Dolores C. García-Olmo

• DVM, PhD
• Manager at Biomedical Research Institute of Lleida

Simple Summary One of the main concerns of veterinarians and researchers involved in animal research work is the improvement of experimental procedures to minimize discomfort to the animal. In the handling of experimental pigs, one of the challenges is immobilization, since due to their size, it is difficult and can cause stress to the animals. Imm...

El cerdo (Sus scrofa) es un valioso modelo para investigaciones relacionadas con enfermedades humanas debido a sus múltiples similitudes anatómicas y fisiológicas con nuestra especie. Estas afinidades lo sitúan como una herramienta idónea para estudios en el ámbito clínico de la medicina humana 1, 2. Con el avance de las técnicas de edición genétic...

Background Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) procedures are becoming more frequent nowadays and novel techniques are on the rise. These procedures require high technical experience and complex endoscopic skills. The goal of this study was to develop a new minimally invasive animal model of bile duct dilatation in the pig, in order to offer a new tool for...

Purpose The abdomen is the second most common source of sepsis and secondary peritonitis, which likely lead to death. In the present study, we hypothesized that instillation of local anesthetics into the peritoneum might mitigate the systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) in the open abdomen when combined with negative-pressure therapy (NPT...

Introduction The current challenge on renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is to finding a non-invasive biomarker for improving their diagnostic and therapeutic management. In the present study, we analyzed the clinical value of plasma levels of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) and RNA (cfRNA) of two genes: glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate-dehydrogenase (GAPDH) and human tel...

Differential presence of exons (DPE) is a method of interpretation of exome sequencing, which has been proposed to design a predictive algorithm with clinical value in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC). The goal of the present study was to examine the reproducibility in a rat model of metastatic colon cancer. DHD/K12-TRb cells were injected in...

Background Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is one of the most frequent and severe neurological diseases. In the last few decades, significant advances have been made in TBI pathophysiology and monitoring, however new treatments have not emerged. Although the central nervous system (CNS) has been historically defined as an immunologically privileged or...

Introduction: Elevated mRNA expression of human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT mRNA) is common in many types of tumors, participating in tumor growth and progression. Such expression has not been sufficiently examined in renal cancer. The goal of the present study was to quantify it and analyze its possible clinical value in the managemen...

Increasingly effective therapies targeting the androgen receptor have paradoxically promoted the incidence of neuroendocrine prostate cancer (NEPC), the most lethal subtype of castration-resistant prostate cancer (PCa), for which there is no effective therapy. Here we report that protein kinase C (PKC)λ/ι is downregulated in de novo and during ther...

Background To examine the usefulness of green fluorescent protein (GFP) mice for studying the interactions between normal cells and tumor cells in a host, we used a melanoma model in such “green” mice [C57BL/6-Tg(CAG-EGFP)1Osb mice]. Mice were given a subcutaneous injection of B16-F10 cells, and the resultant primary tumors were removed. Then cells...

Most colorectal cancer (CRC)-related deaths are due to liver metastases. PKCζ is a tumor suppressor in CRC with reduced expression in metastasis. Given the importance of microRNAs (miRNAs) in regulating cellular plasticity, we performed an unbiased screening and identified the miR-200 family as the most relevant miRNAs downregulated by PKCζ deficie...

Next‐generation sequencing (NGS) has been proposed as a suitable tool for liquid biopsy in colorectal cancer (CRC), although most studies to date have focused almost exclusively on sequencing of panels of potential clinically actionable genes. We evaluated the clinical value of whole‐exome sequencing (WES) of cell‐free DNA (cfDNA) circulating in pl...

Figure S1. Complete list of 56 specific pathways from PANTHER public database (identified by PANTHER specific codes) in which 139 genes (to which differentially present exons belong both from groups M and N) are classified. Figure S2. Complete list of main function categories from IPA.Table S1. cfDNA isolation from plasma and NGS. Table S2. Compl...

