The rocky intertidal zone, experiencing fully marine and fully terrestrial conditions, has become increasingly investigated as a model ecosystem for studying the future implications of climate change. The barnacle, Balanus glandula, a common rocky intertidal inhabitant, plays an important role as a key prey item for many organisms. Low tide can be particularly challenging for barnacles as they are marine organisms subjected to the abiotic conditions of a terrestrial environment. The most stressful of these are increased temperature and decreased oxygen availability. This study aimed to investigate how low tide impacts the energy budget, specifically the digestion, of B. glandula. Barnacles are unable to feed at low tide however, if they were able to digest at low tide, they could maximize their energy intake by emptying their stomach to prepare to feed at the next high tide. However, digestion is a metabolically costly activity, which could make it less energetically favorable to digest when there’s less oxygen available. To test for an effect of low tide on digestion, barnacles were fed, and the time to first fecal production measured as a ‘baseline’. This was repeated, but barnacles were exposed to either a 16ºC or 35 ºC low tide immediately after being fed. The change in digestion time was calculated by comparing these two times for each barnacle. It was found that regardless of temperature, barnacles delayed their digestion by about 50-60 minutes after exposure to a one hour low tide. To determine the energetic cost of digestion, the rate of oxygen consumption was compared between starved and digesting barnacles. I was unable to detect any evidence of elevated metabolic activity during digestion. Additional testing is needed to confirm these results as the barnacles may have not fed during the trial, thus had no food to digest. While it appears that increasing temperatures associated with climate change will have little impact on the digestion of barnacles at low tide, if climate change alters the duration of low tide, there could be an energetic impact to barnacles due to the slowing of their metabolism as indicated by the delay in their digestion.

Like all intertidal species, the barnacle Balanus glandula must cope with temperature and desiccation stress during daily low tide exposure. The increase in temperature at low tide leads to both increased metabolic rate and the potential for increased ATP demand. With its additional inhibition of oxygen intake, low tide thus has an energetic cost that is often reflected in an increase in oxygen consumption following resubmersion. As anthropogenically induced global climate change increases air and water temperatures, its cost might increase. B. glandula individuals were exposed to 4‑hour low tides with maximal temperatures of 18, 30, 35, and 38°C, and their oxygen consumption rates and behaviors were recorded for 4 hours upon resubmersion. It was found that aerial respiration could be measured, though aerial rates were only a fraction of aquatic rates. It was further found that relative aquatic oxygen consumption rates were not elevated following low tide for any temperatures. However, B. glandula individuals exposed to 35 and 38°C low tides remained active a significantly greater portion of time through the first and second hours of recovery, respectively. This indicates that a low tide stress effect is evident in B. glandula, but that it manifests not as an increase in the respiration rate when active, but rather as an increase in the overall activity time. Thus, with increasing global temperatures B. glandula will likely have increased energy needs. This might lead to range relocations, a drive to find new energy sources, and/or reallocations of energy budgets.

As a unique habitat that encompasses steep environmental gradients, it is important to evaluate threats posed to the intertidal zone by rapid climate change. It is thought that intertidal ectotherms are living close to their physiological limit; therefore slight changes in temperature could result in high levels of mortality. Past studies on intertidal species measured thermal tolerance under constant temperatures, neglecting to consider the impacts of natural variation in field temperatures. I conducted a study on the barnacle, Balanus glandula, to assess if a variable thermal environment would alter thermal tolerance. Barnacles were acclimated in an intertidal mesocosm to either daily cold (maximum 20.4◦C), daily warm (maximum 26.5◦C), or variable (two days cold, two days warm) low-tide temperatures. I measured each barnacle’s critical thermal maximum (CTmax) by increasing air temperature 6◦C/hour and identifying the point at which the barnacle ceased to function. Barnacles exposed to any warm temperatures demonstrated an increased thermal tolerance, suggesting that this population of barnacles is capable of shifting their thermal maximum. Furthermore, acclimation to thermal heterogeneity raised thermal maximum, reinforcing the need for future thermal tolerance studies to incorporate biologically-relevant thermal regimes in laboratory experiments. These results demonstrate that B. glandula in the field are well-adapted for increasing air temperatures.

