Neonatal bilateral lidocaine administration into the ventral hippocampus caused postpubertal behavioral changes: An animal model of neurodevelopmental psychopathological disorders

Our aim was to investigate if neonatal bilateral administration of lidocaine into the ventral hippocampus would cause behavioral changes related to schizophrenia. A neonatal ventral-hippocampal lesion (nVH lesion) was made with lidocaine in Wistar male pups. Two groups were formed, the first received lidocaine (4 μg/0.3 μL) and the second an equal volume of vehicle. At day 35 and 56, both groups were tested for social contact, immobility caused by clamping the neck and dorsal immobility, locomotor activity in an open field, and tail flick (TF) latency after a painful heat stimulus. All animals were then killed. Coronal cuts (7 μm) of the brain were obtained and each brain section was stained with cresyl violet-eosin. The animals which received the nVH lesion with lidocaine had decreased social interaction at both ages. The rats with lesions, only at day 58 postnatal, increased their distance traveled and ambulatory time, with a decrease in their nonambulatory and reset time. The rats with lesions had a longer duration of immobility caused by clamping the neck and a longer dorsal immobility at both days 34 and 57 compared to control rats. The lidocaine-treated group spent less time to deflect the tail compared to the control group at postpubertal age. The neonatal bilateral administration of lidocaine into the ventral hippocampus caused some alterations, such as chromatin condensation, nucleolus loss, and cell shrinkage, but glial proliferation was not seen. Neonatal bilateral lidocaine administration into the ventral hippocampus caused postpubertal behavioral changes

Regulation of the Redox Environment

All organisms maintain a strict redox environment, crucial for cell physiology, by preserving the pro-oxidant compounds generated during cell metabolism and from antioxidant system elements. In pathophysiological conditions, the redox environment is altered, causing oxidative stress, cell damage, and eventually cell death. In this chapter, we review the elements involved in the redox environment, including the oxidant, antioxidant, and glutathione systems. In addition, we summarize the physicochemical bases of the redox environment and the biological functions of the glutathione cycle. Finally, we propose a redox environment regulation model that considers some regulated variables that are actively involved in maintaining the redox environment: reactive oxygen species, reactive nitrogen species, and the redox couple GSH2/GSSG

Toxicological and therapeutic evaluation of the algae Macrocystis pyrifera (Phaeophyceae) in rodents

Macrocystis pyrifera is a giant brown seaweed with high nutritional content, used as a dietary supplement in some farm animals. It contains fucoidan which has a pharmacological effect on lipids and glucose metabolism. Some brown seaweeds can bioaccumulate toxic elements in their cell wall, representing a problem if toxicity tests that guarantee the safety of their consumption are not done. M. pyrifera, does not present toxicological studies that guarantee its safety. This work aimed to perform the acute and subchronic toxicological evaluation of M. pyrifera in rodents as well as to determine its possible therapeutic effect. Fronds of M. pyrifera were collected in Baja California Sur, Mexico, for drying and obtaining algae flour. The acute toxicity test LD50 was performed in C57BL / 6 male mice (25 ± 3 g) for 7 days, finding an LD50 greater than 10 g kg-1. Subchronic toxicity was determined for 121 days in adult male Sprague Dawley rats (98 ± 2 g), during which the experimental animals showed no signs of toxicity, or changes in the hematological, biochemical and histopathological parameters of the organs. The reactive oxygen species, lipid peroxidation or glutathione ratio were not different from the control group. A therapeutic effect on the regulation of body weight and a hypolipidemic effect (triacylglycerides: 82.27 ± 5.55 mg dl-1, cholesterol: 98.61 ± 6.48 mg dl-1) were found. It is concluded that, under the conditions in which this study was developed, the consumption of M. pyrifera as a functional ingredient is safe

Participación del estrés oxidativo y de las alteraciones del ambiente oxido-reducción en la generación de daño celular inducido por la deficiencia de hormonas tiroideas

Tesis (Doctorado en Ciencias Quimicobiológicas), Instituto Politécnico Nacional, SEPI, ENCB, 2009, 1 archivo PDF, (123 páginas). tesis.ipn.m

Hypothyroidism during neonatal and perinatal period induced by thyroidectomy of the mother causes depressive-like behavior in prepubertal rats

Marisol Pineda-Reynoso, Edgar Cano-Europa, Vanessa Blas-Valdivia, Adelaida Hernandez-Garcia, Margarita Franco-Colin, Rocio Ortiz-ButronDepartamento de Fisiología ‘Mauricio Russek Berman,’ Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, IPN, Carpio y Plan de Ayala, MéxicoAbstract: The objective of this study was to see if neonatal and perinatal hypothyroidism caused anxiety and depressive-like behaviors. Twenty female Wistar rats were randomly divided into two groups: 1) thyroidectomy caused hypothyroidism, in which the thyroid gland had been removed and the parathyroid reimplanted; and 2) false thyroidectomy. The thyroidectomy was made on rats anesthetized with ketamine-xylazine. The rats were mated and one day after giving birth, eight pups were assigned to each group randomly and they were distributed into two groups: a hypothyroid group containing male pups of a hypothyroid mother with a hypothyroid wet nurse; and a euthyroid group of male pups of a euthyroid mother with a euthyroid wet nurse. We analyzed the behavioral test at a prepubertal age. The neonatal and perinatal hypothyroidism caused by the mother’s thyroidectomy caused a decrease in body weight and length. We found that the neonatal and perinatal hypothyroidism enhanced the total exploratory activity without affecting social contact and the time spent in the open and closed arms in an elevated plus-maze. The hypothyroidism caused immobility without altering the lower climbing duration in the swimming test. This study shows a novel model to cause neonatal and perinatal hypothyroidism without using pharmacological drugs. We demonstrated that hypothyroid animals had a reduction in body weight and length, a retardation of neurodevelopment, and they had depressive-like behavior.Keywords: perinatal hypothyroidism, thyroidectomy, thyroid hormone, behavior, metabolis