a_1 We sought to examine the association between maternal erythrocyte omega-3, omega-6 and trans fatty acids and risk of preeclampsia. We conducted a case-control study of 170 women with proteinuric, pregnancy-induced hypertension and 185 normotensive pregnant women who delivered at Harare Maternity Hospital, Harare, Zimbabwe. We measured erythrocyte omega-3, omega-6 and trans fatty acid as the percentage of total fatty acids using gas chromatography. After multivariate adjustment for confounding factors, women in the highest quartile group for total omega-3 fatty acids compared with women in the lowest quartile experienced a 14 % reduction in risk of preeclampsia (odds ratio 0.86, 95 % confidence interval 0.45 to 1.63). For total omega-6 fatty acids the odds ratio was 0.46 (95 % confidence interval 0.23 to 0.92), although there was suggestion of a slight increase in risk of preeclampsia associated with high levels of arachidonic acid. Among women in the highest quartile for arachidonic acid the odds ratio was 1.29 (95 % confidence interval 0.66 to 2.54). A strong statistically significant positive association of diunsaturated fatty acids with a trans double bond with risk of preeclampsia was observed. Women in the upper quartile of 9-cis 12-trans octadecanoic acid (C18:2n6ct) compared with those in the lowest quartile experienced a 3-fold higher risk of preeclampsia (odds ratio = 3.02, 95 % confidence interval 1.41 to 6.45). Among women in the highest quartile for 9-trans 12-cis octadecanoic acid (C18:2n6tc) the odds ratio was 3.32 (95 % confidence interval 1.55 to 7.13)., a_2 Monounsaturated trans fatty acids were also positively associated with the risk of preeclampsia, although of much reduced magnitude. We observed a strong positive association of trans fatty acids, particularly diunsaturated trans fatty acids, with the risk of preeclampsia. We found little support for the hypothesized in verse association between omega-3 fatty acids and preeclampsia risk in this population. Polyunsaturated fatty acids, particularly omega-3 fatty acids, were comparatively lower in Zimbabwean than among US pregnant women. Given the limited inter-person variation in omega-3 fatty acids among Zimbabwean women, our sample size may be too small to adequately assess the relation in this population., K. Mahomed, M. A. Williams, I. B. King, S. Mudzamiri., and Obsahuje bibliografii a bibliografické odkazy
Escherichia coli (2x104 bacteria) of the non-pathogenic O86 strain or enteropathogenic O55 strain were administered into the pig amniotic cavity at 79 to 86 days of gestation for six or ten hours. Translocation of bacteria into fetal lungs was confirmed by cultivation as well as by light and electron microscopy. Infection caused an influx of macrophages that were immunostained in cryostat sections by monoclonal antibody recognizing calprotectin., I. Šplíchal, I. Trebichavský, A. Šplíchalová, L. Dítětová, M. Zahradníčková., and Obsahuje bibliografii
There is an overlap of carrier-mediated L-amino acid transport and apparent simple diffusion when measured in intestinal brush border membrane vesicles. Using L-threonine and L-glutamine as representative amino acids, this study was undertaken to estimate apparent simple diffusion of L-amino acids and to establish the effective dosage of HgCl2 for completely blocking carrier-mediated L-amino acid transport in porcine jejunal enterocyte brush border membrane vesicles. Jejunal mucosa was scraped from three pigs weighing 26 kg. Enterocyte brush border membrane vesicles, with an average enrichment of 24-fold in sucrase specific activity, were prepared by Mg2+-precipitation and differential centrifugation. In vitro uptake was measured by the fast filtration manual procedure. HgCl2 blocked the carrier-mediated initial transport of L-threonine and L-glutamine under Na+-gradient condition in a dose-dependent manner. At the minimal concentration of 0.165 mmol HgCl2 mg-1 protein, carrier-mediated L-threonine and L-glutamine transport was completely inhibited. The apparent L-threonine and L-glutamine diffusion was estimated to be 8.6±0.7 and 12.4±1.0 % of the total uptake at the substrate concentrations of 5 mM (L-threonine) and 50 mM (L-glutamine). Therefore, the treatment of porcine brush border membrane vesicles with a minimum of 0.165 mmol HgCl2 mg-1 protein completely blocks carrier-mediated L-amino acid transport and enables the direct estimation of apparent L-amino acid diffusion in enterocyte brush border membrane vesicles., M. Z. Fan, O. Adeola, E. K. Asem., and Obsahuje bibliografii