Orientadores: Thais Mauad, Pablo Agustin Vargas / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Odontologia de Piracicaba / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-06T14:43:00Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Rocha_LiliaAlves_M.pdf: 978269 bytes, checksum: bfa78078389c5bf2cc8abfe5a8062e25 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006 / Resumo: O lnibidor de Protease Liberada por Leucócitos (SLPI) é um inibidor de protease endógeno, originalmente caracterizado a partir de fluído salivar proveniente da glândula parótida. Além da ação inibitória contra o Vírus da Imunodeficiência Humana (IDV), o SLPI também possui atividades anti-bacterianase anti-rungicas. Os tecidos orais são sítios comuns de infecção em pacientes com AIDS. SLPI é expresso em glândulas submandibulares (GSM), mas existem poucos trabalhos sobre a expressão desta proteína em pacientes com infecções associadas ao HIY. O objetivo deste estudo foi analisar a expressão imunohistoquímica do SLPI em GSM de pacientes que morreram de AIDS. Foram analizadas amostras de GSM de 36 pacientes que morreram de AIDS (10 pacientes não apresentavam alterações histológicas em GSM, 10 pacientes apresentavam sialodenite, 08 pacientes apresentavam infecção por micobactérias e 08 pacientes apresentavam infecção por citomegalivírus (CMV)), e 10 pacientes IDV negativos (grupo controle). A expressão do SLPI foi quantificada nos ácinos serosos através de um analisador de imagens, com os resultados expressos em porcentagem de área corada. Foi verificada uma maior expressão de SLPI nas GSM de pacientes com AIDS apresentando infecção por CMV (~ SLPI= 37,37:f:14,45) quando comparado com todos os outros grupos (p= 0,009). Não houve diferença significativa entre o grupo controle (% SLPI= 22,7O:f:9,42) e o grupo de pacientes com AIDS sem alterações histúlógicas em GSM (%SLPI= 18,1O:f:7,58), pacientes com sialodenite (%SLPI= 17, 13:f:5 ,36), ou ainda pacientes com infecção por micobactérias (%SLPI= 21,09:f:4,66). Estes resultados indicam que a infecção por CMV aumentou a expressão de SLPI em GSM de pacientes com AIDS / Abstract: Seeretory Leukoeyte Proteinase Inhibitor (SLPI) is an endogen proteinase inhibitor originalIy eharaeterized ITom parotid fluids. Besides an inhibitory aetion on human immunodefieieney virus (IllV), SLPI possess also anti-baeterial and anti-fungical activities. The oral tissues are a eommon site of infeetious eonditions in patients with AIDS. SLPI protein is expressed in the submandibular glands, but there are few data on its expression in patients with assoeiatedIllV infections. The objeetive of this study was to analyze the immunohistoehemistry expression of SLPI in the submandibular glands (SMG) of patients that died ITom the AIDS. We analyzed SMG samples of 36 patients that died ITom AIDS (10 patients with no histologieal alterations, 10 patients had ehronie non specifie sialadenitis, 8 had myeobacteriosis and 8 had eytomegalovirus infeetion (CMV), and 10 IllV negative (eontrol group). SLPI expression was in the serous aeinar eelIs, quantified with image analysis, results being expressed in pereentage of stained areas. There was a statistieally signifieant higher expression of SLPI in AIDS patients with CMV infection (0,10 SLPI = 37.371:14.45) when eompared to alI other groups (p = 0.009). There were no signifieant differenees among eontrol subjeets (%SLPI = 22.701:9.42) and AIDS patients without histologieal alterations (%SLPI = 18.101:7.58), patients with ehronie non-speeifie sialadenitis (% SLPI = 17.131:5.36) or myeobaeterial infection (% SLPI = 21.091:4.66). These results indieate that the CMV infeetion inereases SLPI expression in the submandibular glands of AIDS patients / Mestrado / Patologia / Mestre em Estomatopatologia

Intertidal habitats are characterized by dynamic, tidally-driven fluctuations in abiotic and biotic factors. Many of the environmental stressors that vary across the intertidal (e.g., temperature, oxygen, food availability, predation pressure) are strong drivers of metabolic rate in ectotherms. As such, we predicted that there may be pronounced differences in the metabolic and stress physiology of conspecific sessile invertebrates occupying at different relative tidal heights. The common acorn barnacle Balanus glandula represents an ideal model organism in which to investigate the possibility of tidal height-dependent physiological differences, owing to their wide distribution in the intertidal zone and their eurytolerant nature. In the first chapter of my thesis, we investigate the hypothesis that B. glandula anchored in the low intertidal have a greater capacity