Stašytė, Gabija

The demand for more radiological diagnostic procedures in nuclear medicine departments is rapidly increasing alongside the expanding indications for positron emission tomography (PET). During 2024, about 2000 PET exams were performed at the Hospital of the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences - Kauno Klinikos. PET imaging requires short half-life positron emitters bound to specific molecules, which may either indicate the level of glucose metabolism within tumor cells (18F-FDG) or bind to tumor-specific receptors, located in prostate (68Ga-PSMA) or neuroendocrine ( 68Ga-DOTATATE) organs and tissues. In Q3 2024, studies using 68Ga-PSMA and -DOTATATE were introduced, also at the end of Q1 2025 in-house production of 18F-FDG was launched in the country’s first cyclotron. This highlighted the need to access the potential increase in occupational exposure, particularly among radiochemists, who work in the 18F-FDG synthesis laboratory or perform elution and radiolabeling of 68Ga. The aim of this study was to evaluate the equivalent dose for lens of the eye Hp(3) and hands Hp(0.07), as well as the effective whole body dose Hp(10), measured by thermoluminescent, opticallystimulated luminescence (OSL) and electronic dosimeters. The acquired exposure data were compared with data from the previous quarter in order to determine the effect of these new procedures on occupational exposure of the personnel working in the department.

Plant-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) isolated from lingonberries were investigated for their potential application in enhancing skin health. Fluorescence microscopy confirmed the successful internalization by human keratinocytes and fibroblast skin cells. Furthermore, the EVs exhibited antioxidant properties, protecting skin cells from ultraviolet (UV) damage. [...].

Radiopharmacy is a major part of nuclear medicine, responsible for the development and safe use of radiopharmaceuticals for diagnosis and therapy. These targeted medicinal products contain radionuclides, produced in nuclear reactors, cyclotrons and generators [1]. Technetium-99m (SPECT) and fluorine-18 (PET) are key radionuclides for imaging. Therapeutic applications using alpha/beta emitters are on the rise due to improved availability. Targeted radiation delivery minimizes damage to healthy tissue. Molybdenum-99 serves as the parent isotope for technetium-99m generation, widely used in SPECT imaging [2]. Cyclotrons, increasingly present in hospitals, produce fluorine-18, crucial for [18F] fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG), the leading PET radiotracer [3]. Stringent quality control, encompassing physicochemical (purity) and biological (sterility) aspects, ensures patient safety. The European Pharmacopoeia dictates these quality control procedures [4]. This highlights the critical role of radiopharmacy in advancing nuclear medicine for both diagnostic and therapeutic applications.

Introduction: Spirulina platensis is a blue-green microalgae rich in proteins, vitamins and minerals and recently has been of great interest in the development of skincare and pharmaceutical products. The therapeutic value of S. platensis has yet to be thoroughly investigated. C-phycocyanin (C-PC), pigment-binding protein, isolated from S. platensis is widely used in cosmetics, medicine and biological engineering and has been proven to have anticancer effects. Aim of this study is to investigate the effects of S. platensis and C-PC solutions on human melanoma, keratinocyte and fibroblast cell lines. Materials and methods: The human skin melanoma cell line A375, human primary immortalized skin keratinocytes and fibroblasts were maintained in a humidified 5% CO2 incubator at 37ºC. Solutions of lyophilized S. platensis were prepared by dissolving it in NaCl (0,9%). C-PC from Spirulina sp. was obtained from Sigma Aldrich. S. platensis (25-500 µg/ml) and C-PC (100-500 µg/ml) solutions were added to cell cultures and incubated for 24 hours, then cell proliferation, viability and wound scratch assays were performed. Data was analyzed using „Microsoft Office Excell 2016“with P-values (<0.05). Results: 100 and 125 µg/ml of S. platensis promoted viability and proliferation of keratinocyte and fibroblast cells. In contrast, 500 µg/ml S. platensis inhibited proliferation and viability of melanoma cell culture. C-PC solution of 200 µg/ml highly increased proliferation and viability of keratinocytes, 150 µg/ml was best for fibroblasts, however, 500 µg/ml showed inhibitory effects for melanoma proliferation and viability. Scratch results showed that the most effective S. platensis concentration for fibroblasts and keratinocytes was 500 µg/ml -wound closed significantly faster than control. To note, this concentration additionally inhibited melanoma cell wound healing. Conclusions: Results showed that S. platensis and C-PC solutions affected proliferation, viability and wound scratch differently in human melanoma, keratinocyte and fibroblast cell lines, the effects were dependent on concentration. Findings indicate that S. platensis and C-phycocyanin preparations have the potential to be anticancer and dermatological drugs.

Each year, millions of individuals suffer from a non-healing wound, abnormal scarring, or injuries accompanied by an infection. For these cases, scientists are searching for new therapeutic interventions, from which one of the most promising is the use of extracellular vesicles (EVs). Naturally, EV-based signaling takes part in all four wound healing phases: hemostasis, inflammation, proliferation, and remodeling. Such an extensive involvement of EVs suggests exploiting their action to modulate the impaired healing phase. Furthermore, next to their natural wound healing capacity, EVs can be engineered for better defined pharmaceutical purposes, such as carrying specific cargo or targeting specific destinations by labelling them with certain surface proteins. This review aims to promote scientific awareness in basic and translational research of EVs by summarizing the current knowledge about their natural role in each stage of skin repair and the most recent findings in application areas, such as wound healing, skin regeneration, and treatment of dermal diseases, including the stem cell-derived, plant-derived, and engineered EVs.

Chemical and mechanical properties of tumor microenvironment are essential players in cancer progression, and its is important to precisely control the extracellular conditions while designing cancer in vitro models. The study investigates synthetic hydrogel matrices from multi-arm polyethylene glycol (PEG) functionalized with collagen like peptide (CLP) CG(PKG)₄(POG)₄(DOG)₄ alone and conjugated with either cell adhesion peptide RGD (mimicking fibronectin) or IKVAV (mimicking laminin). Human glioblastoma HROG36, rat C6 glioma cells and A375 human melanoma cells were grown on the hydrogels and monitored for migration, proliferation, projected cell area, cell shape index, size and number distribution of focal contacts in individual cells, and focal adhesion number. PEG-CLP-RGD induced migration of both glioma cell lines, and also stimulated proliferation (assessed as metabolic activity) of HROG36 cells. Migration of C6 cells were also stimyulated by PEG-CLP-IKVAV. These responses strongly correlated with the changes in adhesion and morphology parameters of individual cells - projected cell area, cell shape index, and focal contact number. Melanoma A375 cell proliferation was increased by PEG-CLP-RGD, and this was accompanied by decrease in cell shape index. However, neither RGD, nor IKIVAV conjugated to PEG-CLP did not stimule migratory capacity of A375 cells. Taken together, the study presents synthetic scaffolds with extracellular matrix (ECm)-mimicking peptides that allows to explore the effect of ECM signaling to cancer cells.