Biology subjects

Pina, A.

Publications and source records attributed to Pina, A..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Development of a microbiome based health score for non-invasive monitoring of farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)

The sustainability of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) farming is threatened by infectious diseases, environmental stressors, feed limitations, and regulatory or economic constraints. Although current health monitoring is improving with AI-powered camera systems that analyze behavior and nutrition, these tools typically identify stress responses rather than early signs of disease states. Because the microbial community undergoes successional reassembly in response to physiological disruptions before host barriers are breached, the microbiome offers a proactive early warning approach. In this study, a comparative cohort design was employed using a total of 171 individuals (n= 85 "healthy"; n=86 "lesioned") collected from a commercial marine facility and classified based on external clinical signs. The microbiome of multiple body sites (gills, skin, urogenital pore, and mucosa) from healthy and lesioned salmon were profiled using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing. No differences in alpha diversity were observed between tissues and conditions. However, beta diversity was significantly different in clinical status, and the interaction of tissue with the status. Conversely, the mucosa and urogenital microbiomes were compositionally similar to each other, as were the gill and skin microbiomes, suggesting that urogenital swabs could serve as a non-invasive proxy for gut microbiome profiling, and skin for gill microbiomes. Several supervised models were trained on these profiles and used to classify salmon status with high accuracy. Based on these data, two Salmon Microbiome Health Score were developed that accurately differentiated the two cohorts. These scores are proposed as a novel biomarker, enabling proactive health management in aquaculture and complementing emerging technological monitoring systems.

genomics↗

bioRxiv2025

Transferrin Receptor 1-targeted polymersomes therapy for Colorectal Cancer

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a major global health concern, ranking among the most common cancers and the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths. The high mortality associated with CRC is attributed mainly to difficulties in early detection and the lack of effective targeted therapies. The Transferrin receptor 1 (TfR1) is particularly attractive as a therapy target given its notable overexpression in tumor cells, particularly in CRC. This study explored the potential of a polymeric nanoparticle (POs)-based drug delivery system targeting TfR1 to improve the precision and efficacy of CRC treatment. For this study, we used three human colorectal cancer cell lines (SW480, HT-29, and HCT116), a healthy human intestinal epithelial cell line (hIECs), and a murine CRC cell line (MC38). We first engineered POs composed of poly (ethylene glycol) (PEG) and poly (lactic acid) (PLA), functionalized with the T7 peptide to enhance their specificity for TfR1-expressing cells. Targeting efficiency of these POs was assessed across all cell lines by evaluating the cellular uptake using flow cytometry. Upon establishing the optimal formulation for these NPs for TfR1-targeting, we encapsulated doxorubicin (DOX) to evaluate their therapeutic potential. Both in vitro and in vivo studies were performed to assess the efficacy of these DOX-loaded TfR1-targeted POs. In vitro studies demonstrated selective delivery of DOX to CRC cells, suggesting a marked reduction in off-target effects. In vivo studies in a murine model of CRC further supported these findings, showing that DOX-loaded TfR1-targeted POs significantly improved survival rates and reduced tumor growth compared to free DOX or PBS treatments. These results highlight the promise of TfR1-targeted POs as a precise strategy for CRC therapy, offering enhanced treatment efficacy while reducing systemic toxicity. This novel approach could lead to the development of more targeted and less harmful cancer treatments. Graphical abstract O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=76 SRC="FIGDIR/small/639871v1_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (26K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1714603org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1ab7f15org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@245f6eorg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1f56f75_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG C_FIG HighlightsO_LIT-7 peptide-functionalized polymersomes exhibit high binding affinity to CRC cell lines C_LIO_LIDoxorubicin-loaded T7-peptide polymersomes effectively suppress tumor growth and prolong survival in vivo C_LIO_LITargeted Doxorubicin delivery via T7-peptide polymersomes minimizes toxicity to healthy tissues C_LI

cancer biology↗

bioRxiv2022

Highly-multiplexed serology for non-human mammals

Emerging infectious diseases represent a serious and ongoing threat to humans. Most emerging viruses are maintained in stable relationships with other species of animals, and emergence within the human population results from cross-species transmission. Therefore, if we want to be prepared for the next emerging virus, we need to broadly characterize the diversity and ecology of viruses currently infecting other animals (i.e., the animal virosphere). High-throughput metagenomic sequencing has accelerated the pace of virus discovery. However, molecular assays can only detect active viral infections and only if virus is present within the sampled fluid or tissue at the time of collection. In contrast, serological assays measure long-lived antibody responses to infections, which can be detected within the blood, regardless of the infected tissues. Therefore, serological assays can provide a complementary approach to understanding the circulation of viruses, and while serological assays have historically been limited in scope, recent advancements allow 1000s to 100,000s of antigens to be assessed simultaneously using <1 l of blood (i.e., highly-multiplexed serology). Application of highly-multiplexed serology for characterization of the animal virosphere is dependent on the availability of reagents that can be used to capture or label antibodies of interest. Here, we demonstrate the potential for commercial immunoglobulin-binding proteins (protein A and protein G) to enable highly-multiplexed serology in 25 species of non-human mammals and we describe a competitive FLISA assay that can be used as an initial screen for choosing the most appropriate capture protein for a given host species. ImportanceAntibodies are generated in response to infections with viruses and other pathogens and they help protect against future exposures. Mature antibodies are long-lived, highly specific, and can bind to their protein targets with high affinity. Thus, antibodies can also provide information about an individuals history of viral exposures, which has important applications in understanding the epidemiology and etiology of disease. In recent years, there have been large advances in the available methods for broadly characterizing antibody binding profiles, but thus far, these have primarily been utilized only with human samples. Here, we demonstrate that commercial antibody-binding reagents can facilitate modern antibody assays for a wide variety of mammalian species, and we describe a cheap and fast approach for choosing the best reagent for each animal species. By studying antibody-binding profiles in captive and wild animals, we can better understand the distribution and prevalence of viruses that could spillover into humans.

immunology↗