The study investigates the effect of administered estrogen on plasma creatine kinase (CK) and lactate dehydrogenase (LD) levels in female ovariectomized rats after downhill running. Rats ovariectomized before sexual maturity were subcutaneously implanted with pellets containing 17β-estradiol or placebo. Three weeks later they were subjected to a 90-min intermittent downhill running protocol. Blood samples were obtained from the jugular vein immediately after and 72 h after exercise for determination of plasma CK, LD and 17β-estradiol levels. A two-way analysis of variance was used for data evaluation. Plasma CK and LD levels were significantly lower (p<0.05) in the estrogen-supplemented, ovariectomized animals which suggests that less muscle damage occurred compared to the controls immediately and 72 h after exercise. Estrogens may have a protective effect on muscle tissue possibly due to their antioxidant and membrane stabilizing properties., S. Sotiriadou, A. Kyparos, V. Mougios, Ch. Trontzos, G. Sidiras, Ch. Matziari., and Obsahuje bibliografii
The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of calcium channel blockers on tertbutyl hydroperoxide (TBH) induced liver injury using isolated perfused rat hepatocytes. Rat hepatocytes were immobilized in agarose threads and perfused with Williams E medium. Hepatocyte injury was induced by the addition of tertbutyl hydroperoxide (1 mM) to the perfusion medium 30 min after the addition of either verapamil or diltiazim. Hepatocyte injury was observed by monitoring the functional and metabolic competence of hepatocytes or by ultrastructural morphological examination of hepatocytes. Verapamil (0.5 mM) reduced lactate dehydrogenase leakage in TBH-injured hepatocytes as compared to the controls (154± 11 % vs. 247± 30 %). Lipid peroxides production was reduced after verapamil pretreatment as compared to the controls and oxygen consumption was increased by pretreatment of hepatocytes with verapamil. Verapamil pretreatment increased the protein synthesis activity at both levels of granular endoplasmic reticulum and free polysomes in cytoplasm and decreased ATPase activity. Diltiazem was qualitatively effective as verapamil. It is concluded that in hepatocyte oxidative injury, calcium channel blockers exhibited hepatoprotective properties. The hepatoprotective effect of calcium channel blockers was accompanied by a decrease in ATPase activity, which may implicate a normalization of Ca2+i after TBH intoxication., H. Farghali, E. Kmoníčková, H. Lotková, J. Martínek., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Cardiotoxicity ranks among the most serious adverse effects of some cytostatics. The cardiac effects of repeated i.v. administration of a new antineoplastic agent, dimethoxybenfluron (once a week, 10 administrations), were investigated in rabbits with respect to cardiac function and the release of cardiac troponin T (cTnT). Different doses of dimethoxybenfluron were administered to two groups of animals (12 mg/kg; n = 7 and 24 mg/kg; n = 6) and compared with either a control group (saline 1 ml/kg; n = 6) or a group with experimentally induced cardiomyopathy (daunorubicin 50 mg/m2; n = 13). In daunorubicin-induced cardiomyopathy, cTnT levels in animals with premature deaths were significantly higher (0.31±0.11 mg/l) in comparison with the surviving animals (0.04±0.03 mg/l). However, cardiac TnT levels after the administration of dimethoxybenfluron in both doses were within the physiological range (lower than 0.1 mg/l) during the whole experiment as it was in the control group. The lack of cardiotoxicity of this new antineoplastic drug was supported by the absence of alterations in PEP:LVET ratio, left ventricle dP/dtmax or histological heart examination as well as by the fact that no premature death of animals occurred following repeated administration of dimethoxybenfluron. It is possible to conclude that no signs of cardiotoxicity were observed following repeated i.v. administration of dimethoxybenfluron., J. Macháčková, M. Adamcová, Y. Mazurová, R. Hrdina, M. Nobilis., and Obsahuje bibliografii
