Lycopene prevents bone loss in ovariectomized rats and increases the number of osteocytes and osteoblasts.

Osteoporosis is a prevalent disease with a high incidence in women at the onset of menopause mainly because of hormonal changes, genetics, and lifestyle, leading to decreased bone mass and risk of fractures. Maintaining bone mass is a challenge for postmenopausal women, with calcium-rich food intake being essential for bone health. Nevertheless, other nutrients such as carotenoids may influence bone metabolism because of their high antioxidant properties. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of the carotenoid lycopene on bone cells and in the microarchitecture of ovariectomized rats employing in vitro and in vivo assays. After 8 weeks of ovariectomy, femurs were removed to isolate bone marrow mesenchymal cells to be cultured in osteogenic medium (sham and ovariectomized/OVX) or with 1 µmol/L lycopene (OVX/Lyc). There were performed assays for alkaline phosphatase activity and its in situ detection, mineralization nodules, and quantitative expression of genes associated with osteogenesis. Daily ingestion of 10 mg/kg of lycopene by oral gavage for 8 weeks after ovariectomy was conducted for stereological evaluation of the number and volume of osteoblasts, osteoclasts, and osteocytes of femur distal epiphysis and for microtomographic evaluation of the bone microarchitecture of the femoral proximal epiphysis. Data were normalized and analyzed by comparison among the groups using one-way ANOVA followed by post hoc tests with the significance level set out at 5%. Results showed that lycopene promoted an increase in ALP in situ detection as well as a significant increase in mineralized nodules deposition and expression of genes Runx2 and Bglap when compared with the OVX group. The administration by oral gavage of lycopene increased the total number of osteoblasts and osteocytes when compared to sham and ovariectomized groups. Additionally, it decreased the volume and number of osteoclasts and also reduced the volume of osteocytes compared to the sham group. These results suggest that lycopene improves bone cell metabolism and bone remodeling with the onset of osteoporosis. Future studies with different concentrations and periods of administration should be carried out to shed further light on it.

Teaching Tip Using Play-Doh to Enhance the Perceived Learning of Veterinary Medicine.

Teaching anatomy to veterinary students is challenging, and using two-dimensional (2D) representations may limit the opportunity for learners to make the connections required to fully appreciate the complex structures involved and the relationships between them. This research considered the implementation of three-dimensional (3D) modeling using Play-Doh with learners to consider whether they were able to make effective representations that may then support further learning. The evidence from teacher observations and student feedback suggests that, despite some initial hesitation surrounding the use of what some might perceive as a toy in the higher education classroom, the learners believed that the approach allowed improvement in terms of their understanding, knowledge retention and recall. They reported that the approach enabled greater visualization of the structures they were representing. For teachers, the approach has the advantage that the material is cheap, readily available, easily manipulated, can be reused, and needs no sophisticated technology.

Melanomacrophage functions in the liver of the caecilian Siphonops annulatus.

Melanomacrophages are phagocytes that synthesize melanin. They are found in the liver and spleen of ectothermic vertebrates, and in the kidney of fish. In agnathan and elasmobranch fish, melanomacrophages are seen as isolated cells, and forming clusters in all the other vertebrates. The natural phagocytic activity of melanomacrophages is poorly characterized, as most of the research works have focused on induced phagocytic activity only. Furthermore, little is known about amphibian melanomacrophages, mainly about those in caecilians - wormlike amphibians in the order of Gymnophiona, which is the least known group of terrestrial vertebrates. The present research work aimed at the structure and function of hepatic melanomacrophages of Siphonops annulatus, a species largely found in South America. We identified the role of these cells in the control of circulating basophils (pro-melanogenic cells), in the turnover of liver collagen stroma and in the hemocatheresis, interrelated physiological mechanisms.

Low-level laser therapy improves bone formation: stereology findings for osteoporosis in rat model.

Low-level laser therapy (LLLT) benefits bone metabolism, but its use needs to be standardized. We evaluated the effects of LLLT on bone defects in calvaria of ovariectomized rats. Stereology was used to calculate tissue repair volume (V tr ), density of trabecular bone volume (Vv t ), total volume of newly formed trabecular bone (Vtot), and the area occupied by collagen fibers (A C ). Fifty-four Wistar rats were submitted to bilateral ovariectomy, and bone defects were created in calvaria after 150 days. The animals were divided into nine groups (n = 6), and 24 h after defects, the treatment started with a 780-nm low-intensity GaAlAs laser: G1, G2, and G3 received 3 sessions of 0, 20, and 30 J/cm(2) respectively; G4, G5, and G6 received 6 sessions of 0, 20, and 30 J/cm(2), respectively; and G7, G8, and G9 received 12 sessions of 0, 20, and 30 J/cm(2), respectively. A normal distribution was found for all of the data. The test used to verify the normality was the Kolmogorov-Smirnov (KS, p > 0.05). The one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey's post hoc test was used for data processing. A difference of p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Groups G2 and G1 showed significance for V tr , Vv t , Vtot, and (A C ). Results were significant for (Vv t ) and (Vtot) between G3 and G1. There were no significant results between G5 and G4 as well as between G8 and G7. Groups G6 and G4 results showed statistical difference for V tr , Vv t , Vtot, and (A C ). Groups G9 and G7 showed significance for V tr , Vv t , Vtot, and (A C ). In conclusion, there was new bone formation in the groups that received 20 and 30 J/cm(2) when compared to control groups, but over time, the dose of 30 J/cm(2) showed better stereological parameters when compared to 20 J/cm(2).

