Voluntary wheel running decreases amyloidogenic pathway and rescues cognition and mitochondrial energy metabolism in middle-aged female 3xTg-AD mouse model of Alzheimer's disease.

Background: Evidence supports the neuroprotective effects of physical activity, either in experimental animal models or humans. However, the biological mechanisms by which physical exercise modulates dementia and Alzheimer's disease (AD) progression are still unclear.

Objective: This study investigated whether long-term (6 months) of voluntary wheel running induces neuroprotective effects in the pathogenesis of AD in middle-aged (8 months) female mice, focusing on energy metabolism.

One-Week High-Intensity Interval Training Increases Hippocampal Plasticity and Mitochondrial Content without Changes in Redox State.

Evidence suggests that physical exercise has effects on neuronal plasticity as well as overall brain health. This effect has been linked to exercise capacity in modulating the antioxidant status, when the oxidative stress is usually linked to the neuronal damage. Although high-intensity interval training (HIIT) is the training-trend worldwide, its effect on brain function is still unclear.

Moderate Exercise Modulates Tumor Metabolism of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) stands out for its aggressiveness and accelerated rate of proliferation. Evidence shows that exercise may exert antitumorigenic effects, but the biochemical mechanisms underlying them remain unclear. Our objective was to evaluate the ability of exercise to modulate tumor growth and energy metabolism in an experimental TNBC model.

Immunomodulating action of the 3-phenylcoumarin derivative 6,7-dihydroxy-3-[3',4'-methylenedioxyphenyl]-coumarin in neutrophils from patients with rheumatoid arthritis and in rats with acute joint inflammation.

Objective: To examine whether free (3-PD-5) and/or liposomal (3-PD-5) 6,7-dihydroxy-3-[3',4'-methylenedioxyphenyl]-coumarin (3-PD-5) (1) modulate the effector functions of neutrophils from patients with rheumatoid arthritis under remission (i-RA) and with active disease (a-RA), in vitro; and (2) exert anti-inflammatory effect in a rat model of zymosan-induced acute joint inflammation.

Methods And Results: Incorporation of 3-PD-5 into unilamellar liposomes of soya phosphatidylcholine and cholesterol was efficient (57.5 ± 7.

Galectin-1 modulation of neutrophil reactive oxygen species production depends on the cell activation state.

Here we report the effects of exogenous and endogenous galectin-1 (Gal-1) in modulating the functional responses of human and murine neutrophils at different stages of activation, i.e. naive, primed, and activated.

Incorporation of DC (Asteraceae) leaf extract into phosphatidylcholine-cholesterol liposomes improves its anti-inflammatory effect .

The aerial parts of (BdE) is used in the Brazilian folk medicine to treat inflammatory conditions. Here we examined the ability of free and liposomal BdE to modulate reactive oxygen species generation in human neutrophils and zymosan-induced acute joint inflammation in Wistar rats. We prepared biocompatible liposomes of soya phosphatidylcholine and cholesterol with low diameter, homogeneous size distribution, and neutral surface charge.

Activation status of peripheral blood neutrophils and the complement system in adult rheumatoid arthritis patients undergoing combined therapy with infliximab and methotrexate.

We examined the functional activity of peripheral blood neutrophils and the complement system activation status in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) undergoing infliximab/methotrexate combined therapy. We studied female RA patients under treatment with infliximab (3-5 mg/kg) and methotrexate (15-25 mg/week) who presented inactive (i-RA; n = 34, DAS-28 ≤ 2.6) or at least moderately active disease (a-RA; n = 29, DAS-28 > 3.

The 3-phenylcoumarin derivative 6,7-dihydroxy-3-[3',4'-methylenedioxyphenyl]-coumarin downmodulates the FcγR- and CR-mediated oxidative metabolism and elastase release in human neutrophils: Possible mechanisms underlying inhibition of the formation and release of neutrophil extracellular traps.

In this study, we report the ability of a set of eight 3-phenylcoumarin derivatives bearing 6,7- or 5,7-dihydroxyl groups, free or acetylated, bound to the benzopyrone moiety, to modulate the effector functions of human neutrophils. In general, (i) 6,7-disubstituted compounds (5, 6, 19, 20) downmodulated the Fcγ receptor-mediated neutrophil oxidative metabolism more strongly than 5,7-disubstituted compounds (21, 22, 23, 24), and (ii) hydroxylated compounds (5, 19, 21, 23) downmodulated this neutrophil function more effectively than their acetylated counterparts (6, 20, 22, 24, respectively). Compounds 5 (6,7-dihydroxy-3-[3',4'-methylenedioxyphenyl]-coumarin) and 19 (6,7-dihydroxy-3-[3',4'-dihydroxyphenyl]-coumarin) effectively downmodulated the neutrophil oxidative metabolism elicited via Fcγ and/or complement receptors.