Metastasis is the major cause of mortality in cancer disease and still constitutes one of the most controversial mechanism, not yet fully understood. What is almost beyond doubt is that circulatory system is crucial for cancer propagation. Regarding this system, much attention has been recently paid to liquid biopsy. This technique is aimed to dete...

The E1a gene from adenovirus has become a major tool in cancer research. Since the discovery of E1a, it has been proposed to be an oncogene, becoming a key element in the model of cooperation between oncogenes. However, E1a’s in vivo behaviour is consistent with a tumour suppressor gene, due to the block/delay observed in different xenograft models...

Background: The use of plasma as a "liquid biopsy" has gained increasing attention. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic utility of the perioperative detection and quantitation of mRNAs encoding human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) in plasma fr...

KRAS mutations are responsible for resistance to anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) therapy in colorectal cancer patients. These mutations sometimes appear once treatment has started. Detection of KRAS mutations in circulating cell-free DNA in plasma (“liquid biopsy”) by droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) has emerged as a very sensitive and prom...

Introduction: Identification of novel therapeutic targets in triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a main goal. In silico evaluation of human tumors by gene expression analyses can identify functions that could be pharmacologically inhibited. BET bromodomain inhibitors are a new family of compounds that reduce activity of oncogenic transcription...

Background: The ability to undertake molecular analysis to inform on prognosis and predictors of response to therapy is limited by accessibility of tissue. Measurement of total circulating free DNA (cfDNA) or circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in peripheral blood may allow easier access to tumor material and help to predict clinical outcomes. Methods:...

Background: Genotyping of mice is a common procedure in animal facilities. The aim of this study was to compare the quantity and quality of DNA extracted from samples obtained from young mice (YM; 10 d old) and adult mice (AM; 12 weeks old). We collected samples from the tail and ear of YM and AM. We also sampled blood, check cells (via buccal swab...

Characterization of retinal cells, cell transplants and gene therapies may be helped by pre-labeled retinal cells, such as those transfected with vectors for green fluorescent protein expression. The aim of this study was to analyze retinal cells and optic nerve components from transgenic green mice (GM) with the 'enhanced' green fluorescent protei...

Alfaxalone is a neurosteroid with anaesthetic effects and it has been used successfully in several animal species. However, there are no data, to our knowledge, about its efficacy and safety in ferrets (Mustela putorius furo). We evaluated a variety of anaesthetic regimens in ferrets, namely, alfaxalone at 20, 10 and 5 mg/kg (n = 1, 10 and 9, respe...

The presence of small amounts of circulating nucleic acids in plasma and serum (CNAPS) is not a new finding. The verification that such amounts are significantly increased in cancer patients, and that CNAPS might carry a variety of genetic and epigenetic alterations related to cancer development and progression, has aroused great interest in the sc...

Background To clarify the implications of cell-free nucleic acids (cfNA) in the plasma in neoplastic disease, it is necessary to determine the kinetics of their release into the circulation. Methods To quantify non-tumor and tumor DNA and RNA in the plasma of tumor-bearing rats and to correlate such levels with tumor progression, we injected DHD/K...

The phenomenon of cell-free nucleic acids (cfNA) circulating in plasma has opened new areas of research for the study of the pathobiology of many diseases, particularly cancer. The detection, quantitation and qualitative analysis of such cfNA have had an increasing interest and utility for diagnosis and management of many kinds of cancer, at least...

IntroductionA few models for pneumonectomy in rats have been described, and in most of these, anesthesia includes orotracheal intubation, which increases morbidity and mortality and also adds technical complexity. Models without tracheal intubation but with injectable anesthesia are difficult to reproduce, however, and lead to a lengthy postoperati...

The phenomenon of circulating nucleic acids in plasma and serum (CNAPS) has opened many new research lines, which may be framed within two areas of translational research: the development of new techniques for noninvasive prenatal diagnosis; and the study of the pathobiology of many diseases, particularly of cancer. The detection, quantization, and...

