BCORL1, POF1B, and USP9X copy number variation in women with idiopathic diminished ovarian reserve.

Purpose: To analyze the copy number variation (CNV) in the X-linked genes BCORL1, POF1B, and USP9X in idiopathic diminished ovarian reserve (DOR).

Methods: This case-control study included 47 women, 26 with DOR and 21 in the control group. Age, weight, height, BMI, and FSH level were evaluated, as well as antral follicle count (AFC), oocyte retrieval after controlled ovarian stimulation, and metaphase II (MII) oocytes.

Brazilian green propolis extracts modulate cholesterol homeostasis in a preclinical guinea pig model: an and study.

Green propolis produced by bees, having D.C. (Asteraceae) as the primary botanical source, has been used in traditional medicine to treat numerous disorders.

Oxidative Stress in the Protection and Injury of the Lacrimal Gland and the Ocular Surface: are There Perspectives for Therapeutics?

Oxidative stress (OS) is a major disruption in the physiology of the lacrimal functional unit (LFU). Antioxidant enzymes have dual protective activities: antioxidant and antimicrobial activities. Peroxidases have been indistinctly used as markers of the secretory activity of the LFU and implicated in the pathophysiology, diagnosis and treatment of dry eye disease (DED), even though they comprise a large family of enzymes that includes lactoperoxidase (LPO) and glutathione peroxidase (GPO), among others.

Lacrimal Gland as a Target Organ for Adenovirus Gene Therapy Encoding Erythropoietin for Dry Eye Induced by Benzalkonium Chloride.

: The aims of this work were a) to describe the histology of the lacrimal gland (LG) and cornea induced by an adenovirus (Ad) vector encoding the human erythropoietin (Epo) gene delivered to the LG and b) to evaluate the therapeutic potential of this strategy to prevent benzalkonium chloride (BAK) corneal toxicity.: Structure and function of male Wistar rats LG were compared in the groups: 1) naïve control and 2) Ad-hEpo in the right LG (RLG). The protective response against BAK eye drops was compared among the groups 1) naïve control, 2) BAK in the right eye, 3) Ad-hEpo RLG + BAK and 4) Ad-hEpo in the right salivary gland (RSG)+BAK.

miR-532-3p: a possible altered miRNA in cumulus cells of infertile women with advanced endometriosis.

Research Question: Is the profile of microRNA (miRNA) altered in cumulus cells of infertile women with early (EI/II) and advanced (EIII/IV) endometriosis?

Design: In this prospective case-control study, a miRNA profile including 754 targets was evaluated in samples of cumulus cells from infertile women with endometriosis (5 EI/II, 5 EIII/IV) and infertile controls (5, male and/or tubal factor) undergoing ovarian stimulation for intracytoplasmic sperm injection, using TaqMan® Array Human MicroRNA Cards A and B. The groups were compared with Kruskal-Wallis test, followed by Benjamini-Hochberg correction and Dunn's post hoc test. An in silico enrichment analysis was performed to list the possibly altered pathways in which the altered miRNA target genes are involved.

Acute exercise alters homocysteine plasma concentration in an intensity-dependent manner due increased methyl flux in liver of rats.

Purpose: We aimed to determine the effects of different intensities of acute exercise on Hcy plasma levels, and the exercise-induced changes in Hcy liver metabolism.

Method: First, thirty-two Wistar rats were randomly submitted to an acute bout of swimming exercise carrying a load of 2% (n=8), 4% (n=8) and 6% (n=8) of their total body weight attached in their tail. Control rats remained rested (n=8).

Resistance exercise prevents impaired homocysteine metabolism and hepatic redox capacity in Walker-256 tumor-bearing male Wistar rats.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate changes in homocysteine (Hcy) metabolism and redox balance in response to exercise treatment in a tumor-bearing rat model.

Methods: Male Wistar rats were exposed, or not, to a resistance exercise program 6 wk before inoculation with Walker-256 tumor cells or vehicle. After application, rats maintained their routine for 12 d and were then sacrificed for plasma and liver analyses.

Specific immediate early gene expression induced by high doses of salicylate in the cochlear nucleus and inferior colliculus of the rat.

Introduction: Salicylate at high doses induces tinnitus in humans and experimental animals. However, the mechanisms and loci of action of salicylate in inducing tinnitus are still not well known. The expression of Immediate Early Genes (IEG) is traditionally associated with long-term neuronal modifications but it is still not clear how and where IEGs are activated in animal models of tinnitus.

Creatine supplementation prevents hyperhomocysteinemia, oxidative stress and cancer-induced cachexia progression in Walker-256 tumor-bearing rats.

The purpose of this study was to investigate (1) the impact of tumor growth on homocysteine (Hcy) metabolism, liver oxidative stress and cancer cachexia and, (2) the potential benefits of creatine supplementation in Walker-256 tumor-bearing rats. Three experiments were conducted. First, rats were killed on days 5 (D5), 10 (D10) and 14 (D14) after tumor implantation.

Creatine supplementation prevents fatty liver in rats fed choline-deficient diet: a burden of one-carbon and fatty acid metabolism.

Aim: To examine the effects of creatine (Cr) supplementation on liver fat accumulation in rats fed a choline-deficient diet.

Methods: Twenty-four rats were divided into 3 groups of 8 based on 4 weeks of feeding an AIN-93 control diet (C), a choline-deficient diet (CDD) or a CDD supplemented with 2% Cr. The CDD diet was AIN-93 without choline.

Taurine supplementation does not decrease homocysteine levels and liver injury induced by a choline-deficient diet.

Aims: The aim of this study is to examine the effects of taurine supplementation on homocysteine (Hcy) metabolism and liver injury in rats fed a choline-deficient diet.

Main Methods: Thirty rats were divided into three groups (n=10), to receive one of the following diets for 4 weeks: control diet (C), choline-deficient diet (CDD), or choline-deficient diet supplemented with taurine (CDDT). The CDD and the CDDT consisted of AIN-93 without the recommended choline content of 2.

Caldesmon: new insights for diagnosing endometriosis.

Considerable effort has been invested in searching for less invasive methods of diagnosing endometriosis. Previous studies have indicated altered levels of the CALD1 gene (encoding the protein caldesmon) in endometriosis. The aims of our study were to investigate whether average CALD1 expression and caldesmon protein levels are differentially altered in the endometrium and endometriotic lesions and to evaluate the performance of the CALD1 gene and caldesmon protein as potential biomarkers for endometriosis.

Corticotrophin-releasing factor mediates hypophagia after adrenalectomy, increasing meal-related satiety responses.

Adrenalectomy-induced hypophagia is associated with increased satiety-related responses, which involve neuronal activation of the nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS). Besides its effects on the pituitary-adrenal axis, corticotrophin-releasing factor (CRF) has been shown to play an important role in feeding behaviour, as it possesses anorexigenic effects. We evaluated feeding-induced CRF mRNA expression in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) and the effects of pretreatment with CRF(2) receptor antagonist (Antisauvagine-30, AS30) on food intake and activation of NTS neurons in response to feeding in adrenalectomised (ADX) rats.