Contrasting effects of transdermal and implant corticosterone treatments in the American bullfrog wound healing.

Glucocorticoid (GC) release is triggered by adverse stimuli that activate the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal/interrenal axis. Glucocorticoids may enhance or suppress immune functions depending on the level of elevation. In this study, we investigated the effects of transient and chronic increase of corticosterone (CORT) on the wound healing of the American bullfrog. Frogs were submitted to a daily transdermal hormonal application that acutely elevated CORT plasma levels, or vehicle as a control. Other frogs were surgically implanted with a silastic tube filled with CORT that resulted in chronic elevation of CORT plasma levels or received empty implants as a control. A dermal biopsy was performed to create a wound and was photographed every 3 days. Individuals treated with transdermal CORT started healing faster than their control 32 days after the biopsy. Frogs that received CORT implants tended to heal slower than control subjects. Plasma bacterial killing ability was not affected by treatment, which reinforces the constitutive nature of this innate immune trait. By the end of the experiment, frogs from the acute CORT treatment had smaller wounds compared with those receiving the CORT-filled implants, highlighting the differential effects of acute (immunoenhancing) and chronic (immunosuppressive) elevation of CORT plasma levels. This article is part of the theme issue 'Amphibian immunity: stress, disease and ecoimmunology'.

Cytotoxicity and selectiveness of Brazilian Piper species towards oral carcinoma cells.

BACKGROUND: Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is one of the ten most common types of cancer worldwide. Plants of the genusPiper are used in traditional medicine to treat cancer, and they have a vast diversity of phytochemicals with cytotoxic potential. Purpose and Study Design: In this work, we analyzed the cytotoxic and selective potential of extracts and semipurified fractions of Piper mollicomum (PM), Piper truncatum (PT), Piper cernuum (PC), Piper arboreum (PA), and Piper cabralanum (PCa) using three different OSCC cell lines (SCC4, SCC9 and SCC25), and we measured their in vivo toxicities and conducted chemical analyses of their active fractions. RESULTS: The dichloromethane fractions of the crude methanolic extracts of the leaves of PM(-L-D), PC(-L-D) and PCa(-L-D) exhibited notable IC50 values of 94.2, 47.2 and 47.5 µg/mL, respectively, and all three of these extracts were more active than carboplatin (172.3 µg/mL). The most selective fraction was PC-L-D, which exhibited SI > 4.5; less than 5% hemolysis; and no significant alterations in in vivo acute toxicology. The major constituents in active fractions were lignans (PC-L-D and PCa-L-D) and chromenes (PM-L-D). CONCLUSION: PC-L-D demonstrated great potential for further development as an anticancer drug and could be the key to developing more effective and less toxic therapies against oral cancer.

Coronary stent implantation may seal the inflammatory response in patients with acute coronary syndromes.

The change in CD40L levels before and 24 h coronary stenting was compared in patients presenting with acute coronary syndromes and for elective angioplasty. Baseline CD40L levels were lower in stable subjects, whereas unstable patients had a significant decrease of CD40L after stenting. This might suggest that coronary stenting, despite of being a local therapy, can help to seal a systemic inflammatory response in acute coronary syndromes.

Pólipo Adenomatoso de Cólon / Colonic adenomotous polype

O adenoma intestinal é uma lesäo benigna que apresenta um potencial de malignizaçäo para displasia grave e posteriormente adenocarcinoma invasivo. A remoçäo endoscópica desta lesäo constitui um tratamento curativo. Relata-se a experiência dos autores em dois casos de adenoma com displasia grave, removidos por polipectomia endoscópica