Circulating leukocyte heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) and oxidative stress markers in rats after a bout of exhaustive exercise

A novel method to measure oxidative stress resulting from exhaustive exercise in rats is presented. In this new procedure we evaluated the erythrocyte antioxidant enzymes, catalase ( CAT) and glutathione reductase (GR), the plasma oxidative attack markers, reactive carbonyl derivatives (RCD) and thiobarbituric reactive substances (TBARS). Muscular tissue damage was evaluated by monitoring plasma creatine kinase (CK) and plasma taurine ( Tau) concentrations. Also, we monitored total sulphydryl groups (TSG) and uric acid (UA), and the level of the 70 kDa heat shock protein (HSP70) in leukocytes as a marker of oxidative stress. In the study we found a correspondence between erythrocyte CAT and GR activities and leukocyte HSP70 levels, principally 3 h after the acute exercise, and this suggested an integrated mechanism of antioxidant defense. The increase in levels of plasma Tau was coincident with the increasing plasma levels of CK and TBARS, principally after two hours of exercise. Thus tissue damage occurred before the expression of any anti-oxidant system markers and the monitoring of Tau, CK or TBARS may be important for the estimation of oxidative stress during exhaustive exercise. Furthermore, the integrated analyses could be of value in a clinical setting to quantify the extent of oxidative stress risk and reduce the need to perform muscle biopsies as a tool of clinical evaluation.

Evolutionary transition to freshwater by ancestral marine palaemonids: evidence from osmoregulation in a tide pool shrimp

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Intra- and extracellular osmotic regulation in the hololimnetic Caridea and Anomura: a phylogenetic perspective on the conquest of fresh water by the decapod Crustacea

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Low glyphosate rates do not affect Citrus limonia (L.) Osbeck seedlings

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Glyphosate has low toxicity to citrus plants growing in the field

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Sucrose and nitrogen supplies regulate growth of maize kernels

The growth of maize (Zea mays L.) kernels depends on the availability of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) assimilates supplied by the mother plant and the capacity of the kernel to use them. Our objectives were to study the effects of N and sucrose supply levels on growth and metabolism of maize kernels. Kernel explants of Pioneer 34RO6 were cultured in vitro with varying combinations of N (5 to 30 mM) and sucrose (117 to 467 mM). Maximum kernel growth was obtained with 10 mM N and 292 mM sucrose in the medium, and a deficiency of one assimilate could not be overcome by a sufficiency of the other. Increasing the N supply led to increases in the kernel sink capacity (number of cells and starch granules in the endosperm), activity of certain enzymes (soluble and bound invertases, sucrose synthase, and aspartate aminotransaminase), starch, and the levels of N compounds (total-N, soluble protein, and free amino acids), and decreased the levels of C metabolites (sucrose and reducing sugars). Conversely, increasing the sucrose supply increased the level of endosperm C metabolites, free amino acids, and ADPG-PPase and alanine transaminase activities, but decreased the activity of soluble invertase and concentrations of soluble protein and total-N. Thus, while C and N are interdependent and essential for accumulation of maximum kernel weight, they appear to regulate growth by different means. Nitrogen supply aids the establishment of kernel sink capacity, and promotes activity of enzymes relating to sucrose and nitrogen uptake, while sucrose regulates the activities df invertase and ADPG-PPase. (C) 1999 Annals of Botany Company.

Efeito do déficit hídrico na efiCiência de herbicidas e nas características bioquímicas de Ipomoea grandifolia

O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a eficácia dos herbicidas inibidores da ALS e PROTOX no controle de Ipomoea grandifolia sob dois níveis de déficit hídrico, bem como determinar a influência desse déficit hídrico sobre o conteúdo de carboidratos solúveis, proteínas totais e aminoácidos livres da planta daninha. O trabalho foi conduzido em casa de vegetação, no delineamento experimental inteiramente casualizado, com os tratamentos dispostos em esquema fatorial 4 x 2, sendo quatro herbicidas (fomesafen, lactofen, chlorimuron-ethyl e imazethapyr) e dois níveis de déficit hídrico (com e sem déficit: -0,5 MPa e -0,01 MPa, respectivamente). Aos 7, 14, 21 e 28 dias após a aplicação, o controle foi avaliado de forma visual, e a determinação dos solutos orgânicos foi feita 24, 48, 72 e 96 horas após a aplicação dos herbicidas. À exceção de chlorimuron-ethyl, os demais herbicidas controlaram eficientemente I. grandifolia. A eficiência de controle dos herbicidas foi afetada pela condição de déficit hídrico. Os herbicidas elevaram o conteúdo de carboidratos solúveis, independentemente da condição hídrica, e proporcionaram redução de proteínas solúveis nas plantas de I. grandifolia, bem como aumentaram as concentrações de aminoácidos livres.

Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Sweet Lupin, Chickpea, and Lentil 11S Globulins Decreases their Antigenic Activity

We investigated the effects of treatments with the enzymes pepsin and trypsin on the in vitro immunological reactivity of the major globulins found in the seeds of sweet lupin, chickpea, and lentil. Polyclonal major globulin-specific antiserum was obtained by immunization of rabbits with a solution of the 11 S globulin of each legume. The globulins were hydrolyzed with pepsin and trypsin for 1, 5, 15, and 30 min. The native globulins and their hydrolysates were analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and immunoblotting to identify the polypeptide bands with antigenic activity, and the hypoantigenicity of the hydrolysates was analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Our results show that enzymatic treatment of the major storage protein (11 S globulin) of sweet lupin, chickpea, and lentil with pepsin or trypsin lead to the formation of large amounts of short peptides and free amino acids that do not allow antibody binding, resulting in a weakened immunoreactivity.

