Esperanza Melendez

• PhD
• Professor at Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo

Goodeinae is a subfamily of critically endangered fish native to central Mexico. Populations of Skiffia lermae , a species belonging to this subfamily, have significantly decreased in the past two decades. A previous study showed that S. lermae is sensitive to acute nitrate-nitrogen (NO 3 -N) exposure, leading to noticeable changes in both behavior...

Resumen La evaluación del perfil de leucocitos como biomarcador hematológico en las poblaciones de anfibios es cada vez más común en estudios ecológicos en especies amenazadas o en declive. En este estudio evaluamos y comparamos el perfil de leucocitos y el índice neutrófilos/linfocitos (N/L) en frotis de sangre periférica de Ambystoma ordinarium e...

Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus decreases blood adiponectin levels, which leads to mitochondrial dysfunction in the kidney and diabetic nephropathy. Strategies for enhancing blood adiponectin levels have been proposed as therapeutic approaches for the treatment of diabetic nephropathy. As oleic acid increases serum adiponectin levels, we deter...

Background Obesity leads to an elevated risk of developing gastrointestinal disease such as gastric ulcers. Callistemon citrinus leaf extract has shown antioxidant, antimicrobial, hepatoprotective, and chemoprotective effects against colon cancer. The aim of this study is to evaluate the gastroprotective effect of C. citrinus leaf extract on indome...

Early life stress (ELS) affects neurogenesis, cognitive performance, and increases neuroinflammation after a pediatric mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). Previous studies have shown that ELS has minimal effects in juveniles, but it shows an age-dependent effect in adults. Hence, we aimed to evaluate if ELS affects cognitive performance, hippocampa...

Abstract Some studies have associated ex situ conservation with cerebral and gonadal developmental delay, as well as decreased motor performance in Lepidochelys olivacea offspring. Ex situ management is also related to a more mature spleen and a differential leukocyte count in newly emerged Lepidochelys olivacea hatchlings. The physiological releva...

Background: Extraction techniques of phenolic compounds (PC), such as conventional maceration (CM) has been associated with high consumption of organic solvents and time. Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects and interactions of the variables involved in the aqueous extraction of phenolic compounds from Psidium guajava...

Nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N) pollution related to anthropogenic activities is increasing in freshwater ecosystems. Knowledge about NO3-N sensitivity in freshwater wild fish is needed to understand the differential tolerance between species. Goodeinae is a subfamily of 41 endemic fishes that inhabit central Mexico, with 33 species in the IUCN red list a...

1,8-Cineole, limonene and α-terpineol are the major terpenes present in Callistemon citrinus. This study reports for the first time that terpenes attenuate the oxidative stress in rats fed with high-fat-sucrose diet (HFSD) via antioxidant and anti-inflammatory mechanisms. Thirty-six male Wistar rats were divided into six groups (n = 6). Control (fe...

Sea turtle egg relocation and hatchery incubation (hereafter termed ex situ incubation) is an effective strategy to protect clutches when in situ egg incubation is not viable. Nevertheless, it negatively affects the ontogenesis of male gonads and brain areas homologous to the mammalian hippocampus, as well as body size and fitness. Thus, it is impe...

Fossil camelids (Artiodactyla, Camelidae) record for Mexican Late Pleistocene is constituted by Camelops hesternus, Hemiauchenia macrocephala, Hemiauchenia gracilis, and Palaeolama mirifica. It analysed dental microwear and carbon and oxygen stable isotopes in teeth enamel of C. hesternus, H. macrocephala and H. gracilis from two fossil sites (LC-P...

Ex-situ conservation in hatcheries is a successful strategy for the recovery of sea turtle populations. However, it alters the ontogenesis of the brain and gonads, as well as body size and locomotor performance at nest emergence. Relocation to hatcheries may alter immune system development, since this depends highly on the nest environment. We hypo...

