Quantitative analysis of myocardial tissue with digital autofluorescence microscopy

Management of autofluorescence in formaldehyde-fixed myocardium: choosing the right treatment

Autofluorescence (AF) poses challenges for detecting proteins of interest in situ when employing immunofluorescence (IF) microscopy. This interference is particularly pronounced in strongly autofluorescent tissues such as myocardium, where tissue AF can be comparable to IF. Although various histochemical methods have been developed to achieve effective AF suppression in different types of tissue, their applications on myocardial  samples have not been well validated. Due to inconsistency across different autofluorescent structures in sometypes of tissue, it is unclear if these methods can effectively suppress AF across all autofluorescent structures within the myocardium. Here, we quantitatively evaluated the performance of several commonly used quenching treatments on formaldehyde-fixed myocardial samples, including 0.3 M glycine, 0.3% Sudan Black B (SBB), 0.1% and 1% sodium borohydride (NaBH4), TrueVIEW® and TrueBlack®. We further assessed their quenching performance by employing the pre-treatment and post-treatment protocols, designed to cover two common IF staining scenarios where buffers contained detergents or not. The results suggest that SBB and TrueBlack® outperform other reagents in AF suppression on formaldehyde-fixed myocardial samples in both protocols. Furthermore, we inspected the quenching performance of SBB and TrueBlack® on major autofluorescent myocardial structures and evaluated their influence on IF imaging. The results suggest that SBB outperforms TrueBlack® in quenching major autofluorescent structures, while TrueBlack® excels in preserving IF labeling signal. Surprisingly, we found the treatment of NaBH4 increased AF signal and enhanced the AF contrast of major autofluorescent structures. This finding suggests that NaBH4 has the potential to act as an AF enhancer and may facilitate the interpretation of myocardial structures without the need for counterstaining.

Functional restoration of lysosomes and mitochondria through modulation of AKT activity ameliorates senescence

Senescence is a phenomenon defined by alterations in cellular organelles and is the primary cause of aging and aging-related diseases. Recent studies have shown that oncogene-induced senescence is driven by activation of serine/threonine protein kinases (AKT1, AKT2 and AKT3). In this study, we evaluated twelve AKT inhibitors and revealed GDC0068 as a potential agent to ameliorate senescence. Senescence-ameliorating effect was evident from the finding that GDC0068 yielded lysosomal functional recovery as observed by reduction in lysosomal mass and induction in autophagic flux. Furthermore, GDC0068-mediated restoration of lysosomal function activated the removal of dysfunctional mitochondria, resulting in restoration of mitochondrial function. Together, our findings revealed a unique mechanism by which senescence is recovered by functional restoration of lysosomes and mitochondria through modulation of AKT activity.

Restoration of Lysosomal and Mitochondrial Function Through p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Inhibition Ameliorates Senescence

Oncogene-induced senescence (OIS), characterized by irreversible cell cycle arrest by oncogene activation, plays an important role in the pathogenesis of aging and age-related diseases. Recent research indicates that OIS is driven by activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK). However, it is not apparent whether MAPK inhibition helps to recover senescence. In our previous study, we uncovered p38 MAPK inhibitor, SB203580, as an effective agent to reduce reactive oxygen species and increase proliferation in premature senescent cells. In this study, we evaluated whether SB203580 could ameliorate senescence in normal senescent cells. The senescence-improving effect was observed in the results that SB203580 treatment restored lysosomal function, as evidenced by a decrease in lysosomal mass and an increase in autophagic vacuoles. Then, SB203580-mediated lysosomal function restoration triggered the clearance of damaged mitochondria, leading to metabolic reprogramming necessary for amelioration of senescence. Indeed, p38 MAPK inhibition by SB203580 improved key senescent phenotypes. Our findings suggest a novel mechanism by which modulation of p38 MAPK activity leads to senescence improvement through functional restoration of lysosome and mitochondria.

Current use of telehealth in urology: a review

PURPOSE

Applications of telehealth have been growing in popularity. However, there is little information on how telehealth is being used in Urology. In this review, we examine current applications of telehealth in urological practices as well as barriers to implementation.

METHODS

A review was conducted of original research within the past 10 years describing telehealth applications in urology. Articles on telehealth as applied to other specialties were reviewed for discussion on real or perceived barriers to implementation.

RESULTS

Twenty-four articles met the inclusion criteria. The most common application of telehealth was using a video visit to assess or follow-up with patients. The second most commonly described applications of telehealth were telementorship, or the use of telehealth technology to help train providers, and telemedicine used in diagnostics. Studies consistently stated the effectiveness of the telehealth applications and the high level of patient and provider satisfaction.

CONCLUSIONS

Telehealth is sparingly used in urology. Barriers to implementation include technological literacy, reimbursement uncertainties, and resistance to change in workflow. When used, telehealth technologies are shown to be safe, effective, and satisfactory for patients and providers. Further investigation is necessary to determine the efficacy of telehealth applications.

An Overview of the Role of Lipofuscin in Age-Related Neurodegeneration

Despite aging being by far the greatest risk factor for highly prevalent neurodegenerative disorders, the molecular underpinnings of age-related brain changes are still not well understood, particularly the transition from normal healthy brain aging to neuropathological aging. Aging is an extremely complex, multifactorial process involving the simultaneous interplay of several processes operating at many levels of the functional organization. The buildup of potentially toxic protein aggregates and their spreading through various brain regions has been identified as a major contributor to these pathologies. One of the most striking morphologic changes in neurons during normal aging is the accumulation of lipofuscin (LF) aggregates, as well as, neuromelanin pigments. LF is an autofluorescent lipopigment formed by lipids, metals and misfolded proteins, which is especially abundant in nerve cells, cardiac muscle cells and skin. Within the Central Nervous System (CNS), LF accumulates as aggregates, delineating a specific senescence pattern in both physiological and pathological states, altering neuronal cytoskeleton and cellular trafficking and metabolism, and being associated with neuronal loss, and glial proliferation and activation. Traditionally, the accumulation of LF in the CNS has been considered a secondary consequence of the aging process, being a mere bystander of the pathological buildup associated with different neurodegenerative disorders. Here, we discuss recent evidence suggesting the possibility that LF aggregates may have an active role in neurodegeneration. We argue that LF is a relevant effector of aging that represents a risk factor or driver for neurodegenerative disorders.