Immunological response in mice bearing LM3 breast tumor undergoing Pulchellin treatment

Background: Ribosome-inactivating proteins (RIP) have been studied in the search for toxins that could be used as immunotoxins for cancer treatment. Pulchellin, a type 2 RIP, is suggested to induce immune responses that have a role in controlling cancer. Methods: The percentage of dendritic cells and CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in the spleen (flow cytometry), cytokines’ release by PECs and splenocytes (ELISA) and nitric oxide production by PECs (Griess assay) were determined from tumor-bearing mice injected intratumorally with 0.1 ml of pulchellin at 0.75 μg/kg of body weight. Statistical analysis was performed by one-way ANOVA with Tukey’s post hoc test. Results: Pulchellin-treated mice showed significant immune system activation, characterized by increased release of IFN-γ and Th2 cytokines (IL-4 and IL-10), while IL-6 and TGF-β levels were decreased. There was also an increase in macrophage’s activation, as denoted by the higher percentage of macrophages expressing adhesion and costimulatory molecules (CD54 and CD80, respectively). Conclusions: Our results suggest that pulchellin is promising as an adjuvant in breast cancer treatment.Fil: de Matos, Djamile Cordeiro. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Abreu de Ribeiro, Livia Carolina. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Tansini, Aline. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Ferreira, Lucas Souza. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Polesi Placeres, Marisa Campos. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Colombo, Lucas Luis. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Oncología "Ángel H. Roffo"; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Iracilda Zeppone, Carlos. Universidade de Sao Paulo; Brasi

Contracepção hormonal e lesões cervicais pelo Papilomavírus Humano: uma revisão de literatura / Hormonal contraception and cervical injuries by Human Papillomavirus: a literature review

Introdução: A infecção pelo papilomavírus humano (HPV) é a doença sexualmente transmissível (DST) mais comum, afetando 50% da população mundial. Estima-se que entre 75 e 80% da de indivíduos sexualmente ativos adquirirão algum subtipo de HPV ao longo da vida. No Brasil, a taxa de prevalência de HPV varia de 13,7 a 54,3%, de acordo com a população e as regiões estudadas. Assim, este artigo tem como objetivo analisar a associação entre os hormônios contracepção e o aparecimento de lesões induzidas por HPV em o colo uterino. Metodologia: O presente estudo foi elaborado por meio de uma pesquisa bibliográfica, realizada eletronicamente, procurando registros sobre o desenvolvimento de lesões induzidas por HPV em colo uterino e hormônios de contracepção. Objetivando com isso identificar através da literatura a associação entre os hormônios de contracepção e o aparecimento de lesões induzidas por HPV em colo uterino. Para a realização do mesmo foram analisados artigos publicados em revistas científicas, utilizando as bases de dados da BVS (Biblioteca Virtual da Saúde), como: Lilacs (Literatura Latino-Americana e do Caribe em Ciências da Saúde) e Scielo (Scientific Electronic Library Online). Resultados: Após a seleção, restaram nove artigos para a discussão. Podemos observar os artigos escolhidos no quadro, composto pelos autores, título, metodologia, resultados e conclusão que cada um encontrou. Em seguida foi realizada uma discussão acerca destes artigos. Conclusão: Muitos estudos relataram que os mecanismos envolvidos na persistência e incidência de lesões de HPV estão longe de ser esclarecidas, e que novas estudos são necessários para elucidar melhores abordagens em relação ao tipo de contracepção, via de administração e doses hormonal que não estão associadas a lesões induzidas por HPV

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

Immune Response Against Sporothrix schenckii in TLR-4-Deficient Mice

For many fungal diseases, macrophages are the major cell population implicated in host protection, primarily by their ability to eliminate the invading fungal pathogen through phagocytosis. In sporotrichosis, this remains true, because of macrophages' ability to recognize Sporothrix schenckii through specific receptors for some of the fungus' cellular surface constituents. Further confirmation for macrophages' pivotal role in fungal diseases came with the identification of toll-like receptors, and the subsequent numerous associations found between TLR-4 deficiency and host susceptibility to diverse fungal pathogens. Involvement of TLR-4 in immune response against sporotrichosis has been conducted to investigate how TLR-4 signaling could affect inflammatory response development through evaluation of H2O2 production and IL-1 beta, IL-6 and TGF-beta release during the course of S. schenckii infection on TLR-4-deficient mice. The results showed that macrophages are largely dependent on TLR-4 for inflammatory activation and that in the absence of TLR-4 signaling, increased TGF-beta release may be one of the contributing factors for the abrogated inflammatory activation of peritoneal exudate cells during mice sporotrichosis.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP

Orange Juice and Hesperidin Promote Differential Innate Immune Response in Macrophages ex vivo

The purpose of this study was to verify the immune response induced by intake of orange juice or hesperidin on macrophages through the secretion of cytokines and nitric oxide. Mice were divided in three groups treated orally with orange juice, hesperidin, or control for 2 weeks. Ex vivo macrophages from all groups of mice were cultured with or without lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimuli, and the levels of nitric oxide (NO) and of the cytokines IL-10, IL-12, and TNF-alpha were evaluated. Macrophages of non-LPS-stimulated, orange juice treatment increased IL-12 levels by 143 % and the other cytokines and NO levels were unchanged. Hesperidin treatment increased IL-12 levels by 72 % and strongly decreased the NO secretion. For LPS-stimulated macrophages the orange juice (OJ) treatment decreased TNF-alpha secretion by 100 % and did not alter other cytokines, while NO levels increased 41 %. Hesperidin treatment decreased NO, IL-10, IL-12, and TNF-alpha levels by 56 %, 47 %, 29 %, and 63 %, respectively. In conclusion, OJ and hesperidin showed different immune responses, suggesting that hesperidin displays a suppressive effect on inflammation generated by LPS, while OJ seems to enhance the functions of macrophages associated with antimicrobial activity.Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq