27 research outputs found
Castanea sativa mill. flowers as potential chemopreventive agent against rat prostate cancer model
Introduction: Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancer among men, having a huge impact in their health [1]. This work aimed to evaluate the influence of a decoction extract obtained from C. sativa flowers (CF) on chemically and hormonally induced rat prostate cancer animal model.
Material & Methods: All the animal experiments were approved by the Institutional Animals Ethics Committee and by Portuguese national authorities (DGAV no 021326). Forty male Wistar Unilever rats were randomly divided into four groups: control group (n=10), induced group (n=15), CF control group (n=5) and CF induced group (n=10). Animals from induced groups received a multistep induction protocol, which consisted of sequential administration of flutamide, testosterone propionate, the carcinogenic agent MNU and crystalline testosterone. The CF extract, rich in ellagitannins especially trigalloy-HHDP- glucose, was administered in the drinking water (3 mg/animal/day) for 49 weeks. Animals were sacrificed at 61 weeks of age and organs were collected, weighed and processed for light microscopy. Data were analysed using SPSS and GraphPad Prism software.
Results: There were no significant differences in relative mean liver weight among groups exposed and not exposed to the CF extract and no animals developed severe hepatic changes. Animals from CF induced group developed less prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia than induced group. Also, animals exposed to the CF extract did not present areas of inflammation of the dorsolateral prostate lobe greater than 50% unlike the groups not exposed (p<0.05). The administration of CF in induced animals was able to decrease the activity of CAT and GST by 36% and 20%, respectively (p<0.05).
Conclusions: These results suggest that CF extract was well tolerate by the animals and did not cause severe hepatic and renal toxicity. C. sativa flowers extract may be used as chemopreventive agent against prostate cancer and seems to have an antioxidant role
Short and long-term antinutritional effect of the trypsin inhibitor ApTI for biological control of sugarcane borer
Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de NÃvel Superior (CAPES)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento CientÃfico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Plant-derived trypsin inhibitors have been shown to have potent anti-insect effects and are a promising alternative for the biological control of pests. In this work, we tested the anti-insect activity of Adenanthera pavonina trypsin inhibitor (ApTI) against Diatraea saccharalis larvae, a major insect pest in sugarcane. The addition of 0.1% ApTI in short-term assays resulted in 87% and 63% decreased trypsin and chymotrypsin activities respectively. ApTI was not digested after 60 h incubation with D. saccharalis midgut proteases. The chronic effects of ApTI on F0 and F1 generations of D. saccharalis were also analyzed. The larvae from the F0 generation showed 55% and 21% decreased larval and pupal viability, respectively. ApTI-fed larvae from the F1 generation showed a decrease of 33% in survival rate and 23% in the average larval weight. Moreover, ApTI treatment reduced trypsin and chymotrypsin activities in F1 larvae. Thus, the anti-insect effects of ApTI on consecutive generations (F0 and F1) of D. saccharalis larvae demonstrate its potential for long-term control of this pest. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.6117Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de NÃvel Superior (CAPES)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento CientÃfico e Tecnológico (CNPq)FUNDECT (Fundacao de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento do Ensino, Ciencia e Tecnologia do Estado do Mato Grosso do Sul)FINEP (Financiamento de Estudos e Projetos/Ministerio da Ciencia e Tecnologia)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de NÃvel Superior (CAPES)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento CientÃfico e Tecnológico (CNPq
Evaluation of seed coagulant Moringa oleifera lectin (cMoL) as a bioinsecticidal tool with potential for the control of insects
Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento CientÃfico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de NÃvel Superior (CAPES)Lectins have demonstrated significant levels of protection against different pests when expressed in transgenic plants. The effects of the coagulant Moringa oleifera lectin (cMoL) on moth flour (Anagasta kuehniella) were tested by incorporating the protein in an artificial diet at levels of 0.5%, 1% and 2% (w/w), respectively. cMoL showed a dose-dependent effect on average larval weight and a series of nutritional disturbances. A significant increase in total development time of 15 days was observed in the group fed with cMoL at 1%, increasing the rate of pupal mortality by 27.6%. The A. kuehniella midgut proteases were unable to digest cMoL for up to 12 h of incubation. The lectin presented a tight binding to a chitin column, suggesting that the insecticidal activity of cMoL involves carbohydrate-lectin interactions on the surface of the digestive tract, with glycoproteins and others glycolsylated structures in the midgut and resistance to enzymatic digestion. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.462498504Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento CientÃfico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de NÃvel Superior (CAPES)Programa de Apoio a Nucleos de Excelencia (PRONEX/FACEPE)Fundacao de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento do Ensino, Ciencia e Tecnologia do Estado de Mato Grosso do Sul (FUNDECT)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento CientÃfico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de NÃvel Superior (CAPES
Correlation between the proportion of fast fibers in the biceps brachii muscle and the relative torque during elbow flexion in subjects with clinical hypothesis of myopathy
