Children's eating behavior: comparison between normal and overweight children from a school in Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil / Comportamento alimentar infantil: comparação entre crianças sem e com excesso de peso em uma escola do município de Pelotas, RS

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate differences in children's eating behavior in relation to their nutritional status, gender and age. METHODS: Male and female children aged six to ten years were included. They were recruited from a private school in the city of Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil, in 2012. Children´s Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (CEBQ) subscales were used to assess eating behaviors: Food Responsiveness (FR), Enjoyment of Food (EF), Desire to Drink (DD), Emotional Overeating (EOE), Emotional Undereating (EUE), Satiety Responsiveness (SR), Food Fussiness (FF) and Slowness in Eating (SE). Age-adjusted body mass index (BMI) z-scores were calculated according to the WHO recommendations to assess nutritional status. RESULTS: The study sample comprised 335 children aged 87.9±10.4 months and 49.3% had normal weight (n=163), 26% were overweight (n=86), 15% were obese (n=50) and 9.7% were severely obese (n=32). Children with excess weight showed higher scores at the CEBQ subscales associated with "food approach" (FR, EF, DD, EOE, p<0.001) and lower scores on two "food avoidance" subscales (SR and SE, p<0.001 and p=0.003, respectively) compared to normal weight children. Differences in the eating behavior related to gender and age were not found. CONCLUSIONS: "Food approach" subscales were positively associated to excess weight in children, but no associations with gender and age were found. .

OBJETIVO: Avaliar diferenças no comportamento alimentar infantil em função do estado nutricional, do sexo e da idade. MÉTODOS: O estudo incluiu crianças na faixa de seis a dez anos, de ambos os sexos, de uma escola privada em Pelotas (RS), em 2012. Para avaliar o comportamento alimentar usaram-se as subescalas do questionário Children's Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (CEBQ): resposta à comida (FR), prazer de comer (EF), desejo de beber (DD), sobreingestão emocional (EOE), subingestão emocional (EUE), resposta à saciedade (SR), seletividade (FF) e ingestão lenta (SE). Avaliou-se o estado nutricional por meio do escore-z do IMC/idade. RESULTADOS: Participaram 335 crianças de 87,9±10,4 meses. Apresentaram eutrofia 49,3% (n=163), sobrepeso 26% (n=86), obesidade 15% (n=50) e obesidade grave 9,7% (n=32). Crianças com excesso de peso tiveram maior pontuação nas subescalas de "interesse pela comida" (FR, EF, DD, EOE, p<0,001) e menor pontuação nas subescalas de "desinteresse pela comida" (SR e SE, p<0,001 e p=0,003, respectivamente), se comparadas com as crianças com peso adequado. Não foram observadas diferenças no comportamento alimentar segundo sexo e idade. CONCLUSÕES: Observou-se que comportamentos alimentares que refletem "interesse pela comida" estão associados positivamente ao excesso de peso, mas não foi encontrada associação com o sexo e a idade da criança. .

Does usnic acid affect microtubules in human cancer cells? / O ácido úsnico pode afetar microtúbulos em células cancerosas humanas?

Usnic acid, a lichen metabolite, is known to exert antimitotic and antiproliferative activities against normal and malignant human cells. Many chemotherapy agents exert their activities by blocking cell cycle progression, inducing cell death through apoptosis. Microtubules, protein structure involved in the segregation of chromosomes during mitosis, serve as chemotherapeutical targets due to their key role in cellular division as well as apoptosis. The aim of this work was to investigate whether usnic acid affects the formation and/or stabilisation of microtubules by visualising microtubules and determining mitotic indices after treatment. The breast cancer cell line MCF7 and the lung cancer cell line H1299 were treated with usnic acid 29 µM for 24 hours and two positive controls: vincristine (which prevents the formation of microtubules) or taxol (which stabilizes microtubules). Treatment of MCF7 and H1299 cells with usnic acid did not result in any morphological changes in microtubules or increase in the mitotic index. These results suggest that the antineoplastic activity of usnic acid is not related to alterations in the formation and/or stabilisation of microtubules.

O ácido úsnico, um metabólito de liquens, é conhecido por sua atividade antimitótica e antiproliferativa em células humanas normais e malignas. Muitos quimioterápicos exercem suas atividades bloqueando a progressão do ciclo celular e induzindo morte celular por apoptose. Os microtúbulos, estruturas protéicas envolvidas na segregação dos cromossomos durante a mitose, servem como alvo quimioterapêutico devido ao seu importante papel tanto na divisão celular quanto nos mecanismos de morte celular por apoptose. O objetivo deste trabalho foi investigar se o ácido úsnico afeta a formação e/ou estabilização dos microtúbulos, a partir da visualização de microtúbulos e determinação de índices mitóticos após o tratamento. Células de câncer de mama MCF7 e de câncer de pulmão H1299 foram tratadas por 24 horas com 29 µM de ácido úsnico e dois controles positivos: vincristina (que impede a formação de microtúbulos) e taxol (que estabiliza microtúbulos). O tratamento das células MCF7 e H1299 com o ácido úsnico não resultou em aumento do índice mitótico. Os resultados sugerem que a atividade antineoplásica do ácido úsnico não está relacionada a alterações na formação e/ou estabilização de microtúbulos.

