Glycogen and triglyceride utilization in relation to muscle metabolic characteristics in men performing heavy-resistance exercise

Nine bodybuilders performed heavy-resistance exercise activating the quadriceps femoris muscle. Intermittent 30-s exhaustive exercise bouts comprising 6-12 repetitions were interspersed with 60-s periods for 30 min. Venous blood samples were taken repeatedly during and after exercise for analyses of plasma free fatty acid (FFA) and glycerol concentration. Muscle biopsies were obtained from the vastus lateralis muscle before and after exercise and assayed for glycogen, glycerol-3-phosphate, lactate and triglyceride (TG) content. The activities of citrate synthase (CS), lactate dehydrogenase, hexokinase (HK), myokinase, creatine kinase and 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase (HAD), were analysed. Histochemical staining procedures were used to assess fibre type composition, fibre area and capillary density. TG content before and after exercise averaged (SD) 23.9 (13.3) and 16.7 (6.4) mmol kg-1 dry wt. The basal triglyceride content varied sixfold among individuals and the higher the levels the greater was the change during exercise. The glycogen content decreased (P less than 0.001) from 690 (82) to 495 (95) mmol kg-1 dry wt. and lactate and glycerol-3-phosphate increased (P less than 0.001) to 79.5 (5.5) and 14.5 (7.3) mmol kg-1 dry wt., respectively, after exercise. The HK and HAD/CS content respectively correlated with glycogen or TG content at rest and with changes in these metabolites during exercise. FFA and glycerol concentrations increased slightly (P less than 0.001) during exercise. Lipolysis may, therefore, provide energy during heavy-resistance exercise of relatively short duration. Also, storage and utilization of intramuscular substrates appear to be influenced by the metabolic profile of muscle.     

The ABC transporter-encoding gene AFR1 affects the resistance of Cryptococcus neoformans to microglia-mediated antifungal activity by delaying phagosomal maturation

The pathogenic yeast Cryptococcus neoformans has evolved several strategies to survive within phagocytes. Recently, it has been demonstrated that upregulation of the ATP binding cassette transporter-encoding gene antifungal resistance 1 ( AFR1 ) is important not only for determining the resistance of C. neoformans to fluconazole but also in influencing fungal virulence. In the present study, we showed that the fluconazole-resistant AFR1- overexpressing mutant strain was not sensitive to microglia-mediated anticryptococcal activity, as compared with the fluconazole-susceptible isogenic strains, the wild type and the afr1 Δ mutant. Interestingly, although the three strains were phagocytosed to a similar extent, reduced acidification and delayed maturation were observed in phagosomes containing the AFR1 -overexpressing strain with respect to the others. These findings provide the first evidence that upregulation of the AFR1 gene affects C. neoformans –microglia interplay, adding insights to the complexity of cryptococcal virulence and to its unexpected link with azole resistance.     

Heterogeneity of Multimedia Exposures to Neurotoxic Elements (Al,As, Cd,Pb, Mn,and Hg) in Breastfed Infants from Porto Velho,Brazil

Infant exposure to neurotoxic elements is a public health issue that needs monitoring with regard to breast milk composition. We studied six neurotoxic elements in breast milk samples at different stages of lactation in mothers from Porto Velho, Brazil. We used a flow-injection mercury system (FIMS) to determine total Hg concentrations and an inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer (ICP-OES) to determine the concentrations of Al, As, Cd, Pb, and Mn in 106 donors of a human milk bank. Association rules analyses were applied to determine the pattern of binary and ternary mixtures of the measured exposants. The metal concentration was mostly below the limit of detection (LOD) for Cd (99%), Pb (84%), and Hg (72%), and it was above the LOD for As (53%), Mn (60%), and Al (82%), respectively. Median concentrations (dry weight) of Al, As, Hg, Mn, and Pb were 1.81 μg/g, 13.8 ng/g, 7.1 ng/g, 51.1 ng/g, and 0.43 μg/g, respectively. Al is singly the most frequent element to which infants are exposed. Occurring binary combination (> LOD) was 56% for Al-Mn, 41% for Al-As, 22% for Al-Hg, and 13% for Al-Pb. In 100% of neonates, exposure to Al-ethylmercury (EtHg) occurred through immunization with thimerosal-containing vaccines (TCV). Association rules analysis revealed that Al was present in all of the multilevel combinations and hierarchical levels and that it showed a strong link with other neurotoxic elements (especially with Mn, As, and Hg). (a) Nursing infants are exposed to combinations of neurotoxicants by different routes, dosages, and at different stages of development; (b) In breastfed infants, the binary exposures to Al and total Hg can occur through breast milk and additionally through TCV (EtHg and Al); (c) The measured neurotoxic elements were found at low frequencies in breast milk and at concentrations that pose no public health concerns for milk banking.