Heme oxygenase-1 as a modulator of intestinal inflammation development and progression

Indexación: Scopus.Heme Oxygenase 1 (HMOX1) is an enzyme that catalyzes the reaction that degrades the heme group contained in several important proteins, such as hemoglobin, myoglobin, and cytochrome p450. The enzymatic reaction catalyzed by HMOX1 generates Fe2+, biliverdin and CO. It has been shown that HMOX1 activity and the by-product CO can downmodulate the damaging immune response in several models of intestinal inflammation as a result of pharmacological induction of HMOX1 expression and the administration of non-toxic amounts of CO. Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, which includes Crohn's Disease (CD) and Ulcerative Colitis (UC), are one of the most studied ailments associated to HMOX1 effects. However, microbiota imbalances and infections are also important factors influencing the occurrence of acute and chronic intestinal inflammation, where HMOX1 activity may play a major role. As part of this article we discuss the immune modulatory capacity of HMOX1 during IBD, as well during the infections and interactions with the microbiota that contribute to this inflammatory disease. © 2018 Sebastián, Salazar, Coronado-Arrázola, Schultz, Vallejos, Berkowitz, álvarez-Lobos, Riedel, Kalergis and Bueno.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2018.01956/ful

External stimuli help restore post-partum ovarian activity in Pelibuey sheep

Post-partum anestrus is a problem on farms, and its duration depends on the frequency and intensity of suckling which affects reproduction and production efficiency to become a determining economic factor. The aim of this study was to determine the post-partum reproductive response in ewe to a "male effect" with an ovulation induction protocol of five days using progesterone and the application of a metabolic restorative (MR; Metabolase ®). One hundred and twenty females were randomly assigned to one of four treatments: T1: Continuous suckling (CS; n = 29), T2: CS + MR (n = 29), T3: CS + Male Effect (ME; n = 32), and T4: CS + MR + ME. The percentage of females in ovulation, weight changes among females and lambs, the onset of estrus, calving, fecundity, and prolificacy were also determined. The ovulation percentage was higher in CS + ME and CS + MR + ME (75.0 and 73.3%) than in the other treatments. Weight changes in females and lambs were different among periods. The onset of estrus was similar for CS and CS + MR (25.9 ± 1.9 and 25.7 ± 0.7 h, respectively). The calving percentage was higher for CS + MR (86.2%) than other treatments. Male presence positively affected the postpartum cyclic ovarian re-establishment and the metabolic restorative could even improve the fertility of hair ewes in continuous suckling with similar hormone protocolKeywords: Male effect, metabolic stimulation, post-partum anestru

Contenido de minerales en grano, harina y salvado de variedades de quinua.

Se comparan el contenido proteínico de la quinua con la cebada, maíz amarillo, maíz blanco y trigo. Para el efecto se determinan los elementos minerales: P, Ca, K, Mg, Na, Fe, Cu, Mn y Zn para 15 variedades de quinua cultivadas en los países andinos. La determinación se hizo en los 3 estratos: grano, harina y salvado. Los porcentajes de P en el grano, fluctuaron entre 0.62 a 0.33 por ciento con promedio de 0.47 por ciento para las 15 variedades. El Ca varió en el grano entre 0.39 a 0.14 por ciento con promedio 0.19 por ciento, siendo estos contenidos superiores a los reportados para los otros granos. Los contenidos promedios de K y Mg para el grano, fueron 0.87 y 0.26 oscilando entre 1.98 a 0.50 por ciento para el K y 0.46 a 0.13 para el Mg, siendo suficientes, en una dieta balanceada para humanos y llenando los requerimientos para ganado bovino. En cuanto a Na, Fe, Cu, Mn y Zn, a excepción del Na los valores se encuentran por encima de los reportados para cebada, maíz y trigo. En cuanto a los 3 estratos, los mayores niveles de minerales en todas las variedades lo presentó el salvado con relación a las cantidades encontradas para grano y harina. Comparando el contenido de minerales y saponina de estas mismas variedades, se observó una relación inversaQuinua-Amaranthus caudatu

Efecto del nivel freático en el desarrollo radicular de árboles cítricos en Colombia.

