Browsing by Author "Bonet Serra, Bartolomé"

We wanted to determine whether alphatocopherol supplementation to pregnant rats could increase the concentration of alphatocopherol in maternal and fetal plasma and tissues. Pregnant rats were treated with alpha-tocopherol on days 18 and 19 gestation and studied at day 20. A control group was studied in parallel. Treatment of pregnant rats with alpha-tocopherol increased its concentration in maternal and fetal plasma, in all maternal plasma lipoprotein fractions, in maternal and fetal liver and in the placenta. The fetal and maternal concentration of alphatocopherol were positively correlated.

Although a high intake of antioxidants may decrease the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, under certain circunstances they may promote free radical generation and lipid peroxidation. The objectives of the present study were to determine the antioxidant effects of ascorbic acid (AA), der.ydroascorbic acid (DHA) and flavonoidf. on LDL submitted to different degrees of oxidation. LDL was submitted to oxidation with CuCf2 (2.4 µM). Before or at different times after the propagation of the oxidation process, 28 µM (5 µg/ml) of either AA or DHA or 5 µg/mL flavonoids extract were added. Alpha-tocopherol, conjugated dienes, ·thiobarbituric acid reacting substances (TBARS) and LDL electrophoretic mobility were determined as indices of LDL oxidation. The presence of any of the three antioxidants from the onset of the incubation delayed the oxidation process. However, the addition of both DHA and flavonoids to the oxidation process when it was already initiated and alpha-tocopherol consumed, accelerated the oxidation. In contrast, AA delayed the oxidation process even when added after alpha-tocopherol was consumed. Nevertheless, it also accelerated LDL oxidation when added during the propagation phase of the oxidation process. In conclusion: although AA, DHA and flavonoids delay LDL oxidation when added before the initiation of the process, they accelerate the process if added to minimally oxidized LDL.

The aim of the present study was to determine in the BALB/c mice, a model of development of atherosclerosis when both hyperglycemia and hypercholesterolemia are present, whether the atherogenic effects of these parameters could be decreased with the administration of Vitamin E. BALB/c mice were made diabetic and divided in three groups: one fed the standard rodent chow diet (D); the other two fed an atherogenic diet (D + A); one of them supplemented with Vitamin E (D +A+ E). Two groups of non diabetic animals were also performed, one fed the standard diet (C) and the other the atherogenic diet (C + A). After 16 weeks of treatment all the control animals survived, in contrast, a mortality rate of 12, 70 and 37% was observed, respectively, in the D, D + A and D +A+ E groups. Neither fatty deposits nor macrophages were observed in the arterial wall of the animals fed the standard diet (D and C animals). In contrast, this finding was observed in 25% of the C + A, 71% of the D + A and 33% of the D +A+ E. In conclusion, diabetic mice fed an atherogenic diet showed in the aorta a higher number of fatty deposits and macrophages than the control animals. These effects were partially reversed with the administration of Vitamin E, supporting in this model the role of oxidative stress in the development of atherosclerosis.

Female rats were mated and thyroidectomized (T) on the same day and divided into four groups. Three groups were subsequently treated daily with 1.8 µg L-T4/100 g body wt: 1) for the first 12 days [T + T4 (I)]; 2) from the 12th day until death [T + T4 (II)]; or 3) for the entire 21-day study [T + T4 (I + II)]. The other T animals were maintained without treatment (T), and another group of mated rats were sham operated (C). Maternal body weight increase during gestation did not differ between T + T4 (I+ II) and C dams, whereas it was smaller in T dams from the 7th gestational day onward. Neither interruption of T4 treatment in the T + T4 (I) rats after the 12th day nor treatment initiated at that time in the T + T4 (II) group modified their body weights. At day 21, the weights of the maternal conceptus-free body and liver, the placenta, and the fetuses were lower in the T and T + T4 (II) animals than in either the C and the T + T4 (I+ II) animals. Maternal plasma T4 and pituitary GH content were reduced, and plasma TSH was enhanced in both T and T + T4 (I) dams. In fetuses, plasma TSH concentration was augmented in T and T + T4 (I) rats and unchanged in T + T4 (II) animals when compared with those of T + T4 (I+ II). Pituitary GH content was reduced in T and T + T4 (II) fetuses and unchanged in the T + T4 (I) group. We propose that maternal thyroidectomy greatly decreases the thyroid hormone levels in embryonic structures during the first half of gestation and inhibits normal maternal metabolic changes during this period. In addition to interfering with normal fetal development, these effects reduce the quantity of maternal substrates available to fetuses during the last phase of gestation. In contrast, when maternal hypothyroidism occurs during the second half of gestation, the effects are not as detrimental because fetal thyroid gland activity is adequate, and maternal catabolic adaptations are not impaired.

