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- Cappendijk, Susanne L T, et al.
(author)
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A heroin-, but not a cocaine expecting, self-administration state preferentially alters brain endogenous peptides
- 1999
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In: European Journal of Pharmacology. - 0014-2999 .- 1879-0712. ; 365:2-3, s. 175-182
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The purpose of the current study was to assess neuropeptidergic alterations during a phase of the drug addiction cycle associated with drug craving as compared to a time period when the drug had been recently self-administered. Male Wistar rats were allowed to self-administer cocaine, heroin or saline for 6 h for 5 consecutive days. Immediately following the last self-administration session ('acute drug on board' state), and just before the next scheduled session ('drug expecting' state), the animals were decapitated and the levels of dynorphin A and B, [Met5]- and [Leu5]-enkephalin and substance P were measured in different brain areas. During the 'acute drug on board' state, peptide levels in animals that self-administered heroin or cocaine were not significantly changed. In contrast, during the 'drug expecting' state, heroin-treated animals had increased levels of dynorphin A, dynorphin B and [Met5]-enkephalin in the caudal striatum as compared to the cocaine- and saline-treated animals, and the level of [Leu5]-enkephalin was increased as compared to the cocaine-treated group. In the septum, an increase of [Met5]-enkephalin and substance P was observed in the animals expecting heroin as compared to the saline- and/or cocaine-treated animals. In the caudal striatum, substance P levels were elevated in the heroin- and cocaine-expecting animals. In conclusion, heroin, as compared to cocaine, appears to have a more pronounced effect on dynorphin, enkephalin and substance P levels in the caudal striatum and septum, especially during periods when self-administration of the drug is expected.
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- Tjernberg, L O, et al.
(author)
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Amyloid beta-peptide polymerization studied using fluorescence correlation spectroscopy
- 1999
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In: Chemistry and Biology. - 1074-5521 .- 1879-1301. ; 6:1, s. 53-62
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: The accumulation of fibrillar deposits of amyloid beta-peptide (A beta) in brain parenchyma and cerebromeningeal blood vessels is a key step in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. In this report, polymerization of A beta was studied using fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS), a technique capable of detecting small molecules and large aggregates simultaneously in solution. Results: The polymerization of A beta dissolved in Tris-buffered saline, pH 7.4, occurred above a critical concentration of 50 mu M and proceeded from monomers/dimers into two discrete populations of large aggregates, without any detectable amount of oligomers. The aggregation showed very high cooperativity and reached a maximum after 40 min, followed by an increase in the amount of monomers/dimers and a decrease in the size of the large aggregates. Electron micrographs of samples prepared at the time for maximum aggregation showed a mixture of an amorphous network and short diffuse fibrils, whereas only mature amyloid fibrils were detected after one day of incubation. The aggregation was reduced when A beta was incubated in the presence of A beta ligands, oligopeptides previously shown to inhibit fibril formation, and aggregates were partly dissociated after the addition of the ligands. Conclusions: The polymerization of A beta is a highly cooperative process in which the formation of very large aggregates precedes the formation of fibrils. The entire process can be inhibited and, at least in early stages, partly reversed by A beta ligands.
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