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Previously, we observed that sustained activation of P2Y₁ leads to inhibition of Na⁺,K⁺,Cl⁻ cotransport (NKCC) in C11 cells resembling intercalated cells from collecting ducts of the Madin-Darby canine kidney. This study examined the role of stress-activated protein kinases (SAPK) in NKCC inhibition triggered by purine...
Guanosine 5'-triphosphate (GTP) is a chemorepellent in Tetrahymena thermophila that has been shown to stimulate cell division as well as ciliary reversal. Previous studies have proposed that GTP avoidance is linked to a receptor-mediated, calcium-based depolarization. However, the intracellular mechanisms involved in G...
Until now, more than 800 distinct G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) have been identified in the human genome. The four subtypes of the adenosine receptor (A(1), A(2A), A(2B) and A(3) receptor) belong to this large family of GPCRs that represent the most widely targeted pharmacological protein class. Since adenosine r...
Although originally proposed as a subtype of opioid receptors, the sigma receptor is now confirmed to be a non-opioid receptor that binds diverse classes of psychotropic drugs. Sigma receptors are subdivided into two subtypes, sigma-1 and sigma-2. The sigma-1 receptor is a 25-kDa protein possessing one putative transme...
The regulation of protein expression and activity has been for long time considered only in terms of transcription/translation efficiency. In the last years, the discovery of post-transcriptional and post-translational regulation mechanisms pointed out that the key factor in determining transcript/protein amount is the...
Steroid hormones exert profound effects on cell growth, development, differentiation, and homeostasis. Their effects are mediated through specific intracellular steroid receptors that act via multiple mechanisms. Among others, the action mechanism starting upon 17beta-estradiol (E2) binds to its receptors (ER) is consi...
Mathematical tools developed in the context of Shannon information theory were used to analyze the meaning of the BLOSUM score, which was split into three components termed as the BLOSUM spectrum (or BLOSpectrum). These relate respectively to the sequence convergence (the stochastic similarity of the two protein sequen...
The proteins lysozyme, amylase, and bovine serum albumin (BSA) were adsorbed on two experimental dental materials, made of fluoroapatite particles embedded in polymer matrices, and on silicon wafers. The protein films were prepared as single-component layers, as binary mixtures, and as double layers. These systems were...
Although iron therapy is very common, few studies have assessed iron absorption or iron kinetics in general, particularly with Fe(3+). This was the primary objective of this study, with assessment of tolerance as a secondary objective. Eight nonsmoking iron-deficient females without other associated pathologies, with a...
Management of acute coronary syndromes, particularly unstable angina, acute myocardial infarction and non-Q-wave myocardial infarction, is one of the most common and costly problems facing modern medicine. Furthermore, the increasing availability of new research and clinical information relevant to the treatment of the...
Successful therapy with praziquantel in schistosomiasis is dependent on a normal host immune system, i.e. the recognition of parasite antigen, to be effective in eradicating the parasite. Levamisole, a nonspecific immunomodulator, has been hypothesised to normalise deficient cell-mediated immunity. The aim of this stud...
The aim of the present study was to examine the prevalence of low blood pressure in an older population with respect to medication with drugs with potential hypotensive effects. Data from the Kungsholmen Project was used, a population-based study of elderly people aged 75 years and over in Stockholm, Sweden. Among the ...
Two studies were conducted in healthy volunteers to evaluate the effects of rifampicin and cimetidine on the pharmacokinetics of the oral antimigraine compound zolmitriptan. Each study was an open, randomised, two-period crossover design. Rifampicin 600mg was administered daily for 8 days and cimetidine 400mg was admin...
Research into progressive renal scarring has been closely linked over the last two decades with angiotensin II (AII). This has led to a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying the development of glomerulosclerosis and tubulointerstitial scarring. AII appears to play an important role in the pathogenesis of bo...
The association of hyperhomocysteinemia (Hhe) with cardiovascular disease (CVD) has been explored in detail over the last four decades since initial reports in the 1960s. Although several epidemiological studies have shown an association, convincing mechanistic studies are still lacking. However, recent prospective stu...
Until recently, atherosclerosis was thought to be a passive process of lipid deposition in the arterial wall, followed by progressive occlusion of the lumen, and finally plaque rupture and thrombosis. Recent data suggest the contrary-atherosclerosis is a dynamic process developing over many years, characterized by acti...
