| 1. |
- Aalto, K, et al.
(författare)
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Nerve growth factor in serum of children with systemic lupus erythematosus is correlated with disease activity
- 2002
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Ingår i: Cytokine. - : ACADEMIC PRESS LTD ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD. - 1043-4666 .- 1096-0023. ; 20:3, s. 136-139
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Nerve growth factor (NGF) is a neurotrophic factor, which is expressed both in the nervous system and in peripheral organs. NGF is also present in mast cells, and in B- and T-lymphocytes, and may play a role in the immune cell development and differentiation. Various cytokines have been shown to affect NGF expression, and NGF is elevated in inflammation and in some autoimmune diseases. Here we have studied NGF concentrations in serum of pediatric patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) using a two-site enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). We have further correlated the levels of NGF to the inflammatory state of the disease. The mean value of serum NGF in SLE patients was significantly increased compared with controls (3346 vs 627 pg/ml). There was a correlation between the activity of SLE and the levels of NGF. The results show that NGF is elevated in childhood SLE and that the levels are correlated with disease activity. The present results suggest that NGF may play a role in the pathogenesis of SLE and may have a prognostic value in evaluating the course of the disease and in outlining the medication. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
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| 2. |
- Adermark, Louise, 1974, et al.
(författare)
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Ethanol acutely decreases astroglial gap junction permeability in primary cultures from defined brain regions
- 2004
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Ingår i: Neurochemistry International. - : Elsevier BV. - 0197-0186. ; 45:7, s. 971-978
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The acute effect of hyperosmotic ethanol on gap junction permeability was examined in astroglial cells in primary culture from five different brain regions. Gap junction permeability was analyzed by measuring dye spreading from cell to cell with the low molecular weight dye Lucifer Yellow. Ethanol concentrations 25-300 mM significantly decreased dye spreading in cultures from the cerebral cortex in a dose-dependent but time-independent manner for up to 60 min. Besides cerebral cortex, exposure to 150 mM ethanol decreased dye spreading in astroglial cultures from the hippocampus and from the brain stem, while cultures from the olfactory bulb and from the hypothalamus were not significantly affected. The ethanol-induced decrease in dye spreading in cultures from the cerebral cortex was not mediated through changes in cell volume, osmolarity, protein kinase C (PKC) phosphorylation, intracellular pH, or intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca 2+ ] i ). The decrease in dye spreading was abolished upon incubation in sodium-reduced buffer, and after blockage of the Na + /K + /2Cl - cotransporter with furosemide. The results presented here indicate that ethanol-mediated decrease in dye spreading is directly or indirectly dependent on sodium. © 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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| 3. |
- Adlerz, Linda, et al.
(författare)
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Accumulation of the amyloid precursor-like protein APLP2 and reduction of APLP1 in retinoic acid-differentiated human neuroblastoma cells upon curcumin-induced neurite retraction
- 2003
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Ingår i: Brain Research. Molecular Brain Research. - : Elsevier BV. - 0169-328X .- 1872-6941. ; 119:1, s. 62-72
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Amyloid precursor protein (APP) belongs to a conserved gene family, also including the amyloid precursor-like proteins, APLP1 and APLP2. The function of these three proteins is not yet fully understood. One of the proposed roles of APP is to promote neurite outgrowth. The aim of this study was to investigate the regulation of the expression levels of APP family members during neurite outgrowth. We observed that retinoic acid (RA)-induced neuronal differentiation of human SH-SY5Y cells resulted in increased expression of APP, APLP1 and APLP2. We also examined the effect of the NFκB, AP-1 and c-Jun N-terminal kinase inhibitor curcumin (diferuloylmethane) on the RA-induced expression levels of these proteins. We found that treatment with curcumin counteracted the RA-induced mRNA expression of all APP family members. In addition, we observed that curcumin treatment resulted in neurite retraction without any effect on cell viability. Surprisingly, curcumin had differential effects on the APLP protein levels in RA-differentiated cells. RA-induced APLP1 protein expression was blocked by curcumin, while the APLP2 protein levels were further increased. APP protein levels were not affected by curcumin treatment. We propose that the sustained levels of APP and the elevated levels of APLP2, in spite of the reduced mRNA expression, are due to altered proteolytic processing of these proteins. Furthermore, our results suggest that APLP1 does not undergo the same type of regulated processing as APP and APLP2.
