One or two ligatures inducing periodontitis are sufficient to cause fatty liver

Periodontitis is a chronic disease that due to an intense inflammatory response triggers systemic changes such as hepatic alterations. This study aimed to compare hepatic damage in rats that received experimental periodontitis at one or two periodontal sites with ligatures. Eighteen rats were separated into three groups: control, without ligature; periodontitis 1, with one ligature; and periodontitis 2, with two ligatures. The following parameters were assessed: gingival bleeding index, probing pocket depth, tooth mobility, alveolar bone loss, malondialdehyde (MDA) and myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity in periodontal tissue; histopathological evaluation of hepatic tissue (steatosis score); glutathione levels (GSH), MDA, MPO, cholesterol and triglycerides in the liver; and serum levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST). Periodontal evaluation data showed that the periodontitis model worked well. The groups with periodontitis did not differ significantly in relation to MPO activity and MDA levels in the gingival samples, but they were significantly different when compared with the control group. Steatosis was observed in the histological analysis of the groups with periodontitis, but between the periodontitis groups, two ligatures did not cause increase in steatosis score. The levels of GSH, MDA, total cholesterol and triglycerides in the hepatic tissue were not altered between groups with periodontitis, but they showed significant differences in comparison with the control group. The activity of MPO in hepatic tissue and serum levels of AST and ALT did not present significant difference among the three groups. In conclusion, our results demonstrated that one or two ligatures inducing periodontitis were both sufficient to cause fatty liver. Steatosis caused by two ligatures did not present larger extension and severity than steatosis caused by one ligature

Sulfated-Polysaccharide Fraction from Red Algae Gracilaria caudata Protects Mice Gut Against Ethanol-Induced Damage

The aim of the present study was to investigate the gastroprotective activity of a sulfated-polysaccharide (PLS) fraction extracted from the marine red algae Gracilaria caudata and the mechanism underlying the gastroprotective activity. Male Swiss mice were treated with PLS (3, 10, 30 and 90 mg·kg−1, p.o.), and after 30 min, they were administered 50% ethanol (0.5 mL/25 g−1, p.o.). One hour later, gastric damage was measured using a planimeter. Samples of the stomach tissue were also obtained for histopathological assessment and for assays of glutathione (GSH) and malondialdehyde (MDA). Other groups were pretreated with l-NAME (10 mg·kg−1, i.p.), dl-propargylglycine (PAG, 50 mg·kg−1, p.o.) or glibenclamide (5 mg·kg−1, i.p.). After 1 h, PLS (30 mg·kg−1, p.o.) was administered. After 30 min, ethanol 50% was administered (0.5 mL/25g−1, p.o.), followed by sacrifice after 60 min. PLS prevented-ethanol-induced macroscopic and microscopic gastric injury in a dose-dependent manner. However, treatment with l-NAME or glibenclamide reversed this gastroprotective effect. Administration of propargylglycine did not influence the effect of PLS. Our results suggest that PLS has a protective effect against ethanol-induced gastric damage in mice via activation of the NO/KATP pathway

Lipopolysaccharide from Escherichia coli prevents indomethacin-induced gastric damage in rats: role of non-protein sulfhydryl groups and leukocyte adherence

To investigate the role of non-protein sulfhydryl groups (NP-SH) and leukocyte adhesion in the protective effect of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) from Escherichia coli against indomethacin-induced gastropathy. Male Wistar rats were divided into four groups: saline, LPS, saline + indomethacin and LPS + indomethacin, with six rats in each group. Rats were pretreated with LPS (300 mu g/kg, by intravenous) or saline. After 6 h, indomethacin was administered (20 mg/kg, by gavage). Three hours after treatments, rats were killed. Macroscopic gastric damage, gastric NP-SH concentration, myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity and mesenteric leukocyte adhesion (intravital microscopy) were assessed. Statistical analysis was performed using one-way analysis of variance followed by the Newman-Keuls test. Statistical significance was set at P < 0.05. LPS reduced the gastric damage, gastric MPO activity and increased gastric NP-SH concentration in indomethacin-induced gastropathy. LPS alone increased gastric NP-SH when compared to saline. Indomethacin increased leukocyte adhesion when compared to the saline, and LPS reduced indomethacin-induced leukocyte adhesion. In addition, LPS alone did not change leukocyte adhesion, when compared to the saline. LPS protective effect against indomethacin-induced gastropathy is mediated by an increase in the NP-SH and a decrease in leukocyte-endothelial adhesion.CNPq (Brazil

IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL APPROACH REVEALS LOCALIZATION OF CYSTATHIONINE-?-LYASE AND CYSTATHIONINE-ß-SYNTHETASE IN ETHANOL-INDUCED GASTRIC MUCOSA DAMAGE IN MICE