for anaerobic metabolism than conspecifics in the high intertidal, and that this is due to increased predation pressure during submersion. Further, we explore the temporal and spatial fidelity of certain tidal-height driven trends in lactate dehydrogenase activity previously observed in our lab (i.e., higher LDH activity in low intertidal barnacles; Horn et al., 2021), and attempt to identify environmental variables that drive plasticity in LDH activity. We found that, in general, there were higher densities of B. glandula and gastropod whelk predators in the low intertidal compared to the high intertidal, but follow-up studies in the lab revealed that opercular closure in B. glandula was induced by predator exposure (Acanthinucella spirata) for less than 24h. This time frame for shell closure is unlikely to result in internal hypoxia or enhance capacity for anaerobic metabolism. We were therefore not surprised to find that LDH activity in B. glandula was likewise not affected by predator exposures (48h) carried out in the lab. After failing to find an effect of predators on LDH activity in B. glandula, we attempted to replicate the previous finding that LDH activity was highest in low intertidal populations of B. glandula. We did this at the original location in San Luis Obispo Bay, CA as well as at three novel field sites and across seasons and years. While we did observe variation in LDH activity over time and between sites, we did not consistently observe the same trend in LDH activity whereby low intertidal barnacles had the highest activity. In response to these variable patterns, we attempted to identify what environmental parameters, other than predation, might be responsible for plasticity in LDH activity. Unfortunately, neither temperature nor emersion stress – the two variables we examined – had any significant an effect on LDH activity in B. glandula. These data suggest that there must be multiple, interacting stressors – including tidal position - that influence the anaerobic metabolic capacity of B. glandula. In the second chapter of my thesis, we went on to investigate how the response to thermal stress might differ between populations of B. glandula from different vertical heights in the intertidal zone. To this end, we assessed how aerial temperature stress affected oxygen consumption rates (MO2), superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, and time to mortality in B. glandula collected from both low and high intertidal positions. We found that barnacles from the low intertidal showed a significant increase in MO2 with higher temperature, while MO2 was unaffected by temperature in B. glandula from the high intertidal. We also observed that SOD activity levels were higher in the high intertidal barnacles compared to the low intertidal barnacles, although neither group was increasing SOD activity under higher temperature. Finally, we observed significantly longer survival times during thermal stress in barnacles from the high intertidal zone (e.g., LT50 = 8.75 h vs 5 h at 33˚C for the high and low barnacles, respectively), although this advantage seemed to be lost with the addition of desiccation stress at these same temperatures. It is evident that life in highest reaches of the intertidal zones is physiologically challenging, and this has resulted in a population of B, glandula barnacles that are less sensitive to and better suited to tolerate temperature extremes than conspecifics in the lowest intertidal regions. Understanding how habitat variation may differentially impact the metabolic and thermal stress physiology of B. glandula is increasingly important as climate change progresses. This is particularly significant considering that organisms in the intertidal already reside within a relatively stressful environment and may be living closer to their thermal tolerance limits than animals from less extreme habitats.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:25:35Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2008-11-17Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T18:53:44Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 cruz_jb_me_botfm.pdf: 449482 bytes, checksum: 5627323423c217568fc73820cbf66a6a (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / A hipófise anterior compõe-se de cinco tipos celulares que são definidos pelos hormônios que secretam. A diferenciação desses tipos celulares resulta de uma cascata temporalmente regulada de fatores transcricionais expressos no tecido hipofisário. Mutações de um desses fatores podem resultar tanto em defeitos estruturais da glândula como em deficiências hormonais, que podem