https://repositorio.ufu.br/handle/123456789/19157 2026-04-17T21:36:26Z 2026-04-17T21:36:26Z https://repositorio.ufu.br/handle/123456789/48636 2026-04-17T06:24:20Z 2026-03-10T00:00:00Z

Title: Uso dos genes Bmp4, Egr3 e Hsp70 como possíveis marcadores de toxicidade embrionária Abstract: Animal models remain relevant in scientific research because they allow the integrated investigation of physiological and pathological processes. Their use must be based on ethical and scientific criteria, considering the suitability of the model to the study objectives. Therefore, research should encourage the adoption of alternative methods, such as the use of embryos, which contribute to reducing the number of animals used, enable less invasive experimental approaches, and, whenever feasible, promote the partial or total replacement of animal use, in accordance with the principles of the 3 R’s (Reduction, Refinement, and Replacement). In this study, 33 Mus musculus embryos at the two-cell stage were exposed in vitro to the herbicides Pendimethalin and Prowl®H2O, with the aim of evaluating morphological alterations up to the blastocyst stage through in house and Gardner’s classification, based on the degree of blastocyst expansion and the quality of the inner cell mass (ICM) and the trophectoderm (TE), as well as changes in the expression of the genes Bmp4, Egr3, and Hsp70 using the RT-qPCR technique. Morphological analysis revealed developmental delay, cellular fragmentation, and cytoplasmic vacuolization, with more pronounced effects observed in the group exposed to Prowl®H2O. Molecular analysis demonstrated a significant increase in Bmp4 expression in the group treated with Prowl®H2O, while Egr3 and Hsp70 showed higher expression in embryos exposed to Pendimethalin, suggesting the activation of cellular stress pathways and dysregulation of developmental processes. These results indicate that both the isolated active ingredient and the commercial formulation can induce early morphological and molecular alterations, highlighting the importance of the integrated evaluation of morphological and molecular parameters in toxicity studies.

2026-03-10T00:00:00Z https://repositorio.ufu.br/handle/123456789/48607 2026-04-07T06:20:10Z 2026-03-11T00:00:00Z

Title: O papel da histona desacetilase 2 em carcinoma de células escamosas oral Abstract: Evidence shows that epigenetic alterations, including histone modifications, play a decisive role in tumor development and progression, influencing the expression of oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes. Histone acetylation is one of the main epigenetic modifications, it is regulated by histone acetyltransferases (HATs) and histone deacetylases (HDACs), and directly affects chromatin structure and gene transcription. Oral squamous cell carcinoma (CCEO) is one of the main types of head and neck cancer and represents an important public health problem and epigenetic modifications are important events during its carcinogenesis and tumor progression. Therefore, the present study evaluated the immunohistochemical expression of histone deacetylase-2 (HDAC2) in 85 samples from patients with OSCC registered at the Laboratório de Patologia Bucal of the Universidade Federal de Uberlândia from 2006 to 2013, segregated in samples from patients without cervical lymph node metastases (PNM, n = 39) when compared to metastatic cases (PM, n = 46) compared with 17 samples of normal oral mucosa (MN), with tissue microarray technique. The results showed that the percentage of nuclear area marked by the enzyme was significantly higher in samples from patients PNM compared to PM. The ROC curve analysis demonstrated adequate discriminatory capacity between PNM and PM using this enzyme as a parameter, although there was no difference in the comparative analysis between CCEO and MN samples. In addition, higher HDAC2 expression was observed in early stages and in samples ≤ 4 cm. The results found in this study suggest that decreased HDAC2 expression may be an important event for the occurrence of metastasis in SCC and, thus, considered a potential prognostic biomarker.

