Browsing by Author "Gomes, Andreia"
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- Effect of umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells secretome in melanomaPublication . Accioly, Gustavo; Aguiar, Gonçalo; Areal, Lara; Costa, Pedro; Coelho, Pedro; Gomes, AndreiaMelanoma of the skin is one of the most prominent and fastest growing malignancies. More than 300 thousand diagnosed cases and 57 thousand deaths in 2020 worldwide and roughly 517 thousand cases of were registered during the 2015-2020 period. Melanoma is generally regarded as an aggressive and unpredictable cancer whose conventional therapies, such as local excision, chemotherapy and immunotherapy, have encountered difficulties to prevent larger scale-tumours and metastasis, as well as overcome recurrence and development of drug resistance. Stem cellbased therapies have been studied as interesting therapeutical approaches for cancer whenever conventional therapy fails to impede its progression. That is owing to the anti-proliferative and immunomodulatory capacity of some SC, being one of the major examples, Mesenchymal Stem Cells. Due to its high abundance, well defined extraction and expansion protocols as well as documented anti-tumorigenic characteristics, Umbilical Cord derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells (UC-MSC) have been observed as a promising candidate for Melanoma treatment, specially through acellular therapy using its secretome. MSC secretome is defined as the set of MSCs-derived bioactive factors available extracellularly and is responsible for the major therapeutic effects of MSCs, namely in oncological pathologies. In this study we hypothesize the ability of UC-MSC’s secretome to inhibit Melanoma growth in vitro. UC-MSC secretome, in the form of conditioned medium (CM), was obtained by extraction from selected umbilical cords and expansion of while murine melanoma cell line B16-F10 culture was established. After treating melanoma cells with different concentrations of CM (100%, 50% and 25%), common cancer hallmarks such as cell viability, motility, colony formation and cell interactions were assessed through MTT, Wound Healing and Colony formation and Hanging-Drop assays, respectively. General analysis of viability and motility showed no statistically significant difference between treated and control groups as well as no concentration-dependent effect whereas formation of cellular aggregates follows an inhibition trend on the treated groups. These results put into perspective the effect of secretome of UC-MSCs. Moreover, further larger scale studies are needed for deeper understanding of MSC secretome mechanisms of action, therefore enabling their use in acellular therapies against melanoma in the future.
- General achievement goals orientation scale: factorial analysis in high school studentsPublication . Gomes, Andreia; Azevedo, Ângela Sá; Dias, Paulo César; Guimarães, Teresa; Lima, Isabel; Salgado, Ana; Salgado, Ana IsabelThis paper aims to present the results of the Portuguese adaptation of General Achievement Goal Orientation Scale (GAGOS; McInerney & Yeung, 2000). This instrument has five different motivation scales: Motivation Value, Global Motivation, General Mastery, General Performance and General Social. The work of adaptation consisted in a exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis and internal consistency analysis from the data of two samples of 617 and 418 High School students. The results suggest a solution with good psychometric properties, in terms of validity as acceptable fidelity, with differences per gender and relationship with age and education level. The results discussed and suggestions presented.
- Impact of umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells secretome in cancer progressionPublication . Cristóvão, André; Coelho, Pedro; Gomes, AndreiaOvarian cancer is a malignant neoplasm exclusive to females that develops in the ovaries, female sex organs and epithelial ovarian cancer. It has a high mortality rate and is the seventh leading cause of death in women diagnosed with cancer because it develops silently and diagnostic tests have a low predictive value. Thus, developing more accurate diagnostic tests combined with new anti-tumor therapies advance are needy measure to fight this disease. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) are multipotent cells, characterized by high proliferation rate and immunomodulatory, secretory, and paracrine properties. Theis cell type can be obtained from several sources in the human body such as marrow bone, adipose tissue and Umbilical cord (UC). UC stands out for being a source that is easily accessible and obtainable, non-invasive, and contains cells with high proliferation and differentiation rates. It has been verified that these cells may be involved in tumor regulatory processes, exerting their effects on metabolic processes such as cell proliferation, survival, angiogenesis, and in tumor-associated inflammatory and immunosuppressive processes [6]. The present work aimed to evaluate how the secretome of human UC-derived MSC (hUC-MSC) influences the tumor capacity of the epithelial ovarian cancer cell line SKOV-3. Conditioned medium (CM) was obtained from hUC-MSC culture and then tumor cells were incubated with different concentrations of conditioned medium, 100%, 50%, and 25%. Parameters such as viability, motility, and cell interactions were evaluated. From the results obtained it was found that CM decreases cell viability, proliferation, and cell-cell interactions, however it stimulated the motility of SKOV-3 cells. In summary, it is possible to conclude that MC from hUC-MSC presented an antitumor effect and can be used as a possible co-adjuvant therapy in the treatment of ovarian cancer.