Search results for "Extracellular space"

Influence of calcium on the effects of okadaic acid and its interaction with caffeine and theophylline in rat myometrium.

1994

The effects of okadaic acid (OA), a monocarboxylic acid produced by marine dinoflagellates belonging to the genera Dinophysis and Prorocentrum, and their interactions with theophylline and caffeine were studied on the rat-isolated uterus in a calcium-containing medium and a calcium-free medium in the presence of 10−3 M EGTA. Okadaic acid (5 × 10−6 to 5 × 10−5 M) induced a concentration-dependent contraction of the rat-isolated uterus corresponding, with 5 × 10−5M, to 142.3±6.1% (n = 7) of the contraction induced by oxytocin 10−6 M. The time to peak tension was inversely proportional to the maximum effect produced. The contraction was not sustained and was followed by a concentration-depende…

Tissue transglutaminase in HCV infection.

2003

Requirement of caveolae microdomains in extracellular signal-regulated kinase and focal adhesion kinase activation induced by endothelin-1 in primary…

1999

Endothelin-1 (ET-1) mitogenic activity in astrocytes is mediated by the activation of the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathway together with the Rho-dependent activation of the focal adhesion kinase (FAK) pathway. To clarify the mechanisms responsible for the coordinate activation of both pathways in the ET-1 signal propagation, the involvement of caveolae microdomains, suggested to play a role in signal transduction, was evaluated. In this study, it is reported that caveolae of primary astrocytes are enriched in endothelin receptor (ETB-R). Furthermore, signaling molecules such as the adaptor proteins Shc and Grb2, and the small G protein Rho, also reside within these microd…

Long-term effects on cortical glutamate release induced by prenatal exposure to the cannabinoid receptor agonist (r)-(+)-[2,3-dihydro-5-methyl-3-(4-m…

2003

The aim of the present in vivo microdialysis study was to investigate whether prenatal exposure to the CB1 receptor agonist WIN55,212-2 mesylate (WIN; (R)-()-(2,3- dihydro-5-methyl-3-(4-morpholinyl-methyl)pyrrolo(1,2,3-de)- 1,4-benzoxazin-6-yl)-1-naphthalenylmethanone), at a dose of 0.5 mg/kg (s.c. from the fifth to the 20th day of gestation), that causes neither malformations nor overt signs of toxicity, influences cortical glutamate extracellular levels in adult (90- day old) rats. Dam weight gain, pregnancy length and litter size at birth were not significantly affected by prenatal treatment with WIN. Basal and K-evoked dialysate glutamate levels were lower in the cerebral cortex of adul…

Prenatal exposure to the CB1 receptor agonist WIN 55,212-2 causes learning disruption associated with impaired cortical NMDA receptor function and em…

2005

The aim of this study was to investigate whether prenatal exposure to the cannabinoid CB1 receptor agonist WIN 55,212-2 (WIN) at a daily dose devoid of overt signs of toxicity and/or gross malformations (0.5 mg/kg, gestation days 5-20), influences cortical glutamatergic neurotransmission, learning and emotional reactivity in rat offspring. Basal and K+-evoked extracellular glutamate levels were significantly lower in cortical cell cultures obtained from pups exposed to WIN during gestation with respect to those measured in cultures obtained from neonates born from vehicle-treated dams. The addition of NMDA to cortical cell cultures from neonates born from vehicle-treated dams concentration-…

Stimulatory and inhibitory effects of ethanol on hippocampal acetylcholine release

1998

Using the microdialysis technique and sensitive HPLC procedures for the determination of acetylcholine (ACh) and ethanol, we investigated the release of ACh in rat hippocampus after acute ethanol administration. Systemic administration of ethanol (0.8 and 2.4 g/kg i.p.) led to peak ethanol concentrations of 21 and 42 mM in the hippocampus, respectively. The high dose caused a long-lasting inhibition of basal ACh release by up to 33%. Local infusion of scopolamine (1 microM) enhanced hippocampal ACh release up to eightfold in the presence of neostigmine (10 microM), and this stimulated release was also inhibited after systemic ethanol administration (by up to 45%). The low dose of ethanol (0…

Influence of the amount of food ingested on mesolimbic dopaminergic system activity: a microdialysis study.

1996

Abstract The mesolimbic dopaminergic system (MDS) has been shown to be activated by ingestive behaviors, and it has been suggested that this activation may be related to the rewarding properties of foods. Because rats eat more when given a more palatable diet, this study was undertaken to determine the relationship between the amount of food ingested and DA release in the nucleus accumbens of freely moving rats. The extracellular levels of dopamine (DA), 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) and homovanillic acid (HVA) were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection on microdialysis samples from the nucleus accumbens. Each rat underwent three microdia…

Analysis of ceftriaxone and ceftazidime distribution in cerebrospinal fluid of and cerebral extracellular space in awake rats by in vivo microdialysis

1995

In vivo microdialysis was used to estimate the extracellular concentrations of ceftazidime and ceftriaxone, two expanded-spectrum cephalosporins commonly used in the treatment of bacterial meningitis, in two brain regions (the right corpus striatum and the left lateral ventricle) of awake, freely moving rats. Antibiotics were administered by constant intravenous infusion at 18 mg/h until steady-state levels were reached. Ceftriaxone levels measured at the steady state in the extracellular space of the corpus striatum (0.80 ± 0.17 J.tg/ml) were statistically equivalent to those obtained in the cerebrospinal fluid of the lateral ventricle (0.71 ± 0.15 J.tg/ml). The ratios of these levels in t…

Acamprosate blocks the increase in dopamine extracellular levels in nucleus accumbens evoked by chemical stimulation of the ventral hippocampus.

2003

Recently, we have shown that acamprosate is able to modulate extracellular dopamine (DA) levels in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) and may act as an antagonist of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors. Neurochemical studies show that chemical stimulation (using NMDA) of the ventral subiculum (vSub) of the hippocampus produces robust and sustained increases in extracellular DA levels in the NAc, an effect mediated through ionotropic glutamate (iGlu) receptors. The present study examines whether acamprosate locally infused in the NAc of rats could block or attenuate the increase in NAc extracellular DA elicited by chemical stimulation (with 5 mM NMDA) of the ventral subiculum of the hippocampus. …

Effects of nicotinamide on central cholinergic transmission and on spatial learning in rats

1996

High-dose nicotinamide (1000 mg/kg) leads to a minor increase of plasma choline but to a major increase of the choline concentrations in the intra- and extracellular spaces of the brain. In the hippocampus, the nicotinamide-induced increase in choline was associated with an increase in the release of acetylcholine under stimulated conditions. In young rats, nicotinamide in doses between 10 and 1000 mg/kg did not influence spatial learning, as tested in the Morris water maze. In old rats, low doses of nicotinamide were ineffective whereas the high dose of 1000 mg/kg even impaired spatial learning. The combined administration of choline and nicotinamide had a synergistic effect on brain choli…