The aim of this study was to analyze the ECG time intervals in the course of the development of chronic anthracycline cardiomyopathy in rabbits. Furthermore, this approach was employed to study the effects of a model cardioprotective drug (dexrazoxane) and two novel iron chelating compounds - salicylaldehyde isonicotinoyl hydrazone (SIH) and pyridoxal 2-chlorobenzoyl hydrazone (o-108). Repeated daunorubicin administration induced a significant and progressive prolongation of the QRS complex commencing with the 8th week of administration. At the end of the study, we identified a significant correlation between QRS duration and the contractility index dP/dtmax (r=-0.81; P<0.001) as well as with the plasma concentrations of cardiac troponin T (r=0.78; P<0.001). In contrast, no alterations in ECG time intervals were revealed in the groups co-treated with either dexrazoxane or both novel cardioprotective drugs (SIH, o-108). Hence, in this study, the QRS duration is for the first time shown as a parameter suitable for the non-invasive evaluation of the anthracycline cardiotoxicity and cardioprotective effects of both well established and investigated drugs. Moreover, our results strongly suggest that novel iron chelators (SIH and o-108) merit further study as promising cardioprotective drugs against anthracycline cardiotoxicity., A. Potáčová, M. Adamcová, H. Čajnáková, L. Hrbatová, M. Štěrba, O. Popelová, T. Šimůnek, P. Poňka, V. Geršl., and Obsahuje bibliografii a bibliografické odkazy
Endothelium-protective properties of pharmacological agents may be assessed by using different experimental models of endothelial dysfunction or injury. The model of endothelial dysfunction induced by vessel perfusion with polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) was used for evaluation of pentoxifylline (PTX) effects on vasoconstrictor responses to noradrenaline (NA) in the rabbit renal artery. Addition of PMN into the perfusion solution significantly increased the responses to NA at all doses. PTX administration (10-5 mol.l1) significantly diminished the constrictor responses to NA in vessels perfused with PMN+PTX when compared to the responses in PMN-perfused vessels (at dose 0.1 m g: 32.25 vs. 14.25, at dose 1 m g: 51 vs. 27.75 (p<0.01), at dose 10 m g 74.25 vs. 39.75 (p<0.05), all values expressed as median of perfusion pressure in mm Hg). The model of endothelial damage induced by repeated NA administration in 5 doses (10-50 m g of NA) was used for evaluation of the endothelium-protective effect of sulodexide (SLX). It was found that SLX (120 U/l) significantly decreased the number of desquamated endothelial cells (EC) compared to the control group (controls: 131.4± 20.1 EC, +SLX: 83.3± 13.8 EC, p<0.01). These results confirmed the favorable endothelium-protective effects of pentoxifylline and sulodexide in the two experimental models., V. Kristová, M. Kriška, P. Babál, M. N. Djibril, J. Slámová, A. Kurtanský., and Obsahuje bibliografii
The benefit of percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) of transplant renal artery stenosis for ischemic nephropathy may be adversely affected by rejection or other complications. As a result, assessment of the effect of PTA on renal function or blood pressure is often difficult. In this paper, we evaluated the effect of PTA using the method of integrated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) based upon the area under the curve over a follow-up period (AUC0-t), to express the level of GFR in a simple manner despite its significant fluctuations. A similar procedure was used to evaluate mean arterial pressure (MAP). The method was employed to assess the outcome in 20 individuals before PTA, and 1, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months after PTA. In eight cases, rejection was detected while there was one case of glomerulonephritis in the graft during the follow-up period. Evaluation (AUCCcr)0-12 related to the integrated pre-PTA value of Ccr [(Ccr)0 x 12] revealed a rise in GFR by more than 20 % in 65 % of cases. No improvement was observed in seven individuals with post-PTA complications. When assessing the integrated value of MAP, success of PTA (a reduction by at least 10 %) was found in 85 % of cases. No significant correlation was found between the relative changes of integrated GFR and MAP. Our data suggest that evaluation of the integrated value of GFR or MAP on the basis of AUC0-t allows to characterize, in a simple manner, the level of graft function and MAP throughout the follow-up period in individual cases. Furthermore, it may provide additional information on the average values obtained at different time intervals after the therapeutic procedure., J. Stříbrná, O. Schück, J.H. Peregrin, D. Krajíčková, J. Skibová., and Obsahuje bibliografii