Evaluation of the healing potential of Nile tilapia skin collagen in traumatic oral ulcers in male rats.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the healing potential of Nile tilapia skin collagen using a rat model with experimentally induced traumatic oral ulcers. DESIGN: Male Wistar rats were segregated into three experimental groups (n = 8/group/euthanasia day). Ulcers were induced using a dermatological punch on the left buccal mucosa. The rats were then euthanized on days 1, 5, 10, 15, and 20 (ntotal=120 rats). Each group received topical treatment, 2x/day, with 1 % Nile tilapia skin collagen orabase (experimental group), only orabase (negative control), or Oncilom-A® orabase (positive control). Ulcer area, closure percentage, and body mass variation were measured. Slides were prepared for histological analysis, which included Picrosirius red staining (collagen analysis), and immunohistochemistry (platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule, alpha-smooth muscle actin, and transforming growth factor-beta). RESULTS: On day 15, the experimental and positive control groups displayed smaller ulcer areas, a higher percentage of closure, complete re-epithelialization, superior histological repair scores, and a reduced count of polymorphonuclear cells in comparison to the negative control group (p < 0.05). Additionally, the experimental group exhibited an increased number of blood vessels, total collagen (types I and III) and expression of platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule, alpha-smooth muscle actin, and transforming growth factor-beta relative to the negative and positive control groups (p < 0.05). By day 20, the experimental group showed a more significant weight gain compared to the other groups (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Nile tilapia skin collagen orabase optimizes the healing of traumatic ulcers by stimulating re-epithelialization, angiogenesis, and collagenesis. Transforming growth factor-beta plays a significant role in this process.

Neovaginoplasty with tilapia fish skin: a series of eleven cases.

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser syndrome affects about 1 in 5000 live female births and is associated with gonadal dysgenesis and primary amenorrhea. Neovaginoplasty has been established as an appropriate treatment option for patients who have failed or denied dilation therapy. In search of accessible, economical material with low risk of complications, the team proposed the use of Nile tilapia fish skin (NTFS) as an innovative biomaterial in the neovaginoplasty procedure for vaginal agenesis management. NTFS has noninfectious microbiota, morphologic structure comparable to human skin and high in vivo bioresorption. METHODS: In this descriptive study, the method offered an anatomical and functional neovagina to 11 patients efficiently, quickly and safely. Correct post-surgical dilation is still extremely important to keep the neovagina's size > 6 cm. RESULTS: Histological and immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated the formation of a stratified squamous epithelium with strong marking for cytokeratins, FGF and EGFR, similar to healthy adult vaginal tissue. CONCLUSIONS: Since NTFS is a low cost and easily accessible biomaterial, this technique proves to be an inexpensive therapeutic possibility for the health system with excellent advantages for patients.

A Randomized Comparison Study of Lyophilized Nile Tilapia Skin and Silver-Impregnated Sodium Carboxymethylcellulose for the Treatment of Superficial Partial-Thickness Burns.

Glycerolized Nile tilapia skin (NTS) showed promising results when used for burn treatment in phases II and III randomized controlled trials. This pilot study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of lyophilized NTS (LNTS) as a temporary skin substitute for superficial partial-thickness burns by comparing it with silver-impregnated sodium carboxymethylcellulose dressing. This was a randomized, prospective, open-label, and controlled pilot study conducted in Fortaleza, Brazil, from April 2019 to December 2019. The 24 participants had ≥18 and ≤70 years of age and superficial partial-thickness burns affecting up to 10% of TBSA. Primary outcomes were the number of dressings performed and pain intensity, assessed via the Visual Analogue Scale and the Electronic von Frey. Secondary outcomes were the level of pain-related anxiety, assessed via the Burns Specific Pain Anxiety Scale, and analgesic consumption. In the test group, the number of dressings and the patient-reported pain after dressing-related procedures were lower. Analgesic intake, pain-related anxiety, and both patient-reported and objectively measured pain before dressing-related procedures were similar for the treatment groups. No adverse effects were detected. LNTS shares the same characteristics of an "'ideal'" wound dressing demonstrated by glycerolized NTS in previous studies. Also, it demonstrated noninferiority for burn management when compared with silver-impregnated sodium carboxymethylcellulose dressing. The safety and efficacy of LNTS demonstrated in this pilot study may allow the development of larger phases II and III RCTs in a near future.

Lyophilised tilapia skin as a xenograft for superficial partial thickness burns: a novel preparation and storage technique.

