Exercise training and detraining process affects plasma adiponectin level in healthy and spontaneously hypertensive rats.

BACKGROUND: Adiponectin levels with long-term swimming exercise have been never investigated in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). OBJECTIVE: This study was aimed to investigate the effects of exercise and detraining process on the adiponectin plasma levels of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and healthy Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY). MATERIAL AND METHODS: The rats in the exercise groups were swimming for 10 weeks, 5 days/week, one hour in a day. The detraining rats were left to be sedentary in their cages for 5 weeks after 10 weeks of exercise period. RESULTS: The plasma adiponectin levels decreased in E and SHRE groups compared to the SC and the SHR groups, respectively. In addition, blood pressure was decreased in the exercise groups vs their controls. The adiponectin level was not found to be significantly different in ED and SHRED groups compared to their controls. The blood pressure did not differ between SDC and ED groups, although in the SHRED group it was found to be lower than in SHRSD group rats. CONCLUSION: The results of this study showed that exercise reduced plasma levels of adiponectin in healthy and spontaneously hypertensive rats. However, this difference disappeared at the end of the training processes. Our results suggest, that changes in plasma adiponectin levels are not responsible for changes in blood pressure (Tab. 2, Fig. 2, Ref. 43).

Increased systemic oxidative stress in patients with keratoconus.

PURPOSE: To establish the effect of systemic oxidative stress on the pathogenesis of keratoconus by measuring serum total oxidant status (TOS) and total antioxidant status (TAS) in patients with keratoconus. METHODS: Twenty-five patients with keratoconus (keratoconus group) and 25 age-sex-matched healthy subjects (control group) were enrolled in the study. Exclusion criteria were smoking habit, history of any other corneal pathology, systemic disease or inflammation, and current antioxidant or anti-inflammatory therapies. All participants underwent a detailed ophthalmological examination and corneal topography. Serum samples were obtained from all participants. Oxidative stress markers (TAS and TOS) were measured using a commercial kit and oxidative stress index (OSI) was calculated. RESULTS: The study comprised 25 patients with keratoconus (mean age of 26.4±1.7 years) and 25 healthy control subjects (mean age of 26.6±1.7 years) (P>0.05). The serum TOS and OSI values were significantly higher in patients with keratoconus compared with those of the controls (P=0.036 and 0.037, respectively). However, serum TAS did not show significant difference between the keratoconus and control groups (P=0.497). CONCLUSIONS: The higher levels of serum oxidant status and OSI in patients with keratoconus suggest that systemic oxidative stress might be involved in the pathogenesis of keratoconus.

Indirect hernial sac containing the uterus, ovary, and fallopian tube in association with a giant intraabdominal lipoma: report of a case.

Presence of the ovary, fallopian tube, and uterus within an inguinal hernia is a rare condition. In this report, we describe the case of a 47-year-old female, multiparous patient with a giant omental lipoma (18 × 8 × 7 cm, 422 g) and left inguinal hernia. The uterus, left ovary, and fallopian tube were in the hernial sac. The presence of the uterus within the hernial sac accompanies mullerian anomalies, although, in this case, there was no such anomaly. To our knowledge, there have been no cases in the literature of a giant intraabdominal lipoma and a hernial sac containing the uterus, ovary, and fallopian tube, but a few cases of inguinal hernia involving the ovary, fallopian tube, and uterus have been reported. The aim of this case report was to call attention to the observation that the inguinal hernia seen in female patients may involve the ovary, fallopian tube, and uterus.

Arsenic trioxide exposure to ovarian carcinoma cells leads to decreased level of topoisomerase II and cytotoxicity.

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of arsenic trioxide (As(2)O(3)) on topoisomerase II levels using western blotting method on MDAH 2774 ovarian carcinoma cell culture. Experimental designs were established to determine the cytotoxic effects of As(2)O(3) on MDAH 2774 cells and the IC50 (fatal dose for the 50% of cells) value. Cytotoxicity experiments were carried out using various concentrations of As(2)O(3). The 2,3-bis[2-methyloxy-4-nitro-5-sulfophenyl]-2H-tetrazolium-5-carboxanilide (XTT) and trypan blue dye-exclusion tests were used to evaluate cytotoxicity. Topoisomerase II expressions were investigated using western blotting method with various concentrations of As(2)O(3). Densitometric analysis of topoisomerase 2 bands was carried out using Quantity One 1-D analysis software (Bio-Rad USA, Life Science Research, Hercules, CA). IC50 value of As(2)O(3) was found to be 5 x 10(-6) M for MDAH 2774 cells. When the bands were evaluated, it was observed that there was a decrease in topoisomerase II levels in MDAH 2774 cells with increasing concentrations of As(2)O(3). It was also observed by the densitometric analysis that topoisomerase II expression ratios of MDAH 2774 cells were decreased by approximately 50% at this concentration. Topoisomerase II levels were significantly decreased with the increasing concentrations of As(2)O(3). Inhibition of topoisomerase II enzyme was one of the antiproliferative influence mechanisms of As(2)O(3).