Chronic methylphenidate administration alters antioxidant defenses and butyrylcholinesterase activity in blood of juvenile rats

Methylphenidate (MPH), a psychostimulant that affects both dopaminergic and noradrenergic systems, is one of the most frequently prescribed treatments for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. The present study investigated the effects of chronic administration of MPH on some parameters of oxidative stress, as well as on butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) activity in blood of young rats. Rats received intraperitoneal injections of MPH (2.0 mg/kg) once a day, from the 15th to the 45th day of age or an equivalent volume of 0.9% saline solution (controls). Two hours after the last injection, animals were euthanized, and blood was collected. Results demonstrated that MPH did not alter the dichlorofluorescein formed, decreased both thiobarbituric acid reactive substances and total non-enzymatic radical-trapping antioxidant, and increased superoxide dismutase and catalase activities, suggesting that this psychostimulant may alter antioxidant defenses. BuChE activity was increased in blood of juvenile rats subjected to chronic MPH administration. These findings suggest that MPH may promote peripheral oxidative adaptations and cholinergic changes.     

CYP3A5 and NAT2 gene polymorphisms: role in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia risk and treatment outcome

Susceptibility to acute lymphoblastic leukemia can be highly influenced by genetic polymorphisms in metabolizing enzyme genes of environmental carcinogens. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of the CYP3A5 and NAT2 metabolizing enzyme polymorphisms on the risk of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The analysis was conducted on 204 ALL patients and in 364 controls from a Brazilian population, using PCR-RFLP. The CYP3A5 3 polymorphic homozygous genotype was more frequent among ALL patients and the 3 allele variant was significantly associated with increased risk of childhood ALL (OR = 0.29; 95% CI, 0.14-0.60). The homozygous polymorphic genotype for the 6 allele variant was extremely rare and found in only two individuals. The heterozygous frequencies were similar for the ALL group and the control group. No significant differences were observed between the groups analyzed regarding NAT2 variant polymorphisms. None of the polymorphisms analyzed was related to treatment outcome. The results suggest that CYP3A5 3 polymorphism may play an important role in the risk of childhood ALL.     

Association study of interleukin-4 polymorphisms with paranoid schizophrenia in the Polish population: a critical approach

Changes in immunological system are one of dysfunctions reported in schizophrenia. Some changes based on an imbalance between Th1 and Th2 cytokines results from cytokine gene polymorphisms. Interleukin-4 gene (IL4) is considered as a potential candidate gene in schizophrenia association studies. The aim of the current case-control study was to examine whether the -590C/T (rs2243250) and -33C/T (rs2070874) IL4 gene polymorphisms are implicated in paranoid schizophrenia development in the Polish population. Genotyping of polymorphisms was performed by using PCR-RFLP technique. The genotypes and alleles distribution of both SNPs were analysed in patients (n = 182) and healthy individuals constituted the control group (n = 215). The connection between some clinical variables and studied polymorphisms has been examined as well. We did not revealed any association between the -590C/T and -33C/T polymorphisms and paranoid schizophrenia. In case of both SNPs the homozygous TT genotype was extremely rare. Both polymorphic sites of the IL4 gene were found to be in a very strong linkage disequilibrium. However we did not identify a haplotype predispose to paranoid schizophrenia. No associations were also observed between the clinical course and psychopathology of the disease and the genotypes of both analysed polymorphisms. Our results suggest that the polymorphisms -590C/T in IL4 gene promoter region and -33C/T in the 5'-UTR are not involved in the pathophysiology of paranoid schizophrenia in Polish residents.     

Induction of Cell Cycle Arrest and Apoptosis by Ruthenium Complex cis-(Dichloro)tetramineruthenium(III) Chloride in Human Lung Carcinoma Cells A549

Lung cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the world, and non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) accounts for approximately 75-85% of all lung cancers. In the present work, we studied the cytotoxic activity, cell cycle arrest and induction apoptosis of the compound cis-(dichloro)tetramineruthenium(III) chloride {cis-[RuCl(2)(NH(3))(4)]Cl} in human lung carcinoma tumor cell line A549. The results of MTT and trypan blue assays showed that cis-[RuCl(2)(NH(3))(4)]Cl causes reduction in the viability of A549 cells when treating with 95 and 383 μM of the compound for 48 and 72 h. Lower concentrations of the compound (19, 3.8 and 0.38 μM), however, only slightly affected cell viability. The IC(50) value for the compound was about 383 μM. Survival analysis of the A549 cells after treatment with ruthenium(III) compound using long term clonogenic assay showed that it reduced colony formation ability at concentrations of 0.38 and 3.8 μM, and at concentrations of 95 and 383 μM no colonies were observed. Cell cycle analysis showed that compound ruthenium led to an accumulation of A549 cells in S phase and increased in the sub-G1 peak. In addition, cis-(dichloro)tetramineruthenium(III) chloride treatment induced apoptosis, as observed by the increased numbers of annexin V-positive cells and increased messenger RNA expression of caspase-3.     