Despite a considerable decrease in its incidence worldwide, burns remain the fourth most common type of trauma. The majority of burns are small, with 75% of injuries treated on an outpatient basis. Tilapia skin, as a biological material, has been suggested as an option for the management of burn wounds. After good results were obtained with the use of a glycerolised version of tilapia skin in burned children and adults, it was hypothesised that similar outcomes could be achieved with the use of a lyophilised version of tilapia skin. We report the case of a 33-year-old female patient with scalds to the upper abdomen, and both breasts, arms and forearms. Involvement of 10% of total body surface area with superficial partial thickness burns was calculated. The good adherence of tilapia skin to the wound bed, a 10-day period for complete re-epithelialisation of the wounds and the absence of side effects suggested that the lyophilised version of tilapia skin is effective for burn treatment. Compared with glycerolisation, lyophilisation is thought to permit extended storage of sterile tissue and decreased costs related to distribution and transport, but further studies are needed to confirm this.

Male-to-Female Gender-Affirming Surgery Using Nile Tilapia Fish Skin as a Biocompatible Graft.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: Insufficient penile skin is common during vaginoplasty for male-to-female transition. This issue may be compensated by a scrotal skin flap, with the drawback of hair growth [1]. In recent studies, Nile tilapia skin was successfully used for the surgical management of Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser syndrome [2,3] and vaginal stenosis [4,5]. This study aims to describe a novel technique for primary vaginoplasty in male-to-female gender-affirming surgery using Nile tilapia skin as a biocompatible graft to ensure adequate vaginal depth. DESIGN: Stepwise demonstration of the procedure with narrated video footage. SETTING: Transgender health clinic. INTERVENTIONS: A 29-year-old patient with gender dysphoria was referred to our office because of a desire for gender-affirming surgery. A physical examination revealed normal male genitalia with a 14-cm-long penis. Before surgery, approval from the institutional review board and written permission from the patient were obtained. After orchiectomy, penile disassembly, perineal dissection, and urethroplasty were performed, and a hollow Nile tilapia skin mold was prepared and sutured to the distal edge of the remaining penile skin. This structure was inverted, covering the newly created canal. The neocavity was then filled with a handmade inflatable vaginal mold, held in place by sutures in the labia majora. Finally, labiaplasty and clitoroplasty were conducted. After 7 days, the inflatable mold was removed, and the use of progressively larger dilators was initiated. After 3 weeks, a neovagina that was 16 cm long and able to accommodate the width of 2 fingers was detected. At that time, the Nile tilapia skin was completely reabsorbed into the neovaginal mucosa. There were no complications in the early postsurgical period. CONCLUSION: Nile tilapia skin, a safe, low-cost, and easy-to-use biocompatible material, may be an alternative option to scrotal skin grafts for neovaginal augmentation in primary vaginoplasty for male-to-female gender transition. However, further studies are needed to confirm this assertive.

Uso da pele de tilápia do Nilo em medicina regenerativa: Status atual e perspectivas futuras / Nile tilapia fish skin use in regenerative medicine: Current status and future perspectives

OBJETIVO: O presente estudo tem como objetivo apresentar a trajetória do desenvolvimento da pele de tilápia como curativo biológico. MÉTODO: Descrição do processo de desenvolvimento da pele de tilápia como curativo biológico, desde a concepção da ideia para utilização no tratamento de queimaduras, até as perspectivas de sua utilização como scaffold em múltiplas especialidades médicas. RESULTADOS: Com o objetivo de oferecer uma alternativa segura, eficaz e de baixo custo para o tratamento de queimaduras, pesquisadores brasileiros desenvolveram um curativo biológico derivado da pele de tilápia. CONCLUSÃO: A pele de tilápia vem demonstrando um notável potencial como curativo biológico no tratamento de queimaduras e na medicina regenerativa.

OBJECTIVE: The present study aims to present the development trajectory of the tilapia skin as a biological dressing. METHODS: To describe the development process of tilapia skin as biological dressing, from the conception to the burn wounds treatment to the perspectives of its use as a scaffold in multiple medical specialties. RESULTS: In order to provide a safe, effective and low-cost alternative for the treatment of burn injuries, Brazilian researchers have recently developed a biological dressing derived from tilapia skin. CONCLUSION: The tilapia skin have been demonstrating the remarkable potential as a biological dressing in burn injuries treatment and in regenerative medicine.