ser isoladas (Déficit de hormônio do crescimento - DGH) ou combinadas (DHHC), dependendo do papel do fator transcricional mutado. A Displasia Septo – óptica (DSO) caracteriza-se pela presença de hipoplasia hipofisária, hipoplasia de nervo óptico e/ou má formações de estruturas da linha média. Foram avaliados 11 pacientes com quadro clinico de SOD, DGH e DHHC e realizado o sequenciamento genético do gene HESX1 desses indivíduos. Nos casos de DHHC foi feita uma análise adicional do gene PROP1. A mutação missense em estado de heterozigose A1772G levando a substituição N125S foi identificada em um paciente portador de DSO, no gene HESX1. Essa troca já foi previamente relatada como um polimorfismo na população Afro-Caribenha. Encontramos três pacientes portadores da variante alélica A9A e N20S no exon 1 do gene PROP1, já descritos previamente na literatura como polimorfismos. / The anterior pituitary is made of five types of cell defined according to the hormones they secrete. Differentiation among such cell types derives from a cascade of temporally regulated transcriptional factors expressed in the pituitary tissue. Mutation in one of these factors may result in both structural gland defects and hormonal deficiencies, which may be either isolated (DGH – Growth Hormone Deficiency) or combined, depending on the role of the mutated transcriptional factor. Septo-optic dysplasia (SOD) is characterized by pituitary hypoplasia, optic nerve hypoplasia and/or malformation of medium line structures. Eleven patients with a clinical state of SOD, DGH and CPHD were assessed, and genetically sequenced for the HESX1 gene. For CPHD cases, an additional analysis for the PROP1 gene was also conducted. One SOD patient was found to have a missense mutation in A1772G heterozygosis state, leading to the N125S replacement, in HESX1 gene. Such replacement has already been reported as a polymorphism in the Afro-Caribbean population. We found three patients with the alelic variation A9S and N20A in exon 1 of PROP1 gene, previously described as polymorphisms.

The intertidal zone is characterized by persistent, tidally-driven fluctuations in both abiotic (e.g., temperature, [O2], salinity) and biotic (e.g., food availability, predation) conditions, which makes this a very physiologically challenging habitat for resident organisms. The magnitude and degree of variability of these environmental stressors differs between intertidal zones, with the most extreme physiological stress often being experienced by organisms in the high intertidal. Given that many of the fluctuating conditions in this environment are primary drivers of metabolic rate (e.g., temperature, [O2], food availability), we hypothesized that sessile conspecifics residing in different tidal zones would exhibit distinct ‘metabolic phenotypes,’ a term we use to collectively describe the organisms’ baseline metabolic performance and capacity. To investigate this hypothesis, we collected acorn barnacles (Balanus glandula) from low, mid, and high intertidal positions in San Luis Obispo Bay, CA and measured a suite of biochemical (whole-animal citrate synthase (CS) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity, aerial [lactate]), physiological (O2 consumption rates), morphological (body size), and behavioral (e.g., cirri beat frequency, % time operculum open) indices of metabolism. We found tidal zone-dependent differences in B. glandula metabolism that primarily related to anaerobic capacity, feeding behaviors and body size. Barnacles from the low intertidal tended to have a greater capacity for anaerobic metabolism (i.e., increased LDH activity), feed less when submerged, and be smaller in size compared to conspecifics in the high intertidal. We did not, however, see differences between barnacles from different tidal heights in whole-animal [lactate] following 24h of air exposure, which indicates that the enhanced capacity of low intertidal barnacles for anaerobic metabolism may have evolved to support metabolism during more prolonged episodes of emersion (>>24h) or during events other than emersion (e.g., coastal hypoxia, predation). There were also no significant differences in CS activity or baseline oxygen consumption rates (in air or seawater at 14˚C) across tidal heights, which implies that aerobic metabolic capacity may not be as sensitive to tidal position as anaerobic processes. Understanding how individuals occupying different shore heights differ in their metabolic capacity becomes increasingly interesting in the context of global climate change, given that the intertidal zone is predicted to experience even greater extremes in abiotic stress.

