Publications by authors named "Ana P P Velosa"

Background: NETosis is recognized as an important source of autoantigens. Therefore, we hypothesized whether the pristane-induced lupus mice model shows early activation of neutrophils, the presence of low-density granulocytes (LDGs), and neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) release, which could contribute to the development of a lupus phenotype.

Methods: Twelve female wild-type Balb/c mice were intraperitoneally injected with pristane (n = 6; pristane group) or saline (n = 6; control group).

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We hypothesized that after synovial injury, collagen V (Col V) expose occult antigens, and Col V autoantibodies develop, indicating the loss of immune tolerance against this molecule, thus leading to damage to mesenchymal-derived cells as well as the extracellular matrix in experimental arthritis. Thus, the present study investigated the effects of oral administration of Col V on the synovium after the development of inflammation in mBSA/CFA-induced arthritis. After fourteen days of intraarticular administration of mBSA, 10 male Lewis rats were orally administered Col V (500 μg/300 μL) diluted in 0.

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Dietary sodium restriction increases plasma triglycerides (TG) and total cholesterol (TC) concentrations as well as causing insulin resistance and stimulation of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) and the sympathetic nervous system. Stimulation of the angiotensin II type-1 receptor (AT1) is associated with insulin resistance, inflammation, and the inhibition of adipogenesis. The current study investigated whether aerobic exercise training (AET) mitigates or inhibits the adverse effects of dietary sodium restriction on adiposity, inflammation, and insulin sensitivity in periepididymal adipose tissue.

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Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has been linked to immune responses to lung-associated self-antigens. Exposure to cigarette smoke (CS), the main cause of COPD, causes chronic lung inflammation, resulting in pulmonary matrix (ECM) damage. This tissue breakdown exposes collagen V (Col V), an antigen typically hidden from the immune system, which could trigger an autoimmune response.

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Lung cancer still represents a global health problem, being the main type of tumor responsible for cancer deaths. In this context, the tumor microenvironment, and the extracellular matrix (ECM) pose as extremely relevant. Thus, this study aimed to explore the prognostic value of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), Wnt signaling, and ECM proteins expression in patients with non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) with clinical stages I-IIIA.

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Cutaneous fibrosis is one of the main features of systemic sclerosis (SSc). Recent findings correlated abnormal collagen V (Col V) deposition in dermis with skin thickening and disease activity in SSc. Considering that Col V is an important regulator of collagen fibrillogenesis, understanding the role of Col V in the first two years of the skin fibrosis in SSc (early SSc) can help to determine new targets for future treatments.

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This study investigated the efficacy of aerobic exercise training (AET) in the prevention of dyslipidemia, insulin resistance (IR), and atherogenesis induced by severe low-sodium (LS) diet. LDL receptor knockout (LDLR KO) mice were fed a low-sodium (LS) (0.15% NaCl) or normal-sodium (NS; 1.

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Background: Malignant pleural mesotheliomas (MM) are known for their heterogenous histology and clinical behavior. MM histology reveals three major tumor cell populations: epithelioid, sarcomatoid, and biphasic. Using a dissecting approach, we showed that histochemical gradients help us better understand tumor heterogeneity and reconsider its histologic classifications.

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Non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) is a complex cancer biome composed of malignant cells embedded in a sophisticated tumor microenvironment (TME) combined with different initiating cell types, including immune cells and cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), and extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins. However, little is known about these tumors' immune-matricellular relationship as functional and mechanical barriers. This study investigated 120 patients with NSCLC to describe the immune-matricellular phenotypes of their TME and their relationship with malignant cells.

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Recently, collagen/integrin genes have shown promise as predictors of metastasis mainly in non-small cell lung cancer and breast cancer. However, it is unknown if these gene expression profiling differ in metastatic potential of pulmonary neuroendocrine neoplasms (PNENs). In this study, we sought to identify differentially expressed collagen/integrin genes in PNENs in order to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying the development of stroma-associated fibrosis for invasion and metastasis.

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Th17/Treg imbalance plays a pivotal role in COPD development and progression. We aimed to assess Th17/Treg-related intracellular signaling at different COPD stages in local and systemic responses. Lung tissue and/or peripheral blood samples were collected and divided into non-obstructed (NOS), COPD stages I and II, and COPD stages III and IV groups.

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Collagen is essential for cartilage adhesion and formation. In the present study, histology, immunofluorescence, morphometry, and qRT-PCR suggested that adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) stimulated by type V collagen (Col V) induce a significant increase of type II collagen (Col II) in the degenerative area of surgical-induced osteoarthritic rabbit articular cartilage (OA). , the effects of Col V on the proliferation and differentiation of ADSC were investigated.

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Objective: The pulmonary vascular remodeling in systemic sclerosis (SSc) is poorly understood and animal models are lacking. Type V collagen (COLV) is elevated in SSc and is implicated in the pathogenesis, and immunization with human COLV induces SSc-like skin and lung changes in rabbits and mice. Here we tested the hypothesis that COLV immunization will induce pathological and functional changes that phenocopy SSc-associated pulmonary vascular disease.

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Patients with Systemic sclerosis (SSc) presents immune dysregulation, vasculopathy, and fibrosis of the skin and various internal organs. Pulmonary fibrosis leads to SSc-associated interstitial lung disease (ILD), which is the main cause of morbidity and mortality in SSc. Recently autoimmunity to type V collagen (Col V) has been characterized in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and show promise to be related to the development in SSc.

