<p>The aim of this study was to increase the understanding of the mechanisms regulating cell proliferation and recombinant protein production in serum-free cultures of Trichoplusia ni (T. ni) insect cells.</p><p>Conditioned medium (CM) was shown to contain both stimulatory and inhibitory factors (CM factors) influencing cell growth. Metalloproteinase (MP) activity was the major factor responsible for the growth stimulating effect of CM as shown by using the specific MP inhibitor DL-thiorphan. MPs may exist in several different molecular mass forms due to autoproteolysis. Although the main band of the MP was determined to be around 48 kDa, precursor forms above 48 kDa as well as autocatalytic degradation products below the main band could be observed. It is not clear whether all forms of the MP or just the main band is involved in the growth regulation. Further, a proteinase inhibitor could be identified in the inhibitory fraction. Thus, we speculate that the proteinase inhibitor may be part of an autocrine system regulating cell proliferation.</p><p>Analysis of the cell cycle phase distribution revealed a high proportion of cells in the G1 (80-90 %) and a low proportion of cells in the S and G2/M phases (10-20 %) during the whole culture, indicating that S and G2/M are short relative to G1. After inoculation, a drastic decrease in the S phase population together with a simultaneous increase of cells in G1 and G2/M could be observed as a lagphase on the growth curve and this may be interpreted as a temporary replication stop. When the cells were released from the initial arrest, the S phase population gradually increased again. This was initiated earlier in CM-supplemented cultures, and agrees with the earlier increase in cell concentration. Thus, these data suggests a correlation between CM factors and the cell cycle dynamics.</p><p>In cultures supplied with CM, a clear positive effect on specific productivity was observed, with a 30 % increase in per cell productivity. The specific productivity was also maintained at a high level much longer time than in fresh-medium cultures. The positive effect observed after 20 h coincided with the time a stimulatory effect on cell growth first was seen. Thus, the productivity may be determined by the proliferation potential of the culture. A consequence of this would be that the secreted MP indirectly affects productivity.</p><p>Finally, the yeast extract from Express Five SFM contains factors up to 35 kDa which are essential for T. ni cell growth. The optimal concentration was determined to be 2.5-fold that in normal medium, while higher concentrations were inhibitory. However although vital, they were not solely responsible for the growth-enhancing effect, as some other, more general, component present in yeast extract was needed for proliferation as well.</p>

Un groupe d'études épidémiologiques fournit une bonne preuve de la relation inverse associé à la consommation de fruits et légumes et les maladies chroniques important comme maladies cardiovasculaires et certains types de cancers. Après les longues années d'études sur phytomacronutrients, le rôle de phytomicronutrients tels que les polyphénols est désormais très étudiée et appréciée dans le contrôle de ces maladies dégénératives. La présente étude combine les études d'extraction, de synthèse et d'analyse sur les principaux polyphénols des fruits d'agrumes, FLAVANONES. Connaissance de nutritionnels et de santé a augmenté la production d'agrumes en provenance des dernières décennies. Ces productions plus générer des bye-produits. Pour leur utilisation alternative à des antioxydants extraits riches, l'extraction assistée par ultrasons (UAE) des polyphénols en particulier flavanones de l'orange (Citrus sinensis L.) par son peau en utilisant l'éthanol comme solvant de qualité alimentaire a été prouvé son efficacité en comparaison avec la méthode conventionnelle . Un plan composite central (CCD) a révélé que l'approche des conditions optimisées pour UAE ont une température de 40 ° C, une puissance de 150W sonication et un 4:1 (v / v) d'éthanol: ratio de l'eau. En outre, l'activité antioxydante déterminée par les tests DPPH et ORAC a confirmé la pertinence des UAE pour la préparation d'extraits de plantes riches en antioxydants.Les glucuronides de flavanone sont les principaux métabolites phénoliques détectés dans le plasma humain après la consommation d'agrumes. Jusqu'à maintenant, toutes les études sur les cellules liées au cancer ou les maladies cardiovasculaires ont été réalisées soit sur les aglycones ou sur leurs glycosides. Par conséquent, il ya grand besoin de glucuronides flavanone pure pour