Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Melatonin in Rats with Induced Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Introduction: Insulin resistance is associated with a pro-inflammatory state increasing the risk for complications in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). In addition to its chronobi-otic effects, the pineal hormone melatonin is known to exert anti-inflammatory and antioxidant ef-fects. Melatonin was also suggested to affect insulin secretion. The aim of this study was therefore to investigate the effect of melatonin on inflammation in diabetic rats and to study the possible involvement of the melatonin receptor, MT2. Materials and Methods: Male Sprague Dawley rats were randomly divided into four experimental groups (n = 10 per group): (1) control, (2) strepto-zotocin/nicotinamide induced diabetes type 2 (T2DM), (3) T2DM treated with melatonin (500 µg/kg/day), and (4) T2DM treated with melatonin (500 µg/kg/day for 6 weeks) and the selective MT2 receptor antagonist luzindole (0.25 g/kg/day for 6 weeks). Blood samples were taken for biochemical parameters and various tissue samples (liver, adipose tissue, brain) were removed for im-munohistochemistry (IHC), Western blot (WB), and Q-PCR analyses, respectively. Results: Melato-nin significantly reduced increased blood levels of liver transaminases (AST, ALT), blood urea ni-trogen (BUN), triglyceride, very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL), and cholesterol in diabetic rats with luzindole treatment partly reversing this effect regarding the lipids. Furthermore, the liver and adipose tissues of T2DM rats treated with melatonin showed lower expression of the inflammatory markers IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, and NF-κB as compared to the T2DM group without melatonin. The results also showed that the MT2 receptor is at least partly involved in the protective effects of mel-atonin. Conclusions: Our results suggest that melatonin exerts relevant anti-inflammatory effects on various tissues in type 2 diabetic rats. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Cryopreservation of spleen and lymph nodes as a source of mononuclear cells to be used for the development of monoclonal antibody producing hybridoma cells

In the present study, spleen and lymph nodes of mice were cryopreserved as a whole tissue and after thawing, membrane integrity of mononuclear cells was determined by trypan blue exclusion and PI staining. T and B lymphocytes, macrophages and dendritic cells have been isolated from both cryopreserved tissue and analyzed by Flow cytometry. BALB/c mice were immunized with Hepatitis e antigen (HBeAg) and spleen and lymph nodes of mice were cryopreserved for 3 to 10 months. The cells obtained from both tissue were applied to hybridoma technology to understand if the cells keep their viability and functionality. The cells were isolated and fused with F0 mouse myeloma cells and several antibody producing hybrid cells were developed. Results have shown that cryopreserved spleen and lymph nodes of mice can be efficiently used in hybridoma technology for the successful generation of monoclonal antibody producing hybrid cells

Effect of boric acid on oxidative stress in rats with fetal alcohol syndrome

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study concerning the effect of boric acid (BA) administration on fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). In this study, the aim was to investigate prenatal alcohol-induced oxidative stress on the cerebral cortex of newborn rat pups and assess the protective and beneficial effects of BA supplementation on rats with FAS. Pregnant rats were divided into three groups, namely the control, alcohol and alcohol + boric acid groups. As markers of alcohol-induced oxidative stress in the cerebral cortex of the newborn pups, malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) levels were measured. Although the MDA levels in the alcohol group were significantly increased compared with those in the control group (P<0.05), the MDA level in the alcohol + boric acid group was shown to be significantly decreased compared with that in the alcohol group (P<0.01). The CAT activity of the alcohol + boric acid group was significantly higher than that in the alcohol group (P<0.05). The GPx activity in the alcohol group was decreased compared with that in the control group (P<0.05). These results demonstrate that alcohol is capable of triggering damage to membranes of the cerebral cortex of rat pups and BA could be influential in antioxidant mechanisms against oxidative stress resulting from prenatal alcohol exposure

Screening of bottle gourds (Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Standley) genotypes with rootstock potential for watermelon production for resistance against Meloidogyne incognita (Kofoid & White, 1919) Chitwood and Meloidogyne javanica (Treub, 1885) Chitwood

Screening of bottle gourds (Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Standley) genotypes with rootstock potential for watermelon production for resistance against Meloidogyne incognita (Kofoid & White, 1919) Chitwood and Meloidogyne javanica (Treub, 1885) ChitwoodBottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Standley) has been used as rootstock for watermelon since 1920s. Present study was carried out in Plant Protection Research Institute of Adana in 2007-2008. In this study, resistance of 57 bottle gourds landraces collected from Mediterranean region of Turkey against Meloidogyne incognita (Kofoid & White, 1919) Chitwood and Meloidogyne javanica (Treub, 1885) Chitwood was investigated. It was found that all bottle gourds genotypes were susceptible to root-knot nematodes. Watermelon plants grafted onto bottle gourd rootstocks showed better plant growth performance and produced higher yield than ungrafted watermelon plants in field contaminated with root-knot nematodes. It was concluded that bottle gourds rootstocks were not directly resistant to nematodes but they can tolerate nematodes with their rapid growing ability at low soil temperature when nematodes are problem in the soil

