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Biology subjects

Mortari, M. R.

Publications and source records attributed to Mortari, M. R..

2 recordsLinked to original sources

Development of a new bioinspired peptide with fibroblast relaxation proprieties for cosmetics applications

The cosmetic field is driven by the development of new inputs and raw materials that are used to the development innovative products for consumers. Among the different sub-areas in cosmetology, skin care is the biggest area, with almost fifty percent of the market, and probably the most innovative of them. Thus, there is a complex value chain organized to develop and produce innovative inputs to supply the demands of the market. Within this context, different basic scientific areas, such as biochemistry and biotechnology, have been a source of inspiration for new active ingredients. In the present article, we will present the pre-clinical and clinical trials involved in the development of a new innovative biomimetic peptide derived from natural wasp venoms content. This new peptide sequence, here named WASP-PEP was designed based on natural peptide templates with some strategic amino acid modifications to increase the molecules effectiveness. As the main results, we observed that the WASP-PEP is a biocompatible and dermatology tolerate compound, and the peptide can promote some relaxation effects in dermal fibroblasts. This relaxation effect is compatible with a kind of regulated and cumulative botox-like effect. Notablyr, this relaxation effect was also observed in the clinical trial, when volunteer subjects reported that their facial skin was flatter after the use of the WASP-PEP product for one month. Graphical Abstract O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=96 SRC="FIGDIR/small/525652v1_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (16K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@7b475dorg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@18a4fd8org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@17ff8f4org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@b1717b_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG C_FIG

biochemistry↗

Early exposure to high-fat diet impairs central and peripheral metabolic function: Impacts on cognition and mitochondrial function

The impact of overnutrition early in life is not restricted to the onset of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, but also affects critical brain functions related to cognition. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between peripheral metabolic and bioenergetic changes induced by high-fat diet (HFD) and their impact on hippocampal cognitive functions in juvenile mice. To this purpose, three-week-old male C57BL/6 mice received a HFD or control diet for seven weeks, associated with two low doses of streptozotocin (STZ) or vehicle, to accelerate the metabolic dysfunction. HFD induced metabolic changes in mice, particularly related to glucose metabolism, in spite of the absence of obesity and changes in lipid profile. HFD exposure starting from weaning impaired recognition and spatial memories in mice, without inducing a depressive-like behavior. Increased immunoreactivity for GFAP and a trend towards a decrease in NeuN staining were verified in the hippocampus of HFD-fed mice. HFD caused a bioenergetic impairment in the hippocampus, characterized by a decrease in both O2 consumption related to ATP production and in the maximum respiratory capacity. The thermogenic capacity of brown adipose tissue was impaired by HFD, here verified through the absence of a decrease in O2 consumption after UCP-1 inhibition and increase in the reserve respiratory capacity. Impaired mitochondria function was also observed in the liver of HFD mice, while no changes were verified in O2 consumption in the heart of juvenile mice. These results indicate that the introduction of a HFD early in life has a detrimental impact on bioenergetic and mitochondrial function of tissues with metabolic and thermogenic activities, which is likely related to hippocampal metabolic changes and cognitive impairment. HighlightsO_LIHFD introduced early in life impacts mitochondrial function C_LIO_LIDietary shift early in life leads hippocampal dysfunction C_LIO_LIEarly life HFD exposure disrupts BAT thermogenic acitivity C_LIO_LIHFD-induced hippocampal and BAT mitochondrial dysfunction impacts cognition C_LI

neuroscience↗