Atividade antiinflamatória intestinal da escopoletina e fraxetina nas fases aguda e crônica do processo inflamatório induzido por TNBS em ratos

A Doença Inflamatória Intestinal (DII) engloba, fundamentalmente, duas doenças distintas: a Doença de Crohn (DC) e a Colite Ulcerativa (CU), ambas caracterizadas por uma inflamação crônica do intestino, com períodos de exacerbação seguidos de intervalos prolongados de remissão dos sintomas. Apesar da DII ser objeto de pesquisa há várias décadas, a sua etiologia ainda é desconhecida e seu tratamento envolve uma série de fármacos com sérios efeitos colaterais, especialmente quando usado cronicamente. As cumarinas representam uma importante classe de compostos fenólicos naturais que apresentam inúmeras propriedades farmacológicas importantes para que um produto seja potencialmente ativo no tratamento da DII. Dentre as inúmeras cumarinas conhecidas e estudadas, dados obtidos em nosso laboratório demonstram que algumas cumarinas apresentam efeitos protetores na fase aguda e preventiva do processo inflamatório intestinal induzido por TNBS (ácido trinitrobenzenosulfônico) em ratos, reduzindo a incidência de diarréia, aderência e obstrução intestinal, além de manterem os níveis de glutationa e reduzirem a atividade da fosfatase alcalina e da mieloperoxidase colônica. Os objetivos do presente projeto são determinar a atividade antiinflamatória intestinal da escopoletina e fraxetina na fase aguda e crônica com recidiva de colite ulcerativa induzida por TNBS tendo-se em vista a determinação de sua atividade curativa. Para tanto, serão avaliados os parâmetros clínicos gerais (consumo de alimento e peso corporal), parâmetros macroscópicos da lesão (determinação de índice de lesão, relação peso-comprimento colônico) e bioquímicos (avaliação das atividades da mieloperoxidase, fosfatase alcalina, níveis de proteínas e glutationa total)

Avaliação da influência do estresse em modelo experimental de colite por administração de Ácido Trinitrobenzenosulfônico (TNBS) em concentração subinflamatória

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic and relapsing disease caused by exaggerated response of the immune system. It represents a significant health problem by limiting the quality of life and being the main risk factor for colorectal cancer. Despite of its importance, the high worldwide incidence and being the object of research for several decades, the etiology remains unknown. Studies indicates an interaction between genetic and environmental factors which together with the intestinal microbiota, leads to an uncontrolled immune response. One of the aggravating environmental factors often discussed is stress, as the daily life of the population in general is increasingly rushed. In order to demonstrate the influence of stress on IBD, this study aimed to standardize an experimental model of colitis induced by instillation of a trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS) noninflammatory concentration plus exposure to stress that intensify the inflammation. Therefore, an experiment was done to determine what would be the noninflammatory concentration. In this step, four different concentrations of TNBS (1, 6, 12.5 or 40mg/ml) were tested and the lowest concentration capable of inducing a noninflammatory response in the gut was defined as 1 mg/ml. Then, a second experiment was performed which induced colitis and exposed the animals to restraint stress. The results, however, showed that this stimulus was not enough to exacerbate the damage caused by the 1 mg/ml concentration of TNBS in the colon. With some changes in the protocol, the third experiment associated cold and restraint, as well as changes on the day of euthanasia, which occurred immediately after the stress session. The results of myeloperoxidase activity measurement were unexpected due to the noninflammatory concentration of TNBS caused an intestinal inflammation similar to the concentration of 40 mg/ml. However, the results of glutathione quantification and the corticosterone ...

