Melatonin and schistosomal antigens ameliorate the anti-oxidative and biochemical response to Schistosoma mansoni infection in hamster

The present study was designed to investigate the potential protective effect of melatonin as an antioxidant separately or in combination with antigens （cerearial; CAP or soluble worm; SWAP） against Schistosoma mansoni infection in hamsters. Each hamster was sensitized with an initial immunization of 0.6 ml of the extracted antigen （30μg protein/mL）. After four days, a second injection of 0.4 mL was given （20μg protein/mL）. Then, each hamster was exposed to 260 ± 20 S. mansoni cercariae followed with melatonin treatment （3.5 mg/kg） for thirty days from the 1st day of post infection. Levels of lipid peroxidation （LPO） products, eatalase （CAT） activity, hepatic glutathione （GSH） and biochemical changes in the liver and kidneys functions were investigated. The results revealed a high significant increasing of LPO and decreasing of CAT and GSH in liver of infected hamsters. Biochemical observations showed severe damage in the liver enzyme activities and increasing cholesterol level in infected animals. Melatonin co-treatment with antigen to the infeeted-hamster attenuated the increase of LPO and restored the activity of CAT and levels of hepatic GSH. Also, the biochemical damages in the liver and kidneys funetions were reduced. The present study suggests that melatonin may be useful in combating free radical-induced damage due to infection toxicity. The immunization with previous antigens resulted in a remarkable improvement on the liver enzyme activities, which were increased after infection. Thus, vaccination of hamsters with antigens （both CAP and SWAP） and melatonin treatment has more potent effect on the enhancement of antioxidant and biochemical of S. mansoni infected-hamster than each treatment separately. Immunization of the hamster with SWAP followed by melatonin was the best way among the other regime treatments to improve the biochemical and antioxidant parameters of the infected-hamsters.

Surface Modification of Titanium Plate with Anodic Oxidation and Its Application in Bone Growth

Using implants for dental applications are well-accepted procedures as one of the solutions for periodontal defect repair. Suitable design and materials, their reaction with the surrounding hard tissues and interfacial biomechanical properties are still considered to be the primary criteria which need to be addressed. The purpose of present study was to evaluate the bone repair around pure titanium implants and porous surface using anodic oxidation technique, after their insertion in tibiae of rats (n = 15). Five animals received pure titanium-surface implants in tibia, 5 rough-surface implants (TiO2/Ti) in tibia and last five acted as control group. The interfacial integrity and compositional variation along the interface were studied using scanning electron microscope (SEM) with energy dispersive analysis of X-ray (EDX) and histopathology after 2 months. The rats were sacrificed 8 weeks after surgery and fragments of the tibiae containing the implants were submitted to histological analyses to evaluate new bone formation at the implant-bone interface as well as the tibiae were radio graphed. The SEM-EDX results confirmed the initial stability for the Ti implant, but the regeneration of new bone formation was faster in the case of TiO2/Ti implant, and hence could be used for faster healing. The results of the histological analysis showed that osseointegration occurred for both types of implants with similar quality of bone tissue. In conclusion, the porous-surface implants contributed to the osseointegration because they provide a larger contact area with surface roughness at implant-bone interface can help into the formation of physico-chemical bondage with the surrounding hard tissues.