Melatonin bioengineered: A New Possible Strategy for Treatment of Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is an important public health problem, with an estimated 3.2 million new cases by the year 2050. Diet plays a key role in the etiology of breast cancer and breastfeeding is associated with a lower incidence of breast cancer. On the other hand, the improvement of the therapeutic properties of bioactive compounds through their incorporation into microcarriers is an important strategy in obtaining new therapies, since cyclical changes in concentration are eliminated; there is biological availability of the compound as well as the reduction in toxicity, number dose and suppression of adverse reactions. Studies using hormones such as melatonin extracted from human milk adsorbed onto polyethylene glycol (PEG) microspheres showed that the controlled release of this compound was able to reduce viability and induce apoptosis in MCF-7 cell lines. Colostrum differs from most of the secretions because it contains viable leukocytes during the first days of lactation with a quantity and activity comparable to blood leukocytes, and has several defense components such as antibodies and hormones, such as melatonin (MLT). This review details the influence of the soluble and cellular components present in human colostrum, such as the MLT hormone, as the modified release systems influence the action of MLT and the possible mechanisms involved that contribute to the hypothesis of reduction of breast cancer in women who breastfed

Dieta de Aplastodiscus perviridis Lutz 1950 (Anura, Hylidae) em florestas subtemperadas do sul do Brasil

Diet studies allow us to understand important questions about a species behavior in relation to resource use. Aplastodiscus perviridis Lutz 1950 is an arboreal anuran that occurs in southern and southeastern Brazil and western Argentina. In this study, we described and analyzed the diet composition of a population of A. perviridis in southern Brazil. We evaluated the diet by examining the gastrointestinal contents of 42 specimens, 12% of which had no gastrointestinal content, while 12 prey categories were registered. Acarina, Araneae, Coleoptera-adults and Lepidoptera-larvae were the prey categories with the largest relative importance values. The trophic niche breadth was lower than those recorded for other hylids, suggesting a more specialized character.Keywords: prey, niche, behavior, Araucaria forest, predation.Estudos de dieta permitem compreender questões importantes sobre o comportamento de uma espécie em relação ao uso de recursos. Aplastodiscus perviridis Lutz 1950 é um anuro arbóreo que ocorre no sul e sudeste do Brasil e no oeste da Argentina. Neste estudo, descrevemos e analisamos a composição da dieta de uma população de A. perviridis no sul do Brasil. Avaliamos a dieta por meio de análise do conteúdo gastrointestinal de 42 espécimes, 12% dos quais estavam sem conteúdo gastrointestinal, enquanto, nos demais, foram registradas 12 categorias de presas. Acarina, Araneae, Coleoptera (adultos) e Lepidoptera (larvas) foram as categorias de presas com os maiores valores de importância relativa. A amplitude do nicho trófico foi menor que a registrada para outros hilídeos, sugerindo um caráter mais especializado.Palavras-chave: presa, nicho, comportamento, floresta de Araucária, predação