Avaliação da atividade ansiolítica e antidepressiva do óleo essencial da Citrus aurantium L. administrado por via inalatória em camundongos

A investigação de plantas medicinais é indispensável na busca de novas substâncias com potencial atividade ansiolítica e antidepressiva, visto que a ansiedade e depressão estão entre os distúrbios do sistema nervoso central (SNC) mais relevantes dentre os problemas de saúde mundial. Tais plantas são fontes de óleos essenciais (OE) que frequentemente são utilizados na aromaterapia, pois fornecem substâncias voláteis capazes de curar e prevenir doenças por meio da inalação. Esta prática já se mostrou efetiva sobre o SNC, trazendo benefícios terapêuticos a pacientes que não respondiam bem aos tratamentos convencionais. Uma espécie vegetal cujo OE possui atividade sobre o SNC é o Citrus aurantium L. (laranja amarga), espécie do gênero que mostrou atividade ansiolítica quando utilizado na aromatização de ambiente na sala de espera de um consultório dentário. Aqui avaliamos o potencial efeito ansiolítico e antidepressivo do OE de Citrus aurantium L por via inalatória em camundongos, por meio da resposta comportamental em modelos experimentais de ansiedade, o Labirinto em Cruz Elevado, e de depressão, o Teste do Nado Forçado. Com esta avaliação, o OE não foi efetivo por via inalatória em nenhuma das concentrações testadas (0,5%, 1,0% e 2,5%), tanto para ansiedade quanto para depressão. No entanto, este resultado não exclui a possibilidade de obtenção de tais efeitos se alterada a concentração de OE

Expressão de Pentraxina 3 em membranas corioamnióticas de gestações prétermo complicadas por rotura prematura de membranas pré-termo ou trabalho de parto prematuro

Pentraxina 3 (PTX3) é um componente essencial da resposta imune inata e age como receptores de reconhecimento de padrões (PPRs) reconhecendo produtos microbianos, opsonizando fungos, bactérias Gram positivas e negativas, além de apresentar a capacidade de ativar o sistema complemento. Poucos estudos na literatura mundial têm investigado a expressão de PTX3 nas complicações gestacionais associadas à invasão microbiana da cavidade amniótica e resultados conflitantes têm sido descritos. Avaliar a expressão gênica e protéica de PTX3 em membranas corioamnióticas de gestações pré-termo complicadas por Trabalho de Parto Prematuro (TPP) e bolsa íntegra ou Rotura Prematura de Membranas Pré-Termo (RPM-PT), na presença de corioamnionite histológica (CA). Foram incluídas no estudo 30 gestantes com TPP, sendo 15 na ausência e 15 na presença de corioamnionite histológica e 30 gestantes com RPM-PT, sendo 15 na ausência e 15 na presença de corioamnionite histológica. Cortes parafinizados foram encaminhados à análise histopatológica para confirmação de corioamnionite histológica. Outros fragmentos de 1cm2 das membranas foram submetidos à extração de RNA total. Após a extração do RNA, as amostras com concentração entre 0,02 e 0,2g/ L de RNA foram submetidas à obtenção de cDNA para posterior utilização na quantificação da expressão gênica de PTX3 pela técnica da PCR em tempo real empregando-se o Sistema TaqMan® Gene Expression Assays. Fragmentos das mesmas amostras incluídas no estudo foram utilizados para verificar a expressão da proteína PTX-3 através da técnica de Western Blotting. Dentre as 60 membranas corioamnióticas incluídas no estudo, 56 (93,3%) expressaram PTX-3. Não houve diferença estatisticamente significativa na expressão de mRNA de PTX-3 (p=0,137) entre os grupos: RPM-PT na presença de CA (Md: 0.355; 0.11-1.03), RPM-PT na...(Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo)

Análise de SNPs nos genes SLC6A3 e DRD2 em portadores de gagueira desenvolvimental persistente do Estado de São Paulo

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Análise da expressão protéica de moléculas de adesão celular em melanomas cutâneos

