Search results for "RATS"

Damipipecolin and damituricin, novel bioactive bromopyrrole alkaloids from the Mediterranean sponge Axinella damicornis

2007

Two new bromopyrrole alkaloids, damipipecolin (1) and damituricin (2), have been isolated from the Mediterranean sponge Axinella damicornis, and their structures established through spectroscopic methods. Compounds 1 and 2 extend the structural variety of the so far known pyrrole alkaloids; in these compounds, the 4-bromopyrrole 2-carboxylic acid is directly condensed with a non-protein cyclic alpha-amino acid, the (2R, 4R)-trans-4-hydroxypipecolic acid and (2R, 4R)-cis-N,N'-dimethyl-4-hydroxyproline (D-turicine) in 1 and 2, respectively. Compounds 1 and 2 were found to display a modulating effect of the serotonin receptor activity in vitro.

Beta-amyloid monomers are neuroprotective

2009

The 42-aa-long β-amyloid protein—Aβ1-42—is thought to play a central role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) (Walsh and Selkoe, 2007). Data from AD brain (Shankar et al., 2008), transgenic APP (amyloid precursor protein)-overexpressing mice (Lesné et al., 2006), and neuronal cultures treated with synthetic Aβ peptides (Lambert et al., 1998) indicate that self-association of Aβ1-42monomers into soluble oligomers is required for neurotoxicity. The function of monomeric Aβ1-42is unknown. The evidence that Aβ1-42is present in the brain and CSF of normal individuals suggests that the peptide is physiologically active (Shoji, 2002). Here we show that synthetic Aβ1-42monomers support …

The effects of glutamate receptor antagonists on cerebellar granule cell survival and development.

2007

N-Methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor stimulation promotes neuronal survival and differentiation under both in vitro and in vivo conditions. We studied the effects of various NMDA receptor antagonists acting at different NMDA receptor binding sites and non-NMDA receptor antagonists on the development and survival of cerebellar granule cell (CGC) culture. Only three of the drugs tested induced neurotoxicity-MK-801 (non-competitive NMDA channel blocking antagonist), ifenprodil (an antagonist of the NR2B site and polyamine site of the NMDA receptor) and L-701.324 (full antagonist at glycine site), while CGP-37849 (a competitive NMDA antagonist), (+)-HA-966 (a partial agonist of the glycine site…

Action of anticonvulsants on hippocampal slices in Mg-free medium

1989

The effects of six prototype anticonvulsant drugs were investigated on epileptiform field potential discharges evoked in hippocampal slices of rats by removing magnesium ions from the perfusion fluid in order to reveal a possible interaction with N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor activation. All drugs reduced the multiple discharges with the following order of potency: midazolam greater than carbamazepine = phenytoin = phenobarbital greater than ethosuximide = valproate. They had a stronger depressant effect on the later population spikes but none of them abolished the epileptiform discharge. These effects can be explained by known mechanisms of action of the anticonvulsants tested and l…

Influence of anti-inflammatory flavonoids on degranulation and arachidonic acid release in rat neutrophils.

1994

We assessed the effects of 24 flavonoid derivatives, reported as anti-inflammatory, on lysosomal enzyme secretion and arachidonic acid release in rat neutrophils. Amentoflavone, quercetagetin- 7-O -glucoside, apigenin, fisetin, kaem pferol, luteolin and quercetin were the most potent inhibitors of β-glucuronidase and lysozyme release. The first com pound was also able to inhibit basal release. These flavonoids besides chrysin and to a reduced extent, naringenin, significantly inhibited arachidonic acid release from membranes. A correlation between degranulation and arachidonic acid release was found for this series of compounds. Structureactivity relationships and implications for the anti-…

Xenotransplantation of parathyroids in rats using barium-alginate and polyacrylic acid multilayer microcapsules

2001

The integrity and function of encapsulated parathyroid tissue following xenotransplantation is limited by oxygen and nutrition supply and capsule fibrosis. Since some of these factors depend on stability and biocompatibility of the coating material, multilayer microcapsules have been developed. Parathyroid tissue pieces and digested single cells from pigs were encapsulated in barium-alginate and in polyacrylic acid (PAA) multilayer capsules. After 7 days of culture the function of the encapsulated cells were assessed. Subsequently, in a part of the cultured microcapsules the viability was directly assessed whereas the other part was transplanted in dark animal [DA] rats for 30 days. After e…

Adenoviral RB2/p130 gene transfer inhibits smooth muscle cell proliferation and prevents restenosis after angioplasty.

1999

Abstract —Smooth muscle cell (SMC) proliferation that results in neointima formation is implicated in the pathogenesis of atherosclerotic plaques and accounts for the high rates of restenosis that occur after percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty, a widespread treatment for coronary artery disease. Endothelial lesions trigger intense proliferative signals to the SMCs of the subintima, stimulating their reentry into the cell cycle from a resting G 0 state, resulting in neointima formation and vascular occlusion. Cellular proliferation is negatively controlled by growth-regulatory or tumor-suppressor genes, or both, such as the retinoblastoma gene family members ( RB/p105, p107, RB2…

Hemodynamic effects of experimental testicular torsion.

1987

Experimental testicular torsion must be used for certain studies of clinical relevance, but most experimental models either do not provide hemodynamic alteration comparable to the clinical situation or cannot guarantee reproducibility. Using a rat model arterial perfusion and hemorrhagic infarction were correlated to the degree of both intra- and extravaginal testicular torsion. Arterial inflow was measured sequentially with radiolabelled microspheres, hemorrhagic infarction was judged by the increase of testicular weight. Maximal hemorrhagic infarction and reproducible values were found when the spermatic cord was twisted together with the tunica vaginalis for 360 degrees-540 degrees.

The effect of intracavernosal growth differentiation factor-5 therapy in a rat model of cavernosal nerve injury.

2006

OBJECTIVE To determine whether the intracavernosal application of growth differentiation factor-5 (GDF-5) influences nerve regeneration and erectile function after cavernosal nerve injury in a rat model. MATERIALS AND METHODS Thirty-two male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into four equal groups: eight had a sham operation (uninjured controls), while 24 had bilateral cavernosal nerve crush. The crush-injury groups were treated at the time of injury with an impregnated collagen sponge implanted into the right corpus cavernosum. The sponge contained no GDF-5 (injured controls), 2 µg (low concentration), or 20 µg GDF-5 (high concentration). Erectile function was assessed by cavernosa…

Erythropoietin and its lost receptor

2007