Dipyrone Increases the Blood Flow of Arterial Dorsal Skin Flaps: Are Prospective Studies Always Properly Designed?

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Estradiol exerts antiapoptotic effects in skeletal myoblasts via mitochondrial PTP and MnSOD.

17beta-Estradiol (E2) protects several non-reproductive tissues from apoptosis, including skeletal muscle. We have shown that E2 at physiological concentrations prevented apoptosis induced by H2O2 in C2C12 skeletal myoblasts. As we also demonstrated the presence of estrogen receptors in mitochondria, the present work was focused on the effects of E2 on this organelle. Specifically, we evaluated the actions of E2 on the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (MPTP) by the calcein-acetoxymethylester/cobalt method using fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry. Pretreatment with E2 prevented MPTP opening induced by H2O2, which preceded loss of mitochondrial membrane potential. In addition, it was observed that H2O2 induced translocation of Bax to mitochondria; however, in the presence of the steroid this effect was abrogated suggesting that members of the Bcl-2 family may be regulated by E2 to exert an antiapoptotic effect. Moreover, E2 increased mitochondrial manganese superoxide dismutase protein expression and activity, as part of a mechanism activated by E2 that improved mitochondrial performance. Our results suggest a role of E2 in the regulation of apoptosis with a clear action at the mitochondrial level in C2C12 skeletal myoblast cells.Fil: la Colla, Anabela Belén. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Vasconsuelo, Andrea Anahi. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Boland, Ricardo Leopoldo. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Mitochondrial dysfunction and epigenetics underlying the link between early-life nutrition and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Early-life malnutrition plays a critical role in fetal development and predispose to the appearance of metabolic diseases in later life, according to the concept of 'developmental programming'. Different types of early nutritional imbalances, including undernutrition, overnutrition or micronutrient deficiency have been related to long-term metabolic disorders. Accumulating evidence has demonstrated that disturbances in nutrition during the period of preconception, pregnancy and primary infancy can affect mitochondrial function and epigenetic mechanisms. Moreover, even though multiple mechanisms underlying non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) have been described, in the last years special attention has been given to mitochondrial dysfunction and epigenetic alterations. Mitochondria play a key role in cellular metabolic functions. Dysfunctional mitochondria contribute to oxidative stress, insulin resistance and inflammation. Epigenetic mechanisms have been related to alterations in genes involved in lipid metabolism, fibrogenesis, inflammation and tumorigenesis. In accordance, studies have reported that mitochondrial dysfunction and epigenetics linked to early-life nutrition can be important contributing factors in the pathogenesis of NAFLD. In this review, we summarize the current understanding of the interplay between mitochondrial dysfunction, epigenetics and nutrition during early life, which is relevant to developmental programming of NAFLD.Fil: la Colla, Anabela Belén. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; ArgentinaFil: Camara, Carolina Anahí. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata; ArgentinaFil: Campisano, Sabrina Edith. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata; ArgentinaFil: Chisari, Andrea Nancy. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata; Argentin

Interplay between early-life malnutrition, epigenetic modulation of the immune function and liver diseases

Early-life nutrition plays a critical role in fetal growth and development. Food intake absence and excess are the two main types of energy malnutrition that predispose to the appearance of diseases in adulthood, according to the hypothesis of 'developmental origins of health and disease'. Epidemiological data have shown an association between early-life malnutrition and the metabolic syndrome in later life. Evidence has also demonstrated that nutrition during this period of life can affect the development of the immune system through epigenetic mechanisms. Thus, epigenetics has an essential role in the complex interplay between environmental factors and genetics. Altogether, this leads to the inflammatory response that is commonly seen in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), the hepatic manifestation of the metabolic syndrome. In conjunction, DNA methylation, covalent modification of histones and the expression of non-coding RNA are the epigenetic phenomena that affect inflammatory processes in the context of NAFLD. Here, we highlight current understanding of the mechanisms underlying developmental programming of NAFLD linked to epigenetic modulation of the immune system and environmental factors, such as malnutrition.Fil: Campisano, Sabrina Edith. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Química; ArgentinaFil: la Colla, Anabela Belén. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Química; ArgentinaFil: Echarte, Stella Maris. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Química; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata; ArgentinaFil: Chisari, Andrea Nancy. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Química; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Química; Argentin

