Influência de diferentes protocolos de exercício e da dieta hiperlipídica sobre o sistema endocanabinóide de ratos

The objective of the study was to investigate the effects of the hyperlipid diet and the training of swimming and force on the adipose tissue, lipid profi le and endocannabinoid system of exogenous obese rats. For this, we used sixty adult male rats divided into six groups: Sedentary Standard (SP); Sedentary Hyperlipid (SH); Standard Swimming (NP); Hyperlipid Swimming (NH); Standard Force (FP); Hyperlipid Force (FH). After three weeks receiving standard or hyperlipidic diet, the animals started the exercise protocols. The NP and NH groups swam 60 minutes/day, 5 days/week with 5% body weight binding to the body, in 50x30 cm tanks, for 8 weeks. The FP and FH groups performed ladder climbing exercises with weights tied to their tails, once every three days, for 8 weeks. Animals from the SP and SH groups remained sedentary and fed their respective diets. The hyperlipid diet increased body weight gain, relative weight of adipose (epididimal, retroperitoneal, visceral and subcutaneous) and adipocyte (epididimal, retroperitoneal and visceral) areas. It also increased the fat percentage of all adipose tissues and liver, in addition to increasing the gene expression of the CB1 receptor. The trained groups had lower values of adipocyte area, improvement of lipid profi le, lower values in fat percentage of adipose tissues and liver, lower gains of body mass, and lower gene expression of CB1 receptor. Thus our results indicate the potential benefi  ts of strength and swimming training as non-pharma-cological alternatives to control the deleterious effects of the hyperlipidic diet on adipose tissue, lipid profi le, lipid content and control of the imbalance of the endocannabinoid system caused by the hyperlipidic diet.O objetivo do estudo foi investigar os efeitos da dieta hiperlipídica e do treinamento de natação e força sobre o tecido adiposo, perfil lipídico e sistema endocanabinóide de ratos obesos exógenos. Para isso, utilizamos sessenta ratos adultos machos divididos em seis grupos: Sedentário Padrão (SP); Sedentário Hiperlipídico (SH); Natação Padrão (NP); Natação Hiperlipídica (NH); Força Padrão (FP); Força Hiperlipídica (FH). Após três semanas recebendo dieta padrão ou hiperlipídica, os animais iniciaram os protocolos de exercício. Os grupos NP e NH nadaram 60 minutos/dia, 5 dias/semana com carga de 5% do peso corporal atada ao corpo, em tanques de 50x30 cm, durante 8 semanas. Os grupos FP e FH realizaram exercício de subida em escada com pesos atados às suas caudas, uma vez a cada três dias, durante 8 semanas. Os animais dos grupos SP e SH continuaram sedentários e alimentados com suas respectivas dietas. A dieta hiperlipídica aumentou o ganho de massa corporal, peso relativo dos tecidos adiposos (epididimal, retroperitoneal, visceral e subcutâneo) e área de adipócitos (epididimal, retroperitoneal e visceral). Também aumentou o percentual de gordura de todos os tecidos adiposos e fígado, além de aumentar a expressão gênica do receptor CB1. Os grupos treinados apresentaram menores valores de área de adipócitos, melhora do perfil lipídico, menores valores no percentual de gordura dos tecidos adiposos e fígado, menores ganhos de massa corporal, além de menores expressão gênica do receptor CB1. Assim nossos resultados indicam os potenciais benefícios do treinamento força e natação, como alternativas não farmacológicas para controlar os efeitos deletérios da dieta hiperlipídica sobre o tecido adiposo, perfil lipídico, conteúdo lipídico e controle do desequilíbrio do sistema endocanabinóide provocado pela dieta hiperlipídica

Expressed sequence tag analysis of the human pathogen Paracoccidioides brasiliensis yeast phase: Identification of putative homologues of Candida albicans virulence and pathogenicity genes

