Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
We hypothesized that endothelium modulates relaxation induced by a nitric oxide (NO) donor ruthenium complex (TERPY, [Ru(terpy)(bdq)NO]) in mesenteric arteries of normotensive and spontaneously hypertensive (SHR) rats in different ways.... more
We hypothesized that endothelium modulates relaxation induced by a nitric oxide (NO) donor ruthenium complex (TERPY, [Ru(terpy)(bdq)NO]) in mesenteric arteries of normotensive and spontaneously hypertensive (SHR) rats in different ways. We analyzed the mechanism involved in TERPY-induced relaxation in the second and third branches of such mesenteric arteries and investigated how endothelium contributed to the TERPY vasodilator effect on SHR blood vessels. TERPY induced concentration-dependent relaxation in endothelium-denuded (E) and endothelium-intact (E) mesenteric arteries of normotensive rats and SHR. Pretreatment with ODQ (which inhibits soluble guanylyl cyclase) or TEA (tetraethylammonium, which blocks potassium channels) significantly reduced the TERPY vasodilator effect on Emesenteric arteries of normotensive rats and SHR. The presence of endothelium shifted the concentration-effect curves for TERPY in Emesenteric arteries of normotensive rats to the right. Conversely, the p...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
This study aimed to evaluate the oxidative stress levels and the enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant systems in saliva of toddlers with severe early childhood caries (S-ECC). Unstimulated saliva samples were collected at the morning... more
This study aimed to evaluate the oxidative stress levels and the enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant systems in saliva of toddlers with severe early childhood caries (S-ECC). Unstimulated saliva samples were collected at the morning from 0 to 3 year-old S-ECC (n=30) or caries-free (CF) children (n=30/group) for evaluation of oxidative stress (OS) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC), which were measured by the ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay, as well as to assess the activity of enzymatic (superoxide dismutase, SOD) and non-enzymatic (uric acid, UA) antioxidant systems, respectively. Data were analyzed by Student's t-test (p<0.05). Significantly higher protein levels were observed in saliva of S-ECC children (0.083mg/mL) than in the CF group (0.070mg/mL). Oxidative damage was significantly lower in saliva of S-ECC children (0.0019μmol/L/mg protein) than in CF children (0.0039μmol/L/mg protein), while salivary TAC (61.5μmol/L), SOD activity (36.6 UE/mL) and ...