Search results for "RATS"
showing 10 items of 3537 documents
Transient postnatal over nutrition induces long-term alterations in cardiac NLRP3-inflammasome pathway.
2018
International audience; Background and aims: The prevalence of obesity is increasing worldwide at an alarming rate. Altered early nutrition, in particular postnatal overfeeding (PNOF), is a risk factor for impaired cardiac function in adulthood. In the understanding of the initiation or progression of heart diseases, NLRP3 inflammasome and non-coding RNAs have been proposed as key players. In this context, the aim of this study was to decipher the role of NLRP3 inflammasome and its post transcriptional control by micro-RNAs in the regulation of cardiac metabolic function induced by PNOF in mice. Methods and results: Based on a model of mice exposed to PNOF through litter size reduction, we …
Anti-inflammatory and cognitive effects of interferon-β1a (IFNβ1a) in a rat model of Alzheimer’s disease
2018
Background: Aβ 1-42 peptide abnormal production is associated with the development and maintenance of neuroinflammation and oxidative stress in brains from Alzheimer disease (AD) patients. Suppression of neuroinflammation may then represent a suitable therapeutic target in AD. We evaluated the efficacy of IFNβ1a in attenuating cognitive impairment and inflammation in an animal model of AD. Methods: A rat model of AD was obtained by intra-hippocampal injection of Aβ 1-42 peptide (23 μg/2 μl). After 6 days, 3.6 μg of IFNβ1a was given subcutaneously (s.c.) for 12 days. Using the novel object recognition (NOR) test, we evaluated changes in cognitive function. Measurement of pro-inflammatory or …
2 H-1,2,3-Triazole-Based Dipeptidyl Nitriles: Potent, Selective, and Trypanocidal Rhodesain Inhibitors by Structure-Based Design.
2018
Macrocyclic inhibitors of rhodesain (RD), a parasitic cysteine protease and drug target for the treatment of human African trypanosomiasis, have shown low metabolic stability at the macrocyclic ether bridge. A series of acyclic dipeptidyl nitriles was developed using structure-based design (PDB ID: 6EX8). The selectivity against the closely related cysteine protease human cathepsin L (hCatL) was substantially improved, up to 507-fold. In the S2 pocket, 3,4-dichlorophenylalanine residues provided high trypanocidal activities. In the S3 pocket, aromatic residues provided enhanced selectivity against hCatL. RD inhibition (Ki values) and in vitro cell-growth of Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense (I…
Iron-loaded transferrin (Tf) is detrimental whereas iron-free Tf confers protection against brain ischemia by modifying blood Tf saturation and subse…
2018
Despite transferrin being the main circulating carrier of iron in body fluids, and iron overload conditions being known to worsen stroke outcome through reactive oxygen species (ROS)-induced damage, the contribution of blood transferrin saturation (TSAT) to stroke brain damage is unknown. The objective of this study was to obtain evidence on whether TSAT determines the impact of experimental ischemic stroke on brain damage and whether iron-free transferrin (apotransferrin, ATf)-induced reduction of TSAT is neuroprotective. We found that experimental ischemic stroke promoted an early extravasation of circulating iron-loaded transferrin (holotransferrin, HTf) to the ischemic brain parenchyma.…
Rescue of Hypovitaminosis A Induces Non-Amyloidogenic Amyloid Precursor Protein (APP) Processing.
2015
Retinoic acid, the bioactive metabolite of beta-carotene or vitamin A, plays a pleiotropic, multifunctional role in vertebrate development. Studies in rodents revealed that a diet deficient in vitamin A results in a complex neonatal syndrome (the VAD syndrome), manifested in many organs. In humans, the function of retinoic acid (RA) extends into adulthood, where it has important roles in fertility, vision, and suppression of neoplastic growth. In recent years, it has also been suggested that retinoic acid might potentially act as a therapeutically relevant drug in attenuating or even preventing neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). Here, we report that VAD leads to an…
A new “sudden fright paradigm” to explore the role of (epi)genetic modulations of the DAT gene in fear-induced avoidance behavior
2020
Alterations in dopamine (DA) reuptake are involved in several psychiatric disorders whose symptoms can be investigated in knock out rats for the DA transporter (DAT-KO). Recent studies evidenced the role of epigenetic DAT modulation in depressive-like behavior. Accordingly, we used heterozygous (HET) rats born from both HET parents (termed MIX-HET), compared to HET rats born from WT-mother and KO-father (MAT-HET), implementing the role of maternal care on DAT modulation. We developed a "sudden fright" paradigm (based on dark-light test) to study reaction to fearful inputs in the DAT-KO, MAT-HET, MIX-HET, and WT groups. Rats could freely explore the whole 3-chambers apparatus; then, they wer…
Barrel cortex: What is it good for?
2017
The rodent whisker system, with barrel cortex as its most prominent structure, has evolved into a powerful model system to study sensory processing. However, despite the vast amount of data collected on barrel cortex neural activity patterns, as well as its circuitry and plasticity, the precise behavioral and cognitive operations for which this structure is needed are still elusive. Proposed functions of barrel cortex include detection, discrimination, coordination of whisker movements during exploratory locomotion or active touch, and associative learning. Departing from a definition of what exactly constitutes a function and how the involvement of a brain area in a specific task can be es…
Modulation of mitochondriotropic properties of cyanine dyes by in organello copper-free click reaction
2017
Cyanine (Cy) dyes show a general propensity to localize in polarized mitochondria. This mitochondriotropism was used to perform a copper-free click reaction in the mitochondria of living cells. The in organello reaction of dyes Cy3 and Cy5 led to a product that was easily traceable by Forster resonance energy transfer (FRET). As determined by confocal laser scanning microscopy, the Cy3-Cy5 conjugate showed enhanced retention in mitochondria, relative to that of the starting compounds. This enhancement of a favorable property can be achieved by synthesis in organello, but not outside mitochondria.
Cortex-wide BOLD fMRI activity reflects locally-recorded slow oscillation-associated calcium waves.
2017
When a person is in a deep non-dreaming sleep, neurons in their brain alternate slowly between periods of silence and periods of activity. This gives rise to low-frequency brain rhythms called slow waves, which are thought to help stabilize memories. Slow wave activity can be detected on multiple scales, from the pattern of electrical impulses sent by an individual neuron to the collective activity of the brain’s entire outer layer, the cortex. But does slow wave activity in an individual group of neurons in the cortex affect the activity of the rest of the brain? To find out, Schwalm, Schmid, Wachsmuth et al. took advantage of the fact that slow waves also occur under general anesthesia, a…
Extracellular electrical recording of pH-triggered bursts in C6 glioma cell populations
2016
Extracellular electrode recording demonstrates acid-triggered electrical activity in glioma cell populations.