Plasticidade de células tronco mesenquimais de medula óssea de ratos na presença de meio condicionado do nervo facial e do fator de crescimento fibroblástico 2

A number of evidences show the influence of the growth of injured nerve fibers in Peripheral Nervous System (PNS) as well as potential implant stem cells (SCs) to make it more suitable for nerve regeneration medium. In this perspective, this study aimed to evaluate the plasticity of mesenchymal stem cells from bone marrow of mice in the presence of culture medium conditioned with facial nerve explants (D-10) and fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2). In this perspective, the cells were cultivated only with DMEM (group 1), only with D-10(group 2), only with FGF-2(group 3) or with D-10 and FGF-2(group 4). The growth and morphology were assessed over 72 hours. Quantitative phenotypic analysis was taken from the immunocytochemistry for GFAP, OX-42, MAP-2, β-tubulin III, NeuN and NF-200 on the fourth day of cultivation. Cells cultured with conditioned medium alone or combined with FGF-2 showed distinct morphological features similar apparent at certain times with neurons and glial cells and a significant proliferative activity in groups 2 and 4 throughout the days. Cells cultived only with conditioned medium acquired a glial phenotype. Cells cultured with FGF-2 and conditioned medium expressed GFAP, OX-42, MAP-2, β-tubulin III, NeuN and NF-200. On average, area and perimeter fo the group of cells positive for GFAP and the área of the cells immunostained for OX-42 were higher than those of the group 4. This study enabled the plasticity of mesenchymal cells (MCs) in neuronal and glial nineage and opened prospects for the search with cell therapy and transdifferentiation

Efeitos da cafeína sobre a memória de saguis (Callithrix jacchus)

Caffeine is considered the most consumed psychostimulant in the world, presenting several central and peripheral effects. In the Central Nervous System the major effect occur by its antagonistic activity at the A1 and A2a subtypes of the adenosine receptors. These receptors are responsible for the slow-wave sleep induction, and their binding, caused by the consumption of foods and beverages that contain caffeine, cause behaviors like increase of alertness, mood and locomotion. The effects of caffeine on memory are still discussed because of the diversity of experimental protocols. Also, it does not have the same effects on all stages of the processing of memory - acquisition, consolidation and recall. Thus, using the marmoset (Callitrhix jacchus) as subject, we aim to evaluate the effects of caffeine on the memory of this primate through the conditioned place preference paradigm, where the animal selects a context by presence of food. This cognitive task consists of five phases. The first phase was two sessions of pre-exposure, in which they were evaluated for preference for any compartment of the apparatus. Then, we proceeded the training, conditioning the animals to the food-present context for 8 days. Then, there was administration of caffeine or placebo (10mg/kg) for 8 consecutive days, during the pre-sleep phase, where the 20 animals were distributed in two groups: placebo and repeated. The forth phase was one day of retraining, a re-exposure of the apparatus to the marmosets followed by the administration of caffeine (for the repeated group and a new group called abstinence) or placebo (for placebo and abstinence groups). Finally, was the test where we evaluated if the subjects learned where the food was present. Moreover, in this work we evaluate the existence of differences between females and males on the task, and the locomotor activity for the experimental groups. The results showed that in the pre-exposure phase the animals were habituated on the apparatus and did not present differences for any contexts. In training, they were able to learn the conditioning task, independent of gender. For the retraining, the two groups exhibited more interactions in rewarded context than that in non-rewarded context. Nevertheless, in the locomotor activity, the repeated group moved similarly in contact with the apparatus and outside of it. In the other hand, the animals of the placebo group moved more when in contact with the apparatus. In the test phase, the marmosets under influence of caffeine presented an increase in the locomotor activity when compared with the placebo group, corroborating works that show this increase in locomotion. In the learning evaluation, the continuous and abstinence groups had a bad performance in the task in relation to the placebo and acute groups. This suggests that the prolonged administration of caffeine disrupts the memories because it affected sleep, which is largely responsible offline processing of memories

