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Does alfa lipoic acid prevent liver from methotrexate induced oxidative injury in rats

PURPOSE To determine the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of alfa lipoic acid (ALA) on the liver injury induced by methotrexate (MTX) in rats. METHODS Thirty two rats were randomly assigned into four equal groups; control, ALA, MTX and MTX with ALA groups. Liver injury was performed with a single dose of MTX (20 mg/kg) to groups 3 and 4. The ALA was administered intraperitonealy for five days in groups 2 and 4. The other rats received saline injection. At the sixth day the rats decapitated, blood and liver tissue samples were removed for TNF-α, IL-1β, malondialdehyde, glutathione, myeloperoxidase and sodium potassium-adenosine triphosphatase levels measurement and histological examination. RESULTS MTX administration caused a significant decrease in tissue GSH, and tissue Na+, K+ ATPase activity and which was accompanied with significant increases in tissue MDA and MPO activity. Moreover the pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL- β) were significantly increased in the MTX group. On the other hand, ALA treatment reversed all these biochemical indices as well as histopathological alterations induced by MTX. CONCLUSION Alfa lipoic acid ameliorates methotrexate induced oxidative damage of liver in rats with its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects.

Structural changes in periodontium of rats exposed to a low concentration of hydrogen sulfide for 50 days

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of H2S inhalation at a low concentration (at human equivalent dose of pathologic halitosis) on rat periodontium over a long term (50 days). The threshold level of pathologic halitosis perceived by humans at 250 ppb of H2S was converted to rat equivalent concentration (4.15 ppm). Rats in the experimental (H2S) group (n = 8) were exposed to H2S continuously but not the control rats (n = 8). After 50 days, periodontal tissue samples were taken from the mandibular first molar region and examined histopathologically to determine inflammatory cell infiltration (ICI), osteoblastic activities, number of osteoclasts, and resorption lacunae. Sulcular epithelium layer destruction was observed in the H2S group. Frequency of ICI was significantly higher in the H2S group compared to the control group (P <0.05). The number of osteoclasts were found significantly higher in the H2S group (34.28 ± 3.28) compared to the control group (8.85 ± 1.85) (P <0.05) and the number of resorption lacunae were also higher in the cementum tissue (6.1 ± 2.4) and alveolar bone (3.8 ± 1.5) versus their corresponding control groups (1.6 ± 0.5 and 1.4 ± 0.5, respectively) (P <0.05). There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups with regard to osteoblastic activity. H2S inhalation induces inflammatory changes in the periodontium as well as resorption of the alveolar bone and cementum tissue in rats. These histopathologic changes in periodontal tissues support the idea that long-term H2S inhalation may have a destructive effect on periodontal tissues.

Melatonin preserves ovarian tissues of rats exposed to chronic TCDD: An electron microscopic approach to effects of TCDD on ovarian cells

2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) is a toxic agent and has disruptive effects on reproductive tissues in females. TCDD disrupts the hormonal regulation of the body and decreases the production of melatonin. In this study, we investigated the protective effects of melatonin supplements against the toxic effects of TCDD on ovaries of female rats. TCDD caused a significant decrease in the average number of corpora lutea and follicles per tissue section (2.1 ± 0.7; 2.3 ± 0.8, respectively), whereas these numbers were maintained in the melatonin supplemented group (5.0 ± 0.8; 5.1 ± 0.8, respectively) and were similar to the control group (5.3 ± 1.0; 5.9 ± 0.9, respectively). Electron microscopic analysis showed that the disruption of ultrastructure components such as cell membrane and organelles due to TCDD exposure was inhibited by melatonin supplements. This study suggested that melatonin has a protective and a possible ameliorative effect over histopathological damage of rat ovaries exposed to TCDD.

Protective role of vitamin-E over the acetamiprid toxicity in mice testis

Statement of the Problem: 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) is the most toxic member of halogenated aromatic hydrocarbons. TCDD is able to pass from environment to humans through the food chain by absorption of the gastrointestinal system. TCDD has many biological effects such as carcinogenesis, immune system suppression, neuronal damage, liver damage, developmental defects and fertility problems. TCDD leads to lipid peroxidation resulting in molecular oxygen transport increase which causes formation of reactive oxygen species within the tissue. Thymoquinone (TQ) which is one of the active ingredients in Nigella sativa plant was reported to have anti-carcinogen, antitumor, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and immune system supporter effects.Statement of the Problem: Acetamiprid (ACMP) is an insecticide of the neonicotinoid class, widely used for combating insects in many areas of agricultural production. Neonicotinoids act as agonists of acetylcholine in the synaptic range and inhibit synaptic stimulation by binding to the nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in the central nervous system of insects. Since different nAChRs subspecies are expressed in human testes, prostate, mammalian nervous system, mouse testes and spermatozoa, these organs are the main targets of neonicotinoids and therefore acetamiprid. It has been reported that the insecticides cause structural and functional damage to spermatozoon, Sertoli cells and Leydig cells by oxidative stress in the testis. Vitamin-E is a cell membrane soluble vitamin and plays a protective role against harmful effects of free radicals in cells and tissues with antioxidant property. It is known that Vitamin-E is a potent lipophilic antioxidant that is vital for the protection of mammalian spermatogenesis and is present in high amounts in Sertoli and spermatogenic cells. We propose that the use of vitamin-E against acetamiprid testis toxicity may play protective role through oxidant-antioxidant mechanism.P (PQ), a widely used environmental toxin in agriculture, contributes to the onset and progression of Parkinson’s disease (PD) by damaging the neurons. The JWA gene, also known as ARL6IP5, exhibits the protective effect on dopamine (DA) neuron degeneration. In our study, neuronal and astrocytic JWA knockout (JWA-nKO and JWA CKO) mice were used to exposure of PQ, two neuron cell lines (HT-22, SH-SY5Y) and primary astrocytes were also subjected to PQ treatment. The results showed that PQ administration triggered the upregulation of JWA. Elevated expressions of JWA rescued the redundant abundance of reactive oxygen species (ROS) while increased the levels of glutathione (GSH) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) under PQ exposure. Astrocytic JWA deficiency repressed expression of excitatory amino acid transporter 2 (GLT1) and glutamate uptake both in vivo and in vitro. The further mechanistic data indicated that the protective role of JWA in dopaminergic neurons were mainly through anti-oxidative stress induced DNA damage by regulating MEK/PI3K-Nrf2 axis; however it were mediated by MEK/PI3K-GLT1 signaling in astrocytes, through maintaining homeostasis of intracellular excitatory glutamate; and this was confirmed in MPTP/p-induced PD mice model. Taken together, our findings provide novel insights for both neuronal and astrocytic JWA functions in the pathogenesis of neurotoxin mouse models of Parkinsons disease.

