Search results for "Wester"
showing 10 items of 1157 documents
The nicotinic acetylcholine receptor agonist (±)-epibatidine increases FGF-2 mRNA and protein levels in the rat brain
2000
Abstract In a previous work, we showed that acute intermittent nicotine treatment up-regulates the level of fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2) mRNA in brain regions of tel- and mesencephalon of rats suggesting that neuroprotective effect of (−)nicotine may, at least in part, involve an activation of the neuronal FGF-2 signalling. The present experiments were designed to extend the study on the nicotinic receptor mediated up-regulation of FGF-2 mRNA levels to the use of the potent nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) agonist (±)-epibatidine. The (±)-epibatidine treatment led to a strong and long lasting up-regulation of FGF-2 mRNA expression in the cerebral cortex, in the hippocampal for…
Chick embryo retina development in vitro: the effect of insulin.
1995
In this paper we study the development of chick embryo retina cultured in vitro and the effects exerted by insulin. Retinas were removed from 7-day embryos and cultured in serum- and hormone-free medium for 7 additional days. Under these conditions retinal cells survived and underwent cholinergic differentiation, as previously ascertained by Hausman et al. (Dev. Brain Res., 1991, 59: 31-37). However, a great retardation of development was noted compared to uncultured control, 14-day retina. In fact both wet weight and DNA and protein content increased much slower than in ovo and the tubulin content decreased below even the starting value. In addition, although after 7 days in culture retina…
Progestogens reduce thromboxane production by cultured human endothelial cells.
2011
Objectives Progestogens have been poorly studied concerning their roles in endothelial physiology. Prostanoids are vasoactive compounds, such as thromboxane A2, a potent vasoconstrictor, and prostacyclin, a vasodilator. We examined the effects of two progestogens used clinically, progesterone and medroxyprogesterone acetate, on thromboxane A2 production by cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) and investigated the role of progesterone receptors and the enzymes involved in production of thromboxane A2 and prostacyclin. Methods Cells were exposed to 1‐100 nmol/l of either progesterone or medroxyprogesterone acetate, and thromboxane A2 production was measured in culture mediu…
FRI0613 H-ferritin and pro-inflammatory cytokines are increased in the bone marrow of adult patients affected by macrophage activation syndrome
2017
Background During macrophage activation syndrome (MAS), an inflammatory life-threatening syndrome, extremely high levels of serum ferritin may be observed [1]. Ferritin is an intracellular iron storage protein comprising 24 subunits that may be divided in heavy (H) subunits and light (L) subunits, based on their molecular weight [2]. The H-/L-subunits ratio may change, depending on the specific tissue and the physiologic status of the cell. In the normal condition, ferritin enriched in L subunits (L-ferritin) has been found in the liver and in the spleen, whereas the ferritin enriched in H subunits (H-ferritin), may be mainly observed in the heart and kidneys [2]. Objectives We investigated…
The relationship between persons with mental health problems and their dogs: A qualitative study within a nursing perspective
2013
Background: There is an increasing number of people with mental health disorders in the Western world. The most common traditional therapies are conversational therapy and medications. One alternative to traditional therapies is Anthrozoology. Anthrozoology treats the interaction between people and animals, and it shows that animals can be a great contributor to human health and wellness. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine how people with mental health disorders experience owning a dog. Methods: The chosen design was qualitative, and the methods were interviews and observations of five informants with their dogs. The analysis was conducted with systematic text-condensation. R…
Glutathione, GlutathioneS-Transferase α and π, and Aldehyde Dehydrogenase Content in Relationship to Drug Resistance in Ovarian Cancer
1997
Glutathione, glutathione S-transferases alpha and pi, and aldehyde dehydrogenase are associated with resistance to carboplatin and/or cyclophosphamide in cell lines. Therefore, we examined whether the expression of these factors in ovarian cancer tissue specimens is associated with resistance of the patients to combination chemotherapy with cyclophosphamide/carboplatin. Ovarian cancer tissue specimens were taken intraoperatively from 139 patients and frozen in liquid nitrogen, and the contents of glutathione S-transferases alpha and pi, total glutathione, and aldehyde dehydrogenase activity were determined. No association between the levels of glutathione S-transferases alpha and pi or alde…
Oncostatin M, leukaemia-inhibitory factor and interleukin 6 trigger different effects on alpha1-proteinase inhibitor synthesis in human lung-derived …
1998
Interleukin 6 (IL-6), oncostatin M (OSM) and leukaemia-inhibitory factor (LIF) share a common signal-transducing subunit in each of their receptors and thus mediate an overlapping spectrum of biological activities. Although all of these cytokines stimulate the production of α1-proteinase inhibitor (α1-PI) in hepatocyte-derived cells, only OSM is able to up-regulate levels of this inhibitor in epithelial cells originating from the lung. In this study we characterized human lung-derived epithelial-like HTB58 cells for their ability to synthesize α1-PI after treatment with IL-6, OSM and LIF. The results demonstrate that the resistance of HTB58 cells to the effects of IL-6 and LIF was not becau…
Phosphodiesterase10A: abundance and circadian regulation in the retina and photoreceptor of the rat.
2011
Phosphodiesterase10A (PDE10A) is a dual specific cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase that is specifically enriched in striatum and which has gained attention as a therapeutic target for psychiatric disorders. The present study shows that PDE10A is also highly expressed in retinal neurons including photoreceptors. The levels of PDE10A transcript and protein display daily rhythms which could be seen in preparations of the whole retina. Corresponding changes in PDE10A mRNA were seen in photoreceptors isolated using laser microdissection. This suggests that the expressional control of the photoreceptor Pde10a gene contributes to the observed cyclicity in the amount of retinal PDE10A. The daily …
Human antiphospholipid antibodies induce TNFα in monocytes via Toll-like receptor 8
2009
The antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is characterized by recurrent arterial and/or venous thromboses, pregnancy loss and the presence of antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL). One of the discussed mechanisms of this thrombotic activity in APS patients is attributed to TNFalpha secretion in monocytes after aPL stimulation. To investigate this mechanism in detail, we employed a monoclonal aPL and IgG fractions of APS patients for stimulation of human peripheral monocytes. Stimulation with this monoclonal aPL resulted in an increased expression and secretion of TNFalpha, caused by specific upregulation of TLR8 mRNA and protein expression levels. To confirm the specificity of this finding we could d…
Novel Combination of Sorafenib and Celecoxib Provides Synergistic Anti-Proliferative and Pro-Apoptotic Effects in Human Liver Cancer Cells
2013
Molecular targeted therapy has shown promise as a treatment for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Sorafenib, a multikinase inhibitor, recently received FDA approval for the treatment of advanced HCC. However, although sorafenib is well tolerated, concern for its safety has been expressed. Celecoxib (Celebrex®) is a selective cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitor which exhibits antitumor effects in human HCC cells. The present study examined the interaction between celecoxib and sorafenib in two human liver tumor cell lines HepG2 and Huh7. Our data showed that each inhibitor alone reduced cell growth and the combination of celecoxib with sorafenib synergistically inhibited cell growth an…