RESUMO
Allopregnanolone (ALLO) is a known neurosteroid and a progesterone metabolite synthesized in the ovary, CNS, PNS, adrenals and placenta. Its role in the neuroendocrine control of ovarian physiology has been studied, but its in situ ovarian effects are still largely unknown. The aims of this work were to characterize the effects of intrabursal ALLO administration on different ovarian parameters, and the probable mechanism of action. ALLO administration increased serum progesterone concentration and ovarian 3ß-HSD2 while decreasing 20α-HSD mRNA expression. ALLO increased the number of atretic follicles and the number of positive TUNEL granulosa and theca cells, while decreasing positive PCNA immunostaining. On the other hand, there was an increase in corpora lutea diameter and PCNA immunostaining, whereas the count of TUNEL-positive luteal cells decreased. Ovarian angiogenesis and the immunohistochemical expression of GABAA receptor increased after ALLO treatment. To evaluate if the ovarian GABAA receptor was involved in these effects, we conducted a functional experiment with a specific antagonist, bicuculline. The administration of bicuculline restored the number of atretic follicles and the diameter of corpora lutea to normal values. These results show the actions of ALLO on the ovarian physiology of the female rat during the follicular phase, some of them through the GABAA receptor. Intrabursal ALLO administration alters several processes of the ovarian morpho-physiology of the female rat, related to fertility and oocyte quality.
Assuntos
Pregnanolona , Progesterona , Gravidez , Feminino , Ratos , Animais , Pregnanolona/farmacologia , Progesterona/farmacologia , Antígeno Nuclear de Célula em Proliferação , Bicuculina/farmacologia , Receptores de GABA-A , Corpo LúteoRESUMO
Oxidative stress and chronic inflammatory conditions contribute as key determinants in the development of vascular and renal diseases. Organosulfur compounds (OSCs) of oil macerated with garlic (OMG) are promising phytochemicals which could protect us from hyper-inflammation and oxidative stress-induced organ damage. The present work evaluated the effect of OMG intake in apolipoprotein E-knockout (ApoE-KO) mice. Adult female ApoE-KO mice were randomly divided into three groups and fed with control chow, oil-supplemented diet and OMG-supplemented diet. After 8 weeks, the animals were euthanized and blood, aorta, kidneys, liver and abdominal adipose tissues were obtained for further analysis. Biochemical parameters were measured in plasma, lipid peroxidation as malondialdehyde (MDA) levels was determined in the adipose tissue, oil red O was used to stain atherosclerotic lesions, and histological and ultrastructural analyses of the kidneys were performed. Renal expression levels of Tumor Necrosis Factor α (TNF-α), Interleukin-6 (IL-6) and Wilms' Tumor Protein (WT-1) were determined by western blotting and the co-immunoprecipitation assay (p53/WT-1). Also, transmission electron microscopy for studying the expression of mitofusin 2 (Mfn-2) was used to assess mitochondrial damage. The results showed that long-term moderate intake of OMG improved serum triglyceride levels, diminished the atheroma plaque area, and reduced lipid peroxidation. Furthermore, we found a decrease in oxidative and inflammatory markers, less apoptosis and reduced WT-1 expression in the kidneys. Also, OMG increased p53/WT-1 protein interactions and reduced mitochondrial damage. Our findings suggest that OMG intake would produce anti-atherosclerotic, antifibrotic, anti-inflammatory and antiapoptotic effects in adult ApoE-KO mice, conferring significant renovascular protective actions in a mechanism mediated, at least in part, by WT-1.