2026-03-11T00:00:00Z https://repositorio.ufu.br/handle/123456789/48307 2026-02-19T06:18:24Z 2026-02-09T00:00:00Z

Title: Própolis verde brasileira da caatinga: alternativa antimicrobiana inovadora frente a patógenos críticos Abstract: Despite the severe statistics associated with infections caused by Cryptococcus spp., and multidrug-resistant bacteria, the therapeutic options remain limited. In this context, brazilian propolis is a promising antimicrobial source. This study evaluated the in vitro antifungal, antibacterial, and antibiofilm activities of ethanolic extract of BGPc and its in vivo toxicity. Antimicrobial activity was assessed by determining minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum fungicidal and bactericidal concentrations (MFC and MBC) and the antibiofilm activity through determination of MICB50 and IC50. In addition, the living and dead cells of the biofilm was assessed by fluorescence microscopy, while biofilm morphology was evaluated by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Furthermore, the toxicity of BGPc was evaluated in Caenorhabditis elegans larvae. BGPc showed MIC values ranging from 23.4 to 46.9 µg/mL against Cryptococcus spp. and 25 to 400 µg/mL against bacteria. Antibiofilm assays revealed significant reductions in biofilm biomass and cell viability, with MICB₅₀ values for yeast of 11.7–3000 µg/mL and IC₅₀ values of 2.63–686.7 µg/mL, while bacterial MICB₅₀ ranged from 25 to 200 µg/mL and IC₅₀ from 0.47 to 11.44 µg/mL. Microscopic analyses demonstrated a large quantity of dead cells and marked disruption of the biofilm after treatment. In vivo assays using Caenorhabditis elegans revealed no significant toxicity at concentrations up to 6.000 µg/mL. Therefore, BGPc demonstrates significant potential as an antimicrobial and antibiofilm agent.

2026-02-09T00:00:00Z https://repositorio.ufu.br/handle/123456789/48281 2026-02-18T18:33:10Z 2026-02-06T00:00:00Z

Title: Edição genômica por CRISPR/Cas9 aplicada à identificação e caracterização funcional da proteína de grânulo denso 5 de Neospora caninum Abstract: Identified in 1988, Neospora caninum is an obligate intracellular parasite belonging to the phylum Apicomplexa. It is the etiological agent of neosporosis, a disease responsible for causing abortions in cattle and neuromuscular disorders in dogs. Its life cycle is heteroxenous, involving horizontal transmission through the ingestion of non-sporulated oocysts shed in the feces of canids, as well as infected tissue cysts, and vertical transmission via the transplacental passage of tachyzoites. Among the dozens of proteins involved in the invasion process, dense granule proteins (GRAs) stand out due to their roles in the parasite’s lytic cycle, nutrient acquisition, and/or modulation of the host immune response. Although they are of recognized relevance, the GRAs of N. caninum still lack in-depth characterization, highlighting the need for further investigations from this perspective. The aim of this study was to identify and characterize the dense granule protein 5 (GRA5) of N. caninum. To identify and localize this protein for the first time, we performed a genetic modification using CRISPR/Cas9 targeting the NcGRA5 coding region, which induced the expression of three viral hemagglutinin epitopes at the C-terminal portion of the protein. Using this genetically modified parasite line, we demonstrated that NcGRA5 displays a distribution pattern within the parasitophorous vacuole that is typical of dense granule proteins. In addition, our data estimate that NcGRA5 dimers have approximate molecular weights of 32 kDa and 26 kDa. In order to investigate the biological function of this protein, we generated parasites genetically deficient in NcGRA5. The replication capacity of Δgra5 parasites was evaluated in comparison with the parental strain using plaque assays in HFF fibroblasts. Deletion of the NcGRA5 gene significantly reduced parasite replication in vitro, as evidenced by a decrease in the number of lytic plaques formed on fibroblast monolayers compared with parental parasites. In this context, our findings expand current knowledge on dense granule proteins of N. caninum, demonstrating that this protein is involved in the parasite’s replicative capacity and highlighting NcGRA5 as a potential target for future studies aimed at infection control.

2026-02-06T00:00:00Z