Person:
Benedí González, Juana María

Loading...
Profile Picture
First Name
Juana María
Last Name
Benedí González
Affiliation
Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Faculty / Institute
Farmacia
Department
Farmacología, Farmacognosia y Botánica
Area
Farmacología
Identifiers
UCM identifierORCIDScopus Author IDWeb of Science ResearcherIDDialnet IDGoogle Scholar ID

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
  • Item
    A Neuroprotective Bovine Colostrum Attenuates Apoptosis in Dexamethasone-Treated MC3T3-E1 Osteoblastic Cells
    (International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 2021) Martín-Aragón Álvarez, Sagrario; Bermejo Bescos, María De La Paloma; Benedí González, Juana María; Raposo Simón, Pedro Carlos; Marques, Franklim; Kydonaki, Eirini K.; Gkiata, Paraskevi; Koutedakis, Yiannis; Ntina, Georgia; Carrillo, Andres E.; Amorim, Tânia
    Glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis (GIO) is one of the most common secondary forms of osteoporosis. GIO is partially due to the apoptosis of osteoblasts and osteocytes. In addition, high doses of dexamethasone (DEX), a synthetic glucocorticoid receptor agonist, induces neurodegeneration by initiating inflammatory processes leading to neural apoptosis. Here, a neuroprotective bovine colostrum against glucocorticoid-induced neuronal damage was investigated for its anti-apoptotic activity in glucocorticoid-treated MC3T3-E1 osteoblastic cells. A model of apoptotic osteoblastic cells was developed by exposing MC3T3-E1 cells to DEX (0–700 μM). Colostrum co-treated with DEX was executed at 0.1–5.0 mg/mL. Cell viability was measured for all treatment schedules. Caspase-3 activation was assessed to determine both osteoblast apoptosis under DEX exposure and its potential prevention by colostrum co-treatment. Glutathione reduced (GSH) was measured to determine whether DEX-mediated oxidative stress-driven apoptosis is alleviated by colostrum co-treatment. Western blot was performed to determine the levels of p-ERK1/2, Bcl-XL, Bax, and Hsp70 proteins upon DEX or DEX plus colostrum exposure. Colostrum prevented the decrease in cell viability and the increase in caspase-3 activation and oxidative stress caused by DEX exposure. Cells, upon colostrum co-treated with DEX, exhibited higher levels of p-ERK1/2 and lower levels of Bcl-XL, Bax, and Hsp70. Our data support the notion that colostrum may be able to reduce DEX-induced apoptosis possibly via the activation of the ERK pathway and modulation of the Hsp70 system. We provided preliminary evidence on how bovine colostrum, as a complex and multi-component dairy product, in addition to its neuroprotective action, may affect osteoblastic cell survival undergoing apoptosis.
  • Item
    A Diet Containing Rutin Ameliorates Brain Intracellular Redox Homeostasis in a Mouse Model of Alzheimer’s Disease
    (International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 2023) Jiménez-Aliaga, Karim L.; Bermejo Bescos, María De La Paloma; Benedí González, Juana María; Martín-Aragón Álvarez, Sagrario
    Quercetin has been studied extensively for its anti-Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and anti-aging effects. Our previous studies have found that quercetin and in its glycoside form, rutin, can modulate the proteasome function in neuroblastoma cells. We aimed to explore the effects of quercetin and rutin on intracellular redox homeostasis of the brain (reduced glutathione/oxidized glutathione, GSH/GSSG), its correlation with β-site APP cleaving enzyme 1 (BACE1) activity, and amyloid precursor protein (APP) expression in transgenic TgAPP mice (bearing human Swedish mutation APP transgene, APPswe). On the basis that BACE1 protein and APP processing are regulated by the ubiquitin–proteasome pathway and that supplementation with GSH protects neurons from proteasome inhibition, we investigated whether a diet containing quercetin or rutin (30 mg/kg/day, 4 weeks) diminishes several early signs of AD. Genotyping analyses of animals were carried out by PCR. In order to determine intracellular redox homeostasis, spectrofluorometric methods were adopted to quantify GSH and GSSG levels using o-phthalaldehyde and the GSH/GSSG ratio was ascertained. Levels of TBARS were determined as a marker of lipid peroxidation. Enzyme activities of SOD, CAT, GR, and GPx were determined in the cortex and hippocampus. ΒACE1 activity was measured by a secretase-specific substrate conjugated to two reporter molecules (EDANS and DABCYL). Gene expression of the main antioxidant enzymes: APP, BACE1, a Disintegrin and metalloproteinase domain-containing protein 10 (ADAM10), caspase-3, caspase-6, and inflammatory cytokines were determined by RT-PCR. First, overexpression of APPswe in TgAPP mice decreased GSH/GSSG ratio, increased malonaldehyde (MDA) levels, and, overall, decreased the main antioxidant enzyme activities in comparison to wild-type (WT) mice. Treatment of TgAPP mice with quercetin or rutin increased GSH/GSSG, diminished MDA levels, and favored the enzyme antioxidant capacity, particularly with rutin. Secondly, both APP expression and BACE1 activity were diminished with quercetin or rutin in TgAPP mice. Regarding ADAM10, it tended to increase in TgAPP mice with rutin treatment. As for caspase-3 expression, TgAPP displayed an increase which was the opposite with rutin. Finally, the increase in expression of the inflammatory markers IL-1β and IFN-γ in TgAPP mice was lowered by both quercetin and rutin. Collectively, these findings suggest that, of the two flavonoids, rutin may be included in a day-to-day diet as a form of adjuvant therapy in AD.
  • Item
    Could Duodenal Molecular Mechanisms be Involved in the Hypocholesterolemic Effect of Silicon Used as Functional Ingredient in Late‐Stage Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus?
    (Molecular Nutrition & Food Research, 2022) Hernández Martín, Marina; Bocanegra De Juana, Aranzazu; Redondo Castillejo, Rocío; Macho González, Adrián; Sánchez Muniz, Francisco José; Benedí González, Juana María; Bastida Codina, Sara; García Fernández, Rosa Ana; Garcimartín Álvarez, Alba; López-Oliva Muñoz, María Elvira
    Scope: Hypercholesterolemia increases the risk of mortality in type 2 diabetesmellitus (T2DM), especially in the late-stage. Consumption of bioactivecompounds as functional ingredients would help achieve therapeutic goals forcholesterolemia. Silicon has demonstrated a hypocholesterolemic effect andthe ability to reduce fat digestion. However, it is unclear whether silicon exertssuch effect in late-stage T2DM (LD) and the intestinal mechanisms involved.Methods and results: Three groups of eight rats were included: early-stageT2DM control (ED), LD, and the LD group treated with silicon (LD-Si) oncethe rats were diabetic. Morphological alterations of the duodenal mucosa, andlevels of markers involve in cholesterol absorption and excretion, besidecholesterolemia, and fecal excretion were assayed. Silicon included as afunctional ingredient significantly reduces cholesterolemia in part due to: 1)reducing cholesterol intestinal absorption by decreasing the absorptive areaand Acetyl-Coenzyme A acetyltransferase-2 (ACAT2) levels; and 2) increasingcholesterol excretion to the lumen by induction of the liver X receptor (LXR)and consequent increase of adenosine triphosphate-binding cassettetransporter (ABCG5/8).Conclusions: These results provide insight into the intestinal molecularmechanisms by which silicon reduces cholesterolemia and highlights theefficacy of the consumption of silicon-enriched functional foods in late-stageT2DM.