Assuntos
Aterosclerose , Alho , Animais , Anti-Inflamatórios , Antioxidantes , Apolipoproteínas E/genética , Aterosclerose/tratamento farmacológico , Aterosclerose/genética , Aterosclerose/prevenção & controle , Feminino , Camundongos , Camundongos Knockout , Proteína Supressora de Tumor p53RESUMO
Lethal ventricular arrhythmias increase in patients with chronic kidney disease that suffer an acute coronary event. Chronic kidney disease induces myocardial remodeling, oxidative stress, and arrhythmogenesis. A manifestation of the relationship between kidney and heart is the concomitant reduction in vitamin D receptor (VDR) and the increase in angiotensin II receptor type 1 (AT1 ). Melatonin has renal and cardiac protective actions. One potential mechanism is the increase in the heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70)-an antioxidant factor. We aim to determine the mechanisms involved in melatonin (Mel) prevention of kidney damage and arrhythmogenic heart remodeling. Unilateral ureteral-obstruction (UUO) and sham-operated rats were treated with either melatonin (4 mg/kg/day) or vehicle for 15 days. Hearts and kidneys from obstructed rats showed a reduction in VDR and Hsp70. Associated with AT1 up-regulation in the kidneys and the heart of UUO rats also increased oxidative stress, fibrosis, apoptosis, mitochondrial edema, and dilated crests. Melatonin prevented these changes and ventricular fibrillation during reperfusion. The action potential lengthened and hyperpolarized in melatonin-treated rats throughout the experiment. We conclude that melatonin prevents renal damage and arrhythmogenic myocardial remodeling during unilateral ureteral obstruction due to a decrease in oxidative stress/fibrosis/apoptosis associated with AT1 reduction and Hsp70-VDR increase.
Assuntos
Proteínas de Choque Térmico HSP70/metabolismo , Melatonina/uso terapêutico , Receptor Tipo 1 de Angiotensina/metabolismo , Receptores de Calcitriol/metabolismo , Taquicardia Ventricular/tratamento farmacológico , Taquicardia Ventricular/metabolismo , Actinas/metabolismo , Animais , Apoptose/efeitos dos fármacos , Fibrose/metabolismo , Proteínas de Choque Térmico HSP70/genética , Marcação In Situ das Extremidades Cortadas , Técnicas In Vitro , Rim/metabolismo , Masculino , Microscopia Eletrônica , Microscopia de Fluorescência , Mitocôndrias/efeitos dos fármacos , Mitocôndrias/metabolismo , Miocárdio/metabolismo , NADPH Oxidases/metabolismo , Ratos , Ratos Endogâmicos WKY , Receptor Tipo 1 de Angiotensina/genética , Receptores de Calcitriol/genéticaRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Mechanical stress is a key pathogenic driver of apoptosis in the tubular epithelium in obstructive nephropathy. Heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) and Wilms' tumor (WT-1) have been proposed to represent linked downstream effectors of the cytoprotective properties of NO. In the present study, we sought to evaluate whether the cytoprotective effects of L-arginine in neonatal obstructive nephropathy may be associated with NO-dependent increases in WT-1 and Hsp70 expression. METHODS: Neonatal Wistar-Kyoto rats were submitted to complete unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) and treated thereafter with vehicle, L-NAME or L-arginine by daily gavage for 14 days to block or augment NO levels, respectively. Normal rat kidney epithelial cells by NRK-52E were exposed to mechanical stress in vitro in the presence or absence of L-NAME, L-arginine, sodium nitroprusside (SNP), L-arginine + SNP or L-arginine/L-NAME. Induction of apoptosis and the mRNA expression of WT-1 and Hsp70 genes were assessed. RESULTS: WT-1 and Hsp70 genes expression decreased in the presence of L-NAME and following UUO coincident with increased tubular apoptosis. L-arginine treatment increased NO levels, reduced apoptosis and restored expression levels of WT-1 and Hsp70 to control levels. L-arginine treatment in vitro reduced basal apoptotic rates and prevented apoptosis in response to mechanical strain, an effect enhanced by SNP co-incubation. L-NAME increased apoptosis and prevented the anti-apoptotic action of L-arginine. CONCLUSIONS: L-arginine treatment in experimental neonatal UUO reduces apoptosis coincident with restoration of WT-1 and Hsp70 expression levels and directly inhibits mechanical strain-induced apoptosis in an NO-dependent manner in vitro. This potentially implicates an NO-Hsp70-WT-1 axis in the cytoprotective effects of L-arginine.