The oncogenic transformation by cell-free nucleic acids circulating in plasma has been named as genometastasis. The feasibility of this phenomenon has been demonstrated and now it is necessary to value the impact of this phenomenon and to determine what conditions could promote or inhibit it. The goal of this study was to examine the transforming a...

Introduction: Most cancer deaths are due to the development of metastases and this phenomenon is still a hard challenge for researchers. A number of theories have tried to unravel the metastatic machinery, but definitive results that link the evidence with conventional concepts of metastatic disease remain to be reported. Areas covered: Consider...

The ability of cells to undergo cellular transitions, in particular, to switch between epithelial and mesenchymal states, might be highly advantageous during the progression of carcinoma. Using histological and immunohistochemical techniques, we here show that the injection into mice of spontaneously transformed NIH-3T3 cells generated fusocellular...

On behalf of The 7th International Conference on Circulating Nucleic Acids in Plasma and Serum (CNAPS VII) Organizing Committee, it is my great pleasure to extend a warm invitation to you to participate in the CNAPS VII, scheduled to be held the first time in Madrid, Spain, 24th and 25th October 2011, at the La Paz University Hospital. After the gr...

On behalf of The 7th International Conference on Circulating Nucleic Acids in Plasma and Serum (CNAPS VII) Organizing Committee, it is my great pleasure to extend a warm invitation to you to participate in the CNAPS VII, scheduled to be held the first time in Madrid, Spain, 24th and 25th October 2011, at the La Paz University Hospital. After the gr...

Some experimental procedures are associated with placement of animals in wire-bottom cages. The goal of this study was to evaluate stress-related physiological parameters (heart rate [HR], body temperature [BT], locomotor activity [LA], body weight [BW] and food consumption) in rats under two housing conditions, namely in wire-bottom cages and in b...

Several studies have shown the importance of communication between tumor cells and their environment through releasing of small membrane vesicles, which are often named micro-vesicles. Although, most of proliferating cells have been demonstrated to be capable of secreting such vesicles, this shedding is exacerbated in tumor cells. Recently, reports...

We launched the genometastases hypothesis in 1999 with the following words: “Metastasis might occur via transfection of susceptible cells, located in distant target organs, with dominant oncogenes that are derived from the primary tumor and are circulating in the plasma”. The different experiments performed thereafter, gave more plausibility to the...

It has been proposed that cell-free nucleic acids in the plasma participate in tumorigenesis and the development of metastases via transfection-like uptake of such nucleic acids by susceptible cells. This putative phenomenon is tentatively referred to as "genometastasis." In the present study, we examined the effects on cultured cells of plasma fro...

The authors evaluated the efficiency and safety of a technique for drawing blood from the cranial vena cava of the hamster (Mesocricetus auratus). They collected blood from Golden Syrian hamsters (n = 15) and from epileptic hamsters (GASH/Sal strain; n = 10) that were anesthetized with isoflurane. Four epileptic hamsters constituted a control group...

The interactions between a host's normal cells and tumor cells appear to be of significant importance during the development of tumors. In the present study, we examined this issue using a cancer model in vivo in which tumor cells were tagged with a reporter gene for green fluorescent protein (GFP). We used a model of colon cancer in immunocompeten...

To examine the implications of cell-free DNA in the plasma in neoplastic disease, it is necessary to clarify various features of this DNA, such as the contribution of DNA from the host's normal cells and the kinetics of the release of this latter DNA. To quantify non-tumor DNA in the plasma of tumor-bearing rats and to correlate levels of this DNA...

Sarcomatoid carcinomas are rare tumors predominantly composed of spindle cells. This report describes two cases of penile sarcomatoid carcinoma with similar clinicopathological findings. Distinctive features of these tumors were the focal immunostaining that showed the sarcoma-like cells with keratin, smooth muscle actin and p16, and the absence of...

Detection of cell-free plasma DNA has considerable potential as a tool for the diagnosis and assessment of the prognosis of many types of cancer. The aim of the present study was to quantify, by spectrophotometry, the cell-free DNA in plasma samples from patients with colorectal cancer at different stages of the disease and to attempt to correlate...

