Protective effect of Stevia on diabetic induced testicular damage: an immunohistochemical and ultrastructural study.

OBJECTIVE: Diabetes mellitus (DM) has been considered a major problem because of its related complications and growing incidence worldwide. Testicular dysfunction has become a predominant diabetic complication characterized by impaired reproductive function and testicular damage. Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni has been known for its antioxidant effect on diabetes, inflammation, and obesity. The current study investigates the protective effect of Stevia on diabetic-induced testicular injury. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sprague Dawley adult male rats were divided into three groups: the control group, the diabetic group, and the diabetic + Stevia group, type 2 diabetes is induced by a high-fat diet (HFD) and a single dose of 35 mg/kg streptozotocin injection. The effects of Stevia were evaluated regarding biochemical, oxidative stress, histopathological and ultrastructural changes, and immunohistochemical expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1), receptor-interacting serine/threonine-protein kinase 1 (RIPK 1), and caspase 3. RESULTS: Stevia extract attenuated the diabetic-induced oxidative stress, restored the testicular architecture, and decreased testicular damage, inflammation, necroptosis, and apoptosis by upregulating VEGF and downregulating VCAM 1, RIPK 1, and caspase 3. CONCLUSIONS: The current study highlights the importance of Stevia as an antioxidant anti-inflammatory that ameliorates diabetic-induced testicular injury by modulating oxidative stress, inflammation, necroptosis, and apoptosis.

Potential immune modulating properties and antioxidant activity of supplementing commercially available lactoferrin and/or Lactobacillus sp. in healthy Ossimi lambs.

The use of lactoferrin (LF) and/or lactobacillus sp. (LB) to improve animal health and pro- duction has increased recently. However, information regarding the immune-modulatory role of LB supplementations either alone or in combination with LF in sheep remains unclear. There- fore, the present study was designed to evaluate the immune modulating properties and the anti- oxidant activity of supplementing commercially available LF and/or LB in healthy lambs. For this reason, twenty-four apparently healthy Ossimi lambs were used. After three weeks of acclimati- zation, the lambs were randomly allocated to four equal-sized groups and assigned to receive one of the following supplements: LB at a dose of ~ 1 g active ingredient/head (group 1), LF at a dose rate of 0.5 gm /head (group 2), a combination of both treatments using the same dosing regimens (group 3), and (group 4) received only 10 mL of isotonic saline and was considered as a control group. All supplements were given orally twice daily for 30 consecutive days. Blood sam- ples were collected from each lamb before starting the experiment (T0) and two weeks (T15), and four weeks (T30) after giving supplements for hematological examinations, serum biochemical analyses, and RT-PCR assays. Our findings demonstrated that lambs receiving LB showed statis- tically significant (P⟨0.05) higher values of total leucocytes, lymphocytes and lysozyme activi- ty than those receiving LF. In contrast, lambs that received LF had significantly (P⟨ 0.05) higher values of serum catalase, nitric oxide and GSH with a significantly lower MDA level compared with those supplemented with LB. A combination of LF and LB supplementation elicited maxi- mal up-regulation of Tollip, TLR4, IL-5, and IL-6 gene expression compared with other groups. The results suggest that bovine LF and or LB could be used as useful nutritional supple- ments to support the immune system in healthy lambs.

Simultaneous DNA amplification and detection using a pH-sensing semiconductor system.

We developed an integrated chip for real-time amplification and detection of nucleic acid using pH-sensing complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology. Here we show an amplification-coupled detection method for directly measuring released hydrogen ions during nucleotide incorporation rather than relying on indirect measurements such as fluorescent dyes. This is a label-free, non-optical, real-time method for detecting and quantifying target sequences by monitoring pH signatures of native amplification chemistries. The chip has ion-sensitive field effect transistor (ISFET) sensors, temperature sensors, resistive heating, signal processing and control circuitry all integrated to create a full system-on-chip platform. We evaluated the platform using two amplification strategies: PCR and isothermal amplification. Using this platform, we genotyped and discriminated unique single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) variants of the cytochrome P450 family from crude human saliva. We anticipate this semiconductor technology will enable the creation of devices for cost-effective, portable and scalable real-time nucleic acid analysis.

Regression of canine cutaneous histiocytoma is associated with an orchestrated expression of matrix metalloproteinases.

Canine cutaneous histiocytoma (CCH) is a common benign skin tumour originating from epidermal Langerhans cells. These tumours often display spontaneous regression and therefore represent a valuable animal model for investigation of tumour regression. Based on previous studies it was hypothesized that up-regulation of cytokines during CCH regression leads to up-regulation of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) favouring infiltration of lymphocytes and enhanced tumour regression. The expression of MMPs and their inhibitors (tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases, TIMPs) was investigated immunohistochemically in 27 CCHs. The tumours were classified into four groups defined as having no regression (group 1), early regression (group 2), intermediate regression (group 3) or late regression (group 4). The distribution and expression intensity of MMP-1, -2, -3, -7, -9, -13 and -14 and TIMP-1 and -2 were determined in peripheral and central areas of each tumour. Group 3 and 4 CCHs showed up-regulation of expression of MMP-1, -9 and -14 at the periphery. Variable expression of MMP-2 and -3 was observed. Expression of the remaining MMPs and TIMPs showed no group-specific changes. Most MMPs and TIMPs displayed significantly higher expression at the tumour periphery compared with the centre, independently of the stage of regression and indicating more pronounced proteolysis in the peripheral areas. The results are consistent with cytokine-enhanced MMP expression, particularly of MMP-9, leading to enhanced lymphocyte recruitment in combination with elevated cleavage of extracellular matrix and basement membranes.