Fasting hyperinsulinemia is associated with an increased risk of atherosclerotic complications of heart attack and stroke. This has resulted in the concept that insulin may promote atherosclerosis in spite of the absence of any evidence that insulin is atherogenic either in the human or in experimental models. Recent e...
Published reports show that low carbohydrate weight loss diets provide a metabolic advantage, a greater weight loss per calorie consumed compared to isocaloric high carbohydrate diets. These reports have not been refuted but rather largely ignored, presumably because of the apparent violation of the laws of thermodynam...
Results of several recent studies show that high-protein, low-carbohydrate weight loss diets indeed have their benefits. However, there are always some concerns about high-protein diets. According to the American Heart Association (AHA) Nutrition Committee, highprotein diets may possess significant health risks. The pu...
Insulin resistance occurs frequently in metabolic syndrome components, obesity, and the polycystic ovary syndrome, and is partly due to impaired glucose transport into skeletal muscle, but underlying mechanisms are uncertain. Atypical protein kinase C and protein kinase B, operating downstream of phosphatidylinositol 3...
Background. Latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA) is characterized by islet beta-cell loss and absolute insulin deficiency, however, studies in recent years have shown some extent of insulin resistance in LADA patients. In view of insulin resistance being the central pathogenesis of metabolic syndrome (MS), we hy...
Current evidence suggests that both diet and exercise can alter the usual increase in insulin resistance seen in Western societies during mid and late pregnancy. A low-glycemic diet combined with a low-volume exercise regimen during pregnancy decreases the glucose and insulin response to both mixed caloric intake and e...
Treatment with different antihypertensive drug classes has varied effects on glucose metabolism. Thiazide diuretic use in hypertensives has been associated with the development of glucose intolerance and diabetes. Some findings suggest that the probability of worsening glucose metabolism and the development of new diab...
Severe obesity is increasingly common in the United States. Very obese persons are at increased risk for the metabolic consequences of obesity. A common multidimensional risk condition associated with obesity is the metabolic syndrome. It is accompanied by increased risk for cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. ...
Since diabetes is a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD), we asked if there is a functional interaction between high glucose and elevated beta amyloid peptide (Abeta) in cultured brain microvascular endothelial cells and presymptomatic AD transgenic mice. When cultured brain microvascular endothelial cells are expo...
Absolute protein quantification has become an important challenge in modern bioanalytical chemistry. Among several approaches based on mass spectrometric techniques, inductively coupled plasma (ICP) as ionisation source provides element-selective and sensitive detection of heteroatoms, and thus, a potentially emerging ...
The function of the CNS depends on the correct regulation of neurotransmitter receptors by interacting proteins. Here, we screened a retinal cDNA library for proteins interacting with the intracellular C-terminus of the metabotropic glutamate receptor isoform 8a (mGluR8a). The band 4.1B protein binds to the C-termini o...
Astrocytes and microglia become activated in a broad spectrum of inflammatory neurodegenerative diseases. Activated microglia are widely believed to be the principal source of inflammation-induced neuronal degeneration in these disorders. To investigate the neurotoxic potential of human astrocytes, we exposed them and ...
Vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR-2, KDR), a receptor tyrosine kinase, regulates mitogenic, chemotactic, hyperpermeability, and survival signals in vascular endothelial cells in response to its ligand vascular permeability factor/ vascular endothelial growth factor (VPF/VEGF). SHP-1 is a protein tyro...
Obesity is independently associated with coronary endothelial dysfunction. Adiponectin, a protein whose circulating levels are decreased in obesity, has direct effects on vascular function. The aim of this study was to investigate in obese women the effect of sustained weight loss on coronary circulation and circulatin...
Overproduction of amyloid precursor protein (APP) and beta-amyloid likely contribute to neurodegeneration seen in Alzheimer's disease (AD). APP mRNA contains several, 3'-untranslated region (UTR), cis-acting regulatory elements. A 52 base element (52sce), immediately downstream from the stop codon, has been previously ...
The effects of caffeinated and non-caffeinated paracetamol administration, with or without vitamins A and E supplementation on the protein and enzyme levels in Wistar albino rats were investigated using caffeinated paracetamol and paracetamol as caffeinated and non-caffeinated paracetamol respectively, and water solubl...
Effect of caffeine-coconut products interactions on induction of drug-metabolizing enzyme in Wistar albino rats was studied. Twenty rats were randomly divided into four groups: The control group (1) received via oral route a placebo (4.0 ml of distilled water). Groups 2 to 4 were treated for a 14-day period with 50 mg/...