The aim of the present study was to determine the direct effect of glucose on LDL oxidation, a key step in the development of atherosclerosis. Purified human LDL were incubated with glucose (500 mg/di) and LDL oxidation was started by adding CuCl2 to the media. Glucose delayed the vitamin E consumption, but accelerated the formation of conjugated dienes and increased both the formation of thiobarbituric acid reacting substances (TBARS) and LDL electrophoretic mobility. When LDL were incubated with increasing concentrations of glucose and submitted to oxidation, the formation of conjugated dienes, TBARS, and the electrophoretic mobility increased in a concentrationdependent manner. When LDL was enriched with vitamin E, it showed a delay in the formation of conjugated dienes, even in the presence of glucose. To determine whether glucose had any effect on LDL oxidation, once the process was started and vitamin E consumed, LDL were submitted to oxidation and, at different times thereafter, glucose was added into the media. Under these conditions glucose also accelerated the LDL oxidation. In summary, present results show that in LDL submitted to oxidation, glucose delays the early phases of the oxidation, slowing the vitamin E consumption, but it accelerates the rate of LDL oxidation once LDL vitamin E has been consumed; the effect being concentration-dependent.

A pesar de los efectos negativos de dosis elevadas de vitamina E. existen datos que permiten afirmar que la administración de antioxidantes puede constituir un mecanismo coadyuvante al control metabólico, como forma de prevención de las malformaciones congénitas asociadas a h:. diabetes. Esta estrategia podría ser especialmente útil en aquellos casos en los que, por distintas razones, no es posible alcanzar un grado óptimo de control metabólico. De todas for- mas. es obvia la necesidad de ensayos clínicos que permitan detenninar si la administración de vitamina E también es efectiva en los humanos. A su vez, se necesitan más estudios experimentales que permitan comprender los mecanismos a través de los cuales los radicales libres afectan al desarrollo embrionario.

Nuestros resultados permiten sugerir que la administración de antioxidantes capaces de reducir la producción de radicales libres, podrían desempeñar un importante papel en la prevención de los efectos teratogénicos asociados a la diabetes. Tal vez lo más relevante es que los antioxidantes actuarían independientemente del grado de control metabólico alcanzado, por lo que sus efectos podrían añadirse a los conseguidos al obtener un mejor control metabólico.

To determine how a reduction in maternal hypertriglyceridemia during late pregnancy may affect glucose/insulin relationships, pregnant and virgin rats were orally treated with acipimox, a potent antilipolytic agent. In 20-day pregnant rats receiving 80 mg of acipimox, plasma triglycerides (TG), free fatty acids (FFA), and glycerol decreased more than in virgin rats shortly after the drug (up to 7 hours), when compared with animals treated with distilled water, whereas plasma glucose level was unaffected by the treatment in either group of rats. When acipimox was given every 12 hours from day 17 to day 20 of pregnancy, plasma TG, FFA, and glycerol levels progressively increased, whereas they either decreased or did not change in virgin rats receiving the same treatment, with no effect in plasma glucose levels in either group. Fetal body weight was lower than in controls in 20-day pregnant rats that received acipimox for 3 days. On day 20 of pregnancy, 3 hours after receiving acipimox or distilled water, rats received a 2 g glucose/kg oral load and it was found that the change in plasma glucose was similar in both groups, whereas the increase in plasma insulin was greater in pregnant rats treated with acipimox. However, no difference was found in either variable after the oral glucose load in virgin rats receiving acipimox or distilled water. No differences in plasma glucose levels were found after intravenous (IV) administration of insulin in pregnant rats treated or not treated with acipimox. In conclusion, present results show that administration of acipimox during the last days of gestation inhibited lipolysis and decreased fetal weight. Over a short period of time, in pregnant rats, reductions of plasma FFA and TG after acipimox treatment improved the glucose-induced insulin release, but did not seem to have any effect in peripheral insulin resistance.

