Background: Obesity and diabetes are major public health problems. Resistin is an adipokine that links the two diseases. There are few reports regarding colostrum cells and resistin from mothers with obesity and diabetes. Thus, this study aimed to determine the functional activity of macrophages present in the breast milk and colostrum of diabetic mothers with obesity and the effects of resistin on these cells. Methods: The women were divided according to BMI and glycemic status into normal weight non-diabetic, obese non-diabetic, normal weight type 2 diabetic, or obese type 2 diabetic groups. ELISA determined the resistin in colostrum. The cell subsets and apoptosis were determined by flow cytometry and the functional activity of cells by fluorescence microscopy. Results: The resistin levels were higher in the colostrum from diabetic mothers with obesity. The frequencies of CD14+ cells and cells expressing CD95+, independent of resistin treatment, were higher in the colostrum from diabetic mothers with obesity. The frequency of cells expressing CD14+CD95+ was higher in cells not treated with resistin in the colostrum from diabetic mothers with obesity. Apoptosis, irrespective of the presence of resistin, increased, whereas microbicidal activity decreased in cells from diabetic mothers with obesity. Conclusion: The data suggest that hyperglycemia associated with low-grade inflammation caused by obesity affects the percentage of cells expressing CD14+CD95+, death by apoptosis, and microbicidal indices; meanwhile, resistin restored the microbicidal activity of colostrum cells.

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Breast cancer has a high incidence and causes death worldwide, especially in women. Melatonin is a hormone that affects the prevention and treatment of tumors, and its effects have improved when associated with a modified release system. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the effects of a microemulsined system containing melatonin and PEG 400 on cellular oxidative stress and viscosity in the co-culture of blood mononuclear cells (MN) and MCF-7 cells. The microemulsion system containing melatonin and PEG 400 was developed from a mixture of the oil and aqueous phases and stabilized with surfactants. Blood mononuclear cells (MN) obtained from voluntary donors and MCF-7 cells (ATCC) were maintained in culture in CO2 for 24 hours treated with melatonin or with the microemulsion system containing melatonin and PEG 400. The flow and viscosity curves were evaluated using a rheometer, and the oxidative stress was evaluated by superoxide release and superox-ide dismutase (SOD) determination by colorimetric methods. The microemulsion system containing melatonin and PEG 400 showed a stable, translucent, and homogeneous property. The viscosity was higher in MCF-7 cells and MN cells when in the presence of a microemulsion system containing melatonin and PEG 400. The rheological behavior of MN and MCF-7 cells did not change in the presence of melatonin. The microemulsion system with melatonin and PEG 400 increased SOD levels in cultures of MN cells co-cultured with MCF-7 cells. These results suggest that the microemulsified system interferes with the oxidative metabolism of MN cells in co-culture with MCF-7 cells, with a reduction in SOD enzyme levels without changing superoxide levels, which could probably be favorable to the antitumor action of blood MN cells.

The study aimed to develop and characterize a microemulsified system based on cotton oil and verify its effect on superoxide release anion and microbicidal activity by human peripheral blood cells. Microemulsions were formulated using distilled water, degummed cotton oil, Span 80 (SP), Tween 80 (TW), and 1-butanol (BT). The pseudo-ternary diagram delimited ME regions, and the points were pre-selected. The physical-chemical and rheological characterization of the microemulsions was carried out. The ME activity on the interactions between leukocytes and bacteria was analyzed by superoxide release, phagocytosis, and microbicidal activity. The developed formulation was classified as Oil/Water, with an average pH of 5.76, and the viscosity showed resistance to temperature changes. The rheological model of the Power Law classified the microemulsion as a non-Newtonian fluid with pseudoplastic characteristics. The cell viability of cotton oil microemulsion was greater than 90%. There was an increase in the superoxide release by MN phagocytes when treated with cotton oil microemulsion. The cotton oil microemulsion increased phagocytosis and microbicidal activity. The present study suggests that cotton oil is an alternative biomaterial for therapeutic applications, especially in treating infections.

Caffeine is an alkaloid present in a wide variety of plants. Currently the most consumed psychostimulant worldwide, its consumption is associated with several health benefits, including modulation of the innate and adaptive immune response, reduction of oxidative cellular stress, and decreased incidence of some cancers, including breast cancer. Breast cancer is the most common cause of cancer among women and the second leading cause of cancer death in women worldwide. The interaction between biomaterials and drugs has enabled a great advance in science for developing controlled drug delivery systems and has been used to treat numerous pathologies. This work aimed to evaluate the immunomodulatory effects of caffeine associated or not with polyethylene glycol adsorbed in microemulsion (MLP) on MCF-7 cells, phagocytic cells (MN), and coculture. For biological assays, ATCC (American Type Culture Collection, USA) cell lines of breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7) and phagocytes (MN) obtained from voluntary donors were used. The cells (MN and MCF-7) and coculture were treated with caffeine and MLP and incubated for rheological characterization analyses: flow curve and viscosity, oxidative stress: superoxide anion assay ( 2 O − ), and activity of the enzyme superoxide dismutase (Cu-Zn-SOD). Caffeine and MLP increased viscosity and blood and MCF-7 cells and affected the immunomodulation of oxidative stress metabolism of MN and MCF-7 cells treated with caffeine and associated caffeine to the MLP. These data suggest that caffeine is associated or not with MLP-induced immunomodulatory effects on MN phagocytes and