It is well known that aging affects many systems in the body. The digestive system is one of the systems most affected by aging. In our study, we examined the effects of young plasma treatment on cell proliferation, growth factors, immune defense and histological parameters in the jejunum of aged male rats. For this purpose, aged male Sprague Dawley rats (24 months, n = 7) were treated with pooled plasma (0.5 ml/day, intravenously for 30 days) collected from young (5 weeks, n = 51) rats. Aged rats that received young plasma treatment were grouped as the experimental group, while aged rats formed the control group. At the end of the experiment, the jejunums of the groups were collected and histological parameters such as villus height, crypt depth, total mucosal thickness and surface absorption areas were measured and compared. In addition, cell proliferation index and proliferation intensity in the crypt glands of the jejunum were evaluated with proliferating cell nuclear antigen and expressions of growth factors such as insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) and its receptor (IGF-IR) expression and effects of immunoglobulin A (IgA), which plays a role in the defense of the digestive system against microorganisms, were examined. In the experimental group, an increase in histological parameters, IGF-R and IGF-IR expression, proliferation density, proliferation index and IgA expression density and IgA cell count were observed compared to the control group. These results suggest that young plasma treatment has a positive effect on the digestive system and may be a potential therapeutic for tissue regeneration.

Objective: Therapeutic properties of Sanguisorba L. genus plants are supported by numerous in vivo and in vitro studies showing the anti-viral, anti-ulcerogenic, anti-cancer, anti-acetylcholinesterase, radioprotective, anti-allergic, and anti-inflammatory activities. The present study was designed to investigate anti-arthritic activity of the “Sanguisorba minor subsp. balearica (Bourg. ex Nyman) Muñoz Garm. & C.Navarro” (Smb), a subspecies of Sanguisorba L. genus, on Complete Freund’s Adjuvant induced (CFA-induced) arthritic rat model. Material and Method: The extract of aerial parts of the Smb was obtained by the consecutive steps of maceration process. The phytochemical content of the extract was analyzed by the High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) method. Complete Freund’s Adjuvant-induced arthritic rats were used to examine the anti-arthritic activity of the plant extract. Result and Discussion: HPLC analysis revealed a high amount of phenolic compounds in the Smb extract. The identified phenolics are ellagic acid, gallic acid, quercetin dehydrate and p-coumaric acid with the concentrations of 4.1288; 2.6342; 0.0871 and 0.0633 ppm, respectively. Injection of Smb extract caused a decrease in paw thickness in the CFA-induced arthritic animals. The decrease in paw thicknesses of animals treated by quercetin and Smb 70 mg/kg groups was higher than diclofenac sodium group. Smb 34 mg/kg group also showed a decrease in paw thickness, but it was lower compared to quercetin and Smb 70 mg/kg groups and higher than the diclofenac sodium group. According to the histopathological evaluations of the joint tissues, both 34 mg/kg and 70 mg/kg Smb extract treatment were improved the inflammatory deformations related to arthritis on the rats.

Aims: This study aimed to investigate the effects of a 35-day intermittent fasting (IF) regimen on the transcriptional and protein expression profiles of key autophagy-related markers in the liver of aged male Wistar rats. Methods: Twelve-month-old male Wistar rats were assigned to either an IF group or a control group. The IF group was subjected to an 18:6 h time-restricted feeding protocol for 35 days, whereas control animals had ad libitum access to food and water. Hepatic mRNA expression levels of ATG5, ATG7, Beclin1, LC3, and p62 were quantified by quantitative real-time PCR. In addition, the protein expression of these autophagy-related markers was evaluated by immunohistochemistry. Results: IF significantly increased the hepatic mRNA expression of ATG5, ATG7, Beclin1, and LC3 (p

Aim: With aging, there is a dramatic decrease in Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF). The effects of plasma therapy applied to aged tissues have attracted attention in recent years, as young plasma is rich in rejuvenating factors that decrease in aged mice and support organ regeneration and hormone secretion. In the presented study, young plasma treatment was applied to aged rats and its effects on cellular proliferation and VEGF levels in the duodenum were evaluated. Material and Methods: For this purpose, aged male Sprague Dawley rats (24months, n=15) were treated with pooled plasma (0.5ml/day, intravenously for 30d) collected from young (5weeks, n=51) rats. Aged rats formed the control group while aged rats that received young plasma treatment were labelled as the experimental group. At the end of the experiment, the duodenums of the groups were collected and cell proliferation index and proliferation intensity were evaluated with proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and expressions of VEGF which plays a role in both the digestive system and cardiovascular system were investigated. Results: VEGF expression intensity determined by immunohistochemical method showed an increase in experimental group (2.45±0.18) compared to control group (1.70±0.15) (p<0.001). Proliferation intensity showed a more severe immunoreaction in experimental group (2.35±0.19) compared to control group (1.20±0.08). Proliferation index was higher in experimental group (117.10±0.19) compared to control group (62.20±0.12). Conclusion: In our study, we propose a treatment approach that can prevent the aging-related decrease in VEGF, which is known to be important in many systems.

Background: Early life exposure to obesogenic diets is increasingly associated with persistent immunometabolic dysregulation. However, the effects of such dietary stress on splenic apoptosis, autophagy, and inflammasome signaling during the developmental period remain insufficiently characterized. This study investigated whether probiotic supplementation modulates cafeteria diet (Cd)-induced molecular alterations in splenic tissue during the post-weaning period. Methods: Twenty-one-day-old male Wistar rats were randomly assigned to four groups ( n = 7/group): Control (Cnt), Cafeteria diet (Cd), SCD Probiotics (Prb), and Cafeteria diet plus probiotic (Cd+Prb). Interventions were maintained from postnatal day 21 to 56. Splenic apoptosis, autophagy, and inflammasome related markers were evaluated using RT-qPCR and immunohistochemistry. Results: Cafeteria diet exposure shifted the spleen toward a pro-apoptotic state, characterized by a relative decrease in BCL2 fold-change pattern and relative increases in BAK and Caspase-3 fold-change patterns, while protein analysis confirmed marked elevations in Caspase-3 and BAX (both p < 0.0001). Autophagy-related alterations included reduced ATG5 expression and marked p62 accumulation, consistent with impaired autophagic regulation, with corresponding protein-level differences for ATG5 and p62 (both p < 0.0001). Inflammasome-associated signaling was reflected by relative increases in NLRP3 and IL-18 fold-change patterns together with higher protein-level immunoreactivity, with strong protein-level significance ( p < 0.0001). Probiotic administration exerted context-dependent effects on inflammasome-related gene expression, whereas probiotic co-administration attenuated several Cd-induced alterations, including partial normalization of BCL2 and IL-18 fold-change patterns and reduction of NLRP3 protein levels compared with the Cd group ( p < 0.0001), although complete normalization was not achieved across all markers. Conclusion: Developmental exposure to a cafeteria diet was associated with alterations in splenic apoptotic, autophagy-associated, and inflammasome-related markers, consistent with immune dysregulation during the post-weaning period. Concurrent probiotic supplementation partially and context-dependently modulated several of these alterations.