démontrer le potentiel réel de flavanones dans la prévention de ces maladies. Dans ce travail, glucuronides de naringénine (4'- et 7-O-β-D-glucuronides) et de hespérétine (3'- et 7-O-β-D-glucuronides), les aglycones flavanone majeur dans le pamplemousse et d'orange, respectivement, ont été synthétisés chimiquement par une protection et la déprotection sélective des groupements d'acide glucuronique et de flavanone. La caractérisation structurale complète de composés purifiés a été réalisée par résonance magnétique nucléaire et spectrométrie de masse.L'affinité des quatre glucuronides pour l'albumine sérum d’humaine (HSA) a été testée par leur capacité à éteindre la fluorescence intrinsèque de HSA (Trp, seul résidu de sous-domaine IIA). Leurs constantes de fixation (K) ont été estimées de l'ordre de 30 à 60 × 103 M-1 et comparées à celles de l'aglycones (70 à 90 × 103 M-1). Les enquêtes de la liaison compétitive ou non compétitive de la glucuronides dans la présence de sondes fluorescentes (sarcosine dansyl) nous a permis d'obtenir un aperçu dans les sites de liaison. L'étude a également été étendue aux chalcones hespérétine et naringénine (synthétisés en utilisant des conditions alcalines optimisée), qui sont les précurseurs de biosynthèse des flavanones / A bunch of epidemiological studies provides good evidence on the inverse relationship associated with the consumption of fruits and vegetables and the chronic diseases importantly cardiovascular diseases and some types of cancers. After the long years of study on phytomacronutrients, the role of phytomicronutrients such as polyphenols is now highly studied and appreciated in the control of such degenerative diseases. The present study combines the extraction, synthetic and analytical studies on the major polyphenols of citrus fruits, FLAVANONES.Awareness of nutritional and health facts has increased the production of citrus fruits from last few decades. These higher productions generate higher by-products. For their alternative utilisation to have antioxidants rich extracts, the ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) of polyphenols especially flavanones from orange (Citrus sinensis L.) peel by using ethanol as afood grade solvent has been proved its efficiency when compared with the conventional method. A central composite design (CCD) approach revealed that the optimized conditions for UAE were a temperature of 40°C, a sonication power of 150W and a 4:1 (v/v) ethanol:water ratio. Furthermore, the antioxidant activity determined by the DPPH and ORAC tests confirmed the suitability of UAE for the preparation of antioxidant-rich plant extracts. Flavanone glucuronides are the major phenolic metabolites detected in human plasma after consumption of citrus fruits. Up to now all cell studies related to cancer or cardiovascular diseases were conducted either on the aglycones or on their glycosides. Hence, there is great need of pure flavanone glucuronides to demonstrate the real potential of flavanones in the prevention of these diseases. In this work, glucuronides of naringenin (4′- and 7-O-β-D-glucuronides) and hesperetin (3′- and 7-O-β-D-glucuronides), the major flavanone aglycones in grapefruit and orange respectively, have been chemically synthesized by selective protection and deprotection of flavanone and glucuronic acid moieties. The complete structural characterisation of purified compounds were realised by nuclear magnetic resonance and mass spectrometry.The affinity of the four glucuronides for human serum albumin (HSA) was tested via their ability to quench the intrinsic fluorescence of HSA (single Trp residue in sub-domain IIA). Their binding constants (K) were estimated in the range of 30 – 60 × 103 M-1 and compared with those of the aglycones (70 – 90 × 103 M-1). Investigations of competitive or noncompetitive binding of the glucuronides in the presence of fluorescent probes (dansyl sarcosine) allowed us to get some insight in the binding sites. The study was also extended to the hesperetin and naringenin chalcones (synthesised using optimized alkaline conditions), which are the biosynthetic precursors of flavanones