Heterologous expression of mitochondrial nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide transporter (Ndt1) from Aspergillus fumigatus rescues impaired growth in Δndt1Δndt2 Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain.

Our understanding of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide mitochondrial transporter 1 (Ndt1A) in Aspergillus fumigatus remains poor. Thus, we investigated whether Ndt1A could alter fungi survival. To this end, we engineered the expression of an Ndt1A-encoding region in a Δndt1Δndt2 yeast strain.

Baccharis dracunculifolia DC (Asteraceae) selectively modulates the effector functions of human neutrophils.

Objectives: To examine whether the hydroalcoholic extract from Baccharis dracunculifolia leaves (BdE) modulates the human neutrophil oxidative metabolism, degranulation, phagocytosis and microbial killing capacity.

Methods: In-vitro assays based on chemiluminescence, spectrophotometry, flow cytometry and polarimetry were used, as well as docking calculations.

Key Findings: At concentrations that effectively suppressed the neutrophil oxidative metabolism elicited by soluble and particulate stimuli (<10 μg/ml), without clear signs of cytotoxicity, BdE (1) inhibited NADPH oxidase and myeloperoxidase activity; (2) scavenged H O and HOCl; (3) weakly inhibited phagocytosis; and (4) did not affect neutrophil degranulation and microbial killing capacity, the expression levels of TLR2, TLR4, FcγRIIa, FcγRIIIb and CR3 and the activity of elastase and lysozyme.

Biological characterization of compounds from Rhinella schneideri poison that act on the complement system.

Background: The skin secretions of toads of the family Bufonidae contain biogenic amines, alkaloids, steroids (bufotoxins), bufodienolides (bufogenin), peptides and proteins. The poison of Rhinella schneideri, formerly classified as Bufo paracnemis, presents components that act on different biological systems, including the complement system. The aim of this study was to isolate and examine the activity of Rhinella schneideri poison (RsP) components on the complement system.

Optimization of a flow cytometric assay to evaluate the human neutrophil ability to phagocytose immune complexes via Fcγ and complement receptors.

Introduction: This study aims to optimize some experimental conditions of a flow cytometric assay to examine the human neutrophil ability to phagocytose immune complexes (ICs) via Fcγ and complement receptors (FcγR and CR, respectively). The parameters assessed were: number of cells, concentration of ICs, reaction time, pH and concentration of the Trypan Blue quenching solution.

Methods: Neutrophils were isolated from peripheral blood of healthy volunteers.

The flavonols quercetin, myricetin, kaempferol, and galangin inhibit the net oxygen consumption by immune complex-stimulated human and rabbit neutrophils.

Stimulated human neutrophils exhibit increased net oxygen consumption (NOC) due to the conversion of O2 into the superoxide anion by the NADPH oxidase enzymatic complex during the respiratory burst. In several inflammatory diseases, overproduction of these oxidants causes tissue damage. The present study aims to: (a) optimize the experimental conditions used to measure the NOC in serum-opsonized zymosan (OZ)- and insoluble immune complex (i-IC)-stimulated human and rabbit neutrophils; and (b) compare the effect of four flavonols (quercetin, myricetin, kaempferol, and galangin) on this activity.

Influence of FcγRIIIb polymorphism on its ability to cooperate with FcγRIIa and CR3 in mediating the oxidative burst of human neutrophils.

Considering that human neutrophil FcγRIIa and FcγRIIIb receptors interact synergistically with CR3 in triggering neutrophil functional responses, allelic polymorphisms in these receptors might influence such interactions. We assessed whether FcγRIIIb polymorphisms affect FcγR/CR cooperation in mediating the neutrophil oxidative burst (OB), in particular the FcγRIIIb/CR3 cooperation that occurs via lectin-saccharide-like interactions. The OB of human neutrophil antigen (HNA)-1a-, HNA-1b-, and HNA-1a/-1b-neutrophils stimulated with immune complexes, opsonized or not with serum complement, was measured by the luminol-enhanced chemiluminescence assay.

Flavonols modulate the effector functions of healthy individuals' immune complex-stimulated neutrophils: a therapeutic perspective for rheumatoid arthritis.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients usually exhibit immune complex (IC) deposition and increased neutrophil activation in the joint. In this study, we assessed how four flavonols (galangin, kaempferol, quercetin, and myricetin) modulate the effector functions of healthy individuals' and active RA patients' IC-stimulated neutrophils. We measured superoxide anion and total reactive oxygen species production using lucigenin (CL-luc)- and luminol (CL-lum)-enhanced chemiluminescence assays, respectively.