THE ANTIOXIDANT AND ANTIAPOPTOTIC EFFECT OF BORIC ACID ON HEPATOXICITY IN CHRONIC ALCOHOL-FED RATS

The harmful use alcohol is a worldwide problem involving all ages. This study aims to investigate chronic alcohol exposure related hepatotoxicity on the rats liver and possible hepatoprotective effects of boric acid. Rats were separated into four different group: control, ethanol, ethanol+boric acid and boric acid. We measured malondialdehyde levels (MDA), total sialic acid (TSA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) levels which are known to be the markers of alcohol damage and also caspase-3, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) as the markers of apoptosis were measured. In ethanol group MDA, TSA and TNF-α levels increased whereas SOD and CAT levels decreased compared with control group. Ethanol+boric acid group MDA, TSA, caspase-3 and TNF-α levels decreased whereas SOD and CAT levels increased compared with ethanol group. Histopathological evaluation of light microscope images, immunohistochemical caspase-3 and TNF-α activity in the ethanol+boric acid group were shown to be decreased compared with that in the ethanol group. Our result revealed that ethanol is capable of triggering oxidative stress and apoptosis in the rat liver. We propose that boric acid is an effective compound in protecting the rat liver against ethanol.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author

Prenatal alcohol-induced neuroapoptosis in rat brain cerebral cortex: protective effect of folic acid and betaine

WOS: 000398041500006PubMed ID: 28062893Purpose Alcohol consumption in pregnancy may cause fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) in the infant. This study aims to investigate prenatal alcohol exposure related neuroapoptosis on the cerebral cortex tissues of newborn rats and possible neuroprotective effects of betaine, folic acid, and combined therapy. Methods Pregnant rats were divided into five experimental groups: control, ethanol, ethanol + betaine, ethanol + folic acid, and ethanol + betaine + folic acid combined therapy groups. We measured cytochrome c release, caspase-3, calpain and cathepsin B and L. enzyme activities. In order to observe apoptotic cells in the early stages, TUNEL method was chosen together with histologic methods such as assessing the diameters of the apoptotic cells, their distribution in unit volume and volume proportion of cortical intact neuron nuclei. Results Calpain, caspase-3 activities, and cytochrome c levels were significantly increased in alcohol group while cathepsin B and L. activities were also found to be elevated albeit not statistically significant. These increases were significantly reversed by folic acid and betaine + folic acid treatments. While ethanol increased the number of apoptotic cells, this increase was prevented in ethanol + betaine and ethanol + betaine + folic acid groups. Morphometric examination showed that the mean diameter of apoptotic cells was increased with ethanol administration while this increase was reduced by betaine and betaine + folic acid treatments. Conclusion We observed that ethanol is capable of triggering apoptotic cell death in the newborn rat brains. Furthermore, folic acid, betaine, and combined therapy of these supplements may reduce neuroapoptosis related to prenatal alcohol consumption, and might be effective on preventing fetal alcohol syndrome in infants.TUBITAK [109S510]This work was supported by TUBITAK 109S510 project

Effect of chronic alcohol consumption on myocardial apoptosis in the rat model of isoproterenol-induced myocardial injury and investigation on the cardioprotective role of calpain inhibitor 1

We investigated the presence of myocardial apoptosis on isoproterenol (ISO)-induced myocardial injury (MI) after long-term high dose alcohol consumption and examined the antiapoptotic role of calpain inhibitor 1. Male Wistar Albino rats (n = 108) were divided into six groups: Control, alcohol (ethanol was given during 30 days for chronic alcohol consumption), MI (150 mg/kg ISO injection at last two days of alcohol consumption), alcohol + MI, alcohol + MI + calpain inhibitor 1 (10 mg/kg inhibitor was injected at 15 min before ISO injections) and Dimethyl Sulfoxide (DMSO) groups. Biochemical, histological, and morphometric methods determined apoptosis levels in the heart tissue of rats. Cytochrome c, caspase 3, and calpain levels were significantly high in alcohol, MI, and alcohol + MI groups. In contrast, mitochondrial cardiolipin content was found to be low in alcohol, MI, and alcohol + MI groups. These parameters were close to the control group in the therapy group. Histological and morphometric data have supported biochemical results. As a result of our biochemical data, myocardial apoptosis was seen in the alcohol, MI, and especially alcohol after MI groups. Calpain inhibitor 1 reduced apoptotic cell death and prevented myocardial tissue injury in these groups. The efficiency of calpain inhibitor was very marked in MI after long-term high dose alcohol consumption

Evaluation of Oxidative Stress and Thiol-Disulfide Parameters According to the Body Mass Index in Adult Individuals

WOS: 000446895400008Objective: In this study, the parameters of oxidative stress markers and thiol-disulfide homeostasis as a novel biomarker were evaluated in experimental groups of adult individuals, which were formed according to the body mass index (BMI). Materials and Methods: A total of 165 adult patients were grouped as normal weight (BMI 18.5-24.9, n=39), preobese or overweight (BMI 25-29.9, n=47), obese (BMI 30-34.9; n=44), and severely obese (BMI > 35, n=35). In addition to thiol-disulfide homeostasis parameters, the total oxidant status (TOS), total antioxidant status (TAS), oxidative stress index (OSI), ischemia-modified albumin (IMA), albumin, and ceruloplasmin levels were determined. Results: Native thiol, total thiol, and native thiol/total thiol % levels were significantly decreased in the overweight, obese, and severely obese groups compared to the normal weight group (p= 25). In addition to this, the oxidative stress and thiol-disulfide homeostasis markers are observed to be further increased in the overweight group than the obese (>= 30) group due to body's reaction to first inconsistency