Strengthening research capacity through regional partners: the HRP Alliance at the World Health Organization
REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH
Authors: Adanu, Richard; Bahamondes, Luis; Brizuela, Vanessa; Gitau, Evelyn; Kouanda, Seni; Lumbiganon, Pisake; Nguyen, Thi Thuy Hanh; Saleem, Sarah; Thorson, Anna; Torpey, Kwasi
Abstract
Background: Improvements in health cannot occur without cutting-edge research informing the design and implementation of health programmes and policies, highlighting the need for qualified and capable researchers and institutions in countries where disease burden is high and resources are limited. Main body: Research capacity strengthening efforts in low- and middle-income countries have included provision of training scholarships for postgraduate degrees, often in high-income countries, internships at research universities/centres, short courses, as well as involvement with research groups for hands-on experience, among others. The HRP Alliance provides opportunities for developing local research capacity in sexual and reproductive health and rights through institutions based in low- and middle-income countries linked with ongoing and past collaborative studies. It is a network of HRP research partner institutions, World Health Organization (WHO) country and regional offices, WHO special programmes and partnerships, and WHO collaborating centres. Conclusion: It is through the HRP Alliance that HRP seeks to improve population health by strengthening local research capacity in sexual and reproductive health across the globe, with focus in low- and middle-income countries, in alignment with WHO's quest of promoting healthier populations.
Detection of breast cancer-derived exosomes using the horseradish peroxidase-mimicking DNAzyme as an aptasensor
ANALYST
Authors: Zhou, Yu; Xu, Huiying; Wang, Hua; Ye, Bang-Ce
Abstract
Exosomes are membrane-enclosed phospholipid extracellular vesicles with a variety of tumor antigens which can be applied in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer due to the high secretion on the surface of cancer cells. Until now, many research studies on exosomes have been reported, but convenient and low-cost detection methods still need to be developed. Recently, we have developed a sensitive, simple and low-cost colorimetric aptasensor by designing a hairpin-like structure, which combined the highly specific MUC1 aptamer with a hemin/G-quadruplex for the detection of breast cancer exosomes. The hemin/G-quadruplex toward H2O2 reduction was used to generate an evidently strong colorimetric response owing to acting as a HRP-mimicking DNAzyme. The aptasensor is regarded as an "on-off" type switch, which strictly controls the process of reaction responding to the existence or not of exosomes. In our study, associated exosome detection limits are 3.94 x 10(5) particles per mL, which showed a higher sensitivity compared to commercial ELISA. Our method not only exhibited the advantages of being convenient and time-saving, with few instruments used, but also the signal generated using this method can be easily observed by the naked eye. Furthermore, the proposed strategy can well differentiate breast cancer patients from healthy individuals, demonstrating potential application in the analysis of clinical specimens.