Publications by authors named "Marita Hernandez"

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a dysimmune and neurodegenerative disease of the central nervous system that continues to be one of the main causes of non-traumatic disability in young people despite the recent availability of highly effective drugs. Exercise-based interventions seem to have a positive impact on the course of the disease although pathophysiological mechanisms responsible for this benefit remain unclear. This is a longitudinal study to examine the effects of a short-term training program on neurofilament plasma levels, a biomarker of axonal destruction, measured using the ultrasensitive single molecule array (SiMoA).

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Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a CNS inflammatory demyelinating disease. Recent investigations highlight the gut-brain axis as a communication network with crucial implications in neurological diseases. Thus, disrupted intestinal integrity allows the translocation of luminal molecules into systemic circulation, promoting systemic/brain immune-inflammatory responses.

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Microglia, the resident macrophage-like population in the CNS, plays an important role in the pathogenesis of many neurodegenerative disorders. is known to produce different metabolites with anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant and analgesic properties. Although the species is popularly used for the treatment of different types of inflammatory processes, its biological effects on neuroinflammation have not yet been addressed.

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Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic demyelinating autoimmune disease affecting the CNS. Recent studies have indicated that intestinal alterations play key pathogenic roles in the development of autoimmune diseases, including MS. The triterpene oleanolic acid (OA), due to its anti-inflammatory properties, has shown to beneficially influence the severity of the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a preclinical model of MS.

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Unlabelled: Oxidative stress and proinflammatory cytokines are factors affecting multiple sclerosis (MS) disease progression. Oleacein (OLE), an olive secoiridoid, possesses powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities, which suggests its potential application to treat neuroinflammatory disorders. Herein, we investigated the impact of OLE on the main clinic-pathological features of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), an animal model for MS, including paralysis, demyelination, central nervous system (CNS) inflammation/oxidative stress and blood-brain barrier (BBB) breakdown.

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Secreted phospholipase A-IIA (sPLA-IIA) is a pro-inflammatory protein associated with cardiovascular disorders, whose functions and underlying mechanisms in cardiac remodelling are still under investigation. We herein study the role of sPLA-IIA in cardiac fibroblast (CFs)-to-myofibroblast differentiation and fibrosis, two major features involved in cardiac remodelling, and also explore potential mechanisms involved. In a mice model of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) after autoimmune myocarditis, serum and cardiac sPLA-IIA protein expression were found to be increased, together with elevated cardiac levels of the cross-linking enzyme lysyl oxidase (LOX) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation.

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Glioblastoma, the most aggressive type of primary brain tumour, shows worse prognosis linked to diabetes or obesity persistence. These pathologies are chronic inflammatory conditions characterized by altered profiles of inflammatory mediators, including leptin and secreted phospholipase A2-IIA (sPLA2-IIA). Both proteins, in turn, display diverse pro-cancer properties in different cell types, including astrocytes.

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Pollen is the most common aeroallergen to cause seasonal conjunctivitis. The result of allergen exposure is a strong Th2-mediated response along with conjunctival mast cell degranulation and eosinophilic infiltration. Oleanolic acid (OA) is natural a triterpene that displays strong anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties being an active anti-allergic molecule on hypersensitivity reaction models.

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We have investigated mechanisms that contribute to reinforce the relationship between inflammation and cancer. Secreted phospholipase A(2) group IIA (sPLA(2)-IIA) is a molecule relevant in inflammatory events and has been proposed as a marker for some of these. Previously, we reported the mitogenic properties of this sPLA(2) in the human astrocytoma cell line 1321N1.

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Brain injury induces the expression of well-known cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFalpha), and other, which functions are less understood, as secreted phospholipase A(2) group IIA (sPLA(2)-IIA). Since in pathological processes, cytokines function coordinately in networks, to further explore the actions of sPLA(2)-IIA in tumorigenesis, we investigated the effect of sPLA(2)-IIA in the presence of TNFalpha in human 1321N1 astrocytoma cells. In these cells, TNFalpha activates the apoptotic programme that is accompanied of cytoskeleton changes; however, simultaneous treatment with sPLA(2)-IIA prevents TNFalpha-mediated apoptosis and reverses the modification of the markers associated to this response.