The "genometastasis hypothesis" proposes that cell-free tumor nucleic acids might be able to transform host stem cells, and that this might be a pathway for the development of metastases. This theory is supported by previous experimental findings and is consistent with observations of other authors. It has been suggested that tumor DNA might be hor...

To examine the effects of the surgical manipulation of tumors on the hematogenous dissemination of tumors, we compared rates of detection of tumor-derived DNA in the buffy coat and in plasma from tumor-bearing rats before and after tumor resection. We injected DHD/K12-PROb cells subcutaneously into BD-IX rats. Three weeks later, we removed the tumo...

Characterization of the molecular status of the vhl gene and its relationship to the usual prognostic factors could help establish new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. This study determines the presence of vhl gene mutations in tumor tissue from patients with sporadic renal cell carcinoma, the relationship between the mutations and classic pr...

Epigenetic inactivation is a gene function abnormality that produces no changes in the DNA sequence, with the most frequent epigenetic alteration being hypermethylation of CpG islands in the promoter regions of the genes. Based on recent indications of a potential relationship between mismatch repair genes and renal cell carcinoma (RCC), we were in...

Background and objective Epigenetic inactivation is a gene function abnormality that produces no changes in the DNA sequence, with the most frequent epigenetic alteration being hypermethylation of CpG islands in the promoter regions of the genes. Based on recent indications of a potential relationship between mismatch repair genes and renal cell ca...

To determine the relationship between the Arg72Pro polymorphism of p53 and the outcome after traumatic brain injury (TBI) in humans. A prospective study was carried out in a ten-bed surgical intensive care unit (SICU) of a university hospital. The study included 90 caucasian patients who had experienced a severe TBI within the previous 24 h. The ex...

The role and clinical significance of circulating tumor cells and of tumor DNA in the plasma have not yet been clarified. In the present study, we compared rates of detection of tumor-derived DNA in the buffy coat to those in plasma from tumor-bearing rats, and we attempted to correlate these rates with the progression of tumors. We injected DHD/K1...

To assess and characterize mutations in the vhl gene in tumor tissue samples from 30 patients undergoing surgery for renal cell carcinoma in our department. Descriptive, observational and analytical study of 30 patients undergoing surgery for RCC, analyzing the vhl gene sequence in tumor tissue, and using healthy renal tissue from the same patients...

The presence of circulating cell-free nucleic acids has been demonstrated both in disease and health. In the last decade, a burst of papers about Circulating Nucleic Acids in Plasma and Serum (CNAPS) have been found in the literature, showing the scientific interest raised by this phenomenon and their putative clinical interest, especially in the f...

The goal of this study was to examine the relationship between the effects of spleen transplantation on the acceptance of a skin allograft from the same donor and the detection of donor chimerism in recipient tissues. Male Sprague-Dawley rats and female Wistar rats were used as donors and recipients, respectively. Four experimental groups were esta...

Our goal was to examine the influence of circulatory anatomy on the development of metastases. We compared the dissemination of tumor cells to different tissues at different stages in both an orthotopic and a heterotopic model of colon cancer in the rat. We used DHD/K12-PROb cells and two groups of BD-IX rats: group O (orthotopic), in which tumors...

We sought to develop a simple and sensitive method based on mutant allele-specific amplification (MASA) for the detection of point mutations in the k-ras oncogene in blood samples. We used MASA and three nested MASA methods to detect a point mutation (GGT-->GAT) in rat DHD cells at codon 12 of exon 1 of the k-ras gene. MASA allowed us to detect one...

The detection of free, circulating tumor DNA in the plasma of cancer patients opens up new possibilities for the diagnosis and prognostication of cancer. Whatever might be the mechanism for the presence of such DNA, it is now clear that oncogenes can circulate in the plasma fraction of blood and we can now ask whether this phenomenon has potentiall...

The detection of free, circulating tumor DNA in the plasma of cancer patients opens up new possibilities for the diagnosis and prognostication of cancer. Whatever might be the mechanism for the presence of such DNA, it is now clear that oncogenes can circulate in the plasma fraction of blood and we can now ask whether this phenomenon has potentiall...

