Search results for "nap"

Co-activation of VEGF and NMDA receptors promotes synaptic targeting of AMPA receptors

2016

A critical role for VEGF and VEGFR2 in NMDA receptor synaptic function and fear-related behavior

2016

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is known to be required for the action of antidepressant therapies but its impact on brain synaptic function is poorly characterized. Using a combination of electrophysiological, single-molecule imaging and conditional transgenic approaches, we identified the molecular basis of the VEGF effect on synaptic transmission and plasticity. VEGF increases the postsynaptic responses mediated by the N-methyl-D-aspartate type of glutamate receptors (GluNRs) in hippocampal neurons. This is concurrent with the formation of new synapses and with the synaptic recruitment of GluNR expressing the GluN2B subunit (GluNR-2B). VEGF induces a rapid redistribution of Glu…

Effects of gadolinium and cadmium on the electrically evoked release of 45calcium from the isolated rat neurohypophysis.

1988

Isolated neural lobes of the rat pituitary gland were fixed by their stalks to a platinum wire electrode. They were loaded with 45calcium and then superfused with radioactivity-free Krebs-solution. The efflux of 45calcium into the superfusion medium was determined. After 54–60 min of superfusion the spontaneous outflow of 45calcium was 2.03%/min of the tissue 45calcium. It was not affected by cadmium (Cd2+, 0.03-3 mmol/1), but reduced by 40% in the presence of 1 mmol/1 gadolinium (Gd3). Electrical stimulation with pulses of 15 Hz (3 times for 1 min with intervals of 1 min) evoked a 45calcium release of 14.4% of the tissue radioactivity. The evoked release of 45calcium was reduced by 80% in …

Vesamicol blocks the recovery, by recycling cholinergic electromotor synaptic vesicles, of the biophysical characteristics of the reserve population.

1993

The effect of vesamicol on the ability of recycling cholinergic synaptic vesicles to recover, during a period of post-stimulation rest, the biophysical properties of the reserve pool was studied in prestimulated perfused blocks of the electric organ of the electric ray, Torpedo marmorata, a tissue rich in cholinergic synapses. The effect of the drug was analysed by high-resolution centrifugal density-gradient fractionation in a zonal rotor of the extracted vesicles. The two vesicle fractions were identified by their ATP and acetylcholine content and the recycled vesicles by their acquisition of [3H]acetylcholine derived from [3H]acetate in the perfusate. Vesamicol (10 microM) blocked the up…

Phosphatidylinositol phosphate kinase type I gamma regulates dynamics of large dense-core vesicle fusion.

2005

Phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate was proposed to be an important regulator of large dense-core vesicle exocytosis from neuroendocrine tissues. Here, we have examined the kinetics of secretion in chromaffin cells from mice lacking phosphatidylinositol phosphate kinase type Iγ, the major neuronal phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate 5-kinase. Absence of this enzyme caused a reduction of the readily releasable vesicle pool and its refilling rate, with a small increase in morphologically docked vesicles, indicating a defect in vesicle priming. Furthermore, amperometry revealed a delay in fusion pore expansion. These results provide direct genetic evidence for a key role of phosphatidylinositol…

Cloning and characterization of CSP37, a novel gene encoding a putative membrane protein of Candida albicans.

1997

In the course of an analysis of the functions and assembly of the cell wall of Candida albicans, we have cloned and characterized a gene, which we designated CSP37 (cell surface protein), encoding a 37-kDa polypeptide which is a membrane-associated protein. The gene was isolated by immunological screening of a DNA library constructed from mycelial cells with a polyclonal serum raised against cell walls of this morphology. Analysis of the nucleotide sequence of a corresponding genomic DNA fragment revealed a single open reading frame which encodes a predicted protein of 321 amino acids with no significant homology to others in the databases. Disruption of the CSP37 gene by the method describ…

Tissue expression of the vesicle protein pantophysin

1999

The cell-type restricted expression of cytoplasmic microvesicle membrane protein isoforms may be a consequence of the functional adaptation of these vesicles to the execution of specialized processes in cells of different specialization. To characterize the expression of the vesicle protein pantophysin, an isoform of the synaptic vesicle proteins synaptophysin and synaptoporin, we have prepared and characterized antibodies useful for the immunological detection of pantophysin in vitro and in situ. Using these reagents, we show by immunoblot analyses that pantophysin expression is not homogeneous but differs significantly between various bovine tissues. Furthermore, these differences are not…

Esterase isoenzymes and insecticide resistance in Frankliniella occidentalis populations from the south-east region of Spain.

2008

BACKGROUND:Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande) is among the most important crop pests in the south-east region of Spain; its increasing resistance to insecticides constitutes a serious problem, and understanding the mechanisms involved is therefore of great interest. To this end, F. occidentalis populations, collected from the field at different locations in south-east Spain, were studied in terms of total esterase activity and esterase isoenzyme pattern. RESULTS: Individual thrips extracts were analysed by native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) and stained for esterase activity with the model substrate α-naphthyl acetate. Significant correlations were found between resistance t…

Recensione di Vincenzo Cirillo: Feste Settecentesche a Napoli. Disegni e progetti per l’architettura effimera. Napoli: La Scuola di Pitagora, 2021

2022

The book by Vincenzo Cirillo focuses on the ephemeral Neapolitan architecture of the 18th century, it excels in the exploration and deepening of the Neapolitan experience by suggesting new approaches to the historical and cultural study of the city of Naples.

Biosynthesis of fungal melanins and their importance for human pathogenic fungi

2003

For more than 40 years fungi have been known to produce pigments known as melanins. Predominantly these have been dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA)-melanin and dihydroxynaphthalene (DHN)-melanin. The biochemical and genetical analysis of the biosynthesis pathways have led to the identification of the genes and corresponding enzymes of the pathways. Only recently have both these types of melanin been linked to virulence in some human pathogenic and phytopathogenic fungi. The absence of melanin in human pathogenic and phytopathogenic fungi often leads to a decrease in virulence. In phytopathogenic fungi such as Magnaporthe grisea and Colletotrichum lagenarium, besides other possible functions in …