Search results for "Clamp"
showing 10 items of 243 documents
Modulation of voltage-gated Na+ and K+ channels by pumiliotoxin 251D: A “joint venture” alkaloid from arthropods and amphibians
2008
Abstract Certain amphibians provide themselves with a chemical defense by accumulating lipophilic alkaloids into skin glands from dietary arthropods. Examples of such alkaloids are pumiliotoxins (PTXs). In general, PTXs are known as positive modulators of voltage-gated sodium channels (VGSCs). Unlike other PTXs, PTX 251D does not share this characteristic. However, mice and insect studies showed that PTX 251D is highly toxic and to date the basis of its toxicity remains unknown. In this work, we searched for the possible target of PTX 251D . The toxin was therefore made synthetically and tested on four VGSCs (mammalian rNa v 1.2/β 1 , rNa v 1.4/β 1 , hNa v 1.5/β 1 and insect Para/tipE ) and…
Investigation on Metal–Oxide Graphene Field-Effect Transistors With Clamped Geometries
2019
In this work, we report on the design, fabrication and characterization of Metal-Oxide Graphene Field-effect Transistors (MOGFETs) exploiting novel clamped gate geometries aimed at enhancing the device transconductance. The fabricated devices employ clamped metal contacts also for source and drain, as well as an optimized graphene meandered pattern for source contacting, in order to reduce parasitic resistance. Our experimental results demonstrate that MOGFETs with the proposed structure show improved high frequency performance, in terms of maximum available gain and transition frequency values, as a consequence of the higher equivalent transconductance obtained.
Electrophysiological and morphological properties of Cajal–Retzius cells with different ontogenetic origins
2010
International audience; The different origins of Cajal-Retzius cells (CRc) as well as their diverse molecular profile suggest that this cell type may represent different neuronal subpopulations. In order to investigate whether CRc from different origins show distinct functional or morphological characteristics we used transgenic Dbx1(cre);ROSA26(YFP) mice in which two subpopulations of CRc, originating from the septum and ventral pallium (VP) at the pallial-subpallial border (PSB), were permanently labeled by yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) expression. Electrophysiological properties of YFP(+) and YFP(-) CRc were investigated by whole-cell patch-clamp recordings, while a thorough somatoden…
Microglia and α-synuclein implication in Parkinson's disease
2011
Age-related neurodegenerative disorders like Parkinson’s disease take an enormous toll on individuals and on society. Despite extensive efforts, Parkinson’s disease remains incurable and only very limited treatments exist. Indeed, Parkinson’s pathogenesis is still not clear and research on its molecular mechanisms is ongoing. In this study, we focused our interest on two abnormal events occurring in Parkinson’s patients, namely α-synuclein aggregation and microglial activation. We first investigated α-synuclein and its abnormal polymerisation. For this purpose, we developed novel methods, which allowed the in vitro production of different types of α-synuclein oligomers. Using highly sensiti…
Long-Term Potentiation in the Neonatal Rat Barrel Cortex In Vivo
2012
Long-term potentiation (LTP) is important for the activity-dependent formation of early cortical circuits. In the neonatal rodent barrel cortex, LTP has been studied only in vitro . We combined voltage-sensitive dye imaging with extracellular multielectrode recordings to study whisker stimulation-induced LTP in the whisker-to-barrel cortex pathway of the neonatal rat barrel cortex in vivo . Single whisker stimulation at 2 Hz for 10 min induced an age-dependent expression of LTP in postnatal day (P) 0 to P14 rats, with the strongest expression of LTP at P3–P5. The magnitude of LTP was largest in the activated barrel-related column, smaller in the surrounding septal region, and no LTP could b…
A longitudinal study of C1q and anti-C1q autoantibodies in homologous and heterologous pregnancies for predicting pre-eclampsia
2022
C1q, the recognition molecule of the classical pathway of the complement system, plays a central role in pregnancy. Lack of C1q is characterized by poor trophoblast invasion and pregnancy failure. C1q can be the target of an antibody response: anti‐C1q autoantibodies (anti-C1q) are present in several infectious and autoimmune diseases. The presence of these autoantibodies has been detected also in 2-8% of the general population. Recent evidence indicates that women who undergo assisted reproductive technology (ART) have an increased risk of developing pre-eclampsia (PE), particularly oocyte donation (OD) pregnancies. The aim of this study was to characterize the levels of C1q and anti-C1q i…
A clampless and sutureless aortic anastomosis technique using an endograft connector for aortoiliac occlusive disease in which the aorta cannot be cl…
2012
Bypass surgery in aortoiliac or aortofemoral occlusive disease can be technically demanding and hazardous due to huge calcifications and/or patient co-morbidities. We report about mid-term results of a telescoping sutureless aortic anastomosis technique using endografts as connectors to address such challenging situations. This is a single-center experience (2004–2011) in seven patients (63 ± 6 years) requiring aortoiliac (three) or aortofemoral (four) bypass surgery. In six cases, an aortic stent graft was telescoped into the infrarenal aorta and partly deployed within the aorta and partly outside the aorta. In the first case, a bifurcated stent graft was deployed and the iliac legs were p…
Sequence-specific and DNA structure-dependent interactions of Escherichia coli MutS and human p53 with DNA
2013
Many proteins involved in DNA repair systems interact with DNA that has structure altered from the typical B-form helix. Using magnetic beads to immobilize DNAs containing various types of structures, we evaluated the in vitro binding activities of two well-characterized DNA repair proteins, Escherichia coli MutS and human p53. E. coli MutS bound to double-stranded DNAs, with higher affinity for a G/T mismatch compared to a G/A mismatch and highest affinity for larger non-B-DNA structures. E. coli MutS bound best to DNA between pH 6 and 9. Experiments discriminated between modes of p53-DNA binding, and increasing ionic strength reduced p53 binding to nonspecific double-stranded DNA, but had…
Interaction of antimutagenic 1,4-dihydropyridine AV-153-Na with DNA and DNA-damaging molecules and its impact on DNA repair activity
2017
1,4-dihydropyridines (1,4-DHP) possess important biochemical and pharmacological properties, including antioxidant and antimutagenic activities. Interaction of some 1,4-DHP with DNA was recently reported. AV-153-Na, an antimutagenic and DNA-repair-enhancing compound appeared to be able to interact with DNA by intercalation. The aim of the current study was to characterize DNA’s capacity for the binding of AV-153-Na, and using different approaches, to test intracellular distribution of the compound, to test the ability of the compound to scavenge peroxynitrite and hydroxyl radical and to assess the ability of the compound to modify the activity of DNA repair enzymes. The DNA binding activity…
Bleomycin, a selective inhibitor of DNA-dependent DNA polymerase from oncogenic RNA viruses.
1972
Abstract Bleomycin, an antibiotic, inhibits the DNA-dependent DNA polymerase from Rauscher murine leukemia virus. Higher concentrations of BLM ∗ are required to inhibit it's RNA-dependent DNA polymerase. These inhibition effects of the non-competitive type are not altered by preincubation of the DNA with BLM. Under comparable conditions neither the DNA-dependent DNA polymerase activity from E. coli and mouse liver nor the DNA-dependent RNA polymerase activity from mouse lymphoma cells are affected by BLM.