A experimentação animal apresenta uma grande importância para o desenvolvimento da ciência. O uso de camundongos em experimentos ocorre devido à semelhança destes animais com os seres humanos, fácil criação e manutenção e resposta experimental bastante rápida. Esses animais possuem as mesmas enzimas dessaturases e elongases que os humanos, por isso são usados em pesquisas envolvendo incorporação e síntese de ácidos graxos em tecidos. Os ácidos graxos da família ômega-3 e ômega-6 são de suma importância na dieta humana, pois estes não são sintetizados pela síntese de novo e são precursores dos ácidos graxos poli-insaturados de cadeia muito longa, como os ácidos eicosapentaenóico, docosahexaenóico e araquidônico. Estes desempenham funções importantes no organismo, como a síntese de eicosanóides que estão envolvidos diretamente no sistema imune e nas respostas inflamatórias. A razão entre o consumo de ácidos graxos n-6 e n-3 na dieta é um importante fator para determinar a ingestão adequada de ácidos graxos bem como prevenir o aparecimento de doenças. Este artigo tem como objetivo avaliar a incorporação de ácidos graxos em tecidos de animais e discutir a importância dos ácidos da família n-3 e seus metabólitos no sistema imunológico.

Anethole [1-methoxy-4-(1-propenyl)benzene] occurs naturally as a major component of the essential oil of star anise (Illicium verum Hook.f., family Illiciaceae), comprising more than 90 % of its volatile components. Studies showed that this substance has antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal, and anesthetic properties. In this study, the anti-inflammatory properties of anethole in animal models of nonimmune acute inflammation such as croton oil-induced ear edema and carrageenan-induced pleurisy were investigated. The investigated parameters were edema formation, leukocyte migration, and inflammatory mediators involved. Oral administration of anethole at a dose of 250 and 500 mg/kg reduced both the volume of pleural exudates and the number of migrated leukocytes. Levels of nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandins (PGE2) in the inflammatory exudate were reduced by treatment with anethole, but levels of tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-1β were not significantly altered. In ear edema, the oral treatment with anethole inhibited the formation of exudate and the activity of myeloperoxidase, but not after topical administration. These results suggest that the anethole may be effective in controlling some nonimmune acute inflammation-related disease, probably by an inhibitory action on production and/or release of PGE2 and NO.

Chagas disease, which is caused by the flagellate parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, affects 8–10 million people in Latin America. The disease is endemic and is characterised by acute and chronic phases that develop in the indeterminate, cardiac, and/or gastrointestinal forms. The immune response during human T. cruzi infection is not completely understood, despite its role in driving the development of distinct clinical manifestations of chronic infection. Polymorphisms in genes involved in the innate and specific immune response are being widely studied in order to clarify their possible role in the occurrence or severity of disease. Here we review the role of classic and nonclassic MHC, KIR, and cytokine host genetic factors on the infection by T. cruzi and the clinical course of Chagas disease.

This study was designed to test the efficacy of eugenol, a compound obtained from the essential oil of cloves (Syzygium aromaticum) in collagen-induced arthritis (CIA), a well characterized murine model of rheumatoid arthritis. Macroscopic clinical evidence of CIA manifests first as periarticular erythema and edema in the hind paws. Treatment with eugenol starting at the onset of arthritis (day 25) ameliorated these clinical signs of CIA. Furthermore, eugenol inhibited mononuclear cell infiltration into the knee joints of arthritic mice and also lowered the levels of cytokines (tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interferon (IFN)-γ and tumor growth factor (TGF)-β) within the ankle joints. Eugenol treatment did not affect the in vitro cell viability as assessed using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Therefore, eugenol ameliorates experimental arthritis and could be useful as a beneficial supplement in treating human arthritis.Key words eugenol; collagen-induced arthritis; inflammation; cytokine; mononuclear cell Eugenol (4-allyl-2-methoxyphenol) is the major component in the essential oil of many aromatic plants, including clove (Zyzygium aromaticum) and it is known to possess antioxidant, analgesic and neuroprotective properties among others.1,2) In addition, eugenol and related compounds exhibit anti-inflammatory activities, e.g. inhibition of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) activation, cytokine release and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression by macrophages in vitro 3) and inhibition of 5-lipoxygenase activity in polymorphonuclear cells. 4) However, despite the anti-inflammatory effects of eugenol described previously, there is only one report of it exhibiting antirheumatic effects in a model of adjuvant arthritis. 5)This new therapeutic strategy involving natural products has been devised because the anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive drugs currently available cause many side effects and show limited efficacy in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.Collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) is used as an experimental model that resembles human rheumatoid arthritis. Both T cell and B cell responses to the autoantigen as well as the production of cytokines by systemic and tissue-specific cell populations are critical for the development (and eventual diminution) of the autoimmune response to CII and to the pathology in CIA.6) Due to the paucity of information on the effect of eugenol on experimental models of arthritis, this study was undertaken to investigate the efficacy of eugenol on CIA model.

A morphologic study of the lungs was carried out in Swiss mice infected with yeast isolated from Paracoccidioides brasiliensis (Pb18). The lung was processed 1, 2, 4, and 8 weeks after inoculation for histologic staining with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E), methenamine silver nitrate (Gomori-Grocott), and picrosirius to qualitative and quantitative analyses of the granulomas and the presence of fungal lesions. The numbers of CFUs/g counted in the lungs were 189.8 +/- 20.64, 353.6 +/- 46.21, 547.2 +/- 108.1, and 295.2 +/- 89.17 in the first, second, fourth, and eighth weeks, respectively. One week after infection, inflammatory cells and reticular and collagens fibers, the latest typical of fibrosis, were detected. After 2 and 4 weeks, a progressive intensification of the infection and fibrosis was observed, but in week 8 a more organized granuloma was evident, with macrophages, epithelioid cells, and yeasts in the central portion, and intense peripheral basophilia. Pycnotic structures typical of apoptotic bodies were observed in weeks 1 and 8. The different histologic staining used acted as a fundamental tool for the study of the morphologic organization of granuloma formation.