Protective effect of Hovenia dulcis Thunb. leaf extracts against ethanol-induced DNA damage in SH-SY5Y cells.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Hovenia dulcis Thunb. has been used as a medicinal herb for the treatment of hepatic diseases and alcohol intoxication. AIM OF THE STUDY: The genotoxic effect and the antigenotoxic potential of ethanolic extract of H. dulcis leaves and its methanolic fraction were evaluated against ethanol-induced damages in SH-SY5Y cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The phytochemical analysis and antioxidant activity of H. dulcis extracts were also assessed. In addition, a systems biology analysis was performed to investigate the molecular pathway of action of the H. dulcis leaves compounds. RESULTS: The ethanolic extract and its methanolic fraction presented genotoxicity through comet assay at 0.5 and 0.25 mg/mL. On the other hand, both extracts showed protective action against ethanol at all concentrations. Additionally, an NBT assay was performed and demonstrated an ability of the extracts to reduce superoxide anion formation when SH-SY5Y cells were challenged with ethanol. HPLC analysis indicated the presence of quercitrin, isoquercitrin, and rutin. Further, system biology assays indicated a molecular action pathway, where the compounds from the leaves of H. dulcis, in addition to performing free radical scavenging activity, activate PP2A, and may inhibit the apoptosis pathway activated by ethanol-induced oxidative stress. CONCLUSIONS: This work is important to indicate potential antigenotoxic and antioxidant properties of H. dulcis leaves, and its use can be investigated against DNA damage induced by ethanol.

A pandemia nas prisões do Brasil / The pandemic in Brazilian prisons

Reúne textos que objetivam relatar, no contexto da pandemia de COVID-19, a evolução dos casos, as políticas de prevenção, a divulgação dos dados oficiais, o tratamento dedicado aos grupos de risco, casos suspeitos e confirmados, o número de óbitos e o fluxo dos mortos

Evaluation of toxicity and mutagenicity of a synthetic effluent containing azo dye after Advanced Oxidation Process treatment.

Approximately 20% industrial water pollution comes from textile dyeing process, with Azo dyes being a major problem in this scenario and requiring new forms of efficient treatment. Effluent treatments using the Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOP) are justified by the potential of application in the dyed effluent treatments once they can change the Azo dye chemical structure. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the toxicity and mutagenic capacity of a synthetic effluent containing Amido Black 10B (AB10B) azo dye before treatment with AOP, named Gross Synthetic Effluent (GSE), and after the AOP, named Treated Synthetic Effluent (TSE). Daphnia magna and Allium cepa tests were used to evaluate acute toxicity effects and chromosomal mutagenesis, respectively. The Salmonella/microsome assay was performed to evaluate gene mutations. In silico assays were also performed aiming to identify the mutagenic and carcinogenic potential of the degradation byproducts of AB10B. There was 100% immobility to D. magna after 24 h and 48 h of treatments with TSE, showing EC50 values around 5%, whereas GSE did not show acute toxicity. However, GSE induced chromosomal mutations in A. cepa test. Both GSE and TSE were not able to induce gene mutations in S. typhimurium strains. These effects can be associated with two byproducts generated with the cleavage of the azo bonds of AB10B, 4-nitroaniline and -2-7-triamino-8-hydroxy-3-6-naphthalinedisulfate (TAHNDS). In conclusion, AOP is an efficient method to reduce the mutagenicity of synthetic effluent containing AB10B and additional methods should be applied aiming to reduce the toxicity.

Network prediction of the potential molecular mechanisms in birds of prey exposed to organochlorine pesticides / Red de predicción de potenciales mecanismos moleculares en aves de presa expuestas a pesticidas organoclorados

Abstract In the 1960s, organochlorine compounds were responsible for the decline of birds of prey populations such as Haliaee- tus leucocephalus and Falco peregrinus. Pesticides similar to DDT cause bioaccumulation in birds, affecting their eggshell com- position and compromising their development. Using system biology tools, the goal of this study was to better comprehend how organochlorines act on birds. We performed a literature review, using the STITCH 5.0 platform, searching for the terms DDT and TCDD. The sub-networks were amplified in 100 interactions in STRING 10.5 and joined by the Cytoscape 3.4.0 Merge software, using the experimental animal model Gallus gallus. Clusterization, gene ontology, and centrality were the parameters evaluated in the resulting network. The resulting network had 1,417 interactions and 137 nodes. The clusterization indicated four clusters and the gene ontology pointed to biological processes related to cell signaling and morphological development. The centrality analysis indicated ESR1 and HSP90AB1 as hub/bottleneck proteins involved in the estrogen pathway and calcium transport. Therefore, it is possible that HSP90 proteins have increased expression in birds contaminated with organochlorine pesticides, favoring ESRI-organochlorines interaction and disturbing the calcium availability related to the eggshell formation. The presence or absence of heat shock proteins, such as HSP90, influences several aspects of reproduction in many species. Therefore, the relationship between the HSP90 protein expression and thin-shell syndrome was identified for the first time in this in silico study.

Resumen En los años 60, los organoclorados fueron responsables del declive de aves de rapiña como Haliaeetus leucocephalus y Falco peregrinus. Pesticidas como el DDT, causan biomagnificación en las aves, afectando las cáscaras de los huevos y dañando su desarrollo. El objetivo de este trabajo fue, a través de herramientas de biología de sistemas, comprender cómo los organoclorados actúan en el organismo de las aves. A través de una revisión bibliográfica se incluyeron dos compuestos, DDT y TCDD. Estos fue ron prospectos en la plataforma STITCH 5.0. Las subredes encontradas fueron aumentadas en 100 interacciones en la plataforma STRING 10.5 y unidas por la herramienta Merge del programa Cytoscape 3.4.0, usando el modelo experimental Gallus gallus. En la red resultante se analizaron la clusterización, la ontología génica y la centralidad. La red resultante presentó 137 nudos y 1.417 interacciones. El análisis de clusterización indicó 4 clusters, siendo que el análisis y ontología génica apuntó procesos biológicos ligados a la señalización y al desarrollo morfológico. El estudio de centralidad apuntó a ESR1 y HSP90AB1 como los hubs-bottle- neck proteínas que estaban involucradas en la vía de recepción de estrógeno y en el transporte de calcio. De acuerdo con los resultados podemos inferir que las proteínas HSP90 tienen su expresión aumentada, en aves contaminadas con pesticidas organoclo rados, favoreciendo la interacción entre ESRI y DDT / TCDD. Con ello, la interacción ESRI y la hormona estrógeno se compromete perjudicando el transporte de calcio y consecuentemente la formación de la cáscara del huevo en aves expuestas. La expresión de proteínas de choque térmico ha sido asociada a varios aspectos de la reproducción en muchas especies, sin embargo, una asociación entre HSP90 y el síndrome de la cáscara fina del huevo fue identificada por primera vez en este experimento in silico.