Cutaneous melanoma is a malignancy caused by the uncontrolled proliferation of melanocytes. Has been increasing in incidence and mortality over the years. This type of tumor may arise in the skin or any other place where there was migration of neural crest cells. Melanocytes are located in the basal layer of the epidermis forming the epidermal melanin unit, involving a melanocyte to 36 keratinocytes. The proliferation of melanocytes depends on this relationship with the keratinocytes, gap junctions, E-cadherin and desmoglein. The basal membrane is responsible for promoting the integrity of the skin, their adhesion structures shown to be altered in several skin diseases. Some molecules that play the role of adherence in this membrane are the laminins, type IV collagen and type XVII and perlecan. Analysis of protein expression of cell adhesion molecules in melanoma by immunohistochemistry on tissue microarray (TMA). We selected paraffin blocks of patients who were diagnosed with cutaneous melanoma in the period 1995 to 2010, reaching a sample of 124 cases. All these have gone through review of preparation for subsequent histological analysis of tissue microarray (TMA). The protein expression will be analyzed by immunohistochemistry, using markers anti-laminin, anti-collagen type IV and type XVII and anti-perlecan. There was a predominance of female patients, Caucasians and southeastern Brazil. There were frequent in type of extensive superficial ulcers with Breslow depth greater than 4 mm, Clark level IV and mitotic index greater than 6 mitoses per cga. The patients, most of them were female with mean age of 57.13 years and Caucasian. The most frequent histological type was extensive superficial followed by acral lentiginous. Predominated cases very deep, with Breslow thickness greater than 4 mm, Clark IV, ulcerated and on average by 9 cga mitosis, leading to worse prognosis in this sample. It...(Complete abstract click electronic access below)

Influência da adição de fator de crescimento fibroblástico 10 (FGF10), durante a maturação oocitária, na produção in vitro de embriões bovinos

The Brazilian livestock stands out for having the world largest commercial herd of cattle and leads meat exportation and production of bovine embryos. The in vitro production (IVP) of embryos is considered an effective option to overcome problems such as infertility in cows with high economic value and also for genetic improvement of cattle. The in vitro oocyte maturation is an essential step to the success of IVP, but is still considered poor when compared to in vivo maturation. Recent studies have suggeested an important role of Fibroblast Growth Factor 10 (FGF10) on the in vitro maturation of oocytes, which favored the expression of genes related to oocyte maturation and cumulus cell expansion. Aware that maturity stage influences the final production of blastocysts, we aimed study to verify if the addition of FGF10 into the maturation medium is able to affect positively the IVP of bovine embryos. Hence, FGF10 was added to maturation in five different concentrations: 0.5 ng/mL (group 0.5), 2.5 ng/mL (group 2.5), 5 ng/mL (group 5), 10 ng/mL (group 10) and 50 ng/mL (group 50). Additionally, two other maturation groups were used, group BSA (Bovine Serum Albumin, 4 mg/mL) and group FCS (Fetal Calf Serum, 10%). The rates of cleavage, morula and blastocyst were analyzed by Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), differences of P<0.05 were considered significant. Cleavage rates did not differ between the seven groups. On the other hand, morula rate on FCS group was higher than groups BSA, 0.5, 10 and 50 (P<0.05), but did not differ among groups treated with intermediate doses of FGF10 (2.5 and 5). FCS group presented higher blastocyst rate compared to all other groups that were well below the FCS group (P<0.0001). Therefore, the use of FGF10 during oocyte maturation did not affect positively embryo development on the IVP of bovine embryos

Avaliação da eficácia da analgesia com acupuntura pela análise imuno-histoquimica da expressão de proteína C-Fos: estudo em modelo experimental de dor aguda em ratos

The behavior and experience of pain are characterized by alertness and anxiety, which disappear soon after the healing process begins. Based on this area, the present study aimed to quantify the expression of c-fos in segments of the brain of rats after surgical stimulation in one rear hind paw (analgesia), using anesthesia with sodium thiopental and practices of acupuncture pre and post operative. The animals were stimulated with intraperitoneal injections of solution (NaCl) 0.2% (2ml), and divided into three groups, control, preoperative and postoperative. Each treatment was divided in manual acupuncture (AM) and electroacupuncture (EA). The animals were randomly distributed in each group. The c-fos expression was quantitated using immunohistochemistry for all situations. The results showed a great efficiency of all treatment compared to the control group (p <0.001), thus reenforcing data in the literature on the potential of acupuncture analgesia. There were no statistical differences among the different treatments, although there was a trend of EA being more efficient than AM

Atividade imunomoduladora de parasporina de Bacillus thuringiensis sobre linfócitos e monócitos humanos