High passage numbers induce resistance to apoptosis in C2C12 muscle cells

Cell lines with high passage numbers exhibit alterations in cell Morphology and functions. In the present work, C2C12 skeletal muscle cells with either low (60) passage numbers (identified as l-C2C12 or h-C2C12, respectively) were used to investigate the apoptotic response to H2O2 as a function of culture age h-C2C12. We found that older cultures (h-C2C12 group) were depleted of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). When we analyzed the behavior of Bad, Bax, caspase-3 and mitochondrial transmembrane potential, we observed that cells in the h-C2C12 group were resistant to H2O2 induction of apoptosis. We propose serially cultured C2C12 cells as a refractory model to H2O2-induced apoptosis. In addition, the data obtained in this work suggest that mtDNA is required for apoptotic cell death in skeletal muscle C2C12 cells.Fil: Pronsato, Lucía. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia; Argentina; Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico - CONICET - Bahia Blanca; Argentina;Fil: la Colla, Anabela Belén. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia. Laboratorio de Química Biológica; Argentina; Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico - CONICET - Bahia Blanca; Argentina;Fil: Ronda, Ana Carolina. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia. Cátedra de Química Biológica; Argentina; Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico - CONICET - Bahia Blanca; Argentina;Fil: Milanesi, Lorena Magdalena. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia. Laboratorio de Química Biológica; Argentina; Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico - CONICET - Bahia Blanca; Argentina;Fil: Boland, Ricardo Leopoldo. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia; Argentina; Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico - CONICET - Bahia Blanca; Argentina;Fil: Vasconsuelo, Andrea Anahi. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia. Laboratorio de Química Biológica; Argentina; Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico - CONICET - Bahia Blanca; Argentina

El 17β-Estradiol y la Testosterona protegen a las mitocondrias contra el estrés oxidativo en Células del Músculo Esquelético

En trabajos previos demostramos que la testosterona (T) y el 17β-estradiol (E2) protegen a las células musculares C2C12 de la apoptosis inducida por peróxido de hidrógeno (H2O2). Conjuntamente evidenciamos la existencia de receptores de estrógenos y andrógenos en las mitocondrias. El presente trabajo se ha centrado en caracterizar los efectos de ambos esteroides en esta organela, que conducen a la supervivencia celular. Específicamente, se evaluaron las acciones de T y E2 sobre el potencial de membrana mitocondrial con el colorante JC-1 y sobre el poro de permeabilidad transitoria mitocondrial (MPTP) mediante el método de calcein-acetoxymethylester/cobalt, utilizando microscopía de fluorescencia y citometría de flujo. Demostramos que T y E2 previenen la apertura del MPTP y la pérdida de potencial de membrana mitocondrial inducidas por H2O2. Además, observamos que el H2O2 aumenta los niveles de expresión proteica del canal aniónico dependiente de voltaje (VDAC) e induce la translocación de Bax a mitocondria. Sin embargo, en presencia de las hormonas la translocación de Bax fue inhibida lo cual sugiere que los miembros de la familia Bcl -2 pueden ser regulados por E2 y T. Los eventos moleculares desencadenados por E2 y T a nivel mitocondrial se reflejaron en la morfología de las organelas. El análisis microscópico de las células C2C12 y cultivos primarios de músculo esquelético de ratón, mediante tinciones con verde de Jano y Mitotracker reveló un efecto protector de los esteroides contra el daño por estrés oxidativo inhibiendo la redistribución y picnosis mitocondrial.We have previously shown that testosterone (T) and 17β-estradiol (E2) protect C2C12 muscle cells against apoptosis induced by hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Since we also showed the presence of estrogen and androgen Receptors in mitochondria, this work was focused on the effects of both steroids on this organelle, which result in cellular survival. Specifically, we evaluated the actions of T and E2 on the mitochondrial membrane potential with JC-1 dye and on the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (MPTP) by the calceinacetoxymethylester (AM)/cobalt method, using fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry. We demonstrated that T and E2 prevent MPTP opening and the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential induced by H2O2. In addition, it was observed that H2O2 increase voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC) protein expression levels and induce translocation of Bax to mitochondria. However, in the presence of the steroids Bax translocation was abrogated suggesting that members of the Bcl-2 family may be regulated by E2 and T. The observed effects triggered by E2 and T were reflected on mitochondrial morphology. Microscopic analysis of C2C12 cells and primary cultures of mouse skeletal muscle, with Janus Green and Mitotracker staining revealed a protective effect of the steroids against oxidative stress damage which included mitochondrial redistribution and pyknosis of the organelle.Fil: la Colla, Anabela Belén. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia; ArgentinaFil: Pronsato, Lucía. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnológico Bahia Blanca. Instituto de Ciencias Biologicas y Biomedicas del Sur; ArgentinaFil: Ronda, Ana Carolina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Bahía Blanca. Instituto Argentino de Oceanografía (i); Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia; ArgentinaFil: Milanesi, Lorena Magdalena. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnológico Bahia Blanca. Instituto de Ciencias Biologicas y Biomedicas del Sur; ArgentinaFil: Vasconsuelo, Andrea Anahi. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnológico Bahia Blanca. Instituto de Ciencias Biologicas y Biomedicas del Sur; ArgentinaFil: Boland, Ricardo Leopoldo. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnológico Bahia Blanca. Instituto de Ciencias Biologicas y Biomedicas del Sur; Argentin

Impact of blue-collar vs. white-collar occupations on disease burden in psoriatic arthritis patients: A Swiss clinical quality management in rheumatic diseases cohort study.

