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- Angiotensin-converting enzyme genotype affects skeletal muscle strength in elite athletesPublication . Costa, Aldo M.; Silva, António; Garrido, Nuno; Louro, Hugo; Marinho, Daniel; Marques, MC; Granadeiro, Luiza BreitenfeldPrevious studies have associated angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) D allele with variability in the skeletal muscle baseline strength, though conclusions have been inconsistent across investigations. The purpose of this study was to examine the possible association between ACE genotype and skeletal muscle baseline strength in elite male and female athletes involved in different event expertise. A group of 58 elite athletes, designated as Olympic candidates, were studied: 35 swimmers (19 males and 16 females, 18.8 ± 3.2 years) and 23 triathletes (15 males and 8 females, 18.7 ± 3.0 years). The athletes were classified as: short (≤ 200m) and middle (400m to 1500m) distance athletes, respectively. For each subject the grip strength in both hands was measure using an adjustable mechanical hand dynamometer. The maximum height in both squat jump (SJ) and counter movement jump (CMJ) were also assessed, using a trigonometric carpet (Ergojump Digitime 1000; Digitest, Jyvaskyla, Finland). DNA extraction was obtained with Chelex 100(®) and genotype determination by PCR-RFLP methods. Both males and females showed significantly higher right grip strength in D allele carriers compared to II homozygote's. We found that allelic frequency differs significantly by event distance specialization in both genders (p < 0.05). In fact, sprinter D allele carriers showed the superior scores in nearly all strength measurements (p < 0.05), in both genders. Among endurance athletes, the results also demonstrated that female D allele carriers exhibited the higher performance right grip and CMJ scores (p < 0.05). In conclusion, the ACE D allele seems associated with skeletal muscle baseline strength in elite athletes, being easily identified in females. Key pointsDD homozygote's and D allele carriers from both genders shows significantly higher right grip strength.Right grip strength remains significantly higher in the D allele carrier's female endurance group.Female's D allele carriers exhibited the higher performance counter-movement jump scores.ACE genotype effects in skeletal-muscle strength are diverse by gender, being easily identified in females.
- UV-B Filter Octylmethoxycinnamate Induces Vasorelaxation by Ca2+ Channel Inhibition and Guanylyl Cyclase Activation in Human Umbilical ArteriesPublication . Lorigo, Margarida; Antunes, Carla; Lemos, Manuel C.; Oliveira, J. Martinez de; Granadeiro, Luiza Breitenfeld; Cairrão, ElisaUltraviolet (UV) filters are chemicals widely used in personal care products (PCPs). Due to their effect as endocrine disruptor compounds (EDCs), the toxicity of UV filters is a current concern for human health. EDC exposure may be correlated to cardiovascular diseases (CVD), but to our knowledge, no studies assessed the UV filters effects as human EDCs at the vascular level. Octylmethoxycinnamate (OMC) is the world's most widely used UV-B filter, present in more than 90% of PCPs. Due to its demonstrated multiple hormonal activities in animal models, this substance is also suspected to be a human EDC. The purpose of this study was to assess the rapid/short-term effects of OMC on arterial tonus and analyse its mode of action (MOA). Using human umbilical arteries, the endocrine effects of OMC were evaluated in in vitro (cellular and organ) experiments by planar cell surface area (PCSA) and organ bath, respectively. Our data show that OMC induces a rapid/short-term smooth muscle relaxation acting through an endothelium-independent MOA, which seems to be shared with oestrogens, involving an activation of soluble guanylyl cyclase (sGC) that increases the cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) intracellular levels and an inhibition of L-type voltage-operated Ca2+ channels (L-Type VOCC).
- Antimicrobial, antibiofilm and cytotoxic activities of Hakea sericea Schrader extractsPublication . Luís, Ângelo; Breintenfeld, Luiza; Ferreira, Susana; Duarte, Ana Paula; Domingues, F.C.Background: Hakea sericea Schrader is an invasive shrub in Portuguese forests. Objective: The goal of this work was to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of H. sericea extracts against several strains of microorganisms, including the ability to inhibit the formation of biofilms. Additionally the cytotoxic properties of these extracts, against human cells, were assessed. Materials and Methods: The antimicrobial activity of the methanolic extracts of H. sericea was assessed by disk diffusion assay and Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) value determination. The antibiofilm activity was determined by quantification of total biofilm biomass with crystal violet. Cytotoxicity was evaluated by hemolysis assay and 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) test. Results: For Gram-positive bacteria, MIC values of H. sericea methanolic extracts ranged between 0.040 and 0.625 mg/mL, whereas the fruits extract yielded the lowest MIC for several strains of microorganisms, namely, S. aureus, B. cereus, L. monocytogenes and clinical methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). Stems and fruits extract at 2.5 mg/mL effectively eradicated the biofilm of S. aureus ATCC 25923, SA 01/10 and MRSA 12/10. Regarding leaves extract, hemolysis was not observed, and in the case of stems and fruits, hemolysis was verified only for higher concentrations, suggesting its low toxicity. Fruits extract presented no toxic effect to normal human dermal fibroblasts (NHDF) cells however for concentrations of 0.017 and 0.008 mg/mL this extract was able to decrease human breast adenocarcinoma cells (MCF-7) viability in about 60%, as MTT test results had confirmed. This is a clearly demonstrator of the cytotoxicity of this extract against MCF-7 cells.