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Th17/Treg imbalance contributes to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) development and progression. However, intracellular signaling by suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS) 1 and SOCS3 and the proteins signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) 3 and STAT5 that orchestrate these imbalances are currently poorly understood. Thus, these proteins were investigated in C57BL/6 mice after exposure to cigarette smoke (CS) for 3 and 6 months.

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Inhalation of silica particles causes silicosis: an occupational lung disease characterized by persistent inflammation with granuloma formation that leads to tissue remodeling and impairment of lung function. Although silicosis has been studied intensely, little is known about the crucial cellular mechanisms that initiate and drive the process of inflammation and fibrosis. Recently, found in inflammatory zone 1 (FIZZ1) protein, produced by alveolar macrophages and fibroblasts have been shown to induce the proliferation of myofibroblasts and their transdifferentiation, causing tissue fibrosis.

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Introduction: This study aimed to verify the effects of cigarette smoke exposure in bone mineralization and fibrillar matrix composition as well as in bone healing after tibial fracture induction.

Methods: C57Bl/6 Mice were assigned according to exposure and surgery: C room air; F room air and tibia open osteotomy; CS cigarette smoke; FCS cigarette smoke and tibia open osteotomy. In order to study fracture healing we performed, under anesthesia, a bone injury through a tibial shaft osteotomy.

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Background: Type V collagen (Col V) has the potential to become an autoantigen and has been associated with the pathogenesis of systemic sclerosis (SSc). We characterized serological, functional, and histopathological features of the skin and lung in a novel SSc murine model induced by Col V immunization.

Methods: Female C57BL/6 mice (n = 19, IMU-COLV) were subcutaneously immunized with two doses of Col V (125 μg) emulsified in complete Freund adjuvant, followed by two intramuscular boosters.

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Background: The imbalance between pro- and anti-inflammatory immune responses plays a pivotal role in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) development and progression. To clarify the pathophysiological mechanisms of this disease, we performed a temporal analysis of immune response-mediated inflammatory progression in a cigarette smoke (CS)-induced mouse model with a focus on the balance between Th17 and Treg responses.

Methods: C57BL/6 mice were exposed to CS for 1, 3 or 6 months to induce COPD, and the control groups were maintained under filtered air conditions for the same time intervals.

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Because collagen type V (Col V) can be exposed in tissue injury, we hypothesized that oral administration of this collagen species modulates the inflammation and remodeling of experimental synovitis, avoiding joint destruction, and that the modulation may differ according to the temporal administration. Arthritis (IA, n = 20) was induced in Lewis rats by intraarticular (ia) injection of 500 μg of methylated bovine serum albumin (mBSA) emulsified in complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) (10 μl) followed by an intraarticular booster of mBSA (50 μg) in saline (50 μl) administered at 7 and 14 days. The control group received saline (50 μl, ia).

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Anomalous histoarchitecture with increased levels of type-V collagen (Col V) in lungs of human idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and bleomycin (BLM) airway-centered interstitial fibrosis suggest that this collagen can be a possible trigger involved in the pathogenesis of these diseases. Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) injury model revealed a distal involvement of lung parenchyma with significant endothelial injury and fibrotic response, contrasting with the BLM airway-centered insult. We undertook this study to analyze whether BHT alters distal airway/alveolar epithelial cells (AECs) and extracellular matrix (ECM) signaling involved in the initiation and progression of pulmonary fibrosis in a different pathway concerning overexpression of Col V.

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Posterior tibial tendinopathy (PTT) can lead to acquired flatfoot in adults. Many patients develop PTT without any identifiable risk factors. Molecular changes in extracellular matrix (ECM) and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) polymorphism may influence the risk of developing PTT.

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This study investigated the influence of sodium restriction and antihypertensive drugs on atherogenesis utilizing hypertensive (H) low-density lipoprotein-receptor knockout mice treated or not with losartan (Los) or hydralazine (Hyd) and fed low-sodium (LS) or normal-sodium (NS) chow. Despite reducing the blood pressure (BP) of H-LS mice, the LS diet caused arterial lipid infiltration due to increased plasma total cholesterol (TC) and triglycerides (TG). Los and Hyd reduced the BP of H-LS mice, and Los effectively prevented arterial injury, likely by reducing plasma TG and nonesterified fatty acids.

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Introduction: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of aerobic exercise (AE) in reducing bleomycin-induced fibrosis in mice of a Th2-dominant immune background (BALB/c).

Methods: BALB/c mice were distributed into: sedentary, control (CON), Exercise-only (EX), sedentary, bleomycin-treated (BLEO) and bleomycin-treated+exercised (BLEO+EX); (n = 8/group). Following treadmill adaptation, 15 days following a single, oro-tracheal administration of bleomycin (1.

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Type V collagen (Col V) is a "minor" component of normal lung extracellular matrix, which is subjected to decreased and abnormal synthesis in human lung infiltrating adenocarcinoma. We previously reported that a direct link between low amounts of Col V and decreased cell apoptosis may favor cancer cell growth in the mouse lung after chemical carcinogenesis. Moreover, this collagen species was able to trigger DNA fragmentation and impair survival of neoplastic cells.

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