Bacillus thuringiensis is an environmental bacteria that produces a group of crystallizable proteins (Cry) that are toxic for several insects and worms species. Recently, it was described a novel class of Cry proteins called parasporins (PS) that showed cytotoxic effects on animal and human tumor cells. Six types of PS have been described so far, PS1 to PS6, and their cytotoxic activity has been studied. However, the direct effect on tumor cells has been the current research focus, while the immunomodulatory role of the PS has not been studied yet. Therefore, this study aimed to verify whether PS of TC 2.3.1R6 B. thuringiensis strain has immunostimulatory activity on human lymphocytes and monocytes. We have evaluated the protein toxicity against human cells, the lymphoproliferative activity and the effects on peripheral blood monocytes. The PS-PK showed no toxic or stimulating activity on lymphocyte proliferation. However, it inhibited the spontaneous production of IL-10 as well as ConA-induced and the production of IFN-γ. PS-PK decreased the release of hydrogen peroxide and increased the production of TNF- α by monocytes. PS-PK performed inhibitory production of hydrogen peroxide and TNF-α by monocytes, whereas PS-Tp showed stimulation of the production of hydrogen and TNF-α

Etiologia e perfil de sensibilidade aos antimicrobianos de pacientes ambulatoriais de Botucatu e região

As infecções do trato urinário (ITU) são definidas como a invasão e posterior multiplicação de microorganismos nos tecidos das vias urinárias, sendo a bactéria gram-negativa E.coli o principal uropatógeno envolvido nessa infecção. A avaliação para a presença de ITU é feita através do quadro clínico característico desse tipo de paciente e o exame de cultura de urina. As amostras positivas para as culturas são avaliadas quanto ao perfil de sensibilidade aos antimicrobianos dos agentes etiológicos encontrados. Descrever a porcentagem de ocorrência dos agentes etiológicos e o perfil de sensibilidade aos antimicrobianos das Infecções do Trato Urinário em pacientes ambulatoriais de Botucatu e região. Foram incluídas neste estudo culturas de urinas de pacientes atendidos em UBS de Botucatu e região Pólo Cuesta, no período de Janeiro de 2008 a Maio de 2010. As culturas positivas foram avaliadas quanto a porcentagem de ocorrência dos uropatógenos segundo sexo, faixa etária e origem. Foi utilizado o teste do qui-quadrado para verificar associação entre cada antimicrobiano e as porcentagens de sensibilidade e resistência encontradas. Foram avaliadas 11.768 culturas de urina provenientes de 11 municípios da região, sendo consideradas as culturas positivas (28%). Quanto à ocorrência dos agentes etiológicos verificou-se que a E.coli é responsável 58,76% dos casos. A distribuição dos uropatógenos segundo sexo revelou maior ocorrência de E.coli nos dois sexos. O segundo agente etiológico de maior ocorrência foi, nos homens o Proteus mirabilis e nas mulheres, o S. saprophyticus. Dentre as faixas etárias, a E.coli foi o patógeno de maior ocorrência. O perfil de sensibilidade aos antimicrobianos revelou que a E.coli é mais sensível a Ertapenem, Imipenem, Meropenem, Fosfomicina, Amicacina, Ceftriaxona, Nitrofurantoína e Norfloxacina; e mais resistente... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo)

Determinação de adenosina deaminase, fator de necrose tumoral-alfa e interleucina-1 em gestantes portadoras de pré-eclâmpsia

