Physical exercise regulates apoptosis and prostatic inflammatory effects induced by high-fat diet in PPAR-alpha deleted mice.

The high-fat diet (HFD) promotes obesity and develops inflammation, causing dysregulation of energy metabolism and prostatic neoplastic tissue changes. PPARɑ deletion leads to loss of homeostasis between the pro and anti-inflammatory response, and dysregulation of lipid metabolism, causing changes in different physiological processes and damage to the prostate. On the other hand, aerobic physical exercise has been suggested as a non-pharmacological tool to improve energy metabolism and cellular metabolism in the prostate, however, the underlying molecular mechanism remains unclear.

Physical exercise and the functions of microRNAs.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) control RNA translation and are a class of small, tissue-specific, non-protein-coding RNAs that maintain cellular homeostasis through negative gene regulation. Maintenance of the physiological environment depends on the proper control of miRNA expression, as these molecules influence almost all genetic pathways, from the cell cycle checkpoint to cell proliferation and apoptosis, with a wide range of target genes. Dysregulation of the expression of miRNAs is correlated with several types of diseases, acting as regulators of cardiovascular functions, myogenesis, adipogenesis, osteogenesis, hepatic lipogenesis, and important brain functions.

Calvaria Critical Size Defects Regeneration Using Collagen Membranes to Assess the Osteopromotive Principle: An Animal Study.

Guided bone regeneration (GBR) is a common practice in implantology, and it is necessary to use membranes in this process. The present study aimed to evaluate the osteopromotive principle of two porcine collagen membranes in critical-size defects at rats calvaria. Ninety-six Albinus Wistar rats were divided into BG (positive control), JS, CS, and CG (negative control) groups and were sacrificed at 7, 15, 30, and 60 days postoperatively.

Pregnancy restores altered sympathetic vasomotor modulation and parasympathetic cardiac modulation in hypertensive rats.

Hypertension is associated to impaired baroreflex sensitivity (BRS). In spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), pregnancy reduces blood pressure, and this effect has been associated to increase nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability. Increased NO bioavailability has been linked to improve BRS in hypertensive animals.

Pep19 Has a Positive Effect on Insulin Sensitivity and Ameliorates Both Hepatic and Adipose Tissue Phenotype of Diet-Induced Obese Mice.

Peptide DIIADDEPLT (Pep19) has been previously suggested to improve metabolic parameters, without adverse central nervous system effects, in a murine model of diet-induced obesity. Here, we aimed to further evaluate whether Pep19 oral administration has anti-obesogenic effects, in a well-established high-fat diet-induced obesity model. Male Swiss mice, fed either a standard diet (SD) or high-fat diet (HFD), were orally administrated for 30 consecutive days, once a day, with saline vehicle or Pep19 (1 mg/kg).

A Real-World High-Intensity Interval Training Protocol for Cardiorespiratory Fitness Improvement.

High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) has emerged as an interesting time-efficient approach to increase exercise adherence and improve health. However, few studies have tested the efficiency of HIIT protocols in a "real world" setting, e.g.

Hepatocyte Nuclear Factor 4-α (HNF4α) controls the insulin resistance-induced pancreatic β-cell mass expansion.

Background: Regardless of the etiology, any type of DM presents a reduction of insulin-secreting cell mass, so it is important to investigate pathways that induce the increase of this cell mass.

Aim: Based on the fact that (1) HNF4α is crucial for β-cell proliferation, (2) DEX-induced IR promotes β-cell mass expansion, and (3) the stimulation of β-cell mass expansion may be an important target for DM therapies, we aimed to investigate whether DEX-induced proliferation of β pancreatic cells is dependent on HNF4α.

Methods: We used WildType (WT) and Knockout (KO) mice for HNF4-α, treated or not with 100 mg/Kg/day of DEX, for 5 consecutive days.

Hippocampal Function Is Impaired by a Short-Term High-Fat Diet in Mice: Increased Blood-Brain Barrier Permeability and Neuroinflammation as Triggering Events.

