Effect of protein malnutrition on the glycolytic and glutaminolytic enzyme activity of rat thymus and mesenteric lymph nodes

The activity of important glycolytic enzymes (hexokinase, phosphofructokinase, aldolase, phosphohexoseisomerase, pyruvate kinase and lactate dehydrogenase) and glutaminolytic enzymes (phosphate-dependent glutaminase) was determined in the thymus and mesenteric lymph nodes of wistar rats submited to protein malnutrition (6 percent protein in the diet rather than 20 percent) from conception to 12 weeks after birth. The wet weight (g) of the thymus and mesenteric lymph nodes decreased due to protein malnutrition by 87 percent (from 0.30 + 0.05 to 0.04 + 0.01) and 75 percent (0.40 + 0.04 to 0.10 + 0.02), respectively. The protein content was reduced only in the thymus from 102.3 + 4.4 (control rats) to 72.6 + 6.6 (malnourished rats). The glycolytic enzymes were not affected by protein malnutrition, but the glutaminase activity of the thymus and lymph nodes was reduced by halfing in protein-malnourished rats as compared to controls. This fact may lead to a decrease in the cellularity of the organ and thus in its size, weight and protein content.

Avaliaçao dos niveis de hemoglobina e ferritina serica em escolares infectados por parasitas intestinais em Campinas, Sao Paulo / Evaluation of the hemoglobin and seric ferritin levels among students infected by intestinal parasits in Campinas-Sao Paulo

Em 109 escolares de 8 a 12 anos de idade provenientes de zona periferica da cidade de Campinas-SP,encontrou-se uma prevalencia de parasitos intestinais de 42,2%, a media de concentraçao da hemoglobina sanguinea foi de 13,57g/dl 0,98 e concentraçao serica de ferritina de 43,67 ng/ml 21,34. No estudocomparativo entre a populaçao infectada e nao infectada por parasitas intestinais nao houve diferenças estaristicamente significativas para dosagem de hemoglobina e ferritina serica.