Myelin, aging, and physical exercise.

Myelin sheath is a structure in neurons fabricated by oligodendrocytes and Schwann cells responsible for increasing the efficiency of neural synapsis, impulse transmission, and providing metabolic support to the axon. They present morpho-functional changes during health aging as deformities of the sheath and its fragmentation, causing an increased load on microglial phagocytosis, with Alzheimer's disease aggravating. Physical exercise has been studied as a possible protective agent for the nervous system, offering benefits to neuroplasticity. In this regard, studies in animal models for Alzheimer's and depression reported the efficiency of physical exercise in protecting against myelin degeneration. A reduction of myelin damage during aging has also been observed in healthy humans. Physical activity promotes oligodendrocyte proliferation and myelin preservation during old age, although some controversies remain. In this review, we will address how effective physical exercise can be as a protective agent of the myelin sheath against the effects of aging in physiological and pathological conditions.

Distinctive Neuroanatomic Regions Involved in Cocaine-Induced Behavioral Sensitization in Mice.

The present study aimed to characterize the phenomenon of behavioral sensitization to cocaine and to identify neuroanatomical structures involved in the induction and expression phases of this phenomenon. For this, in experiment 1 (induction phase), mice were treated with saline or cocaine every second day for 15 days (conditioning period), in the open-field or in their home-cages. In experiment 2 (expression phase), the same protocol was followed, except that after the conditioning period the animals were not manipulated for 10 days, and after this interval, animals were challenged with cocaine. Neuroanatomical structures involved in the induction and expression phases were identified by stereological quantification of c-Fos staining in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC), nucleus accumbens core (NAc core and shell (NAc shell), basolateral amygdala (BLA), and ventral tegmental area (VTA). Neuroanatomical analysis indicated that in the induction phase, cocaine-conditioned animals had higher expression of c-Fos in the dmPFC, NAc core, BLA, and VTA, whereas in the expression phase, almost all areas had higher expression except for the VTA. Therefore, environmental context plays a major role in the induction and expression of behavioral sensitization, although not all structures that compose the mesolimbic system contribute to this phenomenon.

Exercise training restores hypertension-induced changes in the elastic tissue of the thoracic aorta.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Pharmacological antihypertensive therapies decrease both wall hypertrophy and collagen, but are unable to diminish the elastic content in the thoracic aorta. We investigated the effects of exercise training on aortic structure and function. METHODS: Spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and normotensive rats (WKY), submitted to low-intensity training (T) or kept sedentary (S), were subjected to haemodynamic analyses. The thoracic aorta was processed for real-time PCR, light (morphometric/stereological evaluations) and electron microscopy. RESULTS: SHR(S) versus WKY(S) exhibited a higher heart rate, pressure and pulse pressure, increased α-actin, elastin and collagen mRNA expression, augmented wall volume and cross-sectional area (marked elastin/collagen content). In the SHR, training reduced pressure and heart rate, with slight reduction in pulse pressure. SHR(T) aortas exhibited small morphometric changes, reduced α-actin, elastin and collagen mRNA expression, normalization of increased elastic content, reduction in collagen/connective tissue and a decrease in smooth muscle cell volume (p < 0.05 for all comparisons). SHR(T) aortas showed improved circumferential orientation of smooth muscle cells and prevention of rupture/duplication of internal elastic lamina. No effects were observed in trained WKY aortas. CONCLUSIONS: Training effectively corrects elastic, collagen and smooth muscle content in SHR aortas. These changes, by reducing aortic pulsatility, facilitate a buffering function and reduce the cardiovascular risk.

Stereological and allometric studies on neurons and axo-dendritic synapses in the superior cervical ganglia of rats, capybaras and horses.