La arteriosclerosis y las enfermedades cardiovascularcs (ECV) secundarias a la misma constituyen la principal causa de mortalidad en los individuos diabéticos, apareciendo ésta a una edad mucho más temprana que en la población no diabética. Objetivos: estudiar en adolescentes con diabetes mellitus insulinodependiente (DMID) la presencia de factores de riesgo para el desarrollo de ECY. incluyendo: perfil de lipoproteínas, susceptibilidad de las LDL a oxidarse y niveles de vitaminas A y E. Métodos: Se estudiaron adolescentes con DMID (15 varones y 19 mujeres) y controles no diabéticos (15 varones y 17 mujeres). Los valores de colesterol y triglicéridos en plasma y HDL fueron valorados utilizando métodos enzimáticos. El colesterol en LDL fue calculado utilizando la formula de Friedewald. La susceptibilidad de las LDL a oxidarse fue determinada siguiendo la formación de dienos conjugados en LDL incubadas en Cl¡Cu (2 mM). Las vitaminas A y E fueron valoradas utilizando un método de HPLC. Resultados y conclusiones: Los adolescentes con DMID presentaron unos niveles de colesterol y triglicéridos en plasma y de colesterol en LDL y HDL similares a los observados en controles de su mismo sexo. La susceptibilidad de sus LDL a oxidarse fue prácticamente la misma que en individuos controles. Adolescentes con DMID presentaron unos niveles plasmáticos de vitaminas A y E inferiores a los observados en controles de su mismo sexo. Estos menores niveles de vitaminas antioxidantes podrían estar relacionados con el elevado riesgo de desárrollar ECV observada en los individuos con DMID.

During the first half of gestation in the rat, maternal net body weight increases rapidly, whereas in the second half of gestation, the mass of maternal structures declines, coincident with the rate of maternal fat accumulation. Enhanced maternal food intake, extrahepatic tissue lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activity, and adipose tissue lipogenesis are responsible for the progressive accumulation of maternal fat. However, during late gestation, decreased fat synthesis in maternal adipose tissue, enhanced lipolytic activity, and decreased LPL activity deplete maternal fat depots. These changes, plus enhanced endogenous production of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins, are also responsible for maternal hypertriglyceridemia. This condition benefits the offspring in two ways: 1) enhanced LPL activity in maternal liver when fasting increases triglyceride consumption for ketone body synthesis, giving the basis for accelerated starvation; and 2) induction of LPL activity in the mammary gland before parturition diverts maternal circulating triglycerides to milk synthesis in preparation for lactation. The magnitude of the maternal-fetal glucose transfer was higher than that of any of the other substrates studied, including alanine, and despite actions to spare glucose, this transfer causes maternal hypoglycemia, which is especially intense in the fasting condition. This increases sympathoadrenal activity in the mother, which may contribute to her active gluconeogenesis. Glycerol was a more efficient glucose precursor than alanine and pyruvate, and whereas glycerol placental transfer is very small, it is proposed that the fetus benefits from this product of adipose tissue lipolysis when it is previously converted into glucose. In thyroidectomized pregnant rats treated with thyroxine for different periods, restraining maternal accumulation of fat depots during the early part of gestation compromises the normal metabolic adaptations during late gestation, including the capacity for accelerated starvation, which negatively affects fetal development.

The purpose of this review is to consider the alterations occurring in lipoprotein metabolism in human pregnancy and in selected animal models and to attempt to understand the reasons for these changes and the possible significance for maternal physiology and fetal growth and development. The effects of diabetes mellitus on the system will be briefly considered.