Assuntos
Arginina/farmacologia , Proteínas de Choque Térmico HSP70/metabolismo , Nefropatias/tratamento farmacológico , NG-Nitroarginina Metil Éster/farmacologia , Óxido Nítrico/metabolismo , Obstrução Ureteral/tratamento farmacológico , Proteínas WT1/metabolismo , Animais , Apoptose/efeitos dos fármacos , Células Cultivadas , Citoproteção , Células Epiteliais/efeitos dos fármacos , Células Epiteliais/fisiologia , Fibrose , Expressão Gênica/efeitos dos fármacos , Proteínas de Choque Térmico HSP70/genética , Córtex Renal/patologia , Nefropatias/etiologia , Nefropatias/patologia , Nefropatias/fisiopatologia , Túbulos Renais/patologia , Masculino , Nitroprussiato/farmacologia , Ratos , Ratos Endogâmicos WKY , Estresse Mecânico , Obstrução Ureteral/complicações , Obstrução Ureteral/fisiopatologia , Proteínas WT1/genéticaRESUMO
Thyroid hormones (TH) play a fundamental role in diverse processes, including cellular movement. Cell migration requires the integration of events that induce changes in cell structure towards the direction of migration. These actions are driven by actin remodeling and stabilized by the development of adhesion sites to extracellular matrix via transmembrane receptors linked to the actin cytoskeleton. Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) is a non-receptor tyrosine kinase that promotes cell migration and invasion through the control of focal adhesion turnover. In this work, we demonstrate that the thyroid hormone triiodothyronine (T3) regulates actin remodeling and cell movement in breast cancer T-47D cells through the recruitment of FAK. T3 controls FAK phosphorylation and translocation at sites where focal adhesion complexes are assembled. This process is triggered via rapid signaling to integrin αV/ß3, Src, phosphatidylinositol 3-OH kinase (PI3K), and FAK. In addition, we established a cellular model with different concentration of T3 levels: normal, absence, and excess in T-47D breast cancer cells. We found that the expression of Src, FAK, and PI3K remained at normal levels in the excess of T3 model, while it was significantly reduced in the absence model. In conclusion, these results suggest a novel role for T3 as an important modulator of cell migration, providing a starting point for the development of new therapeutic strategies for breast cancer treatment.
Assuntos
Citoesqueleto de Actina/metabolismo , Neoplasias da Mama/enzimologia , Neoplasias da Mama/patologia , Quinase 1 de Adesão Focal/metabolismo , Tri-Iodotironina/metabolismo , Adesão Celular , Linhagem Celular Tumoral , Movimento Celular , Feminino , Adesões Focais/metabolismo , Humanos , Integrina alfaVbeta3/metabolismo , Invasividade Neoplásica , Fosfatidilinositol 3-Quinases/metabolismo , Fosforilação , Transporte Proteico , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas pp60(c-src)/metabolismo , Transdução de SinaisRESUMO
We previously reported the association of HSPA1A and HSPB1 with high-grade astrocytomas, suggesting that these proteins might be involved in disease outcome and response to treatment. With the aim to better understand the resistance/susceptibility processes associated to temozolomide (TMZ) treatment, the current study was performed in three human malignant glioma cell lines by focusing on several levels: (a) apoptotic index and senescence, (b) DNA damage, and (c) interaction of HSPB1 with players of the DNA damage response. Three human glioma cell lines, Gli36, U87, and DBTRG, were treated with TMZ evaluating cell viability and survival, apoptosis, senescence, and comets (comet assay). The expression of HSPA (HSPA1A and HSPA8), HSPB1, O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT), MLH1, and MSH2 was determined by immunocytochemistry, immunofluorescence, and Western blot. Immunoprecipitation was used to analyze protein interaction. The cell lines exhibited differences in viability, apoptosis, and senescence after TMZ administration. We then focused on Gli36 cells (relatively unstudied) which showed very low recovery capacity following TMZ treatment, and this was related to high DNA damage levels; however, the cells maintained their viability. In these cells, MGMT, MSH2, HSPA, and HSPB1 levels increased significantly after TMZ administration. In addition, MSH2 and HSPB1 proteins appeared co-localized by confocal microscopy. This co-localization increased after TMZ treatment, and in immunoprecipitation analysis, MSH2 and HSPB1 appeared interacting. In contrast, HSPB1 did not interact with MGMT. We show in glioma cells the biological effects of TMZ and how this drug affects the expression levels of heat shock proteins (HSPs), MGMT, MSH2, and MLH1. In Gli36 cells, the results suggest that interactions between HSPB1 and MSH2, including co-nuclear localization, may be important in determining cell sensitivity to TMZ.
