Fulltext search in archive

Apigenin is a member of the flavone family of flavonoids and possesses anti-inflammatory, free radical scavenging and anti-carcinogenic properties. Hydrogen peroxide, which is generated during oxidative stress, is known to damage proteins, nucleic acids and cell membranes and also has been implicated in cancer, ageing and several chronic neurogenerative diseases. The present study focuses on the protective effect of apigenin against genotoxic doses of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) using sister chromatid exchanges (SCEs) and cytokinesis blocked micronucleus (CBMN) assay. The treatment with 50, 100 and 150 μM of H₂O₂ results in a significant dose dependent increase in the frequency of SCEs and MN. The treatment with 100 μM of H₂O₂ along with 5, 10 and 20 μM of apigenin results in a dose dependent significant decrease in the frequency of SCEs and MN on cultured human lymphocytes. A similar result was obtained with treatment with 150 μM of H₂O₂ along with 5, 10 and 20 μM of apigenin. The results of the present study suggest a protective effect of apigenin against hydrogen peroxide induced genotoxic damage on cultured human lymphocytes.

The ubiquitous polyamines putrescine, spermidine and spermine fulfil an array of physiological roles in man. In particular, their participation in cell growth and proliferation has been of great interest in relation to their roles in tumour growth and in wound healing. Both endogenous and dietary polyamines take part in such processes. The deprivation of exogenous polyamines emerges as a promising strategy in tumour therapy. Thus, reliable information on their content in foods is needed for dieticians. This review continues our previous comprehensive review on the topic, summarising data on the polyamine content in foods published from 2005 to April 2009. Some new data has appeared. Bovine, porcine and chicken liver, kidney, spleen and heart all have a high content of spermine; bovine liver also of spermidine. Losses of spermidine and spermine up to one half of their original levels occur during both cold and frozen storage and during various thermal treatments. Cultivated mushrooms were reported to contain very high levels of spermidine. Recent results have proved that polyamine content varies widely within a food item, and this complicates the application of available data for the controlled nutrition of patients.

Nano-technology has entered the field of medicine in recent decades and many of the nanomaterials developed have already had a high impact on health care. Among nanomaterials, gold nanoparticles (GNPs) and gold quantum dots (QDs) are receiving significant attention because their unique physical, chemical and biological properties are quite different from the bulk of their counterparts. In this article, after a brief historical overview, the use of gold and nano-gold in medicine is reviewed, analyzed, and discussed. The review particularly deals with the use of GNPs and bio-conjugated GNPs in cancer treatment, drug or gene delivery, DNA detection, biomedical imaging including that of brain activity, enhancement of gene regulation, the detection of toxic metals, immuno-assays, disease detection and diagnostics, therapy and also the toxicity of gold and GNPs, etc. A number of novel applications of GNPs in medicine and perspectives of nano-gold use in medicine are also discussed.

Antibodies are macromolecular structures with a high affinity to a molecule called the antigen. Though the natural aim of antibodies is the protection of the body from pathogens, they have been found to play a useful part in a number of specific treatments and diagnoses. This wider role for antibodies extends to assays where antibodies provide a recognition capability improving available physical methods. Photometrical methods such as ELISA or flow cytometry and electrochemical, optical or piezoelectric immunosensors (biosensors) are typical examples. The present review summarizes facts about the parameters and the production of antibodies. The structure of immunoglobulins, and the production and purification of monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies are described in four chapters. The review was written in order to collect the available knowledge on antibodies into one study improving orientation in this field for anyone wanting to construct immunoassays.

The broad-spectrum reactivator is a valuable oxime able to reactivate acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibited by nerve agents and pesticides. At present there are many AChE reactivators (oximes) which are suitable candidates as broad-spectrum reactivators and among them is the oxime HI-6, highly enough thought of to have been recommended by many armies for use as a universal antidote. In this study, we wanted to establish whether the designation "broad-spectrum" is a an accurate description or if there are some lacks in reactivation of nerve agents or pesticides. For this purpose, the general in vitro test for the evaluation of AChE reactivators was used. Tabun, sarin, cyclosarin, soman, VX agent, Russian VX were used as nerve agents for testing, and chlorpyrifos, paraoxon, methyl-chlorpyrifos and dichlorvos (DDVP) were used as typical examples of organophoshorus pesticides. The results obtained showed that oxime HI-6 did not reactivate tabun- and DDVP-inhibited AChE, and, in the case of the other pesticides, only a high dose of oxime HI-6 was able to reactivate pesticide-inhibited AChE.

