241 research outputs found

    Lysophosphatidic acid enhances survival of human CD34(+) cells in ischemic conditions

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    Several clinical trials are exploring therapeutic effect of human CD34(+) cells in ischemic diseases, including myocardial infarction. Unfortunately, most of the cells die few days after delivery. Herein we show that lysophosphatidic acid (LPA)-treated human umbilical cord blood-derived CD34(+) cells cultured under hypoxic and serum-deprived conditions present 2.2-fold and 1.3-fold higher survival relatively to non-treated cells and prostaglandin E2-treated cells, respectively. The pro-survival effect of LPA is concentration- and time-dependent and it is mediated by the activation of peroxisome proliferator-activator receptor γ (PPARγ) and downstream, by the activation of pro-survival ERK and Akt signaling pathways and the inhibition of mitochondrial apoptotic pathway. In hypoxia and serum-deprived culture conditions, LPA induces CD34(+) cell proliferation without maintaining the their undifferentiating state, and enhances IL-8, IL-6 and G-CSF secretion during the first 12 h compared to non-treated cells. LPA-treated CD34(+) cells delivered in fibrin gels have enhanced survival and improved cardiac fractional shortening at 2 weeks on rat infarcted hearts as compared to hearts treated with placebo. We have developed a new platform to enhance the survival of CD34(+) cells using a natural and cost-effective ligand and demonstrated its utility in the preservation of the functionality of the heart after infarction.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

    Quercetin Liposomal Nanoformulation for Ischemia and Reperfusion Injury Treatment

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    PD/BD/135264/2017 UID/DTP/04138/2020 UIDP/04138/2020 UIDP/04378/2020 UIDB/04378/2020 LA/P/0140/2020 UIDB/50006/2020 UIDB/00100/2020Ischemia and reperfusion injury (IRI) is a common complication caused by inflammation and oxidative stress resulting from liver surgery. Current therapeutic strategies do not present the desirable efficacy, and severe side effects can occur. To overcome these drawbacks, new therapeutic alternatives are necessary. Drug delivery nanosystems have been explored due to their capacity to improve the therapeutic index of conventional drugs. Within nanocarriers, liposomes are one of the most successful, with several formulations currently in the market. As improved therapeutic outcomes have been demonstrated by using liposomes as drug carriers, this nanosystem was used to deliver quercetin, a flavonoid with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, in hepatic IRI treatment. In the present work, a stable quercetin liposomal formulation was developed and characterized. Additionally, an in vitro model of ischemia and reperfusion was developed with a hypoxia chamber, where the anti-inflammatory potential of liposomal quercetin was evaluated, revealing the downregulation of pro-inflammatory markers. The anti-inflammatory effect of quercetin liposomes was also assessed in vivo in a rat model of hepatic IRI, in which a decrease in inflammation markers and enhanced recovery were observed. These results demonstrate that quercetin liposomes may provide a significant tool for addressing the current bottlenecks in hepatic IRI treatment.publishersversionpublishe

    Sindicalismo dos trabalhadores em Educação: tendências políticas e organizacionais (1978-2011)

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    O trabalho identifica as principais tendências políticas e organizacionais que reconstituíram as organizações de trabalhadores em educação no período 1978-2011 e sistematiza como se expressaram em cada estado os processos de criação, unificação e divisão de entidades; ampliação da base de representação; constituição como sindicato legalmente reconhecido; crescimento da filiação; e filiação e desfiliação à Central Única dos Trabalhadores (CUT)

    Angiopoietin-2 Promotes Inflammatory Activation in Monocytes of Systemic Sclerosis Patients

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    Angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2), a ligand of the tyrosine kinase receptor Tie2, is essential for vascular development and blood vessel stability and is also involved in monocyte activation. Here, we examined the role of Ang-2 on monocyte activation in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc). Ang-2 levels were measured in serum and skin of healthy controls (HCs) and SSc patients by ELISA and array profiling, respectively. mRNA expression of ANG2 was analyzed in monocytes, dermal fibroblasts, and human pulmonary arterial endothelial cells (HPAECs) by quantitative PCR. Monocytes were stimulated with Ang-2, or with serum from SSc patients in the presence of a Tie2 inhibitor or an anti-Ang2 neutralizing antibody. Interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-8 production was analyzed by ELISA. Ang-2 levels were elevated in the serum and skin of SSc patients compared to HCs. Importantly, serum Ang-2 levels correlated with clinical disease parameters, such as skin involvement. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) LPS, R848, and interferon alpha2a (IFN-alpha) stimulation up-regulated the mRNA expression of ANG2 in monocytes, dermal fibroblasts, and HPAECs. Finally, Ang-2 induced the production of IL-6 and IL-8 in monocytes of SSc patients, while the inhibition of Tie2 or the neutralization of Ang-2 reduced the production of both cytokines in HC monocytes stimulated with the serum of SSc patients. Therefore, Ang-2 induces inflammatory activation of SSc monocytes and neutralization of Ang-2 might be a promising therapeutic target in the treatment of SSc