Se presentan resultados de observaciones realizadas para determinar la profundidad efectiva del suelo requerida para el buen desarrollo de los cítricos en Colombia. El trabajo se realizó en huertos de los Centros Experimentales Palmira (Valle del Cauca) y Turipaná (Córdoba), la Estación Experimental Santa Lucía (Atlántico) y Granja Agrícola Municipal de Mompós (Bolívar). Se efectuaron observaciones y mediciones de la profundidad y distribución del sistema radicular de los árboles cítricos de 4 a 13 años de edad. Simultáneamente se realizaron observaciones y mediciones de la profundidad del nivel freático. Los datos colectados permitieron descubrir la posición del sistema radicular y el efecto delnivel freático sobre el mismo. Se concluye que la profundidad efectiva mínima del suelo aceptable para la plantación comercial de cítricos es de 1 a 1.2 m. En la mayoría de los suelos aluviales del país esta profundidad efectiva del suelo está determinada por la profundidad del nivel freátic

Recent progress with the DNA repair mutants of Chinese hamster ovary cells

Repair deficient mutants of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells are being used to identify human genes that correct the repair defects and to study mechanisms of DNA repair and mutagenesis. Five independent tertiary DNA transformants were obtained from the EM9 mutant. In these clones a human DNA sequence was identified that correlated with the resistance of the cells to CldUrd. After Eco RI digestion, Southern transfer, and hybridization of transformant DNAs with the BLUR-8 Alu family sequence, a common fragment of 25 to 30 kb was present. 37 refs., 4 figs., 3 tabs

Immune evasion and recognition of the syphilis spirochete in blood and skin of secondary syphilis patients: two immunologically distinct compartments

Background: The clinical syndrome associated with secondary syphilis (SS) reflects the propensity of Treponema pallidum (Tp) to escape immune recognition while simultaneously inducing inflammation. Methods: To better understand the duality of immune evasion and immune recognition in human syphilis, herein we used a combination of flow cytometry, immunohistochemistry (IHC), and transcriptional profiling to study the immune response in the blood and skin of 27 HIV(-) SS patients in relation to spirochetal burdens. Ex vivo opsonophagocytosis assays using human syphilitic sera (HSS) were performed to model spirochete-monocyte/macrophage interactions in vivo. Results: Despite the presence of low-level spirochetemia, as well as immunophenotypic changes suggestive of monocyte activation, we did not detect systemic cytokine production. SS subjects had substantial decreases in circulating DCs and in IFN\u3b3-producing and cytotoxic NK-cells, along with an emergent CD56-/CD16+ NK-cell subset in blood. Skin lesions, which had visible Tp by IHC and substantial amounts of Tp-DNA, had large numbers of macrophages (CD68+), a relative increase in CD8+ T-cells over CD4+ T-cells and were enriched for CD56+ NK-cells. Skin lesions contained transcripts for cytokines (IFN-\u3b3, TNF-\u3b1), chemokines (CCL2, CXCL10), macrophage and DC activation markers (CD40, CD86), Fc-mediated phagocytosis receptors (Fc\u3b3RI, Fc\u3b3R3), IFN-\u3b2 and effector molecules associated with CD8 and NK-cell cytotoxic responses. While HSS promoted uptake of Tp in conjunction with monocyte activation, most spirochetes were not internalized. Conclusions: Our findings support the importance of macrophage driven opsonophagocytosis and cell mediated immunity in treponemal clearance, while suggesting that the balance between phagocytic uptake and evasion is influenced by the relative burdens of bacteria in blood and skin and the presence of Tp subpopulations with differential capacities for binding opsonic antibodies. They also bring to light the extent of the systemic innate and adaptive immunologic abnormalities that define the secondary stage of the disease, which in the skin of patients trends towards a T-cell cytolytic response