Search results for "Dopamine"

Guanosine Protects Glial Cells Against 6-Hydroxydopamine Toxicity

2014

Increasing body of evidence indicates that neuron-neuroglia interaction may play a key role in determining the progression of neurodegenerative diseases including Parkinson’s disease (PD), a chronic pathological condition characterized by selective loss of dopaminergic (DA) neurons in the substantia nigra. We have previously reported that guanosine (GUO) antagonizes MPP+-induced cytotoxicity in neuroblastoma cells and exerts neuroprotective effects against 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) and beta-amyloid-induced apoptosis of SH-SY5Y cells. In the present study we demonstrate that GUO protected C6 glioma cells, taken as a model system for astrocytes, from 6-OHDA-induced neurotoxicity. We show tha…

Site-specific halloysite functionalization by polydopamine: A new synthetic route for potential near infrared-activated delivery system

2022

Abstract Halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) represent a versatile core structure for the design of functional nanosystems of biomedical interest. However, the development of selective methodologies for the site-controlled functionalization of the nanotubes at specific sites is not an easy task. This study aims to accomplish a procedure for the site-selective/specific, “pin-point”, functionalization of HNTs with polydopamine (HNTs@PDA). This goal was achieved, at pH 6.5, by exploiting the basicity of ZnO nanoparticles anchored on the HNTs external surface (HNTs@ZnO) to induce a punctual polydopamine polymerization and coating. The morphology and the chemical composition of the nanomaterial was demo…

Indole-substituted 2,4-diamino-5,8-dihydropyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidines from one-pot process and evaluation of their ability to bind dopamine receptors

2018

A series of novel 7-indole substituted 2,4-diamino-5,8-dihydropyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidine analogous to the 2,4-diaminopteridine core were synthesized by the three-component one-pot cyclocondensation between 2,4,6-triaminopyrimidine, 3-(2-cyanoacetyl)indole and aromatic aldehydes. The reactions, which exhibited good performance, proceeded in EtOH using indium (III) chloride as catalyst under microwave irradiation, in short reaction times. On the basis of certain structural similarity of these compounds with known ligands of the D2 dopamine receptors (D2DR), the study of these compounds as possible ligands of dopamine D2 and D1 receptors was carried out. Three of them showed moderate affinity to …

The multiple roles of dopamine receptor activation in the modulation of gastrointestinal motility and mucosal function

2022

Dopamine (DA) is a catecholamine regulatory molecule with potential role in physiology and physiopathology of the intestinal tract. Various cellular sources of DA have been indicated as enteric neurons, immune cells, intestinal flora and gastrointestinal epithelium. Moreover, DA is produced by nutritional tyrosine. All the five DA receptors, actually described, are present throughout the gut. Current knowledge of DA in this area is reviewed, focusing on gastrointestinal function in health and during inflammation. Research on animal models and humans are reported. A major obstacle to understanding the physiologic and/or pharmacological roles of enteric DA is represented by the multiplicity o…

Revisiting the controversial role of salsolinol in the neurobiological effects of ethanol: old and new vistas.

2011

The possible involvement of salsolinol (Sal), an endogenous condensation product of ACD (the first metabolite of ethanol) and dopamine, in the neurochemical basis underlying ethanol action has been repeatedly suggested although it has not been unequivocally established, still being a controversial matter of debate. The main goal of this review is to evaluate the presumed contribution of Sal to ethanol effects summarizing the reported data since the discovery in the 1970s of Sal formation in vitro during ethanol metabolism until the more recent studies characterizing its behavioral and neurochemical effects. Towards this end, we first analyze the production and detection of Sal, in different…

Old and New Drugs for Treatment of Advanced Heart Failure.

2020

Background: Advanced heart failure (HF) is a progressive disease with high mortality and limited medical therapeutic options. Long-term mechanical circulatory support and heart transplantation remain goldstandard treatments for these patients; however, access to these therapies is limited by the advanced age and multiple comorbidities of affected patients, as well as by the limited number of organs available. Methods: Traditional and new drugs available for the treatment of advanced HF have been researched. Results: To date, the cornerstone for the treatment of patients with advanced HF remains water restriction, intravenous loop diuretic therapy and inotropic support. However, many patien…

Phenothiazines interfere with dopaminergic neurodegeneration in Caenorhabditis elegans models of Parkinson's disease

2010

Oxidative stress is involved in the pathogenesis of various neurodegenerative disorders, conventional antioxidant strategies have yet been of limited success. We have employed transgenic Caenorhabditis elegans expressing DsRed2 in dopaminergic neurons and CFP pan-neuronally, to characterize in larval and adult animals the effects of rotenone and 1-methyl-4-phenyl-pyridinium (MPP(+)) on the dopaminergic system. Investigating the antioxidant phenothiazine and different derived antipsychotic drugs, it was found that free phenothiazine exerted strong neuroprotection at the cellular level and resulted in a better performance in behavioral assays, whereas apomorphine and other dopamine agonists o…

Diagnosis and therapeutic management of primary headache in an emergency setting

2013

MODULATION OF FOOD REWARD BY ADIPOSITY SIGNALS

2006

Extensive historical evidence from the drug abuse literature has provided support for the concept that there is functional communication between central nervous system (CNS) circuitries which subserve reward/motivation, and the regulation of energy homeostasis. This concept is substantiated by recent studies that map anatomical pathways, or which demonstrate that hormones and neurotransmitters associated with energy homeostasis regulation can directly modulate reward and motivation behaviors. Studies from our laboratory have focused specifically on the candidate adiposity hormones, insulin and leptin, and show that these hormones can decrease performance in behavioral paradigms that assess …

Housing conditions modulate the reinforcing properties of cocaine in adolescent mice that binge on fat

2017

Abstract Binge eating is a specific form of overeating characterized by intermittent, excessive eating. To date, several studies have addressed the effects that bingeing on fat has on the rewarding effects of drugs of abuse, but they have found contradictory and highly variable results. Housing conditions could modulate these results, as most studies employ isolated animals to measure the exact amount of food that is ingested. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of housing conditions on the response of mice to cocaine, modulated by bingeing on a high-fat diet during adolescence. After 40 days of binge-eating for 2 h, three days a week (PND 29–69), the reinforcing effects of a …