Effect of alcohol-kolanut interaction on sodium pump activity in wistar albino rats was studied. Thirty wistar albino rats were divided into six groups of five (5) rats per group and used for the study. The control group (1) received via oral route a placebo (4 ml of distilled water). Groups 2 to 6 were treated for a p...
Effect of alcohol and kolanut interactions on biochemical indices of neuronal gene expression in Wistar albino rats was studied. Thirty Wistar albino rats were divided into six groups of five (5) rats per group. The control group (1) received via oral route a placebo (4 ml of distilled water). Groups 2-6 were treated f...
As part of a prospective study of leptospirosis and biodiversity of Leptospira in the Peruvian Amazon, a new Leptospira species was isolated from humans with acute febrile illness. Field trapping identified this leptospire in peridomestic rats (Rattus norvegicus, six isolates; R. rattus, two isolates) obtained in urban...
While low-grade inflammation has consistently been observed in subjects with depression, studies on the possible relationship between inflammation and other aspects of brain function are as yet sparse. In this study, we aimed to investigate the possible association between serum levels of the inflammation marker C-reac...
Recent studies have demonstrated that stromal cell-derived factor-1alpha (SDF-1alpha)/CXCR4 interaction regulates multiple cell signal pathways and a variety of cellular functions such as cell migration, proliferation, survival and angiogenesis. In present study, we aimed to determine the effect of SDF-1alpha on endoth...
Recent advances in redox proteomics have provided significant insight into the role of oxidative modifications in cellular signalling and metabolism. At present, these techniques rely heavily on Western blots to visualize the oxidative modification and corresponding two dimensional (2D) gels for detection of total prot...
Intestinal ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury occurs frequently in a variety of clinical settings, including mesenteric artery occlusion, abdominal aneurism surgery, trauma, shock, and small intestinal transplantation, and is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. Although the exact mechanisms involved in ...
While it is well known that hemodialysis (HD) patients with end stage renal failure are exposed to high oxidative stress, there is not a general opinion regarding whether antioxidant activity is high or low in these patients. We evaluated the variation of plasma hydroxyl radical scavenging activity (p-HRSA) by a single...
Endothelin-1, a powerful vasoconstrictor, forms the endothelin system together with endothelin-converting enzyme and endothelin type A and type B receptors. These endothelin system components are considered to participate in inflammatory and wound healing responses. Previous reports have suggested a role for the endoth...
Bofutsushosan (BOF), an oriental herbal medicine, has been used as an anti-obesity drug in overweight patients. In the present study, to evaluate the anti-obesity and anti-diabetic effects of BOF, we investigated the effects of BOF on the white adipose tissue (WAT) weight, the size of adipocytes, adiponectin expression...
Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is essential for ATP production in the mitochondria, and is an important antioxidant in every biomembrane and lipoprotein. Due to its hydrophobicity, a binding and transfer protein for CoQ10 is plausible, but none have yet been isolated and characterized. Here we purified a CoQ10-binding protein fr...
There were increasing studies on the association of periodontal diseases with coronary heart disease (CHD) in the recent 20 years. This article reviewed the evidence supporting the association between periodontal disease and CHD, the possible mechanisms explaining the association, and the possible effect of periodontal...
Protein cleavage is a central event in many regulated biological processes. We describe a system for detecting intracellular proteolysis based on non-conventional secretion of Gaussia luciferase (GLUC). GLUC exits the cell without benefit of a secretory leader peptide, but can be anchored in the cell by fusion to beta-...
Salivary bacteria produce the enzyme lysine decarboxylase which converts lysine to cadaverine. In the absence of appropriate oral hygiene, overgrowth of these bacteria depletes lysine. This may contribute to gingival inflammation, while cadaverine contributes to oral malodor. A selective and sensitive capillary electro...
The bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2) fragment (BMP-2omega, 606-846bp) cDNA was amplified from total RNA of SAOS-2 cells by using RT-PCR. The PCR product was then inserted into pET-28a (+) vector for constructing the expression plasmid that would be used to transform the host cell BL21(DE3). After IPTG inducing unde...
To study the effects of dl-3n-butylphthalide (NBP) on the protein and mRNA expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) in rats brain with permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO).