Early life stress (ELS) is a risk factor for many psychopathologies that happen later in life. Although stress can occur in cases of child abuse, studies on non-accidental brain injuries in pediatric populations do not consider the possible increase in vulnerability caused by ELS. Hence, we sought to determine whether ELS increases the effects of p...

Avocado fruit oil ( Persea americana ), mainly cultivar Hass, has excellent medicinal properties as antioxidant and anti‐inflammatory activities. However, these properties have not been evaluated in the seed oil of the native Mexican avocado ( P. americana var. drymifolia). This study investigated the antioxidant and anti‐inflammatory activity of n...

Potentilla indica (Jacks.) Th. Wolf (Rosaceae) also known as mock strawberry, to which medicinal properties are attributed related to oxidative stress and chronic inflammation. A methanolic extract was obtained from the mature fruits of P. indica , and methanolic and chloroformic fractions of the extract were obtained by liquid‐liquid fractionation...

Se realizó un compendio sobre la biodiversidad de invertebrados marinos del estado de Michoacán, México.

Oak wood is used in barrels for wine aging. During aging, polyphenols are transferred from the barrels to the liquid. Although the bioactivity of oak polyphenols in wines has been extensively studied, no investigation exists on their toxicological properties, which limits their use as functional safe ingredients for other products. In this work, th...

Purpose: Callistemon citrinus (Curtis) Skeels is a shrub native of Australia. In spite of containing an important number of bioactive compounds (1,8-cineole, limonene and α-terpineol) recognized as a potential chemotherapeutic agents, it is only used as an ornamental plant in Mexico. This study investigated the chemopreventive effect of C. citrinu...

Gastrointestinal helminths in bats are one of the least studied groups in the country. In the present work, helminths of Macrotus waterhousii (Gray, 1843) were identified in 2 lowland shelters: a natural cave and an abandoned mine in the municipality of Huetamo, Michoacán, México. The helminthological record established for this bat species was con...

The objective of this work was to determine the concentration of total phenols, total flavonoids, hydroxycinnamic acids, and proanthocyanidins present in crude extracts of Quercus laurina, Q. crassifolia, and Q. scytophylla bark. They were extracted by ethanol (90%) maceration and hot water. The antioxidant capacity was determined by the ability to...

Disminuir la acelerada pérdida de la biodiversidad y lograr al mismo tiempo satisfacer la creciente demanda de alimento, es uno de los principales desafíos actuales de la humanidad. A diferencia de otros efectos de la degradación y transformación de los hábitats, la pérdida de la biodiversidad es particularmente grave, ya que tiene un carácter irre...

Egg translocation and incubation in man-made nests (MMN) are common conservation practices through marine turtle hatcheries worldwide. These measures have been associated with reduced hatching rates, altered hatchling sex ratio, fetal dysmorphic anatomical features, and feeble hatchlings health. Previous studies have shown that MMN and natural nest...

The inflammatory response is probably one of the main destructive events occurring after spinal cord injury (SCI). Its progression depends mostly on the autoimmune response developed against neural constituents. Therefore, modulation or inhibition of this self-reactive reaction could help to reduce tissue destruction. Anterior chamber associated im...

The progressive loss of neurons and inflammation characterizes neurodegenerative diseases. Although the etiology, progression and outcome of different neurodegenerative diseases are varied, they share chronic inflammation maintained largely by central nervous system (CNS)-derived antigens recognized by T cells. Inflammation can be beneficial by rec...

In recent decades, methods such as stable isotopes (δ13C and δ18O) present in tooth enamel and dental microwear produced by food have been shown to be more precise in providing data about diet and habitat of extinct and extant animals. In Mexico, the results of these two methods have not been compared for proboscideans. It is considered important t...

El ojo es capaz de regular la respuesta inflamatoria activando una forma de tolerancia específica y sistémica para antígenos que son inoculados en su interior. Esta capacidad puede ser aprovechada para modular la respuesta inflamatoria en enfermedades degenerativas. Sin embargo, se desconoce el tiempo de permanencia de la inmunotolerancia y si ésta...

