Essential oils with insecticidal activity against larvae of Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae).

Insecticidal activity of the essential oils (EOs) isolated from Tagetes lucida, Lippia alba, Lippia origanoides, Eucalyptus citriodora, Cymbopogon citratus, Cymbopogon flexuosus, Citrus sinensis, Swinglea glutinosa, and Cananga odorata aromatic plants, grown in Colombia (Bucaramanga, Santander), and of a mixture of L. alba and L. origanoides EOs were evaluated on Aedes (Stegomyia) aegypti Rockefeller larvae.

Continuous administration of polyphenols from aqueous rooibos (Aspalathus linearis) extract ameliorates dietary-induced metabolic disturbances in hyperlipidemic mice.

The incidence of obesity and related metabolic diseases is increasing globally. Current medical treatments often fail to halt the progress of such disturbances, and plant-derived polyphenols are increasingly being investigated as a possible way to provide safe and effective complementary therapy. Rooibos (Aspalathus linearis) is a rich source of polyphenols without caloric and/or stimulant components.

Tissue distribution and expression of paraoxonases and chemokines in mouse: the ubiquitous and joint localisation suggest a systemic and coordinated role.

A vicious cycle between oxidation and inflammation leads to complications in a growing number of disease states. Knowledge on tissue distribution of chemokines, mediators of inflammatory response, and paraoxonases, with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory actions, may be relevant. Using immunohistochemistry and quantitative real-time PCR we have investigated the distribution of PON1, 2 and 3, CCL2, 7, 8 and 12 and the chemokine receptor CCR2 protein and mRNA in 23 tissues from C57BL/6J mice.

Infection with HIV and HCV enhances the release of fatty acid synthase into circulation: evidence for a novel indicator of viral infection.

Background: Fatty acid synthase (FASN) is an enzyme synthesized by the liver and plays an important role in lipogenesis. The present study aimed to investigate whether serum FASN concentration may provide a direct link between HIV and/or HCV viral infections and lipid metabolic disorders commonly observed in HIV/HCV-infected patients.

Methods: We evaluated serum FASN concentration in 191 consecutive HIV-infected patients in the absence or presence of HCV co-infection.

Host-pathogen interactions in the development of metabolic disturbances and atherosclerosis in HIV infection: the role of CCL2 genetic variants.

Background: Circulating CCL2 concentration has been implicated in promoting atherosclerosis in patients infected with HIV. We evaluated whether CCL2 gene variants are associated with metabolic disturbances and plasma CCL2 levels in HIV-infected patients.

Methods And Results: CCL2 genotypes and estimated haplotypes, plasma CCL2 levels and indicators of metabolic status in HIV-infected patients were compared with a representative group of the general population.

Differential response of two models of genetically modified mice fed with high fat and cholesterol diets: relationship to the study of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis.

Research on the molecular basis of the hepatic alterations associated to obesity is dependent on the availability of suitable animal models. Apolipoprotein E deficient mice (ApoE(-/-)) and LDL-receptor deficient mice (LDLr(-/-)) develop steatosis and steatohepatitis when given pro-atherogenic diets. However, previous data suggest that these two models are not completely interchangeable, and that their metabolic phenotype may partially differ in response to nutrient stimuli.

Human immunodeficiency virus-infection induces major changes in high-density lipoprotein particle size distribution and composition: the effect of antiretroviral treatment and disease severity.

Background: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is associated with abnormal high-density lipoprotein (HDL) particles. We evaluated whether HIV infection and antiretroviral treatment promotes changes in cholesterol distribution among subpopulations of HDL particles of defined sizes.

Methods: HDL particles were isolated from 78 HIV infected patients and fractionated by gel permeation chromatography to obtain five subpopulations.

Expression of cytokine genes in the aorta is altered by the deficiency in MCP-1: effect of a high-fat, high-cholesterol diet.

Background: Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) facilitates the recruitment of monocytes/macrophages into vascular intima, and it is probably involved in the regulation of other signaling pathways relevant to the pathogenesis of arteriosclerosis and metabolic disturbances. However, chemokines are redundant. Consequently, the protective effect of MCP-1 deficiency may be mediated by changes in other cytokine signals.