Salivary Testosterone and Cortisol Concentrations, and Psychological Overtraining Scores as Indicators of Overtraining Syndromes among Elite Soccer Players / Concentraciones salivales de testosterona y cortisol. Puntuaciones de sobreentrenamiento como indicadores de síndrome de sobreentrenamiento entre jugadores de fútbol de élite

Overreaching (short-term overtraining) and overtraining syndrome (OTS) are caused by a chronic imbalance between training and recovery and can lead to prolonged fatigue and decrements in athletic performance. Though research on OTS has increased greatly over the last decade, there is still a lack of consensus about its etiology and a precise diagnosis of its occurrence. The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between psychological scores and OTS markers in elite soccer players. Three samples of unstimulated saliva (2 ml) were taken on rest days (8:00 am, 11:00 am, and 5:00 pm) from 30 elite male soccer players (age: 24.1±3.8 years (mean±SD)) and analyzed for cortisol and testosterone. They were also asked to complete the Societe Francaise de Medecine du Sport (SFMS) overtraining questionnaire. Results of zero-order correlation indicated that the SFMS overtraining scores had a significant positive correlation with cortisol concentrations at 8:00 am (r = 0.66; p<0.001), 11:00 am (r = 0.62; p<0.001), and 5:00 pm (r = 0.40; p< 0.05), mean cortisol concentrations of the entire day (r = 0.60; p<0.001). Psychological overtraining scores were also positively correlated with testosterone concentrations at 8:00 am (r = 0.39; p=0.015) and 5:00 pm (r = 0.37; p< 0.05), but negatively correlated with the T/C ratio at 8:00 am (r = -0.38; p=0.020). It should be concluded that the SFMS overtraining questionnaire may be considered as a cost-effective and useful tool for monitoring (and thus preventing) overtraining in soccer players

La sobre-solicitación (o sobre-entrenamiento a corto plazo) y el síndrome de sobre-entrenamiento (SSL) están causados por un desequilibrio crónico entre entrenamiento y recuperación, pudiendo conducir a situaciones de fatiga prolongada y a disminuciones en el rendimiento deportivo. Pese al gran incremento experimentado por la investigación en SSL durante la última década, no existe aún consenso acerca de su etiología ni tampoco un criterio diagnóstico preciso que permita detectar su presencia. El objetivo del presente estudio fue examinar la relación entre las puntuaciones obtenidas en un test de carácter psicológico y marcadores fisiológicos de SSE en futbolistas de elite. Se analizaron los niveles de cortisol y testosterona presentes en tres muestras de saliva no estimuladas (2 mi) obtenidas en días de descanso (8:00 am, 11:00 am, and 5:00 pm) en 30 futbolistas de élite masculinos (edad: 24.1±3.8 años (media±DT)). Adicionalmente, los participantes completaron el Cuestionario de Sobre-entrenamiento de la Sociedad Francesa de Medicina del Deporte (SFMD). Los resultados de las correlaciones de orden cero indicaron que las puntuaciones de sobre-entrenamiento del cuestionario SFMD se correlacionaban de forma positiva y estadísticamente significativa tanto con las concentraciones de cortisol a las 8:00 am (r = 0.66; p<0.001), 11:00 am (r = 0.62; p<0.001), y 5:00 pm (r = 0.40; p< 0.05), como con la concentración media a lo largo del día (r = 0.60; p<0.001). Además, las puntuaciones de sobre-entrenamiento psicológico estuvieron positivamente correlacionadas con las concentraciones de testosterona a las 8:00 am (r = 0.39; p=0.015) y 5:00 pm (r = 0.37; 100 p< 0.05), pero negativamente correlacionadas con la relación T/C a las 8:00 am (r = -0.38; p=0.020). Puede concluirse que el cuestionario de sobre-entrenamiento de la SFMD podría ser una alternativa asequible y útil en el control (y por tanto prevención) del sobre-entrenamiento en futbolistas

Alterations in the extracellular catabolism of nucleotides and platelet aggregation induced by high-fat diet in rats: effects of alpha-tocopherol

The aim of this study was to assess whether alfa-tocopherol administration prevented alterations in the ectonucleotidase activities and platelet aggregation induced by high-fat diet in rats. Thus, we examined four groups of male rats which received standard diet, high-fat diet (HFD), α-tocopherol (α-Toc), and high-fat diet plus α-tocopherol. HFD was administered ad libitum and α-Toc by gavage using a dose of 50 mg/kg. After 3 months of treatment, animals were submitted to euthanasia, and blood samples were collected for biochemical assays. Results demonstrate that NTPDase, ectonucleotide pyrophosphatase/phosphodiesterase, and 5'-nucleotidase activities were significantly decreased in platelets of HFD group, while that adenosine deaminase (ADA) activity was significantly increased in this group in comparison to the other groups (P < 0.05). When rats that received HFD were treated with α-Toc, the activities of these enzymes were similar to the control, but ADA activity was significantly increased in relation to the control and α-Toc group (P < 0.05). HFD group showed an increased in platelet aggregation in comparison to the other groups, and treatment with α-Toc significantly reduced platelet aggregation in this group. These findings demonstrated that HFD alters platelet aggregation and purinergic signaling in the platelets and that treatment with α-Toc was capable of modulating the adenine nucleotide hydrolysis in this experimental condition

