Effects of Creatine Supplementation on Histopathological and Biochemical Parameters in the Kidney and Pancreas of Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Rats.

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a worldwide health concern, and projections state that cases will reach 578 million by 2030. Adjuvant therapies that can help the standard treatment and mitigate DM effects are necessary, especially those using nutritional supplements to improve glycemic control. Previous studies suggest creatine supplementation as a possible adjuvant therapy for DM, but they lack the evaluation of potential morphological parameters alterations and tissue injury caused by this compound.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy mitigates left ventricular remodeling, upregulates MMP-2 and VEGF, and inhibits the induction of MMP-9, TGF-β1, and TNF-α in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rat heart.

Aims: Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy has been widely used for the adjunctive treatment of diabetic wounds, and is currently known to influence left ventricular (LV) function. However, morphological and molecular repercussions of the HBO in the diabetic myocardium remain to be described. We aimed to investigate whether HBO therapy would mitigate adverse LV remodeling caused by streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetes.

Structural Analysis Revealed the Interaction of Cardenolides from Calotropis procera with Na/K ATPases from Herbivores.

Background: The herbivores Danaus plexippus (Lepidoptera), Oncopeltus fasciatus, and Aphis nerii (Hemiptera) are special insects that feed on Calotropis procera (Apocynaceae) (Sodom Apple). At least 35 chemically distinct cardenolides have been reported in C. procera.

S-methyl cysteine sulfoxide mitigates histopathological damage, alleviate oxidative stress and promotes immunomodulation in diabetic rats.

Objectives: S-methyl cysteine sulfoxide (SMCS) is a hydrophilic cysteine-containing natural compound found in plants and is known to possess antidiabetic and antioxidant properties. We investigated the antioxidant and immunomodulatory properties of SMCS, as well as histopathological changes in the liver and pancreas in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats.

Methods: The rats were divided into the following groups: control (CG), comprising non-diabetic rats; STZ-DB, comprising STZ-induced diabetic rats; and STZ-SMCS, comprising STZ-induced diabetic rats treated with SMCS.

Design and in silico validation of polymerase chain reaction primers to detect severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

Accurate designing of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) primers targeting conserved segments in viral genomes is desirable for preventing false-negative results and decreasing the need for standardization across different PCR protocols. In this work, we designed and described a set of primers and probes targeting conserved regions identified from a multiple sequence alignment of 2341 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) genomes from the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID). We subsequently validated those primers and probes in 211,833 SARS-CoV-2 whole-genome sequences.

A low-cost smart system for electrophoresis-based nucleic acids detection at the visible spectrum.

Nucleic acid detection by electrophoresis is still a quick and accessible technique for many diagnosis methods, primarily at research laboratories or at the point of care units. Standard protocols detect DNA/RNA molecules through specific bound chemical dyes using a UV-transilluminator or UV-photo documentation system. However, the acquisition costs and availability of these devices, mainly the ones with photography and internet connection capabilities, can be prohibitive, especially in developing countries public health units.

A Plumieridine-Rich Fraction From Inhibits Chitinolytic Activity and Exhibits Antifungal Properties Against .

Cryptococcosis is a fungal infection caused mainly by the pathogenic yeasts and . The infection initiates with the inhalation of propagules that are then deposited in the lungs. If not properly treated, cryptococci cells can disseminate and reach the central nervous system.

EpitoCore: Mining Conserved Epitope Vaccine Candidates in the Core Proteome of Multiple Bacteria Strains.

In reverse vaccinology approaches, complete proteomes of bacteria are submitted to multiple computational prediction steps in order to filter proteins that are possible vaccine candidates. Most available tools perform such analysis only in a single strain, or a very limited number of strains. But the vast amount of genomic data had shown that most bacteria contain pangenomes, i.

Analysis of Arabidopsis thaliana Redox Gene Network Indicates Evolutionary Expansion of Class III Peroxidase in Plants.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are byproducts of aerobic metabolism and may cause oxidative damage to biomolecules. Plants have a complex redox system, involving enzymatic and non-enzymatic compounds. The evolutionary origin of enzymatic antioxidant defense in plants is yet unclear.

Characterization of putative proteins encoded by variable ORFs in white spot syndrome virus genome.

Background: White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV) is an enveloped double-stranded DNA virus which causes mortality of several species of shrimp, being considered one of the main pathogens that affects global shrimp farming. This virus presents a complex genome of ~ 300 kb and viral isolates that present genomes with great identity. Despite this conservation, some variable regions in the WSSV genome occur in coding regions, and these putative proteins may have some relationship with viral adaptation and virulence mechanisms.

Effect of photobiomodulation and exercise on early remodeling of the Achilles tendon in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.

The aim of this study was to compare the treatment effects of laser photobiomodulation (LPBM) therapy and aerobic exercise on the biomechanical properties, tissue morphology and the expression of tendon matrix molecules during early remodeling of Achilles tendon (AT) injury in diabetic rats. Animals were randomly assigned to five groups: injured non diabetic (I, n = 15), injured diabetic (ID, n = 15), injured diabetic plus LPBM (IDL, n = 16), injured diabetic plus aerobic exercise (IDE, n = 16) and injured diabetic plus aerobic exercise and LPBM (IDEAL, n = 17). Type 1 diabetes was induced via a single intravenous injection of Streptozotocin at a dose of 40 mg/kg.

Evolutionary origin of 2A-like sequences in Totiviridae genomes.

In recent years there has been a significant increase in the number of new species potentially belonging to the Totiviridae family. Most of these new viruses have not yet been covered by the Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) official classification. In this study, a phylogenetic analysis including new sequences of Totiviridae candidates revealed a clade including Giardiavirus and a great diversity of new totiviruses, which infect arthropods, protozoa and mollusc.