O tratamento anti-HIV conhecido como HAART (Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy) se tornou comum por volta de 1996, e utiliza 3 ou 4 diferentes medicamentos em combinação - geralmente dois inibidores de transcriptase reversa + 1 ou 2 inibidores de protease. A introdução desse tipo de tratamento trouxe um grande impacto na morbidade e mortalidade de indivíduos infectados pelo HIV. Os inibidores de protease (PIs) são uma boa alternativa às falhas terapêuticas observadas com o uso dos inibidores de transcriptase reversa, no entanto também são associados a vários efeitos tóxicos, como desconforto abdominal, vômito, diarréia, dor de cabeça, tontura, lipodistrofia, hipercolesterolemia, hipertrigliceridemia e hiperglicemia. Em função da existência de efeitos adversos e da condição do ritonavir como protótipo desse tipo de medicação, nosso objetivo é avaliar o efeito desse medicamento sobre os epitélios de revestimento e glandular relacionados à cavidade bucal, de forma a identificar a possibilidade da existência de complicações bucais relacionadas ao uso de inibidores de protease. Ratos albinos (Wistar) foram tratados com Ritonavir (10mg/Kg) por períodos de 4 e 8 semanas. Foram avaliadas as taxas séricas de triglicérides e colesterol (total, HDL, LDL, VLDL). Ao final dos períodos de tratamentos propostos, os animais foram sacrificados, e as peças utilizadas no estudo foram colhidas, (sangue, pele, língua, palatos e glândulas salivares). O sangue coletado foi imediatamente centrifugado sendo o plasma foi utilizado para avaliação das lipoproteínas. Os tecidos colhidos foram fixados, descalcificados quando necessário, processados para inclusão em parafina, cortados com 6µm de espessura, montados em slides e corados com hematoxilina e eosina, para avaliação histopatológica, morfométrica e estereológica. Os dados colhidos foram apresentados em valores médios, e as diferenças analisadas por testes estatísticos adequados para a comparação entre as amostras. Nossos resultados mostram pequenas variações nas características morfológicas de epitélios de revestimento e glandulares, variações essas que poderiam deixar esses tecidos mais propensos a sofrer alterações significativas com traumas ou injúrias, comuns nos tecidos bucais. Embora observadas com pequeno grau de expressão, essas variações, parecem ser progressivas, ou seja, mais expressivas com o uso continuado do medicamento. Mais estudos devem ser realizados, principalmente voltados para avaliações histoquímicas, bioquímicas e moleculares, no entanto nosso estudo é um alerta inicial para a avaliação dos tecidos bucais de pacientes que utilizam inibidores de protease. / HAART had a dramatic impact on the HIV infection, however, protease inhibitor exhibit significant drug-drug interactions, and side effects. There are only few data on effects of protease inhibitors on oral tissues. We propose to observe experimental effects of ritonavir on oral epithelial tissues, covering and glandular. Wistar rats received Ritonavir twice a week for 4-8 weeks. Controls received no treatment. At the time for sacrifice, plasma were collected for evaluation of triglycerides, total cholesterol, HDL, LDL and VLDL. Were also collected skin, tongue, palate and glandular tissues Lipoproteins were evaluated and histological examination of skin, mucosal epithelium on tongue, palate and salivar submandibular glandula were made under light microscope. Morphometric methods (cariometry and stereology) were used. Data were statistically analysed by Kruskal Wallis test for multiple samples, since our data were considered not-normal. P[U] 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Our results show that protease inhibitor may be associated with small alterations in epithelial tissues, significant mostly when on longer times using the medication. The complete significance of this data has to be better understood, and other studies has to be done to define these points.