ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: The aim of our study was to test if oral high hyaluronic acid (HMW-HA) administration was effective in contrasting induced preterm birth (PTB) in female Wistar rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 24 pregnant rats were pretreated with placebo or low (2.5 mg/day)/high dose (5 mg/day) of HMW-HA (day 15) and then induced to delivery with mifepristone plus prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) (3 mg/100 µL + 0.5 mg/animal) on the 19th day of pregnancy. The delivery time was recorded and the messenger RNA (mRNA) levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines [tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)1ß, IL-6] were detected in the uterine tissues by real-time polymerase chain reaction (real PCR). Immunohistochemistry was performed alongside. RESULTS: Oral HMW-HA was well absorbed in the body and was able to significantly delay the timing of delivery and decrease mRNA synthesis of pro-inflammatory cytokines. CONCLUSIONS: HMW-HA, by acting in the management of PTB, may represent a new approach to protecting physiological pregnancy.
Subject(s)
Obstetric Labor, Premature , Premature Birth , Infant, Newborn , Pregnancy , Humans , Rats , Female , Animals , Hyaluronic Acid/adverse effects , Inflammation/pathology , Premature Birth/prevention & control , Molecular Weight , Rats, Wistar , Cytokines/genetics , Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/adverse effects , RNA, Messenger/genetics , HormonesABSTRACT
The fluorescence technique was employed to study gel-to-sol transitions in kappa-carrageenan systems with various carrageenan contents. Pyranine was used as a fluorescence probe for monitoring these transitions. Fluorescence, Ip and scattered light, Isc intensities were measured against temperature to determine critical phase transition temperatures and exponents. It was observed that gel-to-sol transition temperatures, Tgs are found to be dependent to the carrageenan content. The measured critical exponents gamma' and beta' were found to be very close to the weight average degree of polymerization, DPw and gel fraction G, exponents (gamma and beta) of the classical Percolation Model.
Subject(s)
Carrageenan/chemistry , Phase Transition , Hydrogen-Ion Concentration , Light , Microscopy, Fluorescence , Models, Molecular , Models, Statistical , Protein Conformation , Scattering, Radiation , TemperatureABSTRACT
We establish in this study a linear variation of the specific heat Cp with the frequency shifts (l/v)(delta v/delta T) in the sinusoidal antiferroelectric phase of NaNO2, according to the first Pippard relation which we have modified spectroscopically. For this linear relationship we use the Brillouin frequencies of acoustic phonon modes for the q[010], q[001] and q[100] modes of NaNO2 in the sinusoidal antiferroelectric phase. We then calculate dT/dP values due to those modes studied for NaNO2, which agree with the literature values.