- Biofunctionalization of cellulosic fibres with l-cysteine: Assessment of antibacterial properties and mechanism of action against Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumoniaePublication . Caldeira, Estela; Piskin, Erhan; Granadeiro, Luiza Breitenfeld ; Silva, Filomena; Gouveia, Isabel C.The main purpose of this work is to obtain a cotton-based textile material functionalized with l-cysteine (l-cys) to achieve an antimicrobial effect with potential application in biomedical, geriatric or pediatric textiles. The binding capacity of l-cys to cotton fibres was assessed through different functionalization strategies—surface activation and exhaustion processes. A subsequent analysis of the possible antibacterial action against Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumoniae was performed according with the Japanese International standard (JISL, 2008). To determine the mechanism of action of l-cys on the selected strains, flow cytometry was used. The results revealed that the exhaustion process was performed with success to confer bioactivity to the treated fabric, as assessed by an effective antibacterial effect against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, and successfully linkage of l-cys was observed via FTIR with a durable effect demonstrated after the washing tests (fastness to washing). It was also observed that l-cys exerts a bacteriostatic effect against both bacterial strains, since there were alterations in the metabolic activity ofthe microorganisms after the application of the bioactive textile which was shown by the CTC (cyanoditolyl tetrazolium chloride) staining used in flow cytometry. This study shows a new and successful biotechnological process to develop antibacterial textiles through the functionalization of cotton fibres with l-cys which presents a broad range of applications in healthcare, since l-cys is a natural antibacterial compound, non-toxic and affects pathogenic bacteria related to hospital infections.
- Antimicrobial and antioxidant surface modification toward a new silk-fibroin (SF)-l-Cysteine material for skin disease managementPublication . Nogueira, Frederico; Granadeiro, Luiza Breitenfeld ; Mouro, Cláudia; Gouveia, Isabel C.A novel dressing material – silk fibroin fabric (SF)-l-Cysteine (l-Cys) – is here developed to be used asstandard treatment for atopic dermatitis (AD), which combines comfort, thermic, and tensile strengthproperties of silk materials with antioxidant and antimicrobial effects of l-Cys. A careful understand-ing about the linking strategies is needed in order not to compromise the bioavailability of l-Cys anddeplenish its bioactivity. Durability was also addressed through washing cycles and compared with hos-pital requirements, according to international Standard EN ISO 105-C06:2010. The present research alsoanalyze the interactions between Staphylococcus aureus and SF-l-Cys under simulating conditions of ADand demonstrated the effectiveness of a double covalent grafting, with the importance of SF tyrosine(Tyr) covalent linkage with l-Cys (SF-g-l-Cys/Tyr-g-l-Cys) even after several washing cycles, twenty five,whereas for a disposable application a single covalent mechanism of grafting l-Cys proved to be suffi-cient (SF-g-l-Cys). Results showed effective antimicrobial activities exhibiting higher inhibition ratios of98.65% for SF-g-l-Cys after 5 washing cycles, whereas 97.55% for SF-g-l-Cys/Tyr-g-l-Cys after 25 washingcycles, both at pH 9.5 grafting strategy. Furthermore, it is also reported a non-protumoral effect of l-Cys. Anew advance is herein achieved at the world of medical antimicrobial textiles tailored to address woundmoisture environment and exudate self-cleaning, which may open novel applications as complementarytherapy for AD disease.
- Chemical signature and antimicrobial activity of Central Portuguese Natural Mineral Waters against selected skin pathogensPublication . Oliveira, AS; Vaz, CV; Silva, Ana; Ferreira, Sandra S.; Correia, Sara; Ferreira, Raquel; Granadeiro, Luiza Breitenfeld ; Oliveira, J. Martinez de; Oliveira, Rita Palmeira de; Pereira, C; Cruz, MT; Oliveira, Ana Palmeira deThe common therapeutic indications of Portuguese Natural Mineral Waters (NMWs) are primarily for respiratory, rheumatic and muscu- loskeletal systems. However, these NMWs have been increasingly sought for dermatologic purposes. Opposing to what is observed in the major European Thermal Centres, there are few scientific evidences supporting the use of Portuguese NMWs for clinical applications. The aim of this study was to characterize the antimicrobial profile of individual NMWs from the central region of Portugal and correlate the results with their physicochemical characterization. An extensive multivariate analysis (principal component analysis) was also performed to further investigate this possible correlation. Six collection strains representing skin microbiota, namely Staphylococcus aureus, Escher- ichia coli, Corynebacterium amycolatum, Candida albicans, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Cutibac- terium acnes, were analysed, and their antimicrobial profile was determined using Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute M07-A10, M45-A2, M11-A6 and M27-A3 microdilution methods. Different NMWs presented different antimicrobial profiles against the strains used; the physicochemical composition of NMWs seemed to be correlated with the different susceptibility profiles. Cutibacterium acnes showed a particularly high susceptibility to all NMWs belong- ing sulphurous/bicarbonated/sodic ionic profile, exhibiting microbial reductions up to 65%. However, due to the complex physicochemical composition of each water an overall conclusion regarding the effect of a specific ion on the growth of different microor- ganisms is yet to be known.