BackgroundThe occurrence of cancer during pregnancy merges two complex, poorly understood metabolic and hormonal conditions. This association can exacerbate the conditions of both the mother and the foetus. The branched-chain amino acid leucine enhances cellular activity, particularly by increasing protein synthesis. This study aimed to analyse the modulatory effect of a leucine-rich diet on direct and indirect tumour-induced placental damage. This was accomplished by evaluating the expression of genes involved in protein synthesis and degradation and assessing anti-oxidant enzyme activity in placental tissues collected from pregnant, tumour-bearing rats.ResultsPregnant rats were either implanted with Walker 256 tumour cells or injected with ascitic fluid (to study the indirect effects of tumour growth) and then fed a leucine-rich diet. Animals in a control group underwent the same procedures but were fed a normal diet. On the 20th day of pregnancy, tumour growth was observed. Dams fed a normoprotein diet showed the greatest tumour growth. Injection with ascitic fluid mimicked the effects of tumour growth. Decreased placental protein synthesis and increased protein degradation were observed in both the tumour-bearing and the ascitic fluid-injected groups that were fed a normoprotein diet. These effects resulted in low placental DNA and protein content and high lipid peroxidation (measured by malondialdehyde content). Decreased placental protein synthesis-related gene expression was observed in the tumour group concomitant with increased expression of genes encoding protein degradation-associated proteins and proteolytic subunits.ConclusionsConsumption of a leucine-rich diet counteracted the effects produced by tumour growth and injection with ascitic fluid. The diet enhanced cell signalling, ameliorated deficiencies in DNA and protein content, and balanced protein synthesis and degradation processes in the placenta. The improvements in cell signalling included changes in the mTOR/eIF pathway. In conclusion, consumption of a leucine-rich diet improved placental metabolism and cell signalling in tumour-bearing rats, and these changes reduced the deleterious effects caused by tumour growth.
Morning glory syndrome (MGS) is a congenital optic disc dysplasia often associated with craniofacial anomalies, especially basal encephalocele and hypopituitarism. Clinical signs are varied and often occult. The PAX6 gene is involved in ocular morphogenesis and is expressed in numerous ocular tissues during development especially in the developing central nervous system. The aim of the present study is to evaluate PAX6 in MGS associated with isolated growth hormone defi ciency. Three pre-pubertal males (A, B and C) with MGS and short stature due to growth hormone defi ciency, treated with recombinant human growth hormone with limited response, were reported. Two of them had basal encephalocele. Coding and non-coding sequences corresponding of PAX6 different transcripts were analyzed by direct sequencing. Nucleotide variations causing putative aminoacid change were not observed. Patient A presented the new IVS2+9G>A transition, whereas patients A and C were heterozygous for known single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) within the intron 4. In addition, two SNP heterozygoses were observed for patient C in both intron 9 and 13. Sequencing also revealed several nucleotide variations in patient B. Two heterozygoses for known polymorphisms were identifi ed along with a novel C>A nucleotide change in intron 4. This patient also presented a low number on the TG repeat in intron 9 and a new IVS11+33A>T transversion. Gene regulation and transcription of PAX6 are complex processes; there are two major protein isoforms, PAX6(-5a) and PAX6(+5a), and nine transcripts described. Furthermore, extra transcription regulatory elements have been postulated within PAX6 introns. Considering that neither population distributions on PAX6 polymorphism nor their linkeages with diseases have been reported, a functional effect due to alterations described here cannot be discarded.
Uroanalysis reveals information about metabolic, hepatic, and renal function as well as indications of the dysfunction etiology. It is a simple, practical and quick method to perform analysis of the biochemical urine constituents by markers in reagent strips. In this study, we evaluated the urine of Wistar, Wistar Kyoto (WKY) and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). Uroanalysis of WKY and SHR rats indicated ketosis and increased protein presence than Wistar. The WKY and SHR urine was more diluted than Wistar. Only the WKY presented haemolysis. The results indicate absence of hepatic dysfunction and infections in the urine of the different strains of rats. Ketonuria corroborates with the fasting rat's state, hematuria is an indicative of the urinary system dysfunction and proteinuria specifically refers to renal dysfunction, these are related to high WKY weight and SHR hypertension. Dilution of urine may be related to hydroelectrolytic imbalance due to changes in the HPA axis presented by WKY and SHR.
Psychosocial stress, poor quality of sleep and lack of resilience are some of the biggest challenges society have to face nowadays and it is no different for undergraduated students. Those factors can affect their academic performance, health and also their life outside the university. We aimed to correlate the effects of acute psychosocial stress, and its implications on sleep quality, resilience and somnolence in undergraduate pharmacy students.
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