Effect of alpha-7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor activation on beta-amyloid induced recognition memory impairment. Possible role of neurovascular function

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effects of PHA-543613 (α7-nAChR agonist) and galantamine (acetylcholinesterase inhibitor (AChEI)) on recognition memory and neurovascular coupling (NVC) response in beta-amyloid (Aβ) 25-35-treated mice. METHODS: PHA-543613 (1 mg/kg, i.p.), and galantamine (3 mg/kg, s.c.), effects were tested in Aβ25-35 mice model of AD. α7-nAChR antagonist, methyllycaconitine (MLA) (1 mg/kg, i.p.), was used for evaluation of receptor blockade effects. Recognition memory in animals was assessed by the novel object recognition (NOR) task. NVC response was analyzed by laser-doppler flow meter in barrel cortex by whisker stimulation method. RESULTS: Both, PHA-543613 and galantamine improve recognition memory in Aβ-treated animals. However, the advantageous effects of PHA-543613 were significantly higher than galantamine. Also, pretreatment with MLA reversed both galantamine and PHA-543613 effects on NOR. Impaired NVC response in AD animals was improved by PHA-543613 and galantamine. However, MLA pretreatment disrupts this function. CONCLUSION: Activation of α7-nAChR improved recognition memory possible through enhancement of neurovascular response in Alzheimer's disease in animals.

Diagnostic accuracy of respiratory diseases in primary health units / Precisão diagnóstica de doenças respiratórias em unidades primárias de saúde.

Respiratory diseases are responsible for about a fifth of all deaths worldwide and its prevalence reaches 15% of the world population. Primary health care (PHC) is the gateway to the health system, and is expected to resolve up to 85% of health problems in general. Moreover, little is known about the diagnostic ability of general practitioners (GPs) in relation to respiratory diseases in PHC. This review aims to evaluate the diagnostic ability of GPs working in PHC in relation to more prevalent respiratory diseases, such as acute respiratory infections (ARI), tuberculosis, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). 3,913 articles were selected, totaling 30 after application of the inclusion and exclusion criteria. They demonstrated the lack of consistent evidence on the accuracy of diagnoses of respiratory diseases by general practitioners. In relation to asthma and COPD, studies have shown diagnostic errors leading to overdiagnosis or underdiagnosis depending on the methodology used. The lack of precision for the diagnosis of asthma varied from 54% underdiagnosis to 34% overdiagnosis, whereas for COPD this ranged from 81% for underdiagnosis to 86.1% for overdiagnosis. For ARI, it was found that the inclusion of a complementary test for diagnosis led to an improvement in diagnostic accuracy. Studies show a low level of knowledge about tuberculosis on the part of general practitioners. According to this review, PHC represented by the GP needs to improve its ability for the diagnosis and management of this group of patients constituting one of its main demands.

As doenças respiratórias acometem 15% da população do planeta e respondem por 1/5 dos óbitos no mundo. Espera-se que a atenção primária à saúde (APS), primeira instância da assistência médica, solucione até 85% dos problemas de saúde em geral. Pouco se sabe a respeito da habilidade de médicos generalistas da APS em relação ao diagnóstico das doenças respiratórias. Esta revisão refere-se à habilidade diagnóstica de médicos generalistas que atuam na APS em relação às doenças respiratórias mais prevalentes, como doenças respiratórias agudas (IRA), tuberculose, asma e doença pulmonar obstrutiva crônica (DPOC). Dentre 3.913 artigos, 30 foram selecionados após aplicação dos critérios de inclusão e exclusão. Ficou demonstrada a carência de dados consistentes sobre a acurácia dos diagnósticos de doenças respiratórias elaborados por generalistas. Em relação à asma e à DPOC, os estudos demonstram erros diagnósticos que levam ao sobrediagnóstico ou ao subdiagnóstico, dependendo da metodologia usada. A imprecisão do diagnóstico de asma variou de 54% de subdiagnóstico a 34% de sobrediagnóstico; para DPOC, houve variação de 81% de subdiagnóstico a 86,1% de sobrediagnóstico; para IRA, verificou-se que a inclusão de exame complementar de auxílio diagnóstico melhora sua acurácia. Os estudos demonstram um baixo nível de conhecimento sobre tuberculose por parte dos generalistas. De acordo com esta revisão, a APS, na figura do médico generalista, necessita aprimorar sua capacidade de diagnóstico e o manejo desse grupo de pacientes, que constitui uma de suas principais demandas.