Preeclampsia is a specific disorder of pregnancy, characterized by arterial hypertension and proteinuria detected after 20 weeks of gestation. This pathology is associated with hyperuricemia, higher levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, enhanced leukocyte activation and oxidative stress. Adenosine deaminase (ADA) is an enzyme present in all human tissues and, it is involved with the maturation of the immune system. Although its function is not fully understood, ADA is considered an indicator of cellular inflammation and, its increased serum concentration is observed in inflammatory diseases, such as tuberculosis and rheumatoid arthritis. This study aimed to assess serum ADA levels in preeclamptic patients (PE) compared with normotensive pregnant (NT) and non-pregnant women (NP), and to correlate these values with TNF-α and IL-1β production. Ninety pregnant women were included: 60 were pre-eclamptic and 30 were normotensive matched for gestational age. As control group 20 healthy non-pregnant women matched with pregnant for age were included. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PMMC) obtained from the three groups studied were cultured with or without lipopolysaccharide (LPS) for 18h at 37oC, and TNF-α and IL-1β production was assessed in the supernatant of cultures by enzyme immunoassay (ELISA). ADA plasmatic concentration was determined by colorimetric method. The results show that ADA plasma levels were significantly higher in PE group compared with NT and NP groups. A positive correlation between ADA and uric acid levels was detected in preeclamptic women. There was no significant difference in relation to ADA levels when PE patients were classified in early and late-onset PE. The endogenous production of IL-1β and TNF-α by PBMC was significantly higher in PE group than in NT and NP women, showing the activation state of these cells in PE. LPS induced...(Complete abstract click electronic access below)

Efeito da silibinina sobre o fator de transcrição nuclear-kB e produção de citocinas inflamatórias por células mononucleares de gestantes portadoras de pré-eclâmpsia

Pre-eclampsia (PE) is a complication of human pregnancy characterized by hypertension and proteinuria after 20 weeks of gestation. Its incidence varies from 5% to 7% of pregnancies and is a major cause of morbidity and maternal and fetal mortality. This is a multisystemic disease, with focus on vascular dysfunction and is closely related to the exacerbated activation of the immune system. In addition to increased activation of monocytes and granulocytes, there is an elevated production of proinflammatory cytokines in pregnant women with PE. The nuclear transcription factor-kB (NF-kB) is present in the cells of the immune system and is responsible for transcription of genes related to inflammation. Whereas the PE is associated with intense inflammatory response, the use of substances modulating the activity of NF-kB factor could be useful in alleviating the inflammation present in these patients. Silibinin is the main component of silymarin, a polyphenolic extract obtained from fruits and seeds of Sylibum marianum with potent hepatoprotective, anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic activities. The silibinin mechanism of action includes the ability to inhibit NF-kB activation and, consequently, its migration to the nucleus. The objective of this study was to assess whether silibinin modulates the activity of NF-kB and the production of inflammatory cytokines in mononuclear cells of patients with PE. We evaluated 34 pregnant women with PE, 20 normotensive pregnant women (GN) and 15 non-pregnant women (NG). Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were obtained from those groups of women and cultured in the presence or absence of silibinin (5 uM or 50 uM) and stimulated or not with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) for 18 h to obtain supernatant for determination of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-1 (IL-1β) by enzyme immunoassay (ELISA). The cells were...(Complete abstract click electronic access below)

Expressão do gene Glipican 3 (Gpc3) no urotélio da bexiga de ratos expostos ao diuron (3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea) por 7 dias e 20 semanas

Diuron (3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea) is a substituted urea herbicide widely used in crops of sugar cane, cotton and soybeans. In 1997, this agent has been classified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency as known/likely human carcinogen because it induced tumors in the urinary bladder and renal pelvis of rats, and breast and skin of mice exposed to 2500 ppm for feed for two years. A previous study from our group demonstrated dose-response relationship in the gene expression profile associated with severe necrosis on bladder urothelium and increased incidence of simple hyperplasia in male Wistar rats treated with different concentrations of diuron for 20 weeks. To check how early the molecular changes occurs, rats were fed for 7 days with diets containing diuron at 0, 125, 500 or 2500 ppm. The main observations recorded were urothelium ultrastructural alterations and disruptions of molecular pathways associated with cell-cell interaction and the tissue organization maintenance. Particularly, the gene Glypican 3 (Gpc3), a surface proteoglycan related to cellular adhesion and apoptosis induction, was down regulated on urothelium exposed to 2500ppm diuron for 7 days and 20 weeks. The aim of this study was validate by quantitative RT-PCR real time, the reduced Gpc3 gene expression in epithelial cells of the urinary bladder of male Wistar rats treated with different concentrations of diuron for 7 days and 20 weeks. The endogenous control of the quantitative PCR real time technique was the β-actin gene and the target was the gene Gpc3. The relative quantification (RQ) was obtained by the method of relative quantification 2-ΔΔCt . Animals exposed to diuron for 7 days or for 20 weeks presented reduction of Gpc3 gene expression compared to the control group. This reduction was statistically significant only for the 7 days study. Moreover, by comparing animals exposed for 7 days with the exposed for 20 weeks, it was ...

