Pantoprazole® is one of the leading proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) used in the treatment of a variety of diseases related to the upper gastrointestinal tract. However, studies have shown an increased risk of developing gastric cancer, intestinal metaplasia and hyperplasia of endocrine cells with prolonged use. In the present study, the somatic mutation and recombination test (SMART) was employed to determine the mutagenic effects of Pantoprazole on Drosophila melanogaster. Repeated treatments with Pantoprazole were performed on 72-hour larvae of the standard (ST) and high bioactivation (HB) crosses at concentrations of 2.5, 5.0, and 10.0 μM. In addition, doxorubicin (DXR) was administered at 0.4 mM, as a positive control. When administered to ST descendants, total number of spots were statistically significant at 2.5 and 5.0 μM concentrations. For HB descendants, a significant increase in the total number of spots was observed among the marked transheterozygous (MH) flies. Through analysis of balancer heterozygous (BH) descendants, recombinogenic effects were observed at all concentrations in descendants of the HB cross. In view of these experimental conditions and results, it was concluded that Pantoprazole is associated with recombinogenic effects in Drosophila melanogaster.

Human adenoviruses (HAdV) are a major cause of acute respiratory diseases (ARD), gastroenteritis, conjunctivitis and urinary infections. Between November 2000-April 2007, a total of 468 nasopharyngeal aspirate samples were collected from children with ARD at the Clinics Hospital of Uberlândia. These samples were tested by immunofluorescence assay (IFA) and 3% (14/468) tested positive for the presence of HAdV. By performing polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to detect HAdV DNA in samples that tested negative or inconclusive for all viruses identifiable by IFA (respiratory syncytial virus, parainfluenza viruses 1, 2 and 3, influenza viruses A and B and HAdV), as well as negative for rhinoviruses by reverse transcription-PCR, additional 19 cases were detected, for a total of 33 (7.1%) HAdV-positive samples. Nucleotide sequences of 13 HAdV samples were analyzed, revealing that they belonged to species B, C and E. Further analyses showed that species C (HAdV-2) was the most prevalent among the sequenced samples. To our knowledge, this is the first report describing the presence of HAdV-4 in Brazil. We also detected an isolate that was 100% identical to a part of the feline adenovirus hexon gene sequence.

This study investigated the genotoxicity of Lapachol (LAP) evaluated by wing spot test of Drosophila melanogaster in the descendants from standard (ST) and high bioactivation (HB) crosses. This assay detects the loss of heterozygosity of marker genes expressed phenotypically on the fly's wings. Drosophila has extensive genetic homology to mammals, which makes it a suitable model organism for genotoxic investigations. Three-day-old larvae from ST crosses (females flr³/TM3, Bd s x males mwh/mwh), with basal levels of the cytochrome P450 and larvae of high metabolic bioactivity capacity (HB cross) (females ORR; flr³/TM3, Bd s x males mwh/mwh), were used. The results showed that LAP is a promutagen, exhibiting genotoxic activity in larvae from the HB cross. In other words, an increase in the frequency of spots is exclusive of individuals with a high level of the cytochrome P450. The results also indicate that recombinogenicity is the main genotoxic event induced by LAP.