Curcumin, but not Prima-1, decreased tumor cell proliferation in the syngeneic murine orthotopic bladder tumor model

OBJECTIVE: Cigarette smoking is the main risk factor for bladder cancer development. Among the mediators of this effect of smoking is nuclear factor-kappa B. Curcumin suppresses cellular transformation by downregulating the activity of nuclear factor-kappa B. Prima-1 is a compound that induces apoptosis in human tumor cells, restoring the function of mutant p53. Our study aimed to evaluate the effects of curcumin and prima-1 in an animal model of bladder cancer. METHODS: Tumor implantation was achieved in six- to eight-week-old female C57BL/6 mice by introducing MB49 bladder cancer cells into the bladder. Intravesical treatment with curcumin and Prima-1 was performed on days 2, 6, 10, and 14. On day 15, the animals were sacrificed. Immunohistochemistry was used to determine the expression of cyclin D1, Cox-2, and p21. Cell proliferation was examined using PCNA. RESULTS: Animals treated with curcumin exhibited a higher degree of necrosis than animals in other groups. Immunohistochemistry showed reduced expression of cyclin D1 in the curcumin-treated group. All of the cells in mice treated with curcumin were p21 positive, suggesting that the p53 pathway is induced by this compound. Prima-1 did not induce any change in tumor size, necrosis, cell proliferation, or the expression of proteins related to the p53 pathway in this animal model. CONCLUSION: Curcumin showed activity in this animal bladder cancer model and probably acted via the regulation of nuclear factor-kappa B and p53. Therefore, curcumin is a good choice for the use in clinical trials to treat superficial bladder cancer as an alternative to bacillus Calmette-Guerin. In contrast, Prima-1 does not seem to have an effect on bladder cancer.

In vitro activity of hypnophilin from Lentinus strigosus: a potential prototype for Chagas disease and leishmaniasis chemotherapy

Hypnophilin and panepoxydone, terpenoids isolated from Lentinus strigosus, have significant inhibitory activity onTrypanosoma cruzi trypanothione reductase (TR). Although they have similar TR inhibitory activity at 10 μg/mL (40.3 μM and 47.6 μM for hypnophilin and panepoxydone, respectively; ~100 percent), hypnophilin has a slightly greater inhibitory activity (~71 percent) on T. cruzi amastigote (AMA) growth in vitro as well as on in vitro phytohemagglutinin (PHA)-induced peripheral blood mononuclear (PBMC) proliferation (~70 percent) compared to panepoxydone (69 percent AMA inhibition and 91 percent PBMC inhibition). Hypnophilin and panepoxydone at 1.25 μg/mL had 67 percent inhibitory activity onLeishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis amastigote-like (AMA-like) growth in vitro. The panepoxydone activity was accompanied by a significant inhibitory effect on PHA-induced PBMC proliferation, suggesting a cytotoxic action. Moreover, incubation of human PBMC with panepoxydone reduced the percentage of CD16+ and CD14+ cells and down-regulated CD19+, CD4+ and CD8+ cells, while hypnophilin did not alter any of the phenotypes analyzed. These data indicate that hypnophilin may be considered to be a prototype for the design of drugs for the chemotherapy of diseases caused by Trypanosomatidae.

