Hierarchical Virtual Screening of Potential New Antibiotics from Polyoxygenated Dibenzofurans against Strains.

is a microorganism with high morbidity and mortality due to antibiotic-resistant strains, making the search for new therapeutic options urgent. In this context, computational drug design can facilitate the drug discovery process, optimizing time and resources. In this work, computational methods involving ligand- and structure-based virtual screening were employed to identify potential antibacterial agents against the MRSA and VRSA strains.

Molecular and serology methods in the diagnosis of COVID-19: An overview.

Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) has become a pandemic, being a global health concern since December 2019 when the first cases were reported. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, the COVID-19 causal agent, is a β-coronavirus that has on its surface the spike protein, which helps in its virulence and pathogenicity towards the host. Thus, effective and applicable diagnostic methods to this disease come as an important tool for the management of the patients.

Refinement as ethics principle in animal research: Is it necessary to standardize the Environmental enrichment in laboratory animals?

The Environmental enrichment technique, although scientifically recognized for raising the level of animal welfare, has led to the questioning of its influence on the results of experimental research. Thus, the goal is to promote reflection about the need for standardization of these procedures. For that, documents and experimental analysis were done, in order to quantify and characterize the types of environmental enrichment used and to evaluate the effect of that in the social behavior of Rattus norvegicus.

Integrated analysis of the involvement of nitric oxide synthesis in mitochondrial proliferation, mitochondrial deficiency and apoptosis in skeletal muscle fibres.

Nitric oxide (NO) is an important signaling messenger involved in different mitochondrial processes but only few studies explored the participation of NO in mitochondrial abnormalities found in patients with genetic mitochondrial deficiencies. In this study we verified whether NO synthase (NOS) activity was altered in different types of mitochondrial abnormalities and whether changes in mitochondrial function and NOS activity could be associated with the induction of apoptosis. We performed a quantitative and integrated analysis of NOS activity in individual muscle fibres of patients with mitochondrial diseases, considering mitochondrial function (cytochrome-c-oxidase activity), mitochondrial content, mitochondrial DNA mutation and presence of apoptotic nuclei.

Nitric oxide synthesis is increased in cybrid cells with m.3243A>G mutation.

Nitric oxide (NO) is a free radical and a signaling molecule in several pathways, produced by nitric oxide synthase (NOS) from the conversion of L-arginine to citrulline. Supplementation of L-arginine has been used to treat MELAS (mitochondrial encephalopathy with lactic acidosis and stroke like syndrome), a mitochondrial disease caused by the m.3243A>G mutation.

Nitric oxide in skeletal muscle: role on mitochondrial biogenesis and function.

 Nitric oxide (NO) has been implicated in several cellular processes as a signaling molecule and also as a source of reactive nitrogen species (RNS). NO is produced by three isoenzymes called nitric oxide synthases (NOS), all present in skeletal muscle. While neuronal NOS (nNOS) and endothelial NOS (eNOS) are isoforms constitutively expressed, inducible NOS (iNOS) is mainly expressed during inflammatory responses.