Worldwide, and especially in Western civilizations, most of the staple diets contain high amounts of fat and refined carbohydrates, leading to an increasing number of obese individuals. In addition to inducing metabolic disorders, energy dense food intake has been suggested to impair brain functions such as cognition and mood control. Here we demonstrate an impaired memory function already 3 days after the start of a high-fat diet (HFD) exposure, and depressive-like behavior, in the tail suspension test, after 5 days.

Coadministration of sitagliptin or metformin has no major impact on the adverse metabolic outcomes induced by dexamethasone treatment in rats.

Aims: Glucocorticoids (GC) in excess cause glucose intolerance and dyslipidemia due to their diabetogenic actions. Conceptually, antidiabetic drugs should attenuate these side effects. Thus, we evaluated whether the coadministration of metformin or sitagliptin (or both) with dexamethasone could attenuate GC-induced adverse effects on metabolism.

TLR4 deletion increases basal energy expenditure and attenuates heart apoptosis and ER stress but mitigates the training-induced cardiac function and performance improvement.

Strategies capable of attenuating TLR4 can attenuate metabolic processes such as inflammation, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, and apoptosis in the body. Physical exercise has been a cornerstone in suppressing inflammation and dysmetabolic outcomes caused by TRL4 activation. Thus, the present study aimed to evaluate the effects of a chronic physical exercise protocol on the TLR4 expression and its repercussion in the inflammation, ER stress, and apoptosis pathways in mice hearts.

Dance practice modifies functional fitness, lipid profile, and self-image in postmenopausal women.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to analyze the effects of dance practice on body composition, metabolic profile, functional fitness, and self-image/self-esteem in postmenopausal women.

Methods: A total of 36 postmenopausal participants (mean age 57 years) danced three times per week for 90 minutes each day and were evaluated before and after 16 weeks. The parameters evaluated were body composition (body fat and lean mass), blood lipids, functional fitness, self-image, and self-esteem.

Reduced insulin sensitivity and increased β/α cell mass is associated with reduced hepatic insulin-degrading enzyme activity in pregnant rats.

Aims: Pregnancy is associated with the development of a transitory insulin resistance that parallels with the upregulation of pancreatic β-cell function and mass. These metabolic adaptations guarantee the higher insulin demand, but there is no evidence of whether insulin clearance contributes to this process. Thus, we investigated some of the hepatic parameters related to insulin clearance during rat pregnancy.

Development, characterisation, stability study and antileukemic evaluation of nanoemulsions containing extract.

The objective of this work was to produce and characterise nanoemulsions containing tucumã extract and to evaluate the performance of the nanostructure and the free compound regarding antitumor activity, cytotoxicity, and oxidative metabolism in NB4/APL cells. The nanoemulsions showed adequate physicochemical characteristics (average size approx. 200 nm, polydispersity index less than 0.

Neurological consequences of exercise during prenatal Zika virus exposure to mice pups.

Purpose/aim: Zika virus (ZIKV) infection during the pregnancy period is related to microcephaly and neurobehavioral disorders at birth, while prenatal exercise is supposed to provide neuroprotection in newborns pups. The aim of this study was to investigate the neurological consequences of exercise during prenatal ZIKV exposure to mice pups.

Material And Methods: Twelve weeks female mice were randomly assigned into three groups: Control group, intraperitoneally injected with saline (Control); untrained group, intraperitoneally injected with ZIKV (ZIKV); and trained group, intraperitoneally injected with ZIKV (ZIKV/swim).

Fasting and refeeding cycles alter subcutaneous white depot growth dynamics and the morphology of brown adipose tissue in female rats.

Intermittent food restriction (IFR) is used mainly for weight loss; however, its effects on adipose tissue are not known when alternating with an obesogenic diet. To demonstrate its effects on morphological dynamics of fat deposits, female Wistar rats were distributed into groups: standard control (ST-C), with commercial diet; DIO control (DIO-C), with a diet that induces obesity (DIO) during the first and last 15 d, replaced by a standard diet for thirty intermediate days; standard restricted (ST-R), with standard diet during the first and last 15 d, with six cycles of IFR at 50 % of ST-C; and DIO restricted (DIO-R), in DIO during the first and last 15 d, with six cycles of IFR at 50 % of DIO-C. At 105 d of life, white adipose tissue (WAT) and brown adipose tissue (BAT) deposits were collected, weighed and histology performed.