The natural hip joint in healthy people has a very low friction with very little (or no) wear. It works as a dynamically loaded bearing and is subjected to about 1-2 million cycles of loading per year. The applied load is the body weight which is tripled when walking and even higher during other activities such as running and jumping. Unfortunately these joints are not always healthy due to various causes such as fractures or disease leading to severe pain which necessitates joint replacement. Currently, the orthopaedic industries are working towards developing an ideal artificial hip joint with low wear, low friction, good lubrication, better fixation/stability and biocompatibility. Many different designs and materials have been investigated with some promising new implants which can be used depending on patients' individual need (large or small joint), activity and age. In this work, two types of artificial hip joints were tested for friction and lubrication studies: Metal-on-Metal (MoM) Biomet hip resurfacing ReCaps with large diameters (>35-60 mm) and different diametral clearances (~ 60-350 µm), and Zirconia Toughened Alumina (ZTA) heads against carbon-fibre-reinforced poly-ether-ether ketone (CFR PEEK) cups with different diameters (>35-60 mm) and diametral clearances (60-1860 µm). Seven serum-based lubricants with different viscosities were used with and without carboxy methyl cellulose (CMC) additions as gelling agent to increase viscosity depending on the CMC content. The maximum load applied was 2000 N for the stance phase with a minimum load of 100 N for the swing phase. A Pro-Sim friction hip simulator was used to investigate the frictional torque generated between the articulating surfaces so as the friction factor can be calculated. Stribeck analysis was then employed to assess the mode of lubrication. For the metal-on-metal hip resurfacing joints, the friction factors were in the range 0.03-0.151 and those for the ZTA ceramic heads versus CFR PEEK cups were in the range 0.006-0.32. Stribeck analyses showed mainly mixed lubrication for both MoM and ZTA ceramic-on-CFR PEEK joints. The experimental results were in agreement with most of the theoretical calculations suggesting mixed lubricating regimes at low viscosities and moving on to fluid film lubrication at higher viscosities. Joints with larger-diameters, lower clearances and lower surface roughness exhibited a higher lambda ratio suggesting improved lubrication. Viscosity flow curves for the serum-based lubricants having viscosity ≤ 0.00524 Pas showed non-linear relationship between viscosity and shear rate indicating non-Newtonian flow with pseudoplastic or shear-thinning characteristic, i.e. viscosity decreased as shear rate increased up to shear rates of ~ 1000 s⁻¹. However, at shear rates greater than 1000 s⁻¹ Newtonian flow became dominant with almost constant viscosity, i.e. a linear relationship between shear stress and shear rate. On the other hand, viscosity flow curves for the lubricants with viscosity ≥ 0.0128 Pas showed non-Newtonian behaviour up to a shear rate of 3000 s⁻¹ with shear-thinning characteristic.

Interleukin (IL)-1beta is a powerful pro-inflammatory cytokine with important roles in directing both innate and adaptive immunity. As a result, its production is tightly controlled, with the synthesis of an inactive form (pro-IL-1beta) and the requirement of a second signal. This induces the formation of the inflammasome, a macromolecular complex which mediates the maturation of IL-1beta into the bioactive cytokine. Given its significance, it is important to identify mechanisms of IL-1beta induction and modulation. Firstly, we describe serum amyloid A (SAA), an acute phase protein with immunomodulatory properties, as a novel inducer of IL-1beta. Using cells from genetically modified mice, the molecular mechanisms responsible were dissected, demonstrating the receptors TLR2 and NLRP3 as required for this effect. By instilling SAA into mice, we also show that SAA is able to induce IL-1beta production in vivo. Invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells have also been shown to be important modulators of immunity, mediating both pro- and anti-inflammatory responses. iNKT cells are non-conventional T lymphocytes which recognise glycolipid in the context of CD1d, with the ability to interact with immature antigen presenting cells in an autoreactive manner. We link the regulatory ability of iNKT cells with IL-1beta production, showing that a low activation signal leads to the induction of an IL-13-dominated cytokine profile, as well as weak engagement of the CD40-CD40L pathway. We show for the first time that through these mechanisms, iNKT cells are able to dampen the secretion of IL-1beta upon subsequent stimulation of dendritic cells. We hypothesise that this effect of iNKT cells is important in controlling inflammatory responses in vivo, and demonstrate exacerbated IL-1beta production and inflammation during influenza virus infection of iNKT cell-deficient animals. This novel anti-inflammatory property of iNKT cells may be harnessed in the therapeutic intervention of inflammatory disorders.

