Editorial

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Editorial

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Animales y plantas que curan: avances sobre la farmacopea natural de los pobladores del área de Laguna Mar Chiquita

La etnobiología estudia las interrelaciones entre el hombre y su ambiente en un contexto dinámico; se destacan los estudios etnomédicos ya que la medicina tradicional aún cuenta con vigencia entre las poblaciones rurales. La etnomedicina de las zonas rurales de Córdoba se encuentra dominada por el uso de plantas y en ello se han centrado históricamente los estudios, sin embargo existen algunos datos sobre el uso de animales o partes de ellos. Mediante 40 encuestas semiestructuradas a pobladores de la zona de Laguna Mar Chiquita, se indaga sobre el uso medicinal de animales y plantas. Se relevó el uso de 68 especies vegetales y 10 animales. Los vegetales se consumen primordialmente en infusiones y su principal uso es para afecciones digestivas; en cambio en los animales se utilizan principalmente las grasas, para realizar fricciones en lesiones osteoartromusculares. Se incluyen listados de las especies utilizadas, trastornos tratados, consideraciones sobre el uso y análisis comparativos entre ambos grupos biológicos.Ethnobiology examines the interrelationship between man and his environment in a dynamic context; ethnomedical studies stand out because traditional medicine still survives among rural populations. Ethnomedicine of rural areas of Cordoba is dominated by the use of plants and it was historically the focus of studies, but there are few data about the use of animals or parts of them. Through 40 semi-structured surveys to inhabitants of population near Laguna Mar Chiquita, the use of animals and plants as medicine was investigate. We show the use of 68 plant species and 10 animals, with significant differences: the plants are consumed as tea and its main use is for digestive disorders, animal fats are mainly used to perform friction on osteoartromusculares injuries. Lists the species used, treated disorders, considerations on the use and comparative analysis between the uses of animals and plants are included.Fil: Arias Toledo, Barbara. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Cs.exactas Físicas y Naturales. Departamento de Fisiología; ArgentinaFil: Trillo, Cecilia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Cs.exactas Físicas y Naturales. Departamento de Diversidad Biológica y Ecologica; Argentin

Evolution of the SPATULA/ALCATRAZ gene lineage and expression analyses in the basal eudicot, Bocconia frutescens L. (Papaveraceae)

Abstract Background SPATULA (SPT) and ALCATRAZ (ALC) are recent paralogs that belong to the large bHLH transcription factor family. Orthologs of these genes have been found in all core eudicots, whereas pre-duplication genes, named paleoSPATULA/ALCATRAZ, have been found in basal eudicots, monocots, basal angiosperms and gymnosperms. Nevertheless, functional studies have only been performed in Arabidopsis thaliana, where SPT and ALC are partially redundant in carpel and valve margin development and ALC has a unique role in the dehiscence zone. Further analyses of pre-duplication genes are necessary to assess the functional evolution of this gene lineage. Results We isolated additional paleoSPT/ALC genes from Aristolochia fimbriata, Bocconia frutescens, Cattleya trianae and Hypoxis decumbens from our transcriptome libraries and performed phylogenetic analyses. We identified the previously described bHLH domain in all analyzed sequences and also new conserved motifs using the MEME suite. Finally, we analyzed the expression of three paleoSPT/ALC genes (BofrSPT1/2/3) from Bocconia frutescens, a basal eudicot in the Papaveraceae. To determine the developmental stages at which these genes were expressed, pre- and post-anthesis carpels and fruits of B. frutescens were collected, sectioned, stained, and examined using light microscopy. Using in situ hybridization we detected that BofrSPT1/2/3 genes are expressed in floral buds, early sepal initiation, stamens and carpel primordia and later during fruit development in the dehiscence zone of the opercular fruit. Conclusions Our expression results, in comparison with those available for core eudicots, suggest conserved roles of members of the SPT/ALC gene lineage across eudicots in the specification of carpel margins and the dehiscence zone of the mature fruits. Although there is some redundancy between ALC and SPT, these gene clades seem to have undergone some degree of sub-functionalization in the core eudicots, likely by changes in cis regulatory regions and to some extent in coding sequences, at least in Brassicaceae. Our results also indicate that in Bocconia frutescens, paleoSPT/ALC genes may play a role in early floral organ specification that was subsequently lost in core eudicot lineages

Effects of heme oxygenase isozymes on Leydig cells steroidogenesis

In the present study, we demonstrate the expression of heme oxygenase (HO) isozymes, HO-1 and HO-2 (listed as HMOX1 and HMOX2 in the MGI Database), in MA-10 Leydig tumor cells and its effect on steroidogenesis. The well-known HO inducer, hemin, increased both HO-1 and HO-2 protein levels and HO-specific activity. Induction of HO by hemin inhibited basal, hCG-, and dibutyryl cAMP (db-cAMP)-induced steroidogenesis in a reversible way. When we studied the effect of HO isozymes along the steroid synthesis, we found that steroidogenic acute regulatory protein levels were decreased, and the conversion of cholesterol to pregnenolone was inhibited by hemin treatment, with no changes in the content of cholesterol side-chain cleavage enzyme (P450scc). hCG and db-cAMP also stimulated the expression of HO-1 and HO-2, and HO enzymatic activity in MA-10 cells. Basal and hCG-stimulated testosterone synthesis was also inhibited by hemin in rat normal Leydig cells. Taken together, these results suggest that: i) at least one of HO products (presumably carbon monoxide) inhibits cholesterol transport to the inner mitochondrial membrane and Leydig cell steroidogenesis by binding to the heme group of the cytochrome P450 enzymes, in a similar way as we described for nitric oxide, and ii) hCG stimulation results in the induction of an antioxidant enzymatic system (HO) acting as a cytoprotective mechanism in Leydig cells, as already demonstrated in the adrenal gland.Fil: Piotrkowski, Barbara. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Fundación de Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica; ArgentinaFil: Monzón, Casandra Margarita. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Fundación de Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Pagotto, Romina María del Luján. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Fundación de Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Reche, Cecilia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Fundación de Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Besio Moreno, Marcos Alberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Fundación de Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Cymeryng, Cora Betriz. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Química Biológica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Pignataro, Omar Pedro. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Departamento de Bioquímica Humana; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Fundación de Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental; Argentin

the complement system in aspergillus fumigatus infections and its crosstalk with pentraxins

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