Antigenotoxicity and antioxidant activity of Acerola fruit (Malpighia glabra L.) at two stages of ripeness.

Genotoxic and antigenotoxic effects of acerola fruit at two stages of ripeness were investigated using mice blood cells. The results show that no ripeness stage of acerola extracts presented any genotoxic potential to damage DNA (Comet assay) or cytotoxicity (MTT assay). When antigenotoxic activity was analyzed, unripe fruit presented higher DNA protection than ripe fruit (red color) extract. The antioxidant capacity of substances also showed that unripe samples inhibit the free radical DPPH more significantly than the ripe ones. The results about determination of compounds made using HPLC showed that unripe acerola presents higher levels of vitamin C as compared to ripe acerola. Thus, vitamin C and the complex mixture of nutrients of Malpighia glabra L., and especially its ripeness stages, influenced the interaction of the fruit extract with the DNA. Acerola is usually consumed when ripe (red fruit), although it is the green fruit (unripe) that has higher potential as beneficial to DNA, protecting it against oxidative stress.

Synthesis and antitumoral evaluation of 7-chloro-4-quinolinylhydrazones derivatives.

A series of twenty-one 7-chloro-4-quinolinylhydrazones derivatives (3a-u) have been synthesized and evaluated for their cytotoxic potential against three cancer cell lines using MTT assay. The compounds 3b, 3e, 3f, 3h, 3j, 3n, 3r and 3u displayed more than 90% of growth inhibition (GI) and they were selected for in vitro anticancer activities evaluation against four human cancer cell lines. These results were expressed as the concentrations that induce 50% inhibition of cell growth (IC50) in µg/mL. Considering that, compounds 3b, 3e, 3h, 3n, 3r and 3u exhibited good cytotoxic activity against at least three cancer cell lines (0.7967-4.200 µg/mL). In general, we observed that the presence of electron-withdrawing groups in the benzene ring is important for the anticancer activity in this series, such as fluorine (3h), chlorine (3b) amd bromine (3e) groups in meta position and nitro group (3r) in para position. These derivatives could be considered interesting start points to develop a new anticancer drug and confirm the potential of chloroquine derivatives as lead compounds in anticancer drug discovery.

Esquizofrenia: uma doença inflamatória?: [revisão] / Schizophrenia: an inflammatory disease?: [review]

OBJETIVO: Neste estudo, o objetivo foi revisar o papel de um possível processo inflamatório na gênese da esquizofrenia. MÉTODO: Foram selecionados os trabalhos publicados em revistas indexadas nas bases de dados Lilacs e MedLine, sob os unitermos "esquizofrenia", "inflamação" e "estresse oxidativo", nos últimos 10 anos até dezembro de 2009, nos idiomas inglês e português. Foram excluídos os artigos que tratavam de aspectos fisiopatológicos da doença fora do interesse da psiquiatria. RESULTADOS: Sessenta e um artigos foram selecionados. Doze abordavam o envolvimento do estresse oxidativo na esquizofrenia, nove tratavam de alterações no sistema imunológico de pacientes esquizofrênicos, dezesseis da infecção pré-natal como desencadeador da doença e sete mostravam a ação antioxidante e anti-inflamatória de fármacos antipsicóticos. CONCLUSÃO: Os estudos enfatizam o envolvimento do sistema imunológico (isto é, interleucinas e ação anti-inflamatória dos antipsicóticos), das infecções, do estresse oxidativo e da função mitocondrial na fisiopatologia da esquizofrenia. Portanto, esses novos achados são importantes para a melhor compreensão e, consequentemente, a elaboração de terapias mais específicas e eficazes no combate dessa doença mental.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed at reviewing about the influence of the inflammatory process in the genesis of schizophrenia. METHOD: A search for papers published in Lilacs and MedLine databases during the last 10 years until December 2009 was made using the terms "schizophrenia", "inflammation" and "oxidative stress". The papers concerning other pathophysiologic aspects of schizophrenia not exclusively related to psychiatry were excluded. RESULTS: Sixty-one articles were selected: twelve were involved the role of oxidative stress, nine dealt with changes in the immune system, and sixteen referred to prenatal infection as the trigger of schizophrenia. Seven articles showed the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant action of antipsychotic drugs. CONCLUSION: The studies emphasized the importance of the mitochondrial function, oxidative stress, immunological system (interleukin, anti-inflammatory action of the antipsychotics) and infections in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. These findings are important for a better understanding and consequently the development of more specific and effective therapies for schizophrenia.