HIIT is superior than MICT on cardiometabolic health during training and detraining.

Purpose: This study investigated the cardiometabolic health of overweight/obese untrained individuals in response to 8 weeks of HIIT and MICT using a field approach, and to 4 weeks of training cessation (TC).

Methods: Twenty-two subjects performed 8 weeks of moderate intensity continuous training (MICT-n = 11) or high-intensity interval training (HIIT-n = 11) (outdoor running), followed by 4 weeks of TC. Cardiorespiratory fitness, body composition, arterial blood pressure, glucose metabolism and blood lipids were measured pre-training (PRE), post-training (POST) and TC.

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and Nutritional Status: The Missing Link?

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an emerging disease that has reached pandemic status by rapidly spreading worldwide. Elderly individuals and patients with comorbidities such as obesity, diabetes, and hypertension show a higher risk of hospitalization, severe disease, and mortality by acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. These patients frequently show exacerbated secretion of proinflammatory cytokines associated with an overreaction of the immune system, the so-called cytokine storm.

Perinatal fluoxetine treatment promotes long-term behavioral changes in adult mice.

Serotonin exerts a significant role in the mammalian central nervous system embryogenesis and brain ontogeny. Therefore, we investigate the effect of perinatal fluoxetine (FLX), a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, administration on the behavioral expression of adult male Swiss mice. For this purpose, two groups (n = 6 each, and ~ 35 g) of pregnant female Swiss mice were mated.

Anabolic steroid excess and myocardial infarction: From ischemia to reperfusion injury.

Anabolic steroids (AS) are synthetic testosterone-derivatives developed by the pharmaceutical industry to mimic testosterone biological effects. So far, AS have been implicated in the treatment of pathological conditions, such as hypogonadism, anemia, and cachexia. Since their discovery, though, AS have been illicitly used by elite and recreational athletes, bodybuilders and weightlifters in order to enhance athletic and aesthetic performance.

Carious Lesion Severity Induces Higher Antioxidant System Activity and Consequently Reduces Oxidative Damage in Children's Saliva.

Oxidative stress biomarkers can be found at detectable concentrations in saliva. These salivary biomarkers reflect specific oxidation pathways associated with caries and periodontitis. Our study evaluated the influence of dental caries severity (assessed using the ICCMS™ criteria) on the levels of oxidative stress biomarkers in saliva from children.

Selenium supplementation during pregnancy and lactation promotes metabolic changes in Wistar rats' offspring.

Epidemiological and animal studies have demonstrated a strong association between selenium (Se) supplementation and metabolic disorders, we aimed to evaluate whether maternal Se supplementation was able to change metabolic parameters in rats' offspring. Moreover, as Se is a deiodinase (DIO) cofactor, we decided to investigate how thyroid hormones (THs) would be involved in such metabolic changes. Thereby, two groups (n = 6, ~250 g) of female Wistar rats underwent isotonic saline or sodium selenite (1 mg/kg, p.

Physical resistance training-induced changes in lipids metabolism pathways and apoptosis in prostate.

Background: Altered lipid metabolism is an important characteristic of neoplastic cells, with androgens and growth factors being major regulatory agents of the lipid metabolism process. We investigated the effect of physical resistance training on lipid metabolism and apoptosis in the adult Wistar rat prostate.

Methods: Two experimental groups represented sedentary and physical resistance training.

Refeeding abolishes beneficial effects of severe calorie restriction from birth on adipose tissue and glucose homeostasis of adult rats.

Objectives: Calorie restriction (CR) is an important intervention for reducing adiposity and improving glucose homeostasis. Recently we found that in rats, a severe calorie restriction (SCR) beginning at birth up to adult age promotes positive effects on cardiometabolic risk factors and heart. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of this new model of SCR on adipose tissue and glucose homeostasis of rats and to evaluate the effects of refeeding.