Estruturas de covariância de peso em função da idade de animais Nelore das regiões Sudeste e Centro-Oeste do Brasil

Dados de peso de animais da raça Nelore de 90 a 450 dias de idade das regiões Sudeste (SE) e Centro-Oeste (CO) do Brasil foram utilizados para comparar estruturas de (co)variância de efeitos aleatórios em função de idade estimadas para as duas regiões por meio de modelos de regressão aleatória. Componentes de (co)variância referentes aos coeficientes de regressão aleatória foram estimados por EMREML por meio do programa REMLF90. Os efeitos fixos de grupo contemporâneo e os efeitos aleatórios genético aditivo direto, genético aditivo materno e permanente de ambiente foram modelados por polinômios quadráticos de Legendre. As comparações envolveram estruturas de covariância e de correlação dos efeitos aleatórios, herdabilidades direta e materna e a razão entre variâncias genéticas de diferentes regiões. As herdabilidades e estruturas de covariância e de correlação apresentaram comportamento semelhante nas duas regiões. A variância residual e as variâncias de efeito permanente de ambiente foram menores no CO, bem como a variância genética aditiva materna dos 150 aos 400 dias de idade. Trajetórias dos efeitos fixos em função de idade de diferentes grupos contemporâneos apresentaram diferentes formas, sugerindo a necessidade de estimar um conjunto de coeficientes de regressão específico para cada grupo contemporâneo. A variância do efeito genético aditivo materno apresentou maior heterogeneidade entre regiões do que a variância genética aditiva direta.

Modulation of the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by cAMP-elevating agents in granulocytes from diabetic patients: an Akt/PKB-dependent phenomenon

BACKGROUND

Granulocytes from healthy subjects and from patients suffering from diabetes mellitus present differences in reactivity to stimulation with cyclic nucleotide-elevating agents. The production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is inhibited in cells from non-diabetic subjects following such stimulation, but activated through a PKA-independent signaling pathway in granulocytes from type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients. The aim of the present study was to understand better the changes in signaling mechanisms induced by the disease.

METHODS

ROS production in granulocytes from healthy subjects and from type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients was measured using a luminol-dependent chemiluminescence assay. Granulocytes were stimulated by the addition of the cAMP-elevating agent dibutyryl cAMP. In some experiments, granulocytes were pre-treated with an inhibitor of PKA or Akt/PKB prior to cAMP stimulation.

RESULTS

Intracellular elevation of cAMP induced a PKA-dependent and Akt/PKB-independent inhibition of ROS production in granulocytes from healthy subjects, but a significant activation in cells from both type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients. Most significantly, activation of ROS generation in cells from diabetic patients was shown to be Akt/PKB-dependent and PKA-independent.

CONCLUSIONS

These results suggest that chronic hyperglycaemia could induce metabolic adaptation in cAMP-related signaling mechanisms. Epac (exchange protein directly activated by cAMP) is a novel cAMP receptor besides PKA involved in different signaling pathways. The cAMP-stimulated inverse ROS response in granulocytes from type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients may be due to a change in signaling pathways from cAMP/PKA to cAMP/Epac/Akt/PKB. These preliminary results require further studies in order to evaluate their consequences on innate immunity and pathogenesis of diabetes mellitus.

Biodegradation of bioaccessible textile azo dyes by Phanerochaete chrysosporium

Azo dyes are important chemical pollutants of industrial origin. Textile azo dyes with bioaccessible groups for lignin degrading fungi, such as 2-methoxyphenol (guaiacol) and 2,6-dimethoxyphenol (syringol), were synthesised using different aminobenzoic and aminosulphonic acids as diazo components. The inocula of the best biodegradation assays were obtained from a pre-growth medium (PAM), containing one of the synthesised dyes. The results of the dye biodegradation assays were evaluated every 7 days, by the decrease of the absorbance at the maximum wavelength of the dye, by the decrease of the sucrose concentration in the culture medium and by the increase of the biomass during the 28 days of assay. It was observed that the extent of dye biodegradation depended on the sucrose concentration, on the degraded dye structure and, on the dye present in the PAM medium.