Bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) and platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) are known to regulate and stimulate osteogenesis, both proteins playing an important role in bone homeostasis, constituting good candidates for osteoporosis´ treatment. Herein we aim to evaluate the effects of recombinant human BMP-7 (rhBMP7) and PDGF-BB (rhPDGF-BB) in oophorectomy-induced osteoporosis in rats. To this end, 40 Sprague-Dawley rats were submitted to oophorectomy surgery and treatments were started at the 100th day after the surgery, when all animals showed signs of osteoporosis. These peptide growth factors were applied intravenously once or twice a week and animals were followed for a total of five weeks. Two weeks after the end of the treatments, the animals were euthanized, the tissues were collected and Alkaline Phosphatase, X-ray, micro-CT and histology were assessed. The results indicate that the most promising treatments are: 20 µg/kg PDGF-BB + 30 µg/kg BMP-7 2x/week and 30 µg/kg BMP-7 2x/week, presenting an increase of 15% (p<0.05) and 13% (p<0.05) in bone volume fraction and 21% (p<0.05) and 23% (p<0.05) in trabecular number, respectively. In conclusion, rhPDGF-BB and rhBMP-7 are capable of inducing an increase in bone volume and density in this osteoporotic animal model, constituting interesting candidates for osteoporosis treatment.

Background: COVID-19 mainly affects the respiratory system, although its manifestations are multisystemic. Increasingly, complications presented after the acute phase are still being rec-ognized and are associated with impaired functional status and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The objective was assess the functional status and HRQoL of patients with post-COVID-19. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study involving individuals affected by COVID-19 who had persistent symptoms for one month after the acute phase of the disease. HRQoL was verified through the Short Form Health Survey 36 (SF-36) and, functional status was assessed using the six-minute walk test (6MWT), the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS), the Med-ical Research Council (MRC) Dyspnea Scale and, the Post-COVID-19 Functional Status Scale (PCFS). Results: Were included 123 patients, 73 (59.35%) were male, with a mean age of 49.17±13.48 years and a body mass index of 31.02±6.56 stratified into three groups, not recov-ered group (NRG=23), ward recovered group (WHG=60), and intensive care unit group (ICUG=40). The main symptoms were muscle weakness (74.17%) and dyspnea (68.33%). In rela-tion to the distance covered in the 6MWT, the GNR group walked 12.83% below the predicted values, GNR 20.21% and the UGCI 28.82%, respectively. The MRC dyspnea scale had a mean value of less than 3 and the FSS scale had a mean value over 4, indicating considerable fatigue. In the PCFS scale, a significant difference was observed (p>0.0005); while in the SF-36, all HRQoL domains were compromised. Conclusion: Post-COVID-19 patients involved in this study showed a significant decline in functional status and an impairment of HRQoL.

Uterine tube extracellular matrix is a key component that regulates tubal tissue physiology, and it has a region-specific structural distribution, which are directly associated to their functions. Considering this, application of biological matrices in culture systems is an interesting strategy to develop biomimetic tubal microenvironments and enhance their complexity. However, there are no established protocols to produce tubal biological matrices that consider the organ morphophysiology for such applications. Therefore, this study aimed to establish region-specific protocols to obtain decellularized scaffolds derived from porcine infundibulum, ampulla, and isthmus to provide suitable sources of biomaterials for tissue-engineering approaches. Porcine uterine tubes were decellularized in solutions of 0.1% SDS and 0.5% Triton X-100. Decellularization efficiency was evaluated by DAPI staining and DNA quantification. We analyzed ECM composition and structure by optical and scanning electronic microscopy, FTIR and Raman spectroscopy. DNA and DAPI assays validated the decellularization, presenting significative reduction of cellular content. Structural and spectroscopy analyses revealed that produced scaffolds remained well structured and with ECM composition preserved. YS and HEK293 cells were used to attest cytocompatibility, allowing cell survival and successful interaction with the scaffolds. These results suggest that such matrices are applicable for future biotechnological approaches in the reproductive field.