Glucocorticoid hormones modulate acute and chronic behavioral and molecular responses to drugs of abuse including psychostimulants and opioids. Acute ethanol activates the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis causing the release of adrenal glucocorticoid hormones, but following chronic ethanol the HPA axis is dysregulated in both humans and rodents. Thus, there is growing evidence that glucocorticoids might also modulate behavioral and molecular responses to ethanol. Previous microarray studies in the Miles’ laboratory have shown that the well-known glucocorticoid responsive gene, Serum and Glucocorticoid-regulated Kinase 1, Sgk1, is prominently up regulated by acute ethanol (2 g/kg) in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) of DBA/2J mice. Functionally, Sgk1 is an important focal point of intracellular signaling cross-talk through which the cell surface receptors, nuclear receptors, and cellular stress pathways converge to control many cellular processes including receptor or ion channel trafficking, cell proliferation and/or apoptotic responses. In the aforementioned microarray studies, Sgk1 was accompanied by a highly correlated group of genes, many of which are also known to respond to glucocorticoids. This suggests that stress-related signaling events might play an important role in ethanol regulation of the Sgk1 gene network. Prior work by others showed that Sgk1 plays an important role modulating synaptic plasticity occurring in memory. Based on these findings, it is hypothesized that glucocorticoids and glucocorticoid responsive genes are responsible for modulating acute and chronic cellular and behavioral responses to ethanol including locomotor activation and ethanol sensitization. In particular, because Sgk1 is regulated by ethanol, has a well-established role in learning and memory and is responsive to glucocorticoid signaling we hypothesize that Sgk1 is involved in modulating acute and chronic cellular and behavioral responses to ethanol including ethanol sensitization. Our results indicate that the induction of glucocorticoid responsive genes may play a role in regulating acute behavioral and cellular responses to ethanol. Adrenalectomized (ADX) and mifepristone (RU-486) both impaired acute ethanol (2 g/kg) induced locomotor activation in DBA/2J mice without affecting basal locomotor activity. ADX mice showed microarray gene expression changes in the PFC that significantly overlapped with acute ethanol-responsive gene sets derived by our prior microarray studies. Additionally, acute ethanol regulates Sgk1 transcription via glucocorticoid receptor binding to the Sgk1 promoter. Furthermore, increases in Sgk1 may occur to compensate for decreases in SGK1 protein and phosphorylation of SGK1 and its well-known target N-myc downstream-regulated gene 1 (NDRG1) is significantly increased 15 minutes following ethanol administration. Finally, Sgk1 intensifies and prolongs the expression phase of sensitization in D2 mice. Our studies suggest that ethanol’s activation of adrenal glucocorticoid release and subsequent glucocorticoid receptor activation may partially modulate ethanol’s acute locomotor activation in male D2 mice. Furthermore, adrenal glucocorticoid basal tone regulates PFC gene expression. A significant set of acute ethanol-responsive genes are regulated by adrenal glucocorticoid basal tone suggesting that glucocorticoid regulated PFC gene expression may be an important factor modulating acute behavioral responses to ethanol. Sgk1 is acutely regulated following ethanol administration by the glucocorticoid receptor binding to the Sgk1 promoter. Altogether, these results suggest a critical role for the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis and Sgk1 in regulating the acute and chronic cellular and behavioral responses to ethanol.

This diploma thesis is focused on coagulation of humic substances (HS) and BSA (Bovine Serum Albumin) protein which was chosen as a representative of proteins contained in AOM (Algal Organic Matter). Additionally, possible interactions between these compounds were also investigated. It was found that the optimal dosage of coagulant is much higher for HS compared to BSA. The best removal of both HS and BSA was reached in slightly acidic pH range and it is attributed mainly to charge neutralization and adsorption mechanisms. The maximum removal rate was 70 % for humic substances and 80 % for BSA. The results show that BSA has a positive effect on coagulation of HS (resulting in a lower coagulant demand) and vice versa while BSA was removed more efficiently than HS. The existence of interactions between BSA and humic substantces during coagulation was demonstrated in certain pH ranges and it can occur even without the presence of coagulant. These interactions are highly dependent on pH that determines charge properties (and hence reactivity) of organic matters. Finally, the comparison of BSA and cyanobacterial proteins shows that their behavior during coagulation is similar. Consequently, BSA can be used as a model compound representing AOM proteins, especially their high molecular weight fraction....