Free radical mechanisms may be involved in the teratogenesis of diabetes. The contribution of oxidative stress in diabetic complications was investigated from the standpoint of oxidative damage to DNA, lipids, and proteins in the livers and embryos of pregnant diabetic rats. Diabetes was induced prior to pregnancy by the administration of streptozotocin (45 mg/kg). Two groups of diabetic rats were studied, one without any supplementation (D) and another treated during pregnancy with vitamin E (150 mg/d by gavage) (D + E). A control group was also included (C). The percentage of malformations in Drats were 44%, higher than the values observed in C (7%) and D + E (12%) animals. D Group rats showed a higher concentration of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances in the mother's liver, however, treatment with vitamin E decreased this by 58%. The levels of protein carbonyls in the liver of C, D, and D + E groups were similar. The "total levels" of the DNA adducts measured, both in liver and embryos C groups were similar to the D groups. Treatment of D groups with vitamin E reduced the levels by 17% in the liver and by 25% in the embryos. In terms of the "total levels" of DNA adducts, the embryos in diabetic pregnancy appear to be under less oxidative stress when compared with the livers of their mothers. Graziewicz et al. (Free Radical Biology & Medicine, 28:75-83, 1999) suggested "that Fapyadenine is a toxic lesion that moderately arrests DNA synthesis depending on the neighboring nucleotide sequence and interactions with the active site of DNA polymerase." Thus the increased levels ofFapyadenine in the diabetic livers and embryos may similarly arrest DNA polymerase, and in the case of this occurring in the embryos, contribute to the congenital malformations. It is now critical to probe the molecular mechanisms of the oxidative stress-associated development of diabetic congenital malformations.

A high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method to determine vitamins A, Ap and E simultaneously was developed with direct extraction of vitamins from rat tissues with n-hexane and probe sonicating. The dry residue was redissolved in chloroform-methanol. Vitamins A and Ap were detected by UV-Vis and vitamin Eby fluorescence. Vitamin K, used as internal standard, was detected both by UV-Vis and by fluorescence. Standards and samples were checked for linearity giving correlation coefficients that were higher than 0.99 in the concentration range of 3.1-9.4 for vitamin A, 8.2-24.7 for vitamin Ap and 0.6-1.7 nmol/g in the case of liver extracts and 0.5-3.0 nmol/g in the case of placenta. The intra-assay precision (R.S.D.) varied between 1.48 and 7.25, whereas inter-assay precision was between 4.99 and 7.03. Recoveries ranged between 94±8 and 107±5%. Results from the application of this method to different rat tissues having wide range of vitamin content are presented.

We wanted to determine whether administration of vitamin E could reduce the production of free radicals which could play a role in the teratogenic effects of diabetes mellitus. Diabetes was induced in Wistar rats by the intravenous administration of streptozotocin. The animals were divided into six groups: one with no supplement (D) and two, supplemented during pregnancy either with oral vitamin E (150 mg/day) (D + E) or with a placebo (safflower oil) (D + 0). Three other groups were kept under the same conditions, but were treated with insulin: D + I, D + I + E and D + I + 0. There were three groups of matched controls: C, C + E and C + 0. All animals were killed on day 11.5 of pregnancy. In C animals the percentages of reabsorptions and malformations were 1.3 and 2 %, respectively, comapred with 23.6, 24.3, 6.2 and 13.2 %, respectively in D and D + I groups. The crown-rump length, number of somites, and protein and DNA content were: higher in C animals than in the diabetic rats, independent of insulin treatment. When vitamin E was administered no changes in these parameters were observed in C and D + I animals; however, in the D mothers it reduced the rate of embryo malformations to 4.6 % and increased the crown-rump length and the number of somites. However, vitamin E did not modify the protein and DNA content and the percentage of reabsorptions. In conclusion, administration of vitamin E to diabetic animals decreases the rate of embryo malformations and increases their size and maturation, supporting a role for free radicals in the teratogenic effects of diabetes.