Search results for " TOXICOLOGY AND PHARMACEUTICS"
showing 10 items of 461 documents
PBDEs affect inflammatory and oncosuppressive mechanisms via the EZH2 methyltransferase in airway epithelial cells
2021
Abstract Aims We aimed to investigate the effect of PBDEs (47, 99, 209) on cellular events involved in epigenetic modification, inflammation, and epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT). Materials and methods We studied: 1) ERK1/2 phosphorylation; 2) Enhancer of Zester Homolog 2 (EZH2); 3) Histone H3 tri-methylated in lysine 27 (H3K27me3); 4) K-RAS; 5) silencing disabled homolog 2-interacting protein gene (DAB2IP), 6) let-7a; 7) Muc5AC/Muc5B, and 8) IL-8 in a 3D in vitro model of epithelium obtained with primary Normal Human Bronchial Epithelial cells (pNHBEs) or A549 cell line, chronically exposed to PBDEs (47, 99, 209). Key findings PBDEs (10 nM, 100 nM and 1 μM) increased ERK1/2 phosphor…
AZT induces oxidative damage to cardiac mitochondria: Protective effect of vitamins C and E
2004
Abstract AZT (zidovudine) is a potent inhibitor of HIV replication and a major antiretroviral drug used for AIDS treatment. A major limitation in the use of AZT is the occurrence of severe side effects. The aim of this work was to test whether AZT causes oxidative damage to heart mitochondria and whether this can be prevented by supranutritional doses of antioxidant vitamins. An experimental animal model was used in which mice were treated with AZT for 35 days (10 mg/kg/day) in drinking water. Animals treated with antioxidant vitamins were fed the same diet as controls but supplemented with vitamins C (ascorbic acid, 10 g/ kg diet) and E (α-dl-tocopherol, 0.6 g/kg diet) for 65 days before s…
Nitric oxide-active compounds modulate the intensity of glutamate-evoked responses in the globus pallidus of the rat
2011
Abstract Aim The effects of local applied NO-active compounds on glutamate (GLU)-evoked responses were investigated in globus pallidus (GP) neurons. Main methods Extracellularly recorded single units from anesthetized rats were treated with GLU before and during the microiontophoretic application of S-nitrosoglutathione (SNOG), a NO donor, and Nω-nitro- l -arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), a NOS inhibitor. Key findings Most GP cells were excited by SNOG whereas administration of L-NAME induced decrease of GP neurons activity. Nearly all neurons responding to SNOG and/or L-NAME showed significant modulation of their excitatory responses to the administration of iontophoretic GLU. In these cell…
Interaction of phenylbutazone with racemic phenprocoumon and its enantiomers in rats.
1979
The interaction of phenylbutazone with the enantiomers and racemic [ 3 H]phenprocoumon was studied in male inbred Wistar-Lewis rats following a single i.v. dose of the three forms of phenprocoumon and chronic oral treatment with phenylbutazone (average plasma concentration of about 60 Μg/ml). Phenylbutazone augmented the anticoagulant effect of R(+), S(−), and R, S (±) phenprocoumon to a similar extent. The free fraction of drug in the plasma of the enantiomers and racemic phenprocoumon increased in the presence of phenylbutazone. However, the rate of elimination of total drug from plasma and liver and the distribution between liver and plasma of all three forms of phenprocoumon remained ne…
Serum hexosaminidase and ß-glucuronidase activities in infants: effects of age and sex
2003
We investigated the effect of age and sex on the serum activity of hexosaminidase (HEX) and ß-glucuronidase (BGLU) in 275 normal term infants aged 12 h to 12 months. Up to six weeks of life, HEX was significantly higher in boys (P<=0.023). During the age period of 1-26 weeks, BGLU was also higher in boys, but differences were significant only at 2-6 and 7-15 weeks (P<=0.016). The developmental pattern of HEX and BGLU was sex dependent. HEX activity increased in both sexes from 4-7 days of life, reaching a maximum of 1.4-fold the birth value at 2-6 weeks of age in boys (P<0.001) and a maximum of 1.6-fold at 7-15 weeks in girls (P<0.001). HEX activity gradually decreased thereafter, reaching …
Fungal polysaccharopeptide inhibits tumor angiogenesis and tumor growth in mice
2003
Angiogenesis is crucial to tumor growth and metastasis, and interruption of this process is a prime avenue for therapeutic intervention of tumor proliferation. The present study has made use of the S180 tumor-bearing mouse model to investigate the polysaccharopeptide, PSP, isolated from the edible mushroom Coriolus versicolor, a herbal medicine known for its anti-angiogenesis properties. Quantitative analysis of microcorrosion casting of the tumor tissue showed more angiogenic features such as dense sinusoids and hot spots, in control (untreated) than in PSP-treated animals. Immunostaining of tumor tissues with antibody against the endothelial cell marker (Factor VIII) demonstrated a positi…
Immunogenicity and reactogenicity of acellular pertussis booster vaccines in children: standard pediatric versus a reduced-antigen content formulatio…
2008
Booster vaccination with a reduced-antigen-content dTpa, pediatric DTPa or adult Td vaccine in DTPa-primed children aged 4-6 years was evaluated. Immunogenicity and CMI was assessed one month and 3.5 years after vaccination. Symptoms were solicited for 15 days post-vaccination. There were no differences between groups in diphtheria or tetanus seroprotection or pertussis vaccine-response rates. Anti-diphtheria and anti-PRN concentrations were higher after DTPa, but groups differences reduced over time. Non-significant trends toward reduced reactogenicity of dTpa were observed. Many factors influence vaccine choice at pre-school age. The dTpa vaccine was as immunogenic and possibly better tol…
Antioxidant activity of anti-inflammatory plant extracts
2002
The antioxidant properties of twenty medical herbs used in the traditional Mediterranean and Chinese medicine were studied. Extracts from Forsythia suspensa, Helichrysum italicum, Scrophularia auriculata, Inula viscosa, Coptis chinensis, Poria cocos and Scutellaria baicalensis had previously shown anti-inflammatory activity in different experimental models. Using free radical-generating systems H. italicum. I. viscosa and F. suspensa protected against enzymatic and non-enzymatic lipid peroxidation in model membranes and also showed scavenging property on the superoxide radical. All extracts were assayed at a concentration of 100 microg/ml. Most of the extracts were weak scavengers of the hy…
Erythropoietin and Myocardial Infarction
2012
Erythropoietin (EPO) has the potential to improve ischemic tissue by mobilizing endothelial progenitor cells and enhancing neovascularization. We hypothesized that combining EPO with human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) would improve post–myocardial infarction (MI) effects synergistically.
Interleukin-1 inhibits drinking behaviour through prostaglandins, but not by nitric oxide formation
1997
Interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) causes inhibition of drinking behaviour. Moreover it induces formation of prostaglandins (PGs) and nitric oxide (NO). Both PGs and NO are able to inhibit drinking stimulated by water deprivation or by intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) administration of angiotensin II. In this study, we studied in the preoptic area (POA) the possible role of PGs and NO in the antidipsogenic action induced by IL-1 beta. IL-1 beta was injected in the lateral cerebral ventricle (i.c.v.) (2.5, 10, 20, and 40 ng/rat) or into POA (0.625, 1.25, 2.5, and 10 ng/rat). L-arginine (12.5, 25, 50, and 100 ng/rat), the precursor of NO, or NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) (25, 50, and …