Babassu is the popular name of Orbignya phalerata Mart. [Arecaceae (Palmae)], which fruits mesocarp has been used in Brazil as medicine for the treatment of pains, constipation, obesity, leukemia, rheumatism, ulcerations, tumors and inflammations. In this study, we investigated the effect of babassu mesocarp flour aqueous extract (BM) on C3H/HePas mice peritoneal cellular migration and macrophage activation by measuring the nitric oxide (NO), hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) release, spreading activity and major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II expression. Our results demonstrate that BM injected once ip in mice at 10 and 20 mg/kg increased the cellular influx to the peritoneal cavity, the MHC class II expression and the spreading ability, and also induced the production of NO, TNF and H(2)O(2). The increase in NO-production and MHC expression was also observed after the addition of BM to resident macrophage cultures (100 microg/ml). Thus, BM-treatment was able to activate peritoneal macrophages in vitro and in vivo inducing the production of inflammatory and cytotoxic metabolites, which could justify the popular use of babassu mesocarp in the treatment of tumor diseases, but not in inflammatory pathologies.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2005.06.045 | DOI Listing |
Acta Biochim Biophys Sin (Shanghai)
December 2024
Fibrosis is the main pathological feature of aortic stiffness, which is a common extracardiac comorbidity of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) and a contributor to left ventricular (LV) diastolic dysfunction. Systemic low-grade inflammation plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of HFpEF and the development of vascular fibrosis. In this study, we investigate the inflammatory mechanism of aortic fibrosis in HFpEF using a novel mouse model.
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National Engineering Laboratory for AIDS Vaccine, School of Life Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, China; Key Laboratory for Molecular Enzymology and Engineering, the Ministry of Education, School of Life Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, China. Electronic address:
Effective vaccination is crucial for intervening in the COVID-19 pandemic. However, with the continuous mutation of the SARS-CoV-2, existing vaccines including subunit vaccines cannot effectively prevent virus infections. Hence, there is an urgent need to enhance the immunogenicity of existing vaccines to induce a more potent and durable immune response.
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December 2024
Freie Universität Berlin, Institute for Parasitology and Tropical Veterinary Medicine, Berlin, Germany; Freie Universität Berlin, Veterinary Centre for Resistance Research, Berlin, Germany. Electronic address:
Reversible transformation of bovine leukocytes by the intracellular parasites Theileria annulata and Theileria parva is central to pathogenesis of the diseases they cause, tropical theileriosis and East Coast Fever, respectively. Parasite-dependent constitutive activation of major host transcription factors such as AP-1 (Activating Protein 1) and NF-κB (Nuclear Factor-Kappa B) sustains the transformed state. Although parasite interaction with host cell signaling pathways upstream of AP-1 have been studied, the precise contribution of Theileria encoded factors capable of modulating of AP-1 transcriptional activity, and other infection-altered signaling pathways is not fully understood.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSynapse
January 2025
Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan, China.
Mammalian sterile20-like kinase 1 (MST1), a serine/threonine kinase frequently expressed, has emerged as pivotal modulator of multiple physiological and pathological conditions such as cellular growth, programmed cell death, oxidative stress, neurodegeneration, inflammation, and synaptic plasticity in the central nervous system. Various neurological diseases are associated with the activation of MST1. Epilepsy is a severe neurological disorder characterized by abrupt abnormal electrical activity in the brain and recurring spontaneous seizures.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNanomaterials (Basel)
December 2024
Department of Biomedical Engineering, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei 112, Taiwan.
Oral squamous-cell carcinoma (OSCC) poses significant treatment challenges due to its high recurrence rates and the limitations of current therapies. Titanium dioxide (TiO) nanoparticles are promising radiosensitizers, while bacterial outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) are known for their immunomodulatory properties. This study investigates the potential of OMV-encapsulated TiO nanoparticles (TiO@OMV) to combine these effects for improved OSCC treatment.
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