Hysterectomy has a variety of medical indications and improves pre-operative symptoms but might compromise the quality of life during recovery due to symptoms such as fatigue, headache, nausea, depression, or pain. The aim of the present study was to determine the effect of a standardized extract from French oak wood (Quercus robur) containing at least 40% polyphenols of the ellagitannins class, Robuvit®, on convalescence and oxidative stress of women after hysterectomy. Recovery status was monitored with the SF-36 questionnaire. The supplementation with Robuvit® (300 mg/day) during 4 weeks significantly improved general and mental health, while under placebo some items significantly deteriorated. Oxidative stress and enhancement of MMP–9 activity was significantly reduced by Robuvit® versus placebo. After 8 weeks of intervention, the patients’ condition improved independently of the intervention. Our results suggest that the use of Robuvit® as a natural supplement relieves post-operative symptoms of patients after hysterectomy and reduces oxidative stress. The study was registered with ID ISRCTN 11457040 (13/09/2019).

Diabetes mellitus is characterized by tissue oxidative damage and impaired microcirculation, as well as worsened erythrocyte properties. Measurements of erythrocyte deformability together with determination of nitric oxide (NO) production and osmotic resistance were used for the characterization of erythrocyte functionality in lean (control) and obese Zucker diabetic fatty (ZDF) rats of two age categories. Obese ZDF rats correspond to prediabetic (younger) and diabetic (older) animals. As antioxidants were suggested to protect erythrocytes, we also investigated the potential effect of quercetin (20 mg/kg/day for 6 weeks). Erythrocyte deformability was determined by the filtration method and NO production using DAF-2DA fluorescence. For erythrocyte osmotic resistance, we used hemolytic assay. Erythrocyte deformability and NO production deteriorated during aging—both were lower in older ZDF rats than in younger ones. Three-way ANOVA indicates improved erythrocyte deformability after quercetin treatment in older obese ZDF rats only, as it was not modified or deteriorated in both (lean and obese) younger and older lean animals. NO production by erythrocytes increased post treatment in all experimental groups. Our study indicates the potential benefit of quercetin treatment on erythrocyte properties in condition of diabetes mellitus. In addition, our results suggest potential age-dependency of quercetin effects in diabetes that deserve additional research.

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are important in the pathogenesis of numerous diseases. The present study aimed to monitor the activation of MMP-2 and MMP-9 in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and their normotensive counterparts—Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY). The animals were divided according to age (7, 20, and 52 weeks) and phenotype into: WKY-7, WKY-20, WKY-52, SHR-7, SHR-20 and SHR-52 groups. MMP plasma activities were determined by gelatine zymography. We monitored selected parameters of oxidative stress and antioxidant status. N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) was determined as a marker of heart function and neurohumoral activation. SHR-7 showed higher MMP-2 activity compared with WKY-7, while SHR-52 showed lower MMP-2 and MMP-9 activities compared with WKY-52. Examining age-dependent changes in MMP activities, we found a decrease in MMP-2 activity and increase in MMP-9 activity with increasing age in both phenotypes. Parameters of oxidative stress and antioxidant status as well as NT-proBNP levels were not significantly worsened due to aging in SHR. Our results suggest that hypertension is accompanied by varying MMP activation during aging. The results of our study may indicate that MMP-2 inhibition is therapeutically applicable during the development of hypertension, while in developed, stabilized and uncomplicated hypertension, systemic MMP-2 and MMP-9 inhibition may not be desirable.

Biomechanical properties of erythrocytes play an important role in health and disease. Deformability represents intrinsic property of erythrocytes to undergo deformation that is crucial for their passage through the narrow capillaries. The erythrocyte damage can lead to compromised tissue perfusion and consequently play a role in the pathogenesis of various diseases including neurological ones. Data available in databases indicate that erythrocytes in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are altered. This may affect the clinical symptoms of ASD. The aim of our study was to determine erythrocyte deformability in 54 children with ASD and correlate it with clinical symptoms. We found significant negative correlation between erythrocyte deformability and score in C domain of the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) diagnostic tool describing the measure of restrictive, repetitive, and stereotyped behaviors and interests, mainly observable in C1 and C2, but not in C3 and C4 subdomains. This supports the findings of other authors and suggest that behavioral domain C comprises of more subcategories with different underlying etiology. Our results also indicate that abnormalities in erythrocyte deformability may be involved in ASD pathomecha-nisms and contribute to its clinical manifestation. Further research is necessary to bring more data and identify erythrocyte deformability as prognostic biomarker in ASD.