Affinity-based proteomics offers opportunities for the discovery and validation of disease-associated proteins in human body fluids. This thesis describes the use of antibody-based immunoassays for multiplexed analysis of proteins in human plasma, serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). This high-throughput method was applied with the objective to identify proteins associated to clinical variables. The main work in this thesis was conducted within the diseases of multiple sclerosis and malignant melanoma, as well as mammographic density, a risk factor for breast cancer. The suspension bead array (SBA) technology has been the main method for the work presented in this thesis (Paper I-IV). SBA assays and other affinity proteomic technologies were introduced for protein profiling of sample material obtained from clinical collaborators and biobanks. Perspectives on the validation of antibody selectivity by means of e.g. immuno-capture mass spectrometry are also provided. Paper I describes the development and application of a protocol for multiplexed pro- tein profiling of CSF. The analysis of 340 CSF samples from patients with multiple sclerosis and other neurological disease revealed proteins with potential association to disease progression (GAP43) and inflammation (SERPINA3). Paper II continued on this work with an extended investigation of more than 1,000 clinical samples and included both plasma and CSF collected from the same patients. Comparison of disease subtypes and controls revealed five plasma proteins of potential diagnostic relevance, such as IRF8 and GAP43. The previously reported associations for GAP43 and SERPINA3 in CSF was confirmed. Subsequent immunohistochemical analysis of post-mortem brain tissue revealed differential protein expression in disease affected areas. In Paper III, 150 serum samples from patients with cutaneous malignant melanoma were analyzed. Protein profiles from antibody bead arrays suggested three proteins (RGN, MTHFD1L, STX7) of differential abundance between patients with no disease recurrence and low tumor thickness (T-stage 1 and 2) compared to patients with high tumor thickness (T-stage 3 and 4) and disease recurrence. We observed MTHFD1L expression in tissue of a majority of patients, while expression of STX7 in melanoma tissue had been reported previously. Paper IV describes the analysis of protein in plasma in relation to mammographic breast density (MD), one of the strongest risk factors for the development of breast cancers. More than 1,300 women without prior history of breast cancer were screened. Linear associations to MD in two independent sample sets were found for 11 proteins, which are expressed in the breast and involved in tissue homeostasis, DNA repair, cancer development and/or progression in MD. In conclusion, this thesis describes the use of multiplexed antibody bead arrays for protein profiling of serum, plasma and CSF, and it shortlists disease associated proteins for further validation studies. / <p>QC 20170302</p>

La thérapie cellulaire est une méthode d’avenir innovante, actuellement utilisée dans le traitement de pathologies multiples (auto-immunitaire, cancéreuses, pathologies inflammatoires, allogreffes…) et la régénération des pertes de substance tissulaire. Les cellules souches mésenchymateuses, par la variabilité de leurs origines, présentent des propriétés très intéressantes à la thérapie, notamment un potentiel de différenciation en lignées multiples, et des propriétés d’immunomodulation importantes. Mon projet s’intéresse à l’utilisation de cellules souches orales récemment isolées de la gencive par notre équipe : cellules souches gingivales (GSC), et présentant un avantage fonctionnel par rapport aux sources cellulaires traditionnelles d’origine mésodermique (moelle osseuse) ou orales (pulpe dentaire, follicule dentaire, ligament parodontal, glandes salivaires…). Les défauts osseux des mâchoires, de par leur multitude d’étiologies (traumatismes, dysmorphoses, cancer, ...) et le handicap généré, représentent une cible thérapeutique privilégiée. Les GSCs ont la même origine embryologique neurectodermique que les os maxillaires et par là-même un phénotype proche, exploré dans notre équipe. Cette source gingivale de prélèvement non traumatique est une alternative aux techniques chirurgicales actuelles mutilantes pour le site donneur. Notre objectif est double : Etablir un protocole préclinique de culture des GSC en ostéoblastes, pour être compatibles avec la thérapie humaine afin