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:27:55Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2011-06-29Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T19:15:37Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 martins_lg_me_sjc.pdf: 695176 bytes, checksum: fb089e33ad4b62aa9c5866bfb90390b7 (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP) / A ação de beta-bloqueadores na melhoria da qualidade óssea e sua ação anti-inflamatória embasam a hipótese de que a modulação simpática pode influenciar a evolução da doença periodontal (DP). Estudos demonstram relação entre disfunção salivar e DP; no entanto, os efeitos da DP nas glândulas salivares, cuja secreção é controlada pelo sistema nervoso autônomo, são pouco estudados. Objetivou-se analisar os efeitos do bloqueio e da ativação de receptores beta-adrenérgicos na reabsorção alveolar na DP em ratos, assim como os efeitos da DP, associada ou não a tratamento adrenérgico, nas glândulas salivares. Foram utilizados 40 ratos divididos em quatro grupos: (1) Grupo Propranolol 0,1mg/Kg com indução de DP; (2) Grupo Isoproterenol 0,75mg/Kg e DP; (3) Grupo Controle sem DP, com administração solução fisiológica ; (4) Grupo Controle com DP, com administração solução fisiológica. Depois de 14 dias de tratamento, ocorreu a eutanásia. Removeram-se as hemimandíbulas e as glândulas submandibulares e sublinguais para análise. O suporte e a perda óssea alveolar foram determinados radiográfica e macroscopicamente. As glândulas foram pesadas, medidas e submetidas à preparação de rotina para coloração com hematoxilina e eosina e Alcian Blue. Avaliou-se histomorfometricamente a área de ácinos, ductos e a vacuolização celular. Após estatística (p<0,05), verificou-se menor suporte e maior perda alveolar na presença de ligadura e maior perda alveolar em animais com tratados com isoproterenol. O isoproterenol aumentou significantemente peso e dimensões glandulares, reduziu área ductal e vacuolização, e aumentou área acinar na submandibular. Propranolol apenas reduziu vacuolização em relação ao controle com DP, e as demais comparações não foram estatisticamente significantes... / The action of beta-blockers in the improvement of bone quality and their anti-inflammatory actions base the hypothesis that sympathetic nervous system modulation can influence periodontal disease (PD). Studies demonstrate a relationship between salivary dysfunction and PD; however, there are few studies about the effects of PD in salivary glands, whose secretion is controlled by the autonomic nervous system. The aim of this study was to analyze the effects of the blockade and of the activation of beta-adrenergic receptors in alveolar resorption in PD in rats, as well as the effects of PD, associated or not to adrenergic treatment, in salivary glands. Forty rats were divided into four groups: (1) group Propranolol 0.1mg/Kg with PD induction; (2) group Isoproterenol 0.75mg/Kg and PD; (3) group Control without PD, which received saline; (4) group Control with PD, which also received saline. After 14 days of treatment, euthanasia occurred. Hemimandibles and submandibular and sublingual glands were removed for analysis. Alveolar bone support and alveolar bone loss were evaluated by radiographic and macroscopic analysis. Gland weight and dimensions were measured, and then the samples were submitted to routine preparation for hematoxilin and eosin and Alcian blue stainings. Acinar and ductal area and cellular vacuolization were histomorphometrically evaluated. After statistical analysis (p <0.05), less alveolar bone support and larger alveolar loss were verified in animals with ligatures for PD induction and larger alveolar loss were also verified in rats treated with isoproterenol. Isoproterenol also increased significantly glandular weight, size and acinar area, and reduced ductal area and cellular vacuolization in submandibular glands. Group Propranolol presented less vacuolization than group Control with DP... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)

