Abstract Here we evaluated the influence of physical exercise on behavior parameters and enzymatic status of rats supplemented with different dietary fatty acids (FA). Male Wistar rats fed diets ...enriched with soybean oil (SO), lard (L), or hydrogenated vegetable fat (HVF) for 48 weeks were submitted to swimming (30 min/d, five times per week) for 90 days. Dietary FA per se did not cause anxiety-like symptoms in the animals, but after physical exercise, SO group showed a better behavioral performance than L and the HVF groups in elevated plus maze (EPM). In Barnes maze, HVF group showed impaired memory acquisition as compared to L group, and exercise reversed this effect. SO-fed rats showed an improvement in memory acquisition after 1 day of training, whereas lard caused an improvement of memory only from day 4. HVF-fed rats showed no improvement of memory acquisition, but this effect was reversed by exercise in all training days. A lower activity of the Na+ K+ -ATPase in brain cortex of rats fed lard and HVF was observed, and this effect was maintained after exercise. Similarly, the HVF diet was related to lower activity of hippocampal Na+ K+ -ATPase, and exercise reduced activity of this enzyme in the SO and L groups. Our findings show influences of dietary FA on memory acquisition, whereas regular exercise improved this function and was beneficial on anxiety-like symptoms. As FA are present in neuronal membrane phospholipids and play a critical role in brain function, our results suggest that low incorporation of trans FA in neuronal membranes may act on cortical and hippocampal Na+ K+ -ATPase activity, but this change appears to be unrelated to the behavioral parameters primarily harmed by consumption of trans and less so by saturated FA, which were reversed by exercise.
Intensive and widespread use of pesticides raises serious environmental and human health concerns. The presence and levels of 209 pesticide residues (active substances and transformation products) in ...625 environmental samples (201 soil, 193 crop, 20 outdoor air, 115 indoor dust, 58 surface water, and 38 sediment samples) have been studied. The samples were collected during the 2021 growing season, across 10 study sites, covering the main European crops, and conventional and organic farming systems. We profiled the pesticide residues found in the different matrices using existing hazard classifications towards non-target organisms and humans. Combining monitoring data and hazard information, we developed an indicator for the prioritization of pesticides, which can support policy decisions and sustainable pesticide use transitions. Eighty-six percent of the samples had at least one residue above the respective limit of detection. One hundred residues were found in soil, 112 in water, 99 in sediments, 78 in crops, 76 in outdoor air, and 197 in indoor dust. The number, levels, and profile of residues varied between farming systems. Our results show that non-approved compounds still represent a significant part of environmental cocktails and should be accounted for in monitoring programs and risk assessments. The hazard profiles analysis confirms the dominance of compounds of low-moderate hazard and underscores the high hazard of some approved compounds and recurring "no data available" situations. Overall, our results support the idea that risk should be assessed in a mixture context, taking environmentally relevant mixtures into consideration. We have uncovered uncertainties and data gaps that should be addressed, as well as the policy implications at the EU approval status level. Our newly introduced indicator can help identify research priority areas, and act as a reference for targeted scenarios set forth in the Farm to Fork pesticide reduction goals.
► Trans fat (TF) consumption can modify the neuronal plasticity causing motor diseases. ► TF-fed rats showed movement disorders, which was intensified by exercise. ► TF and lard decreased catalase ...activity, which was increased by exercise in TF group. ► Exercise increased striatal Na
+K
+-ATPase activity of lard and soybean-fed rats. ► TF inhibited benefits of exercise indicating its critical role in brain neurochemistry.
The influence of
trans fatty acids (FA) on development of orofacial dyskinesia (OD) and locomotor activity was evaluated. Rats were fed with diets enriched with 20% soybean oil (SO;
n
−
6 FA), lard (L; saturated FA) or hydrogenated vegetable fat (HVF;
trans FA) for 60 weeks. In the last 12 weeks each group was subdivided into sedentary and exercised (swimming). Brains of HVF and L-fed rats incorporated 0.33% and 0.20% of
trans FA, respectively, while SO-fed group showed no incorporation of
trans FA. HVF increased OD, while exercise exacerbated this in L and HVF-fed rats. HVF and L reduced locomotor activity, and exercise did not modify. Striatal catalase activity was reduced by L and HVF, but exercise increased its activity in the HVF-fed group. Na
+K
+-ATPase activity was not modified by dietary FA, however it was increased by exercise in striatum of SO and L-fed rats. We hypothesized that movement disorders elicited by HVF and less by L could be related to increased dopamine levels in striatum, which have been related to chronic
trans FA intake. Exercise increased OD possibly by increase of brain dopamine levels, which generates pro-oxidant metabolites. Thus, a long-term intake of
trans FA caused a small but significant brain incorporation of
trans FA, which favored development of movement disorders. Exercise worsened behavioral outcomes of HVF and L-fed rats and increased Na
+K
+-ATPase activity of L and SO-fed rats, indicating its benefits. HVF blunted beneficial effects of exercise, indicating a critical role of
trans FA in brain neurochemistry.
