Therapy with bone marrow-derived cells has been used in ischemic patients with reported success. The aim of this study was to determine the therapeutic efficacy of fresh and frozen human umbilical cord blood cells (hUCB) in Wistar rats submitted to permanent occlusion of the left coronary artery. Three hours after myocardial infarction, 2 x 10(7) hUCB cells or vehicle were administered by intramyocardial injection. The animals were divided into five groups: control (N = 10), sham operated (N = 10), infarcted that received vehicle (N = 9), infarcted treated with cryopreserved hUCB (N = 7), and infarcted treated with fresh hUCB (N = 5). Cardiac function was evaluated by electrocardiogram (ECG) and echocardiogram (ECHO) before cell therapy, and by ECG, ECHO, cardiopulmonary test, and left ventricular pressure measurements 3 weeks later. After 3 weeks, both groups treated with hUCB still had Q wave present in L1, âQRS >90° and reduced shortening fraction (less than 50%). In addition, cardiac indexes of left ventricular contractility and relaxation were 5484 ± 875 and -4032 ± 643 mmHg (cryopreserved hUCB) and 4585 ± 955 and -2862 ± 590 mmHg (fresh hUCB), respectively. These values were not statistically different from those of saline-treated animals. Cardiopulmonary exercise test profile was typical of infarcted hearts; exercise time was about 14 min and maximal VO2 was 24.77 ± 5.00 mL·kg-1·min-1. These data show that hUCB therapy did not improve the cardiac function of infarcted animals or prevent cardiac remodeling.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of amiodarone on mean arterial pressure (MAP), heart rate (HR), baroreflex, Bezold-Jarisch, and peripheral chemoreflex in normotensive and chronic one-kidney, one-clip (1K1C) hypertensive rats (N = 9 to 11 rats in each group). Amiodarone (50 mg/kg, iv) elicited hypotension and bradycardia in normotensive (-10 ± 1 mmHg, -57 ± 6 bpm) and hypertensive rats (-37 ± 7 mmHg, -39 ± 19 bpm). The baroreflex index (deltaHR/deltaMAP) was significantly attenuated by amiodarone in both normotensive (-0.61 ± 0.12 vs -1.47 ± 0.14 bpm/mmHg for reflex bradycardia and -1.15 ± 0.19 vs -2.63 ± 0.26 bpm/mmHg for reflex tachycardia) and hypertensive rats (-0.26 ± 0.05 vs -0.72 ± 0.16 bpm/mmHg for reflex bradycardia and -0.92 ± 0.19 vs -1.51 ± 0.19 bpm/mmHg for reflex tachycardia). The slope of linear regression from deltapulse interval/deltaMAP was attenuated for both reflex bradycardia and tachycardia in normotensive rats (-0.47 ± 0.13 vs -0.94 ± 0.19 ms/mmHg and -0.80 ± 0.13 vs -1.11 ± 0.13 ms/mmHg), but only for reflex bradycardia in hypertensive rats (-0.15 ± 0.02 vs -0.23 ± 0.3 ms/mmHg). In addition, the MAP and HR responses to the Bezold-Jarisch reflex were 20-30% smaller in amiodarone-treated normotensive or hypertensive rats. The bradycardic response to peripheral chemoreflex activation with intravenous potassium cyanide was also attenuated by amiodarone in both normotensive (-30 ± 6 vs -49 ± 8 bpm) and hypertensive rats (-34 ± 13 vs -42 ± 10 bpm). On the basis of the well-known electrophysiological effects of amiodarone, the sinus node might be the responsible for the attenuation of the cardiovascular reflexes found in the present study.

To evaluate the precision of the DNA tests using the non-automatized technique for individual identification and parentage tests, 105 Rottweiler dogs were studied using the primer CMR S. The sample was composed of 39 animals belonging to 11 complete families and their progenies, and 66 non related individuals until the second generation, derived from kennels located in the states of Minas Gerais and São Paulo. The CMR S primer was used for the Polimerase Chain Reaction (PCR). The results showed the inefficiency of the technique, even when analyzed through the automated gel analysis system. Also showed the impossibility of its commercial use due to the fact of does not permit the storage of data for subsequent use.

Foram utilizados 46 animais da raça Gir, registrados na Associação Brasileira de Criadores de Zebu, provenientes de cinco fazendas situadas no Estado de Minas Gerais, com o objetivo de avaliar a eficiência dos microssatélites BM2113, ILSTS005, ILSTS008, ETH131 e RM88 em testes de verificação de parentesco. Os locos BM2113, ILSTS005, ETH131 e RM88 mostraram-se eficientes, apresentando valores de PE2 (probabilidade de exclusão quando os dois progenitores são genotipados) entre 0,62 e 0,69 e PIC2 (conteúdo de informação polimórfica quando os dois progenitores são genotipados) entre 0,78 e 0,83. O mesmo não ocorreu para o loco ILSTS008, o qual apresentou baixos valores de PE2 (0,24) e PIC2 (0,41).

Forty six animals of the Gir breed, registered at the Brazilian Association of Zebu Breeders, coming from five farms located in Minas Gerais State, were used to analyze the efficiency of the microsatellites BM2113, ILSTS005, ILSTS008, ETH131 and RM88 in parentage tests. The loci BM2113, ILSTS005, ETH131 and RM88 showed to be efficient, presenting values of PE2 (exclusion probability when both parents are genotiped) between 0.62 and 0.69 and PIC2 (polymorphic information contents when both parents are genotiped) between 0.78 and 0.83. The same was not observed for the locus ILSTS008 that showed low values of PE2 (0.24) and PIC2 (0.41)