105 research outputs found
Embryotoxicity and fetotoxicity following intraperitoneal administrations of hexavalent chromium to pregnant rats
Heavy metals are omnipresent in the environment, and industrial use has greatly increased their presence in soil, water and air. Their inevitable transfer to the human food chain remains an important environmental issue as many heavy metals cause a range of toxic effects, including developmental toxicity. Administration of chromium VI (1 and 2 mg/kg as potassium dichromate) through intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection during organogenesis (days 6 to 15 of gestation) in rats revealed embryo- and fetotoxic effects. Reduced fetal weight, retarded fetal development, number of fetuses per mother and high incidences of dead fetuses and resorptions in treated mothers were also observed. Gross morphological abnormalities, such as displayed form of edema, facial defect, lack of tail, hypotrophy, severs subdermal haemorrhage patches and hypotrophy of placenta were observed in fetuses after chromium VI-treated mothers. A skeletal development of fetuses presented an incomplete ossification in nasal, cranium, abdominal or caudal bones in rats treated with 1 mg/kg of chromium, whereas rats treated with 2 mg/kg showed ossification and absence of the sacral vertebrae compared with the control. At a higher dose of chromium, histological changes were found in fetuses with atrophy of theirs vital organs. Placental histological observations revealed a pronounced morphological alteration, with atrophy of decidual cells, a degenerated of chorionic villi and hypertrophy of blood lacuna. The present study suggests a risk to the developing embryo when the mother is exposed to a high concentration of chromium VI during organogenesi
Interaction between nanoparticles generated by zinc chloride treatment and oxidative responses in rat liver
302 The effect of HDL3-anionic peptide factor on cellular cholesterol efflux and CETP activity in type 2 diabetic patients with and without coronary artery disease
A combination of NMR and liquid chromatography to characterize the protective effects of Rhus tripartita extracts on ethanol-induced toxicity and inflammation on intestinal cells
Consumption of ethanol may have severe effects on human organs and tissues and lead to acute and chronic inflammation of internal organs. The present study aims at investigating the potential protective effects of three different extracts prepared from the leaves, root, and stem of the sumac, Rhus tripartita, against ethanol-induced toxicity and inflammation using intestinal cells as a cell culture system, in vitro model of the intestinal mucosa. The results showed an induction of cytotoxicity by ethanol, which was partially reversed by co-administration of the plant extracts. As part of investigating the cellular response and the mechanism of toxicity, the role of reduced thiols and glutathione-S-transferases were assessed. In addition, intestinal cells were artificially imposed to an inflammation state and the anti-inflammatory effect of the extracts was estimated by determination of interleukin-8. Finally, a detailed characterization of the contents of the three plant extracts by high resolution Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and mass spectrometry revealed significant differences in their chemical compositions
Exposure to 2.45 GHz Radiation Triggers Changes in HSP-70, Glucocorticoid Receptors and GFAP Biomarkers in Rat Brain
Brain tissue may be especially sensitive to electromagnetic phenomena provoking signs of neural stress in cerebral activity. Fifty-four adult female Sprague-Dawley rats underwent ELISA and immunohistochemistry testing of four relevant anatomical areas of the cerebrum to measure biomarkers indicating induction of heat shock protein 70 (HSP-70), glucocorticoid receptors (GCR) or glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) after single or repeated exposure to 2.45 GHz radiation in the experimental set-up. Neither radiation regime caused tissue heating, so thermal effects can be ruled out. A progressive decrease in GCR and HSP-70 was observed after acute or repeated irradiation in the somatosensory cortex, hypothalamus and hippocampus. In the limbic cortex; however, values for both biomarkers were significantly higher after repeated exposure to irradiation when compared to control animals. GFAP values in brain tissue after irradiation were not significantly different or were even lower than those of nonirradiated animals in all brain regions studied. Our results suggest that repeated exposure to 2.45 GHz elicited GCR/HSP-70 dysregulation in the brain, triggering a state of stress that could decrease tissue anti-inflammatory action without favoring glial proliferation and make the nervous system more vulnerableThis work was supported in part by the FEDER/Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades-Agencia Estatal de Investigación under Project TEC2017-86110-R. The work of A.Á.S.-S. is supported by the Xunta de Galicia Postdoctoral Fellowship, reference ED481B 2018/008. The financial support of the Tunisian Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research is gratefully acknowledgedS