Meteorites have been arousing the curiosity of mankind since antiquity. However, the interest in these objects goes far beyond mere curiosity in the study of such materials, which has great ...importance due essentially to the information they can provide. The importance of studying meteorites is associated about the earliest conditions and processes during the formation and earliest history of the solar system. So, in this study, the characterization of two meteorite fragments was performed using X-ray computed microtomography (micro-CT) and X-ray microfluorescence (micro-XRF). These techniques were used for their non-destructive characteristics and the ability to provide information about the structure and composition the meteorites. The micro-CT images showed encrusted structures within both samples. However, while in Lunar meteorites spheroidal structures very similar to small grains internally grouped in clusters were found, in the Martian meteorite a very peculiar structure was identified. Besides that, the micro-CT it was also possible to evaluate the different density materials that compose the samples. The micro-XRF results accounted for the presence of the elements Si, Ca, Ti, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni and Sr in the Lunar sample, as well as of Si, S, K, Ca, Ti, Cr, Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, Sr and Y in the Martian sample. The results obtained are effective for the characterization of meteorites, proving thus that it is possible to obtain important information about the chemical composition, as well as about the distribution and the internal structure of these materials, evaluating aspects such as density and porosity.
Wolff-Chaikoff effect is characterized by the blockade of thyroid hormone synthesis and secretion due to iodine overload. However, the regulation of monocarboxylate transporter 8 during ...Wolff-Chaikoff effect and its possible role in the rapid reduction of T4 secretion by the thyroid gland remains unclear. Patients with monocarboxylate transporter 8 gene loss-of-function mutations and monocarboxylate transporter 8 knockout mice were shown to have decreased serum T4 levels, indicating that monocarboxylate transporter 8 could be involved in the secretion of thyroid hormones from the thyroid gland. Herein, we aimed to evaluate the regulation of monocarboxylate transporter 8 during the Wolff-Chaikoff effect and the escape from iodine overload, besides the importance of iodine organification for this regulation. Monocarboxylate transporter 8 mRNA and protein levels significantly decreased after 1 day of NaI administration to rats, together with decreased serum T4; while no alteration was observed in LAT2 expression. Moreover, both monocarboxylate transporter 8 expression and serum T4 was restored after 6 days of NaI. The inhibition of thyroperoxidase activity by methimazole prevented the inhibitory effect of NaI on thyroid monocarboxylate transporter 8 expression, suggesting that an active thyroperoxidase is necessary for MCT8 downregulation by iodine overload, similarly to other thyroid markers, such as sodium iodide symporter. Therefore, we conclude that thyroid monocarboxylate transporter 8 expression is downregulated during iodine overload and that the normalization of its expression parallels the escape phenomenon. These data suggest a possible role for monocarboxylate transporter 8 in the changes of thyroid hormones secretion during the Wolff-Chaikoff effect and escape.
Background and Objective
Soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) is an enzyme in the arachidonate cascade which converts epoxy fatty acids (EpFAs), such as epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs) produced by ...cytochrome P450 enzymes, to dihydroxy‐eicosatrienoic acids. In the last 20 years with the development of inhibitors to sEH it has been possible to increase the levels of EETs and other EpFAs in in vivo models. Recently, studies have shown that EETs play a key role in blocking inflammation in a bone resorption process, but the mechanism is not clear. In the current study we used the sEH inhibitor (1‐trifluoromethoxyphenyl‐3‐(1‐propionylpiperidin‐4‐yl) urea TPPU) to investigate the immunomodulatory effects in a mouse periodontitis model.
Material and Methods
Mice were infected on days 0, 2, and 4 with Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans and divided into groups (n = 6) that were treated orally, daily for 15 days, with 1 mg/kg of TPPU. Then, the mice were killed and their jaws were analyzed for bone resorption using morphometry. Immunoinflammatory markers in the gingival tissue were analyzed by microarray PCR or western blotting.
Results
Infected mice treated with TPPU showed lower bone resorption than infected mice without treatment. Interestingly, infected mice showed increased expression of sEH; however, mice treated with TPPU had a reduction in expression of sEH. Besides, several proinflammatory cytokines and molecular markers were downregulated in the gingival tissue in the group treated with 1 mg/kg of TPPU.
Conclusion
The sEH inhibitor, TPPU, showed immunomodulatory effects, decreasing bone resorption and inflammatory responses in a bone resorption mouse model.
Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) permits comprehensive cancer genome analyses, revealing mutational signatures, imprints of DNA damage and repair processes that have arisen in each patient's cancer. We ...performed mutational signature analyses on 12,222 WGS tumor-normal matched pairs, from patients recruited via the UK National Health Service. We contrasted our results to two independent cancer WGS datasets, the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) and Hartwig Foundation, involving 18,640 WGS cancers in total. Our analyses add 40 single and 18 double substitution signatures to the current mutational signature tally. Critically, we show for each organ, that cancers have a limited number of 'common' signatures and a long tail of 'rare' signatures. We provide a practical solution for utilizing this concept of common versus rare signatures in future analyses.
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