In vitro cytotoxic activity of Baccharis dracunculifolia and propolis against HEp-2 cells

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Anti-poliovirus activity of Baccharis dracunculifolia and propolis by cell viability determination and real-time PCR

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Calcaneal Tendon Regions Exhibit Different MMP-2 Activation After Vertical Jumping and Treadmill Running

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

Finasteride treatment alters MMP-2 and-9 gene expression and activity in the rat ventral prostate

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

Influence of stationary and bioreactor cultivation on Lentinula edodes (Berk) pegler lignocellulolitic activity

This work aimed to study the stationary and periodically mixed culture of L. edodes to the production of lignocellulolitic enzymes activity. LE 95/17, LE 96/22 and Leax strains were incubated in 25 g of eucalyptus sawdust substrate in Erlenmeyer flasks in stationary culture at 25 degrees C and in a bioreactor with four complete rotations daily at 25 degrees C and 3% CO2. The samples were collected at 8, 11, 14, 17 and 20 days after the incubation. Oxidative and hydrolytic enzymes analyses were performed. Lignin peroxidase enzyme was not found in the lignolytic systernfor LE 95/17, LE 96/22 and Leax strains in the different incubation methods. The use of bioreactor could be a practicable system to induce the laccase activity for L22 and Leax and MnP activity for L17 and L22. The activity of the hydrolytic enzymes was higher in the stationary system in comparison to periodically mixed system in the bioreactor.

Evaluation of antimutagenic activity and mechanisms of action of beta-glucan from barley, in CHO-k1 and HTC cell lines using the micronucleus test

Due to the need to identify new antimutagenic agents and to determine their mechanism of action, the present study examined the mechanism of action of the P-glucan with regard to antimutagenicity using the micronucleus assay in CHO-kl and HTC cell lines. The mutagenicity experiments were performed with three different concentrations of P-glucan (5, 10, and 20 mu g/mL), in wich only the highest dose showed mutagenic activity. In the antimutagenicity experiments, the same concentrations of P-glucan were combined with a mutagenic agent, methylmethane sulfonate, or 2-aminoanthracene, using four different treatment protocols: pre-treatment, simultaneous treatment (simple and with pre-incubation), and post-treatment. The results indicate that the CHO-kl cell line treated with MMS presented a chemopreventive activity for all the doses of P-glucan in the different treatment protocols, except for the lowest dose in post-treatment. When HTC cell line treated with MMS is analysed, a chemopreventive activity can be verified for the highest dose in both pre- and post-treatment. For the simple simultaneous treatment, the three doses demonstrated efficacy, while for the simultaneous treatment with pre-incubation only the intermediate concentration was effective. In HTC treated with 2AA both the lowest dose in the pre-treatment protocol and the post-treatment protocol did not show efficacy in preventing DNA damage. The evaluation of the different protocols and the damage decrease percentages observed suggest that P-glucan has both desmutagenic and bioantimutagenic activity. It is necessary, however, to note that efficacy and mechanism of action are subject to variation when compared the two cell lines, since in HTC, representing a drug-metabolizing system, this substance can show a diminished chemopreventive capacity. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Histology and ultrastructure of pericardial cells of Scaptotrigona postica latreille (Hymenoptera, Apidae) in workers and queens of different ages

The paper presents a study of the pericardial cells of Scaptotrigona postica an eusocial Brazilian stingless bee. Light and electron microscopy was used in a comparative study on workers and queens of different ages, exerting different functions in the colony. The pericardial cells are found only in the peticardial sinus, mainly in groups around the dorsal vessel. Each cell is enclosed by the basal membrane and its peripheral region is characterized by folds of the plasma membrane, which form canals and loops. The points where the plasma membrane folds is frequently closed by diaphragms, that along with the basal lamina form a barrier to substances from hemolymph. Along the membrane limiting the canals and loops, an intense endocytic activity through coated vesicles takes place indicating a selective absorption of hemolymph components. In older individuals, workers or queens, the cells exhibit larger quantities of cytoplasm inclusions, heterogeneous vacuoles containing the final products of intracellular digestion, and autophagic vacuoles with concentric membranous structures. The pericardial cells general morphology is in accordance with the role in processing metabolites captured from hemolymph and storage of indigested residues. (C) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Enzymatic activity of hypopharyngeal gland extractsfrom workers of Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Apinae)

