults.

Introducción: El estrés crónico en el ganado bovino lechero es uno de los mayores problemas para la producción de leche ya que reduce la producción, aumentan las enfermedades y se reproducen menos y el principal causante es el clima. El estrés calórico ha sido estudiado por muchos años, pero el parámetro más comúnmente usado es el índice de temperatura y humedad (THI), este proviene de las mediciones meteorológicas y no de los cambios que ocurren en el organismo de la vaca. Método: Para encontrar la relación entre el THI y la respuesta del organismo ante el estrés, muestreamos bimestralmente pelo de 50 vacas Holstein de un establo lechero intensivo automatizado durante un año, extrajimos el cortisol acumulado y lo medimos mediante la técnica de ELISA. También se obtuvieron las mediciones climatológicas de los reportes meteorológicos locales para calcular los THI y los promedios de cada periodo. Mediante un análisis de regresión múltiple se calculó la correlación de las concentraciones bimestrales de cortisol con los promedios de temperatura, humedad, viento y THI en los mismos periodos. Resultados: Los cambios en los niveles de cortisol de cada periodo fueron significativamente diferentes al anterior. El análisis de regresión múltiple mostró como principal regresor al THI (p < 0.001). Discusión: Los resultados mostraron que el THI está significativamente relacionado con los niveles de cortisol capilar, esto demuestra que el THI es un parámetro confiable, si no para calcular el estrés fisiológico, sí para saber indirectamente el estrés que puede provocar el clima y tomar decisiones en las explotaciones de ganado lechero.

High mortality and dissemination rates of the emerging virus TiLV (Tilapia lake Virus) leads the researcher to develop a novel strategies to prevent these kind of infections in the fish. In viral diseases, vaccination is the most recommended method for prevention. In this context and considering the genome sequences of TiLV virus published in the article “Complete Genome Sequence of a Tilapia Lake Virus Isolate Obtained from Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)”, we propose to produce a recombinant oral vaccine through microalgae biotechnology using viral vectors.

The stress suffered by other animal species has not been considered in many situations of interaction with humans. Captive animals in zoos have constant interactions with their keepers, their doctors and with visitors. The objective of our study was to better understand the influence of visitors on the stress of captive animals. Like others around the world, the Zoo in Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico, closed its doors to visitors during the COVID-19 pandemic. We took advantage of this period to measure hair cortisol in mammals after months without visitors and months after visitors returned. Samples were taken whenever there was an opportunity for handling. Our results did not show a significant difference when considering all specimens sampled, however, we found that primates were significantly more stressed in the absence of visitors, as opposed to the rest of the animals who showed more stress with the presence of visitors, although not significantly. This supports the hypothesis that some animals have an adaptation to the presence of the public and even, in the case of primates, interaction with humans could become a beneficial factor.