Assuntos
Apoptose/efeitos dos fármacos , Enzimas Reparadoras do DNA/metabolismo , Dacarbazina/análogos & derivados , Regulação Neoplásica da Expressão Gênica/efeitos dos fármacos , Proteínas de Choque Térmico/metabolismo , Proteínas Adaptadoras de Transdução de Sinal/metabolismo , Antineoplásicos Alquilantes/farmacologia , Linhagem Celular Tumoral , Dano ao DNA/efeitos dos fármacos , Dacarbazina/farmacologia , Glioma/patologia , Proteínas de Choque Térmico HSC70/metabolismo , Proteínas de Choque Térmico HSP27/metabolismo , Proteínas de Choque Térmico HSP70/metabolismo , Humanos , Imuno-Histoquímica , Chaperonas Moleculares , Proteína 1 Homóloga a MutL , Proteína 2 Homóloga a MutS/metabolismo , Proteínas Nucleares/metabolismo , O(6)-Metilguanina-DNA Metiltransferase/metabolismo , TemozolomidaRESUMO
Previous hypertension studies have shown that low levels of vitamin D are linked to elevated renin-angiotensin system. The heat shock protein 70 regulates signaling pathways for cellular oxidative stress responses. Hsp70 has been shown to protect against angiotensin II-induced hypertension and exert a cytoprotective effect. Here, we wanted to evaluate whether the vitamin D receptor (VDR) associated with Hsp70/AT1 expression may be involved in the mechanism by which paricalcitol provides renal protection in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs). One-month-old female SHRs were treated for 4 months with vehicle, paricalcitol, enalapril, or a combination of both paricalcitol and enalapril. The following were determined: blood pressure; biochemical parameters; fibrosis; apoptosis; mitochondrial morphology; and VDR, AT1 receptor, and Hsp70 expression in the renal cortex. Blood pressure was markedly reduced by enalapril or the combination but not by paricalcitol alone. However, VDR activation, enalapril or combination, prevented fibrosis, the number of TUNEL-positive apoptotic cells, mitochondrial damage, and NADPH oxidase activity in SHRs. Additionally, high AT1 receptor expression, like low Hsp70 expression (immunohistochemical/immunofluorescence studies), was reversed in the renal cortices of paricalcitol- and/or enalapril-treated animals (SHRs), and these changes were most marked in the combination therapy group. Finally, all of the recovery parameters were consistent with an improvement in VDR expression. Data suggest that Hsp70/AT1 modulated by VDR is involved in the mechanism by which paricalcitol provides renal protection in SHRs. We propose that low AT1 expression through VDR induction could be a consequence of the heat shock response Hsp70-mediated cell protection.