Inhibition of the human neutrophil oxidative metabolism by Baccharis dracunculifolia DC (Asteraceae) is influenced by seasonality and the ratio of caffeic acid to other phenolic compounds.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: The great potential of phytotherapic drugs for treating and preventing inflammatory diseases mediated by increased neutrophil reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation has guided the search for new natural products with antioxidant and immunomodulatory properties. Baccharis dracunculifolia D.C.

7-Hydroxycoumarin modulates the oxidative metabolism, degranulation and microbial killing of human neutrophils.

In the present study, we assessed whether 7-hydroxycoumarin (umbelliferone), 7-hydroxy-4-methylcoumarin, and their acetylated analogs modulate some of the effector functions of human neutrophils and display antioxidant activity. These compounds decreased the ability of neutrophils to generate superoxide anion, release primary granule enzymes, and kill Candida albicans. Cytotoxicity did not mediate their inhibitory effect, at least under the assessed conditions.

4-methylcoumarin derivatives inhibit human neutrophil oxidative metabolism and elastase activity.

Increased neutrophil activation significantly contributes to the tissue damage in inflammatory illnesses; this phenomenon has motivated the search for new compounds to modulate their effector functions. Coumarins are natural products that are widely consumed in the human diet. We have evaluated the antioxidant and immunomodulator potential of five 4-methylcoumarin derivatives.

Afrormosin, an Isoflavonoid from Amburana cearensis A. C. Smith, Modulates the Inflammatory Response of Stimulated Human Neutrophils.

Isoflavones are phytoestrogens known by their anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and immunomodulatory properties. Presently, there is no information on whether afrormosin, an isoflavone from Amburana cearensis A.C.

3,3',5,5'-Tetramethylbenzidine in hypochlorous acid and taurine chloramine scavenging assays: interference of dimethyl sulfoxide and other vehicles.

This article shows how six vehicles interfere in the oxidation of 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) by hypochlorous acid (HOCl) and taurine chloramine in vitro. All the tested vehicles inhibited TMB oxidation by HOCl; dimethyl sulfoxide had a remarkable effect at concentrations as low as 0.00005% (v/v).

3-Phenylcoumarin derivatives selectively modulate different steps of reactive oxygen species production by immune complex-stimulated human neutrophils.

Immune complex (IC) deposition in tissues triggers the release of harmful oxidant and lytic compounds by neutrophils. We examined how ten 3-phenylcoumarin derivatives affect the reactive oxygen species (ROS) production by IC-stimulated human neutrophils. Most of the 3-phenylcoumarins inhibited the luminol-enhanced chemiluminescence (CL-lum) more strongly than they inhibited the lucigenin-enhanced chemiluminescence (CL-luc), without clear signs of toxicity.

In vitro evaluation of the antioxidant activity of liposomal flavonols by the HRP-H2O2-luminol system.

Considering that antioxidant flavonols have been reported to be beneficial to human health, but that their low water solubility and bioavailability limit their administration through systemic route, the development of suitable flavonol-carriers is of great importance for clinical therapeutics. The aim of this study was to prepare liposomes containing flavonols or not and evaluate their antioxidant activity. Vesicles were obtained by ethanol injection method and characterized in terms of entrapment efficiency, size and zeta potential.

Galectin-3 plays a modulatory role in the life span and activation of murine neutrophils during early Toxoplasma gondii infection.

Galectins are beta-galactoside-binding lectins involved in several biological processes and galectin-3 (Gal-3) is related to modulation of immune and inflammatory responses. This study aimed to evaluate the role of Gal-3 in the life span and biological functions of murine neutrophils during in vitro infection by virulent Toxoplasma gondii RH strain. Inflammatory peritoneal neutrophils (Nphi) from C57BL/6 wild-type (WT) and Gal-3 knockout (KO) mice were cultured in the presence or absence of parasites and analyzed for phosphatidylserine (PS) exposure and cell death using Annexin-V and propidium iodide staining, and cell viability by MTT assay.

Modulation of human neutrophil oxidative metabolism and degranulation by extract of Tamarindus indica L. fruit pulp.

The tamarind (Tamarindus indica L.) is indigenous to Asian countries and widely cultivated in the American continents. The tamarind fruit pulp extract (ExT), traditionally used in spices, food components and juices, is rich in polyphenols that have demonstrated anti-atherosclerotic, antioxidant and immunomodulatory activities.