Diversity of ejaculated sperm proteins in Moxotó bucks ( ) evaluated by multiple extraction methods.

This study aimed to develop protocols for the extraction of sperm proteins from Moxotó goats () and to compare the resulting proteomic maps. The sperm proteins were isolated using an extraction buffer containing 7 M urea and 2 M thiourea, 20 mM DTT, and one of the following detergents: 1% or 4% CHAPS; 1% or 4% SDS; 1% or 4% Triton X-100; or a combination of CHAPS and SDS. The 1-DE and 2-DE profiles of the isolated proteins revealed that the various isolation methods were efficient.

Direct sequencing of the white spot syndrome virus from Brazil: Genome assembly and new insights on phylogeny.

White spot syndrome virus (WSSV) has been the cause of great economic losses in world shrimp farming. In this work the genome of a Brazilian WSSV isolate was determined from direct sequencing of total DNA extracted from an infected whiteleg shrimp, and assembled based on a chimera template approach. Comparisons between WSSV-BR and other isolates revealed that the Brazilian virus has a relatively small genome, and is very similar to isolates from Thailand and Mexico.

Structure and in vitro activities of a Copper II-chelating anionic peptide from the venom of the scorpion Tityus stigmurus.

Anionic Peptides are molecules rich in aspartic acid (Asp) and/or glutamic acid (Glu) residues in the primary structure. This work presents, for the first time, structural characterization and biological activity assays of an anionic peptide from the venom of the scorpion Tityus stigmurus, named TanP. The three-dimensional structure of TanP was obtained by computational modeling and refined by molecular dynamic (MD) simulations.

Exercise training ameliorates matrix metalloproteinases 2 and 9 messenger RNA expression and mitigates adverse left ventricular remodeling in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.

Background: The aim was to investigate whether exercise training (ExT) would ameliorate expression of key genes for myocardial morphostructure and mitigate adverse left ventricular (LV) remodeling in experimental type 1 diabetes (T1D).

Methods And Results: Male Wistar rats were divided into four groups: sedentary control (SC, n=9), trained control (TC, n=13), sedentary diabetic (SD, n=20), and trained diabetic (TD, n=17). T1D was induced by 40 mg/kg streptozotocin (single dose, i.

Analysis of new isolates reveals new genome organization and a hypervariable region in infectious myonecrosis virus (IMNV).

Infectious myonecrosis virus (IMNV) has been the cause of many losses in shrimp farming since 2002, when the first myonecrosis outbreak was reported at Brazilian's northeast coast. Two additional genomes of Brazilian IMNV isolates collected in 2009 and 2013 were sequenced and analyzed in the present study. The sequencing revealed extra 643 bp and 22 bp, at 5' and 3' ends of IMNV genome respectively, confirming that its actual size is at least 8226 bp long.

Mo-CBP3, an antifungal chitin-binding protein from Moringa oleifera seeds, is a member of the 2S albumin family.

Mo-CBP3 is a chitin-binding protein from M. oleifera seeds that inhibits the germination and mycelial growth of phytopathogenic fungi. This protein is highly thermostable and resistant to pH changes, and therefore may be useful in the development of new antifungal drugs.

In silico single strand melting curve: a new approach to identify nucleic acid polymorphisms in Totiviridae.

Background: The PCR technique and its variations have been increasingly used in the clinical laboratory and recent advances in this field generated new higher resolution techniques based on nucleic acid denaturation dynamics. The principle of these new molecular tools is based on the comparison of melting profiles, after denaturation of a DNA double strand. Until now, the secondary structure of single-stranded nucleic acids has not been exploited to develop identification systems based on PCR.

Infectious hypodermal and hematopoietic necrosis virus from Brazil: Sequencing, comparative analysis and PCR detection.

A 3739 nucleotide fragment of Infectious hypodermal and hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHHNV) from Brazil was amplified and sequenced. This fragment contains the entire coding sequences of viral proteins, the full 3' untranslated region (3'UTR) and a partial sequence of 5' untranslated region (5'UTR). The genome organization of IHHNV revealed the three typical major coding domains: a left ORF1 of 2001 bp that codes NS1, a left ORF2 (NS2) of 1091 bp that codes NS2 and a right ORF3 of 990 bp that codes VP.

Effect of glucans from Caripia montagnei mushroom on TNBS-induced colitis.

In this study, we evaluated the effect of different doses of polysaccharides extracted from Caripia montagnei mushroom at different intervals of treatment on colonic injury in the model of colitis induced by 2,4,6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS). The FT-IR analysis and NMR showed that the polysaccharides from this species of mushroom are composed of α- and β-glucans. The colonic damage was evaluated by macroscopic, histological, biochemical and immunologic analyses.

H-3, a new lectin from the marine sponge Haliclona caerulea: purification and mass spectrometric characterization.

A new lectin from the marine sponge Haliclona caerulea (H-3) was isolated using a combination of hydrophobic interaction chromatography and ion-exchange chromatography. H-3 is a protein with three distinct bands on SDS-PAGE: 9 kDa, 16 kDa and 18 kDa. Nevertheless, on gel filtration and N-PAGE, H-3 showed a symmetrical peak and a unique band, respectively.

Phylogenetic relationships within Chamaecrista sect. Xerocalyx (Leguminosae, Caesalpinioideae) inferred from the cpDNA trnE-trnT intergenic spacer and nrDNA ITS sequences.

Chamaecrista belongs to subtribe Cassiinae (Caesalpinioideae), and it comprises over 330 species, divided into six sections. The section Xerocalyx has been subjected to a profound taxonomic shuffling over the years. Therefore, we conducted a phylogenetic analysis using a cpDNA trnE-trnT intergenic spacer and nrDNA ITS/5.