Mycobacterium bovis BCG but not Mycobacterium leprae induces TNF-alpha secretion in human monocytic THP-1 cells

In this study, we compared the level of TNF-alpha secretion induced in monocytic THP-1 cells after phagocytosis of Mycobacterium leprae, the causative agent of leprosy, and M. bovis BCG, an attenuated strain used as a vaccine against leprosy and tuberculosis. The presence of M. leprae and BCG was observed in more than 80% of the cells after 24 h of exposure. However, BCG but not M. leprae was able to induce TNF-alpha secretion in these cells. Moreover, THP-1 cells treated simultaneously with BCG and M. leprae secreted lower levels of TNF-alpha compared to cells incubated with BCG alone. M. leprae was able, however, to induce TNF-alpha secretion both in blood-derived monocytes as well as in THP-1 cells pretreated with phorbol myristate acetate. The inclusion of streptomycin in our cultures, together with the fact that the use of both gamma-irradiated M. leprae and heat-killed BCG gave similar results, indicate that the differences observed were not due to differences in viability but in intrinsic properties between M. leprae and BCG. These data suggest that the capacity of M. leprae to induce TNF-alpha is dependent on the stage of cell maturation and emphasize the potential of this model to explore differences in the effects triggered by vaccine strain versus pathogenic species of mycobacteria on the host cell physiology and metabolism.

Circadian rhythms in insect disease vectors

Organisms from bacteria to humans have evolved under predictable daily environmental cycles owing to the Earth’s rotation. This strong selection pressure has generated endogenous circadian clocks that regulate many aspects of behaviour, physiology and metabolism, anticipating and synchronising internal time-keeping to changes in the cyclical environment. In haematophagous insect vectors the circadian clock coordinates feeding activity, which is important for the dynamics of pathogen transmission. We have recently witnessed a substantial advance in molecular studies of circadian clocks in insect vector species that has consolidated behavioural data collected over many years, which provided insights into the regulation of the clock in the wild. Next generation sequencing technologies will facilitate the study of vector genomes/transcriptomes both among and within species and illuminate some of the species-specific patterns of adaptive circadian phenotypes that are observed in the field and in the laboratory. In this review we will explore these recent findings and attempt to identify potential areas for further investigation.

Vine-cacti pitayas: the new crops of the world

Until 1994, only scarce research existed on these plants; however the worldwide interest in this novel fruit crop is evident, as numbers of pitaya-related publications have grown rapidly, especially during the past decade .There is a big confusion about both botanical and commercial names and there is a need to clear this point. Herein, we attempt to review existing knowledge on the taxonomy, breeding and other horticultural characteristics of this unique crop. This paper comments abou taxonomy,breeding,physiology and horticultura e chatera ristics,postsharvest and uses.

Uma visão da química bioinorgânica medicinal

Metals play a vital role in human and plant physiology and important research is directed towards exploring the interrelated mechanisms that govern their interactions with biomolecules. Bioinorganic medicinal chemistry studies the functions, processing, storage and applications of metal ions and their complexes in biological systems. This paper presents a brief discussion about on interactions of metals with biomolecules that determine their intracellular accumulation, where metal ions may fulfill essential functions in cellular metabolism or, in certain cases, exert toxic effects towards cells.

O uso da prótese na correção das hérnias da parede abdominal é um avanço, mas o seu uso indiscriminado, um abuso

The objective is to alert the surgeon about the indiscriminate use of synthetic prosthesis in the correction of inguinal and incisional hernias. The authors provide a brief history of surgery on hernias and a review of the literature, showing the importance of classifying inguinal hernias to fit the type of surgical correction with the defect found, abstaining from treating all hernias, with the same type of surgical procedure. In our opinion, small indirect inguinal hernias (type 1 and 2 of Gilbert) and hernias in women must not, in general, be treated with prostheses. The synthetic material should be reserved for direct and large indirect hernias. Even so, this attitude, besides determining a higher cost for the procedure, can lead to important complications such as infection, rejection, fistula formation, chronic pain, alterations in spermatogenesis and the possibility of carcinogenesis, according to more recent reports. The physiology and anatomy of the abdominal wall should be considered when dealing with incisional hernia corrections, where the surgeon can choose among many techniques to correct those defects, and in selected cases, utilize synthetic material. We conclude that although the use of biomaterials has constituted a great advance in surgery for abdominal wall hernia corrections because they decrease recurrences, and permit treatment of large abdominal hernias, the indiscriminate prosthesis usage is an abuse, and it can determine many serious complications, certainly avoidable with a well indicated non mesh technique .

