Ma Consolación Martínez-Saldaña’s research while affiliated with Autonomous University of Aguascalientes and other places

Introduction One of the main causes of a neurogenic bladder is spinal cord injury (SCI),(SCI), which induces little or no bladder reflex activity. Because of this alteration, there is an increased risk of developing urinary tract infections and kidney damage. Gonadotropin‐releasing hormone (GnRH) treatment has been shown to improve micturition in a rat model of SCI. Aim The present study was aimed at determining whether GnRH administration is capable to reduce bladder and kidney damage in rats with SCI. Methods Ovariectomized female Wistar rats were divided into three groups: sham, SCI with saline solution (SCI), and SCI treated with GnRH (SCI+GnRH) for 6 weeks. SCI was induced by compression at the T10 spinal level. At the end of the experiment, bladders and kidneys were processed for morphological and immunofluorescence analysis. For morphometric analysis, the thickness of the urothelium and the muscular layer of the bladder was measured, as well as the intensity of staining related to collagen in the kidney. Results At the end of the experiment, all animals in the sham group showed normal urination (100%), in contrast, the percentage of untreated injured rats (SCI) that did not require manual stimulation for micturition was 19%, while the treated group (SCI+GnRH) was 68%. A significative increase in bladder weight, urothelial and muscle thickness, and collagen‐related coloration in the kidney was observed in SCI when compared to sham rats. Conclusion GnRH administration decreased damage to the urinary bladder and kidneys after SCI in rats. These results suggest that this hormone could be a potential preventive treatment for SCI patients at risk of neurogenic bladder and kidney damage. Trial Registration Not applicable.

Citation: Villa-Jaimes, G.S.; Moshage, H.; Avelar-González, F.J.; González-Ponce, H.A.; Buist-Homan, M.; Guevara-Lara, F.; Sánchez-Alemán, E.; Martínez-Hernández, S.L.; Ventura-Juárez, J.; Muñoz-Ortega, M.H.; et al. Molecular and Antioxidant Characterization of Opuntia robusta Fruit Extract and Its Protective Effect against Diclofenac-Induced Acute Liver Injury in an In Vivo Rat Model. Abstract: A molecular characterization of the main phytochemicals and antioxidant activity of Opuntia robusta (OR) fruit extract was carried out, as well as an evaluation of its hepatoprotective effect against diclofenac (DF)-induced acute liver injury. Phenols, flavonoids and betalains were quantified, and antioxidant characterization was performed by means of the ABTS •+ , DPPH and FRAP assays. The identification of the main biocompounds present in OR fruit extract was carried out via UPLC-QTOF-MS/MS. In the in vivo model, groups of rats were treated prophylactically with the OR fruit extract, betanin and N-acteylcysteine followed by a single dose of DF. Biochemical markers of oxidative stress (MDA and GSH) and relative gene expression of the inducible antioxidant response (Nrf2, Sod2, Hmox1, Nqo1 and Gclc), cell death (Casp3) and DNA repair (Gadd45a) were analyzed. Western blot analysis was performed to measure protein levels of Nrf2 and immunohistochemical analysis was used to assess caspase-3 activity in the experimental groups. Our results demonstrate that the OR fruit extract showed strong antioxidant and cytoprotective capacity due to the presence of bioactive compounds, such as betalain and phenols. We conclude that OR fruit extract or selected components can be used clinically to support patients with acute liver injury.

Acetaminophen (APAP) misuse or overdose is the most important cause of drug-induced acute liver failure. Overdoses of acetaminophen induce oxidative stress and liver injury by the electrophilic metabolite N-acetyl-p-benzoquinone imine (NAPQI). Plant-based medicine has been used for centuries against diseases or intoxications due to their biological activities. The aim of this study was to evaluate the therapeutic value of Opuntia robusta and Opuntia streptacantha fruit extracts against acetaminophen-induced liver damage and to identify the major biocomponents on them. Opuntia fruit extracts were obtained by peeling and squeezing each specie, followed by lyophilization. HPLC was used to characterize the extracts. The effect of the extracts against acetaminophen-induced acute liver injury was evaluated both in vivo and in vitro using biochemical, molecular and histological determinations. The results showed that betacyanins are the main components in the analyzed Opuntia fruit extracts, with betanin as the highest concentration. Therapeutic treatments with Opuntia extracts reduced biochemical, molecular and histological markers of liver (in vivo) and hepatocyte (in vitro) injury. Opuntia extracts reduced the APAP-increased expression of the stress-related gene Gadd45b. Furthermore, Opuntia extracts exerted diverse effects on the antioxidant related genes Sod2, Gclc and Hmox1, independent of their ROS-scavenging ability. Therefore, betacyanins as betanin from Opuntia robusta and Opuntia streptacantha fruits are promising nutraceutical compounds against oxidative liver damage.

