Search results for "STAR"
showing 10 items of 4285 documents
Haemoconcentration by gelatin-induced acceleration of erythrocyte sedimentation rate
2000
Erythrocyte sedimentation rates from 40 suspensions of packed red blood cells in modified fluid gelatin, 4% albumin solution, 6% hydroxyethyl starch and normal saline were measured at room temperature using Westergren's method. The erythrocyte sedimentation rate was extremely high in gelatin and this increase was significant after 10-60 min when compared with the other fluids. Erythrocyte sedimentation rates in albumin, hydroxyethyl starch and normal saline were low and there were no differences between these fluids [erythrocyte sedimentation after 60 min, median (interquartile range): gelatin 128 (111.2-130.0) mm, albumin 2 (1.5-2.0) mm, hydroxyethyl starch 1.5 (1.0-1.6) mm, normal saline …
Intestinal filtration as a consequence of increased mucosal hydraulic permeability
1980
Two mechanisms have been proposed to explain the secretory action of laxative compounds in the intestine: 1. increase of the intracellular amount of cyclic adenosine monophosphate due to stimulation of the adenylate cyclase system and 2. inhibition of intestinal transfer processes, in particular the Na,K-ATPase activated sodium absorption. In a set of in vivo and in vitro experiments in rat colon it could be demonstrated that dihydroxy bile acids (deoxycholate) and diphenolic laxatives (oxyphenisatin) enhance the hydraulic permeability of the mucosal tissue. The permeability changes take place--and there is good experimental evidence--at the zonulae occludentes which bind the epithelial cel…
Effects of Mn2+ on the responses induced by different spasmogens in the oestrogen-primed rat uterus
1997
Abstract We investigated the effect of Mn 2+ on the mechanical responses evoked by high K + (60 mM) or low Na + (25 mM) solutions, oxytocin and neurokinin A in the oestrogen-primed rat uterus. In a Ca 2+ -free, Mn 2+ (0.54 mM)-containing solution, high K + or low Na + solutions produced contractions of smaller amplitude than those observed in a normal Ca 2+ (0.54 mM) solution, which were abolished by nifedipine (1 μM). Oxytocin (1 μM) and neurokinin A (1 μM, in the presence of phosphoramidon 1 μM) evoked nifedipine-insensitive contractile responses similar to (oxytocin) or smaller (neurokinin A) in amplitude than those observed in Ca 2+ (0.54 mM)-containing solution. In strips loaded with C…
The Sources of Ca2+ for Muscarinic Receptor-induced Contraction in the Rat Ileum
1996
Abstract The contractile responses obtained by activation of different muscarinic receptor subtypes in the longitudinal muscle of the rat ileum and especially the responses of this muscle to acetylcholine in a Ca2+-free medium have been investigated. In Ca2+-containing solution, acetylcholine elicited similar concentration-dependent contractile responses in the duodenum, jejunum and ileum strips of the rat intestine. The response to a maximal concentration of the agonist (1 μM) consisted of a rapid phasic response followed by a slower tonic one. Nifedipine completely relaxes or inhibits the sustained response and only partially diminishes the phasic one, which suggests that the phasic contr…
Effect of inhibition of the electrogenic Na+/K+ pump on the mechanical activity in the rat uterus.
1996
The effects of ouabain and K(+)-free solution were studied in estrogen-primed rat uterine strips under resting tone or repeatedly stimulated with KCl, acetylcholine or oxytocin applied for 20 minutes at 60 minute intervals. These effects were compared with those of the K+ channel opener cromakalim. In preparations under resting tone, ouabain (0.1 mM and 0.3 mM) induced rhythmic contractions which disappeared after 20-30 minutes whereas at a higher concentration (1 mM) it evoked a rapid, phasic response followed by a small tonic contraction. Exposure of the strip to a K(+)-free solution induced either rhythmic waves, which ceased after 8-10 minutes, or a single phasic contraction which was f…
Ghrelin reduces hepatic mitochondrial fatty acid beta oxidation.
2007
Ghrelin is a 28-amino-acid peptide secreted during starvation by gastric cells. Ghrelin physiologically induces food intake and seems to alter lipid and glucid metabolism in several tissues such as adipose tissue and liver. Liver has a key position in lipid metabolism as it allows the metabolic orientation of fatty acids between oxidation and esterification. We investigated the effects of peripheral ghrelin administration on 2 crucial parameters of fatty acid oxidation: the levocarnitine (L-carnitine)-dependent entry of the fatty acids in the mitochondria and the mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation. Ghrelin was either given to rats prior to the hepatocyte preparation and culture or used to t…
Expression of different isoforms of nitric oxide synthase in experimentally denervated and reinnervated skeletal muscle.
1997
Denervated muscle fibers express enhanced levels of stress and apoptosis-associated proteins and undergo apoptosis. In experimentally denervated and reinnervated rat facial muscle, we now evaluate changes in the expression patterns of different isoforms of nitric oxide synthase (NOS)-generating nitric oxide (NO), which mediates oxidative stress and apoptosis. Physiological expression of NOS corresponds to a constant sarcolemmal staining pattern for neuronal NOS (nNOS) and a patchy sarcolemmal and weak sarcoplasmic labeling for the endothelial NOS-isoform, with no expression for inducible NOS (iNOS). Denervated muscle displayed distinct downregulation of nNOS with preserved expression of dys…
Characteristics of histamine tachyphylaxis in rat uterine smooth muscle.
2002
Objective and design: To study both the desensitisation induced by short-term exposure to histamine and the mechanism responsible in the isolated rat uterus.¶Material: Precontracted isolated uterus (37 mM KCl) from oestrogenised Wistar rats were used.¶Treatment: Repetitive responses to histamine (10–6, 10–5, 10–4, 10–3 M), dimaprit and clonidine (10–4 M) were tested at 15, 30, 45 and 105 min., with their modifications by (5 mg/ kg, 24 h before sacrifice) reserpine, 10–7 M propranolol, 10–8 M atropine, and 10–6 M indomethacin. Dose-response curves for adrenaline were carried out as standard protocol.¶Methods: In vitro techniques (de Jalon's solution, 31°C, carbogen, isotonic registration, re…
Hypoosmolar conditions reduce extracellular volume fraction and enhance epileptiform activity in the CA3 region of the immature rat hippocampus
2006
The osmolarity of the extracellular space (ECS) compartment is an important factor determining the excitability of neuronal tissue. In the adult hippocampus an important role of osmolarity and ECS diffusion parameters on the susceptibility to epileptic events is well established, but the influence of hypo- and hyperosmolar conditions on the immature hippocampus remains elusive. To investigate the influence of osmolarity on epileptiform activity, extracellular field potentials were recorded in the CA3 region of hippocampal slices of immature (postnatal days 4-7) Wistar rats. The ECS diffusion parameters were determined by the real-time tetramethylammonium (TMA+) iontophoretic method with ion…
Effects of Long-Term Nitroglycerin Treatment on Endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthase (NOS III) Gene Expression, NOS III–Mediated Superoxide Production, …
2000
Abstract —Long-term nitroglycerin (NTG) treatment has been shown to be associated with cross-tolerance to endothelium-dependent vasodilators. It may involve increased production of reactive oxygen species (such as superoxide, O 2 ·− ) that rapidly inactivate the nitric oxide (NO) released from the endothelial cells. It remains to be elucidated, however, whether long-term treatment with NTG alters the activity and expression of the endothelial NO synthase (NOS III) and whether this enzyme can contribute to O 2 ·− formation. We studied the influence of long-term NTG treatment on the expression of NOS III as assessed by RNase protection assay and Western blot. Tolerance was measured ex vivo i…