ESTUDOS PRÉ-CLÍNICOS DE ATIVIDADE GIARDICIDA DE Chenopodium ambrosioides L. E A PADRONIZAÇÃO DOS EXTRATOS NA PESQUISA E DESENVOLVIMENTO DE FITOTERÁPICOS

Chenopodium ambrosioides L. (Chenopodiaceae), conhecida como erva-de-Santa-Maria ou mastruz, representa espécie exótica, de grande ocorrência no estado do Maranhão, muito utilizada na prática popular para diversos fins terapêuticos. Estudos farmacológicos têm comprovado o potencial da espécie para desenvolvimento de bioprodutos como alternativa terapêutica. Assim, o objetivo deste trabalho foi desenvolver metodologia analítica para padronização dos extratos de C. ambrosioides empregando ensaios químicos e biológicos de atividade anti-Giardia, visando o desenvolvimento de tecnologia farmacêutica na obtenção de novos fármacos no tratamento da giardíase. Foram obtidos extratos das folhas de C. ambrosioides por planejamento fatorial dos parâmetros: natureza do solvente (etanol 70% e água), operação de extração (maceração, percolação e extração por Soxhlet) e hidromódulo; submetidos a análise química e avaliação da atividade giardicida in vitro. Os resultados permitem concluir que a obtenção dos extratos hidroalcoólicos das folhas de C. ambrosioides pelo procedimento extrativo de percolação e maceração representam os extratos com melhor perfil químico e/ou atividade giardicida; evidenciando que a natureza do solvente, o procedimento extrativo e o hidromódulo são variáveis que  infuenciam na obtenção dos extratos da espécie em estudo.Descritores: Chenopodium ambrosioides; Padronização de Extratos; Atividade Giardicida; in vitro.Abstract: Chenopodium ambrosioides L., Chenopodiaceae, (herb-of-Santa-Maria or mastruz), represents high occurrence alien species, in the State of Maranhão, widely used in popular practice for many therapeutic purposes. Pharmacological studies have demonstrated the potential of species to develop therapeutic bioproducts such as new alternatives. Thus, the goal of this work was to developanalytical methodology for standardized extracts of Chenopodium. ambrosioides employing chemical and biological tests of giardicidal activity, aiming at the development of pharmaceutical technology in getting new drugs for Giardia treatment. Were obtained extracts of leaves of C. ambrosioides by factorial planning factors: nature of solvent (ethanol 70 and water), operation of extraction (maceration, percolation and Soxhlet extraction) and hydromodule (plant:solvent); subjected to chemical analysis and evaluation of giardicidal activity  in vitro. The results suggest that the obtaining of hydroalcoholic extracts from the leaves of C. ambrosioides extractive of percolation and maceration represents the extract with better chemical profle and/or giardicidal activity; evidencing that the nature of the solvent, extractive procedure and hydromodule are variables that infuence in obtaining extracts of the species under study.Descriptors: Chenopodium ambrosioides; Standardization of Extracts; Giardicidal Activity; in vitro

The lectin-specific activity of Toxoplasma gondii microneme proteins 1 and 4 binds Toll-like receptor 2 and 4 N-glycans to regulate innate immune priming.

Infection of host cells by Toxoplasma gondii is an active process, which is regulated by secretion of microneme (MICs) and rhoptry proteins (ROPs and RONs) from specialized organelles in the apical pole of the parasite. MIC1, MIC4 and MIC6 assemble into an adhesin complex secreted on the parasite surface that functions to promote infection competency. MIC1 and MIC4 are known to bind terminal sialic acid residues and galactose residues, respectively and to induce IL-12 production from splenocytes. Here we show that rMIC1- and rMIC4-stimulated dendritic cells and macrophages produce proinflammatory cytokines, and they do so by engaging TLR2 and TLR4. This process depends on sugar recognition, since point mutations in the carbohydrate-recognition domains (CRD) of rMIC1 and rMIC4 inhibit innate immune cells activation. HEK cells transfected with TLR2 glycomutants were selectively unresponsive to MICs. Following in vitro infection, parasites lacking MIC1 or MIC4, as well as expressing MIC proteins with point mutations in their CRD, failed to induce wild-type (WT) levels of IL-12 secretion by innate immune cells. However, only MIC1 was shown to impact systemic levels of IL-12 and IFN-γ in vivo. Together, our data show that MIC1 and MIC4 interact physically with TLR2 and TLR4 N-glycans to trigger IL-12 responses, and MIC1 is playing a significant role in vivo by altering T. gondii infection competency and murine pathogenesis