The superior cervical ganglion (SCG) in mammals varies in structure according to developmental age, body size, gender, lateral asymmetry, the size and nuclear content of neurons and the complexity and synaptic coverage of their dendritic trees. In small and medium-sized mammals, neuron number and size increase from birth to adulthood and, in phylogenetic studies, vary with body size. However, recent studies on larger animals suggest that body weight does not, in general, accurately predict neuron number. We have applied design-based stereological tools at the light-microscopic level to assess the volumetric composition of ganglia and to estimate the numbers and sizes of neurons in SCGs from rats, capybaras and horses. Using transmission electron microscopy, we have obtained design-based estimates of the surface coverage of dendrites by postsynaptic apposition zones and model-based estimates of the numbers and sizes of synaptophysin-labelled axo-dendritic synaptic disks. Linear regression analysis of log-transformed data has been undertaken in order to establish the nature of the relationships between numbers and SCG volume (V(scg)). For SCGs (five per species), the allometric relationship for neuron number (N) is N=35,067xV (scg) (0.781) and that for synapses is N=20,095,000xV (scg) (1.328) , the former being a good predictor and the latter a poor predictor of synapse number. Our findings thus reveal the nature of SCG growth in terms of its main ingredients (neurons, neuropil, blood vessels) and show that larger mammals have SCG neurons exhibiting more complex arborizations and greater numbers of axo-dendritic synapses.

Resistance Exercise Decreases Amyloid Load and Modulates Inflammatory Responses in the APP/PS1 Mouse Model for Alzheimer's Disease.

Neuroinflammation has been shown to play a crucial role in the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and also has an association with amyloid-ß (Aß) plaques, a hallmark of this disease. Physical exercise has emerged as an alternative treatment for pathological impairment in AD. In light of this evidence, together with the fact that the hippocampus is one of the first structures to be affected in AD, we analyzed hippocampal changes in Aß load, inflammatory responses, and locomotor activity in transgenic APP/PS1 mouse model for AD submitted to a resistance exercise (RE) program. One month after the start of the RE program, the locomotor hyperactivity related to AD behavior was reduced and microglia recruitment was increased, which in turn may have contributed to the decrease in the volume of Aß plaques. In addition, the RE program restored the levels of IL-1α, IL-4, and IL-6 cytokines to control levels. Our study indicates that RE has beneficial effects on the locomotor behavior, amyloid burden, and inflammation of AD pathology and can therefore be used as a therapy to improve the clinical symptoms and neurophysiological alterations in AD. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to use a resistance exercise program in transgenic AD model.

Low-level laser therapy enhances the number of osteocytes in calvaria bone defects of ovariectomized rats.

BACKGROUND: Osteoporosis can make bone repair difficult. Low-level laser therapy (LLLT) has been shown to be a promising tool for bone neoformation. This study aimed to analyze the effect of LLLT on calvaria bone defects of ovariectomized rats using stereology. METHODS: Fifty-four Wistar rats were subjected to bilateral ovariectomy, and bone defects were created in calvaria after 150 days. The animals were divided into nine groups (n =  6 per group), and 24 hours after the bone defects were created they received 3, 6 or 12 sessions of LLLT at 0, 20 or 30 J/cm2, using a 780-nm low-intensity GaAlAs laser. One-way ANOVA followed by Tukey's post hoc test was used for data processing. A difference of P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. The parameters evaluated were osteocyte density (Nv ost), total osteocyte number (Nto ost), trabecular surface density (Sv t), and trabecular surface area (Sa t). RESULTS: Data obtained showed that Nto ost, Sv t, and Sa t in group G2 rats were significantly different from G1 (0 J/cm2) (P < 0.05). Compared to group G4, G5 presented higher values for the parameters Sv t and Sa t, and G6 presented significantly higher values for almost all the analyzed parameters (Nv ost, Nto ost, Sv t, and Sa t) (P < 0.05). Compared to group G7, G8 showed a higher value only for the parameter Sa t, and G9 showed significantly higher values for parameters Nv ost, Nto ost, Sv t, and Sa t. CONCLUSION: We conclude that LLLT stimulated bone neoformation and contributed to an increase in the total number of osteocytes, especially with a laser energy density of 30 J/cm2 given for 6 and 12 sessions.

IGF1R levels in the brain negatively correlate with longevity in 16 rodent species.

The insulin/insulin-like growth factor signaling (IIS) pathway is a major conserved regulator of aging. Nematode, fruit fly and mouse mutants with reduced IIS signaling exhibit extended lifespan. These mutants are often dwarfs leading to the idea that small body mass correlates with longevity within species. However, when different species are compared, larger animals are typically longer-lived. Hence, the role of IIS in the evolution of life history traits remains unresolved. Here we used comparative approach to test whether IGF1R signaling changes in response to selection on lifespan or body mass and whether specific tissues are involved. The IGF1R levels in the heart, lungs, kidneys, and brains of sixteen rodent species with highly diverse lifespans and body masses were measured via immunoblot after epitope conservation analysis. We report that IGF1R levels display strong negative correlation with maximum lifespan only in brain tissue and no significant correlations with body mass for any organ. The brain-IGF1R and lifespan correlation holds when phylogenetic non-independence of data-points is taken into account. These results suggest that modulation of IGF1R signaling in nervous tissue, but not in the peripheral tissues, is an important factor in the evolution of longevity in mammals.