The detection of microsatellite instability (MSI) is a standard part of mutational analysis in hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancers (HNPCC). A characteristic phenotypic feature of MSI indicates loss of mismatch repair (MMR) in tumour cells.
We studied MSI in 205 tumours from 152 patients with HNPCC. Of these, 37 patients fulfilled the Amsterdam criteria, 72 patients were familial and 43 were sporadic cases. We used the method of fragmentation analysis (ABI Prism 310 Genetic Analyzer) with fluorescent labelled primers; three mononucleotide (BAT-RII, BAT-25, BAT-26) and five dinucleotide (D2S123, D3S1029, D5S346, D17S250, D18S58) repeat loci were analysed. We detected 75 tumours with a high degree of MSI (MSI-H), 12 tumours with a low degree of MSI (MSI-L) and 118 tumours with stable microsatellites (MSS). We found a loss of heterozygozity (LOH) in 44 MSS tumours. In 30 patients with MSI-H tumours mutation in one of mismatch repair genes was detected.

Hyperlipidaemia is one of the major risk factors of cardiovascular complication in diabetes. A study was undertaken to evaluate the antihyperlipidaemic activity of pterostilbene. Oral administration of pterostilbene (40mg/kg bodyweight) to streptozotocin-nicotinamide induced diabetic rats for 6 weeks significantly reduced the elevated serum very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) and low density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol levels and significantly increased the serum high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol level. In addition, pterostilbene also significantly lowered the levels of triglycerides, phospholipids, free fatty acids and total cholesterol in the serum, liver and kidney of diabetic rats.

The goal of the present study was to investigate the daily amount of motor activity and the daily rhythm of tryptophan and serotonin in goats housed in individual boxes under a 12/12 light/dark cycle. We equipped six Girgentana breed goats with Actiwatch-Mini® (Cambridge Neurotechnology Ltd., UK), actigraphy-based data loggers that record a digitally integrated measure of motor activity. Also blood samples were collected at four-hour intervals over a 48 h period via an intravenous cannula inserted into the jugular vein. The concentration of tryptophan (TRP) and serotonin (5-HT) were assessed by the high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method. Our results outline a diurnal pattern of motor activity and levels of tryptophan in the serum, and a nocturnal pattern of levels of serotonin in the serum, which underline the impact of endogenous serotoninergic activity on the behavioural aspects of the circadian response to light.

Cyclooxygenase is the enzyme responsible for the production of prostaglandins (PGs). This cyclooxygenase exists in two isoforms: cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1) and cyclooxygense-2 (COX-2). In humans and primates high levels of COX-2 are detected in the seminal vesicle. Further, the main source of PGs in the semen of these species is from the seminal vesicle. In rodents, the source of PGs in semen is from the vas deferens and abundant levels of COX-2 are detected. A direct relation is thought to exist between COX-2 levels and the source of PGs in semen. Moreover, the role of COX-1 and COX-2 in the seminal vesicle of rodents is obscure. The present study aims at localizing COX-1 and COX-2 in the seminal vesicle of mice. Immunohistochemical staining and COX activity assay revealed COX-1 as a dominant isoform in the mouse seminal vesicle. On treatment with nimesulide - a preferential COX-2 inhibitor - no change in staining intensity and COX activity was observed. The total PG levels also appeared to be unaltered following nimesulide treatment. This confirms that nimesulide had no effect on COX-1. The results presented here suggest COX-1 is the dominant isoform in the mouse seminal vesicle and is responsible for PG synthesis.

This study was designed to find the correlation between changes in CD⁴⁺ cell count, lipid profile and liver marker enzymes in HIV-infected and AIDS patients. The study population consisted of 150 subjects, age and sex-matched and divided into three groups [control subjects (n=50), HIV infected (n=50) and AIDS patients (n=50)]. We observed a significant reduction in CD⁴⁺ cell count in HIV/AIDS patients when compared to control subjects. Serum levels of total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) were found to be decreased significantly in HIV/AIDS patients when compared with normal counterparts. On the other hand, the levels of triglyceride (TG) and very low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL-C) were markedly elevated in HIV/AIDS patients compared to normal subjects. The activities of serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) observed in HIV/AIDS patients were significantly higher than in the control group. Further, the above mentioned haematological and biochemical variables were found to be affected more significantly in AIDS patients when compared with HIV infected subjects. Hence, it may be concluded that CD⁴⁺ cell count, lipid profile and liver enzymes can be a good index of disease progression in HIV infection and AIDS patients.