Context Hydrogen sulphide (H2S) has been proved to be a neuromodulator and contributes to the maintenance of gastric mucosal integrity in damage caused by anti-inflammatory nonsteroidal drugs. Previously, we demonstrated that H2S synthesis is essential to gastric protection against ethanol. Objective To better understanding the role of H2S and the detailed localization of its production in both normal and injured stomach due to ethanol injection, we studied the expression of cystathionine-&#947;-lyase (CSE) and cystathionine-&#946;-synthetase (CBS) isoforms in gastric mucosa of mice treated with saline or 50% ethanol. Methods Mice were treated by gavage with saline or 50% ethanol (0.5 mL/25 g). After 1 hour, mice were sacrificed, and gastric tissue was evaluated by histological and immunohistochemical analysis specific for CSE and CBS. Results We have demonstrated a non-specific expression of CBS in the normal gastric mucosa and expression of CSE occurring mainly in the parietal cells of the animals treated with ethanol. Conclusion Thus, we demonstrated that the expression of CBS appears to be constitutive and diffuse across the gastric epithelium, while the expression of CSE appears to be induced in parietal cells by damage agents such as ethanol

PROSPECÇÃO CIENTÍFICA E TECNOLÓGICA DE Chenopodium ambrosioides, COM ÊNFASE NAS ATIVIDADES FARMACOLÓGICAS

Nesta prospecção, objetivou-se realizar um estudo sobre atividades biológicas já descritas para o mastruz, com especial destaque para as eventuais aplicações farmacológicas desta planta. Para isso, foram obtidas informações sobre artigos científicos nas bases Web of ScienceTM, ScienceDirect, PubMed e Scielo, bem como sobre documentos de patentes nas bases USPTO, EPO, WIPO e INPI, com o uso da palavra-chave: Chenopodium ambrosioides, sempre utilizada nos campos de busca relativos ao título e ao resumo dos trabalhos. Desse modo, verificou-se que em bases de dados internacionais de artigos científicos, muitos são os trabalhos publicados envolvendo o mastruz, mas há número relativamente baixo de documentos de patentes, principalmente, no que se refere à descrição de eventual ação farmacológica da planta. Isso demonstra que há grandes oportunidades de pesquisa envolvendo a descrição da atividade biológica de extratos ou óleos essesnciais de plantas, como o mastruz

PROSPECÇÃO CIENTÍFICA E TECNOLÓGICA DE Chenopodium ambrosioides, COM ÊNFASE NAS ATIVIDADES FARMACOLÓGICAS

Nesta prospecção, objetivou-se realizar um estudo sobre atividades biológicas já descritas para o mastruz, com especial destaque para as eventuais aplicações farmacológicas desta planta. Para isso, foram obtidas informações sobre artigos científicos nas bases Web of ScienceTM, ScienceDirect, PubMed e Scielo, bem como sobre documentos de patentes nas bases USPTO, EPO, WIPO e INPI, com o uso da palavra-chave: Chenopodium ambrosioides, sempre utilizada nos campos de busca relativos ao título e ao resumo dos trabalhos. Desse modo, verificou-se que em bases de dados internacionais de artigos científicos, muitos são os trabalhos publicados envolvendo o mastruz, mas há número relativamente baixo de documentos de patentes, principalmente, no que se refere à descrição de eventual ação farmacológica da planta. Isso demonstra que há grandes oportunidades de pesquisa envolvendo a descrição da atividade biológica de extratos ou óleos essesnciais de plantas, como o mastruz

PROSPECÇÃO TECNOLÓGICA DE POLISSACARÍDEOS COM ATIVIDADE ANTIDIARREICA/ EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGY OF POLYSACCHARIDES WITH ANTIDIARRHEAL ACTIVITY

Neste presente estudo de prospecção, objetivou-se realizar um levantamento sobre atividades biológicas já descritas para polissacarídeos, com especial enfoque em suas eventuais aplicações nas doenças diarreicas. Para isso, foi feito um levantamento de documentos de patentes nas bases USPTO, EPO, WIPO e INPI, assim como de artigos científicos nas bases PubMed, Web of ScienceTM, Scopus e Scielo, com o uso de palavras-chave e operadores boleanos específicos, sempre utilizados no campo de busca relativo ao resumo/título dos arquivos. Desse modo, verificou-se nas bases de dados internacionais de patentes um grande número de documentos referentes ao uso de polissacarídeos em diversas áreas temáticas, com destaque para indústria química, farmacêutica, alimentícia e cosmética, com notável domínio dos Estados Unidos e China em relação aos pedidos de patentes, porém com número relativamente baixo de documentos no que se refere à descrição de eventual ação antidiarreica de polissacarídeos, o que reforça o caráter inovador das pesquisas que envolvem o uso de polissacarídeos enquanto agentes antidiarreicos. Além disso, de modo geral, nas bases de dados para produção científica em artigos, observou-se que o enfoque dos estudos envolvendo polissacarídeos está principalmente ligado à extração, identificação e caracterização bioquímica destes compostos, aplicação na indústria, descrição de atividade biológica e sua importância nutricional. Todavia, a associação com o termo diarreia resultou em um número reduzido de artigos, demonstrando que há grandes oportunidades de pesquisa envolvendo a descrição da atividade antidiarreica de polissacarídeos oriundos de diversas fontes naturais. </p