    Development of genomic predictions for Angus cattle in Brazil incorporating genotypes from related american sires.

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    Genomic prediction has become the new standard for genetic improvement programs, and currently, there is a desire to implement this technology for the evaluation of Angus cattle in Brazil. Thus, the main objective of this study was to assess the feasibility of evaluating young Brazilian Angus (BA) bulls and heifers for 12 routinely recorded traits using single-step genomic BLUP (ssGBLUP) with and without genotypes from American Angus (AA) sires. The second objective was to obtain estimates of effective population size (Ne) and linkage disequilibrium (LD) in the Brazilian Angus population. The dataset contained phenotypic information for up to 277,661 animals belonging to the Promebo breeding program, pedigree for 362,900, of which 1,386 were genotyped for 50k, 77k, and 150k single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) panels. After imputation and quality control, 61,666 SNPs were available for the analyses. In addition, genotypes from 332 American Angus (AA) sires widely used in Brazil were retrieved from the AA Association database to be used for genomic predictions. Bivariate animal models were used to estimate variance components, traditional EBV, and genomic EBV (GEBV). Validation was carried out with the linear regression method (LR) using young-genotyped animals born between 2013 and 2015 without phenotypes in the reduced dataset and with records in the complete dataset. Validation animals were further split into progeny of BA and AA sires to evaluate if their progenies would benefit by including genotypes from AA sires. The Ne was 254 based on pedigree and 197 based on LD, and the average LD (±SD) and distance between adjacent single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) across all chromosomes were 0.27 (±0.27) and 40743.68 bp, respectively. Prediction accuracies with ssGBLUP outperformed BLUP for all traits, improving accuracies by, on average, 16% for BA young bulls and heifers. The GEBV prediction accuracies ranged from 0.37 (total maternal for weaning weight and tick count) to 0.54 (yearling precocity) across all traits, and dispersion (LR coefficients) fluctuated between 0.92 and 1.06. Inclusion of genotyped sires from the AA improved GEBV accuracies by 2%, on average, compared to using only the BA reference population. Our study indicated that genomic information could help us to improve GEBV accuracies and hence genetic progress in the Brazilian Angus population. The inclusion of genotypes from American Angus sires heavily used in Brazil just marginally increased the GEBV accuracies for selection candidates.skac009

    Uncovering sub-structure and genomic profiles in across-countries subpopulations of Angus Cattle.

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    Highlighting genomic profiles for geographically distinct subpopulations of the same breed may provide insights into adaptation mechanisms to different environments, reveal genomic regions divergently selected, and offer initial guidance to joint genomic analysis. Here, we characterized similarities and differences between the genomic patterns of Angus subpopulations, born and raised in Canada (N?= 382) and Brazil (N = 566). Furthermore, we systematically scanned for selection signatures based on the detection of autozygosity islands common between the two subpopulations, and signals of divergent selection, via FST and varLD tests. The principal component analysis revealed a sub-structure with a close connection between the two subpopulations. The averages of genomic relationships, inbreeding coefficients, and linkage disequilibrium at varying genomic distances were rather similar across them, suggesting non-accentuated differences in overall genomic diversity. Autozygosity islands revealed selection signatures common to both subpopulations at chromosomes 13 (63.77?65.25 Mb) and 14 (22.81?23.57 Mb), which are notably known regions affecting growth traits. Nevertheless, further autozygosity islands along with FST and varLD tests unravel particular sites with accentuated population subdivision at BTAs 7 and 18 overlapping with known QTL and candidate genes of reproductive performance, thermoregulation, and resistance to infectious diseases. Our findings indicate overall genomic similarity between Angus subpopulations, with noticeable signals of divergent selection in genomic regions associated with the adaptation in different environments
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