Avaliação nutricional, em tilápias-do-nilo, de farinhas de sangue bovino obtidas por três métodos de processamento

Avaliaram-se farinhas de sangue obtidas pelos métodos de processamento em tambor, convencional e atomização. As farinhas foram submetidas ao processo de extração e fracionamento da proteína para determinação do perfil do tamanho molecular, que foi comparado ao do sangue bovino in natura. Nas amostras, submetidas ou não ao processo de desengorduramento, foram realizadas análises da digestibilidade in vitro da proteína. Para determinação dos coeficientes de digestibilidade dos nutrientes in vivo, foram confeccionadas quatros rações, sendo uma sem farinha de sangue, denominada ração-referência purificada. Para essa etapa, juvenis de tilápia-do-nilo com peso médio inicial de 100,0±5,0 g foram estocados em aquários de 250 L, em delineamento de blocos casualizados, com quatro repetições e dez peixes/unidade experimental. As rações-teste foram obtidas com a introdução de 30% das farinhas de sangue em estudo. O processamento afetou a estrutura proteica original do sangue in natura em condições de alta temperatura e tempo prolongado, efeito traduzido pela alta proporção de peptídeos de baixo peso molecular e aminoácidos livres, correspondendo a baixos valores de digestibilidade da proteína da farinha de sangue nos testes in vivo e in vitro. A farinha de sangue atomizada e a de tambor são eficientemente utilizadas por tilápias-do-nilo. Na farinha de sangue convencional, a proteína teve valor biológico inferior ao das outras duas farinhas. Na formulação de rações contendo farinha de sangue para tilápias-do-nilo, a isoleucina deve ser considerada o primeiro aminoácido limitante, seguida pela metionina+cistina, arginina e treonina, que foram encontradas em níveis críticos para essa espécie, principalmente na farinha de sangue convencional.

Growth and photosynthetic down-regulation in Coffea arabica in response to restricted root volume

Coffee (Coffea arabica L.) plants were grown in small (3-L), medium (10-L) and large (24-L) pots for 115 or 165 d after transplanting (DAT), which allowed different degrees of root restriction. Effects of altered source : sink ratio were evaluated in order to explore possible stomatal and non-stomatal mechanisms of photosynthetic down-regulation. Increasing root restriction brought about large and general reductions in plant growth associated with a rising root : shoot ratio. Treatments did not affect leaf water potential or leaf nutrient status, with the exception of N content, which dropped significantly with increasing root restriction even though an adequate N supply was available. Photosynthesis was severely reduced when plants were grown in small pots; this was largely associated with non-stomatal factors, such as decreased Rubisco activity. At 165DAT contents of hexose, sucrose, and amino acids decreased in plants grown in smaller pots, while those of starch and hexose-P increased in plants grown in smaller pots. Photosynthetic rates were negatively correlated with the ratio of hexose to free amino acids, but not with hexose content. Activities of acid invertase, sucrose synthase, sucrose-P synthase, fructose-1,6- bisphosphatase, ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase, starch phosphorylase, glyceraldehyde-3-P dehydrogenase, PPi : fructose-6-P 1-phosphotransferase and NADP : glyceraldehyde-3-P dehydrogenase all decreased with severe root restriction. Glycerate-3-P : Pi and glucose-6-P : fructose-6-P ratios decreased accordingly. Photosynthetic down-regulation was unlikely to have been associated directly with an end-product limitation, but rather with decreases in Rubisco. Such a down-regulation was largely a result of N deficiency caused by growing coffee plants in small pots.

Chronic social stress in rainbow trout: Does it promote physiological habituation?

The effect of chronic social stress on growth, energetic substrates and hormones was tested in rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss. After a 14-day isolation period, the fish were paired for 8 days. In order to expose fish to chronic intermittent social contact during pairing, they were maintained in direct contact with each other during the first day. After that, a black plastic screen partition was introduced in each tank, preventing direct contact between animals. Every day the partition was removed for 30 min, allowing physical interaction between fish. At the end of pairing period, they were isolated again for 13 days. Fish were weighed and blood was sampled frequently during the experiment. Plasma levels of cortisol, growth hormone, glucose, total protein and free amino acids were quantified. Both dominants and subordinates had specific growth rate decreased during the pairing period, but only subordinates increased when the stressor was abolished (dominants: 0.32 +/- 0.21 and 0.24 +/- 0.41, subordinates: -0.77 +/- 0.29 and 0.37 +/- 0.31, respectively). Dominants showed a higher cortisol level one week after pairing condition had been abolished than subordinates (dominants: 56.76 +/- 13.26, subordinates: 31.89 +/- 13.36). We conclude that chronic condition of intermittent social stress represents a stressful condition for animals of both hierarchical ranks and a treatment of one daily short direct contact between conspecifics does not promote habituation in fish, as mentioned for other stressors. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Atrophic Cardiac Remodeling Induced by Taurine Deficiency in Wistar Rats

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Glucose and Fructose Fermentation by Wine Yeasts in Media Containing Structurally Complex Nitrogen Sources

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Sucrose Fermentation by Brazilian Ethanol Production Yeasts in Media Containing Structurally Complex Nitrogen Sources

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

O efeito da complexidade estrutural da fonte de nitrogênio no transporte de amônio em Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)