ABSTRACT
Chronic energy restriction, alpha-tocopherol supplementation and their interaction with exhaustive exercise were investigated. Eleven-week-old male Wistar rats (n 6x 10) were fed either a control (C), a 30 % carbohydrate-energy-restricted control (R) or an alpha-tocopherol-supplemented (S) diet for 5 months. The animals in each diet were divided into exercised (E) and non-exercised (NE) groups. Before killing, the exercised rats were required to run to exhaustion (39 (se 6), 69 (se 11) and 18 (se 2) min for the C, R and S groups, respectively). Lipid peroxidation (thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances; TBARS), protein damage (reactive carbonyls) and alpha-tocopherol were determined in gastrocnemius, liver, brain and/or plasma. There was no difference in lipid peroxidation between the R and C groups, but in liver and muscle peroxidation appeared significantly lower in the S than the other two diets. TBARS in the brain were similar in all groups. On the other hand, reactive carbonyls showed that both the R and S diets reduced protein damage in the brain, while exhaustive exercise increased it. For liver and muscle, however, reactive carbonyl levels were similar in all groups. alpha-Tocopherol supplementation increased the vitamin concentrations in liver, muscle and plasma, but exercise decreased them in plasma and brain. Carbohydrate-energy restriction increased (P=0.0025) resistance to exhaustive exercise considerably without depleting stores of alpha-tocopherol or exacerbating oxidative damage in monitored tissues. It is concluded that while exhaustive exercise promotes a tissue-specific oxidative damage detectable only in brain proteins, both experimental diets tended to ameliorate this condition.
Subject(s)
Brain/metabolism , Dietary Carbohydrates/administration & dosage , Energy Intake/physiology , Oxidative Stress/physiology , Physical Conditioning, Animal/physiology , Animals , Body Weight/physiology , Diet , Dietary Supplements , Lipid Peroxidation/physiology , Liver/metabolism , Male , Muscle, Skeletal/metabolism , Oxidation-Reduction , Physical Endurance/drug effects , Physical Endurance/physiology , Rats , Rats, Wistar , alpha-Tocopherol/blood , alpha-Tocopherol/pharmacologyABSTRACT
Leishmaniasis is a typical parasite infection whose protective immunity depends on macrophage activation. Susceptibility to Leishmania donovani infection was compared in H (high antibody responder) and L (low antibody responder) mice from selection IV-A. H mice infected intravenously with 10(7) amastigotes of L. donovani were more susceptible to infection than their L counterparts. This higher susceptibility was characterized by a higher splenic and hepatic parasite burden. An increased splenic index was observed in both lines after sixty days of infection. This splenomegaly was caused, at least partially, by an increase in the number of splenic cells as determined by direct counts of cells from spleen. The results show that selection IV-A is susceptible to visceral leishmaniasis, with the H line being more susceptible than the L line.
Subject(s)
Leishmaniasis, Visceral/physiopathology , Animals , Antibodies, Protozoan/biosynthesis , Disease Susceptibility , Leishmania donovani , Male , MiceABSTRACT
The antibody response against the antigen sheep red blood cells (SRBC) was investigated in mice pre-treated with formalin-killed Paracoccidioides brasiliensis or with cell wall fractions of the fungus. Pre-treatment with P. brasiliensis, as well as with the Fl fraction and beta-glucan significantly increased the anti-SRBC antibody response in the experimental groups as compared to the control group that received only SRBC. This immunomodulatory effect varied with the different doses employed and with pre-treatment time. We conclude that the cell wall fractions of P. brasiliensis might play an important role in the hypergammaglobulinemia associated with Paracoccidioidomycosis.
Subject(s)
Hypergammaglobulinemia/microbiology , Paracoccidioides/immunology , Paracoccidioidomycosis/immunology , Animals , Antibody Formation/physiology , Cell Wall/immunology , Erythrocytes/immunology , Hypergammaglobulinemia/immunology , Male , Mice , Mice, Inbred BALB C , Sheep/immunologyABSTRACT
The intensity of delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) expression measured by footpad swelling was established in high and low antibody responder lines of mice produced by bidirectional selective breeding for antibody responsiveness to different antigens. These lines of mice presented a very large difference in antibody response to the antigens used in each selective breeding (selection Ags) and to several other unrelated Ags (nonspecific effect). The intensity of DTH reactivity to selection Ags and to unrelated Ags differed in the various lines investigated, but the intensity of DTH reactions was not correlated with antibody responsiveness. The results of the present article demonstrated that the expression of DTH reactivity and antibody responsiveness to the same antigens are polygenic characters subject to independent quantitative regulation.
