Evaluation of Extract for Xanthine Oxidase Inhibition and Serum Uric Acid Reduction in a Hyperuricemic Mouse Model.

: Current urate-lowering therapies may cause serious side effects in patients. Thus, alternative treatments are needed to regulate uric acid (UA) levels in patients with hyperuricemia associated with kidney injury, and natural antioxidant sources have demonstrated utility in this field. For the first time, our study evaluated the effects of an extract of insects on the levels of xanthine oxidase (XO) enzymes and synthetic free radicals in vitro and in vivo.

Serum Zinc-Alpha-2 Glycoprotein and Zinc Levels and Their Relationship with Insulin Resistance and Biochemical Parameters in Overweight and Obese Children.

The biological role of zinc-alpha 2-glycoprotein (ZAG) has been associated with lipid mobilization, although this is not entirely clear. The study's aim was to examine the serum levels of ZAG and zinc (Zn) and the Zn/ZAG in a population of children with overweight (OW) and obesity (OB), and their relationship with biochemical parameters. Our study was a cross-sectional analysis of a group of Mexican children aged 6-10 (n = 72).

Relationship of Serum Zinc Levels with Cardiometabolic Traits in Overweight and Obese Schoolchildren from Mexico City.

Zinc (Zn) participates as a cofactor for many enzymes in the cellular metabolism, and its serum levels have been associated with different metabolic diseases, especially obesity (OB). Nevertheless, its associations are not clear in the children population. The objective of this study is to evaluate the association between serum Zn levels (SZn) with overweight/obesity status (OW/OB), as well as its cardiometabolic traits in a population of children in Mexico City.

High prevalence of t895 and t9364 spa types of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in a tertiary-care hospital in Mexico: different lineages of clonal complex 5.

Background: Staphylococcus aureus is a leading cause of broad-spectrum infections both in the community and within healthcare settings. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has become a global public health issue. The aim of this study was to examine the clinical and molecular characteristics of Staphylococcus aureus isolates and to define the population structure and distribution of major MRSA clones isolated in a tertiary-care hospital in Mexico.

VLPs Derived from the CCMV Plant Virus Can Directly Transfect and Deliver Heterologous Genes for Translation into Mammalian Cells.

Virus-like particles (VLPs) are being used for therapeutic developments such as vaccines and drug nanocarriers. Among these, plant virus capsids are gaining interest for the formation of VLPs because they can be safely handled and are noncytotoxic. A paradigm in virology, however, is that plant viruses cannot transfect and deliver directly their genetic material or other cargos into mammalian cells.

The tumor suppressor phosphatase and tensin homolog protein (PTEN) is negatively regulated by NF-κb p50 homodimers and involves histone 3 methylation/deacetylation in UROtsa cells chronically exposed to monomethylarsonous acid.

UROtsa cells have been accepted as a model to study carcinogenicity mechanisms of arsenic-associated human bladder cancer. In vitro continuous exposure to monomethylarsonous acid (MMA), leads UROtsa cells to commit to malignant transformation. In this process, NF-κβ-associated inflammatory response seems to play an important role since this transcription factor activates some minutes after cells are exposed in vitro to MMA and keeps activated during the cellular malignant transformation.

Immunolocalization of hyperpolarization-activated cationic HCN1 and HCN3 channels in the rat nephron: regulation of HCN3 by potassium diets.

Hyperpolarization-activated cationic and cyclic nucleotide-gated channels (HCN) comprise four homologous subunits (HCN1-HCN4). HCN channels are found in excitable and non-excitable tissues in mammals. We have previously shown that HCN2 may transport ammonium (NH4 (+)), besides sodium (Na(+)), in the rat distal nephron.

Hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) protein diminishes sodium glucose transport 1 (SGLT1) and SGLT2 protein expression in renal epithelial tubular cells (LLC-PK1) under hypoxia.

In this work, we demonstrated the regulation of glucose transporters by hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) activation in renal epithelial cells. LLC-PK1 monolayers were incubated for 1, 3, 6, or 12 h with 0% or 5% O2 or 300 μm cobalt (CoCl2). We evaluated the effects of hypoxia on the mRNA and protein expression of HIF-1α and of the glucose transporters SGLT1, SGLT2, and GLUT1.

In vitro cytotoxicity of silver nanoparticles on human periodontal fibroblasts.

Unlabelled: Silver nanoparticles (NNPs) are extensively used for all kinds of antimicrobial applications in medical research. Their efficacy has been demonstrated against Streptococcus mutans, which is associated with dental caries. However their cytotoxic effects on human periodontal tissue are not completely understood.

Chronic exposure to arsenic sensitizes CD3+ and CD56+ human cells to sodium arsenite-mediated apoptosis.

Despite the relevance of immune responses in cancer development, little is known about arsenite-induced apoptosis on different immune effectors cells. In this work, we determined the effect of in vitro exposure to sodium arsenite on apoptosis rates of blood lymphocytes, monocytes and NK cells. Blood was obtained from six healthy non-exposed donors, and also from a woman chronically exposed to arsenic.