Variability of antioxidant and biological activities of Rhus tripartitum related to phenolic compounds
Rhus species are known in traditional medicine for their therapeutic virtue and their extracts
showed numerous important properties including antimalarial, antimicrobial, antiviral, and
hypoglycemic and anticonvulsant activi- ties. Rhus tripartitum (Ucria) is a medicinal plant widely
used in Tunisia folk medicine against chronic diarrhea and gastric ulcer. This study was designed
to examine in vitro and ex vivo antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anticancer activities of four
extracts of Rhus tripartitum root cortex with increasing solvent polarity (hexane, di-chloromethane, methanol and water). HPLC was used to identify and quantify phenolic compounds in Rhus ex- tract. Water extract showed the highest antioxidant activity using oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC method) with 8.95 ± 0.47 µmol Trolox/mg and a cell based-assay with 0.28 ± 0.12 µmol Trolox/mg as compared to the other fractions. Moreover, methanol extract displayed the strongest anti-cancer activity against human lung carcinoma (A-549) and colon adenocarcinoma cell lines (DLD-1) with an IC50 value of 60.69 ± 2.58 and 39.83 ± 4.56 µg/ml (resazurin test) and 44.52 ± 5.96 and 55.65 ± 6.00 µg/ml (hoechst test), respectively.
Besides, the highest anti-inflammatory activity, inhibiting nitric oxide (NO) release, was exhibited by dichloromethane extract with 31.5 % at 160 µg/ml in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages. The HPLC analysis showed that catechol and kaempferol were the major phenolics. These data suggest the richness of all fractions of les with different polarity and confirm the known traditional therapeutics virtues of this species for the treatment of dysentery, diarrhea and gastric ulcer
Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase Activating Peptide (1-38) and its analog (Acetyl-[Ala15, Ala20] PACAP 38-polyamide) reverse methacholine airway hyperresponsiveness in rats
O objetivo deste estudo foi investigar funcionalmente e estruturalmente efeito broncodilatador do peptídeo ativador da adenilato ciclase pituitária (PACAP1-38) e da acetil-[Ala15, Ala20]PACAP 38-poliamida, potente análogo do PACAP-38, nos ratos desafiados pelo metacolina (MeCh). Ratos Wistar machos foram aleatoriamente divididos em cinco grupos. Grupos 1 e 2, inalando aerossóis de solução salina ou doses crescentes de MeCh (0,5, 1, 2,12, 4,25, 8,5, 17, 34 e 68 mg/L). Os outros grupos recebendo terbutalina (Terb) (250 µg/rato) (10-6M), PACAP-38 (50 µg/rato) (0.1 mM) ou análogo do PACAP-38 (50 µg/rato) associados a MeCh na dose de 4,25 mg/L. A resistência pulmonar total (RL) foi registrada antes e 2 min após a administração de Mech pelo equipamento pneumomultiteste. A administração MeCh induziu aumento significativo e dose dependente (pThe aim of this study was to investigate both functionally and structurally bronchodilator effects of Pituitary adenylate cyclase activating peptide (PACAP38) and acetyl-[Ala15, Ala20] PACAP38-polyamide, a potent PACAP38 analog, in rats challenged by methacholine (MeCh). Male Wistar rats were divided randomly into five groups. Groups 1 and 2 inhaled respectively aerosols of saline or increasing doses of MeCh (0.5, 1, 2.12, 4.25, 8.5, 17, 34 and 68mg/L). The other groups received terbutaline (Terb) (250 µg/rat) (10-6 M), PACAP38 (50 µg/rat) (0.1 mM) or PACAP38 analog (50 µg/rat) associated to MeCh from the dose of 4.25 mg/L. Total lung resistances (RL) were recorded before and 2 min after MeCh administration by pneumomultitest equipment. MeCh administration induced a significant and a dose-dependent increase (
Chamomile decoction extract inhibits human neutrophils ROS production and attenuates alcohol-induced haematological parameters changes and erythrocytes oxidative stress in rat
Effects of static magnetic field exposure on hematological and biochemical parameters in rats
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