42 research outputs found
Oxidative stress responses and histological hepatic alterations in barbel, Barbus bocagei, from Vizela river, Portugal
Barbel (Barbus bocagei) a common species in Portuguese rivers was studied to assess the impact of water contamination on hepatic oxidative stress response, lipid peroxidation and histology. The Vizela River is a tributary of the Ave River, located in one of the most industrialized areas of Portugal. The oxidative stress biomarkers analyzed included superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione S-transferase, glutathione reductase, glucose 6‑phosphate dehydrogenase and xanthine oxidase activities. Levels of reduced glutathione and lipid peroxidation were also evaluated. Except xanthine oxidase activity, that did not show any alteration, all the other enzymatic activities were increased in the liver of barbel captured in the Vizela River when compared with reference barbel. While, no differences were observed for glutathione reductase content, lipid peroxidation was higher in barbel from the Vizela River. Liver histological alterations were determined and their severity scored. Though lymphocyte foci were only observed in Vizela River barbel, macrophage aggregates were also present in reference barbel, although the severity score was higher in Vizela fish. The results of this study show that barbel liver oxidative stress responses, lipid peroxidation and histology are sensitive to the contaminants present in Vizela River water and are valuable biomarkers for monitoring purposes.Barbos (Barbus bocagei), una especie común en los ríos portugueses, se utilizó para evaluar el impacto de la contaminación del agua en la respuesta hepática al estrés oxidativo, en la peroxidación lipídica y en la histología del órgano. El río Vizela es un
afluente del río Ave, situado en una de las regiones más industrializadas de Portugal.
Los biomarcadores de estrés oxidativo analizados fueron la actividad de las enzimas
superóxido dismutasa, catalasa, glutatión S-transferasa, glutation reductasa, glucosa
6 fosfato deshidrogenasa y de la xantina oxidasa. Los niveles de glutatión reducido
y de la peroxidación lipídica también fueron evaluados. Excepto la xantina oxidasa,
que no mostró ninguna alteración, todas las otras actividades enzimáticas han sufrido
incrementos en el hígado de los barbos capturados en el río Vizela, cuando se comparan
con los barbos de referencia. No se observaron diferencias para el contenido
de glutatión reductasa, pero la peroxidación lipídica fue mayor en los barbos del río
Vizela. Las alteraciones en la histología hepática fueron identificadas y clasificadas
de acuerdo con su gravedad. Mientras que los linfocitos de focos se observaron sólo
en barbos del Río Vizela, los agregados de macrófagos también estuvieron presentes
en barbos locales de referencia, aunque la gravedad de las alteraciones fue mayor en
los peces del río Vizela. Los resultados de este estudio muestran que las respuestas de
estrés oxidativo, la peroxidación lipídica y la histología hepática son sensibles a los
contaminantes presentes en el agua del Río Vizela, demonstrando ser biomarcadores
valiosos para propósitos de monitoreo
Technical Report: Technique of Bladder Catheterization in Female Mice and Rats for Intravesical Instillation in Models of Bladder Cancer
Animal models offer a system that enables a better understanding of basic biological questions. Urinary bladder catheterization is a common procedure in models of female urothelial tumours and yet the technique does still need to be described further. The methods described in the existing literature do not outline how the procedure should be adapted for different research goals. In this report, we describe systematically catheterization of female mice and rats as well as analysing several anaesthetic protocols, which can be used to carry out this technical procedure
Acoustic barriers as an acoustic deterrent for native potamodromous migratory fish species
This study focused on the use of sound playbacks as acoustic deterrents to direct native potamodromous
migratory species away from all kind of traps. The effects of two acoustic treatments,
a repeated sine sweep up to 2 kHz (sweep-up stimulus) and an intermittent 140 Hz tone,
were tested in three fish species native to Iberia: Salmo trutta, Pseudochondrostoma duriense and
Luciobarbus bocagei. In contrast with S. trutta, the endemic cyprinids P. duriense and L. bocagei
exhibited a strong repulse reaction to the frequency sweep-up sound. The 140 Hz stimulus did
not seem to alter significantly the behaviour of any of the studied species. These results highlight
the potential of acoustic stimuli as fish behavioural barriers and their application to in situ
conservation measures of native Iberian fish populations, to protect them from hydropower
dams. In addition, this study shows that acoustic deterrents can be used selectively on target
species.The project n 13737: Original Solutions - ENI
and CITAB-UTAD was funded project:
ANI/QREN/FEDER. The Science and
Technology Foundation, Portugal funded
M.C.P.A. (strategic projects
UID/MAR/04292/2013 granted to MARE) and
P.J.F. (UID/BIA/00329/2013 granted to cE3c).
The scientific plan was achieved under
European Investment Funds by FEDER/
COMPETE/POCI– Operational
Competitiveness and Internationalization
Programme, under Project POCI-
01-0145-FEDER-006958 and National Funds
by FCT - Portuguese Foundation for Science
and Technology, under the project
UID/AGR/04033.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Metabolic Signatures of Lung Cancer in Biofluids: NMR-Based Metabonomics of Blood Plasma
In this work, the variations in the metabolic profile of blood plasma from lung cancer patients and healthy controls were investigated through NMR-based metabonomics, to assess the potential of this approach for lung cancer screening and diagnosis. PLS-DA modeling of CPMG spectra from plasma, subjected to Monte Carlo Cross Validation, allowed cancer patients to be discriminated from controls with sensitivity and specificity levels of about 90%. Relatively lower HDL and higher VLDL + LDL in the patients' plasma, together with increased lactate and pyruvate and decreased levels of glucose, citrate, formate, acetate, several amino acids (alanine, glutamine, histidine, tyrosine, valine), and methanol, could be detected. These changes were found to be present at initial disease stages and could be related to known cancer biochemical hallmarks, such as enhanced glycolysis, glutaminolysis, and gluconeogenesis, together with suppressed Krebs cycle and reduced lipid catabolism, thus supporting the hypothesis of a systemic metabolic signature for lung cancer. Despite the possible confounding influence of age, smoking habits, and other uncontrolled factors, these results indicate that NMR-based metabonomics of blood plasma can be useful as a screening tool to identify suspicious cases for subsequent, more specific radiological tests, thus contributing to improved disease management.ERDF - Competitive Factors Thematic Operational ProgrammeFCT/PTDC/ QUI/68017/2006FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-007439SFRH/BD/ 63430/2009National UNESCO Committee - L'Oréal Medals of Honor for Women in Science 200Portuguese National NMR Network - RNRM