Search results for "Extracellular space"
showing 10 items of 71 documents
Dopamine agonist cabergoline reduces hemoconcentration and ascites in hyperstimulated women undergoing assisted reproduction.
2007
Abstract Context: Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) results from increased vascular permeability (VP) caused by ovarian hypersecretion of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which activates its receptor-2. In animals, the dopamine receptor 2 agonist cabergoline (Cb2) inactivates VEGF receptor-2 and prevents increased VP. Objective: Our objective was to test whether Cb2 reduces VP and prevents OHSS in humans. Design: We conducted a prospective, randomized, double-blind study on oocyte donors at risk of developing OHSS (>20 follicles, >12 mm developed, and >20 oocytes retrieved). Interventions: Cb2 0.5 mg/d (n = 37) or a placebo (n = 32) was administered fro…
Extracellular vesicles shuffling intercellular messages: for good or for bad
2015
The release of extracellular vesicles (EVs) is a highly conserved process exploited by diverse organisms as a mode of intercellular communication. Vesicles of sizes ranging from 30 to 1000. nm, or even larger, are generated by blebbing of the plasma membrane (microvesicles) or formed in multivesicular endosomes (MVEs) to be secreted by exocytosis as exosomes. Exosomes, microvesicles and other EVs contain membrane and cytosolic components that include proteins, lipids and RNAs, a composition that differs related to their site of biogenesis. Several mechanisms are involved in vesicle formation at the plasma membrane or in endosomes, which is reflected in their heterogeneity, size and composit…
Foaming in membrane bioreactors: Identification of the causes
2012
Membrane bioreactors (MBRs) represent by now a well established alternative for wastewater treatment. Their increasing development is undoubtedly related to the several advantages that such technology is able to guarantee. Nevertheless, this technology is not exempt from operational problems; among them the foaming still represents an "open challenge" of the MBR field, due to the high complexity of phenomenon. Unfortunately, very little work has been done on the foaming in MBRs and further studies are required. Actually, there is not a distinct difference between conventional activated system and MBR: the main difference is that the MBR plants can retain most Extracellular Polymeric Substan…
The role of EPS concentration in MBR foaming: analysis of a submerged pilot plant.
2010
Foaming in Membrane BioReactor (MBR) is a frequently discussed topic. Some authors reported that the phenomenon is due to filamentous organisms, like at Conventional Activated Sludge (CAS) plants. However, in recent years, other authors reported that the Extra-cellular Polymer Substances (EPSs) concentration is an important factor for controlling foam as well. Nevertheless, even if a number of MBR plants are affected by foaming, presently there are no suitable methods to evaluate the phenomenon. To facilitate the study of this controversial phenomenon in an MBR system, certain foam tests proposed in the past for CASPs were investigated. The results of the tests were able to adequately measu…
Extracellular Hsp70 Enhances Mesoangioblast Migration via an Autocrine Signaling Pathway
2016
Mouse mesoangioblasts are vessel-associated progenitor stem cells endowed with the ability of multipotent mesoderm differentiation. Therefore, they represent a promising tool in the regeneration of injured tissues. Several studies have demonstrated that homing of mesoangioblasts into blood and injured tissues are mainly controlled by cytokines/chemokines and other inflammatory factors. However, little is known about the molecular mechanisms regulating their ability to traverse the extracellular matrix (ECM). Here, we demonstrate that membrane vesicles released by mesoangioblasts contain Hsp70, and that the released Hsp70 is able to interact by an autocrine mechanism with Toll-like receptor …
Extracellular cyclic GMP and its derivatives GMP and guanosine protect from oxidative glutamate toxicity.
2013
Cell death in response to oxidative stress plays a role in a variety of neurodegenerative diseases and can be studied in detail in the neuronal cell line HT22, where extracellular glutamate causes glutathione depletion by inhibition of the glutamate/cystine antiporter system xc(-), elevation of reactive oxygen species and eventually programmed cell death caused by cytotoxic calcium influx. Using this paradigm, we screened 54 putative extracellular peptide or small molecule ligands for effects on cell death and identified extracellular cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) as a protective substance. Extracellular cGMP was protective, whereas the cell-permeable cGMP analog 8-pCPT-cGMP or the …
Characterization of Acylating and Deacylating Activities of an Extracellular Phospholipase A2 in a Water-Restricted Environment
1994
The behavior of porcine pancreatic phospholipase A2 (ppPLA2) in monophasic low-water media has been explored, for the first time, in a systematic manner. It has been investigated how a number of variables can modulate both acylating and deacylating activities of the enzyme, and several interesting, unexpected results are presented. Among the most relevant, when placing ppPLA2 in the water-restricted environment, are the following: (i) it displays a remarkable alteration of its specificity toward the substrate polar head relative to all-water medium; (ii) it is quite severely inhibited by lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC), which has important implications, particularly concerning its acylation a…
Inactivation and tachyphylaxis of heat-evoked inward currents in nociceptive primary sensory neurones of rats.
2000
In contrast to other sensory modalities, pain does not decrease when a noxious stimulus is applied at constant intensity (Greene & Hardy, 1962). From this lack of adaptation on the perceptive level it has traditionally been implied that primary nociceptive afferents also do not adapt upon constant stimulation. This is in contrast to the results of recordings from these afferents, which exhibit pronounced adaptation for physical as well as chemical stimuli (Meyer et al. 1994). Peripheral adaptation of nociceptive nerve endings is compensated by central summation (Mendell & Wall, 1965; Price et al. 1977); this slow summation process of small fibre input to the dorsal horn of the spinal cord i…
Effects of different agents on the contractile response elicited by extracellular calcium after depletion of internal calcium stores in rat isolated …
1993
Abstract Noradrenaline, 1 μm, induced a sustained contractile response in rat isolated aorta in the presence and in the absence of extracellular Ca2+. After depleting the noradrenaline-sensitive intracellular Ca2+ stores, an increase in the basal tone of the aorta was observed during the incubation period in the presence of Ca2+ and in the absence of the agonist. We have tested the possible pathways through which Ca2+ enters the cell to refill the previously depleted Ca2+ pools, a process that is accompanied by an increase in tension. The magnitude of this increase does not depend on the presence of Mg2+ in the extracellular medium nor on the temperature, suggesting that it is mediated by a…
Signal transduction pathways involved in the mechanical responses to protease-activated receptors in rat colon.
2002
Recording simultaneously in vitro the changes of endoluminal pressure (index of circular muscle activity) and isometric tension (index of longitudinal muscle activity), we examined the mechanisms responsible for the apamin-sensitive relaxant and contractile responses induced by protease-activated receptor (PAR)-1 and PAR-2 activating peptides, SFLLRN-NH2 and SLIGRL-NH2, respectively, in rat colon. In the circular muscle, the inhibitory effects of SFLLRN-NH2 and SLIGRL-NH2 were significantly reduced by ryanodine, an inhibitor of Ca2+ release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum, but unaffected by 1-[6-[[17beta-methoxyestra-1,3,5(10)-trien-17-yl]amino]hexyl]-1H-pyrrole-2,5-dione (U73122), a phosph…