An investigation about chronic prostatitis in ankylosing spondylitis

BACKGROUND

Chronic prostatitis has been a common disease reported with high frequency in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) even from decades ago. Infectious (Chlamydia trachomatis) or non-infectious (uric acid) prostatitis can hypothetically trigger vertebral inflammation in AS. This study aimed to assess the features of chronic prostatitis in patients with AS compared to healthy controls.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study including male patients with AS and healthy controls who agreed to undergo a prostate examination was conducted. Structured clinical interviews, prostate physical examinations, and cytological, biochemical, and microbiological tests on urinary samples collected before and after standardized prostatic massage (pre- and post-massage test) were performed.

RESULTS

Ninety participants (45 AS patients, mean age: 52.5 ± 10.0 years, with longstanding disease, 12.4 ± 6.9 years, and 45 controls, mean age: 52.8 ± 12.1 years) were included. National Institutes of Health - Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index (NIH-CPSI) scores were similar in the AS and control groups (4.0 [1.0-12.0] vs. 5.0 [1.0-8.5], p = 0.994). The frequencies of symptoms of chronic prostatitis (NIH-CPSI Pain Domain ≥4) were also similar in both groups (23.3% vs. 22.7%, p = 0.953). Results of polymerase chain reaction tests for Chlamydia trachomatis were negative in all tested urinary samples, and uric acid concentrations and leukocyte counts were similar in all pre- and post-massage urinary samples.

CONCLUSIONS

In this study, chronic prostatitis occurred in male patients with AS, but its frequency and characteristics did not differ from those found in the healthy male population of similar age.

Angiotensin II receptor type 1 blockade improves hyporesponsiveness to vasopressors in septic shock

Sepsis activates the renin-angiotensin system and the production of angiotensin II, which has a key role in the regulation of blood pressure through AT1 receptors. However, excessive activation of AT1 receptor is associated with deleterious effects. We investigated the consequences of a differential blockade of AT1 receptor caused by two doses of losartan (0.25 mg/kg or 15 mg/kg, s.c), a selective AT1 receptor antagonist on sepsis outcome. These doses reduced the effect of angiotensin II in normal rats by 30% and >90% 8 h after administration, respectively, but only the higher dose maintained its inhibitory effect (~70%) 24 h after injection. Sepsis was induced by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP). Losartan was injected 2 h after CLP and parameters were evaluated 6 and 24 h after CLP. Septic rats developed hypotension and hyporesponsiveness to vasoconstrictors, an intense inflammatory process and increase in plasma markers of organ dysfunction. The lower dose of losartan improved the vasoconstrictive response to phenylephrine and angiotensin II, reduced lung myeloperoxidase and prevented leukopenia 24 h after CLP, but it did not reduce NOS-2 expression, plasma IL-6 levels or organ injury parameters of septic rats. On the other hand, the higher dose of losartan worsened the response to vasoconstrictors, potentiated the hypotension and increased further levels of creatine, urea and lactate in septic rats. Therefore, an early and partial blockade of AT1 receptor with a low dose of losartan may counteract sepsis-induced refractoriness to vasoconstrictors thus providing an opportunity to improve the outcome of this condition.

Trimethoxy-chalcone derivatives inhibit growth of Leishmania braziliensis: synthesis, biological evaluation, molecular modeling and structure-activity relationship (SAR)

In this work we described the synthesis, the antileishmanial activity and the molecular modeling and structure-activity relationship (SAR) evaluations of a series of chalcone derivatives. Among these compounds, the methoxychalcones 2h, 2i, 2j, 2k and 2l showed significant antileishmanial activity (IC(50)<10 μM). Interestingly 2i (IC(50)=2.7 μM), 2j (IC(50)=3.9 μM) and 2k (IC(50)=4.6 μM) derivatives presented better antileishmanial activity than the control drug pentamidine (IC(50)=6.0 μM). Our SAR study showed the importance of methoxy di-ortho substitution at phenyl ring A and the relationship between the frontier orbital HOMO coefficients distribution of these molecules and their activity. The most active compounds 2h, 2i, 2j, 2k, and 2l fulfilled the Lipinski rule-of-five which theoretically is important for good drug absorption and permeation through biological membranes. The potential profile of 2j (IC(50)=3.9 μM and CC(50)=216 μM) pointed this chalcone derivative as a hit compound to be further explored in antileishmanial drug design.