The objective of this study was to investigate an antinociceptive effect of preemptive intrathecal lornoxicam on behavior and expression of c-Fos protein in the spinal cord of the formalin hurting rats.
To evaluate the levels of angiotensin converting enzyme and C-reactive protein in the peripheral blood of mitral valve replacement preoperative patients with atrial fibrillation (AF).
Apoptosis plays critical role in diabetic cardiomyopathy and endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) is one of intrinsic apoptosis pathways. For previous studies have shown that endoplasmic reticulum become swell in diabetic myocardium and ERS was involved in diabetes mellitus and heart failure, this study aimed to demonstr...
The aim of this study was to investigate the predictive value of an oxidative stress, C-reactive protein (CRP) and N-terminal probrain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) biomarkers in acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The study population contained 100 patients with AMI and 40 healthy subjects. Malondialdehyde (MDA) was ...
We have proposed that diacylglycerol hydroperoxide-induced unregulated signal transduction causes oxidative stress-related diseases. In this study, we investigated which molecular species of diacylglycerol hydroperoxide activated human peripheral neutrophils. All diacylglycerol hydroperoxides, diacylglycerol hydroxides...
Valproic acid (VPA; 2-n-propylpentanoic acid) is widely used as a major drug in the treatment of epilepsy and in the control of several types of seizures. Being a simple fatty acid, VPA is a substrate for the fatty acid beta-oxidation (FAO) pathway, which takes place primarily in mitochondria. The toxicity of valproate...
Enzyme defects in the mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation (FAO) are a large family of inherited metabolic disease well characterized clinically and genetically, but for which pharmacological strategies remain limited. It is now well established that regulation of genes involved in mitochondrial FAO is under control of t...
Mucopolysaccharidosis type III (MPS III, Sanfilippo syndrome) is an autosomal recessive disorder, caused by a deficiency in one of the four enzymes involved in the lysosomal degradation of the glycosaminoglycan heparan sulfate. Based on the enzyme deficiency, four different subtypes, MPS IIIA, B, C, and D, are recogniz...
Succinate-CoA ligase catalyses the reversible conversion of succinyl-CoA and ADP or GDP to succinate and ATP or GTP. It is a mitochondrial matrix enzyme and at least the ADP-forming enzyme is part of the Krebs cycle. The substrate specificity is determined by the beta subunit of succinate-CoA ligase, which is encoded b...
Over the last 15 years, liver cell transplantation (LCT) has developed from an experimental laboratory technique to a potentially life-saving therapeutic option. Because of its minimally invasive nature, the method is especially attractive for (small) children. In children with liver-based inborn errors of metabolism, ...
Gaucher disease (GD), the most common lysosomal storage disorder, demonstrates an autosomal recessive pattern of inheritance. The genetic defect in GD leads to decreased production of the lysosomal enzyme glucosylceramide hydrolase, thereby resulting in the deposition of glucosylceramide sphingolipids within multiple o...
We report a 13-year-old boy with multisystem involvement secondary to accumulation of amylopectin-like material. He was born to consanguineous parents at full term without any complications and his maternal perinatal history was uneventful. His parents were cousins. He had normal growth and development except for his w...
Visceral endoderm (VE) is an extraembryonic cell layer formed before gastrulation that secretes critical factors involved in embryonic development with inductive effects on embryonic stem cell (ESC) differentiation. We utilized the conditioned media (CM) from the VE-like cell lines, HepG2 and END2, to enhance lineage-s...
Adult bone marrow (BM)-derived insulin-producing cells (IPCs) are capable of regulating blood glucose levels in chemically induced hyperglycemic mice. Using cell transplantation therapy, fully functional BM-derived IPCs help to mediate treatment of diabetes mellitus. Here, we demonstrate the detection of the pentose ph...
The Gram-positive bacterium Bacillus subtilis is an important producer of high quality industrial enzymes and a few eukaryotic proteins. Most of these proteins are secreted into the growth medium, but successful examples of cytoplasmic protein production are also known. Therefore, one may anticipate that the high prote...
Recent advances in protein mass spectrometry (MS) have enabled determinations of hydrogen deuterium exchange (HDX) in large macromolecular complexes. HDX-MS became a valuable tool to follow protein folding, assembly and aggregation. The methodology has a wide range of applications in biotechnology ranging from quality ...