Amoebic liver abscess (ALA) is the main extra-intestinal complication caused by Entamoeba histolytica. Given the histological features of ALA in hamsters and the importance of the vagus nerve in the immune response, the aim of this study was to identify and analyze the major changes in ALA that are caused by a vagotomy. The changes found are related to inflammatory foci and abscess size, the type of collagen formed, and the number of trophozoites in lesions. Male hamsters were divided into three groups: Intact animals (IA) and those undergoing a false operation (SHAM) or a subdiaphragmatic vagotomy (VAG). In each group, E. histolytica trophozoites or culture medium (CM) were inoculated in hamsters by the intrahepatic route, and then euthanized at 6h, 12h, 24h, 48h, 4d or 7d post-infection. Initially the growth of the abscess was more rapid in the VAG group, but at day 7 it was faster in the IA and SHAM groups. VAG animals showed a higher quantity of type III collagen than the IA and SHAM groups. A larger number of amoebic trophozoites/mm² was observed up to day 4 in VAG hamsters (23.3±2.19) compared to IA (14.6±0.23) and SHAM (6.13±0.87) animals. This parameter decreased by day 7 in VAG (13.4±0.87) with respect to IA (24.7±1.47) and SHAM (21.7±1.48). The results show that a subdiaphragmatic vagotomy influenced the development of ALA in hamsters, suggesting a modification of the morphological structure of damaged hepatic tissue.

Acetaminophen is a drug used to treat many conditions as headache, muscle aches, arthritis, backache, toothache, and fever between others, but collateral effects of this drug are not well known yet. Here is tested its effect on proximal tubule epithelium. Acetaminophen (APAP) at doses of 200, 500, 1000 and 1500 mg/Kg i.p. caused cell damage and changes in F-actin distribution in the proximal tubule of male Wistar rats. After 48 hours of treatment, the proximal tubule epithe-lium showed tumefaction and necrosis. Dose of 200 mg/kg decreased the F-actin and was observed a structure in patches in the basal cytoplasm of epithelial cells of the proximal tubule. This effect was increased depending on the administered dose. Dose of 1000 mg/kg produced the highest histological damage and changes in the actin cytoskeleton. Results of this study suggested that nephrotoxic damage produced by high doses of APAP included breakdown of cytoskeleton in proximal tubule epithelium.

The occurrence of Gram-negative pathogenic and opportunistic species, was studied for two years on air. soil and leachate from the San Nicolás Landfill. Aguascalientes, Mexico. For soil and leachate four samplings were done, two during the dry season and two during the rainy season. For soil there were 15 sampling points, the leachate samples were taken on the leachate tank. For air, twelve sampling were done in three points of the landfill. Twenty pathogenic and/or opportunistic bacteria were identified from air, twenty from soil and eleven from leachate. Most of them were enteric; however respiratory tract pathogenic bacteria were also identified. Pasteurella haemolytica were isolated in all air samples. Nine species were found in the a half of the soil samples. The most frequent species in leachate were Acinetobacter baumanii, Bordetella sp, Brucella sp. and Escherichia coli var II. The occurrence of pathogenic and opportunistic species points out to the nosocomial and domestic clinical wastes discharged in the landfill as a potential risk for public and occupational health.

El objetivo del presente estudio fue caracterizar el biogás emitido a la atmósfera por el relleno sanitario "San Nicolás", llevando a cabo la determinación de oxígeno, nitrógeno, dióxido de carbono y metano, así como de algunos compuestos traza como el tolueno, xileno, benceno, diclorometano, metilcetona y acetona. El relleno sanitario "San Nicolás" está ubicado en San Nicolás de Arriba, Aguascalientes a 14 km al nororiente del municipio. Fue construido con un sistema de pozos de venteo y tres pozos de monitoreo para el biogás y otro para la recolección de lixiviados en la parte baja del relleno sanitario. Recibe aproximadamente 100 tonelladas diarias de residuos sólidos, incluyendo algunos animales muertos desechados por el rastro municipal. Los resultados obtenidos en los muestreos realizados en las dos épocas de los años 2004 y 2005, en una selección de dieciocho pozos de venteo y tres de monitereo mostraron la producción de concentraciones de metano hasta un 70% v. Las concentraciones de los gases trazas presentes en el biogás fueron variadas, desde 0.1 ppm hasta valores mayores de 50 ppm, dependiendo dde la época y compuesto detectado. El diclorometano (DCM) presentó 32.6 ppmv en época de estiaje y 0.12 ppmv después de la lluvia.