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Human group IIA secreted phospholipase A(2) (sPLA(2)-IIA) has been characterized in numerous inflammatory and neoplastic conditions. sPLA(2)-IIA can either promote or inhibit cell growth depending on the cellular type and the specific injury. We have previously demonstrated that exogenous sPLA(2)-IIA, by engagement to a membrane structure, induces proliferation and activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases cascade in human astrocytoma cells.

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Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic autoimmune inflammatory disease for which there exist no therapies without undesired side effects. Thus, the establishment of less toxic treatments is an ongoing challenge. Nowadays, research on medicinal plants has been attracting much attention, since screening of its active principles could prove useful in identification of safe and innovative pharmaceutical molecules.

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Background: Triterpene alcohols and acids are multifunctional compounds widely distributed throughout the plant kingdom that exhibit a variety of beneficial health properties, being synthetic analogs of oleanolic acid under clinical evaluation as anti-tumoral therapeutic agents. However, the antineoplastic activity of two natural occurring triterpenoid alcohols extracted from olive oil, erythrodiol (an intermediate from oleanolic acid), and its isomer, uvaol, has barely been reported, particularly on brain cancer cells. Astrocytomas are among the most common and aggressive type of primary malignant tumors in the neurological system lacking effective treatments, and in this study, we addressed the effect of these two triterpenic diols on the human 1321N1 astrocytoma cell line.

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Aims: Human atherosclerotic plaques express markers of macrophage/dendritic cells as well as high levels of inflammatory proteins such as secreted phospholipase A(2) type IIA (sPLA(2)-IIA). To understand the cellular changes associated with the progress of atherosclerosis, we evaluated the role of sPLA(2)-IIA in mediating monocyte recruitment and differentiation into antigen-presenting cells.

Methods And Results: The effect of sPLA(2)-IIA on monocyte differentiation was evaluated in human THP-1 cells, a cellular line widely used as a model for monocyte-macrophage differentiation.

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Several studies have shown how pentacyclic triterpenes can inhibit proliferation and induce apoptosis of some tumor cell lines; however, its effect on astrocytic tumors, one of the most malignant forms of cancer, has rarely been reported. The aim of this study was to examine how the pentacyclic triterpenes, oleanolic acid and maslinic acid, isolated from olive juice, affected astrocytoma cell morphology and survival. Cell proliferation was inhibited in 1321N1 astrocytoma cells by using 1 to 50 micromol/L of either oleanolic acid or maslinic acid, with an average IC(50) of 25 micromol/L.

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Group IIA secreted phospholipase A(2) (sPLA(2)-IIA) is the most abundant element in human tissues of a large family of low molecular weight phospholipases A(2), which shows properties different from those displayed by the cytosolic phospholipase A(2) involved in the release of arachidonic acid. sPLA(2)-IIA behaves as a ligand for a group of receptors inside the C-type multilectin mannose receptor family and also interacts with heparan sulfate proteoglycans such as glypican, the dermatan/chondroitin sulfate-rich decorin, and the chondroitin sulfate-rich versican, thus being able to internalize to specific compartments within the cell and producing biological responses. This review provides a short summary of the biological actions of sPLA(2)-IIA on intracellular signaling pathways.

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Atherogenesis is the consequence of a variety of effector mechanisms rather than the result of a single functional molecule. In this connection, type IIA secretory phospholipase A2 (sPLA2) is an acute-phase reactant, which accumulates in atherosclerotic arterial walls, elicits several effects on monocytes, and has been related to the development of atherosclerosis. CD40/CD40 ligand pair is also a strong proatherogenic system.

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Type IIA secretory phospholipase A(2) (sPLA(2)) is an acute-phase reactant that plays a role in atherogenesis and is expressed in atherosclerotic arterial walls displaying inflammatory features. This generates a relevant question addressing the biological effects of this enzyme on monocytic cells, in view of the role of these cells in the inflammatory process associated with atherosclerosis. sPLA(2) produced a mild activation of the p42 mitogen-activated protein module of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade and a prominent activation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase in THP-1 monocytes.

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