Different species of microorganisms including yeasts, filamentous fungi and bacteria have been used in the past 25 years for the controlled production of foreign proteins of scientific, pharmacological or industrial interest. A major obstacle for protein production processes and a limit to overall success has been the ...
To explore whether extracellular high mobility group B1 protein (HMGB1) plays a role in regulation of lymphocyte-mediated immune.
To explore the effect and mechanisms of curcumin on learning and memory dysfunction induced by HIV-1 enveloped protein gp120.
To establish a convenient and sensitive magnetic separation enzyme immunofluorescence (MEIF) method for detecting human insulin.
Prions, composed primarily of misfolded, often fibrillar, polymers of prion protein, have poorly understood structures. Heavy surface glycosylation may obscure visualization of their fibrillar cores, so we purified severely under-glycosylated prion protein fibrils from scrapie-infected transgenic mice expressing anchor...
The spread of community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) has been reported in communities worldwide. In this study, we characterized 64 Tunisian CA-MRSA by agr typing, polymerase chain reaction assay for 20 virulence genes, staphylococcal chromosomal cassette mec (SCCmec) typing, pulsed-fi...
Compared to the estrogenic effects of 4-nonylphenol (NP), there is little data available on other potential toxic effects of NP in aquatic animals. The effects of NP on cholinesterase (ChE) and carboxylesterase (CbE) activities of male guppies exposed to 10, 60, 150, or 300 μg L(-1) NP were examined after 1, 2, 4, and ...
To investigate the functions of promoter hypermethylation of secreted frizzled-related protein (sFRP) genes in colorectal tumorigenesis and progression.
To ascertain the relationship between C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and risk factors of traditional coronary heart disease (CHD) in a sampled population from Jiangsu province of China.
We introduce a new type of knowledge-based potentials for protein structure prediction, called 'evolutionary potentials', which are derived using a single experimental protein structure and all three-dimensional models of its homologous sequences. The new potentials have been benchmarked against other knowledge-based p...
Oxidative stress and defense response in leaves of tomato seedlings exposed to extraneous lead (Pb) at 0-500 mg kg(-1) soil for nearly 2 months were investigated. Superoxide radical (O(2)(-)) was quantified by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR). Results showed that levels of O(2)(-), malondialdehyde (MDA), carbonyl ...
The effects of simvastatin, an inhibitor of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl CoA reductase (HMG-CoA reductase), on oxidative stress resistance and the protective effects of coenzyme Q (CoQ) were investigated. When simvastatin was administered orally to mice, the levels of oxidized and reduced CoQ(9) and CoQ(10) in serum, liv...
The amount of phosphorus contained in food as food additives is currently increasing and a high intake of phosphorus can cause various diseases. To determine the effects of a prolonged high phosphorus diet, here we investigated the phosphorus and calcium balance and expression of type IIa sodium-dependent phosphate tra...
An electrochemical biosensor based on the immobilization of laccase on magnetic core-shell (Fe(3)O(4)-SiO(2)) nanoparticles was combined with artificial neural networks (ANNs) for the determination of catechol concentration in compost bioremediation of municipal solid waste. The immobilization matrix provided a good mi...
To evaluate the roles of expression and early protein E2 and E6 load of human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16) on cervical cancer in order to explore the relation between disruption of E2 and development of cervical cancer.
Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by selective depletion of nigral dopamine (DA) neurons containing neuromelanin (NM), suggesting the involvement of NM in the pathogenesis. This study reports induction of apoptosis by NM in SH-SY5Y cells, whereas protease-K-treated NM, synthesized DA- and cysteinyl dopamine mel...
An interdisciplinary approach was employed to monitor the concentration and the effects of butyltin compounds in mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis). Tissues from animals exposed to a marine area (Vado Ligure harbour) with a high concentration of tributyltin (TBT) were analysed and compared with control samples. TBT co...
An intrinsic link between proteasome and tau degradation in Alzheimer's disease (AD) has been suggested, however, the role of proteasome in the proteolysis of tau is still uncertain. Here, we investigated the influence of proteasome inhibition on the accumulation, phosphorylation, ubiquitination, solubility of tau and ...
The beta-amyloid precursor protein (APP) plays a major role in Alzheimer's disease. The APP intracellular domain (AICD), together with Fe65 and Tip60, localizes to spherical nuclear AFT complexes, which may represent sites of transcription. Despite a lack of co-localization with several described nuclear compartments, ...
