0000000000628583
AUTHOR
Georg Petroianu
Clonidine increases membrane-associated phospholipase A2
Background and objective: An anti-inflammatory effect of α 2 -adrenoreceptor agonists has been suggested. Phospholipase A 2 is a key enzyme in the production of precursors of inflammatory lipid mediators. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of clonidine on phospholipase A 2 activity in an established in vitro model. Methods: Human being platelet membranes containing active phospholipase A 2 were exposed to buffer control or to three increasing concentrations of clonidine. Phospholipase A 2 was measured by a radioisotope technique. Results: A massive increase in phospholipase A 2 activity was measured after clonidine exposure leading to final values of 92.5 ′ 3.1 pmol …
Gene expression of neuregulin-1 isoforms in different brain regions of elderly schizophrenia patients
One important risk gene in schizophrenia is neuregulin-1 (NRG1), which is expressed in different isoforms in the brain. To determine if alterations of NRG1 are present in schizophrenia, we measured gene expression of NRG1 and its main isoforms as well as the impact of genetic variation of NRG1 in an exploratory study examining three brain regions instead of only one as published so far. In all, we examined post-mortem samples from 11 schizophrenia patients and eight normal subjects. We investigated gene expression of total NRG1 and isoforms I, II and III by real-time PCR in the prefrontal cortex (Brodmann areas 9 and 10) and right hippocampal tissue. For the genetic study, we genotyped the …