The present study was designed to evaluate the effects of perioperative treatment with TNP-470 on the resistance of colonic anastomoses. TNP-470 is a drug that was developed as an inhibitor of angiogenesis. A colonic anastomosis was constructed in Sprague-Dawley rats. From 4 days before surgery to 4 days afterwards, each animal received daily intra...

Saffron corms contain a toxic glycoconjugate composed of 94.5% carbohydrate and 5.5% protein. We undertook to study the specificity and molecular events involved in cytotoxicity, as well as the possible immunomodulatory properties of this compound (Escribano et al 1999). Studies of intracellular calcium fluctuations, transmembrane potential and rel...

The benefits of the "no-touch" isolation technique usually performed to prevent the circulation of tumor cells are not evident. The aim of this study was to determine whether conventional surgical procedures for treatment of colon cancer could provoke the circulation of tumor cells detected by a genetic technology. Sixteen patients undergoing resec...

Clinical and experimental observations suggest that more than one pathway might be involved in the development of metastases. In the present study, we examined the presence of tumor DNA in plasma using an experimental model in which tumor cells were modified with a genome-associated tag. We also investigated whether plasma of tumor-bearing rats had...

Saffron corms contain a proteoglycan that is highly cytotoxic on human tumor cells. The present work was undertaken to study the possible immunomodulatory and anti-invasive properties of this compound. Non-cytotoxic concentrations of this glycoconjugate promoted significant macrophage activation, detected by the release of nitric oxide. A rapid act...

Genetic detection of tumor cells in blood, lymphatic nodes or bone marrow using reverse transcription and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is quite attractive because it allows the early diagnosis of cancer dissemination. Unfortunately, this type of detection strategy cannot be applied to solid parenchymas, because they usually share with tumor cell...

We used an experimental model in the rat to examine the effects of long-term treatment with crocin, a glycosylated carotenoid from the stigmas of the saffron crocus, on colon cancer. BD-IX rats were divided into four groups: Groups G1 and G2, designated "cancer groups," were used to study the effects of crocin on the progression of colon cancer, an...

Our goal was to develop an experimental model of colon adenocarcinoma based on the orthotopic implantation of tumour cells in syngenic rats which would replicate the pattern of regional spreading of human colorectal adenocarcinoma. We used cell line DHD/K12-PROb and 62 BD-IX rats with intra-caecal injection of 1 x 10(6) cells. Macroscopic and histo...

The aim of this study was to develop an experimental model of colon adenocarcinoma based on the orthotopic implantation of tumor cells in syngenic rats, which reproduces the regional extension pattern of human colorectal adenocarcinoma. Cell cultures: cell line DHD/K12-PROb. Animals: BD-IX rats. Tumour implantation: intra-caecal injection containin...

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of neostigmine as a final anaesthetic manoeuvre on colonic anastomoses. A colonic anastomosis was constructed in 40 Sprague-Dawley rats. The animals were divided into two groups: (1) rats receiving intravenous saline solution (placebo); and (2) rats receiving an intravenous injection of neost...

The aim of the study was to determine the effects of pharmacological manipulation of postoperative intestinal motility on the resistance of colonic anastomoses. Seventy-one Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into three groups: Group 1 (n = 20; colonic anastomosis+1 cc of saline solution subcutaneously, daily); Group 2 (n = 29; colonic anastomosis+1.2...

This study was performed to investigate whether immediate postoperative feeding induced changes on colonic anastomoses resistance. On the other hand, results was compared with a hyoscine-induced deep paralytic ileus status. Sixty-three Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into three groups: Group 1 (n = 20; colonic anastomosis + water "ad libitum" + 1...

Tesis doctoral inédita realizada en la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Facultad de Medicina. Departamento de Bioquímica, y en la Unidad de Investigación del Hospital Universitario La Paz. Fecha de Lectura: 27 de Julio de 2010. Bibliografía, p.95-108