Search results for "Biochemistry"
showing 10 items of 20172 documents
The HIF1α-PFKFB3 Pathway: A Key Player in Diabetic Retinopathy
2021
Abstract Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is the leading cause of blindness for adults in developed countries. Both microvasculopathy and neurodegeneration are implicated in mechanisms of DR development, with neuronal impairment preceding microvascular abnormalities, which is often underappreciated in the clinic. Most current therapeutic strategies, including anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF)-antibodies, aim at treating the advanced stages (diabetic macular edema and proliferative diabetic retinopathy) and fail to target the neuronal deterioration. Hence, new therapeutic approach(es) intended to address both vascular and neuronal impairment are urgently needed. The hypoxia-induci…
Developmental changes and acetylcholinesterase activity in the metamorphosing brain ofTenebrio molitor: Correlation to ecdysteroid titers
1994
The brain of Tenebrio molitor exhibited marked fluctuations in acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity throughout metamorphosis. This was true AChE activity, since it was inhibited by high substrate concentrations and by 10 μM of the specific AChE inhibitor BW284C51 [(1,5-bis'4-allyldimethylammoniumphenyl)-pentan-3-one dibromide] but not by iso-OMPA (tetraisopropylpyrophosphoramide), a cholinesterase (but not AChE) inhibitor. The histochemical AChE activity was localized in the neuropile and the nuclear envelope of neurons and glial cells. The enzyme extracted from brains with 1% Triton X-100 and 1 M NaCl sedimented as a single peak in a sucrose density gradient, with a sedimentation coefficie…
p16INK4a, NAD+, and Sestrins: New Targets for Combating Aging-Related Chronic Illness?
2014
Aging-related chronic illness is a price we have to pay to live longer. Prevalent among the oldest old, the condition limits their functional independence and also aggravates the course of several age-related chronic diseases. Thus, the search is on for efficient therapies that will mitigate age-related pathologies. In this article, we point out the potential clinical implications of recent provocative basic research in the field. New possible targets have been recently discovered, are clearly involved in age-related pathologies and might benefit the treatment of other age-related conditions, particularly metabolic diseases.
Expression of R-3-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase, a ketone body converting enzyme in heart and liver mitochondria of ruminant and non-ruminant mammals
1992
1. The properties of rat liver and bovine heart R-3-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase (BDH) have been extensively studied in the past 20 years, but little is known concerning the biogenesis and the regulation of this dehydrogenase over different species. 2. In addition, controversial results were often reported concerning the activity, the level and the subcellular location of this enzyme in ruminants. 3. BDH activity found in liver and kidney mitochondria from ruminants (cow and sheep) is low, while it is much higher in rat. 4. However, the enzyme activity is detected in microsomes and in cytosol of liver and of kidney cells from ruminants. These activities are not correlated to ketonaemia lev…
Physical Activity in Polluted Air—Net Benefit or Harm to Cardiovascular Health? A Comprehensive Review
2021
Both exposure to higher levels of polluted air and physical inactivity are crucial risk factors for the development and progression of major noncommunicable diseases and, in particular, of cardiovascular disease. In this context, the World Health Organization estimated 4.2 and 3.2 million global deaths per year in response to ambient air pollution and insufficient physical activity, respectively. While regular physical activity is well known to improve general health, it may also increase the uptake and deposit of air pollutants in the lungs/airways and circulation, due to increased breathing frequency and minute ventilation, thus increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease. Thus, determi…
Pharmacological comparison of rat and human melanocortin 3 and 4 receptors in vitro.
2002
Abstract The melanocortin 3 and 4 receptors are G-protein-coupled receptors found in the hypothalamus with important role in regulation of the energy balance. In this study, we performed pharmacological comparison of the rat and human melancortin (MC) 3 and MC4 receptors. We transiently expressed the genes for these receptors individually in a mammalian cell line and determined the binding affinities to several MSH peptides. The results showed no major difference between the rat and human MC3 receptors while the rat MC4 receptor had higher affinity to several peptides compared with the human MC4 receptor. NDP-, α-, β-, γ-MSH, ACTH(1–24), HS014 and MTII had from 5- to 34-fold higher affinity…
Sestrins: Novel antioxidant and AMPK-modulating functions regulated by exercise?
2013
Oxidative stress results from damage to tissues caused by free radicals and is increased by exercise. Peroxiredoxins (PRXs) maintain the cellular reducing environment by scavenging intracellular hydrogen peroxide. It has been recently noted that physical exercise has a positive effect on the PRX system, exerting a protective effect against oxidative stress-induced damage. However, other compounds, such as sestrins (SESNs), a stress-inducible protein family with antioxidant properties, should also be considered in the function of PRXs. SESNs are clearly involved in the regeneration process of PRXs and therefore may also be modulated by physical exercise. In addition, SESNs are clearly involv…
Increased mRNAs for procollagens and key regulating enzymes in rat skeletal muscle following downhill running.
1999
The purpose of the study was to investigate pre-translational regulation of collagen expression after a single bout of exercise. We analysed steady-state messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) levels for collagen types I, III and IV, alpha- and beta-subunits of prolyl 4-hydroxylase and lysyl oxidase (enzymes modifying procollagen chains), and enzyme activity of prolyl 4-hydroxylase from rat soleus muscle (MS) and the red parts of quadriceps femoris muscle (MQF) after 12 h and after 1, 2, 4, 7 and 14 days of downhill (-13.5 degrees ) treadmill running at a speed of 17 m.min-1 for 130 min. Histological and biochemical assays revealed exercise-induced muscle damage in MQF but not MS. Steady-state m…
Evidence for a respiration-modulated cholinergic action on the activity of medullary respiration-related neurons in the rabbit. An iontophoretic stud…
1989
Effects of the iontophoretically administered cholinergic agonists acetylcholine, bethanechol and DMPP on the activity of medullary respiration-related neurons were examined in urethane-anaesthetized rabbits. Inhibitory effects prevailed over excitatory effects. Analysis of cholinergic effects by cycle-triggered averaging revealed three major types of neuronal responses: (i) constant alterations of spike-density throughout the whole period of activity ("constant effects"), (ii) effects increasing during the progression of the burst of discharge or effects restricted to a particular fraction of the burst ("phasic effects") and (iii) effects which were characterized by an excitation during on…
Antidepressant Effects of Exercise: A Role for the Adiponectin-PGC-1α-kynurenine Triad?
2015
It is well-recognized that exercise improves mental health, e.g., by decreasing depressive behaviors, improving hippocampal-dependent learning and neurogenesis, and increasing dendritic plasticity. Yet how exercise influences the brain at the molecular level is not clearly understood. Yau et al recently reported that the antidepressant effects of physical exercise are mainly mediated by adiponectin, an adipocyte-secreted hormone ('adipocytokine') with neuroprotective effects at the central nervous system level (Yau et al., 2014). 4.155 JCR (2015) Q1, 12/83 Physiology; Q2, 63/187 Cell biology UEM