Search results for "RATS"
showing 10 items of 3537 documents
Role of the cyclic AMP-dependent pathway in free radical-induced cholesterol accumulation in vascular smooth muscle cells.
2000
We have previously reported that free radical-treated vascular smooth muscle cells (SMC) lead to cholesterol accumulation in vitro. In the current study, we investigated the effects of oxidative stress on cyclic AMP concentration and cAMP-dependent enzymes involved in cholesterol homeostasis in A7r5 cells. Under our conditions of a mild oxidative stress, namely with no change in cell viability, we found that free radicals, initiated using azobis-amidinopropane dihydrochloride (AAPH), resulted in a dose-dependent decrease in cellular cAMP which was opposed by vitamin E preincubation. Although the addition of adenylate cyclase activators (carbacyclin and forskolin) increased cAMP levels it di…
Oxidative stress leads to cholesterol accumulation in vascular smooth muscle cells.
1999
The transformation of macrophages and smooth muscle cells into foam cells by modified low-density lipoproteins (LDL) is one of the key events of atherogenesis. Effects of free radicals have mainly been studied in LDL, and other than toxicity, data dealing with direct action of free radicals on cells are scarce. This study focused on the direct effects of free radicals on cholesterol metabolism of smooth muscle cells. A free radical generator, azobis-amidinopropane dihydrochloride, was used, and conditions for a standardized oxidative stress were set up in vascular smooth muscle cells. After free radical action, the cells presented an accumulation of cholesterol that appeared to be the resul…
Potential role of the neuropeptide CGRP in the induction of differentiation of rat hepatic portal vein wall.
2005
The media of the rat hepatic portal vein is composed of an internal circular muscular layer (CL) and an external longitudinal muscular layer (LL). These two perpendicular layers differentiate progressively from mesenchymal cells within the first month after birth. In this paper, we studied the development of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) innervation during post-natal differentiation of the vessel. We show that CGRP innervation is already present around the vessel at birth in the future adventitia but far from the lumen of the vessel. Progressively, CGRP immunoreactive fibers reached first LL then CL. CL by itself become only innervated at day 14 after birth. This corresponds to the…
Vasoactive intestinal peptide stimulation of cyclic guanosine monophosphate formation: further evidence for a role of nitric oxide synthase and cytos…
1993
In the rat pineal gland vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) and beta-adrenergic agonists stimulate cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) formation and their action is amplified by alpha 1-adrenergic agonists. Since beta-adrenergic stimulation of cGMP is suggested to involve activation of nitric oxide (NO) synthase and NO-mediated activation of cytosolic guanylate cyclase (GC), we investigated the effects of the NO synthase inhibitor N-monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA) and of the cytosolic GC inhibitor methylene blue (MB) on VIP receptor-stimulated cGMP formation. Both L-NMMA and MB depressed VIP-induced cGMP formation as well as alpha 1-adrenergic potentiation of VIP-stimulated cGMP formation …
Dopaminergic modulation of evoked vasopressin release from the isolated neurohypophysis of the rat
1982
1. Neurointermediate lobes of rat pituitaries were incubated in Locke or Krebs solution, and the vasopressin released into the medium was assayed on the blood pressure of the pithed rat or by a radioimmunological procedure. Release of vasopressin over resting levels was evoked either by incubation with 60 mM KCl (high K) solution or by electrical stimulation of the pituitary stalk. Two different kinds of electrical stimulation were carried out. Procedure A (1 ms, 10 Hz, 5 times for 1 min within 10 min) induced a vasopressin overflow which was greatly calcium-dependent but only insignificantly sensitive to tetrodotoxin (TTX). Procedure B (0.2 ms, 15 Hz, 10 s trains with 10 s intervals for 10…
Differential effects of potassium channel blockers on neurohypophysial release of oxytocin and vasopressin. Evidence for frequency-dependent interact…
1988
Isolated rat neurohypophyses were fixed by their stalks to a platinum wire electrode and superfused with Krebs-HEPES solution. Vasopressin and oxytocin released into the medium were determined by specific radioimmunoassays. Hormone secretion was increased by electrical stimulation of the pituitary stalk at different frequencies. The effects of several potassium channel blockers, tetraethylammonium (TEA) ions, 4-aminopyridine (4-AP) and 3,4-diaminopyridine (3,4-DAP) were tested. The release of vasopressin and oxytocin evoked by electrical stimulation with 900 pulses at 15 Hz (about 900 and 1,000 μU, respectively) was about 10 times higher than that evoked by 900 pulses at 3 Hz. Both 10 and 3…
The hypothalamic magnocellular neurosecretory system in developing rats
2009
Studies concerning the development of the magnocellular system are scarce and discordant in literature. We carried out an immunohistochemical study on supraotic and paraventricular hypothalamic nuclei using antivasopressin and antioxytocin antibodies in developing rats between the 15th day of intrauterine life and the 6th day of postnatal life. In addition, we performed RT-PCR experiments to establish the stage at which these hormones appear and neurosecretory activity commences. The results showed that supraoptic and paraventricular nuclei appear, respectively, on the 16th and the 18th day of intrauterine life and both immediately synthetize vasopressin neurohormone. By contrast, synthesis…
A targeted apoB38.9 mutation in mice is associated with reduced hepatic cholesterol synthesis and enhanced lipid peroxidation.
2006
Familial hypobetalipoproteinemia (FHBL) due to truncation-specifying mutations of apolipoprotein B (apoB), which impair hepatic lipid export in very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) particles, is associated with fatty liver. In an FHBL-like mouse with the apoB38.9 mutation, fatty liver develops despite reduced hepatic fatty acid synthesis. However, hepatic cholesterol contents in apoB38.9 mice are normal. We found that cholesterogenic enzymes (3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase, sterol-C5-desaturase, and 7-dehydrocholesterol reductase) were consistently downregulated in two separate expression-profiling experiments using a total of 19 mice ( n = 7 each for apob+/+and apob+/38.9, …
Selected peptides targeted to the NMDA receptor channel protect neurons from excitotoxic death
1998
Excitotoxic neuronal death, associated with neurodegeneration and stroke, is triggered primarily by massive Ca2+ influx arising from overactivation of glutamate receptor channels of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) subtype. To search for channel blockers, synthetic combinatorial libraries were assayed for block of agonist-evoked currents by the human NR1-NR2A NMDA receptor subunits expressed in amphibian oocytes. A set of arginine-rich hexapeptides selectively blocked the NMDA receptor channel with IC50 approximately 100 nM, a potency similar to clinically tolerated blockers such as memantine, and only marginally blocked on non-NMDA glutamate receptors. These peptides prevent neuronal cell d…
Modified cryopreservation and xenotransplantation of human parathyroid tissue.
1999
Introduction: A modified cryopreservation technique for human parathyroid tissue was compared with the standard method using a programmed freezer. Methods: Total parathyroidectomy was performed in three groups of 6-week-old Rowett nude rats. Group I (control) underwent no transplantation of parathyroid tissue (n=9). After 10 days, the rats of groups II (n=15) and III (n=15) underwent xenotransplantation of 20 mg cryopreserved human parathyroid tissue, which had been stored in liquid nitrogen at –196°C for 1–22 months prior to xenotransplantation. The parathyroid tissue was derived from 15 parathyroidectomized patients with renal hyperparathyroidism. Two tissue samples were obtained from eve…