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| 4. |
- Adlerz, Linda, et al.
(författare)
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Down-regulation of amyloid precursor protein by peptide nucleic acid oligomer in cultured rat primary neurons and astrocytes
- 2003
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Ingår i: Neuroscience Letters. - 0304-3940 .- 1872-7972. ; 336:1, s. 55-59
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The amyloid precursor protein (APP) and its proteolytic cleavage products, the amyloid P peptides, have been implicated as a cause of Alzheimer's disease. Peptide nucleic acids (PNA), the DNA mimics, have been shown to block the expression of specific proteins at both transcriptional and translational levels. Generally, the cellular uptake of PNA is low. However, recent studies have indicated that the effect of unmodified antisense PNA uptake is more pronounced in nervous tissue. In this study we have shown that biotinylated PNA directed to the initiator codon region of the APP mRNA (-4 - +11) was taken up into the cytoplasm of primary rat cerebellar granule cells and cortical astrocytes, using fluorescence and confocal microscopy studies. Uptake of PNA was faster in neurons than in astrocytes. Western blotting analysis showed that APP was strongly down-regulated in both neurons and astrocytes. Thus, unmodified PNA can be used for studies on the function of APP in neurons and astrocytes.
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
- Ahmad, Abdulbaghi, 1951-, et al.
(författare)
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Tiden läkar inte alla sår
- 2002. - 1
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Ingår i: Stress. - : Liber. - 9147050489
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)
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| 7. |
- Ahn, Young Hwan, et al.
(författare)
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Ultrastructural characterization of dissociated embryonic ventral mesencephalic tissue treated with neuroprotectants.
- 2003
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Ingår i: Cell Transplantation. - 1555-3892. ; 12:3, s. 235-241
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Poor survival and differentiation of grafted dopamine neurons limits the application of clinical transplantation in Parkinson’s disease. The survival of grafted dopamine neurons is only improved by a factor of 2–3 by adding neuroprotectants during tissue preparation. We used dye exclusion cell viability and electron microscopy to investigate the effects of the caspase inhibitor ac-YVAD-cmk and the lazaroid tirilazad mesylate on ultrastructural changes in dissociated embryonic mesencephalic cells. In addition, we examined whether the neuroprotectants selectively counteracted specific signs of neurodegeneration. Cell viability decreased significantly over time in both control and treated cell suspensions, but the number of viable cells remaining was significantly higher in tirilazad mesylate-treated cell suspensions. In control samples, the proportion of cells with an ultrastructure consistent with healthy cells decreased from 70%, immediately after dissociation, to 30% after 8 h of incubation. Similar changes were also observed in cell suspensions treated with neuroprotectants. Thus, the neuroprotectants examined did not block the development of specific morphological signs of neurodegeneration. However, when also taking into account that dead cells lysed and disappeared from each cell suspension with time, we found that the total number of remaining viable cells with healthy nuclear chromatin or intact membrane integrity was significantly higher in the tirilazad mesylate-treated group. The results indicate that tirilazad mesylate protects only a small subpopulation of embryonic mesencephalic cells from degeneration induced by mechanical trauma during tissue dissection and dissociation.
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| 8. |
- Alm, Per A
(författare)
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Stuttering, emotions, and heart rate during anticipatory anxiety: a critical review.
- 2004
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Ingår i: Journal of Fluency Disorders. - : Elsevier BV. - 1873-801X .- 0094-730X. ; 29:2, s. 123-133
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Persons who stutter often report their stuttering is influenced by emotional reactions, yet the nature of such relation is still unclear. Psychophysiological studies of stuttering have failed to find any major association between stuttering and the activity of the sympathetic nervous system. A review of published studies of heart rate in relation to stressful speech situations indicate that adults who stutter tend to show a paradoxical reduction of heart rate compared with nonstuttering persons. Reduction of heart rate has also been observed in humans and mammals during anticipation of an unpleasant stimulus, and is proposed to be an indication of anticipatory anxiety resulting in a “freezing response” with parasympathetic inhibition of the heart rate. It is suggested that speech-related anticipatory anxiety in persons who stutter is likely to be a secondary, conditioned reaction based on previous experiences of stuttering.
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| 9. |
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| 10. |
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