Circuits in barrels of the rodent brain’s primary somatosensory (S1) cortex build up following con- structivist rules. Previous evidence in mice supports that the precise addition of barrel neuropil is pro- moted by insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1). The signaling cascades mediating this response remain undetermined. To address whether the effec...

The brain coordinates vital functions necessary for survival of organisms. Because it is a metabolically active organ requires a lot of energy, which is provided by the mitochondria. We have evidence about of presence of RhoA, RhoB and Rac1 proteins in rat brain mitochondria but the function in this organelle is unknown. The aim of this work was to...

Phenotype variability, phenotypic plasticity, and the inheritance of phenotypic traits constitute the fundamental ground of processes such as individuation, individual and species adaptation and ultimately speciation. Even though traditional evolutionary thinking relies on genetic mutations as the main source of intra- and interspecies phenotypic v...

Rho GTPases proteins are essential for cytoskeletal reorganization. Several studies have implicated members of the Rho GTPase family in the neuronal polarization and the formation of axons and dendrites. Only few studies have investigated the cellular distribution of RhoA, RhoB and Rac1. Therefore the aim of this study was to investigate the cellul...

Neurogenesis is a process influenced by environmental cues that create highly specific functional niches. Recently, the role of blood vessels in the maintenance and functioning of neurogenic niches during development and in adult life has been hallmarked. In addition to their trophic support for the highly demanding neurogenic process, blood vessel...

Gonadal determination in marine turtles depends on incubation temperature. The mechanisms that spark off this process remain unclear. Previously, we proposed that sensory nerves reaching the gonadal primordium in nominal female embryos of Lepidochelys (L) olivacea may sense and signal incubation temperature. These nerves could later trigger ovarian...

The ability of sea turtle hatchlings to find the seashore soon after hatching is thought to be exclusively dependent upon visual information. Target-oriented movements in most vertebrates, however, relay on combining information gathered through different sensory systems. Hence, in this work, we investigated whether olfactory and/or magnetic inform...

Las tortugas marinas de la especie Chelonia agassizi navegan anualmente cientos de kilómetros en mar abierto para llegar a sus áreas de reproducción y anidación. Se cree que esta tarea se realiza mediante el uso de información magnética terrestre y de aquella derivada de los atributos físicos de dichas áreas. Así, la geomorfología, topografía y geo...

It has been long thought that the brain reorganizes itself in response to environmental needs. Sensory experiences coded in action potentials are the mean by which information on the surroundings is introduced into neuronal networks. The information approaching the brain in the form of electrochemical codes must then be translated in biochemical, e...

In the adult brain, neuroblasts originating in the subventricular zone migrate through the rostral migratory stream to the olfactory bulb. While migrating, neuroblasts undergo progressive differentiation until reaching their final locations and fates. Because molecules involved in migration may also exert differentiating effects on young neurons, t...

Semaphorins constitute a family of signaling molecules with functions in axon pathfinding and neuronal migration. Neuropilins 1 and 2 have been identified as the ligand-binding component of semaphorin receptors. Both ligands and receptors are expressed in embryonic and adult organs in complementary and sometimes redundant patterns. In the present w...

Vitamin A is essential for vertebrate embryonic development; dietary carotenoids are the primary source of vitamin A since animals cannot synthesize it de novo. To study the role of beta-carotene during embryonic development, we analyzed in chick embryos the expression of beta,beta-carotene 15,15'-oxygenase (beta-oxy) which cleaves beta-carotene to...

We have addressed the control of longitudinal axon pathfinding in the developing hindbrain, including the caudal projections of reticular and raphe neurons. To test potential sources of guidance signals, we assessed axon outgrowth from embryonic rat hindbrain explants cultured in collagen gels at a distance from explants of midbrain-hindbrain bound...