Alloxan-Induced Diabetes Triggers the Development of Periodontal Disease in Rats

BACKGROUND: Periodontal disease in diabetic patients presents higher severity and prevalence; and increased severity of ligature-induced periodontal disease has been verified in diabetic rats. However, in absence of aggressive stimuli such as ligatures, the influence of diabetes on rat periodontal tissues is incompletely explored. The aim of this study was to evaluate the establishment and progression of periodontal diseases in rats only with diabetes induction. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Diabetes was induced in Wistar rats (n = 25) by intravenous administration of alloxan (42 mg/kg) and were analyzed at 1, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months after diabetes induction. The hemimandibles were removed and submitted to radiographical and histopathological procedures. A significant reduction was observed in height of bone crest in diabetic animals at 3, 6, 9 and 12 months, which was associated with increased numbers of osteoclasts and inflammatory cells. The histopathological analyses of diabetic rats also showed a reduction in density of collagen fibers, fibroblasts and blood vessels. Severe caries were also detected in the diabetic group. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The results demonstrate that diabetes induction triggers, or even co-induces the onset of alterations which are typical of periodontal diseases even in the absence of aggressive factors such as ligatures. Therefore, diabetes induction renders a previously resistant host into a susceptible phenotype, and hence diabetes can be considered a very important risk factor to the development of periodontal disease

Road towards development of new antimalarial: organelle associated metabolic pathways in Plasmodium as drug targets and discovery of lead drug candidates

Malaria remains a global threat with millions of deaths annually. Emergence of parasite strains resistant to widely used antimalarials, including the artemisinin combination therapy (ACT), and the absence of an effective vaccine makes treatment of malaria difficult than ever before. The need of the hour is to re-evaluate the chemotherapeutic approach and to identify new drug targets and develop new pharmacophores against the parasite. An important approach for antimalarial drug discovery is to understand critical metabolic pathways in the parasite which may help us to identify critical targets in the parasites and design specific inhibitors for these targets. Here, we have discussed proteins and pathways in different parasite organelles, i.e. apicoplast, mitochondrial and food vacuole, which have been suggested as potential drug targets; these unique parasite proteins can be targeted to develop new and novel antimalarials. In addition, we have also discussed several antimalarial projects currently under different stages of drug development pipeline. These promising antimalarial compounds have the potential to overcome multidrug resistance. Ongoing global efforts to develop new antimalarials and to identify drug targets suggest a promising future on malaria elimination and eradication

Active galactic nuclei: what’s in a name?

Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) are energetic astrophysical sources powered by accretion onto supermassive black holes in galaxies, and present unique observational signatures that cover the full electromagnetic spectrum over more than twenty orders of magnitude in frequency. The rich phenomenology of AGN has resulted in a large number of different "flavours" in the literature that now comprise a complex and confusing AGN "zoo". It is increasingly clear that these classifications are only partially related to intrinsic differences between AGN, and primarily reflect variations in a relatively small number of astrophysical parameters as well the method by which each class of AGN is selected. Taken together, observations in different electromagnetic bands as well as variations over time provide complementary windows on the physics of different sub-structures in the AGN. In this review, we present an overview of AGN multi-wavelength properties with the aim of painting their "big picture" through observations in each electromagnetic band from radio to gamma-rays as well as AGN variability. We address what we can learn from each observational method, the impact of selection effects, the physics behind the emission at each wavelength, and the potential for future studies. To conclude we use these observations to piece together the basic architecture of AGN, discuss our current understanding of unification models, and highlight some open questions that present opportunities for future observational and theoretical progress.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics Review, 56 pages, 25 figure