RESUMO
In the present study, we investigated the water extract of Harpagophytum procumbens DC. ex Meisn. in an experimental model of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs). Additionally, a microbiological investigation was carried out to discriminate the efficacy against bacterial and fungal strains involved in IBDs. Finally, an untargeted proteomic analysis was conducted on more than one hundred colon proteins involved in tissue morphology and metabolism. The extract was effective in blunting the production of oxidative stress and inflammation, including serotonin, prostaglandins, cytokines, and transcription factors. Additionally, the extract inhibited the growth of Candida albicans and C. tropicalis. The extract was also able to exert a pro-homeostatic effect on the levels of a wide plethora of colon proteins, thus corroborating a protective effect. Conversely, the supraphysiological downregulation of cytoskeletal-related proteins involved in tissue morphology and antimicrobial barrier function suggests a warning in the use of food supplements containing H. procumbens extracts.
RESUMO
The response of Jurkat T cells to ionizing radiation (IR) includes cell cycle arrest and DNA damage, which lead to the occurrence of apoptosis. Here, we try to elucidate some of the early intracellular signals which control the induction of such a process upon IR exposure, addressing to examine the specific role of several PKC isoforms (delta, epsilon, zeta) and their subcellular distribution. Attention has been focused on the connections between nuclear PKC delta activation and the expression of cell death regulators (Bcl-2 family proteins Bad, Bax and Bcl-2) and cell death effector caspase-3 (CPP32) which lead to the cleavage of cytoskeletal and nuclear proteins and induction of apoptosis. Altogether these results let us to conclude that PKC delta, potentiating the pro-apoptotic effect of caspase 3, plays a key role in the cellular response to IR and thus can be considered a molecular target for therapy.