Estudo das interações in vivo entre as proteínas teloméricas LaRPA-1 e LaRbp38 usando o sistema do duplo híbrido

A leishmaniose é um conjunto de doenças infecciosas causadas por parasitas do gênero Leishmania, que afligem milhões de pessoas no mundo, tendo a cada ano dois milhões de novos casos e 70 mil mortes. As drogas utilizadas no tratamento das diferentes formas clínicas da doença apresentam alta toxicidade e baixa eficácia, além de apresentarem muitos efeitos colaterais e colaborarem com o aparecimento de parasitas e vetores resistentes. Devido a estas adversidades, o desenvolvimento de novas terapias para o tratamento desta parasitose é incentivada pela Organização Mundial da Saúde (OMS) e um maior conhecimento sobre a biologia molecular destes protozoários poderá facilitar estas descobertas. Ultimamente, os telômeros, estruturas nucleoproteícas nos terminais dos cromossomos de eucariotos, têm sido alvo intenso de estudos, que visam utilizá-los como alvo terapêutico contra tumores malignos e microrganismos patogênicos. Os telômeros geralmente se apresentam como estruturas dinâmicas onde ocorrem interações entre o DNA e proteínas, resultando na formação do complexo telomérico, que é responsável pela proteção e manutenção dos cromossomos e estabilidade do genoma, caracterizando uma função imprescindível para viabilidade celular. Componentes do complexo telomérico de Leishmania amazonensis foram identificados por ensaios bioquímicos em extratos positivos para a atividade de telomerase. Entre estes componentes identificou-se as proteínas LaRPA-1 (L. amazonensis Replication Protein A-1) e a LaRbp38 (L. amazonensis RNA binding protein) as quais mostraram habilidade de interagir com o DNA telomérico in vitro e in vivo. Mais recentemente, utilizando-se ensaios de imunoprecipitação e de captura por “pull-down” foi demonstrado que estas proteínas fazem parte de um mesmo complexo nos telômeros do parasita. Este trabalho pretende confirmar estas possíveis interações entre as proteínas teloméricas LaRPA-1 e ...

Avaliação de gastrocitoproteção, mecanismo de ação e comparação do efeito da vitamina E (α-Tocoferol) nas formas natural e sintética

The aim of this study was to verify if α-tocopherol, the main substance of Vitamin E and also the one with the major antioxidant propriety, could offer citoprotection to a stomach damaged by alcohol. There are many forms of α-tocopherol, two forms of them were evaluated; d-l-α-tocopherol, the synthetic form and d-α-tocopherol, the natural form of α-tocopherol. Three experiments were made, all of them having absolute ethanol as the lesion agent, but the period and the doses changed in each of them. In the first two experiments, each group of animals received a different form of α-tocopherol and in the third experiment, they’ve received α-tocopherol p.o. for the period of seven days before the lesion agent was administrated. Moreover, immunohistochemistry assays were made from the stomachs samples of the third experiment to verify possible mechanisms involving nitric oxide and 2-cyclooxygenase. Satisfactory results of citoprotection have been obtained when the two forms were administered in the period of one week at doses of 100 mg/kg for synthetic form and 150 mg/kg for natural type. Nevertheless, the two forms didn’t differ statistically in their effectiveness against ethanol. The immunohistochemistry assays showed an increase of the levels of NO and COX2 in relation with the negative control, although there was no correlation between this increase and the gastroprotective effect. In conclusion, α-tocopherol has gastroprotection effect in some doses, but apparently there is no such a thing like the better the dose, the better the effect; that citoprotection don’t have a relationship with NO neither with COX2; the natural and the synthetic form don’t differ in their gastroprotection effect. More studies must be done looking forward an effective dose and also to understand the mechanisms underlay the citoprotection of α-tocopherol in the stomach