Determination of Polyphenolic Profile of Apple Pomace (Malus domestica Golden Delicious Variety) by HPLC-MS.

Apple (Malus domestica Borkh) is an appreciated source of polyphenols. Phenolic compounds are known as natural antioxidants and have a wide range of applications in different industries. Apple pomace has the potential of being an alternative source of polyphenols. To determine the polyphenolic profile of apple pomace, samples from the skin at two different stages of ripening were extracted with 80-20% EtOH-water/acetic acid 5% (S1) and 20-80% EtOH-water/acetic acid 5% (S2) in order to determine the solvent system. Ripe skins extracted with S1 showed a higher total polyphenol content or TPC (1.21 g of polyphenols per 100 g of fresh weight (FW)) than unripe apple skin, being the most effective system tested and a mean degree of polymerization of 2.47. Commercial apple pomace was extracted with S1, resulting in a TPC of 0.5615 ± 0.007 g of polyphenols per 100 g of FW. Meanwhile, the RP-HPLC-MS analysis led to the tentative identification of several polyphenolic compounds.

cDNA Characterization and Expression of Selenium-Dependent CqGPx3 Isoforms in the Crayfish Cherax quadricarinatus under High Temperature and Hypoxia.

Glutathione peroxidase 3 (GPx3) is the only extracellular selenoprotein (Sel) that enzymatically reduces H2O2 to H2O and O2. Two GPx3 (CqGPx3) cDNAs were characterized from crayfish Cherax quadricarinatus. The nerve cord CqGPx3a isoform encodes for a preprotein containing an N-terminal signal peptide of 32 amino acid residues, with the mature Sel region of 192 residues and a dispensable phosphorylation domain of 36 residues. In contrast, the pereiopods CqGPx3b codes for a precursor protein with 19 residues in the N-terminal signal peptide, then the mature 184 amino acid residues protein and finally a Pro-rich peptide of 42 residues. CqGPx3 are expressed in cerebral ganglia, pereiopods and nerve cord. CqGPx3a is expressed mainly in cerebral ganglia, antennulae and nerve cord, while CqGPx3b was detected mainly in pereiopods. CqGPx3a expression increases with high temperature and hypoxia; meanwhile, CqGPx3b is not affected. We report the presence and differential expression of GPx3 isoforms in crustacean tissues in normal conditions and under stress for high temperature and hypoxia. The two isoforms are tissue specific and condition specific, which could indicate an important role of CqGPx3a in the central nervous system and CqGPx3b in exposed tissues, both involved in different responses to environmental stressors.

[Evolutionary and bone marrow recovery indicators in bone marrow transplantation after total body irradiation]. / Indicadores evolutivos y de recuperación medular en trasplante de médula ósea después de irradiación corporal total.

Oxidative stress and reticulocyte maturity index (RMI) were studied in 27 patients who underwent bone marrow transplantation (BMT). Plasmatic lipoperoxide levels of those patients with unfavorable evolution were significantly increased on days 12-14 post-transplant (median 1.83 microM, range 0.78-5.82) compared with preconditioning levels (median 1.05 microM, range 0.36-1.84) (p < 0.05). Patients with favorable evolution revealed significantly higher lipoperoxide levels during conditioning regime (median 1.42 microM, range 0.31-4.50) (p < 0.05). Starting from the 3rd post-transplant week a significant and continuous decrease was observed, with a median of 0.77 microM (range 0.21-1.48 p < 0.05) for the 3rd, and a median of 0.60 microM (range 0.11-1.48 for the 4th week (p < 0.01). A significant increase in total antioxidant activity was observed in the three patients who died up to the 35 days post-transplant. Recovery of bone marrow function was detected by RMI after a median time of 17 days (range 11-24) post-allogeneic transplantation. The threshold established for absolute neutrophil count was achieved after a median of 21 days (range 14-28) (p < 0.001). An increase of plasma lipoperoxides on days 12-14 post-transplant may be a predictive value of unfavourable evolution. RMI was the earlier indicator of engraftment in allogeneic BMT.

Pravastatin limits radiation-induced vascular dysfunction in the skin.

About half of people with cancer are treated with radiation therapy; however, normal tissue toxicity still remains a dose-limiting factor for this treatment. The skin response to ionizing radiation may involve multiple inflammatory outbreaks. The endothelium is known to play a critical role in radiation-induced vascular injury. Furthermore, endothelial dysfunction reflects a decreased availability of nitric oxide. Statins have been reported to preserve endothelial function through their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. In this study, wild type and endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS)(-/-) mice were subjected to dorsal skin irradiation and treated with pravastatin for 28 days. We demonstrated that pravastatin has a therapeutic effect on skin lesions and abolishes radiation-induced vascular functional activation by decreasing interactions between leukocytes and endothelium. Pravastatin limits the radiation-induced increase of blood CCL2 and CXCL1 production expression of inflammatory adhesion molecules such as E-selectin and intercellular adhesion molecule-1, and inflammatory cell migration in tissues. Pravastatin limits the in vivo and in vitro radiation-induced downregulation of eNOS. Moreover, pravastatin has no effect in eNOS(-/-) mice, demonstrating that eNOS plays a key role in the beneficial effect of pravastatin in radiation-induced skin lesions. In conclusion, pravastatin may be a good therapeutic approach to prevent or reduce radiation-induced skin damage.