The L-arginine is the substrate of nitric oxide production which is involved in the regulation of apoptosis and inflammatory processes. The effect of L-arginine after fatty streaks formation has not been fully understood in hypercholesterolemic model; therefore the main objective of this study was to investigate the effect of L-arginine after fatty streaks were developed in rabbit's aorta. Eighteen male rabbits were fed 1% cholesterol diet for four weeks. One third of the animals were sacrificed randomly to verify fatty streaks formation in the aorta (phase I). Then the high cholesterol diet was replaced with normal diet, and the remaining animals (n=12) were divided into two groups (phase II); group 1 (n=6): normal diet and group 2 (n=6): normal diet plus L-arginine (3% in drinking water). The experiment was continued for more four weeks. The serum levels of lipids and lipoproteins were increased significantly in phase I (p

Down syndrome (DS) is often accompanied by autoimmune diseases. Among those, autoimmune thyroid disease, type 1 diabetes and celiac disease are the most common. The major cause of enhanced vulnerability of DS patients to a variety of autoimmune diseases is impaired immune response, with multiple abnormalities in all components of the immune system, especially in cell-mediated immunity. This could explain a significantly higher frequency of autoimmune disorders in DS compared to the general population. The diagnosis of autoimmune diseases accompanying DS could be complicated by masking effects of the underlying features of the syndrome such as failure to thrive, short stature and delayed puberty. However, screening for immunological signs of coexistent autoimmunity such as tissue-specific antibodies and monitoring insulin secretion, glucose levels, thyroid function and other metabolic parameters should help in early diagnosis of coexistent autoimmunity in DS patiens.

Humic substances as part of humus-soil organic matter - are compounds arising from the physical, chemical and microbiological transformation (humification) of biomolecules. They are important because they constitute the most ubiquitous source of non-living organic material that nature knows. Approximately 80% of the total carbon in terrestrial media and 60% of the carbon dissolved in aquatic media are made up of humic substances. Humic substances have important roles in soil fertility, and are considered to have primal relevance for the stabilization of soil aggregates. They can be divided into three components according to their solubility: humic acids, fulvic acids and humin. Humic acids are the most explored group of humic substances. Beyond their relevance for life these substances have industrial applications in the development of absorbents to be used at the sources of metal-poisoning. Being natural substances, their purification process is cheaper than the synthesis of any other sorbent and, moreover, due to their high operability, they absorb more than the absorbents used to date, such as active charcoals or clays. The specific properties of humic acid products enable their application in industry, agriculture, environmental and biomedicine.

Owing to the threat of organophosphate exposures, not only to pesticides but also to nerve agents, it is very important to know the whole process of organophosphates-inhibited acetylcholinesterase (AChE, EC 3.1.1.7) reactivation. Although current antidotes against organophosphorus intoxications consist also of prophylactics, AChE reactivators are still needed especially in the case of intoxications with high doses of organophosphates, for which prophylactic treatment is not effective. For this reason, new AChE reactivators are still being developed. Our work summarizes accurately the whole reactivation process, and offers some help for scientists who are interested in the area of AChE reactivation.

Wild mushrooms are a popular delicacy in many countries and their consumption is rather high in some individuals. Some species, mainly from the genera Agaricus, Macrolepiota, Lepista and Calocybe accumulate a high content of cadmium and mercury even in unpolluted areas. Levels of these metals increase considerably in heavily polluted sites, such as in the vicinity of both working and abandoned metal smelters or inside cities. Current knowledge of the chemical forms of the metals bound in mushrooms is limited, as are data on their bioavailability in man. Consumption of the species which do accumulate these metals should thus be restricted. A low content of the metals in cultivated mushroom species is characteristic.

Depleted uranium is a byproduct of the uranium enrichment process and has been used for decades in different applications. Recently depleted uranium is used as an anti-armour munition because of its profitable physical properties. One of these, the ability to ignite and burn at very high temperatures, may result in the formation of an aerosol of very small uranium oxide clusters, which may be inhaled. It is alleged that these particles represent a new battlefield hazard because of the radioactivity and chemical toxicity of uranium.