Estudo etnofarmacológico e fitoquímico das espécies medicinais Cleome spinosa Jacq, Pavonia varians Moric e Croton cajucara Benth

In this present work an ethnographic research was performed with 84 native medicinal specimens from the Litoral Norte Riograndense, from which two plants Cleome spinosa Jacq e Pavonia varians Moric were submitted to ethnobotanic, phytochemistry and pharmacologic investigations. Additionally, a phytopharmacological research of the medicinal specimen Croton cajucara Benth ( native plant of the Amazon region of Brazil) was improved. The obtained phytochemical results of the C. spinosa and P. varians showed the presence of flavonoids constituents, among other components. The two flavonoids (2S)-5-hydroxy-7,4 -dimethoxy-flavanone and 5,4 -dihydroxy-3,7,3 -trimethoxy-flavone were isolated from C. spinosa. The antioxidant activity of the hydroalcoholic extracts of C. spinosa and P. varians solubilized in the microemulsion systems SME-1 and SME-4, was evaluated in the DPPHmethod. The used SME systems [obtained with Tween 80: Span 20 (3:1) and isopropyl myristate (IPM)] improved the dissolution of those tested polar extracts, with higher efficacy to the SME-1 system (in which ethanol was included as cosurfactant). The CE50 values evidenced for P. varians were 114 [g/mL (SME-1) and 246 [g/mL (SME-4); for C. spinosa it was 224 [g/mL (SME-1) and 248 [g/mL (SME-4), being the system SME-1 more effective for both tested extracts. The hydroalcoholic extracts of P. varians (HAE-PV) was also submitted to pharmacological screening for antinociceptive activity in animal models. The oral administration of this extract (100, 300 and 1000 mg/kg) inhibited the acetic acid-induced writhing in mice. The higher inhibition (74%) was evidenced to the 1000 mg/kg administered dose. Its effect on the central nervous system (CNS) was investigated by tail flick and formalin-method and reveled that it has negligible antinociceptive action on the CNS. After taking consideration of HAE-PV interaction, Pavonia varians Moric could be used as a potent analgesic agent in case of peripheral algesia, without affecting the CNS. The phytochemical study of the stem bark of Croton cajucara Benth lead to the isolation of 19-nor-clerodanetype diterpenes, as well as to the separation of its fixed oil FO-CC. This non polar oil material reveled to be rich in sesquiterpenes and 19-nor-clerodanes components. The biologic effect of OF-CC was evaluated in the development in vitro of the fungis phytopatogens such as Fusarium oxysporum, Rhizoctonia solani and Sclerotium rolfsii. Significant inhibitory effect of the tested fungis (at 0,2 mg.mL-1 dosage) were comproved. A Mass Spectrometry study of clerodane-type diterpenes was developed in order to identify characteristic fragments on mass spectrometra of both clerodane and 19-nor-clerodane presenting an α,β-insaturated carbonyl moiety at ring A of the decalin-system. For that study, mass spectroscopy data were analysed for 19-nor-clerodanes [trans-dehydrocrotonin (DCTN), trans-crotonin (CTN), cis-cajucarin B (c-CJC-B), and cajucarinolide (CJCR)] and for clerodanes [isosacacarin (ISCR) and transcajucarin A (t-CJC-A)] obtained from the stem bark of C. cajucara, and also clerodane-type from other species. The trans-junction of the enone-system clerodanes was clear correlated with the presence of the characteristic ions at m/z 95, 121 e 205. Meanwhile, the characteristics ions at m/z 122 e 124 were correlated to cis-junction. The trans-junction of the enone-system 19-nor-clerodanes showed characteristics ions at m/z 161, 134 e 121. This study could be successful employed for identification of clerodane constituents from other specimens without any additional spectroscopic analyses, as well as a previously phytochemical analyzes in clerodane project search