Neural precursor cell-expressed developmentally down-regulated 4-like: a new biomarker in the pathophysiology of endometrial cancer

Objectives Endometrial cancer is the most frequent tumor of the female genital tract. Ubiquitin is a small protein (8.5 kDa) found in all eukaryotic cells, binds to substrate proteins via a three-phase enzymatic pathway referred to as ubiquitination and plays an important role in cellular stability. Neural precursor cell-expressed developmentally down-regulated 4-like (NEDD4L) functions in the last phase of this enzymatic process. In this study, we investigated NEDD4L protein expression in endometrial cancer. Methods The study participants were divided into patients with benign endometrial pathologies (Group 1, n = 23), patients with endometrial hyperplasia (Group 2, n = 21) and patients with endometrial cancer (Group 3, n = 20). NEDD4L expression was detected by immunohistochemical staining and H scores were calculated to standardize staining intensity. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 16.0. Results NEDD4L expression levels according to H scores were significantly lower in patients diagnosed with endometrial cancer compared with those with benign endometrial pathologies. Conclusion NEDD4L is involved in maintaining cell stability, and reduced NEDD4L expression as a result of gene mutation may disrupt this balance in favor of tumorigenesis.

Thymoquinone is protective against 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin induced hepatotoxicity

Abstract We investigated changes in rat liver tissues following administration of thymoquinone (TQ) against 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) induced hepatotoxicity. Fifty rats were assigned randomly to five groups of 10 as follows: control, corn oil, TCDD, TQ and TCDD + TQ. Biochemical and histopathological analyses were conducted on liver tissue. We found that 30 day TCDD administration caused histopathological changes in liver including thickening of Glisson’s capsule, intracytoplasmic vacuolization in hepatocytes, sinusoidal dilation, vascular and sinusoidal congestion and inflammatory cell infiltration. TCDD administration increased malondialdehyde (MDA), total oxidant status (TOS), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) levels in rat liver tissue and reduced glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and total antioxidant status (TAS) levels compared to all other groups. In the TQ treated group, GSH, SOD, CAT and TAS levels increased compared to all other groups. MDA, TOS, ALT, AST, ALP levels decreased compared to all other groups. Our histological findings were consistent with the biochemical findings. The oxidative and histologic effects of TCDD were eliminated by TQ treatment. TCDD administration caused oxidative stress in rat liver and TQ administered with TCDD prevented TCDD induced hepatotoxicity. TQ could be considered an alternative anti-TCDD toxicity agent.

Neuroprotection against CCl4 induced brain damage with crocin in Wistar rats

ABSTRACT Owing to its lipophilic property, carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) is rapidly absorbed by both the liver and brain. We investigated the protective effects of crocin against brain damage caused by CCl4. Fifty rats were divided into five groups of ten: control, corn oil, crocin, CCl4 and CCl4 + crocin. CCl4 administration decreased glutathione (GSH) and total antioxidant status (TAS) levels, and catalase (CAT) activity, while significant increases were observed in malondialdehyde (MDA) and total oxidant status (TOS) levels and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity. The cerebral cortex nuclear lamina developed a spongy appearance, neuronal degeneration was observed in the hippocampus, and heterochromatic and pyknotic neurons with increased cytoplasmic eosinophilia were observed in the hippocampus after CCl4 treatment. Because crocin exhibits strong antioxidant properties, crocin treatment increased GSH and TAS levels and CAT activities, and decreased MDA and TOS levels and SOD activity; significant improvements also were observed in histologic architecture. We found that crocin administration nearly eliminated CCl4 induced brain damage by preventing oxidative stress.

Web based image processing application: Rating diabetes intensity

In this study, it is A web-based image processing software which has been introduced to process Immunohistochemical images obtaining in experimentally induced diabetic rats and rank the severity of diabetes between the groups. With the software, specialist physicians can upload Images obtaining in rat groups to the system via web on own account, obtain average color intensity and intensity graphs of groups after Determining the basic colors to be evaluated. The software eliminating the subjective evaluation contains mainly three phases in this study, Evaluation of each image content according to basic axes(Three-dimensional projection), Clustering of colors (Expectation maximization method) and Color-axis determination (Calculation of eigenvectors). As a result of, it can be considered that positive results obtained could stimulate Researchers to generalize of the proposed method.