Search results for "Guanosine"
showing 10 items of 171 documents
Can guanine-based purines be considered modulators of intestinal motility in rodents?
2010
Adenine-based purines play a pivotal role in the control of gastrointestinal motility in rodents. Recently, guanine-based purines have been also shown to exert extracellular effects in the central nervous system raising the possibility of the existence of distinct receptors for guanine-based purines. Thus, it seems likely to speculate that also guanine-based purines may play a role in the modulation of the intestinal contractility. Spontaneous and neurally-evoked mechanical activity was recorded in vitro as changes in isometric tension in circular muscle strips from mouse distal colon. Guanosine up to 3 mM or guanine up to 1 mM failed to affect the spontaneous mechanical activity, but reduc…
Regulation of phospholipase D activity in synaptosomes permeabilized with Staphylococcus aureus alpha-toxin.
1998
In order to investigate the regulation of presynaptic phospholipase D (PLD) activity by calcium and G proteins, we established a permeabilization procedure for rat cortical synaptosomes using Staphylococcus aureus alpha-toxin (30-100 microg/ml). In permeabilized synaptosomes, PLD activity was significantly stimulated when the concentration of free calcium was increased from 0.1 microM to 1 microM. This activation was inhibited in the presence of KN-62 (1 microM), an inhibitor of calcium/calmodulin-dependent kinase II (CaMKII), but not by the protein kinase C inhibitor, Ro 31-8220 (1-10 microM). Synaptosomal PLD activity was also stimulated in the presence of 1 microM GTPgammaS. When Rho pro…
A possible role for cyclic guanosine monophosphate in the rat pineal gland.
1990
Abstract Adrenergic stimulation of pinealocytes induces an increase of both cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) and cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP). However, for cGMP no biological effects have been demonstrated so far. Therefore we tested the effects of the analog 8-bromo-cGMP on synaptic ribbon numbers and on melatonin synthesis as reflected by N -acetyltransferase (NAT) activity in the rat pineal gland in vitro. Incubation for 6 h with 8-bromo-cGMP did not change the activity of serotonin NAT but in increased the number of synaptic ribbons. These results indicate that cGMP is involved as a second messenger in the regulation of synaptic ribbon numbers in the rat pineal gland.
Lack of effect of oxytocin on the numbers of ?synaptic? ribbons, cyclic guanosine monophosphate and serotonin N-acetyltransferase activity in organ-c…
1993
In addition to the stimulating influence of the sympathetic system on the function of the mammalian pineal gland, neuropeptides such as neuropeptide Y, vasoactive intestinal polypeptide and arginine-vasopressin (AVP) are thought to function as modulators. Since AVP has been shown to influence pineal melatonin synthesis, the aim of the present study was to investigate the possible effects of the second hypothalamic nonapeptide oxytocin (OT), which likewise has been detected in the pineal gland. We therefore studied "synaptic" ribbon (SR) numbers, N-acetyltransferase (NAT) activity and the intracellular concentration of cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) following in vitro incubation of ra…
Gene Transcription Alterations Associated with Decrease of Ethanol Intake Induced by Naltrexone in the Brain of Wistar Rats
2006
Preclinical and clinical studies suggest that the administration of the opioid antagonist naltrexone decreases the intake of ethanol. However, the neuroplastic adaptations in the brain associated to reduction of ethanol consumption remains to be elucidated. The aim of the study was to identify gene transcription alterations underlying the attenuation of voluntary ethanol intake by administration of naltrexone in rats. Increasing doses of naltrexone (0.7 mg/kg, 4 days and 1.4 mg/kg/day, 4 days) to rats with acquired high preferring ethanol consumption (>3.5 g of ethanol/kg/day) decreased voluntary ethanol intake (50%). Voluntary ethanol consumption altered mu-opioid receptor function in the …
Carcinogenic Etheno DNA Adducts in Alcoholic Liver Disease: Correlation with Cytochrome P-4502E1 and Fibrosis.
2017
BACKGROUND One mechanism by which alcoholic liver disease (ALD) progresses is oxidative stress and the generation of reactive oxygen species, among others due to the induction of cytochrome P-4502E1 (CYP2E1). Experimental data underline the key role of CYP2E1 because ALD could be partially prevented in rats by the administration of the specific CYP2E1 inhibitor chlormethiazole. As CYP2E1 is linked to the formation of carcinogenic etheno DNA adducts in ALD patients, a causal role of alcohol-induced CYP2E1 in hepatocarcinogenesis is implicated. The purpose of this study was to investigate CYP2E1 induction in ALD, and its correlation with oxidative DNA lesions and with hepatic histology. METHO…
Human milk enhances antioxidant defenses against hydroxyl radical aggression in preterm infants
2008
Background: Preterm infants endowed with an immature antioxidant defense system are prone to oxidative stress. Hydroxyl radicals are very aggressive reactive oxygen species that lack specific antioxidants. These radicals cannot be measured directly, but oxidation byproducts of DNA or phenylalanine in urine are reliable markers of their activity. Human milk has a higher antioxidant capacity than formula. Objective: We hypothesized that oxidative stress associated with prematurity could be diminished by feeding human milk. Design: We recruited a cohort of stable preterm infants who lacked perinatal conditions associated with oxidative stress; were not receiving prooxidant or antioxidant drugs…
Antioxidant enzyme activities and the production of MDA and 8-oxo-dG in chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
2001
Abstract Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a neoplastic disease susceptible to antioxidant enzyme alterations and oxidative stress. We have examined the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and the oxidized/reduced glutathione (GSSG/GSH) ratio together with the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and 8-oxo-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-oxo-dG) in lymphocytes of CLL patients and compared them with those of normal subjects of the same age. SOD and CAT activity decreased in CLL lymphocytes while GPx activity increased. GSH content of CLL lymphocytes also increased, and GSSG concentration remained constant. Thus, a reduced GSSG/GSH ratio was obtaine…
Effect of beta-N-oxalylamino-L-alanine on cerebellar cGMP level in vivo.
1993
Beta-N-oxalylamino-L-alanine (BOAA), a non-protein amino acid present in the seeds of Lathyrus Sativus (LS), is one of several neuroactive glutamate analogs reported to stimulate excitatory receptors and, in high concentrations, cause neuronal degeneration. In the present study, the in vivo acute effects of synthetic BOAA and LS seed extract were investigated on rat cerebellar cyclic GMP following intraperitoneal (10-100 mg/kg) or oral (100 mg/kg) administration of subconvulsive doses of toxin. Furthermore, the BOAA content in LS seeds and in the cerebellum of injected rats was determined by high performance liquid chromatograph analysis. A dose- and time-dependent increase of cerebellar cy…
Late onset administration of oral antioxidants prevents age-related loss of motor co-ordination and brain mitochondrial DNA damage.
1999
We have studied the effect of aging on brain glutathione redox ratio, on brain mitochondrial DNA damage and on motor co-ordination in mice and the possible protective role of late onset administration of sulphur-containing antioxidants. Glutathione redox ratios change to a more oxidized state in whole brain with aging but the changes are much more pronounced when this ratio is measured in brain mitochondria. The levels of 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2 '-deoxyguanosine in mitochondrial DNA are much higher in the brain of old animals than in those of young ones. Late onset oral administration of sulphur-containing antioxidants partially prevents oxidation of mitochondrial glutathione and DNA. There is …