Paracoccidioides brasiliensis, a thermodimorphic fungus, is the causative agent of the prevalent systemic mycosis in Latin America, paracoccidioidomycosis. We present here a survey of expressed genes in the yeast pathogenic phase of P. brasiliensis. We obtained 13,490 expressed sequence tags from both 5' and 3' ends. Clustering analysis yielded the partial sequences of 4,692 expressed genes that were functionally classified by similarity to known genes. We have identified several Candida albicans virulence and pathogenicity homologues in P. brasiliensis. Furthermore, we have analyzed the expression of some of these genes during the dimorphic yeast-mycelium-yeast transition by real-time quantitative reverse transcription-PCR. Clustering analysis of the mycelium-yeast transition revealed three groups: (i) RBT, hydrophobin, and isocitrate lyase; (ii) malate dehydrogenase, contigs Pb1067 and Pb1145, GPI, and alternative oxidase; and (iii) ubiquitin, delta-9-desaturase, HSP70, HSP82, and HSP104. the first two groups displayed high mRNA expression in the mycelial phase, whereas the third group showed higher mRNA expression in the yeast phase. Our results suggest the possible conservation of pathogenicity and virulence mechanisms among fungi, expand considerably gene identification in P. brasiliensis, and provide a broader basis for further progress in understanding its biological peculiarities.Univ São Paulo, Dept Ciencias Farmaceut, Fac Ciencias Farmaceut Ribeirao Preto, BR-14040903 Ribeirao Preto, SP, BrazilUniv São Paulo, Fac Filosofia Ciencias & Letras Ribeirao Pret, BR-14040903 Ribeirao Preto, SP, BrazilInst Pasteur, Unite Genet Mol Levures, Paris, FranceUniv Vale do Paraiba, UNIVAP, Vale Do Paraiba, BrazilUniv Mogi das Cruzes, Nucleo Integrado Biotecnol, Mogi Das Cruzes, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Microbiol Imunol & Parasitol, São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Microbiol Imunol & Parasitol, São Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc

Genome of the Avirulent Human-Infective Trypanosome—Trypanosoma rangeli

Background: Trypanosoma rangeli is a hemoflagellate protozoan parasite infecting humans and other wild and domestic mammals across Central and South America. It does not cause human disease, but it can be mistaken for the etiologic agent of Chagas disease, Trypanosoma cruzi. We have sequenced the T. rangeli genome to provide new tools for elucidating the distinct and intriguing biology of this species and the key pathways related to interaction with its arthropod and mammalian hosts.  Methodology/Principal Findings: The T. rangeli haploid genome is ,24 Mb in length, and is the smallest and least repetitive trypanosomatid genome sequenced thus far. This parasite genome has shorter subtelomeric sequences compared to those of T. cruzi and T. brucei; displays intraspecific karyotype variability and lacks minichromosomes. Of the predicted 7,613 protein coding sequences, functional annotations could be determined for 2,415, while 5,043 are hypothetical proteins, some with evidence of protein expression. 7,101 genes (93%) are shared with other trypanosomatids that infect humans. An ortholog of the dcl2 gene involved in the T. brucei RNAi pathway was found in T. rangeli, but the RNAi machinery is non-functional since the other genes in this pathway are pseudogenized. T. rangeli is highly susceptible to oxidative stress, a phenotype that may be explained by a smaller number of anti-oxidant defense enzymes and heatshock proteins.  Conclusions/Significance: Phylogenetic comparison of nuclear and mitochondrial genes indicates that T. rangeli and T. cruzi are equidistant from T. brucei. In addition to revealing new aspects of trypanosome co-evolution within the vertebrate and invertebrate hosts, comparative genomic analysis with pathogenic trypanosomatids provides valuable new information that can be further explored with the aim of developing better diagnostic tools and/or therapeutic targets

Human migration and the spread of malaria parasites to the New World

We examined the mitogenomes of a large global collection of human malaria parasites to explore how and when Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax entered the Americas. We found evidence of a significant contribution of African and South Asian lineages to present-day New World malaria parasites with additional P. vivax lineages appearing to originate from Melanesia that were putatively carried by the Australasian peoples who contributed genes to Native Americans. Importantly, mitochondrial lineages of the P. vivax-like species P. simium are shared by platyrrhine monkeys and humans in the Atlantic Forest ecosystem, but not across the Amazon, which most likely resulted from one or a few recent human-to-monkey transfers. While enslaved Africans were likely the main carriers of P. falciparum mitochondrial lineages into the Americas after the conquest, additional parasites carried by Australasian peoples in pre-Columbian times may have contributed to the extensive diversity of extant local populations of P. vivax