Search results for "acids"

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…

Short-term atorvastatin treatment does not modify neointimal morphology but reduces MMP-2 expression in normocholesterolemic rabbit stented arteries.

2006

The aim of our study was to explore some potential pleiotropic effects of atorvastatin, after stenting in the iliac arteries of normocholesterolemic rabbits. On day 0, 27 rabbits underwent stent implantation and were randomized into either the control group (standard chow, CTRL, n = 15) or the atorvastatin group (10 mg/kg/d per os, Ator, n = 12). On day 30, the stented arteries were harvested for histomorphometry and neointimal analysis [macrophages, matrix metalloproteinases (MMP-2), tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-2, vascular smooth muscle cells, and collagen]. Atorvastatin did not induce significant histomorphometric and inflammatory modifications but reduced neointimal expression …

Role of Phospholipase D Activation in Nervous System Physiology and Pathophysiology

2002

Plasma gangliosides and age-related macular degeneration

2013

Purpose Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a multifactorial and polygenic disease and is the main cause of vision loss in developed countries after 50 years old. Indeed, dry AMD leads to progressive retinal atrophy and exsudative AMD induces a rapid alteration of the macula through neovascularisation. Gangliosides (GG) make a wide and heterogeneous family of sialic-acid-containing glycosphingolipids, composed of a sugar chain branched on a ceramide. They are major components of cellular membranes and are particularly abundant in the brain and nervous tissue, including retina. They are also found circulating in the plasma. GG are known for their neuroprotective properties in the nervo…

2015

Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are essential nutrients for animals and necessary for the normal functioning of the nervous system. A lack of PUFAs can result from the consumption of a deficient diet or genetic factors, which impact PUFA uptake and metabolism. Both can cause synaptic dysfunction, which is associated with numerous disorders. However, there is a knowledge gap linking these neuronal dysfunctions and their underlying molecular mechanisms. Because of its genetic manipulability and its easy, fast, and cheap breeding, Drosophila melanogaster has emerged as an excellent model organism for genetic screens, helping to identify the genetic bases of such events. As a first step tow…

Genetic architecture of circulating lipid levels

2011

Serum concentrations of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), triglycerides (TGs) and total cholesterol (TC) are important heritable risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Although genome-wide association studies (GWASs) of circulating lipid levels have identified numerous loci, a substantial portion of the heritability of these traits remains unexplained. Evidence of unexplained genetic variance can be detected by combining multiple independent markers into additive genetic risk scores. Such polygenic scores, constructed using results from the ENGAGE Consortium GWAS on serum lipids, were applied to predict lipid levels in an independen…

Oligosaccharide and Ganglioside Neuraminidase Activities of Mucolipidosis I (Sialidosis) and Mucolipidosis II (I-Cell Disease) Fibroblasts

1979

Fibroblasts cultured from the skin of patients with the genetic diseases mucolipidosis I and mucolipidosis II were found deficient in a neuraminidase specific for both an α23 and and α2 6 type of neuraminosyl linkage of sialyl oligosaccharides. Obligate heterozygotes (parents) showed an intermediate activity in mucolipidosis I, but a normal one in mucolipidosis II. The neuraminidase activity of mucolipidosis I fibroblasts towards gangliosides, measured at pH 4.5 in the presence of Triton X-100, was within the range of normal controls with gangliosides Gm3 and GD3, but somewhat diminished with a bovine brain ganglioside preparation. In mucolipidosis II, neuraminidase activity was markedly de…

Post-weaning social isolation rearing influences the expression of molecules related to inhibitory neurotransmission and structural plasticity in the…

2012

Several lines of evidence indicate that alterations in the structure of neural circuits and inhibitory neurotransmission underlie the physiopathogenesis of schizophrenia. Most of the studies on these parameters have been focused on cortical regions and, despite the crucial role of the amygdala in this psychiatric disorder, there is less information on this region. In order to expand this knowledge, we have studied the expression of molecules related to inhibitory neurotransmission and structural plasticity in rats subjected to post-weaning isolation rearing, an animal model that reproduces several core symptoms of schizophrenia. We have analyzed, using qRT-PCR and immunohistochemistry, the …

Phospholipase A2 and arachidonic acid: a common link in the generation of the eosinophil chemotactic factor (ECF) from human PMN by various stimuli.

1980

An eosinophil chemotactic factor (ECF) of low molecular weight can be generated and released from human polymorphonuclear neutrophils by the calcium ionophore, phagocytosis of zymosan particles, arachidonic acid, and phospholipase A2. Since the activation of cells by the ionophore and during the phagocytic event leads to phospholipid turnover, with the subsequent generation of arachidonic acid, it is reasonable that phospholipase A2 represents the common link for ECF production. The kinetics of ECF release by phospholipase A2 is similar to the pattern observed with the various stimuli. After a rapid rise in activity a decline occurred at later times of secretion, suggesting a mechanism of i…

Generation and release of eosinophil chemotactic factor from human polymorphonuclear neutrophils by arachidonic acid

1978

This study describes the generation and release of an eosinophil chemotactic factor from human polymorphonuclear neutrophils, rat basophilic leukemia cells, and from a lymphocyte monocyte basophil suspension by arachidonic acid (AA). The eosinophil chemotactic factor (ECF) is highly specific for eosinophils and resembles the ECF activity obtained from human polymorpho-nuclear neutrophils after stimulation with the Ca ionophore or during phagocytosis. In this regard, AA-induced ECF represents a biological activity distinct from oxidized AA and its conversion products. AA may therefore have a dual function: it represents an important mechanism of cell activation; as AA is converted into prost…