POTENCIAL ANTI-INFLAMATÓRIO DAS FOLHAS DE Chenopodium ambrosioides L. NO MODELO DE CISTITE HEMORRÁGICA EM CAMUNDONGOS

A cistite hemorrágica (CH) possui etiologia infecciosa, medicamentosa ou radioterápica. Consiste na presença de hematúria macroscópica secundária a sangramento vesical e uma das suas possíveis causas é o uso de ciclofosfamida (CYP). Várias alternativas farmacológicas têm sido investigadas para o tratamento da CH. Dentre as possibilidades, o potencial terapêutico de espécies vegetais tem sido avaliado. A espécie Chenopodium ambrosioides L. (Amaranthaceae), tem sido utilizado popularmente como anti-infamatório, efeito que  tem  sido comprovado cientifcamente. Assim, o objetivo deste estudo  foi investigar os efeitos do extrato bruto hidroalcoólico (EBH) de folhas secas de C. ambrosioides na CH induzida em camundongos pela ciclofosfamida. Camundongos fêmeas da linhagem Swiss receberam 150 mg/kg de CYP por via intraperitoneal para indução de CH. Em seguida, os animais foram tratados em dose única de acordo com protocolo estabelecido para cada grupo: soro fsiológico a 0,9% (grupo Controle); diclofenaco potássico (grupo Diclofenaco); EBH com dose única de 5 (grupo EBH5) ou 50mg/kg (grupo EBH50). Após 12 horas da indução da CH, o sangue dos animais foi retirado para realização do hemograma.  Os animais foram então sacrifcados e as bexigas retiradas, avaliadas macroscopicamente (hemorragia) e pesadas. Foram removidos, ainda, os órgãos linfóides a fm de realizar contagem de células do baço, medula óssea e linfonodos. Os resultados demonstraram que houve diminuição do peso das bexigas e da hemorragia nos grupos Diclofenaco e EBH5 quando comparados ao grupo controle. Houve um aumento das células da medula óssea, baço e linfonodo mesentérico em todos os animais tratados em relação ao controle. Em relação ao hemograma houve apenas aumentos pontuais no grupo EBH50. Em conclusão, o extrato bruto hidroalcoólico de folhas de C. ambrosioides na dose de 5mg/Kg apresentou efeito anti-infamatório e imunoestimulante, pois diminuiu o peso e a hemorragia da bexiga, e aumentou a produção e proliferação de células linfóides. Diante dos resultados desse estudo, bem como da evidência de ausência de toxicidade de outros trabalhos, podemos sugerir o tratamento com este extrato como alternativa terapêutica nos modelos de CH induzida por CYP em camundongos.Descritores: Anti-infamatório. Chenopodium ambrosioides. Ciclofosfamida. Cistite.AbstractHemorrhagic cystitis (HC) has infectious, drug or radiotherapy etiology. Consists in the presence of macroscopic hematuria secondary to bladder bleeding, and one of its possible causes is the use of cyclophosphamide (CYP). Several pharmacological alternatives have been investigated for the treatment of HC. Among the possibilities, the therapeutic potential of plant species have been reported. The species Chenopodium ambrosioides L. (Amaranthaceae) has been popularly used as an anti-infammatory efect that has been proven scientifcally. The objective of this study was to investigate the efects of crude hydroalcoholic extract of dried leaves of C. ambrosioides in HC cyclophosphamide induced in mice. Female mice of the Swiss strain received 150 mg / kg of CYP intraperitoneally to induce HC. Then the animals were treated with a single dose according to protocol established for each group: normal saline 0.9% (control group); diclofenac (diclofenac group); hydroalcoholic extract with a single dose of 5 (EBH5 group) or 50 mg / kg (EBH50 group). After 12 hours from the induction of HC, the bleeding was performed in the animal for the complete blood count. The animals were then sacrifced and had their bladders removed, as assessed macroscopically (bleeding) and weighed. The lymphoid organs were also removed in order to perform spleen, bone marrow and lymph nodes cell count. The results demonstrated that there was a decrease in the weight of bladders and bleeding in the diclofenac group and EBH5 when compared to the control group. There was an increase of cells in the bone marrow, spleen and lymph node in all treated animals as compared to control. In blood count there were only occasional increases in EBH50 group. In conclusion, the hydroalcoholic crude extract of Chenopodium ambrosioides leaves at a dose of 5 mg / kg showed anti-infammatory and immunostimulatory efect as decreased body weight and bleeding of the bladder, and increased production and proliferation of lymphoid cells. Given the results of this study, as well as evidence of absence of toxicity in other studies, we suggest treatment with this extract as an alternative therapy in models of CH-induced CYP in mice.Descriptors: Anti-infammatory. Chenopodium ambrosioides. Cyclophosphamide. Cystitis

