| Author(s): |
Catarina Raposo Dias Carneiro
Total Authors: 1
|
| Document type: | Doctoral Thesis |
| Press: | Campinas, SP. , ilustrações. |
| Institution: | Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Instituto de Biologia |
| Defense date: | 2009-08-31 |
| Examining board members: |
Maria Alice da Cruz Hofling;
Elaine Aparecida Del Bel Belluz Guimarães;
Elenice Aparecida de Moraes Ferrari;
Lanfranco Ranieri Paolo Troncone;
Stephen Hyslop
|
| Advisor: | Maria Alice da Cruz Hofling |
| Field of knowledge: | Biological Sciences - Morphology |
| Indexed in: | Base Acervus-UNICAMP; Biblioteca Digital da UNICAMP |
| Location: | Universidade Estadual de Campinas. Biblioteca Central Cesar Lattes; T/UNICAMP; C215v; Universidade Estadual de Campinas. Biblioteca do Instituto de Biologia; T/UNICAMP; C215v |
| Abstract | |
Animal venoms are source of neuroactive substances, some of them able to provoke paralysis and convulsion in mammals, indicating action on the central nervous system (CNS). The Phoneutria nigriventer spider venom (PNV) is composed of neurotoxins that cause, experimentally, blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeabilization. The BBB is both a physical and molecular entity, constituted by the cerebral microvessels and surrounding astrocytic end-feet and pericytes, all involved in the control of the traffic of molecules at the blood-brain interface. Even so the BBB presence is essential for the maintenance of CNS homeostasis; it also represents an obstacle for the therapeutical drugs access into the neural microenvironment. Our proposal was to investigate acute changes (15 min, 2 and 5 h) after PNV i.v. injection in adult Wistar rats through evaluation of the: (1) alterations in the expression of the BBB-junctional proteins, -efflux proteins, and -glucose transporter; (2) alterations in the expression of connexin-43 protein (gap junctions constituent) and protein phosphatase 2A (pPP2A, since phosphorylation of tyrosine residues from junctional proteins plays a role in controlling junctional integrity); (3) activation of neuronal pathways and its modulation by the nitric oxide (NO). (4) In vivo and in vitro astrocytes inflammatory reaction and reactive gliosis after incubation with PNV and its possible modulation by NO. (5) Purification and determination of BBB-acting from toxins PNV. The expression of the junctional proteins was diminished at 15 min and 2 h post-PNV exposure; however at 5 h the expression of most of the proteins investigated was total or partially recovered, suggesting that this might be one of the BBB opening mechanisms. Similarly, the venom increased the efflux protein expression, indicating ongoing clearance of toxic agents from the neural tissue. The expression of both connexin-43 and pPP2A increased after 15 min and diminished after 5 h of PNV injection, showing not only that cell-cell communication and cell-cell adhesion mechanism were affected, but that these alterations were transitory. Activated neuronal pathways have been observed in brain motor areas and hypothalamic nucleus, explaining the motor impairment (convulsion, paralysis) and neurovegetative signs (salivation, hypertension, respiratory stress, pulmonary edema, anuria) observed in the envenomed animals. Many of these neuronal pathways point to a nitrergic modulation of the envenomed toxic signs, since that NO synthesis inhibition by 7-nitroindazol (7-NI) decreased the neuronal activation in some areas and enhanced in others. The astrocytes incubated with PNV, in agreement with in vivo studies, expressed pro-inflammatory cytokines and presented reactive gliosis, however the pretreatment with 7- NI attenuated these effects, confirming that NO have an important role in the PNV effects. The F8a-1 and F10a-1 toxins, fractionated from the crude PNV, were identified as responsible by BBB permeabilization; despite, other venom components contribution can not be discarded. The understanding of the action of the venom of Phoneutria nigriventer and its toxins in the neural tissue and BBB can contribute for the development of useful tools for clinical and research purposes. (AU) | |