Search results for "Sparta"

Influence of Demographic and Lifestyle Variables on Plasma Magnesium Concentrations and Their Associations with Cardiovascular Risk Factors in a Medi…

2020

Several studies have shown that a low magnesium (Mg) intake in the diet is associated with greater cardiovascular risk and greater risk of diabetes. However, the results are not consistent in all populations. To minimize the biases derived from diet measurement, more objective biomarkers of magnesium status have been proposed. Although there is still no ideal biomarker for Mg, several studies have shown that plasma Mg concentrations could be a relatively acceptable biomarker for cardiovascular risk assessment. However, further studies are required to better characterize this marker in different populations. Our aim was to analyze the association between plasma Mg concentrations (measured th…

Routine HCV PCR screening of blood donations to identify early HCV infection in blood donors lacking antibodies to HCV

2001

BACKGROUND: Detection of early hepatitis C infection of blood donors is still a major problem for blood transfusion. Common anti-HCV screening assays show differences in sensitivity and specificity. The often mild symptoms of acute hepatitis C also cause difficulties in the identification of early HCV infection. The feasibility and efficacy of routine screening of blood donations for HCV RNA were investigated. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Blood donations (n = 251,737) were screened for HCV RNA over 4 years. RNA extraction, amplification, and detection were done by two commercial HCV PCR kits (HCV Cobas Amplicor and HCV Cobas Amplicor 2.0, Roche Diagnostics). Screening was done by pool testing …

No association of alcohol dependence with a NMDA-receptor 2B gene variant

2003

Postsynaptic Secretion of BDNF and NT-3 from Hippocampal Neurons Depends on Calcium–Calmodulin Kinase II Signaling and Proceeds via Delayed Fusion Po…

2007

The mammalian neurotrophins (NTs) NGF, BDNF, NT-3, and NT-4 constitute a family of secreted neuronal growth factors. In addition, NTs are implicated in several forms of activity-dependent synaptic plasticity. Although synaptic secretion of NTs has been described, the intracellular signaling cascades that regulate synaptic secretion of NTs are far from being understood. Analysis of NT secretion at the subcellular level is thus required to resolve the role of presynaptic and postsynaptic NT secretion for synaptic plasticity. Here, we transfected cultures of dissociated rat hippocampal neurons with green fluorescent protein-tagged versions of BDNF and NT-3, respectively, and identified NT vesi…

Excitotoxic Hippocampal Membrane Breakdown and its Inhibition by Bilobalide: Role of Chloride Fluxes

2003

We have previously shown that hypoxia and N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor activation induce breakdown of choline-containing phospholipids in rat hippocampus, a process which is mediated by calcium influx and phospholipase A (2) activation. Bilobalide, a constituent of Ginkgo biloba, inhibited this process in a potent manner (Weichel et al., Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's Arch. Pharmacol. 360, 609-615, 1999). In this study, we used fluorescence microscopy and radioactive flux measurements to show that bilobalide does not interfere with NMDA-induced calcium influx. Instead, bilobalide seems to inhibit NMDA-induced fluxes of chloride ions through ligand-operated chloride channels. In our experimen…

Cannabinoid CB1 receptors regulate neuronal TNF-α effects in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis.

2011

Abstract Cannabinoid CB1 receptors (CB1Rs) regulate the neurodegenerative damage of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) and of multiple sclerosis (MS). The mechanism by which CB1R stimulation exerts protective effects is still unclear. Here we show that pharmacological activation of CB1Rs dampens the tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα)-mediated potentiation of striatal spontaneous glutamate-mediated excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs), which is believed to cogently contribute to the inflammation-induced neurodegenerative damage observed in EAE mice. Furthermore, mice lacking CB1Rs showed a more severe clinical course and, in parallel, exacerbated alterations of sEPSC duration af…

The Natural Fungal Metabolite Beauvericin Exerts Anticancer Activity In Vivo: A Pre-Clinical Pilot Study

2017

Recently, in vitro anti-cancer properties of beauvericin, a fungal metabolite were shown in various cancer cell lines. In this study, we assessed the specificity of this effect by comparing beauvericin cytotoxicity in malignant versus non-malignant cells. Moreover, we tested in vivo anticancer effects of beauvericin by treating BALB/c and CB-17/SCID mice bearing murine CT-26 or human KB-3-1-grafted tumors, respectively. Tumor size and weight were measured and histological sections were evaluated by Ki-67 and H/E staining as well as TdT-mediated-dUTP-nick-end (TUNEL) labeling. Beauvericin levels were determined in various tissues and body fluids by LC-MS/MS. In addition to a more pronounced …

Biocompatible hydrogels based on hyaluronic acid cross-linked with a polyaspartamide derivative as delivery systems for epithelial limbal cells.

2011

The aim of this work was to evaluate the potential use of hydrogels based on hyaluronic acid (HA) chemically cross-linked with α,β-poly(N-2-hydroxyethyl) (2-aminoethylcarbamate)-D,L-aspartamide (PHEA-EDA) as substitutes for the amniotic membrane able to release limbal cells for corneal regeneration. Hydrogels, shaped as films, with three different molar ratios (X) between PHEA-EDA and HA (X = 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5) have been investigated. First, it has been evaluated their swelling ability, hydrolytic resistance in simulated physiological fluid and cell compatibility by using human dermal fibroblasts chosen as a model cell line. Then adhesion studies in comparison with collagen gel, have been pe…

The Functional Role of the Second NPXY Motif of the LRP1 β-Chain in Tissue-type Plasminogen Activator-mediated Activation of N-Methyl-D-aspartate Rec…

2008

The low density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1 (LRP1) emerges to play fundamental roles in cellular signaling pathways in the brain. One of its prominent ligands is the serine proteinase tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA), which has been shown to act as a key activator of neuronal mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways via the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor. However, here we set out to examine whether LRP1 and the NMDA receptor might eventually act in a combined fashion to mediate tPA downstream signaling. By blocking tPA from binding to LRP1 using the receptor-associated protein, we were able to completely inhibit NMDA receptor activation. Additionally, inhibition of …

In Vivo Imaging of Partially Reversible Th17 Cell-Induced Neuronal Dysfunction in the Course of Encephalomyelitis

2010

SummaryNeuronal damage in autoimmune neuroinflammation is the correlate for long-term disability in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. Here, we investigated the role of immune cells in neuronal damage processes in animal models of MS by monitoring experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) by using two-photon microscopy of living anaesthetized mice. In the brainstem, we detected sustained interaction between immune and neuronal cells, particularly during disease peak. Direct interaction of myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG)-specific Th17 and neuronal cells in demyelinating lesions was associated with extensive axonal damage. By combining confocal, electron, and intravital microsc…