Mutations in amyloid precursor protein (APP) and presenilin (PSEN) genes are known to cause familial early-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD), which account for around 5% of AD cases. Genetic associations for the remaining "sporadic" cases, other than the risks associated with the apolipoprotein (APOE) epsilon4 allele are ...
P2Y receptors are G protein coupled receptors that respond to extracellular nucleotides to promote a multitude of signaling events. Our laboratory has purified several P2Y receptors with the goal of providing molecular insight into their: (1) ligand binding properties, (2) G protein signaling selectivities, and (3) reg...
Cell membrane-bound ecto-nucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolases (NTPDases) are homooligomeric, with native quaternary structure required for maximal enzyme activity. In this study, we mutated lysine 79 in human ecto-nucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolase 3 (NTPDase3). The residue corresponding to lysine 79 in ...
Extracellular NAD and ATP exert multiple, partially overlapping effects on immune cells. Catabolism of both nucleotides by extracellular enzymes keeps extracellular concentrations low under steady-state conditions and generates metabolites that are themselves signal transducers. ATP and its metabolites signal through p...
Two ADP receptors have been identified on human platelets: P2Y(1) and P2Y(12). The P2Y(12) receptor blocker clopidogrel is widely used to reduce the risks in acute coronary syndromes, but, currently, there is no P2Y(1) blocker in clinical use. Evidence for variable responses to clopidogrel has been described in several...
The current work presents results of experiments on the calcium response evoked by the stimulation by extracellular nucleotides occurring in control, nonstarved glioma C6 cells and in cells after long-term (96 h) serum starvation. Three nucleotide receptors were studied: P2Y(1), P2Y(2) and P2Y(12). Two of them, P2Y(1) ...
Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) triggers a large release of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) from host intestinal cells and the extracellular ATP is broken down to adenosine diphosphate (ADP), AMP, and adenosine. Adenosine is a potent secretagogue in the small and large intestine. We suspected that ecto-5'-nucleot...
By taking advantage of some recently synthesized compounds that are able to block ecto-ATPase activity, we demonstrated that adenosine triphosphate (ATP) in the hippocampus exerts an inhibitory action independent of its degradation to adenosine. In addition, tonic activation of P2 receptors contributes to the normally ...
Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a member of the neurotrophin family, enhances synaptic transmission and regulates neuronal proliferation and survival. Functional interactions between adenosine A(2A) receptors (A(2A)Rs) and BDNF have been recently reported. In this article, we report some recent findings from ...
[(3)H]Adenine has previously been used to label the newly discovered G protein-coupled murine adenine receptors. Recent reports have questioned the suitability of [(3)H]adenine for adenine receptor binding studies because of curious results, e.g. high specific binding even in the absence of mammalian protein. In this s...
Following their release from cells, ATP and NAD, the universal currencies of energy metabolism, function as extracellular signalling molecules. Mammalian cells express numerous purinoceptors, i.e., the nucleotide-gated P2X ion channels and the G-protein-coupled P2Y receptors. Signalling through purinoceptors is control...
P2X(3) and P2X(2+3) receptors are present on sensory neurons, where they contribute not only to transient nociceptive responses, but also to hypersensitivity underlying pathological pain states elicited by nerve injuries. Increased signalling through P2X(3) and P2X(2+3) receptors may arise from an increased routing to ...
Our work aimed to provide a topographical analysis of all known ionotropic P2X(1-7) and metabotropic P2Y(1,2,4,6,11-14) receptors that are present in vivo at the protein level in the basal ganglia nuclei and particularly in rat brain slices from striatum and substantia nigra. By immunohistochemistry-confocal and Wester...
Guanosine exerts neuroprotective effects in the central nervous system. Apoptosis, a morphological form of programmed cell death, is implicated in the pathophysiology of Parkinson's disease (PD). MPP(+), a dopaminergic neurotoxin, produces in vivo and in vitro cellular changes characteristic of PD, such as cytotoxicity...
Extracellular nucleotides mediate glia-to-neuron signalling in the retina and are implicated in the volume regulation of retinal glial (Müller) cells under osmotic stress conditions. We investigated the expression and functional role of ectonucleotidases in Müller cells of the rodent retina by cell-swelling experiments...
It is well established that several cell surface receptors interact with each other to form dimers and oligomers, which are essential for their activation. Since little is known about the quaternary structure of P2Y receptors, in the present work, we investigated the expression of the G-protein-coupled P2Y₄ subunit as ...