This research presents a comparative study of enzymatic activity of the hypopharyngeal gland extracts from workers of Apis mellifera in three physiologic stages: newly emerged, nurse and forager workers, with the objective of contributing to the comprehension of the gland function. In order to determinate the enzymes present in the extracts, the Api Zym kit (Bio Merieux) was used to test the activity of 19 different enzymes. The enzymes found in larger amounts only in the hypopharyngeal glands from certain individuals were the following: in newly emerged workers, the N-acetyl-double down arrow-glucosaminidase that may be digesting the chitin of some food ingested by the bee; in forager workers, the acid phosphatase that is likely acting in authophagic processes, the a-glucosidase, in the processing of nectar into honey, and the double down arrow-glucosidases, in the pollen digestion.

Changes in the size of cephalic salivary glands of Apis mellifera and Scaptotrigona postica (Hymenoptera: Apidae) queens and workers in different life phases

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Proteomic analysis reveals suppression of bark chitinases and proteinase inhibitors in citrus plants affected by the citrus sudden death disease

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

Investigating the effect of different positioning of lysine residues along the peptide chain of mastoparans for their secondary structures and biological activities

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

Ant diversity (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) and predation by ants on the different stages of the sugarcane borer life cycle Diatraea saccharalis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae)

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

How C-terminal carboxyamidation alters the biological activity of peptides from the venom of the eumenine solitary wasp

Inflammatory peptides display different types of post-transcriptional modifications, such as C-terminal amidation, that alter their biological activity. Here we describe the structural and molecular dynamics features of the mast cell degranulating peptide, eumenine mastoparan-AF (EMP-AF-NH2), found in the venom of the solitary wasp, and of its carboxyl-free C-terminal form (EMP-AF-COO-) characterized by a reduced activity. Circular dichroism indicates that both peptides switch from a random coil conformation in water to a helical structure in TFE and SDS micelles. NMR data, in 30% TFE, reveal that the two peptides fold into an alpha-helix spanning most of their length, while they differ in terms of molecular rigidity. To understand the origins of the conformational flexibility observed in the case of EMP-AF-COO-, a 5 ns MD simulation was carried out for each peptide, in an explicit water/TFE environment. The results show that the two peptides differ in an H-bond between Leu14 NH2 and the backbone carbonyl of Ile11. The loss of that H-bond in EMP-AF-COO- leads to a significant modification of its structural dynamics. In fact, as evidenced by essential dynamics analysis, while EMP-AF-NH2 exists mainly as a rigid structure, EMP-AF-COO- presents two helical stretches that fluctuate in some sort of independent fashion. We conclude that the diverse biological activity of the two peptides is not simply due to the reduction of the net positive charge, as generally suggested, but also to a structural perturbation of the amphipathic alpha-helix that affects their ability to perturb the cell membrane.

Evaluation of chemopreventive activity of glutamine by the comet and the micronucleus assay in mice's peripheral blood

This research has evaluated the effects of enteral supplementation of glutamine in clastogens and genotoxic damages caused by the acute administration of cisplatin. For this. it was utilized Swiss mice distributed in eight experimental groups: control, cisplatin, glutamine, in three different doses and the combination of these with cisplatin. The results show that the glutamine was present in neither genotoxic nor mutagenic activity. When in association with glutamine and cisplatin, in simultaneous treatment, it was verified the frequency decreased of micronuclei and comets. The damage reduction percentages to the micronucleus ranged from 95.4 to 91.8% after 24 h of administration of these compounds and 76.7 to 56.8% after 48 h. In the same time the damage reduction percentages to the comet test ranged from 117.0 to 115.0%. The results suggest that glutamine is capable of preventing genotoxic and mutagenic damage according to the experimental design proposed. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Mouse ear edema modulation by different propolis ethanol extracts

The anti-inflammatory activity of 14 commercial ethanol extracts of propolis were evaluated, using a mouse ear inflammation model induced by arachidonic acid. Indometacin was also assayed as standard anti-inflammatory agent. Different activities were observed and discussed. This model could be used to assess the anti-inflammatory quality of propolis extracts and facilitate their posological usage on skin edema resulting from wounds.