d’obtenir une régénération osseuse optimale. Les capacités immunomodulatrices des GSCs sont par là-même étudiées dans ces nouvelles conditions, dans le but de maitriser la réaction inflammatoire et préserver la greffe osseuse, grâce à la plateforme exceptionnelle mise à notre disposition par l’établissement français du sang, et une équipe très spécialisée dans l’étude des mécanismes de régulation immunitaires. Nos résultats permettront non seulement une régénération osseuse transposable chez l’homme, mais également d’utiliser ces cellules pour le traitement d’autres pathologies (cancéreuses, auto-immunitaires…) en utilisant leur capacité immunomodulatrice. / Cell therapy is an innovative method of the future, currently used in the treatment of multiple diseases (autoimmune, cancer, inflammatory pathologies, allografts ...) and the regeneration of tissue loss. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC), regardless their origins, exhibit very interesting properties for therapy, including a potential for multi-line differentiation, and important immunomodulation properties. My project focuses on the use of oral stem cells recently isolated from the gingiva by our team (GSC), and having a functional advantage over traditional mesodermal (bone marrow) cellular sources. The bone defects of the jaws, due to their multitude of etiologies (trauma, dysmorphoses, cancer...) and the generated handicap, represent a preferred therapeutic target. GSCs have the same neurectodermal embryological origin as the maxillary bones and thus a similar phenotype, explored in our team. This gingival source of non-traumatic removal is an alternative to current mutilating surgical techniques for the donor site. Our goal is twofold: To establish a preclinical GSC culture protocol in osteoblasts, to be compatible with human therapy, in order to achieve optimal bone regeneration. The immunomodulatory capacities of the GSCs are themselves studied under these new conditions, with the aim of controlling the inflammatory reaction and preserving the bone graft, thanks to the exceptional platform made available to us by the French blood establishment, and A highly specialized team in the study of immune regulation mechanisms. Our results will not only allow transposable bone regeneration in humans but also use these cells for the treatment of other pathologies (cancerous, autoimmune ...) using their immunomodulatory capacity.

Em 1987 o Instituto Nacional de Controle de Qualidade em Saúde iniciou o uso do Veneno Botrópico de Referência Nacional (VBRN), que é a primeira extração das serpentes B. jararaca recém-chegadas da natureza. Em 10 anos notou-se uma queda de 67,65% na recepção de serpentes ao Instituto Butantan (IB), e na distribuição geográfica, resultando em uma maior heterogeneidade na composição do VBRN. Assim, comparamos os venenos das serpentes nascidas em cativeiro (VP) do Laboratório de Herpetologia do IB com o VBRN, para verificar a possibilidade de incorporar o VP na preparação dos lotes do VBRN. O VP mostrou-se estatisticamente semelhante ao VBRN nos testes de dosagem de proteínas, SDS-PAGE, 2DE, cromatografia, atividade fosfolipásica, ELISA, Western blotting, dose mínima coagulante (plasma) e hemorrágica, enquanto para as atividades de L-aminoácido oxidase, caseinolítica, zimografia e dose mínima coagulante (fibrinogênio) o VP mostrou-se diferente do VBRN. Para as doses letais e efetiva dos venenos o pool do VP com VBRN foi mais eficaz do que os VP e o VBRN sozinhos. / In 1987, The National Institute of Quality Control in Health in Brazil (INCQS) established the Brazilian Reference Bothrops Venoms (BRBV), which should be composed of the first extractions of newcomers wild snakes. In 10 years there has been a decrease of 67.65% in the reception snakes to Butantan Institute (IB), and geographic distribution, resulting in a higher heterogeneity in BRBV composition. So, we compared the venom samples of snakes born in captivity (SVP) of IB Herpetology Laboratory with BRBV to check the possibility of incorporating the SVP in the preparation of batches of BRBV. SVP was statistically similar to BRBV the proteins dosage, SDS-PAGE, 2DE, chromatography, phospholipase, ELISA, Western blotting, minimum coagulant dose (plasma) and hemorrhage dose, while for L-amino acid oxidase activity, caseinolytic, zymography and minimum coagulant dose (fibrinogen) SVP was shown to be different from BRBV. For effective and lethal doses of pool with SVP and BRBV it was more effective than SVP and BRBV alone.