Effect of inganen anticancer properties on microtobule organization

Euphorbia tirucalli [Euphorbiaceae family] an environmental risk factor for Burkitt's lymphoma also has pharmacological activities. In the northeast of region in Brazil its latex is used as an antimicrobial, antiparasitic in the treatment of coughs, rheumatism, cancer and other disease as folk treatment. The prevalent constituents of this plant latex are diterpenes from the Inganen types [ingenol esters] as well as the tigliane [phorbol esters]. Scientifically, there is not any data till now about anticancer effects of the Euphorbia tirucalli Linn., since the Ingenol esters have already presented tumor-promoting ability. Microtubules [MTs], and cytoskeletal proteins are essential in eukaryotic cells for a variety of functions, such as cellular transport, cell motility and mitosis. Single Inganen in cytoplasm can interact with these proteins and affect on their crucial functions. In this study, we showed the effects of Inganen on MT organization using ultraviolet spectrophotometer and fluorometry. The fluorescent spectroscopy showed a significant tubulin conformational change at the presence of Inganen which decrease polymerization of tubulin as well as the ultraviolet spectroscopy results. The aim of this study is to find the potential function of Inganen for treatment of cancer in cells and human organs

Microtubule distribution in somatic cell nuclear transfer bovine embryos following control of nuclear remodeling type

This study was conducted to evaluate the microtubule distribution following control of nuclear remodeling by treatment of bovine somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) embryos with caffeine or roscovitine. Bovine somatic cells were fused to enucleated oocytes treated with either 5 mM caffeine or 150 micrometer roscovitine to control the type of nuclear remodeling. The proportion of embryos that underwent premature chromosome condensation (PCC) was increased by caffeine treatment but was reduced by roscovitine treatment (p < 0.05). The microtubule organization was examined by immunostaining beta- and gamma-tubulins at 15 min, 3 h, and 20 h of fusion using laser scanning confocal microscopy. The gamma-tubulin foci inherited from the donor centrosome were observed in most of the SCNT embryos at 15 min of fusion (91.3%) and most of them did not disappear until 3 h after fusion, regardless of treatment (82.9-87.2%). A significantly high proportion of embryos showing an abnormal chromosome or microtubule distribution was observed in the roscovitine-treated group (40.0%, p < 0.05) compared to the caffeine-treated group (22.1%). In conclusion, PCC is a favorable condition for the normal organization of microtubules, and inhibition of PCC can cause abnormal mitotic division of bovine SCNT embryos by causing microtubule dysfunction.

Inhibition of cell proliferation by a resveratrol analog in human pancreatic and breast cancer cells

Resveratrol has been reported to possess cancer preventive properties. In this study, we analyzed anti-tumor activity of a newly synthesized resveratrol analog, cis-3,4',5-trimethoxy-3'-hydroxystilbene (hereafter called 11b) towards breast and pancreatic cancer cell lines. 11b treatments reduced the proliferation of human pancreatic and breast cancer cells, arrested cells in the G2/M phase, and increased the percentage of cells in the subG1/G0 fraction. The 11b treatments also increased the total levels of mitotic checkpoint proteins such as BubR1, Aurora B, Cyclin B, and phosphorylated histone H3. Mechanistically, 11b blocks microtubule polymerization in vitro and it disturbed microtubule networks in both pancreatic and breast cancer cell lines. Computational modeling of the 11b-tubulin interaction indicates that the dimethoxyphenyl group of 11b can bind to the colchicine binding site of tubulin. Our studies show that the 11b treatment effects occur at lower concentrations than similar effects associated with resveratrol treatments and that microtubules may be the primary target for the observed effects of 11b. These studies suggest that 11b should be further examined as a potentially potent clinical chemotherapeutic agent for treating pancreatic and breast cancer patients.

The anthelmintic albendazole affects in vivo the dynamics and the detyrosination-tyrosination cycle of rat brain microtubules

Albendazole (ABZ) is an anthelmintic benzimidazole drug widely used in human and veterinary medicine. ABZ has binding affinity to both mammalian and helminth parasite tubulin. In the current work, we have performed in vitro assays and in vivo experiments in which rats were given ABZ orally to better characterize the action of the drug on the polymerization of rat brain microtubules and on the detyrosination/tyrosination cycle that occurs on the COOH-terminal end of alpha-tubulin. The results showed that ABZ inhibits brain microtubule polymerization in vitro, and significantly delayed microtubule assembly in vivo. The tyrosination reaction cycle was not affected in vitro; however, in rats to which the drug was administered orally, the levels of in vitro tyrosination were reduced when compared to the controls with mock treatment. These results suggest that this apparent inhibition would be due to a decrease in the amount of substrate caused by the depolymerizing effect of ABZ and the subsequent tyrosination in the intact brain with endogenous tyrosine. In conclusion, ABZ strongly affects tubulin dynamics both in vivo and in vitro. The outcome of these experiments is a contribution to the understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in the antimicrotubular action of benzimidazole compounds.