Assuntos
Ergocalciferóis/uso terapêutico , Proteínas de Choque Térmico HSP70/genética , Hipertensão/tratamento farmacológico , Rim/efeitos dos fármacos , Substâncias Protetoras/uso terapêutico , Receptor Tipo 1 de Angiotensina/genética , Receptores de Calcitriol/metabolismo , Animais , Anti-Hipertensivos/uso terapêutico , Apoptose/efeitos dos fármacos , Pressão Sanguínea/efeitos dos fármacos , Enalapril/uso terapêutico , Feminino , Regulação da Expressão Gênica/efeitos dos fármacos , Hipertensão/genética , Hipertensão/patologia , Hipertensão/fisiopatologia , Rim/metabolismo , Rim/patologia , Rim/fisiopatologia , NADP/metabolismo , Ratos , Ratos Endogâmicos SHRRESUMO
Epidemiological and in vitro data have not provided conclusive evidence concerning the involvement of thyroid hormones (THs) on mammary carcinogenesis. We used an in vivo model to assess the relationship between THs, adipose tissue and breast cancer development. Female SpragueDawley rats were treated with a dose of 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (15 mg/rat) at 55 days of age and were then divided into four experimental groups: hypothyroid rats (HypoT, 0.01% 6-N-propyl-2-thiouracil in drinking water), untreated control (EUT); hyperthyroid rats (HyperT, 0.25 mg/kg/day T4 s.c.) and vehicle-treated control rats. The latency of tumor appearance and the incidence and progression of tumors were determined. At sacrifice, blood samples were collected for hormone determinations and samples of tumor and mammary glands were obtained for immunohistological studies. HypoT rats had retarded growth and an increase in mammary fat. The latency was longer (p<0.0001), the incidence rate was lower (p<0.05) and tumor growth was slower in HypoT rats compared to EUT and HyperT rats. Mitotic index and PCNA immunostaining were similar in all groups. HypoT rats showed increased apoptosis (p<0.05) as evaluated by the apoptotic index and TUNEL staining. No differences in serum prolactin and progesterone were observed. However, circulating estradiol (E2) was significantly lower in HypoT and HyperT rats. Serum leptin levels were reduced in HypoT rats even though the abdominal fat mass was similar in all groups. To note, the leptin level was higher in HypoT rats that developed mammary tumors than the level in non-tumoral HypoT rats. In conclusion, hypothyroidism altered animal growth, breast morphology, body composition, leptin secretion and serum E2 enhancing apoptosis and, consequently, retarding mammary carcinogenesis in rats.
Assuntos
Apoptose/fisiologia , Hipotireoidismo/metabolismo , Glândulas Mamárias Animais/metabolismo , Neoplasias Mamárias Experimentais/metabolismo , 9,10-Dimetil-1,2-benzantraceno , Adipocinas/metabolismo , Animais , Composição Corporal , Carcinógenos , Proliferação de Células , Estradiol/sangue , Feminino , Leptina/sangue , Glândulas Mamárias Animais/efeitos dos fármacos , Progesterona/sangue , Prolactina/sangue , Ratos , Ratos Sprague-DawleyRESUMO
Evidence suggesting that statins may contribute to renoprotection has been provided in experimental and clinical studies. Statins restore endothelial nitric oxide (NO) levels by mechanisms including up-regulation of endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) expression. Caveolin-1/eNOS interaction is essential preventing inadequate NO levels. Here, we evaluated whether caveolin-1 associated with eNOS/Hsp70 expression may be involved in the mechanism by which rosuvastatin exerts tubulointerstitial fibrosis protection in neonatal unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO). Neonatal rats subjected to UUO within 2 days of birth and controls were treated daily with vehicle or rosuvastatin (10 mg/kg/day) by oral gavage for 14 days. After UUO, morphometric evaluation of interstitial fibrosis showed increased interstitial volume (Vv) associated with reduced NO availability, increased mRNA and protein caveolin-1 expression as well as downregulation eNOS and heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) expression. Conversely, rosuvastatin treatment attenuated the fibrotic response linked to high NO availability, decreased mRNA and protein caveolin-1 expression, and marked upregulation of eNOS and Hsp70 expression at transcriptional and posttranscriptional levels. Moreover, protein-protein interactions determined by immunoprecipitation and by immunofluorescence co-localization have shown decreased caveolin-1/eNOS as well as increased Hsp70/eNOS interaction, after rosuvastatin treatment. A dose dependent effect of rosuvastatin on decreased caveolin-1 expression was shown in control cortex. In conclusion, our data suggest that statins contribute to the protection against tubulointerstitial fibrosis injury in neonatal early kidney obstruction by increased NO availability, involving interaction of up-regulated eNOS/Hsp70 and down-regulated caveolin-1.