Biomechanical stress may exacerbate inflammation in psoriatic arthritis (PsA). This study aimed to investigate disease activity, work disability, and drug response/retention rates in PsA patients among two different occupation's types: blue-collar workers (BCol) with manual labor versus white-collar workers (WCol) with sedentary occupations. PsA patients registered in the Swiss cohort (SCQM) were classified as BCol or WCol workers and assessed at the initiation of a biologic or targeted synthetic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug (b-/tsDMARD). We compared the baseline characteristics at treatment start and the DAS28-CRP for the 1-year remission. Treatment retention was investigated using Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox regression analysis. Multivariable models were adjusted for potential confounders. Of 564 patients, 29% were BCol, and 71% were WCol workers. Baseline disease activity was comparable between both groups. BCol workers were predominantly male (79.8%) and more work disabled at baseline (84.0% vs. 27.9%; p < 0.01). One hundred seventy-four treatment courses (TCs) of 165 PsA patients were included for longitudinal analysis. Occupation did not significantly influence the achievement of DAS28-CRP remission at 1 year. Kaplan-Meier analysis (n = 671) indicated longer retention for BCol workers (mean retention duration: 3.15 years vs. 2.15 years, (p = 0.006). However, adjusted Cox regression analysis did not corroborate these findings. This study indicates that physically demanding occupations correlate with increased rates of work disability among PsA patients, while treatment response seems to be unaffected by the patients' occupation type. Additional research is required to thoroughly comprehend the relationship between physical workload, disease activity, and treatment outcomes. Key Points • This study indicates that physically demanding occupations correlate with increased rates of work disability among PsA patients. • The treatment response among of PsA patients seems unaffected by the patients' occupation type

Glutathione-mediated antioxidant response and aerobic metabolism: two crucial factors involved in determining the multi-drug resistance of high-risk neuroblastoma

Neuroblastoma, a paediatric malignant tumor, is initially sensitive to etoposide, a drug to which many patients develop chemoresistance. In order to investigate the molecular mechanisms responsible for etoposide chemoresistance, HTLA-230, a human MYCN-amplified neuroblastoma cell line, was chronically treated with etoposide at a concentration that in vitro mimics the clinically-used dose. The selected cells (HTLA-Chr) acquire multi-drug resistance (MDR), becoming less sensitive than parental cells to high doses of etoposide or doxorubicin. MDR is due to several mechanisms that together contribute to maintaining non-toxic levels of H2O2. In fact, HTLA-Chr cells, while having an efficient aerobic metabolism, are also characterized by an up-regulation of catalase activity and higher levels of reduced glutathione (GSH), a thiol antioxidant compound. The combination of such mechanisms contributes to prevent membrane lipoperoxidation and cell death. Treatment of HTLA-Chr cells with L-Buthionine-sulfoximine, an inhibitor of GSH biosynthesis, markedly reduces their tumorigenic potential that is instead enhanced by the exposure to N-Acetylcysteine, able to promote GSH synthesis.Collectively, these results demonstrate that GSH and GSH-related responses play a crucial role in the acquisition of MDR and suggest that GSH level monitoring is an efficient strategy to early identify the onset of drug resistance and to control the patient's response to therapy

Treating schizophrenia with cariprazine : from clinical research to clinical practice. Real world experiences and recommendations from an International Panel

Altres ajuts: Supported by an unrestricted grant from Recordati.Management of schizophrenia is sub-optimal in many patients. Targeting negative symptoms, among the most debilitating aspects of schizophrenia, together with positive symptoms, can result in significant functional benefits and dramatically improve quality of life for patients and their carers. Cariprazine, a partial agonist of the dopamine receptors D2/D3 has demonstrated effectiveness across symptom domains in clinical trials, particularly on negative symptoms. To obtain a broader insight from clinicians with specific experience with cariprazine, on how it affects patient populations outside the clinical trial setting. The panel addressed a series of psychopharmacologic topics not comprehensively addressed by the evidence-based literature, including characteristics of patients treated, dosing and switching strategies, duration of therapy, role of concomitant medications and tolerability as well as recommendations on how to individualize cariprazine treatment for patients with schizophrenia. Patients recommended for cariprazine treatment are those with first episodes of psychosis, predominant negative symptoms (maintenance/acute phase) and significant side effects (metabolic side effects, hyperprolactinemia, sedation) with other antipsychotics. When the long-term treatment of a lifetime illness is adequately weighted, cariprazine becomes one of the first-line medications, not only for patients with predominant negative symptoms but also for those with relatively severe positive symptoms, especially if they are at the first episodes and if a specific medication is added for symptoms such as agitation or insomnia. For instance, patients with agitation may also benefit from the combination of cariprazine and a benzodiazepine or another sedating agent. Cariprazine may be prescribed as add-on to medications such as clozapine, when that medication alone is ineffective for negative symptoms, and sometimes the first may be discontinued or its dose lowered, after a period of stability, leaving the patient on a better tolerated antipsychotic regimen. Based on real-world clinical experience, the panel considered that cariprazine, with its distinct advantages including pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics, good efficacy and tolerability, represents a drug of choice in the long-term management of schizophrenia not only for patients with predominant negative symptoms but also for those with positive symptoms