Late, but not early, inhibition of soluble guanylate cyclase decreases mortality in a rat sepsis model

Overproduction of nitric oxide and activation of soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) are important in sepsis-induced hypotension and hyporesponsiveness to vasoconstrictors. A time course of the expression and activity of sGC in a sepsis model [cecal ligation and puncture (CLP)] was evaluated in rats. Soluble GC alpha-1 and beta-1 subunit mRNA levels increased in the lungs, but not in the aorta. However, in both tissues, the protein levels increased 24 h after sepsis and remained high for up to 48 h. Sodium nitroprusside-stimulated cGMP accumulation was higher 48 h after CLP in the lung and aorta. NOS-2 protein expression peaked 24 h after CLP, decreasing thereafter. The impact of inhibiting the expression of sGC early (8 h) or late (20 h) on vascular reactivity and the indexes of organ damage and mortality were also studied. Late administration of methylene blue (MB) or ODQ (1H-[1,2,4]-oxadiazole[4,3-a]quinoxalin-1-one) restored the blood pressure and vascular responsiveness to vasoconstrictors to normal levels but was ineffective in early sepsis. Late MB injection reduced the plasma levels of urea, creatinine, and lactate. MB improved the survival if administered late, but it increased the mortality when administrated early after sepsis onset. The increased sGC expression/activity may be relevant for the late hypotension and hyporesponsiveness to vasoconstrictors in sepsis. In accordance, MB increased survival if administered in late sepsis, but not in early sepsis. Therefore, differential responsiveness to sGC during the course of sepsis may determine the success or failure of treatment with sGC inhibitors.

Characterization of Trypanosoma cruzi isolated from humans, vectors, and animal reservoirs following an outbreak of acute human Chagas disease in Santa Catarina State, Brazil

During March 2005, 24 cases of acute human Chagas disease were detected in Santa Catarina State, southern Brazil, all of them related to the ingestion of Trypanosoma cruzi-contaminated sugar cane juice. Following field studies allowed the isolation of 13 T. cruzi strains from humans, opossums (Didelphis aurita and Didelphis albiventris), and vectors (Triatoma tibiamaculata). The isolated strains were characterized by multilocus enzyme electrophoresis (MLEE) and analysis of the spliced-leader and 24Salpha rRNA genes. The assays revealed that all strains isolated from humans belong to the TcII group but revealed a TcII variant pattern for the phosphoglucomutase enzyme. Strains isolated from opossums also showed a TcI profile in all analysis, but strains isolated from triatomines revealed a mixed TcI/TcII profile by MLEE. No indication of the presence of Trypanosoma rangeli was observed in any assay. Considering that mixed strains (TcI/TcII) were isolated from triatomines in an area without active vectorial transmission to humans and that all strains isolated from humans belong to the TcII group, our results show that T. cruzi TcI and TcII groups are circulating among reservoirs and vectors in southern Brazil and indicate that selection toward TcII group in humans may occur after ingestion of a mixed (TcI/TcII) T. cruzi population.

Synthesis and in vitro evaluation of leishmanicidal and trypanocidal activities of N-quinolin-8-yl-arylsulfonamides

In the present paper 12 N-quinolin-8-yl-arylsulfonamides synthesized by coupling 8-aminoquinolines with various arylsulfonylchlorides were assayed in vitro against Leishmania amazonensis, Leishmania chagasi and Trypanosoma cruzi strains. This series of new compounds were found to be selective for Leishmania spp. promastigote and amastigote forms. The most active compound was the N-(8-quinolyl)-3,5-difluoro-benzenesulfonamide 10 with an IC(50) against L. amazonensis and L. chagasi of 2.12 and 0.45 microM, respectively. The less cytotoxic biphenyl derivative 7 was very effective against intracellular L. amazonensis with a reduction of macrophage cell infection of 82.1% at 25 microM. In addition, a copper complex 17 of an inactive ligand was readily synthesized and showed high leishmanicidal and trypanocidal activity against both extra and intracellular forms.

Characterization of D-glucose transport in Trypanosoma rangeli

Like in other trypanosomatids D-glucose is a crucial source of energy to Trypanosoma rangeli, a non-pathogenic parasite that in Central and South America infects triatomine vectors and different mammalian species, including humans. In several trypanosome species, D-glucose transporters were already described and cloned. In this study, we characterized the D-glucose transport activity present in 2 life-stage forms of T. rangeli (epimastigotes and trypomastigotes) using D-[U-14C]glucose as substrate. Our results indicate that T. rangeli transports D-glucose with high affinity in both epimastigote (Km 30 microM) and trypomastigotes (Km 80 microM) life-forms. Both transport activities were inhibited by Cytochalasin B and Phloretin, indicating that probably D-glucose uptake in T. rangeli is mediated by facilitated diffusion of the sugar. Significant differences were observed between epimastigotes and trypomastigotes in relation to their affinity for D-glucose analogues, and the predicted amino acid sequence of a putative D-glucose transporter from T. rangeli (TrHT1) showed a larger identity with the T. cruzi D-glucose transporter encoded by the TcrHT1 gene than with other transporters already characterized in trypanosomatids.