A produção de força muscular pode estar comprometida em pacientes portadores de miopatias. Estas representam um grupo heterogêneo de doenças com distintas caracterÃsticas clÃnicas e morfológicas. Supõe-se que achados de desempenho funcional estejam relacionados com o tipo predominante de fibra expresso no músculo em análise. OBJETIVO: Correlacionar a proporção das fibras tipo 2 (FT2) do músculo bÃceps braquial de sujeitos com hipótese clÃnica de miopatia (HCM) com picos de torque isométrico e isocinético de flexão do cotovelo. MATERIAIS E MÉTODOS: Participaram deste estudo sete sujeitos com HCM: quatro do sexo feminino com média de idade de 37 anos (dp= 9), peso de 73kg (dp= 26) e altura de 155cm (dp= 6); e três do sexo masculino com média de idade de 39 anos (dp= 1), peso de 88kg (dp= 5) e altura de 172cm (dp= 4). Pela técnica histoquÃmica de mATPase, foi realizada análise de proporção das fibras musculares. Após um mês da realização das biópsias, os sujeitos realizaram teste de força isométrica e isocinética concêntrica de flexão e extensão do cotovelo em dinamômetro isocinético. Avaliou-se o pico de torque (PT) isométrico a 90°s-¹ e 180°s-¹ e calculou-se o torque relativo 90 (TR90) e 180 (TR180). Para análise estatÃstica, utilizou-se correlação de Spearman (r). RESULTADOS: A proporção de FT2 se correlacionou positivamente com TR180 (r= 0,89, p= 0,01). Uma moderada correlação foi encontrada entre FT2 e TR90 (r= 0,75, p= 0,05). CONCLUSÕES: Os resultados sugerem que o comportamento contrátil das FT2 não foi modificado nestes sujeitos. O dinamômetro isocinético mostrou ser um instrumento que pode avaliar, de forma não invasiva, a predominância do tipo de fibra muscular.Muscular strength production may be impaired in myopathic patients. Myopathies represent a heterogeneous group of diseases with distinct clinical and morphological characteristics. It has been hypothesized that functional performance findings may be related to the predominant fiber type expressed in the muscle analyzed. OBJECTIVE: To correlate the proportion of type 2 fibers in the biceps brachii muscles of subjects with a clinical hypothesis of myopathy with their peak isometric and isokinetic torque during elbow flexion. METHOD: Seven subjects with a clinical hypothesis of myopathy participated in this study: four females of mean age 37 years (sd = 9), weight 73kg (sd= 26) and height 155cm (sd= 6); and three males of mean age 39 years (sd= 1), weight 88kg (sd= 5) and height 172cm (sd= 4). The muscle fiber proportion was analyzed using the mATPase technique. One month after taking biopsies, the subjects performed concentric isometric and isokinetic strength tests for elbow flexion and extension using an isokinetic dynamometer. The isometric and isokinetic peak torques at 90°s-¹ and 180°s-¹ were evaluated and the relative 90° (RT90) and 180° (RT180) torques were calculated. Spearman’s correlation (r) was used for statistical analyses. RESULTS: The proportion of type 2 fibers correlated positively with RT180 (r= 0.89, p= 0.01), and there was a moderate correlation with RT90 (r= 0.75, p= 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that the contractile behavior of type 2 fibers was not modified in these subjects. The isokinetic dynamometer was shown to be an instrument capable of noninvasively evaluating muscle fiber type predominance.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento CientÃfico e Tecnológico (CNPq)USP - Fundação de Apoio ao Ensino, Pesquisa e Assistência (Faepa) do Hospital das ClÃnicas da Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto (FMRP
Insensitive trypsins are differentially transcribed during Spodoptera frugiperda adaptation against plant protease inhibitors
Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento CientÃfico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)The fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) is an important pest insect due to high degree of polyphagia. In order to better understand its adaptation mechanism against plant protease inhibitors, bioassays were carried supplementing diet with the Kunitz trypsin inhibitor from Entada acaciifolia seeds (EATI). In vitro assays showed an increase of proteolytic activity in EATI-fed larvae midgut Moreover, the trypsin enzymes showed insensitivity to inhibition with EATI. In order to understand what genes were overexpressed after chronic exposition to EATI, quantitative RT-PCR analyses were performed and revealed an increase in transcription of two trypsin genes, suggesting its participation in insensitivity of midgut trypsins. Another important result was the expression of one chymotrypsin gene, which is not expressed in control fed-larvae but induced in EATI-fed larvae. New regions of higher molecular weight showing proteolytic activity were visualized in inhibitor-fed larvae by zymography gel electrophoresis, proposing that the new enzymes expressed in response of inhibitor dietary would be formatting oligomers. This is a characteristic also observed in other pest insects that adapt to feed in plant protease inhibitors diet. Additional assays revealed that trypsins from EATI-fed larvae also became insensitive against Kunitz and Bowman-Birk inhibitors from soybean. This result suggests a possible involvement of the same S. frugiperda genes in adaptation against Kunitz and Bowman-Birk inhibitors in their host plants. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.16511925Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento CientÃfico e Tecnológico (CNPq)FINEPFUNDECTFundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento CientÃfico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)FAPESP [2011/09361-0
Ventricular pacing threshold after transthoracic external defibrillation with two different waveforms: an experimental study
Although an increase in the ventricular pacing threshold (VPT) has been observed after administration of transthoracic shock for ventricular defibrillation, few studies have evaluated the phenomenon with respect to the defibrillation waveform energy. Therefore, this study examined the VPT behaviour after transthoracic shock with a monophasic or biphasic energy waveform. Domestic Landrace male piglets implanted with a permanent pacemaker stimulation system were divided into three groups: no ventricular fibrillation (VF) induction and transthoracic shock with monophasic or biphasic energy (group I); VF induction, 1 min of observation without intervention, 2 min of external cardiac massage, and transthoracic shock with monophasic or biphasic energy (group II); and VF induction, 2 min of observation without intervention, 4 min of external cardiac massage, and transthoracic shock with monophasic or biphasic energy (group III). After external shock, the VPT was evaluated every minute for 10 min. A total of 143 experiments were performed. At the end of the observation period, groups I and II showed steady VPT values. Group III showed an increase in VPT with monophasic or biphasic external energy, with no difference between the external energy sources. The monophasic but not the biphasic waveform was associated with higher VPT values when the VF was longer. Defibrillation does not have a significant impact on pacing threshold, but a longer VF period is related to a higher VPT after defibrillation with monophasic waveform.15229730