O tratamento anti-HIV conhecido como HAART (Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy) se tornou comum por volta de 1996, e utiliza 3 ou 4 diferentes medicamentos em combinação - geralmente dois inibidores de transcriptase reversa + 1 ou 2 inibidores de protease. A introdução desse tipo de tratamento trouxe um grande impacto na morbidade e mortalidade de indivíduos infectados pelo HIV. Os inibidores de protease (PIs) são uma boa alternativa às falhas terapêuticas observadas com o uso dos inibidores de transcriptase reversa, no entanto também são associados a vários efeitos tóxicos, como desconforto abdominal, vômito, diarréia, dor de cabeça, tontura, lipodistrofia, hipercolesterolemia, hipertrigliceridemia e hiperglicemia. Em função da existência de efeitos adversos e da condição do ritonavir como protótipo desse tipo de medicação, nosso objetivo é avaliar o efeito desse medicamento sobre os epitélios de revestimento e glandular relacionados à cavidade bucal, de forma a identificar a possibilidade da existência de complicações bucais relacionadas ao uso de inibidores de protease. Ratos albinos (Wistar) foram tratados com Ritonavir (10mg/Kg) por períodos de 4 e 8 semanas. Foram avaliadas as taxas séricas de triglicérides e colesterol (total, HDL, LDL, VLDL). Ao final dos períodos de tratamentos propostos, os animais foram sacrificados, e as peças utilizadas no estudo foram colhidas, (sangue, pele, língua, palatos e glândulas salivares). O sangue coletado foi imediatamente centrifugado sendo o plasma foi utilizado para avaliação das lipoproteínas. Os tecidos colhidos foram fixados, descalcificados quando necessário, processados para inclusão em parafina, cortados com 6&micro;m de espessura, montados em slides e corados com hematoxilina e eosina, para avaliação histopatológica, morfométrica e estereológica. Os dados colhidos foram apresentados em valores médios, e as diferenças analisadas por testes estatísticos adequados para a comparação entre as amostras. Nossos resultados mostram pequenas variações nas características morfológicas de epitélios de revestimento e glandulares, variações essas que poderiam deixar esses tecidos mais propensos a sofrer alterações significativas com traumas ou injúrias, comuns nos tecidos bucais. Embora observadas com pequeno grau de expressão, essas variações, parecem ser progressivas, ou seja, mais expressivas com o uso continuado do medicamento. Mais estudos devem ser realizados, principalmente voltados para avaliações histoquímicas, bioquímicas e moleculares, no entanto nosso estudo é um alerta inicial para a avaliação dos tecidos bucais de pacientes que utilizam inibidores de protease. / HAART had a dramatic impact on the HIV infection, however, protease inhibitor exhibit significant drug-drug interactions, and side effects. There are only few data on effects of protease inhibitors on oral tissues. We propose to observe experimental effects of ritonavir on oral epithelial tissues, covering and glandular. Wistar rats received Ritonavir twice a week for 4-8 weeks. Controls received no treatment. At the time for sacrifice, plasma were collected for evaluation of triglycerides, total cholesterol, HDL, LDL and VLDL. Were also collected skin, tongue, palate and glandular tissues Lipoproteins were evaluated and histological examination of skin, mucosal epithelium on tongue, palate and salivar submandibular glandula were made under light microscope. Morphometric methods (cariometry and stereology) were used. Data were statistically analysed by Kruskal Wallis test for multiple samples, since our data were considered not-normal. P[U] 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Our results show that protease inhibitor may be associated with small alterations in epithelial tissues, significant mostly when on longer times using the medication. The complete significance of this data has to be better understood, and other studies has to be done to define these points.