Malária grave em gestantes

OBJETIVO: analisar a evolução clínica de três pacientes grávidas com malária grave internadas em unidade de terapia intensiva de um hospital localizado em Porto Velho (RO). MÉTODOS: foi realizado estudo descritivo em três gestantes, portadoras de malária por Plasmodium falciparum, internadas em unidade de terapia intensiva em Porto Velho, no período de 2005 a 2006. As variáveis categóricas utilizadas foram os critérios de classificação da Organização Mundial de Saúde para classificação de malária grave e os índices Acute Physiology and Chronic Health disease Classification System II (APACHE II) e Sepsis Related Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) preditores de morbidade e gravidade das doenças em unidade de terapia intensiva. RESULTADOS: a malária adquirida pelas gestantes, caracterizada pela infecção por Plasmodium falciparum na forma grave da doença, resultou em óbito para as três pacientes e seus conceptos. CONCLUSÕES: embora a casuística seja pequena, a importância deste estudo reflete a repercussão da malária grave em gestantes, bem como a necessidade de um acompanhamento pré-natal mais criterioso e atento à identificação precoce do início das complicações da malária em gestantes.

Rock outcrop vegetation in Brazil: a brief overview

This paper overviews the special issue of the Brazilian Journal of Botany dedicated to "Rock outcrop vegetation in Brazil". The main topics covered by this issue are phytogeography and vegetation ecology, plant life on shallow soils, plant reproduction and auto-ecology, morpho-physiology and plant adaptation, and finally conservation and global change. This collection of studies, in addition to other recent publications on Brazilian rocky outcrop vegetation, show that measurements of most of the relevant ecological and evolutionary parameters are under way and that scientific attention is now given to most Brazilian regions. However, there are still several gaps to be bridged: 1) inselbergs and high mountains in the Amazon and the Brazilian northeast, in particular, are still largely unknown to science; 2) long-term studies are almost totally unavailable, which hinders global change monitoring and assessment; 3) national and international networking are urgently needed to speed up scientific production about such habitats.

Evolution of circadian organization in vertebrates

Circadian organization means the way in which the entire circadian system above the cellular level is put together physically and the principles and rules that determine the interactions among its component parts which produce overt rhythms of physiology and behavior. Understanding this organization and its evolution is of practical importance as well as of basic interest. The first major problem that we face is the difficulty of making sense of the apparently great diversity that we observe in circadian organization of diverse vertebrates. Some of this diversity falls neatly into place along phylogenetic lines leading to firm generalizations: i) in all vertebrates there is a "circadian axis" consisting of the retinas, the pineal gland and the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), ii) in many non-mammalian vertebrates of all classes (but not in any mammals) the pineal gland is both a photoreceptor and a circadian oscillator, and iii) in all non-mammalian vertebrates (but not in any mammals) there are extraretinal (and extrapineal) circadian photoreceptors. An interesting explanation of some of these facts, especially the differences between mammals and other vertebrates, can be constructed on the assumption that early in their evolution mammals passed through a "nocturnal bottleneck". On the other hand, a good deal of the diversity among the circadian systems of vertebrates does not fall neatly into place along phylogenetic lines. In the present review we will consider how we might better understand such "phylogenetically incoherent" diversity and what sorts of new information may help to further our understanding of the evolution of circadian organization in vertebrates

Towards understanding the kallikrein-kinin system: insights from measurement of kinin peptides

The kallikrein-kinin system is complex, with several bioactive peptides that are formed in many different compartments. Kinin peptides are implicated in many physiological and pathological processes including the regulation of blood pressure and sodium homeostasis, inflammatory processes, and the cardioprotective effects of preconditioning. We established a methodology for the measurement of individual kinin peptides in order to study the function of the kallikrein-kinin system. The levels of kinin peptides in tissues were higher than in blood, confirming the primary tissue localization of the kallikrein-kinin system. Moreover, the separate measurement of bradykinin and kallidin peptides in man demonstrated the differential regulation of the plasma and tissue kallikrein-kinin systems, respectively. Kinin peptide levels were increased in the heart of rats with myocardial infarction, in tissues of diabetic and spontaneously hypertensive rats, and in urine of patients with interstitial cystitis, suggesting a role for kinin peptides in the pathogenesis of these conditions. By contrast, blood levels of kallidin, but not bradykinin, peptides were suppressed in patients with severe cardiac failure, suggesting that the activity of the tissue kallikrein-kinin system may be suppressed in this condition. Both angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) and neutral endopeptidase (NEP) inhibitors increased bradykinin peptide levels. ACE and NEP inhibitors had different effects on kinin peptide levels in blood, urine, and tissues, which may be accounted for by the differential contributions of ACE and NEP to kinin peptide metabolism in the multiple compartments in which kinin peptide generation occurs. Measurement of the levels of individual kinin peptides has given important information about the operation of the kallikrein-kinin system and its role in physiology and disease states.