Alzheimer's disease is one of the most important diseases related to ageing. The social and human cost is very high especially because of the increase in the normal life span in developed countries. There is presently no cure for the disease and stimulating the cholinergic central neurotransmission is today the only therapeutic approach which has been shown to successfully improve the cognitive state in a significant population of patients. In such a context, research projects should be aimed specifically at reducing brain lesions resulting from the disease, especially those due to the amyloid peptide accumulation, and at reducing or even halting the clinical evolution of the disease and consequent neurodegenerative processes.

Fluoride has long been known to influence the activity of various enzymes in vitro. Latterly it has been demonstrated that many effects primarily attributed to fluoride are caused by a synergistic action of fluoride plus aluminum. Fluorinated chemicals are of growing importance, with applications in medicine. Fluorine substitution has profound effects on the properties of organic compounds. The very high electronegativity of fluorine can modify electron distribution in the molecule, affecting its absorption, distribution and metabolism. Fluorine-containing drugs are used in medicine as anesthetics, antibiotics, anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory agents, psychopharmaceuticals, and in many other applications. The potential contribution of fluorinating pharmaceuticals to human fluoride exposure is discussed.

The aim of this study is to summarize new findings on the most important recessive hereditary disorders in cattle. Important diseases in cattle breeding are: BLAD (Bovine Leukocyte Adhesion Deficiency), DUMPS (Deficiency of Uridine - 5-Monophosphate Synthase), MSUD (Maple Syrup Urine Disease), Bovine Citrullinaemia, and - not detected until 2000 - CVM (Complex Vertebral Malformation). Some of these disorders occur also in man. Thanks to the intensive exploitation of elite sires in artificial insemination, the risk of a fast spread world-wide of recessive hereditary defects is extremely high. In animals there are methods for the detection of heterozygotes like test mating, but they are inapplicable in man due to ethical considerations. Molecular genetic methods enable early diagnosis in man, and are useful in genetic counselling. In animals, the detection of heterozygotes enables their selection and therefore the control and prevention of the spread of recessive diseases in the population. The use of new molecular technologies promises quick progress in animal bioechnology.

The effects of irradiation (200kV X-ray, 5 Gy), extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields (ELF-EMF, 50 Hz, 60±0.2 μT) and/or heat shock (HS, 41°C for 30 min) on the expression of several heat shock genes (HSP27, HSP60, HSP70, HSP75, HSP78, HSP90) in human HL-60 leukaemia cells was studied by RT-PCR. In addition, the effects of these stressors on cell cycle progression in exponentially and asynchronously growing cell cultures were studied by flow cytometry. The dynamics of cell division during successive cell cycles was monitored by fluorescence-labelling of the cells with carboxyfluorescein succinimidyl ester (CFSE). Finally, the cell cycle distribution was studied by staining with propidium iodide (PI). With respect to HSP gene expression the three stressors produced similar effects. The combination of stressors (ELF-EMF and HS or Radiation and HS) strongly induced transcription of the HSP70 gene above the level induced by each stressor alone. The cell cycle analysis, however, revealed striking differences in the cellular response to each stressor. Of particular interest was the observed thermoprotective effect of ELF-EMF in heat shocked cells, an effect that was not seen in cells which were exposed to X-rays in the presence of thermal stress.

Amiodarone, discovered forty years ago and in general use as an anti-anginal drug, has become a wide-spectrum anti-arrhythmic, used as the drug of preference in cardiac failure and after myocardial infarction, where it is the only drug (besides some betablockers) which does not increase overall mortality. It is successfully used in therapy and prophylaxis for life threatening arrhythmias, even when electro physiological testing has failed to disclose the detailed mechanism of arrhythmia. In cases of myocardial infarction it should be regarded as the anti-arrhythmic drug of first choice. Amiodarone is a drug which is capable with high probability of anticipating arrhythmias, combining, in an exclusive exceptional entity, beneficial effects on cardiac electrophysiology, neurochemical parameters, coronary flow and haemodynamics with a unique local antithyroid effect. A detailed survey of the current experimental and clinical basis for practical use is given, based on 93 cited sources from the last 30 years.