Abordagens da dermatite atópica no âmbito dermatológico atual

A dermatite atópica seria definida como doença inflamatória cutânea crônica, de caráter genético, caracterizada pela presença de episódios recorrentes de eczema associado a prurido, muita vezes intenso, apresentando como substrato alterações imunológicas cutâneas que produzem inflamação, podendo estar eventualmente associada a doenças respiratórias, como a asma e a rinite alérgica. Trata-se de doença multifatorial, com enfoque nas alterações sistêmicas e alérgicas ou nas manifestações cutâneas, de acordo com diferentes visões da doença. A conceituação da dermatite atópica é importante, porque a conduta terapêutica pode variar segundo as diferentes formas de analisá-la. O presente estudo tem como objetivo avaliar a dermatite atópica no contexto atual da dermatologia. Trata-se de uma revisão integrativa, com uso dos descritores DeCs (Descritores em Saúde) e o Medical Subject Headings (MeSH), nos idiomas português e inglês, com os seguintes termos: “Dermatite”(dermatitis), “Pele” (skin), “tratamento” (treatment).  Desta busca, foram encontrados 150 artigos, posteriormente submetidos aos critérios de seleção. A seleção resultou em 8 artigos que foram submetidos à análise seletiva, exploratória e interpretativa no contexto do presente estudo. A partir da revisão bibliográfica dos estudos analisados, conclui-se que, de fato, a dermatite atópica é complexa e precisa ser mais estudada

Síndromes anêmicas: uma abordagem fisiopatológica sobre as principais considerações clínicas / Anemic syndromes: a pathophysiological approach to key clinical considerations

O seguinte artigo é uma revisão narrativa de literatura fundamentada nas plataformas do SciELO, LILACS, Pubmed, Google Acadêmico e Brazilian Journal of Health Review no período de janeiro a março de 2022. Atualmente, a anemia é algo que não é investigado sobre a sua etiologia e  sujeita a negligência, muitos pacientes são vítimas dos riscos de hemotransfusão e até privados de tratarem doenças que seriam possivelmente de manejo mais simples se detectadas precocemente. O seguinte artigo objetivou descrever as principais considerações sobre as síndrome anêmicas, em especial em sua  fisiopatologia e implicações clínicas. A temática de síndromes anêmicas é um tema complexo, que possui várias etiologias, apresentações clínicas, sintomatologias e meios diagnósticos. A terapêutica é focada em investigar o fator etiológico de base e simultaneamente tratar as implicações e aliviar o quadro clínico. Logo, o estudo em questão narra de modo detalhado a fisiopatologia da anemia e aborda as principais síndromes anêmicas para a clínica médica.

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear un derstanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5–7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8–11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world’s most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepre sented in biodiversity databases.13–15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may elim inate pieces of the Amazon’s biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological com munities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple or ganism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region’s vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most ne glected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lostinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear understanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5,6,7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8,9,10,11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world's most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepresented in biodiversity databases.13,14,15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may eliminate pieces of the Amazon's biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological communities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple organism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region's vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most neglected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lost

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear understanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5,6,7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8,9,10,11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world's most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepresented in biodiversity databases.13,14,15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may eliminate pieces of the Amazon's biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological communities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple organism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region's vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most neglected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lost