ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Contraceptive pills are chemical substances used as a means to prevent pregnancy, but they have several effects, including high lipid profile and in many cases, patients with heart and blood diseases cannot use it as a contraceptive helps in increasing the risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). A Stevia extract with high sweetening capacity due to its content of glycosides is used to reduce lipid profile and this study aimed to decrease lipid profile levels and lowering the risk factor in women using contraceptive drugs by stevia extracts. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixteen rabbits have been used as a case-control study design due to their anatomical and physiological similarity to humans. The stevia leaves are extracted using Soxhlet apparatus of ethanol solvent. Statistical package (SPSS), were used for data analysis and management using independent sample t-test, test, comparison of means for lipid profile of Triglyceride (TG), Cholesterol, High-density lipoprotein (HDL-C), Low-density lipoprotein (LDL-C) between (di-contraceptive, mono-contraceptive and control groups). RESULTS: The results showed increasing cholesterol and LDL-C during the combined oral contraceptive (COCP) and progesterone-only pills with decreased HDL-C level. A comparison of means before and after stevia used explains the elevated HDL-C and decreased LDL-C. CONCLUSION: The lipid profile levels should continuously be monitored during oral contraceptive intake and Stevia leaf powder extraction is suggested to reduce the risk of CVD.
Subject(s)
Dyslipidemias/prevention & control , Hypolipidemic Agents/pharmacology , Lipids/blood , Plant Extracts/pharmacology , Stevia , Animals , Biomarkers/blood , Contraceptives, Oral, Combined , Disease Models, Animal , Dyslipidemias/blood , Dyslipidemias/chemically induced , Ethanol/chemistry , Female , Hypolipidemic Agents/isolation & purification , Plant Extracts/isolation & purification , Rabbits , Solvents/chemistry , Stevia/chemistryABSTRACT
Capillary neoformation is important in repair of glomerular injury of various origins. VEGF was shown to be crucial for glomerular capillary repair in glomerulonephritis (GN). We reasoned that other angiogenic factors are likewise involved in glomerular capillary remodeling and found angiopoietin 1 and -2 (ANG1 and ANG2) mRNA to be upregulated in cDNA microarrays of microdissected glomeruli of anti-Thy1.1 GN of the rat. We then studied glomerular in situ gene and protein expression of ANG1 and ANG2 and their receptor Tie-2 in the course of anti-Thy1.1 GN, which was induced by injection of OX-7 antibody. Animals were perfusion fixed at days 6 and 12 after GN induction and compared with nonnephritic controls receiving PBS. Capillary damage and repair were quantitatively analyzed using stereological techniques. Gene and protein expression of ANG1 and ANG2 and their receptor Tie-2 was analyzed using real-time quantitative PCR from microdissected glomeruli, nonradioactive in situ hybridization, double immunofluorescence, and Western blot analysis. Glomerular capillarization assessed as length density was significantly lower at day 6 of anti-Thy1.1 GN than in controls; it was back to normal values at day 12. ANG1 and ANG2 gene expression was markedly upregulated at day 6 of the disease compared with controls. Protein expression of ANG1 and ANG2 was confined to podocytes and that of Tie-2 to endothelial cells. At day 12 of anti-Thy1.1 GN when capillary restoration was nearly completed, ANG1 and ANG2 gene expression returned to basal levels, whereas Tie-2 expression was still high. With the use of a combined molecular and in situ approach, the spatial and temporal gene and protein expression of the angiopoietins and their receptor was analyzed in anti-Thy1.1 GN. The results indicate that glomerular expression of ANG1 and ANG2 and Tie-2 is differentially regulated and may contribute to healing and endothelial cell stabilization in experimental GN.
Subject(s)
Angiopoietin-1/genetics , Angiopoietin-2/genetics , Gene Expression Regulation/physiology , Glomerulonephritis/metabolism , Thy-1 Antigens/immunology , Acute Disease , Angiopoietin-1/biosynthesis , Angiopoietin-2/biosynthesis , Animals , Apoptosis/genetics , Apoptosis/physiology , Blotting, Western , Body Weight/physiology , Capillaries/pathology , Cell Proliferation/drug effects , Fluorescent Antibody Technique , Glomerulonephritis/genetics , In Situ Hybridization , Kidney Glomerulus/pathology , Lasers , Microdissection , Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis , Organ Size/physiology , RNA/biosynthesis , RNA/genetics , Rats , Receptor, TIE-2/biosynthesis , Receptor, TIE-2/genetics , Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction , Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A/biosynthesis , Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A/geneticsABSTRACT
To cope with a sudden increase in the external pH value to 8.9, Bacillus subtilis cells induce about 80 genes which can be divided into two classes. Most of these genes are members of the sigma(W) regulon, while some are under the control of so-far-unknown transcriptional regulators. The genes of the pst operon belong to the second class. Here, we attempted to answer the questions of why and how the genes of this operon are induced. Using transcriptional fusions to two of the five genes of this operon, we confirmed their induction after alkali stress. Furthermore, a Northern blot experiment revealed that the complete operon was alkali inducible, that the transcriptional start site used was identical to that used after phosphate starvation, and that induction was prevented in a phoR background. Most interestingly, increasing the phosphate concentration within the medium prevented alkali induction of the pst operon, and phoA, another member of the PhoRP regulon, did not respond to alkali stress. In the end, we showed that alkali treatment completely prevented phosphate uptake. These results are discussed to explain alkali induction of the pst operon.