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Characterization of the gene cluster involved in allantoate catabolism and its transcriptional regulation by the RpiR-type repressor HpxUin Klebsiella pneumoniae

Bacteria, fungi, and plants have metabolic pathways for the utilization of nitrogen present in purine bases. In Klebsiella pneumoniae, the genes responsible for the assimilation of purine ring nitrogen are distributed in three separated clusters. We characterized the gene cluster involved in the metabolism of allantoate (genes KPN_01761 to KPN_01771). The functional assignments of HpxK, as an allantoate amidohydrolase, and of HpxU, as a regulator involved in the control of allantoate metabolism, were assessed experimentally. Gene hpxU encodes a repressor of the RpiR family that mediates the regulation of this system by allantoate. In this study, the binding of HpxU to the hpxF promoter and to the hpxU-hpxW intergenic region containing the divergent promoter for these genes was evidenced by electrophoretic mobility shift assays. Allantoate released the HpxU repressor from its target operators whereas other purine intermediate metabolites, such as allantoin and oxamate, failed to induce complex dissociation. Sequence alignment of the four HpxU identified operators identified TGAA-N8-TTCA as the consensus motif recognized by the HpxU repressor (AU)

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Involvement of several transcriptional regulators in the differential expression of tfd genes in Cupriavidus necator JMP134

Cupriavidus necator JMP134 has been extensively studied because of its ability to degrade chloroaromatic compounds, including the herbicides 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and 3-chlorobenzoic acid (3-CB), which is achieved through the pJP4-encoded chlorocatechol degradation gene clusters: tfdCIDIEIFI and tfdDIICIIEIIFII. The present work describes a different tfd-genes expression profile depending on whether C. necator cells were induced with 2,4-D or 3-CB. By contrast, in vitro binding assays of the purified transcriptional activator TfdR showed similar binding to both tfd intergenic regions; these results were confirmed by in vivo studies of the expression of transcriptional lacZ fusions for these intergenic regions. Experiments aimed at investigating whether other pJP4 plasmid or chromosomal regulatory proteins could contribute to the differences in the response of both tfd promoters to induction by 2,4-D and 3-CB showed that the transcriptional regulators from the benzoate degradation pathway, CatR1 and CatR2, affected 3-CB- and 2,4-D-related growth capabilities. It was also determined that the ISJP4-interrupted protein TfdT decreased growth on 3-CB. In addition, an ORF with 34% amino acid identity to IclR-type transcriptional regulator members and located near the tfdII gene cluster module was shown to modulate the 2,4-D growth capability. Taken together, these results suggest that tfd transcriptional regulation in C. necator JMP134 is far more complex than previously thought and that it involves proteins from different transcriptional regulator families (AU)

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ISPst9, an ISL3-like insertion sequence from Pseudomonas stutzeri AN10 involved in catabolic gene inactivation

A novel insertion sequence (IS), ISPst9, from Pseudomonas stutzeri AN10 was cloned and characterized. ISPst9 is a typical bacterial IS, consisting of a 2472-bp element flanked by 24-bp perfect inverted repeats that generates 8-bp AT-rich target duplications upon insertion. The sequence also contains a gene that encodes an active transposase (TnpA) with significant amino acid identity to members of the ISL3 family. Southern blot analysis of digested genomic DNA of strain AN10 and its 4-chlorosalicylate-degrading derivative strain AN142 demonstrated that native ISPst9 transposes in multiple copies, with one of them responsible for the nahH insertional inactivation observed in strain AN142. Precise excision of ISPst9 yielded NahH+ revertants of AN142 at high frequencies (up to 10-6). In vivo transposition, mainly in multiple copies, of an ISPst9 derivative containing a KmR cassette cloned into a suicide vector was also demonstrated. Hybridization experiments carried out with different strains of P. stutzeri and with 292 phylogenetically distinct environmental isolates suggested that the presence of an ISPst9-like IS occurs in diverse bacteria together with the presence of aromatic hydrocarbon-degrading determinants (AU)

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Expresión y localización de hsp70 y hsp27 en pacientes con cáncer de mama / Expression and localization of hsp70 and hsp27 in human breast tumors

Planteamiento: se ha estudiado la inducción de las proteínas de choque térmico (hsp) 70 y 27 en 35 pacientes con cáncer de mama comparando con tumores malignos.Material y métodos: Se han hecho estudios con inmunohistoquímica sobre cortes de parafina de los 35 pacientes con cáncer de mama empleando anticuerpos frente a las proteínas hsp70 y hsp27. Al mismo tiempo se han analizado los tumores, pero no sucede lo mismo con hsp27. La expresión de hsp70 es alta en todos los casos, con más del 60 por ciento de células teñidas por campo en cada tumor. La expresión de hsp27 es menor en los casos dende hay reacción positiva. La expresión de hsp70 parece estar relacionada con los procesos de proliferación en tejido mamario, mientras que en tumores malignos hay una localización nuclear de hsp70.Conclusiones: Se puede decir que los resultados del trabajo apoyan el empleo de hsp70 como marcador de malignidad en el cáncer de mama, dada su expresión aumnetada y translocación nuclear relacionada con el cáncer (AU)