Lucrative antioxidant effect of metformin against cyclophosphamide induced nephrotoxicity

Cyclophosphamide is anticancer drug with a well-Known nephrotoxicity. This work was applied to study the lucrative antioxidant influence of metformin as co-therapy on the nephrotoxicity induced by cyclophosphamide in the treatment of different cancer diseases. Four groups of male Sprague Dawley rats were used; Control group (C) received single I.P. injection of 0.2 ml saline, Metformin (MET) group received daily gavage of 200 mg/kg metformin for two weeks, Cyclophosphamide (CP) group received single I.P. injection of 200 mg/kg CP, Protector group (CP.MET) received daily gavage of 200 mg/kg metformin for two weeks and single I.P. injection of 200 mg/kg CP at day 7. By day 14 rats were euthanized. Samples were collected from kidney tissues and blood for kidney function evaluation, histopathological and assessment of oxidative stress markers. The results disclosed that CP yields many functional and structural damage to the kidney, worsened oxidative stress markers and kidney function indicators. The protector group displayed better kidney tissue morphology, acceptable kidney function indicators as well as satisfactory oxidative stress markers.In assumption, metformin could be combined with CP owing to its lucrative effect counter to CP persuaded nephrotoxicity.     

Redox homeostasis phenotypes in RubisCO-deficient Rhodobacter sphaeroides via ensemble modeling

Photosynthetic bacteria are capable of carrying out the fundamental biological processes of carbon dioxide assimilation and photosynthesis. In this work, ensemble modeling (EM) was used to examine the behavior of mutant strains of the nonsulfur purple photosynthetic bacterium Rhodobacter sphaeroides containing a blockage in the primary CO(2) assimilatory pathway, which is responsible for cellular redox balance. When the Calvin-Benson-Bassham (CBB) pathway is nonfunctional, spontaneous adaptive mutations have evolved allowing for the use of at least two separate alternative redox balancing routes enabling photoheterotrophic growth to occur. The first of these routes expresses the nitrogenase complex, even in the presence of normal repressing ammonia levels, dissipating excess reducing power via its inherent hydrogenase activity to produce large quantities of hydrogen gas. The second of these routes may dissipate excess reducing power through reduction of sulfate by the formation of hydrogen sulfide. EM was used here to investigate metabolism of R. sphaeroides and clearly shows that inactivation of the CBB pathway affects the organism's ability to achieve redox balance, which can be restored via the above-mentioned alternative redox routes. This work demonstrates that R. sphaeroides is capable of adapting alternative ways via mutation to dissipate excess reducing power when the CBB pathway is inactive, and that EM is successful in describing this behavior.     

Factors affecting the efficacy of trapping system to the peach fruit fly (PFF) males,Bactrocera zonata (Saunders) (Diptera: Tephritidae)

This study was conducted in Arab-Elmadabegh region located at the Northern West part of Assiut city at the border with the Western Desert. Four types of traps; Bottle trap, Glass McPhail trap, Plastic McPhail trap, and Abdel-Kawi trap baited with different doses of methyl eugenol (ME) were used. Obtained results indicated that Abdel-Kawi trap charged with 0.5?ml ME, it was the most effective trapping system. ME seemed to be with highly attracting effect, but most of the attracted males were found on the outside surface of the trap and on the branches surround the trap. Under these conditions, the females/males ration became 1:171. Thus, the believing tactic that fruit flies populations will decline due to the lack of males in the population available to females for mating seemed to be an erroneous believing. Results proved that PFF males had the highest activity at the dawn period between 5 and 7am. We strongly recommend using the trapping system consists of Abdel-Kawi trap charged with 0.5?ml ME only at dawn period (The first appearance of light in the morning followed by sunrise).     

Male reproduction cycle of Kulzer's Rock Lizard,Phoenicolacerta kulzeri (Müller & Wettstein, 1932), in Lebanon (Reptilia: Lacertidae)

The reproduction cycle of male Kulzer's Rock Lizard, Phoenicolacerta kulzeri, was studied in a mountain population living at 2000?m a.s.l. on Mount Sannine, Lebanon. Males showed active spermiogenesis in spring, following the renewal of the post hibernation activity, and in autumn, from September until they enter into hibernation in November. About 40% of males exhibited a short testicular regression period during the hottest months, in July and August. Relative testicular volume was correlated with male body size and varied seasonally. Males of P. kulzeri showed a more distinct reproductive pattern than the common reproductive pattern of most lacertid lizards in the Mediterranean region.     