TP53 codon 72 polymorphism as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease in a Brazilian population

TP53, a tumor suppressor gene, has a critical role in cell cycle, apoptosis and cell senescence and participates in many crucial physiological and pathological processes. Identification of TP53 polymorphism in older people and age-related diseases may provide an understanding of its physiology and pathophysiological role as well as risk factors for complex diseases. TP53 codon 72 (TP53:72) polymorphism was investigated in 383 individuals aged 66 to 97 years in a cohort from a Brazilian Elderly Longitudinal Study. We investigated allele frequency, genotype distribution and allele association with morbidities such as cardiovascular disease, type II diabetes, obesity, neoplasia, low cognitive level (dementia), and depression. We also determined the association of this polymorphism with serum lipid fractions and urea, creatinine, albumin, fasting glucose, and glycated hemoglobin levels. DNA was isolated from blood cells, amplified by PCR using sense 5'-TTGCCGTCCCAAGCAATGGATGA-3' and antisense 5'-TCTGGGAAGGGACAGAAGATGAC-3' primers and digested with the BstUI enzyme. This polymorphism is within exon 4 at nucleotide residue 347. Descriptive statistics, logistic regression analysis and Student t-test using the multiple comparison test were used. Allele frequencies, R (Arg) = 0.69 and P (Pro) = 0.31, were similar to other populations. Genotype distributions were within Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. This polymorphism did not show significant association with any age-related disease or serum variables. However, R allele carriers showed lower HDL levels and a higher frequency of cardiovascular disease than P allele subjects. These findings may help to elucidate the physiopathological role of TP53:72 polymorphism in Brazilian elderly people.

TMEM16 proteins: the long awaited calcium-activated chloride channels?

Currents mediated by calcium-activated chloride channels (CaCCs), observed for the first time in Xenopus oocytes, have been recorded in many cells and tissues ranging from different types of neurons to epithelial and muscle cells. CaCCs play a role in the regulation of excitability in neurons including sensory receptors. In addition, they are crucial mediators of chloride movements in epithelial cells where their activity regulates electrolyte and fluid transport. The roles of CaCCs, particularly in epithelia, are briefly reviewed with emphasis on their function in secretory epithelia. The recent identification by three independent groups, using different strategies, of TMEM16A as the molecular counterpart of the CaCC is discussed. TMEM16A is part of a family that has 10 other members in mice. The discovery of the potential TMEM16 anion channel activity opens the way for the molecular investigation of the role of these anion channels in specific cells and in organ physiology and pathophysiology. The identification of TMEM16A protein as a CaCC chloride channel molecule represents a great triumph of scientific perseverance and ingenuity. The varied approaches used by the three independent research groups also augur well for the solidity of the discovery.

Preditores de injúria renal aguda e de mortalidade em uma Unidade de Terapia Intensiva

Introdução e Objetivos: Comparar características clínicas e evolução dos pacientes com e sem injúria renal aguda (IRA), avaliar a incidência, mortalidade da IRA e fatores de risco de IRA e de óbito em pacientes em uma Unidade de Terapia Intensiva (UTI). Métodos: Estudo retrospectivo que analisou 152 pacientes em uma única UTI. Avaliamos a idade, o sexo, o motivo do internamento, fatores de risco para IRA, dados laboratoriais, a necessidade de terapia renal substitutiva e a mortalidade. Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE II), Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) e RIFLE foram registrados no dia de admissão na UTI. Determinamos a incidência da IRA, mortalidade e os preditores independentes de IRA e de óbito utilizando o modelo de regressão logística. Resultados: A idade média foi de 57,1 ± 20 anos e 60,1% eram masculinos. IRA não dialítica ocorreu em 81 pacientes (53,2%) e a IRA dialítica ocorreu em 19 pacientes (12,4%). A mortalidade global foi de 35,9%, enquanto que a taxa de mortalidade nos pacientes com IRA não dialítica foi de 43,2% e a dos com IRA dialítica de 84,2%. Na análise multivariada, a ventilação mecânica invasiva, a creatinina e a ureia elevadas na admissão foram fatores de risco independentes para IRA, enquanto que diagnóstico clínico, uso de ventilação mecânica invasiva, ureia e lactato aumentados e hipernatremia foram fatores de risco independentes para mortalidade na UTI. Conclusão: A incidência e a mortalidade de IRA na UTI foram elevadas neste estudo, apesar dos avanços que vêm surgindo no seu manejo.