Interestingly, dioscin also significantly rehabilitated the levels of body weights, AST, ALT and hydroxyproline BEZ235 concentration in rats caused by TAA, which were verified by histological determinations. Mechanistically, dioscin obviously facilitated matrix degradation, significantly decreased liver inflammation by inhibiting NF-kappa B activation and proinflammatory cytokine production, attenuated oxidative stress by reducing lipid peroxidation and activating Nrf2-mediated antioxidantive enzymes, and evidently adjusted TGF-beta/smad and MAPK signaling pathways. In conclusion, dioscin ameliorated liver fibrosis via affecting oxidative stress, inflammation,
HSC activation, matrix degradation, TGF-beta/smad and MAPK pathways, which should be developed to be one effective food and healthcare product for the treatment of liver fibrosis in the future. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights
reserved.”
“Despite the known adverse effects of abamectin pesticide, little is known about its action on male fertility. To explore the effects of exposure to abamectin on male fertility and its mechanism, low (1 mg/kg/day) LY2835219 in vivo and high dose (4 mg/kg/day) abamectin were applied to male rats by oral gavage for 1 week and for 6 weeks. Weight of testes, serum reproductive hormone levels, sperm dynamics and histopathology of testes were used to evaluate the reproductive efficiency of abamectin-exposed rats. Abamectin level was determined at high concentrations in plasma and testicular tissues of male rats exposed to this pesticide. The testes weights of animals and serum testosterone concentrations did not show any significant changes after abamectin exposure. Abamectin administration was associated with decreased sperm count and motility and increased seminiferous tubule damage. In addition, significant elevations in the 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (4-HNE)-modified proteins and poly(ADP-ribose) (PAR) expression, as markers for oxidative stress and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) activation, were observed in testes of rats exposed to abamectin. These results
showed that abamectin exposure induces testicular Selleck Blebbistatin damage and affects sperm dynamics. Oxidative stress-mediated PARP activation might be one of the possible mechanism(s) underlying testicular damage induced by abamectin. (C) 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.”
“The present study sought to quantify the components of a biotic ligand model (BLM) for the effects of Cd on Folsomia candida (Collembola). Assuming that soil porewater is the main route of exposure and to exclude the effects of soil particles on metal availability, animals were exposed for 7 d to different Cd concentrations between 0.1mM and 100mM in simplified soil solutions at different Ca concentrations (0.2mM, 0.8mM, 3.2mM, and 12.8mM) or at different pH (5.0, 6.0, and 7.0).