Search results for "Nerve Tissue Proteins"
showing 10 items of 345 documents
The Aromatase Gene CYP19A1: Several Genetic and Functional Lines of Evidence Supporting a Role in Reading, Speech and Language
2012
Inspired by the localization, on 15q21.2 of the CYP19A1 gene in the linkage region of speech and language disorders, and a rare translocation in a dyslexic individual that was brought to our attention, we conducted a series of studies on the properties of CYP19A1 as a candidate gene for dyslexia and related conditions. The aromatase enzyme is a member of the cytochrome P450 super family, and it serves several key functions: it catalyzes the conversion of androgens into estrogens; during early mammalian development it controls the differentiation of specific brain areas (e.g. local estrogen synthesis in the hippocampus regulates synaptic plasticity and axonal growth); it is involved in sexua…
Early life stress stimulates hippocampal reelin gene expression in a sex-specific manner: Evidence for corticosterone-mediated action
2010
Early life stress predisposes to the development of psychiatric disorders. In this context the hippocampal formation is of particular interest, because it is affected by stress on the structural and cognitive level. Since little is known how early life stress is translated on the molecular level, we mimicked early life stress in mouse models and analyzed the expression of the glycoprotein Reelin, a master molecule for development and differentiation of the hippocampus. From postnatal day 1 (P1) to P14, mouse pups were subjected to one of the following treatments: nonhandling (NH), handling (H), maternal separation (MS), and early deprivation (ED) followed by immediate (P15) or delayed (P70)…
Cluster analysis of mrna expression levels identifies multiple sequential patterns following focal cerebral ischemia
2012
AIM The purpose of this study is to detect gene expression patterns following focal cerebral ischemia. MATERIAL AND METHODS 25 male Wistar rats were divided into control (n = 8) and ischemic (n = 17) groups. In the ischemic group, slowly progressing focal ischemia was simulated by two-vein occlusion with spreading depression (SD) a cortical microinjection of KCl induced. Ischemic tissue was removed at 2, 8, 24, or 72 h postischemia. Using semiquantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, we investigated mRNA expression levels of 13 representative genes related to cerebral ischemia. Cluster analysis of the gene expression levels was done. RESULTS In the ischemic group, the ex…
Mildronate enhances learning/memory and changes hippocampal protein expression in trained rats.
2013
Previously we demonstrated that mildronate [3-(2,2,2-trimethylhydrazinium) propionate dihydrate], a representative of the aza-butyrobetaine class of compounds, protects mitochondrial metabolism under conditions such as ischemia. Mildronate also acted as a neuroprotective agent in an azidothymidine-induced mouse model of neurotoxicity, as well as in a rat model of Parkinson's disease. These observations suggest that mildronate may stimulate processes involved in cell survival and change expression of proteins involved in neurogenic processes. The present study investigated the influence of mildronate on learning and memory in the passive avoidance response (PAR) test and the active condition…
Rapid cloning of cDNA ends polymerase chain reaction of G-protein-coupled receptor kinase 6: an improved method to determine 5′- and 3′-cDNA ends
1999
Abstract Rapid cloning of 5′- and 3′-cDNA ends polymerase chain reaction (5′-/3′-RACE-PCR) is useful to determine unknown 5′- and 3′-cDNA termini. Even if the method can yield complete cDNA sequences within a couple of days, the RACE procedure bears some characteristic traps and often results in amplification of unspecific PCR-products. Here we used improved 5′- and 3′-RACE-PCR protocols to obtain the complete cDNA sequence of the G-protein-coupled receptor kinase 6 (GRK6) from a rat brain cDNA library. The use of an anchored oligo-(dT) 16 -V-primer in the cDNA synthesis, the addition of single-sided PCR steps prior to the RACE-PCRs and the optimization of the dA-tailing reaction conditions…
The dendritic spines of interneurons are dynamic structures influenced by PSA-NCAM expression.
2013
Excitatory neurons undergo dendritic spine remodeling in response to different stimuli. However, there is scarce information about this type of plasticity in interneurons. The polysialylated form of the neural cell adhesion molecule (PSA-NCAM) is a good candidate to mediate this plasticity as it participates in neuronal remodeling and is expressed by some mature cortical interneurons, which have reduced dendritic arborization, spine density, and synaptic input. To study the connectivity of the dendritic spines of interneurons and the influence of PSA-NCAM on their dynamics, we have analyzed these structures in a subpopulation of fluorescent spiny interneurons in the hippocampus of glutamic …
Progress in the development of early diagnosis and a drug with unique pharmacology to improve cancer therapy
2008
Cancer continues to be one of the major health and socio-economic problems worldwide, despite considerable efforts to improve its early diagnosis and treatment. The identification of new constituents as biomarkers for early diagnosis of neoplastic cells and the discovery of new type of drugs with their mechanistic actions are crucial to improve cancer therapy. New drugs have entered the market, thanks to industrial and legislative efforts ensuring continuity of pharmaceutical development. New targets have been identified, but cancer therapy and the anti-cancer drug market still partly depend on anti-mitotic agents. The objective of this paper is to show the effects of KAR-2, a potent anti-m…
Electrolytic lesion of the nucleus incertus retards extinction of auditory conditioned fear
2013
Fear memory circuits in the brain function to allow animals and humans to recognize putative sources of danger and adopt an appropriate behavioral response; and research on animal models of fear have helped reveal the anatomical and neurochemical nature of these circuits. The nucleus (n.) incertus in the dorsal pontine tegmentum provides a strong GABAergic projection to forebrain ‘fear centers’ and is strongly activated by neurogenic stressors. In this study in adult male rats, we examined the effect of electrolytic lesions of n. incertus on different stages of the fear conditioning-extinction process and correlated the outcomes with anatomical data on the distribution of n. incertus-derive…
Postnatal Deletion of Numb/Numblike Reveals Repair and Remodeling Capacity in the Subventricular Neurogenic Niche
2006
Neural stem cells are retained in the postnatal subventricular zone (SVZ), a specialized neurogenic niche with unique cytoarchitecture and cell-cell contacts. Although the SVZ stem cells continuously regenerate, how they and the niche respond to local changes is unclear. Here we generated nestin-creERtm transgenic mice with inducible Cre recombinase in the SVZ, and removed Numb/Numblike, key regulators of embryonic neurogenesis from postnatal SVZ progenitors and ependymal cells. This resulted in severe damage to brain lateral ventricle integrity, and identified previously unknown roles for Numb/Numblike in regulating ependymal wall integrity and SVZ neuroblast survival. Surprisingly, the ve…
Clinical and Biological Heterogeneity in Children with Moderate Asthma
2003
To evaluate the relationship between inflammatory markers and severity of asthma in children, the amount of interleukin-8 (IL-8) and granulocyte/macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) released by peripheral blood mononuclear cells, exhaled nitric oxide (FE NO) levels, p65 nuclear factor-kappaB subunit, and phosphorylated IkBalpha expression by peripheral blood mononuclear cells were assessed in six control subjects, 12 steroid-naives subjects with intermittent asthma, and 17 children with moderate asthma. To investigate their predictive value, biomarker levels were correlated with the number of exacerbations during a 18-month follow-up period. We found that GM-CSF release was higher …