Genotoxic effect of Physalis angulata L. (Solanaceae) extract on human lymphocytes treated in vitro

Physalis angulata L (Solanaceae) is a medicinal plant from North of Brazil, whose different extracts and infusions are commonly used in the popular medicine for the treatment of malaria, asthma, hepatitis, dermatitis and rheumatism. However, the genotoxic effects of P. angulata on human cells is not well known. The main purpose of the present study was to evaluate the in vitro genotoxic effects of aqueous extract of P. angulata using the comet assay and the micronucleus assay in human lymphocytes provided from 6 healthy donors. Treatments with P. angulata extracts were performed in vitro in order to access the extent of DNA damage. The comet assay has shown that treatments with P. angulata at 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0 and 6.0 microg/mL in culture medium were genotoxic. Lymphocytes treated with P. angulata at the concentrations of 3.0 and 6.0 microg/mL in culture medium showed a statistically significant increase in the frequency of micronucleus (p<0.05), however, the cytokinesis blocked proliferation index (CBPI) was not decreased after P. angulata treatment. In conclusion, the present work demonstrated the genotoxic effects of P. angulata extract on human lymphocytes in vitro.

Ballast water: a review of the impact on the world public health

Since the nineteenth century ships have been using ballast water (BW) for safety, stability, propulsion and maneuverability, as well as to redress loss of fuel weight and water consumption, and to maintain structural stress at acceptable levels. Ballast water has been spreading many non-native species around the globe, but little is known about the extent and potential significance of ship-mediated transfer of microorganisms. The global movements of ballast water by ships create a long-distance dispersal mechanism for human pathogens that may be important in the worldwide distribution of microorganisms, as well as for the epidemiology of waterborne diseases. Only a few studies have been carried out on this subject, most of them involving ballast water containing crustacean larvae and phytoplankton. Specialized microbiological studies on these waters are necessary to avoid a repeat of what happened in 1991, when epidemic cholera was reported in Peru and rapidly spread through Latin America and Mexico. In July of 1992, Vibrio cholerae was found in the USA and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) determined that it came from ballast water of ships whose last port of call was in South America. In Brazil, just a few studies about the subject have been performed. An exploratory study by the Brazilian National Health Surveillance Agency (Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária - ANVISA) found in ballast water different microorganisms, such as fecal coliforms, Escherichia coli, Enterococcus faecalis, Clostridium perfringens, coliphages, Vibrio cholerae O1 and Vibrio cholerae non-O1. Until now, Brazil has been focusing only on organisms transported to its territory from other countries by ballast water, to avoid their establishment and dissemination in Brazilian areas. Studies that can assess the probability that water ballast carries pathogenic microorganisms are extremely important, as is the examination of ships that arrive in the country. Treatment of the human...

Environmental parameters and antimicrobial susceptibility of enterobacteriaceae isolated from estuarine waters of São Vicente, São Paulo state, Brazil

Diseases transmitted by water consists a serious public health problem and enterobacteria are the main group of microorganisms responsible for outbreaks in humans. Such pathogenic bacteria proliferate in water polluted by domestic and industrial sewage and reach the population through seawater contact. The aim of the present work was to study environmental parameters as well as to identify Enterobacteriaceae species and their antimicrobial susceptibility in water samples collected from the estuarine area of São Vicente city (São Paulo State, Brazil). Strains were identified by using traditional biochemical tests described in literature and antimicrobial susceptibility tests were carried out using the disk diffusion method. Out of 26 samples, Escherichia coli was the most frequent species (40.1 percent), followed by Citrobacter, Enterobacter and Klebsiella. The most effective drugs against the tested microorganisms were gentamycin, netilmicin, ciprofloxacin and cefepime. Since these bacteria are commonly found in seashore contaminated by sewage effluents, it can be concluded that estuarine waters of São Vicente are polluted and potentially capable of causing diseases and spreading pathogenic bacteria to human communities.

Oncogene-mediated downregulation of RECK, a novel transformation suppressor gene

The RECK gene was initially isolated as a transformation suppressor gene encoding a novel membrane-anchored glycoprotein and later found to suppress tumor invasion and metastasis by regulating matrix metalloproteinase-9. Its expression is ubiquitous in normal tissues, but undetectable in many tumor cell lines and in fibroblastic lines transformed by various oncogenes. The RECK gene promoter has been cloned and characterized. One of the elements responsible for the oncogene-mediated downregulation of mouse RECK gene is the Sp1 site, where the Sp1 and Sp3 factors bind. Sp1 transcription factor family is involved in the basal level of promoter activity of many genes, as well as in dynamic regulation of gene expression; in a majority of cases as a positive regulator, or, as exemplified by the oncogene-mediated suppression of RECK gene expression, as a negative transcription regulator. The molecular mechanisms of the downregulation of mouse RECK gene and other tumor suppressor genes are just beginning to be uncovered. Understanding the regulation of these genes may help to develop strategies to restore their expression in tumor cells and, hence, suppress the cells' malignant behavior

A Bordetella pertussis acellular vaccine candidate: antigenic characterization and antibody induction

A single-step chromatography on Matrex-Gel Blue A has been employed to obtain soluble extracts containing some of the most important antigens of Bordetella pertussis, pertussis toxin (PT), filamentous hemagglutinin (FHA), pertactin (69-kDa outer membrane protein), fimbriae (FIM2 and FIM3) and adenylate cyclase (AC). Two supernatants, P19 (48.8 mg PT, 6.8 mg FHA, 17.3 mg AC, 13 mg FIM2 and 4.9 mg FIM33 per liter) and P21 (0.1 mg PT, 0.07 mg FHA, 0.46 mg FIM2 and 0.94 mg FIM3 per liter), resulting from bacteria grown in Stainer-Scholte medium, were submitted to chromatography. Fractions with the antigens were obtained after stepwise elution with 60 mM sodium phosphate buffer, pH 6.0; 50 mM Tris-HC1, pH 7.4; 50 mM Tris-HC1, pH 7.4/0.75 M MgCl2; 50mM Tris-HCl, pH 7.4/4 M MgCl2 and 4 M urea. Preparations from P19 (containing 4.05 µg PT, 8.14 µg FHA, 6.3 µg AC, 3.37 µg 69-kDA, 9.54 µg FIM2 and 2.23 µg FIM3) and P21 (with 0.175 µg PT, 0.28 µg PT, 0.28 µg FHA, 0.002 µg69-kDa, 0.005 µg FIM2 and 0.122 µg FIM3) were detoxified with glutaraldehyde and tested as an acellular pertussis vaccine. These products were non-toxic for mice and induced high levels of antibodies against purified pertussis antigens, as judged by ELISA

Resposta imune à vacina da hepatite B (Hevac B, França) em unidade de diálise / Immuneresponse to B hepatitis vaccine (Hevac B, France) in a dialysis service

Foi feita uma avaliaçäo da resposta imunológica a vacina da hepatite B (Hevac B, Instituto Pasteur, França) nos pacientes e pessoal de uma unidade de hemodiálise (HD). 88,4% (23/26) desenvolveram anticorpos contra o antígeno de superfície da hepatite B (anti-HBs) entre os elementos do pessoal da HD; 75% /12) dos pacientes adultos e 87,5% (7/8) dos pacientes infantis também desenvolveram o anticorpo, todos após seis meses da primeira dose de vacina. Nenhum dos recipientes da vacina apresentou o antígeno de superficie da hepatite B (AgABs) no sangue em qualquer momento. Ficou demonstrado alto índice de resposta a vacinaçäo contra a hepatite B no pessoal e nos pacientes da HD, particularmente nas crianças, com bons títulos de anti-HBs após quatro injeçöes da vacina Hevac B

Antibody response to heat-inactivated hepatitis B vaccine (CLB-3 microng) in hemodialysis patients and occupational risk personnel: a one year follow-up

A resposta imune contra vacina de hepatite B (CLB-3microng) foi avaliada em 59 pacientes de hemodiálise e 20 funcionários de risco em adquirir infecçäo. A soroconversäo foi observada em 52,5% e 70,0%, respectivamente. Um ano após a primeira dose, os níveis de anticorpos anti-HBs foram determinados em 37.5% dos pacientes e 60.0% dos funcionários. Os níveis de anticorpos foram expressos em unidades de radioimunoensaio (SRU =contagem da amostra sobre o controle negativo). Considerando apenas os indivíduos que responderam à vacina, no grupo de pacientes, 38.7% tiveram resposta baixa de anticorpos (2,1 - 9,9 SRU), 32,3% resposta média e 29,0% uma resposta elevada (>SRU), enquanto que no passado de risco, os valores foram 14,3%, 64,3% e 21,4%, respectivamente. Os autores sugerem o uso de vacinas de HBV com concentraçöes de HBsAg mais elevada ou um reforço no esquema de imunizaçäo para melhorar a resposta de anti-HBs, näo só para pacientes como também para pessoas sadias