We determined erythrocyte physiological and biochemical properties after the single and repeated administration of ultra-small superparamagnetic iron-oxide nanoparticles (USPIONs) in normotensive Wistar–Kyoto (WKY) and spontaneously hypertensive (SHR) rats. Polyethylene glycol-coated USPIONs (transmission electron microscope detected a mean size of ~30 nm and hydrodynamic size ~51 nm) were intravenously administered to rats either in one infusion at nominal dose 1 mg Fe/kg or in two infusions (administered with a difference of 24 h) at nominal dose 2 mg Fe/kg. Results showed that USPIONs did not deteriorate erythrocyte deformability, nitric oxide production, and osmotic resistance in both experimental settings. Both the single and repeated USPION administration elevated erythrocyte deformability in WKY. However, this effect was not present in SHR; deformability in USPION-treated SHR was significantly lower than in USPION-treated WKY. Nitric oxide production by erythrocytes was increased after a single USPION treatment in WKY, so it can be associated with improvement in erythrocyte deformability. Using biomagnetometry, we revealed significantly lower amounts of USPION-originated iron in erythrocytes in SHR compared with WKY. We found a much faster elimination of USPIONs from erythrocytes in hypertensive rats compared with the normotensive ones, which might be relevant for clinical practice in hypertensive patients undergoing clinical examination with the use of iron-oxide nanoparticles.

In this study, magnetite nanoparticles were prepared and coated with poly(ethylene glycol) terminated by alendronate to ensure firm binding to the iron oxide surface. Magnetic nanoparticles, designated as magnetite coated with poly(ethylene glycol)-alendronate (Fe3O4@PEG-Ale), were characterized in terms of number-average (Dn) and hydrodynamic (Dh) size, ζ-potential, saturation magnetization, and composition. The effect of particles on blood pressure, vascular functions, nitric oxide (NO), and superoxide production in the tissues of spontaneously hypertensive rats, as well as the effect on red blood cell (RBC) parameters, was investigated after intravenous administration (1 mg Fe3O4/kg of body weight). Results showed that Fe3O4@PEG-Ale particles did negatively affect blood pressure, heart rate and RBC deformability, osmotic resistance and NO production. In addition, Fe3O4@PEG-Ale did not alter functions of the femoral arteries. Fe3O4@PEG-Ale induced increase in superoxide production in the kidney and spleen, but not in the left heart ventricle, aorta and liver. NO production was reduced only in the kidney. In conclusion, the results suggest that acute intravenous administration of Fe3O4@PEG-Ale did not produce negative effects on blood pressure regulation, vascular function, and RBCs in hypertensive rats.

Various pathologies (COVID-19 including) are associated with abnormalities in erythrocyte properties. Hypertension represents an unfavorable condition for erythrocyte quality and is the most prevalent risk factor in COVID-19 patients. ACE2 downregulation that is typical of these patients can further deteriorate cardiovascular health; however, its consequences on erythrocyte properties are not known yet. The aim was to investigate the effect of ACE2 inhibition and the potential beneficial effect of zofenopril on erythrocytes in spontaneously hypertensive rats. ACE2 inhibition induced by MLN-4760 (1 mg/kg/day for 2 weeks) led to deterioration of erythrocyte morphology and osmotic resistance, but plasma markers of oxidative stress, erythrocyte deformability, nitric oxide production and Na,K-ATPase activity were not significantly affected. Zofenopril administration (10 mg/kg/day, initiated after 4-day-lasting ACE2 inhibition) resulted in unexpected increase in angiotensin II plasma levels in both control and ACE-inhibited spontaneously hypertensive rats, but in normalization of osmotic resistance in ACE2-inhibited rats. The overall effect of zofenopril on erythrocyte qualities could be evaluated as beneficial.

Zucker diabetic fatty [ZDF (fa/fa)] rats, which are an animal model for the study of type 2 diabetes, are considered as a uniform group in most experimental studies; however, there are indications of their increasing inhomogeneity over time. The main objective of our study was to monitor biometric and biochemical parameters of ZDF (fa/fa) rats during their development of type 2 diabetes and compare them with two control strains [Wistar and lean ZDF (fa/+) rats]. According to fasting glycaemia, ZDF (fa/fa) rats were split arbitrarily into two phenotypes: obese, ZDF (fa/fa) FAT; and diabetic, ZDF (fa/fa) DIA. Glycaemia increased progressively only in the ZDF (fa/fa) DIA animals, which also exhibited higher cholesterol levels compared with ZDF (fa/fa) FAT animals. In addition, ZDF (fa/fa) FAT rats revealed more pronounced left ventricular hypertrophy and higher body weight, differentiating them from ZDF (fa/fa) DIA rats.We also investigated the activity of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), which are multifunctional enzymes involved in tissue remodelling. Rats in the ZDF (fa/fa) FAT group revealed lower plasma MMP2 and MMP9 activity compared with the ZDF (fa/fa) DIA group. However, increased myocardial MMP2 activity indicated left ventricular remodelling in both ZDF phenotypes. Given that type 2 diabetes in humans is a heterogeneous metabolic disorder, the heterogeneity of ZDF (fa/fa) rats might be beneficial in the study of different aspects of this pathology. Moreover, Wistar rats could serve as a more appropriate control for aged ZDF (fa/fa) rats than the commonly used ZDF fa/+ rats, which showed an increase in left ventricular weight, carbonyl stress markers in the left myocardium and MMP2 activity in both ventricles, indicating heart remodelling processes compared with the Wistar control group.