Introdução: A incidencia e prevalencia do Diabetes Mellitus aumentam a cada ano, alcancando proporcoes epidemicas. A infusao aquosa de erva mate apresenta consideraveis teores de acidos clorogenicos, que alem de atuarem como antioxidantes, podem diminuir a producao e absorcao de glicose, conforme indicado na literatura. Objetivos: Avaliar a influencia da ingestao de infusao de erva mate sobre parametros bioquimicos relacionados ao diabetes mellitus e o metabolismo de glicose. Metodologia: Ratos Wistar (n=41) foram divididos em: nao diabeticos controle (NDC, n=10); nao diabeticos erva mate (NDE, n=10); diabeticos controle (DC, n=11) e diabeticos erva mate (DE, n=10). O diabetes foi induzido por aloxana. Os animais receberam extrato de erva mate (1 g/kg) ou solucao fisiologica por gavagem durante 28 dias, com agua e racao comercial ad libitum. Seus tecidos foram submetidos as analises (glicemia, insulinemia, colesterol total, atividade da enzima glicose-6-fosfatase hepatica e expressao genica do cotransportador intestinal de Na+/glicose SGLT1, sendo este responsavel pela maior parte da absorcao de glicose no lumen). Os dados foram analisados por analise de variancia com dois fatores (ANOVA 2-way) com ou sem medidas repetidas, de acordo com a variavel. O nivel de significancia adotado foi 5%. Resultados: Nao houve diferenca significativa entre os grupos controle (NDC e DC) e os grupos que ingeriram erva mate (NDE e DE) para a glicemia, insulinemia, colesterol total e atividade da glicose-6-fosfatase hepatica. No entanto, a expressao genica 7 dos transportadores de glicose SGLT1 foi significantemente menor nos animais que receberam erva mate, tanto no duodeno (p=0,007) quanto no jejuno (p<0,001) Conclusão: A ingestao da erva mate nao modificou significativamente os parametros bioquimicos estudados dos animais sob intervencao relativamente ao controle. No entanto, foi observada diferenca significativa quanto a expressao do transportador de glicose SGLT1, sugerindo que compostos bioativos da erva mate sao capazes de reduzir a absorcao da glicose. / Introduction: The incidence and prevalence of Diabetes Mellitus are increasing, reaching epidemic proportions. Yerba mate infusions are rich in polyphenols, especially chlorogenic acids, that are known to have antioxidant properties. Evidences suggest that dietary polyphenols could also play a role in glucose metabolism and absorption. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate if yerba mate extract could have antidiabetic properties in alloxaninduced diabetic Wistar rats. Research design and methods: Wistar rats (n=41) were divided in four groups: non diabetic control (NDC, n=10); non diabetic yerba mate (NDM, n=10); diabetic control (DC, n=11) and diabetic yerba mate (DM, n=10). Diabetes was induced by alloxan (38 mg/kg bw). The mate group animals received yerba mate extract diluted in saline solution in a 1g extract/kg bw dose for 28 days, controls received saline solution only. The following biochemical parameters were measured: serum glucose, insulin and total cholesterol; hepatic glucose-6-fosfatase activity and gene expression of the intestinal Na+/glucose cotransporter SGLT1. Results: There were no significant differences in serum glucose, insulin, total cholesterol and hepatic glucose-6-phosphatase activity between the groups that ingested yerba mate extract (NDM and DM) and the controls (NDC and DC). However, the intestinal SGLT1 gene expression was significantly lower in animals that received yerba mate both in upper (p=0.007) and middle small intestine (p<0,001). Conclusion: These results indicate that bioactive 9 compounds present in yerba mate might be capable to decrease intestinal glucose absorption, by decreasing SGLT1 expression.