Evaluation of anti-Wnt/β-catenin signaling agents by pGL4-TOP transfected stable cells with a luciferase reporter system

Refractory and relapsed leukemia is a major problem during cancer therapy, which is due to the aberrant activation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. Activation of this pathway is promoted by wingless (Wnt) proteins and induces co-activator β-catenin binding to lymphoid enhancer factor (LEF)/T-cell factor protein (TCF). To provide a convenient system for the screening of anti-Wnt/β-catenin agents, we designed a bi-functional pGL4-TOP reporter plasmid that contained 3X β-catenin/LEF/TCF binding sites and a selectable marker. After transfection and hygromycin B selection, HEK 293-TOP and Jurkat-TOP stable clones were established. The luciferase activity in the stable clone was enhanced by the recombinant Wnt-3A (rWnt-3A; 100-400 ng/mL) and GSK3β inhibitor (2’Z,3’E)-6-bromoindirubin-3’-oxime (BIO; 5 µM) but was inhibited by aspirin (5 mM). Using this reporter model, we found that norcantharidin (NCTD; 100 µM) reduced 80 percent of rWnt-3A-induced luciferase activity. Furthermore, 50 µM NCTD inhibited 38 percent of BIO-induced luciferase activity in Jurkat-TOP stable cells. Employing ³H-thymidine uptake assay and Western blot analysis, we confirmed that NCTD (50 µM) significantly inhibited proliferation of Jurkat cells by 64 percent, which are the dominant β-catenin signaling cells and decreased β-catenin protein in a concentration-dependent manner. Thus, we established a stable HEK 293-TOP clone and successfully used it to identify the Wnt/β-catenin signaling inhibitor NCTD.

Prevención de adherencias peritoneales postoperatorias mediante uso de antagonista de receptores de neurokinina tipo 1 / Peritoneal adhesions prevention: neurokinin-1 receptor antagonist

Background: The fibrinolytic activity plays an important role in Peritoneal Adhesions (PA) develop-ment. It's well known that de substance P decreased the fibrinolysis by binding the neurokinin-1 receptor, improving the PA formation. Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness of intraperitoneal treatment with a Neurokinin-1 receptor antagonist (NK-R1A) in peritoneal adhesión prevention in animal model. Materials and Methods: In 40 male wistar rats, PA were induced, and then randomly assigned to 2 groups: A group treated with Aprepitant (NK-Rl A), and a control group. The animals were killed at 7 or 14 postoperative day, and the number, severity and histopathology of PA were evaluated. Results: NK-Rl A decreased the number (40 percent less) and severity (p = 0.001) of PA when compare to control group. The NK-Rl A group had less PA in manipulated and no manipulated organs during surgery. Besides presented less fibrosis (p = 0.001), less inflamation (p = 0.005) and less vascular proliferation (p = 0.047) than control group. Conclusions: The NK-Rl A is effective as in PA prevention.

Introducción: La actividad fibrinolítica juega un papel fundamental en el desarrollo de las adherencias peritoneales (AP), y se conoce que la Sustancia P al actuar sobre receptores de neurokinina tipo 1 a nivel peritoneal, disminuye la fibrinólisis, favoreciendo la formación de las mismas. Objetivos: Evaluar la efectividad del tratamiento intraperitoneal con antagonista de receptores 1 de neurokinina (NK-R1A) en la prevención de AP en modelo animal. Materiales y Métodos: A 40 ratas wistar se les practicó cirugía formadora de AP y fueron distribuidas de forma aleatoria en 2 grupos, un grupo que recibió Aprepitant (NK-R1A), y el otro como grupo control. Los animales fueron sacrificados a los 7 ó 14 días, y se evaluó el número, severidad e histopatología de las AP. Resultados: El NK-Rl A disminuyó el número (40 por ciento menos) y severidad de las AP (p = 0,001) en relación al grupo control y presentó menos AP en órganos manipulados y no manipulados durante la cirugía. Ademßs presentó menor grado de fibrosis (p = 0,001), menor inflamación (p = 0,005) y menor proliferación vascular (p = 0,047) que el grupo control. Conclusión: El tratamiento peritoneal con NK-R1A es eficaz en la prevención de la formación de AP.