Somatic embryogenesis in tamarillo (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Cyphomandra betacea</Emphasis>): approaches to increase efficiency of embryo formation and plant development

Somatic embryogenesis induction and somatic embryo development of the solanaceous tamarillo tree were previously established and successfully used for plant regeneration from different explants and varieties. Somatic embryogenesis was induced in Murashige and Skoog medium containing 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) or picloram and high sucrose concentrations (0.25 M). The embryogenic tissues were transferred to an auxin-free medium, with reduced sucrose levels, to permit embryo development and conversion into plantlets. This two-step protocol is often impaired by an ineffective transition from the proembryogenic masses to embryo development. In this work, attempts to optimize the somatic embryogenesis system of tamarillo by improving the quality of somatic embryo and embryo conversion were carried out. The results showed that the presence of a high number of abnormal somatic embryos did not significantly inhibit plant conversion, hence indicating that shoot apical meristem development was not affected in abnormal somatic embryos. It was also shown that the manipulation of sucrose concentration in the development medium (0.11 M) and dark conditions before conversion increased the number of morphologically normal somatic embryos. The comparison between mature cotyledonary zygotic and somatic embryos showed an inefficient accumulation of storage compounds, mainly lipids, in somatic embryos. These reduced levels of lipid storage could be responsible for the abnormal patterns of embryo development found in tamarillo somatic embryos.     

Comparative study with two different enrichments in the culture media used in the disinfectant efficacy assay

Recent changes in Brazilian legislation for commercial disinfectants have been published due to the recent epidemic of nosocomial infections caused by rapidly growing mycobacteria (RGM) in many states of Brazil over the last 8 years. One of these documents requires that all the manufacturers provide evidence of efficacy of sterilizing and disinfectant products, used for semi critical medical devices, against the Mycobacterium bovis BCG Moreau and Mycobacterium abscessus subsp. bolletii INCQS 00594 strains by using the Confirmative in vitro Test for Determining Tuberculocidal Activity of Disinfectants recommended by the Association of Official Analytical Chemists. These changes have caused additional costs and increased problems for importation of enrichment products at national laboratories where disinfectant efficacy assay service is performed. Middlebrook ADC Enrichment (ADC) is provided by a unique manufacturer and used in the official protocol. The aim of the present study was to evaluate an alternative in house low-cost enrichment composed of fetal bovine serum and glucose (FBSG) with ADC for performance of disinfectant efficacy assay against mycobacteria. After obtaining the growth curves for M. abscessus ATCC 19977, M. abscessus subsp. bolletii INCQS 00594, Mycobacterium chelonae ATCC 35752, and Mycobacterium fortuitum ATCC 6841 by using ADC enrichment and FBSG in Kirchners and 7H9 culture media. Through statistical analysis via the Kruskal-Wallis test on the evaluation of microorganism growth rate, it was observed that there was no inhibition of RGM growth by any of the enrichments used. These results suggest that low-cost enrichment FBSG may be used as a potential substitute of ADC for composition of media for mycobacterial growth, including in disinfectant tests.     

Swimming performance of two Iberian cyprinids: the Tagus nase Pseudochondrostoma polylepis (Steindachner, 1864) and the bordallo Squalius carolitertii (Doadrio, 1988)

The main purpose of this study was to gather swimming performance information for two endemic cyprinids of the Iberian Peninsula to contribute to the optimization of fish ways. Critical swimming speed (U_crit) was determined for the Tagus nase Pseudochondrostoma polylepis (Steindachner, 1864) and for the bordallo Squalius carolitertii (Doadrio, 1988) in a swimming tunnel. From a total of 80 P. polylepis tested, the mean (± SD) U_crit observed was 0.78 ± 0.15 ms^?1 (c. 3.74 ± 0.93 BL s^?1); the 68 S. carolitertii tested presented an U_crit of 0.54 ± 0.1 ms^?1 (c. 4.43 ± 0.74 BL s^?1). Significant interspecific differences were found between the U_crit of the tested cyprinids. Intraspecific comparisons between the U_crit and the variables of size, sex, condition factor and gonado‐somatic index were also made. No sex‐or gonad maturation‐related differences between the U_crit were identified, but the robust P. polylepis were found to be stronger swimmers. Water velocities in fish ways for P. polylepis and S. carolitertii should aim, on average, for lower than 0.7 and 0.5 ms^?1, respectively.     

Length–weight relationships of four freshwater ornamental fish species from the Brazilian Negro River basin

The present work reports the length–weight relationships (LWR) for four ornamental fish species from the middle Negro River basin, Amazonas, Brazil. The r² value ranged from 0.810 to 0.941 and values of b varied from 2.346 to 3.442. These results represent the first reference on LWR for all four species, based on FishBase.