Increased hypothalamic expression of the p75 tumor necrosis factor receptor in New Zealand obese mice.

Previous studies have demonstrated that tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) production from adipose tissue is elevated in obese animal models and in obese humans. It plays an important role in the induction of insulin resistance in experimental animals. In this study, we examined hypothalamic tissue expression of TNF-alpha and its receptors and TNF-alpha expression of adipose tissue in lean C57BLKSJ+/+ and obese polygenic New Zealand obese (NZO) mice. Obese animals exhibited hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, hypertriglyceridemia, and hypercholesterinemia. Using RT-PCR, we observed increased expression (2.4-fold) of TNF receptor 2 (p75) in the hypothalamus of obese mice. TNF-alpha expression in adipose tissue of obese mice was eight times higher than in controls. TNF-alpha and TNF receptor 1 (p55) expression in hypothalamic tissue was similar in obese and lean animals. These results suggest that the hypothalamic TNF receptor 2 (p75) might play a role in obesity by modulating the actions of TNF-alpha in conditions of leptin resistance.     

Quantitative characterization of agglomerates and aggregates of pyrogenic and precipitated amorphous silica nanomaterials by transmission electron microscopy

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: The interaction of a nanomaterial (NM) with a biological system depends not only on the sizeof its primary particles but also on the size, shape and surface topology of its aggregates andagglomerates. A method based on transmission electron microscopy (TEM), to visualize theNM and on image analysis, to measure detected features quantitatively, was assessed for itscapacity to characterize the aggregates and agglomerates of precipitated and pyrogenicsynthetic amorphous silicon dioxide (SAS), or silica, NM. RESULTS: Bright field (BF) TEM combined with systematic random imaging and semi-automatic imageanalysis allows measuring the properties of SAS NM quantitatively. Automation allows measuring multiple and arithmetically complex parameters simultaneously on high numbersof detected particles. This reduces operator-induced bias and assures a statistically relevantnumber of measurements, avoiding the tedious repetitive task of manual measurements.Access to multiple parameters further allows selecting the optimal parameter in function of aspecific purpose.Using principle component analysis (PCA), twenty-three measured parameters wereclassified into three classes containing measures for size, shape and surface topology of theNM. CONCLUSION: The presented method allows a detailed quantitative characterization of NM, like dispersionsof precipitated and pyrogenic SAS based on the number-based distributions of their meandiameter, sphericity and shape factor.     

Defining the epitope region of a peptide from the Streptomyces coelicolor phosphoenolpyruvate:sugar phosphotransferase system able to bind to the enzyme I

The bacterial PEP:sugar PTS consists of a cascade of several proteins involved in the uptake and phosphorylation of carbohydrates, and in signal transduction pathways. Its uniqueness in bacteria makes the PTS a target for new antibacterial drugs. These drugs can be obtained from peptides or protein fragments able to interfere with the first reaction of the protein cascade: the phosphorylation of the HPr by the first enzyme, the so-called enzyme EI. To that end, we designed a peptide, HPr^9-30, spanning residues 9 to 30 of the intact HPr protein, containing the active site histidine (His-15) and the first α-helix of HPr of Streptomyces coelicolor, HPr^sc. By using fluorescence and circular dichroism, we first determined qualitatively that HPr^sc and HPr^9-30 did bind to EI^sc, the enzyme EI from S. coelicolor. Then, we determined quantitatively the binding affinities of HPr^9-30 and HPr^sc for EI^sc by using ITC and STD-NMR. The STD-NMR experiments indicate that the epitope region of HPr^9-30 was formed by residues Leu-14, His-15, Ile-21, and Val-23. The binding reaction between EI^sc and HPr^sc is enthalpy driven and in other species is entropy driven; further, the affinity of HPr^sc for EI^sc was smaller than in other species. However, the affinity of HPr^9-30 for EI^sc was only moderately lower than that of EI^sc for HPr^sc, suggesting that this peptide could be considered a promising hit compound for designing new inhibitors against the PTS.