Acute Response to Cigarette Smoking Assessed in Exhaled Breath Condensate in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Healthy Smokers.

The effect of acute exposure to cigarette smoke (CS) on the respiratory system has been less extensively studied than the long term effects of smoking. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the acute response to CS in smokers suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and in healthy smokers. Nineteen stable COPD patients and 19 young healthy smokers were enrolled. Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), IL-1ß, and malondialdehyde (MDA) were measured in exhaled breath condensate (EBC) before and 60 min after smoking a cigarette. When pre- and post-CS levels of the evaluated biomarkers were compared, no differences were found in either group. However, the post-CS MDA was significantly greater in healthy smokers than that in COPD patients; 20.41 vs. 16.81 nmol/L, p = 0.01, respectively. Post-CS TNF-α correlated inversely with FEV1/FVC in healthy smokers. We conclude that CS does not acutely increase the EBC concentration of the inflammatory markers either in COPD patients or healthy smokers. The short term CS-induced oxidative stress is higher in young smokers than in COPD patients, which what may indicate a higher susceptibility to CS content of the former.

Rapid detection of Chlamydia/Chlamydophila group in samples collected from swine herds with and without reproductive disorders.

The study was carried out in seven reproductive herds of pigs. In three of them reproductive disorders were observed. Three herds consisted of 10-50 and four consisted of 120-500 adult sows and they were called small and medium, respectively. Fifty-seven adult sows were randomly selected from herds. Serum samples were tested using the complement fixation test and swabs from both eyes and from the vaginal vestibule were examined using real-time PCR. All serum samples were negative. Infected sows were present in each of the study herds. In total, there were 28 positive samples (53%, 28/48) in real-time PCR in sows with reproductive disorders and 35 (53%, 35/66) in sows selected from herds without problems in reproduction. One isolate proved to be Chlamydophila pecorum, whereas all the remaining were Chamydia suis.

Effects of Aging and Hypercholesterolemia on Oxidative Stress and DNA Damage in Bone Marrow Mononuclear Cells in Apolipoprotein E-deficient Mice.

Recent evidence from apolipoprotein E-deficient (apoE-/-) mice shows that aging and atherosclerosis are closely associated with increased oxidative stress and DNA damage in some cells and tissues. However, bone marrow cells, which are physiologically involved in tissue repair have not yet been investigated. In the present study, we evaluated the influence of aging and hypercholesterolemia on oxidative stress, DNA damage and apoptosis in bone marrow cells from young and aged apoE-/- mice compared with age-matched wild-type C57BL/6 (C57) mice, using the comet assay and flow cytometry. The production of both superoxide and hydrogen peroxide in bone marrow cells was higher in young apoE-/- mice than in age-matched C57 mice, and reactive oxygen species were increased in aged C57 and apoE-/- mice. Similar results were observed when we analyzed the DNA damage and apoptosis. Our data showed that both aging and hypercholesterolemia induce the increased production of oxidative stress and consequently DNA damage and apoptosis in bone marrow cells. This study is the first to demonstrate a functionality decrease of the bone marrow, which is a fundamental extra-arterial source of the cells involved in vascular injury repair.