Effects of environmental enrichment and sexual dimorphism on the expression of cerebellar receptors in C57BL/6 and BTBR + Itpr3tf/J mice.

OBJECTIVE: Environmental enrichment is used to treat social, communication, and behavioral deficits and is known to modify the expression of synaptic receptors. We compared the effects of environmental enrichment in the expression of glutamate and endocannabinoid receptors, which are widely expressed in the cerebellar cortex. These two receptors interact to regulate neuronal function and their dysregulation is associated with behavioral changes. We used BTBR + Itpr3tf/J mice, a strain that models behavioral disorders, and C57BL/6 mice for comparison. We studied the effects of genetic background, sex, environmental conditions, and layer of the cerebellar cortex on the expression of each receptor. RESULTS: The influence of genetic background and environmental enrichment had the same pattern on glutamate and endocannabinoid receptors in males. In contrast, in females, the effect of environmental enrichment and genetic background were different than the ones obtained for males and were also different between the glutamate and endocannabinoid receptors. Furthermore, an analysis of both receptors from tissue obtained from the same animals show that their expression is correlated in males, but not in females. Our results suggest that environmental enrichment has a receptor dependent and sexual dimorphic effect on the molecular expression of different receptors in the cerebellar cortex.

Razor scrape assay, an alternative variation to wound and healing assays.

Cell migration is the process by which cells move through tissues, and it is crucial to carry out a wide variety of physiological and pathological processes. The study methods to evaluate cell migration are very useful tools for biomedical research. Among these methods, the wound and healing assay is one of the simplest, most economical and is widely used in research. However, one of its disadvantages is that the width and shape of the wound can vary among experimental samples since the scraping is carried out manually, representing a difficult variable to control. In the present article a variant of the razor scrape assay is addressed, which eliminates this variation in the width of the wound, thus facilitating the measurement and comparison using the total area of cell migration.•A method that can be carried out under standard culture conditions.•Avoids the disadvantage of variation in width and shape of the wound.•It constitutes a simple, cheap option and multiple advantages over the traditional method.

[Obesity as a risk factor in the development of cancer]. / La obesidad como factor de riesgo en el desarrollo de cáncer.

According to the World Health Organization, every year about 3.4 million adults die of consequences related to overweight or obesity. People with a Body Mass Index above 30 are more likely to express certain diseases, including some types of cancer. In this narrative review, we assess the role of adipose tissue as a modulator of the endocrine system and facilitator of chronic subclinical inflammation. We discuss how obesity can induce a suitable micro environment for the development of tumors, mainly by enhancing the levels of oxidative stress and the concentrations of hormones such as leptin, insulin and prolactin. We conclude that all together, these factors increase the probability of cancer development.

Rehabilitating a brain with Alzheimer's: a proposal.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disorder, originating sporadically in the population aged over 65 years, and advanced age is the principal risk factor leading to AD development. In spite of the large amount of research going on around the globe and all the information now available about AD, there is still no origin or triggering process known so far. Drugs approved for the treatment of AD include tacrine, donepezil, rivastigmine, galantamine, and memantine. These may delay or slow down the degenerative process for a while, but they can neither stop nor reverse its progression. Because that this might be due to a lack of effect of these drugs on degenerating neurons, even when they are able to potentiate the brain in nondegenerative conditions, we propose here an alternative therapy consisting of initial repair of neuronal membranes followed by conventional drug therapies. The rehabilitation of neurons in a degeneration process would enable the drugs to act more effectively on them and improve the effects of treatment in AD patients.

La obesidad como factor de riesgo en el desarrollo de cáncer / Obesity as a risk factor in the development of cancer

De acuerdo con la Organización Mundial de la Salud, cada año fallecen 3,4 millones de personas adultas por consecuencias del sobrepeso u obesidad. Personas con un índice de masa corporal superior a 30, presentan cierto aumento en la incidencia de algunas enfermedades entre las que se encuentran algunos tipos de cánceres. En esta revisión de tipo narrativa se aborda el papel que tiene el tejido adiposo como modulador del sistema endocrino y facilitador de la inflamación crónica subclínica. Se discute cómo la obesidad puede producir un microambiente favorable para el desarrollo de tumores, principalmente por el incremento del estrés oxidativo y en las concentraciones de diversas hormonas como la leptina, la insulina y la prolactina. Se concluye que, en conjunto, estos factores incrementan la probabilidad de desarrollar cáncer...

According to the World Health Organization, every year about 3.4 million adults die of consequences related to overweight or obesity. People with a Body Mass Index above 30 are more likely to express certain diseases, including some types of cancer. In this narrative review, we assess the role of adipose tissue as a modulator of the endocrine system and facilitator of chronic subclinical inflammation. We discuss how obesity can induce a suitable micro environment for the development of tumors, mainly by enhancing the levels of oxidative stress and the concentrations of hormones such as leptin, insulin and prolactin. We conclude that all together, these factors increase the probability of cancer development...