Search results for "MOLECULAR MECHANISMS"
showing 10 items of 18 documents
Advances in Understanding the Molecular Basis of the Mediterranean Diet Effect
2018
Posted with permission from the Annual Review of Food Science and Technology, Volume 9 by Annual Reviews, http://www.annualreviews.org. Increasingly, studies showing the protective effects of the Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) on different diseases (cardiovascular, diabetes, some cancers, and even total mortality and aging indicators) are being published. The scientific evidence level for each outcome is variable, and new studies are needed to better understand the molecular mechanisms whereby the MedDiet may exercise its effects. Here, we present recent advances in understanding the molecular basis of MedDiet effects, mainly focusing on cardiovascular diseases but also discussing other relat…
Maternal Caloric Restriction Implemented during the Preconceptional and Pregnancy Period Alters Hypothalamic and Hippocampal Endocannabinoid Levels a…
2016
Journal Article; Exposure to inadequate nutritional conditions in critical windows of development has been associated to disturbances on metabolism and behavior in the offspring later in life. The role of the endocannabinoid system, a known regulator of energy expenditure and adaptive behaviors, in the modulation of these processes is unknown. In the present study, we investigated the impact of exposing rat dams to diet restriction (20% less calories than standard diet) during pre-gestational and gestational periods on: (a) neonatal outcomes; (b) endocannabinoid content in hypothalamus, hippocampus and olfactory bulb at birth; (c) metabolism-related parameters; and (d) behavior in adult mal…
The Role of Anabolic Androgenic Steroids in Disruption of the Physiological Function in Discrete Areas of the Central Nervous System
2017
: Anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) abuse is often associated with a wide spectrum of adverse effects. These drugs are frequently abused by adolescents and athletes for esthetic purposes, as well as for improvement of their endurance and performances. In this literature review, we evaluated the correlation between AAS and anxiety or aggression. Two pathways are thought to be involved in AAS-induced behavioral disorders. Direct pathway via the amygdalo-fugal pathway, which connects the central nucleus of the amygdala to the brainstem, is involved in cognitive-emotive and homeostatic processes. The latter is modified by chronic AAS use, which subsequently leads to increased anxiety. Indirect…
Safety Evaluation of α-Lipoic Acid Supplementation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Placebo-Controlled Clinical Studies
2020
Alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) is a natural short-chain fatty acid that has attracted great attention in recent years as an antioxidant molecule. However, some concerns have been recently raised regarding its safety profile. To address the issue, we aimed to assess ALA safety profile through a systematic review of the literature and a meta-analysis of the available randomized placebo-controlled clinical studies. The literature search included EMBASE, PubMed Medline, SCOPUS, Google Scholar, and ISI Web of Science by Clarivate databases up to 15th August 2020. Data were pooled from 71 clinical studies, comprising 155 treatment arms, which included 4749 subjects with 2558 subjects treated with ALA an…
Pharmacological activation of CB2 receptors counteracts the deleterious effect of ethanol on cell proliferation in the main neurogenic zones of the a…
2015
Chronic alcohol exposure reduces endocannabinoid activity and disrupts adult neurogenesis in rodents, which results in structural and functional alterations. Cannabinoid receptor agonists promote adult neural progenitor cell (NPC) proliferation. We evaluated the protective effects of the selective CB1 receptor agonist ACEA, the selective CB2 receptor agonist JWH133 and the fatty-acid amide-hydrolase (FAAH) inhibitor URB597, which enhances endocannabinoid receptor activity, on NPC proliferation in rats with forced consumption of ethanol (10%) or sucrose liquid diets for 2 weeks. We performed immunohistochemical and stereological analyses of cells expressing the mitotic phosphorylation of his…
Pharmacological blockade of the fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) alters neural proliferation, apoptosis and gliosis in the rat hippocampus, hypothal…
2015
Endocannabinoids participate in the control of neurogenesis, neural cell death and gliosis. The pharmacological effect of the fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) inhibitor URB597, which limits the endocannabinoid degradation, was investigated in the present study. Cell proliferation (phospho-H3(+) or BrdU(+) cells) of the main adult neurogenic zones as well as apoptosis (cleaved caspase-3(+)), astroglia (GFAP(+)), and microglia (Iba1(+) cells) were analyzed in the hippocampus, hypothalamus and striatum of rats intraperitoneally treated with URB597 (0.3 mg/kg/day) at one dose/4-days resting or 5 doses (1 dose/day). Repeated URB597 treatment increased the plasma levels of the N-acylethanolamine…
Functional Genomics of 5-to 8-Cell Stage Human Embryos by Blastomere Single-Cell cDNA Analysis
2010
Blastomere fate and embryonic genome activation (EGA) during human embryonic development are unsolved areas of high scientific and clinical interest. Forty-nine blastomeres from 5- to 8-cell human embryos have been investigated following an efficient single-cell cDNA amplification protocol to provide a template for high-density microarray analysis. The previously described markers, characteristic of Inner Cell Mass (ICM) (n = 120), stemness (n = 190) and Trophectoderm (TE) (n = 45), were analyzed, and a housekeeping pattern of 46 genes was established. All the human blastomeres from the 5- to 8-cell stage embryo displayed a common gene expression pattern corresponding to ICM markers (e.g., …
Understanding the participation of 3-nitropyridine in polar Diels–Alder reactions. A DFT study
2015
The reactivity of 3-nitropyridine acting as an electrophilic dienophile in polar Diels-Alder (P-DA) reactions toward three different dienes of increased nucleophilicity has been theoretically studied using DFT methods at the MPWB1K/6-31G(d) level. It has been observed that this aromatic heterocyclic system suffers cycloaddition reactions yielding isoquinoline derivatives. The present DFT study establishes that while the P-DA reactions with isoprene and 1-methoxy-1,3-butadiene take place through a two-stage one-step mechanism, the use of the strong nucleophilic Danishefsky's diene changes the mechanism to a two-step one with formation of a zwitterionic intermediate. These P-DA reactions are …
Molecular Electron Density Theory: A Modern View of Reactivity in Organic Chemistry
2016
A new theory for the study of the reactivity in Organic Chemistry, named Molecular Electron Density Theory (MEDT), is proposed herein. MEDT is based on the idea that while the electron density distribution at the ground state is responsible for physical and chemical molecular properties, as proposed by the Density Functional Theory (DFT), the capability for changes in electron density is responsible for molecular reactivity. Within MEDT, the reactivity in Organic Chemistry is studied through a rigorous quantum chemical analysis of the changes of the electron density as well as the energies associated with these changes along the reaction path in order to understand experimental outcomes. St…
Transmission of HIV Drug Resistance and the Predicted Effect on Current First-line Regimens in Europe
2016
Transmitted human immunodeficiency virus drug resistance in Europe is stable at around 8%. The impact of baseline mutation patterns on susceptibility to antiretroviral drugs should be addressed using clinical guidelines. The impact on baseline susceptibility is largest for nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors.