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  • 2000-2004  (59)
  • 1990-1994  (915)
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  • Rat  (974)
  • 1
    ISSN: 1432-2277
    Keywords: Key words Implantation model ; Aortic valves ; Valve dysfunction ; Rejection ; Rat
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract Structural failure of heart valve allografts may be related to technical factors or immunological reactions. To circumvent nonimmunological factors a new rat implantation model was developed to study whether alloreactivity results in histopathological changes and valve dysfunction. Syngeneic (WAG-WAG, DA-DA) and allogeneic (WAG-BN, WAG-DA) transplantation was carried out using this new technique, and the function of explanted valves was assessed 21 days later by retrograde comptence testing. Additionally, grafts were examined using standard histological and immunohistochemical techniques. There was no leakage during retrograde injection in nine of tem syngeneic and two of ten allogeneic grafts. Microscopically, syngeneic valves appeared normal without fibrosis or intimal thickening, although CD8+ lymphocytes and macrophages were found in necrotic myocardial rim and adventitia. In contrast, allogeneic valves were deformed and noncellular, with extensive infiltration of CD4+, CD8+ and CD68+ cells in adventitia and media. Absence of fibrosis and intimal thickening in syngeneic transplanted valves indicated circumvention of nonimmunological factors. Allogeneic valve transplantation induces cellular infiltration in the graft with subsequent graft failure.
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  • 2
    ISSN: 1432-2277
    Keywords: Key words Hypoxia-reoxygenation ; JNK1/SAPK1 ; Rat ; Hepatocytes
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract Organ injury after ischemia and reperfusion (I/R) remains one of the most important limiting factors in liver surgery and transplantation. Oxygen-free radical (OFR) generation is considered a major cause of this damage. JNK1/SAPK1, a member of MAPK family, regulates cell adaptation to stressful conditions. The aim of this study was to determine if hypoxia-reoxygenation (H/R) can activate JNK1/SAPK1 and if OFR are involved in this activation. Primary cultured rat hepatocytes isolated from other liver cells and blood flow were submitted to warm and cold H/R phases mimicking surgical and transplant conditions. JNK1/SAPK1 was activated by both warm and cold H/R. Deferoxamine (1 mM), di-phenyleneiodonium (50 μM) and N-acetylcysteine (10 mM) significantly inhibited this kinase activation.
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  • 3
    ISSN: 1432-2277
    Keywords: Key words Small bowel transplantation ; Split tolerance ; FK 506 ; Rat
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract Functional long-term allograft survival after experimental small bowel transplantation (SBT) is limited by chronic rejection. Initial application of high-dose FK 506 has been shown to induce stable long-term graft function. In order to examine whether this long-term function is associated with donor-specific tolerance, we analyzed the functional status of recipient T cells in vivo and in vitro. One-step orthotopic SBT was performed in the allogeneic Brown Norway (BN)-to-Lewis rat strain combination. FK 506 was given daily at a dose of 2 mg/kg from days 0–5 in the rejection model and from days 0–9 in the long-term functional model. Mean survival time in the rejection model was 98 ± 2.8 days. Histological examination of these small bowel allografts disclosed signs of chronic rejection. In contrast, all animals of the long-term functional model survived long term ( 〉 250 days) without clinical signs of chronic rejection. The latter model, furthermore, produced evidence of donor-specific tolerance. Whereas heterotopic Dark Agouti (DA) hearts were rejected regularly within 7 days, BN hearts survived indefinitely ( 〉 70 days). In vitro, mixed leukocyte reactivity of CD4 + T cells was similarly strong against donor (BN) antigens as against third-party (DA) antigens. The split tolerance revealed by our in vivo and in vitro results enabled acceptance of both the small bowel allograft without signs of chronic rejection and of donor-specific heart allografts.
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  • 4
    ISSN: 1432-2307
    Keywords: Key words T-type calcium channel blockade ; Mibefradil ; Myocardial infarction ; Cardiac remodeling ; Rat
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract  Fibrillar collagen accumulates within the interstitium and around coronary arteries following cardiac failure and is responsible for abnormal myocardial stiffness and reduced coronary performance associated with impaired cardiac function. The aim of the study was to determine the effects of long-term treatment with the T-type calcium channel antagonist mibefradil on myocardial remodeling and cardiac function after chronic myocardial infarction (MI). MI was induced by permanent ligation of the left coronary artery in male Wistar rats. Animals were assigned to sham-operated, placebo-treated or mibefradil-treated (10 mg/kg per day p.o.) MI groups. Treatment with mibefradil was started either 7 days before, 24 h after, or 7 days after ligation and continued for 6 weeks after MI. At this time point, mean arterial blood pressure (MAP), heart rate (HR), left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP) and cardiac contractility (dP/dtmax) were measured in conscious rats. Morphometric parameters were determined in picrosirius red-stained hearts: total heart weight (THW), interstitial and perivascular collagen volume fraction (ICVF, PCVF), myocardial infarct size (IS), vascular perimeter (VP), inner vascular diameter (IVD) and media thickness (MT). Six weeks after MI, MAP and dP/dtmax were decreased, and LVEDP was increased in placebo-treated animals. In mibefradil-treated animals whose treatment started 7 days before or 24 h after MI, MAP and dP/dtmax were higher, and LVEDP was lower than in placebo-treated controls. THW, ICVF, PCVF and MT were higher in placebo-treated animals. Mibefradil treatment resulted in higher ICVF and IS, higher VP and IVD (when started 7 days before MI) and lower PCVF and MT (when started 7 days before or 24 h after MI) than were observed in placebo-treated controls. Chronic treatment with mibefradil reduced interstitial and perivascular fibrosis and improved cardiac function in MI-induced heart failure in rats. Cardiac remodeling was best prevented when treatment was begun before the ischemic event.
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  • 5
    ISSN: 1432-2307
    Keywords: Keywords 7 ; 12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene ; Rat ; Submandibular gland ; Adenocarcinoma Myoepithelial cell
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract  In an attempt to induce adenocarcinoma containing myoepithelial cells (MECs) in the rat submandibular gland, we injected 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA) dissolved in acetone into the glands of rat pups at the age of 10 days. In both male and female pups, the glands, including their developing terminal secretory units, contained far greater numbers of cells positive for proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) than did adult glands. A single administration of 1% DMBA (0.05 ml/130 g b.w.) did not produce adenocarcinoma, but did induce occasional sarcomas, such as rhabdomyosarcoma and fibrosarcoma, in 2 months. Most glands regenerated with minimal scar formation. Microscopically, these glands were atypical in that they contained increased numbers of PCNA-positive cells, underdeveloped granular ducts, and striated ducts surrounded by MECs positive for alpha smooth muscle actin (αSMA). Though these features were also observed in the regenerated glands after acetone injection, the number of PCNA-positive cells was relatively high in the glands of DMBA-treated females, especially in the terminal secretory unit. The second DMBA injection at 10 weeks of age produced adenocarcinoma made up of αSMA-positive MECs and keratin 19-positive duct cells. Such MEC-associated adenocarcinoma was induced in the glands of more than half the female but not the male animals. Replacement of either of the double DMBA treatments with acetone, or DMBA treatment, single or double, of adult glands did not produce adenocarcinoma, but did produce sarcoma and squamous cell carcinoma. These results suggest that (1) at least two genetic mutations are necessary for induction of adenocarcinoma with MECs in the rat submandibular gland, (2) the mutation is efficiently introduced to pup glands whose terminal secretory units exhibit extreme proliferative activity, and (3) the second mutation is difficult to introduce in male glands, whose proliferative activity is relatively low, and/or transformed cells need some female hormone after the mutation to propagate.
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  • 6
    ISSN: 1432-2277
    Keywords: Key words Small bowel transplantation ; Monoclonal antibody ; Rat ; Rejection ; Flow cytometry
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract This study assessed the effect of an anti-rat CD4 monoclonal antibody (OX38) on heterotopic small bowel allograft rejection. Fully allogeneic small bowel transplants were performed in the PVG-to-DA-rat strain combination. Animals received either i) short course (days –1, 0 and 1) of 1 mg/kg per day OX38, ii) short course of 5 mg/kg per day or iii) extended course (days –2, –1, 0, 1, 2 and twice weekly thereafter) of 1 mg/kg per day. Both the high dose (13 days) and extended low-dose (12 days) courses prolonged graft survival compared to untreated control animals (7 days). The low-dose, short-course treatment had no effect. Similar regimens were given to animals that did not receive transplants and in which peripheral blood CD4+ cell counts fell to between 20 and 55 % of pretreatment levels and 20–30 % of binding sites were blocked. In summary, anti-CD4 monoclonal antibody therapy delayed rejection of rat small bowel allografts; however, long-term survival was not achieved.
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  • 7
    ISSN: 1432-198X
    Keywords: Key words Metabolic acidosis ; Growth ; Growth hormone ; Insulin-like growth factor-I ; Rat
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract  Growth impairment induced by chronic metabolic acidosis is associated with an abnormal growth hormone (GH)/insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) axis. To examine the potentially beneficial effects of IGF-I on acidosis-induced growth impairment and the influence of GH and IGF-I treatment on the GH/IGF-I axis, three groups of acidotic young rats (untreated, AC, n=12; treated with recombinant human GH, GH, n=8; treated with recombinant human IGF-I, IGF-I, n=8) were studied, and compared with nonacidotic rats fed ad libitum (C, n=9)) or pair-fed with the AC group (PF, n=12). After 14 days of acidosis and 7 days of treatment, growth rate, hepatic abundance of 4.7-kilobase (kb) and 1.2-kb GH receptor transcripts and 7.5-kb and 1.8- to 0.8-kb IGF-I transcripts, serum GH-binding protein (GHBP), and IGF-I concentrations (mean±SEM) were analyzed. Significant decreases of 4.7-kb GH receptor [26±2 vs. 49±6 arbitrary densitometry units (ADU)] and 7.5 kb IGF-I (41±3 vs. 104±10 ADU) transcripts and low serum GHBP (25±1 vs. 32±1 ng/ml) and IGF-I (279±50 vs. 366±6 nmol/l) levels were found in the AC compared with the C rats. The majority of these alterations were also observed in PF rats. Compared with acidotic untreated rats, GH and IGF-I therapy produced no improvement in growth rate. GH treatment normalized the levels of IGF-I mRNA, aggravated the acidosis-related inhibition of the GH receptor gene, and did not modify the serum levels of GHBP and IGF-I. In contrast, IGF-I administration depressed the hepatic expression of all GH and IGF-I transcripts and normalized serum IGF-I concentrations. Our results confirm that sustained metabolic acidosis alters the GH/IGF-I axis, in part because of associated malnutrition, and induced growth retardation that is resistant to GH therapy. Our study also shows that administration of IGF-I does not accelerate the growth of acidotic rats, suggesting a peripheral mechanism, at the level of target tissues, is responsible for the resistance to the growth-promoting actions of GH and IGF-I.
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  • 8
    ISSN: 1432-198X
    Keywords: Key words Apoptosis ; Ceramide ; Development ; Kidney ; Rat
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract  Ceramide is emerging as an important hydrophobic sphingolipid involved in cell differentiation and apoptosis. Since apoptosis plays a significant role in cellular remodeling during renal morphogenesis, we measured ceramide content and apoptosis in the fetal (18 days gestation), neonatal (3, 7, and 14 days postnatal), and adult rat kidney. In addition, to determine whether developmental changes in ceramide content are tissue-specific, we compared renal ceramide content with that in lung and liver. Ceramide was measured by the diacylglycerol kinase assay, and apoptosis was determined by the TUNEL technique. Renal ceramide content fell over 100-fold from the fetus to the 7th postnatal day. Renal apoptosis paralleled ceramide content, with a greater than 300-fold decrease in apoptosis from fetal to adult life. Ceramide content of the lung and liver was significantly less than that of the kidney, and changed less with maturation. We conclude that maturational changes in ceramide content are tissue-specific, and that the high rate of apoptosis in the developing kidney may be related to the elevated ceramide content.
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  • 9
    Electronic Resource
    Electronic Resource
    Springer
    Journal of cancer research and clinical oncology 126 (2000), S. 27-32 
    ISSN: 1432-1335
    Keywords: Key words Heart irradiation ; Plasma enzyme levels ; Myocardial enzyme levels ; Rat ; AbbreviationsCK creatine kinase ; LDH lactate de-hydrogenase ; AST aspartate aminotransferase ; ALT alanine aminotransferase ; α-HBDHα-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract Plasma levels of myocardial enzymes present after local heart irradiation were studied in a rat model. The purpose was to investigate whether, within days after irradiation, these enzyme levels change to such an extent that they may be helpful in assessing the severity of cardiac damage after radiotherapy. Therefore, activities of creatine kinase (CK), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and α-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase (α-HBDH) were determined in the plasma and left ventricular myocardium of rats following local heart irradiation with a single dose of 20 Gy. A dose of 20 Gy is known to cause irreversible cardiac damage and to reduce survival times of the animals. Cardiac enzyme assays were performed directly after and twice daily for up to 2 weeks after radiation. Plasma CK, LDH, AST and α-HBDH levels were increased between 2 h and 24 h after irradiation. Plasma ALT levels remained unchanged. Myocardial enzyme levels, measured between 24 h and 16 days after radiation, did not differ between irradiated and control animals, although acute (first 12 h) reductions were observed in the irradiated group. The elevated enzyme levels in plasma appeared to correlate with the acutely reduced myocardial enzyme levels. Although irradiation with a dose of 20 Gy induced acute rises of cardiac enzyme levels in plasma, it is doubtful that fractionated radiation, as applied clinically for treatment of solid tumors, will induce plasma enzyme elevations that are large enough to indicate the extent of cardiac damage occurring acutely or chronically.
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  • 10
    Electronic Resource
    Electronic Resource
    Springer
    Child's nervous system 16 (2000), S. 451-456 
    ISSN: 1433-0350
    Keywords: Keywords Intracranial pressure ; CSF dynamics ; Infusion test ; Rat ; H-Tx rat ; Outflow resistance
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract  Although the hydrocephalic H-Tx rat is a widely used model, data on the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) dynamics in hydrocephalic rats are rare or – as the pressure volume index (PVI) – not available. We used hydrocephalic and nonhydrocephalic H-Tx rats, a stock with a high percentage of inherited hydrocephalus, for the evaluation of such data. In addition, a new, simple mathematical algorithm (”dynamic infusion test”), which has not formerly been used in animal experiments, was used as a pathophysiological model of CSF dynamics. Compared with classical methods for evaluation of these data, the dynamic infusion test gives a deeper insight into the relation between ICP and CSF dynamics. It was found that the resistance to outflow (ROF) in hydrocephalic rats was at least twice that in nonhydrocephalic rats. The PVI measured was similar in hydrocephalic and nonhydrocephalic animals, but clearly higher than the values reported in the literature. This may be attributable to the fact that the classically used bolus test, in contrast to the ”dynamic infusion test”, is representative only for the CSF compartment which is directly exposed to the bolus application.
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  • 11
    ISSN: 1432-0843
    Keywords: Key words 7-Hydroxymethotrexate ; Methotrexate ; Maximum tolerated dose ; Rat
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract Purpose: After more than 50 years of methotrexate (MTX) treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL), it is currently believed that as long as dose escalations are followed by adequate leucovorin rescue guided by monitoring MTX serum concentrations, hydration and urinary alkalinization, high-dose MTX (HD-MTX) can be tolerated without life-threatening toxicity. However, our recent experimental animal studies of the major metabolite of MTX, 7-OH-MTX, indicate that this concept may have some limitations. Animals with levels of 7-OH-MTX of 1 mM, which is below the levels routinely found in patients on HD-MTX, demonstrate intolerable toxicity and some animals die within 8 h. Electron microscopy indicates that endothelial cell and platelet functions are perturbed. Since animal data are lacking, and interspecies differences not known, we wanted to investigate the maximum tolerated doses of MTX and 7-OH-MTX in a rat model of short-term effects. The maximum tolerated dose was chosen instead of LD50 for reasons of animal welfare. Methods: We infused MTX and 7-OH-MTX into anaesthetized male Wistar rats and monitored the animals for 8 h. The drugs were given as a bolus plus continuous infusion. The dose-finding ranges were 1.8–11.3 g/kg MTX and 0.1–1.2 g/kg 7-OH-MTX. Results: The maximum tolerated dose was between 3 and 5 g/kg for MTX and lower than 0.1 g/kg for 7-OH-MTX. The mean serum concentrations of MTX and 7-OH-MTX in animals that did not survive the 8-h period were 21.9 and 1.6 mM, respectively. The animals that received the highest MTX or 7-OH-MTX doses and concentrations died after sudden reductions in heart rate and blood pressure. Conclusions: We demonstrated a lower maximum tolerated dose of 7-OH-MTX than of MTX in rats after 8 h. The 7-OH-MTX concentrations were in the therapeutic range after HD-MTX. If the rat/human interspecies differences are not large, our data may indicate that HD-MTX regimens should not be further dose intensified, due not so much to the effects of MTX as to those of 7-OH-MTX.
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  • 12
    ISSN: 1432-0738
    Keywords: Key wordsα2u-Globulin ; Diethylstilbestrol ; Endocrine disrupter ; Rat ; Screening
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract α2u-Globulin (AUG) is a major rat urinary protein, which has a molecular weight of 16 kDa (kidney type) or 19 kDa (native type). The biosynthesis of this protein is under multi-hormonal regulation. In this study, we investigated changes in serum AUG level and their association with changes in the reproductive organs of male rats after the administration of the estrogenic chemical, diethylstilbestrol (DES) at doses ranging from 0.01 mg/kg per day to 100 mg/kg per day by gavage for 14 days. Our aim was to establish basic data for the development of a new screening method for endocrine disrupting chemicals based on serum AUG levels. DES treatment decreased the weight of testes in a dose-dependent manner; and was accompanied by atrophic histopathological changes in testes. Testis weights were significantly decreased by the group given 1 mg/kg per day DES; however, histopathological abnormalities were found in the group given 0.1 mg/kg per day DES. In four of five animals in the group given 1 mg/kg per day there was no significant decrease in testis weight and only a slight or moderate degeneration of the pachytene spermatocytes. Despite these findings, serum AUG levels in this group decreased markedly, while the serum AUG level markedly decreased even in the animals with no histopathological change in the 1 mg/kg per day or 0.1 mg/kg per day groups with no histopathological change also showed decreased serum AUG level. These results suggest that the serum AUG level may be a sensitive parameter for detecting the activity of estrogenic chemicals in intact male rats. Although a uterotropic assay has been proposed for immature female or ovariectomized female rats and is currently undergoing validation studies internationally, there is no screening method for estrogenic chemicals in intact male animals. More data on AUG changes by treatment with other estrogenic chemicals are needed in order to determine the sensitivity and specificity of this response to estrogens. Nonetheless, an AUG-based screening test for estrogenic chemicals may be useful owing to its applicability to conventional toxicity studies and an apparently higher sensitivity of this parameter compared to organ weight change or histology of testis in intact male rats and applicability to conventional toxicity studies.
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  • 13
    ISSN: 1432-0738
    Keywords: Key words Flutamide ; Androgen antagonist ; Rat ; Enhanced OECD Test Guideline 407 ; Endocrine disrupters
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract In association with the international validation project to establish a test protocol for the `Enhanced OECD Test Guideline 407', we performed a preliminary 28-day, repeated-dose toxicity study of flutamide, a non-steroidal androgen antagonist, and assessed the sensitivity of a list of parameters for detecting endocrine-related effects of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs). Seven-week-old CD(SD)IGS rats were divided into four groups, each consisting of 10 males and 10 females, and administered flutamide once daily by oral gavage at doses of 0 (control), 0.25, 1 and 4 mg/kg body weight/day. Male rats were killed 1 day after the 28th administration. Female rats were killed on the day they entered the diestrus stage in the estrous cycle following the last treatment. Male rats receiving flutamide at dose levels of 1 and 4 mg/kg showed lobular atrophy of the mammary gland and a decrease in epididymal weight. In addition, 4 mg/kg flutamide-treated males exhibited raised serum testosterone and estradiol levels and decreased weight of the accessory sex glands. In females, a slight prolongation of the estrous cycle was also observed in the 4 mg/kg flutamide-treated group. No dose-related changes could be detected by haematology, serum biochemistry and sperm analysis. Thus, among the parameters tested in the present experimental system, the weight of endocrine-linked organs and their histopathological assessment, serum hormone levels, and estrous cycle stage allowed the detection of endocrine-related effects of flutamide.
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  • 14
    ISSN: 1432-119X
    Keywords: Endothelin-A receptor ; Endothelin-B receptor ; Rat ; Pulmonary fibrosis ; Immunohistochemistry ; Quantitative PCR
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: AbstractPulmonary fibrosis is characterized by excessive extracellular matrix deposition with concomitant loss of gas exchange units, and endothelin-1 (ET-1) has been implicated in its pathogenesis. Increased levels of ET-1 from tissues and bronchoalveolar lavage have been reported in patients with pulmonary fibrosis and in animal models after intratracheal bleomycin. We characterized the cellular distribution of alveolar ET receptors by immunohistochemistry in bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis in the rat and determined the regulation by bleomycin of ET receptor mRNA expression in isolated alveolar macrophages and rat lung fibroblasts. We found significant increases in the numbers of fibroblasts and macrophages at day 7 compared to day 28 and control animals. ETB receptor immunoreactivity was observed on fibroblasts and invading monocytes. Isolated fibroblasts expressed both ETA and ETB receptor mRNA, and ETA receptor mRNA was upregulated by bleomycin. Isolated resident alveolar macrophages expressed neither ETA nor ETB receptor mRNA which were also not induced by bleomycin. We conclude that, while ETB receptor stimulation of fibroblasts and monocytes recruited during bleomycin-induced lung injury exerts antagonistic effects on fibroblast collagen synthesis, the observed increase in the number of fibroblasts in vivo and upregulation of fibroblast ETA receptor mRNA by bleomycin in vitro point to a predominance of the profibrotic effects of ET receptor engagement.
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  • 15
    Electronic Resource
    Electronic Resource
    Springer
    Experimental brain research 130 (2000), S. 100-104 
    ISSN: 1432-1106
    Keywords: Key words NF-κB ; p65 ; Hippocampal neurons ; Glia ; Astrocytes ; Rat
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract  NF-κB is found in many neuronal cell types in different states of activity. This study aimed to define which conditions induce constitutive NF-κB activity in cultured hippocampal neurons using activity-specific antibody staining. In co-culture with astroglia, hippocampal neurons were devoid of activated NF-κB. In these co-cultures, NF-κB could not be activated via kainate or glutamate. In contrast, separating neurons from the glial compartment resulted in a time-dependent increase of activated neuronal NF-κB. In this line, activation of NF-κB by kainate or glutamate is very effective in freshly separated cultures, but inhibited when the cultures are reassembled after stimulation. These findings suggests that a neuronal-glial interaction may regulate gene expression via NF-κB.
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  • 16
    Electronic Resource
    Electronic Resource
    Springer
    Acta neuropathologica 100 (2000), S. 75-81 
    ISSN: 1432-0533
    Keywords: Key words Fas ; Fas ligand ; Rat ; Spinal cord ; Trauma
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract This immunohistochemical study evaluated Fas and Fas ligand (FasL) in the rat nervous system and their changes in the spinal cord subjected to compression. Normal spinal cord showed a low level of Fas and FasL immunoreactivity in the white matter except in the corticospinal tracts. Fas and FasL immunoreactivity seemed to be located in axons and their myelin sheaths. Other regions of the nervous system did not show immunoreactivity to Fas and FasL. Moderate and severe compression injury of the spinal cord resulted in a reduction of Fas and FasL immunoreactivity in the white matter of injured T8–9 segments at 4 h and a complete loss at 1 day after trauma. This was seen even in the remaining white matter. In contrast, increased immunoreactivity to Fas and FasL was present in the cranial T7, caudal T10 (moderate injury) and T12 (severe injury) segments at day 4 with most intense staining were seen at day 9 after trauma. Increased Fas and FasL immunoreactivity may have pathophysiological implications for the development of secondary injuries after trauma to the spinal cord. Fas-FasL interactions may for instance be involved in apoptosis of oligodendrocytes which occurs as a delayed phenomenon after trauma to the spinal cord. The integrity of myelin sheaths may in this way be jeopardized by apoptosis of oligodendrocytes.
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  • 17
    ISSN: 1432-0533
    Keywords: Key words Hypothermia ; Immunohistochemistry ; Microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP2) ; Rat ; Spinal cord injury
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract Systemic hypothermia has been shown to exert neuroprotective effects in experimental ischemic CNS models caused by vascular occlusions. The present study addresses the question as to whether systemic hypothermia has similar neuroprotective qualities following severe spinal cord compression trauma using microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP2) immunohistochemistry combined with the avidin-biotin-peroxidase complex method as marker to identify neuronal and dendritic lesions. Fifteen rats were randomized into three equally sized groups. One group sustained thoracic laminectomy, the others severe spinal cord compression trauma of the T8-9 segment. The control group contained laminectomized animals submitted to a hypothermic procedure in which the esophageal temperature was reduced from 38 °C to 30 °C. The two trauma groups were either submitted to the same hypothermic procedure or kept normothermic during the corresponding time. All animals were sacrificed 24 h following the surgical procedure. The MAP2 immunostaining in the normothermic trauma group indicated marked reductions in MAP2 antigen in the cranial and caudal peri-injury zones (T7 and T10, respectively). This reduction was much less pronounced in the hypothermic trauma group. In fact, the MAP2 antigen was present in almost equally sized areas in both the hypothermic groups independent of previous laminectomy alone or the addition of trauma. Our study thus indicates that hypothermia has a neuroprotective effect on dendrites of rat spinal cords subjected to compression trauma.
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  • 18
    ISSN: 1432-2277
    Keywords: Key words Kidney transplantation ; Rat ; Chronic rejection ; Cytomegalovirus ; Adhesion molecules
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract Previous studies have demonstrated that both cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection and prolonged cold ischemia of the allograft (CI) are associated with chronic rejection of renal transplants. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of CMV infection, of CI and of the combination of both, on the progression of chronic rejection, and to obtain a more detailed insight in their effects on the expression of adhesion molecules. Therefore, a rat transplantation model was used. Lewis recipients of renal allografts (with and without CI) from MHC-incompatible Brown Norway rats were inoculated with rat CMV or left uninfected. CMV infection alone resulted in an increased influx of CD4+ cells and macrophages early after infection, and in an increase in glomerular sclerosis and intima proliferation. CI caused an increase in infiltrating NK cells and an effect on intimal proliferation, glomerular sclerosis, and tubular atrophy. When CMV infection and CI were combined, an additive effect could be measured. This was however not the case for the function of the kidney. The creatinin showed a synergistic effect of the two influencing factors. Due to the CMV infection, an increase in CD49 d cells was detected. CI resulted in an increase in CD18 cells and an increase in the expression of CD62P on vessels, and CD54 and CD44 on tubules. When CMV infection and CI were combined, all the effects caused by CMV and CI alone were present in an additional way.¶The results of the present study suggest that special attention should be paid to the recipient of an ischemically injured graft when either the donor or the recipient is CMV-infected. The patterns seen in histology, the infiltration of leukocytes and the expression of adhesion molecules, suggest that CI and CMV infection both have an effect on rejection, but act by different mechanisms.
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  • 19
    ISSN: 1432-2072
    Keywords: Keywords Novelty ; Context ; Environment ; Stress ; 6-OHDA ; Rotational behavior ; Striatum ; Nucleus accumbens shell ; Caudate ; Amphetamine ; Dopamine ; Glutamate ; Aspartate ; Rat
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract  Rationale: We have previously shown that environmental novelty enhances the behavioral activating effects of amphetamine and amphetamine-induced expression of the immediate early gene c-fos in the striatal complex, particularly in the most caudal portion of the caudate. In contrast, we found no effect of novelty on the ability of amphetamine to induce dopamine (DA) overflow in the rostral caudate or in the core of the nucleus accumbens. Objectives: The twofold aim of the present study was to determine the effect of environmental novelty on (1) amphetamine-induced DA overflow in the shell of the nucleus accumbens and in the caudal portions of the caudate, and (2) glutamate and aspartate overflow in the caudal portions of the caudate. Methods: Two groups of rats with a unilateral 6-hydroxydopamine lesion of the mesostriatal dopaminergic system received amphetamine (0.5 mg/kg, i.v.) in physically identical cages. For one group, the cages were also the home environment, whereas, for the other group, they were a completely novel environment. In vivo microdialysis was used to estimate DA, glutamate, and aspartate concentrations. Results: Environmental novelty enhanced amphetamine-induced rotational behavior (experiments 1–3) but did not alter amphetamine-induced DA overflow in either the shell of the nucleus accumbens (experiment 1) or the caudate (experiment 2). In addition, the ability of environmental novelty to enhance amphetamine-induced behavioral activation was not associated with changes in glutamate or aspartate efflux in the caudate (experiment 3). Conclusions: The present data indicate that the psychomotor activating effects of amphetamine can be modulated by environmental context independent of its primary neuropharmacological actions in the striatal complex.
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  • 20
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    Psychopharmacology 151 (2000), S. 219-225 
    ISSN: 1432-2072
    Keywords: Keywords Amphetamine ; Wheel running ; Behavioral sensitization ; Pharmacological sensitization ; Novelty ; Rat
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract  Rationale: This study explored whether repeated injections of amphetamine (AMP), which increase general locomotion, also increase acute wheel running, a highly structured, rewarding, motor behavior not correlated with other locomotor activities. Objectives: The experiments determine how 1–5 mg/kg d-AMP affects wheel running and see if, over repeated injections, the AMP effects show context specific sensitization. Methods: In experiment 1, 2 mg/kg AMP or saline (SAL) was injected on days 1, 3, 6, 8, and 10 to male Sprague-Dawley rats with either limited or no wheel experience. 20 min after the injection animals were tested in an open field for 5 min and then in a running wheel for 1 h. Rats were injected with SAL or AMP on the days following testing. On days 13 and 15, animals were tested for conditioning (following SAL) and sensitization (following AMP). In experiment 2, the effects on wheel running of repeated 1, 2, or 5 mg/kg AMP were tested. Results: In experiment 1, AMP (2 mg/kg) elevated open field ambulation but suppressed wheel running. Limited wheel experience potentiated the AMP-induced suppression. At test, the suppression of running was found to be context specific. In experiment 2, 1 mg/kg did not affect running, while 2 and 5 mg/kg resulted in dose-dependent running suppression. Acquisition and test AMP dose both influenced the running suppression at test; context had a marginal influence. Conclusions: The degree of running suppression induced by repeated AMP is determined by both psychological (the injection context) and pharmacological (the acquisition dose) factors. This AMP-induced running suppression is consistent with the sensitization of stereotyped behavior.
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  • 21
    ISSN: 1432-2072
    Keywords: Key words Nicotine ; Drug discrimination ; Self-administration ; Rat
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract  Rationale: The cellular effects of nicotine underlying its addictive liability are thought to be mediated by neuronal nicotinic receptors (nACHRs) in the central nervous system. It is believed that densely expressed β2-containing nACHRs in the central nervous system are responsible for these actions, but few data are available that can directly assess subtype mediation of nicotine’s acute subjective and reinforcing effects. Objective: The present study compared the effects of the competitive nACHR antagonist erysodine and the noncompetitive antagonist mecamylamine in rats trained to discriminate or self-administer nicotine. Methods: Adult male rats were trained to disciminate 0.4-mg/kg injections of nicotine from vehicle in a two-lever procedure of food-maintained behavior, or to self-administer 0.03-mg/kg injections of nicotine under fixed-ratio 5 or progressive-ratio schedules of reinforcement. Additional rats were trained under a food-maintained procedure of lever pressing. Results: Erysodine (0.3–10 mg/kg) and mecamylamine (0.1–1.0 mg/kg) blocked nicotine discrimination, although only erysodine produced the rightward shift that would be predicted of a competitive antagonist. Erysodine (0.32–32 mg/kg) and mecamylamine (0.32–3.2 mg/kg) also selectively reduced nicotine self-administration on a fixed-ratio schedule and lowered break points on a progressive-ratio schedule. Conclusions: Based on the known affinity of erysodine for α4β2 nACHRs and its selectivity relative to α7 and α1β1γδ receptors, the present data support a critical role of β2-containing nACHR constructs in the discriminative and reinforcing actions of nicotine.
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  • 22
    ISSN: 1432-2072
    Keywords: Key words Drug discrimination ; Olanzapine ; Clozapine ; Chlorpromazine ; Haloperidol ; Thioridazine ; Raclopride ; Risperidone ; Scopolamine ; Ritanserin ; Atypical antipsychotic ; Neuroleptic ; Rat
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract  Rationale: Analysis of the preclinical behavioral effects of atypical antipsychotic agents will provide a better understanding of how they differ from typical antipsychotics and aid in the development of future atypical antipsychotic drugs. Objectives: The present study was designed to provide information about the discriminative stimulus properties of the atypical antipsychotic olanzapine. Methods: Rats were trained to discriminate the atypical antipsychotic olanzapine (either 0.5 mg/kg OLZ or 0.25 mg/kg OLZ, i.p.) from vehicle in a two- lever drug discrimination procedure. The atypical antipsychotic clozapine fully substituted for olanzapine in both the 0.5-mg/kg OLZ group (99.3% drug lever responding [DLR]) and the 0.25-mg/kg OLZ group (99.9% DLR). The typical antipsychotic chlorpromazine also substituted for olanzapine in both the 0.5-mg/kg OLZ group (87.5% DLR) and in the 0.25-mg/kg OLZ group (98.9% DLR); whereas, haloperidol displayed partial substitution for olanzapine in the 0.5-mg/kg OLZ group (56.1% DLR) and in the 0.25-mg/kg OLZ group (76.4% DLR). The 5.0-mg/kg dose of thioridazine produced olanzapine-appropriate responding in the 0.5-mg/kg OLZ group (99.6% DLR), but only partial substitution was seen with the 0.25-mg/kg OLZ training dose (64.0% DLR). The atypical antipsychotics raclopride (53.9% DLR) and risperidone (60.1% DLR) displayed only partial substitution in the 0.5-mg/kg OLZ group. Both the muscarinic cholinergic antagonist scopolamine (90.0% DLR) and the 5-HT2A/2C serotonergic antagonist ritanserin (86.0% DLR) fully substituted for olanzapine in the 0.5-mg/kg OLZ group. Conclusions: In contrast to previous discrimination studies with clozapine-trained rats, the typical antipsychotic agents chlorpromazine and thioridazine and the serotonin antagonist ritanserin substituted for olanzapine. These results demonstrate that there are differences in the mechanisms underlying the discriminative stimulus properties of clozapine and olanzapine. Specifically, olanzapine’s discriminative stimulus properties appear to be meditated in part by both cholinergic and serotonergic mechanisms.
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  • 23
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    Psychopharmacology 148 (2000), S. 243-250 
    ISSN: 1432-2072
    Keywords: Key words Attention ; Scopolamine ; Mecamylamine ; Oxotremorine ; Physostigmine ; Rat
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract  Rationale: This study tried to determine the relative roles of muscarinic and nicotinic cholinergic receptors in attentional processing. Methods: The effects of cholinoceptor agonists and antagonists, and of an anticholinesterase, were studied on performance of rats in a five-choice serial reaction time task. Results: Scopolamine (0.1 mg/kg) and mecamylamine (5.0 mg/kg) produced deficits in accuracy and reaction time, respectively. This may suggest a differential role for the two types of cholinoceptors in information processing. Combinations of sub-threshold doses of scopolamine (0.01–0.03 mg/kg) and mecamylamine (0.5–1.6 mg/kg), which alone did not affect accuracy or reaction time, did not produce significant deficits in attention. However, the pattern of effects after combined treatment suggested that the differential deficits seen with these drugs alone remained. The anticholinesterase physostigmine (0.1 mg/kg) and the non- selective muscarinic agonist oxotremorine (0.03 mg/kg) induced severe behavioural disruption at doses that appeared to be relatively well tolerated in previous studies; this precluded the derivation of accuracy and response time data at these doses. At lower doses, neither physostigmine (0.05 mg/kg) nor oxotremorine (0.003 mg/kg) significantly affected any performance measure; this may reflect the ability of both drugs to indirectly or directly activate presynaptic muscarinic receptors that inhibit acetylcholine release, respectively. Conclusions: Both muscarinic and nicotinic cholinoceptors may be important in attention but they may serve different roles in information processing; this hypothesis could be tested using tasks that place different emphasis on different stages of information processing.
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  • 24
    ISSN: 1432-2072
    Keywords: Key words ACTH ; Corticosterone ; GABA ; Noradrenaline ; Adrenaline ; Stress ; Rat ; Diazepam
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract  Rationale: Gabolysat PC60 is a fish protein hydrolysate with anxiolytic properties commonly used as a nutritional supplement. Objective: The diazepam-like effects of PC60 on stress responsiveness of the rat pituitary-adrenal system and on sympathoadrenal activity were studied. Methods: The activity of the pituitary-adrenal axis, measured by plasma levels of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and corticosterone (B) of the sympathoadrenal complex, measured by circulating levels of noradrenaline (NA) and adrenaline (A), and the gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA) content in the hippocampus and the hypothalamus were investigated in male rats which received daily, by an intragastric feeding tube, for 5 days running either diazepam (1 mg/kg) or PC60 (300 or 1200 mg/kg). Controls received only solvent (carboxymethylcellulose 1%). Six hours after the last force-feeding, the rats were subjected to 3 min ether inhalation or 30 min restraint and killed by decapitation 30 min after ether stress or at the end of restraint. Results: Baseline plasma levels of ACTH, B, NA and A were not affected by either diazepam or PC60. Both ether- and restraint-induced release of ACTH, but not B, were similarly and drastically reduced by diazepam and PC60 (1200 mg/kg). Both diazepam and PC60 (1200 mg/kg) deleted restraint-induced NA and A increases. Both treatments also reduced the ether-induced rise of A. Basal levels of GABA were significantly increased in both the hippocampus and the hypothalamus in PC60-treated rats and only in the hippocampus in diazepam-treated ones. In controls, ether inhalation as well as restraint increased GABA content of these two brain structures. In contrast, such stress procedures performed in PC60-treated rats reduced GABA content slightly in the hippocampus but significantly in the hypothalamus. In diazepam-treated rats, GABA content of the hypothalamus was unaffected by stresses but that of the hippocampus was slightly decreased. Conclusions: Present data suggest diazepam-like effects of PC60 on stress responsiveness of the rat pituitary adrenal axis and the sympathoadrenal activity as well as GABA content of the hippocampus and the hypothalamus under resting and stress conditions. These effects of PC60 agree with anxiolytic properties of this nutritional supplement, previously reported in both rats and humans.
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  • 25
    ISSN: 1432-2072
    Keywords: Key words Morphine ; Opioid receptor ; NMDA ; Tolerance ; Rat ; Tail flick
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract  Rationale: Pairings of a sweet taste and injection of morphine result in a learned avoidance of that taste and learned analgesic tolerance. This avoidance is mediated by the drug’s peripheral effect, while learned tolerance involves activation of N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptors. Exposure to a sweet taste also reduces morphine analgesia. We studied whether this taste-mediated reduction was reversed by an NMDA or peripheral opioid receptor antagonist. Objectives: To determine whether an intraoral infusion of saccharin would modulate morphine analgesia in rats, and to study the contribution of NMDA as well as peripheral opioid receptors to this modulation. Methods: Six experiments used the rat’s tail-flick response to study the effect of an intraoral infusion of a sodium saccharin solution on morphine analgesia, and the effects of the quaternary opioid receptor antagonist methylnaltrexone as well as the non-competitive NMDA receptor antagonist MK-801 on this modulation of analgesia. Results: An intraoral infusion of saccharin reduced the analgesic effects of an intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of morphine across a range of doses (experiment 1a), which was not attributable to an influence on tail-skin temperature (experiment 1b). This reduction was mediated by opioid receptors in the periphery and activation of NMDA receptors because morphine analgesia was reinstated by an i.p. injection of either methylnaltrexone (experiment 2a) or MK-801 (experiment 3a), which was not due to the effect of methylnaltrexone (experiment 2b) or MK-801 (experiment 3b) on morphine analgesia in the absence of saccharin. Conclusions: These results document evidence for an antagonism of morphine analgesia by actions of the drug at peripheral opioid receptors and excitatory amino-acid activity at NMDA receptors. They are discussed with reference to the aversive motivational effects of peripheral opioid receptors and pain facilitatory circuits.
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  • 26
    ISSN: 1432-2072
    Keywords: Key words  m-Chlorophenylpiperazine ; Drug discrimination ; Ethanol withdrawal ; Anxiety ; 17β-estradiol ; Sex difference ; Rat
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract  Rationale: The serotonergic system plays a role in regulation of anxiety and ethanol withdrawal (EW). Nevertheless, few studies have assessed sex differences in serotonergic effects on EW. Objectives: This study examined sex differences in the anxiogenic stimu-li induced by a serotonin (5-HT)1b/2 agonist, meta- chlorophenylpiperazine (mCPP), prior to ethanol and during EW. Methods: Gonadectomized or sham-operated adult male and female rats and 17β-estradiol (2.5 mg, 21-day release, s.c.) -replaced ovariectomized (OVX) rats were trained to discriminate mCPP (1.2 mg/kg, i.p.) from saline in a two-lever choice task for food. Latency to the first lever press and mCPP lever selection were measured following mCPP (0–1.2 mg/kg). Rats then received chronic ethanol-containing liquid diet (6.5%) for 10 days and were tested for mCPP lever selection 12 h and 36 h after removal of ethanol. Results: Fewer sham female and β-estradiol-replaced OVX rats selected the mCPP lever than male or OVX rats, and showed an increased initiation latency after mCPP injection. During EW (12 h and 36 h), fewer sham female and β-estradiol-replaced OVX rats responded on the mCPP-lever after saline injection as well as after mCPP challenge than male or OVX rats. Castration did not alter any response of male rats to mCPP. Conclusions: (1) mCPP discrimination is a useful measure of EW in male and female rats; and (2) sham female and β-estradiol-replaced OVX rats are less sensitive to the discriminative stimulus prior to and during EW, but more sensitive to impaired behavioral initiation induced by mCPP than male or OVX rats.
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  • 27
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    Psychopharmacology 149 (2000), S. 181-188 
    ISSN: 1432-2072
    Keywords: Key words Acoustic startle response ; Prepulse inhibition ; Sensorimotor gating ; Schizophrenia ; Dopamine ; Rat
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract  Rationale: Prepulse inhibition of acoustic startle is the reduction in startle response to an intense auditory stimulus when this stimulus is immediately preceded by a weaker prestimulus. Prepulse inhibition occurs normally in humans and experimental animals, but schizophrenic persons often exhibit a marked impairment in this measure. Previous studies have shown that dopamine (DA)-dependent neuronal mechanisms are involved in the modulation of prepulse inhibition. Objective: Experiments were conducted in rats to elucidate further the involvement of DA-ergic mechanisms in prepulse inhibition. Results: In line with previous studies, the indirect DA agonist, amphetamine, was shown to decrease prepulse inhibition. A close reverse relationship over time between DA overflow in the nucleus accumbens and prepulse inhibition was obtained using a technique allowing concomitant measurement of these parameters in awake, freely moving rats. This effect was more pronounced in amphetamine-treated rats compared to rats treated with equimolar doses of cocaine, which increased DA overflow without affecting prepulse inhibition. In other experiments, the combined treatment with subthreshold doses of the selective DA D1 agonist, SKF 38393, and the selective DA D2 agonist, quinpirole, was also shown to decrease prepulse inhibition. Finally, the selective DA D2 antagonist, raclopride, was shown to enhance prepulse inhibition. Conclusions: In line with previous studies, it is concluded that DA neurotransmission is involved in the modulation of prepulse inhibition and that the ventral part of the mesostriatal DA system may serve an important role in this modulation. Furthermore, the possibility is discussed that the discrepant results on prepulse inhibition obtained with amphetamine and cocaine may disclose functionally relevant differences in their mechanisms of action, and that the enhancement of prepulse inhibition induced by some antipsychotics in rats may reflect their propensity to induce adverse mental effects in humans.
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  • 28
    ISSN: 1432-2072
    Keywords: Key words 8-OH-DPAT ; WAY 100635 ; 5 ; 7-Dihydroxytryptamine ; Attention ; Impulsivity ; Pre- and postsynaptic 5-HT1A receptor ; Dorsal raphe ; Rat
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract  Rationale: Whilst several studies have investigated the role of serotonergic receptor subtypes in learning and memory, relatively few studies have examined their role in attentional processes. Objective: The present study investigated the role of pre- and postsynaptic 5-HT1A receptors on rats’ attentional performance in the five-choice serial reaction time task (5-CSRT). Methods: Hungry rats were trained in the 5-CSRT task to detect brief (0.5 s) flashes of light presented randomly in one of five locations with a fixed intertrial interval of 5 s paced by the rat. We studied the effects of 8-OH-DPAT, a 5-HT1A receptor agonist, at various subcutaneous (SC) doses (10–100 µg/kg) on measures of rats’ discriminative accuracy (the index of attentional functioning) and various behavioural indices of response control and motivation. Manipulations of basic task parameters, intracerebroventricular (ICV) injections of 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine (5,7-DHT) to deplete forebrain 5-HT and treatments with a selective 5-HT1A receptor antagonist WAY 100635 were made in order to determine the behavioural and neural specificity of the effects of 8-OH-DPAT. Results: A dose of 100 µg/kg, but not lower doses, significantly reduced choice accuracy and increased errors of omission, latencies to respond correctly and to collect food reward and premature responses. All these effects were completely blocked by WAY 100635, injected SC 5 min before 8-OH-DPAT at doses from 10–100 µg/kg. WAY 100635 by itself had no effect in the task. Dimming the visual stimuli to one-third of the usual brightness did not modify the effect of 8-OH-DPAT on choice accuracy. Prolonging the stimuli from 0.5 to 1.0 s reversed 8-OH-DPAT’s effect on choice accuracy but did not modify the other effects on rats’ performance. An ICV injection of 150 µg 5,7-DHT, which depleted forebrain serotonin by 90%, reversed 8-OH-DPAT’s effect on choice accuracy but did not modify the effects on errors of omission and latency to make correct responses. Similar effects were found by infusing 1.0 µg/0.5 µl WAY 100635 in the dorsal raphe 5 min before 8-OH-DPAT. 8-OH-DPAT increased the latency to collect the reinforcement; this effect was attenuated by ICV 5,7-DHT and completely antagonized by WAY 100635 in the dorsal raphe. Rats treated with 5,7-DHT or 8-OH-DPAT showed more premature responses and these effects were markedly reduced by the combined treatment. Conclusions: The results suggest that stimulation of presynaptic 5-HT1A receptors is involved in the ability of 8-OH-DPAT to cause attentional dysfunction and enhance impulsivity while slowing of responding and increase in errors of omission mainly depend on stimulation of postsynaptic 5-HT1A receptors.
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  • 29
    ISSN: 1432-2072
    Keywords: Key words Prefrontal cortex ; Dopamine ; Anxiety ; Drug discrimination ; Pentylenetetrazol ; Chlordiazepoxide ; Rat
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract  Rationale: The prefrontal cortical (PFC) dopamine (DA) system has been implicated in anxiety-related behavioral changes, but direct, unequivocal support for this idea is sparse. Objectives: The present aim was to study the functional significance of prefrontal DA using the pentylenetetrazol (PTZ) discrimination model of anxiety. A comparison was made with its role in the cue of the anxiolytic drug chlordiazepoxide (CDP). Methods: Two groups of rats were trained to discriminate either PTZ (20 mg/kg, s.c.) or CDP (10 mg/kg, i.p.) from saline using an operant drug discrimination procedure. After prolonged training, half of each group was used to assess biochemical changes induced by both drugs in different sub areas of the PFC. For the remaining rats, discrimination training continued and generalization tests with PTZ and CDP were performed. Rats were then provided with bilateral guide cannulae aimed at the ventromedial (vm) PFC, and the effects of local infusions of DAergic drugs on discriminative performance were evaluated. Results: CDP did not affect PFC DA activity, but PTZ increased the DOPAC/DA ratio in the vmPFC selectively. Generalization tests showed that the cues of PTZ and CDP were dose dependent. In PTZ-trained rats, infusions of the DA receptor antagonist cis-flupenthixol into the vmPFC blocked the PTZ cue dose dependently, whereas the agonist apomorphine partially generalized to this cue. In CDP-trained rats, neither drug antagonized or generalized to the CDP cue, showing that PFC DA is not critically involved in the CDP cue and that local pharmacological manipulations of PFC DA do not affect discriminative abilities per se. Conclusions: The DAergic innervation of the PFC is directly involved in the behavioral effects of PTZ, suggesting a role for it in anxiety.
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  • 30
    ISSN: 1432-2072
    Keywords: Key words 5-HT1A agonist ; Intrinsic activity ; Efficacy ; Irreversible antagonism ; Lower-lip retraction ; Rat
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract  Rationale: Maximal responses are often used as a measure of intrinsic activity or efficacy, but cannot be directly equated to efficacy. Using irreversible antagonists, estimates of efficacy can be obtained that may be less dependent on specific conditions. Objectives: To characterize the intrinsic activity of serotonin (5-HT)1A agonists by examining the effects of an irreversible antagonist on their ability to produce 5-HT1A receptor-mediated responses. Methods: The effects of N-ethoxycarbonyl-2-ethoxy-1,2-dihydroquinoline (EEDQ) on the ability of 5-HT1A agonists to produce lower-lip retraction (LLR) in rats were studied. Results: In the absence of EEDQ, each 5-HT1A agonist produced full effects, the rank order of potency being: S 14506 〉 8-OH-DPAT 〉 buspirone 〉 ipsapirone. EEDQ decreased the number of 5-HT1A binding sites and shifted the dose–response curves (DRCs) of each agonist either to the right or, at higher EEDQ doses, to the right and downward. The manner in which these shifts occurred, however, differed among the compounds. For each agonist, all DRCs obtained after different doses of EEDQ were fitted to models proposed by Furchgott and Black and Leff, and the results indicated the following rank order of efficacy: ipsapirone 〈 buspirone ≈ 8-OH-DPAT 〈 S 14506. 5-HT1A agonist-induced LLR appears to be mediated by 5-HT1A receptors, because the 5-HT1A antagonist, WAY 100635, shifted the agonist DRCs to the right in a parallel and dose-related manner, with pA2 values ranging from 7.8 to 8.1. Moreover, pretreatment with WAY 100635 protected against the antagonist activity of EEDQ. Conclusions: The results suggest that the effects of EEDQ on the ability of 5-HT1A agonists to produce LLR in rats may be useful to obtain estimates of their apparent efficacy at 5-HT1A receptors.
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  • 31
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    Psychopharmacology 148 (2000), S. 106-110 
    ISSN: 1432-2072
    Keywords: Key words Interferon ; Depression ; Forced swimming test ; Locomotor activity ; Rat
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract  Objectives: We examined the immobility of the forced swimming test induced in an animal model by human interferon (IFN), which has often been reported to induce depression in clinical use. Methods: In the present study, we examined the effects of human IFNs on results of the forced swimming test in rats. Results: Single intravenous (IV) administration of human IFN-α (6×104 IU/kg), but not of human IFN-β or -γ, significantly increased immobility time in the forced swimming test in rats. Repeated administration of human IFN-α (6×103 IU/kg) also significantly increased the immobility time. On the other hand, none of the rat IFNs (rat IFN-α, -β and -γ, 6×104 IU/kg, IV) changed the immobility time. Neither human IFNs nor rat IFNs changed the locomotor activity of rats. Conclusions: These findings suggest that human IFN-α has a greater potential for inducing increase of the immobility in the rat forced swimming test than human IFN-β and -γ, and that the effect of human IFN-α might not be mediated through IFN-α/β receptors.
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  • 32
    ISSN: 1432-2072
    Keywords: Key words Opiate receptor ; Antinociception ; Habituation ; Novelty ; Rat
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract  Rationale: There is now extensive evidence demonstrating that exposure to novel stimuli induces hypoalgesia and that this effect habituates over repeated exposure to the stimuli. Moreover, it has been shown that administration of the nonselective opiate receptor antagonist naloxone can attenuate the rate of habituation of novelty-induced hypoalgesia. Objectives: The present experiments were conducted to determine the relative influence of different opiate receptor subtypes in the attenuation of the habituation of novelty-induced hypoalgesia. Methods: In experiments 1–3, different groups of male, Wistar rats (275–300 g) were administered vehicle, 0.5, 1.0 or 2.0-nmol doses of the µ-selective antagonist Cys2-Tyr3-Orn5-Pen7-amide (CTOP), the δ-receptor selective antagonist naltrindole, or the κ-selective antagonist nor-binaltorphimine (nor-BNI). In experiment 4, animals were administered vehicle, 5, 25 or 75-nmol doses of nor-BNI. All injections were delivered to the right lateral ventricle 30 min prior to exposure to a novel hot-plate apparatus (48.5°C), once a day for eight consecutive days. Results: Paw-lick latencies in vehicle-treated animals were long during the initial exposures and declined over repeated tests, suggesting the habituation of novelty-induced hypoalgesia. The rate of habituation was significantly attenuated by administration of 1.0-nmol and 2.0-nmol doses of CTOP, by a 2.0-nmol dose of naltrindole, but was unaffected by all doses of nor-BNI. Conclusions: These results support the involvement of the µ and δ, but not the κ, opiate receptor subtypes in the habituation of novelty-induced hypoalgesia.
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  • 33
    ISSN: 1432-2072
    Keywords: Key words Fentanyl ; mu opioids ; Drug discrimination ; Training dose ; pA2 analysis ; Rat
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract  Rationale: Discriminative stimulus effects of mu opioids vary systematically as a function of training dose. Differences among training doses may arise from multiple mechanisms. Objectives: In vivo apparent pA2 analyses were used to examine the contributions of opioid mechanisms to stimulus control by low and high training doses of the mu opioid fentanyl. Methods: Saline and one of two doses of fentanyl, administered s.c., were established as discriminative stimuli in two groups of rats (low training dose group: 0.01 mg/kg; high training dose group: 0.04 mg/kg). Generalization tests and in vivo apparent pA2 analyses were used to evaluate receptor mechanisms of stimulus control. Results: Fentanyl, etonitazene, methadone, and morphine evoked full fentanyl generalization in both groups but were more potent in the low-dose group. Spiradoline and d-amphetamine did not evoke generalization in either group. Naltrexone antagonized stimulus and rate-altering effects of fentanyl in both groups, with apparent pA2 values of 7.6 in the low-dose group and 7.5 in the high-dose group. Nalbuphine and nalorphine evoked full generalization in the low-dose group but less than 40% generalization in the high-dose group. In the high-dose group, nalbuphine and nalorphine antagonized the stimulus and rate-altering effects of fentanyl with apparent pA2 values of 5.3 and 6.1, respectively, demonstrating lower efficacy mu actions. Conclusions: Changes in fentanyl training dose preserved the mu opioid selectivity of stimulus control but altered the intensity of the transduced mu opioid stimulus required for generalization. These differences in intensity of the fentanyl stimulus determined whether low efficacy mu opioids would evoke or antagonize fentanyl generalization.
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  • 34
    ISSN: 1432-2072
    Keywords: Key words Benzodiazepine ; Operant ; Force ; Tolerance ; Chronic ; Rat
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract  Rationale: Several benzodiazepines (BZs) have been shown to increase the peak force of operant responses at doses that increased, decreased, or had no effect on response rate, suggesting that operant response force may be a sensitive index of BZs’ effects rather than solely a correlate of rate-dependent effects. In addition, contingent tolerance to the rate-dependent effects of BZs has been reported, but the degree of contingent tolerance that develops when the critical variable of the task is force of the response has not been explored. Objectives: These experiments examined the effects of acute and repeated oral administration of diazepam (DZ) and midazolam (MZ) on a force-differentiation task to explore the importance of task requirements on the development of contingent tolerance. Methods: Two groups of rats were trained to press a force-sensing operandum, and responses having peak forces falling within fixed lower and upper limits [low force (8–10 g) or high force (40–50 g)] were reinforced with water. Acute effects of the oral administration of DZ (0.3, 1.0, 3.0, 10.0, 30.0 mg/kg) and MZ (same doses) were determined for the discriminated-force task before and after a repeated-administration procedure. Results: When administered acutely, both drugs increased the peak force of responses in a dose-related manner and concomitantly reduced the proportion of reinforced responses, with MZ exhibiting greater potency. For the next 36 days, one group received drug before experimental sessions and the other group received drug after the experimental session. A second dose–effect determination demonstrated that rats chronically dosed with DZ or MZ pre-session displayed more contingent tolerance to alterations in peak force than rats that had received 36 drug injections post- session, where there was no opportunity to practice the force-discrimination response while under the drug state. Conclusions: These results suggest that perceptual motor difficulty of the task rather than effort may be an important variable in predicting the degree of contingent tolerance that develops. Additionally, these results suggest that both behavioral and pharmacological mechanisms are involved in the development of drug tolerance to the BZs.
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  • 35
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    Psychopharmacology 148 (2000), S. 146-152 
    ISSN: 1432-2072
    Keywords: Key words Alprazolam ; Drug discrimination ; Benzodiazepines ; Antidepressant ; Rat
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract  Rationale: The triazolobenzodiazepine alprazolam has a unique clinical profile compared to most other benzodiazepines (e.g. diazepam, chlordiazepoxide), in that it is used to treat panic disorder and is effective in depression, two disorders that are usually treated with anti-depressants. Previous drug discrimination studies suggested that alprazolam has stimulus properties in common with antidepressants. Objective: In the present study, the discriminative stimulus properties of alprazolam were investigated to test more conclusively the role of benzodiazepine receptors and whether alprazolam has stimulus properties in common with antidepressants. Methods: Male Wistar rats (n=12) were trained to discriminate between alprazolam (2.0 mg/kg, PO) and vehicle in an operant two-lever drug discrimination procedure under a tandem VI40”-FR10 schedule of reinforcement. Generalization and antagonism tests were carried out under 2 min extinction. Results: In generalization tests, a number of benzodiazepines (alprazolam, chlordiazepoxide, midazolam, lorazepam) and the barbiturate pentobarbital substituted completely, while zolpidem and abecarnil substituted partially for alprazolam. In contrast, no significant degree of generalization to the antidepressants imipramine and fluvoxamine and the putative antidepressants buspirone and flesinoxan was found. In antagonism studies alprazolam could be antagonized (almost) completely by flumazenil, partially by pentylenetetrazole, but not by methyl 6,7-dimethoxy-4-ethyl-β-carboline-3-carboxylate (DMCM), N-methyl-β-carboline-3-carboxamide (FG-7142) and picrotoxin. Conclusions: These results show that the discriminative stimulus properties of alprazolam are mediated by benzodiazepine receptors and that the finding that antidepressants share discriminative stimulus effects with alprazolam may have limited generality.
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  • 36
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    Psychopharmacology 148 (2000), S. 209-216 
    ISSN: 1432-2072
    Keywords: Key words Methamphetamine ; Drug-discrimination ; Dopamine ; Cocaine ; GBR-12909 ; Nomifensine ; Bupropion ; Chloro-PB ; Chloro-APB ; NPA ; 7-OH-DPAT ; SCH-23390 ; Spiperone ; cis-Flupenthixol ; Rat
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract  Rationale: Dopamine plays a major role in the behavioral effects of methamphetamine. Objective: In the present experiments, the effects of different dopaminergic agonists, antagonists, and uptake inhibitors were evaluated in rats discriminating methamphetamine from saline. Methods: In Sprague-Dawley rats trained to discriminate 1.0 mg/kg methamphetamine, i.p., from saline under a fixed-ratio schedule of food delivery, the ability of various dopaminergic agonists and uptake inhibitors to substitute for methamphetamine was evaluated. Subsequently, the ability of various dopaminergic antagonists to block the discriminative-stimulus effects of the training dose of methamphetamine was tested. Results: The dopamine-uptake inhibitors cocaine (10.0 mg/kg), nomifensine (3.0 mg/kg), GBR-12909 (18.0 mg/kg), and bupropion (30.0 mg/kg) fully substituted for the 1.0 mg/kg training dose of methamphetamine. Chloro-APB (SKF-82958), a full agonist at D1 dopamine receptors, produced about 85% methamphetamine-appropriate responding, but the dose required (0.18 mg/kg) markedly decreased rates of responding. Chloro-PB (SKF-81297), another agonist at D1 receptors with a lower intrinsic activity than Chloro-APB, produced only partial generalization (maximum about 55%) at a dose of 1.0 mg/kg. Full substitution for the training dose of methamphetamine was observed with 0.03 mg/kg of the D2 agonist NPA and 0.56 mg/kg of the D3/D2 agonist 7-OH-DPAT. Both NPA and 7-OH-DPAT markedly decreased rates of responding at these doses. The D1 antagonist SCH-23390 (0.056 mg/kg), the D2 antagonist spiperone (0.18 mg/kg), and the mixed D1,D2 antagonist cis-flupenthixol (0.56 mg/kg) all completely blocked the discriminative-stimulus actions of the training dose of methamphetamine. Conclusions: The present findings in rats support previous research findings in other species indicating a major role of dopamine in the discriminative-stimulus effects of methamphetamine. These findings further indicate involvement of dopamine uptake sites as well as D1 and D2 receptors.
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  • 37
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    Psychopharmacology 149 (2000), S. 115-120 
    ISSN: 1432-2072
    Keywords: Key words Opiate ; Withdrawal ; Place aversion ; Rat
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract  Rationale: Administration of low doses of opiate antagonists to morphine-dependent rats produces an aversive response as measured by a conditioned place aversion, but the time course of such a learned aversion is largely unknown. Objectives: The purpose of this experiment was to examine the time course for the expression of a place aversion to opiate withdrawal. Methods: Morphine-dependent rats were tested in a three-chamber place- aversion apparatus. The conditioning phase consisted of three pairings of either naloxone (15 µg/kg s.c.) or vehicle with two compartments, with the most similar time allotments during the preconditioning test. During the testing phase, rats were again allowed to explore the entire apparatus. Different groups were tested at 24 h, 1 week, 2 weeks, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, and 16 weeks post-conditioning (morphine-free tests). Results: A robust place aversion was recorded at every time point tested, including at 16 weeks. In previously published work, placebo-pelleted rats tested with naloxone at the same dose failed to show a place aversion and nondependent rats showed a stable lack of aversion at tests up to 56 days. Dependent animals without naloxone also failed to show a place aversion at any of those time points. Conclusions: In the absence of any active intervention, the place aversion produced by opiate withdrawal is very long lasting and provides a model for protracted abstinence that may be useful for delineating the neurobiological substrate for vulnerability to relapse.
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  • 38
    ISSN: 1438-8359
    Keywords: Key words: Halothane ; Dopamine release ; Dopamine uptake ; Microdialysis ; Rat
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract Purpose. In our previous microdialysis study, sevoflurane or isoflurane anesthesia significantly decreased the extracellular level of dopamine in rat striatum in vivo. On the other hand, other investigators demonstrated that halothane anesthesia either increased or did not affect the extracellular dopamine level. To explore the differences among these volatile anesthetics, the effects of halothane and nitrous oxide on the striatal dopamine level were reinvestigated. Methods. Halothane alone, nitrous oxide with or without halothane, or drugs known to affect the dopaminergic pathway were administered to rats. Microdialysates were collected every 20 min and directly applied to an on-line high-performance liquid chromatograph without any pretreatment. The effects of halothane on respiratory and cardiovascular variables were monitored. Results. General anesthesia with halothane alone de-creased the dialysate (extracellular) concentration of dopamine but increased that of dopamine metabolites. Nitrous oxide alone slightly increased dopamine metabolites in dialysates but did not affect the halothane-induced decrease in extracellular dopamine. Apomorphine and haloperidol reproduced reported results, confirming the adequacy of our methodology. Nomifensine- or methamphetamine-induced increase in extracellular dopamine was augmented by halothane. Conclusion. These results suggest that halothane po-tently enhances striatal dopamine release and activates the reuptake or metabolic process, which is consistent with our previous results for sevoflurane or isoflurane. Volatile anesthetics interfere with dopamine regulation, at least in the rat striatum.
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  • 39
    ISSN: 1436-2023
    Keywords: Key words Adriamycin ; Rat ; Embryo ; VATER association ; Synovial joint ; Bones ; Limbs ; Vertebra ; Sirenomelia
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract The adriamycin-induced rat model of the Vertebral, Anorectal, Tracheo-Esophageal, Radial and Renal (VATER) association produces a variety of vertebral, rib, and limb abnormalities. This study was designed to document accurately the nature of these abnormalities and to determine whether synovial joints are affected. Fetuses from pregnant Sprague Dawley rats that had received intraperitoneal injections of 1.75 mg/kg of adriamycin on days 6–9 or 10–13 of gestation were harvested. Double-stained skeletal preparations and histological sections were examined for vertebral, rib, and limb anomalies. The incidence of anomalies was high in the group treated on gestational days (GD) 6–9, while it was low in the GD 10–13 group. The length and thickness of the long bones were reduced, with bowing and reduction in their endochondral ossification. Sirenomelia occurred in the group treated on GD 6–9, and was often associated with a short tail and anal atresia. The joint cavities, and intra-articular structures such as menisci and the cruciate ligaments developed normally from the mesenchymal interzone. These data indicate that adriamycin inhibits skeletal growth and differentiation without any interference in the differentiation of the mesenchymal interzone, thus producing normal synovial joints.
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  • 40
    ISSN: 1530-0358
    Keywords: Pravastatin ; ras p21 isoprenylation ; Colon carcinogenesis ; Flat colon tumor ; Azoxymethane ; Rat
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract PURPOSE: The effect of pravastatin, an inhibitor ofras p21 isoprenylation, on the gross type of colon tumors induced by azoxymethane was investigated in Wistar rats. METHODS: Rats received ten weekly subcutaneous injections of 7.4 mg/kg body weight of azoxymethane and intraperitoneal injections of 10 or 20 mg/kg body weight of pravastatin every other day until the end of the experiment at Week 45. RESULTS: Administration of pravastatin at both dosages had no significant effect on the incidence of colon tumors but significantly increased the incidence of rats with adenomas only. In contrast to the elevated adenomas in control rats, flat adenomas were significantly more prevalent in rats given pravastatin. Pravastatin at both doses significantly decreased the labeling index, but not the apoptotic index, of elevated adenomas, whereas it significantly decreased the labeling index but increased the apoptotic index of flat adenomas. Administration of pravastatin at both dosages also significantly decreased the amounts of membrane-associatedras p21 in colon tumors. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that theras oncogene may be closely related to the development of adenocarcinomas from adenomas and the development of elevated or polypoid tumors of the colon.
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  • 41
    ISSN: 1432-1211
    Keywords: Key words Vβ13 ; CD4/CD8 ratio ; Rat ; Tcrb ; Polymorphism
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract. Three rat BV13S1 alleles (T-cell receptor β-chain variable gene 13) were characterized by new BV13S1-allele specific monoclonal antibodies (18B1 and 17D5) and sequence analysis of expressed and genomic BV13S1. Two alleles were functional and designated BV13S1A1 present in strains LEW, BUF, PVG, and BV13S1A2 present in BN and WF. Their products differed by six amino acids, two of them in complementarity-determing region (CDR)1 and one in CDR2. A third nonfunctional allele, BV13S1A3P, was found in strains F344 and DA. Apart from a single nucleotide insertion, it was identical to BV13S1A2. All 12 rat strains tested showed association of TCRBC1 with BV8S2/4 alleles but not with the BV13S1 alleles, which may reflect a different gene order of the rat BV compared to mouse. BV13S1A1-encoded T-cell receptors (TCRs) which bind both monoclonal antibody (mAb) 18B1 and mAb 17D5 are over-represented in the CD4 lymphocyte subset. BV13S1A2-encoded TCRs which are stained by mAb 18B1 but not by mAb 17D5 show a slight CD8-biased expression. Preferential usage of BV13S1A1-positive TCRs by CD4 but not by CD8 cells in (LEW×WF)F1 hybrids and cosegregation of BV13SA1 and increased frequency of BV13S1 TCR-positive CD4 cells in a (LEW×BN)×BN backcross suggest structural differences of the two allelic products as the reason for their contrasting CD4/CD8 subset bias.
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  • 42
    ISSN: 1432-0568
    Keywords: Key words Nerve repair ; Nerve fiber regeneration ; Sciatic nerve ; Muscle-vein-combined graft ; Rat
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract  Clinical data have shown that a vein segment filled with fresh skeletal muscle can be considered a good autologous grafting conduit for the repair of peripheral nerve lesions. In this study, the long-term morphological organization of rat sciatic nerve fibers regenerated along a muscle-vein-combined graft conduit is further analysed by light and electron microscopy. Regenerated nerve fibers were organized into fascicles of various sizes that were clearly delimited by perineurial-like shells made by long and thin cytoplasmic processes of perineurial-like bipolar cells and by densely packed collagen fibrils. Grafted skeletal muscle fibers were still detectable among nerve fiber fascicles. However, in spite of the persistence of skeletal muscle along the graft, regenerated nerve fibers showed a good morphological pattern of regeneration, providing further evidence that the muscle-vein-combined grafting technique represents an effective surgical alternative to the classical fresh nerve autograft for the repair of peripheral nerve defects.
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  • 43
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    Anatomy and embryology 202 (2000), S. 247-255 
    ISSN: 1432-0568
    Keywords: Key words Enteric neurons ; Interstitial cells of Cajal ; Smooth muscle cells ; Guinea-pig ; Rat
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract  Tachykinin receptors NK1r, NK2r and NK3r bind tachykinins with different affinities and share pharmacological and molecular differences among animal species. NK1r, NK2r, NK3r and tachykinin (SP/NKA) distribution was studied by immunohistochemistry in the ileum of mouse since no data are available for this species. The results were then compared to those obtained in the rat and guinea pig either by us or by others to ascertain interspecies similarities and/or differences. NK1r- and NK3r-immunoreactivity (IR) were detected in neurons and NK1r-IR in the interstitial cells of Cajal at the deep muscular plexus. At variance with rat and guinea pig, NK1r-IR was also found in the myoid cells of the villi, while NK2r-IR was never detected in nerve varicosities. This latter datum suggests that the NK2r does not play a presynaptic role in the mouse. Unexpectedly, a high NK2r-IR and the presence of NK3r-IR were observed at the inner portion of the circular muscle layer in the mouse as well as in the rat and guinea pig, demonstrating a subregional distribution of these receptors. Tachykinin distribution did not show noticeable species-related differences. The present findings show species-related differences in the tachykinin receptor distribution that might be related to a different tachykinin controlof intestinal motility.
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  • 44
    ISSN: 1432-0568
    Keywords: Key words GABAB receptor ; CNS ; Dorsal root ganglia ; Rat
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract  The anatomical distribution of the GABAB receptor (GBR) splice variants GBR1a and 1b in the CNS has not previously been studied. In the present study, distribution of the splice variants was mapped using immunohistochemistry. Polyclonal antibodies against splice variant unique epitopes were raised in rabbits. Affinity purified antibodies were used according to routine immunohistochemical procedures in sections from the rat CNS or dorsal root ganglia (DRG). The staining intensity was high in the cerebral cortex but lower in basal ganglia and the hippocampus. In the cerebellum, there was a marked difference in the distribution of GBR1a- and 1b-like immunoreactivity (LI). GBR1a-LI was preferentially localised in the granule cell layer whilst GBR1b-LI was mostly found in Purkinje cells and in the molecular layer. Cell bodies of the deep cerebellar nuclei stained for the GBR1a antibody while terminals surrounding the cell bodies were strongly labelled with the GBR1b antibody. A similar pre- vs postsynaptic pattern was seen in several nuclei ventral or caudal to the cerebellum (e.g. the cochlear nucleus, the facial nucleus, the spinal cord) but not in regions rostral to the cerebellum. In the spinal cord, strong labelling for both antibodies was seen in the dorsal horn. The GBR1b but not the GBR1a antibody stained tanycytes in the epithelium of the 3rd ventricle and in the central canal at the brain stem level. DRG neurons were positive for both the GBR1a and 1b antibody, but the former stained the cells much more intensely. Satellite cells were labelled with the GBR1b antibody. The most important aspect of these findings is that in some nuclei, GBR1b may mediate inhibition of transmitter release while in the same regions, GBR1a may mediate postsynaptic inhibition. Further, the observations support previous findings that GBR1b is the predominant splice variant in Purkinje cells.
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  • 45
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    Annals of biomedical engineering 28 (2000), S. 128-134 
    ISSN: 1573-9686
    Keywords: Hippocampus ; Vigilance states ; Paired-pulse ; Dentate gyrus ; Dentate granule cells ; Evoked response ; Rat ; In vivo studies ; Perforant path ; Maturation
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine , Technology
    Notes: Abstract This study examined the effect of normal development and vigilance state on the modulation of dentate granule cell activity in the freely moving rat at 15, 30, and 90 days of age across three vigilance states: quiet waking, slow-wave sleep, and rapid eye movement sleep. Using paired-pulse stimulation, the paired-pulse index (PPI) was obtained for the dentate evoked field potentials elicited by the stimulation of the medial perforant path. Although significant differences in PPI values were observed during development, no significant vigilance state related changes were obtained. Preweaning infant rats, i.e., 15-day old, exhibited significantly less early (interpulse intervals, IPI= 20–50 ms) and late (IPI = 300–1000 ms) inhibition, and less facilitation (IPI = 50–150 ms) when compared to the 90-day old adult rats during all three vigilance states. PPI values obtained from the 30-day old group fell intermediate between the 15- and 90-day old animals. These changes in PPI values provide a quantitative measure of changes in the modulation of dentate granule cell excitability during normal maturation. They can now can be used to evaluate the impact of various insults, such as prenatal protein malnutrition or neonatal stress, on hippocampal development. © 2000 Biomedical Engineering Society. PAC00: 8717Nn, 8719La, 8719Nn
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  • 46
    ISSN: 1573-9686
    Keywords: Heart ; Left ventricle ; LV contractility ; ESPVR ; Pig ; Rat ; Magnetic resonance imaging
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine , Technology
    Notes: Abstract The end systolic pressure–volume relation (ESPVR) has been shown to be a relatively load independent measure of left ventricular (LV) contractility. Recently, several single-beat ESPVR computation methods have been developed, enabling the quantification of LV contractility without the need to alter vascular loading conditions on the heart. Using a single-beat ESPVR method, which has been validated previously in humans and assumes that normalized elastance is constant between individuals of a species, we studied the effects of myocardial infarction on LV contractility in two species, the rat and the pig. In our studies, LV pressure was acquired invasively and LV volume determined noninvasively with magnetic resonance imaging, at one week postinfarction in pigs and at 12 weeks postinfarction in rats. Normalized systolic elastance curves in both animal species were not statistically different from that of humans. Also, the slope of the ESPVR $$\left( {E_{es} } \right)$$ decreased significantly following infarction in both species, while the volume-axis intercept $$\left( {V_0 } \right)$$ was unaffected. These results indicate that a single-beat ESPVR method can be used to measure the inotropic response of the heart to myocardial infarction, and that the basis for this method (i.e., constant normalized elastance) is applicable to a variety of mammalian species. © 2000 Biomedical Engineering Society. PAC00: 8719Uv, 8761Lh, 8719Hh, 8719Rr, 8719Ff
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  • 47
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    Annals of biomedical engineering 28 (2000), S. 1101-1115 
    ISSN: 1573-9686
    Keywords: Time–frequency analysis ; Coherence ; Cross correlation ; Nonstationary persistent signals ; Central pattern generator ; Rat
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine , Technology
    Notes: Abstract We present a novel time-varying phase spectrum (TVPS) method to quantify the dynamics of coevolution of two persistent nonstationary coupled signals. Based on the TVPS, an instantaneous intersignal phase shift is defined within the primary frequency range in which the two signals are highly correlated. The TVPS is estimated using a fixed-window method or an adaptive-window method. In the latter method, the window length changes dynamically and automatically as a function of change in frequency of the signals. The effects of altering window types and lengths on the accuracy of the estimation of the primary phase shift is assessed by analyzing synthesized linear chirp signals with decaying amplitude and constant relative phase shift or decaying amplitude and changing relative phase shifts. The methods developed are also used for determining the evolution of the primary phase shift among ventral root activities during fictive locomotion in an in vitro rat spinal cord preparation. The analyses indicate that the TVPS method in conjunction with the determination of the primary frequency range, allows determination of both the evolution of the coupling strength and the evolution of the phase shift between two persistent nonstationary rhythmic signals in the joint time–frequency domain. An adaptive window reduces the estimation bias and the estimation variability. © 2000 Biomedical Engineering Society. PAC00: 0230-f, 8780Tq
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  • 48
    ISSN: 0219-1032
    Keywords: c-Fos ; Dopamine ; D1 ; Hippocampus ; Rat ; Synaptic Plasticity
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract While dopamine is likely to modulate hippocampal synaptic plasticity, there has been little information about how dopamine affects synaptic transmission in the hippocampus. The expression of IEGs including c-fos has been associated with late phase LTP in the CA1 region of the hippocampus. The induction of c-fos by dopaminergic receptor activation in the rat hippocampus was investigated by using semiquantitative RT-PCR and immuno-cytochemistry. The hippocampal slices which were not treated with dopamine showed little expression of c-fos mRNA. However, the induction of c-fos mRNA was detected as early as 5 min after dopamine treatment, peaked at 60 min, and remained elevated 5 h after treatment. Temporal profiles of increases in c-fos mRNA by R(+)-SKF-38393 (50 μM) and forskolin (50 μM) were similar to that of dopamine. An increase in [cAMP] was observed in dopamine-, SKF-, or forskolin-treated hippocampal slices. By immunocytochemical studies, control hippocampal cells showed little expression of c-Fos immunoreactivity. However, when cells were treated with dopamine, an increase in the expression of c-Fos immunoreactivity was observed after treatment for 2 h. The treatment of hippocampal neurons with R(+)-SKF38393 (50 μM) or forskolin (50 μM) also induced a significant increase in c-Fos expression. These results indicate that the dopamine D1 receptor-mediated cAMP dependant pathway is associated with the expression of c-Fos in the hippocampal neurons. These data are consistent with the possible role of endogenous dopamine on synaptic plasticity via the regulation of gene expression. Furthermore, these results imply that dopamine might control the process of memory storage in the hippocampus through gene expression.
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  • 49
    ISSN: 1434-0879
    Keywords: Key words Castration ; Epidermal growth factor ; Insulin-like growth factor I ; Prostate ; Testosterone ; Rat
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract Epidermal growth factor (EGF) and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) are strong inducers of proliferation to prostate cells cultured in serum-free medium. Accordingly we wanted to study the growth of the prostate gland in castrated rats after treatment with EGF, IGF-I and testosterone. Castrated Wistar rats were treated with growth factors (EGF 35 μg/rat per day; IGF-I 350 μg/rat per day) or testosterone (2 mg/rat per day) for 3 days either immediately after or 10 days after castration. Prostate tissue was examined by stereological and immunohistochemical techniques and by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Treatment with EGF inhibited the involution of the prostate (P 〈 0.05), whereas treatment with IGF-I did not affect the prostate involution as compared to castrated controls. EGF treatment significantly increased the endogenous rat EGF in the ventral prostate, but cellular proliferation was not affected. Testosterone treatment increased the weight of the prostate, by increase of all tissue components of the prostate, and significantly increased cellular proliferation. Systemic administration of EGF but not IGF-I decreased the involution of the rat prostate induced by castration. Compared with testosterone, the effects of EGF treatment on the prostate involution were moderate, and the effects of EGF were not related to cellular proliferation.
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  • 50
    ISSN: 1434-0879
    Keywords: Key words Bladder ; Rat ; Aging ; Obstruction ; Cystometrics
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract Bladder dysfunction in the aging population is a significant problem. However the concomitant presence of other diseases in many patients can make it difficult to distinguish between changes in bladder function and other influences. The present study was designed to study, in aging rats, bladder function and the effect of partial bladder outlet obstruction (BOO) on bladder function. Cystometrics were performed in awake, female Fischer 344 rats of four age groups (6, 12, 18 and 24 months) following subcutaneous implantation of a mediport catheter. Cystometric evaluations were carried out in control rats or those subject to three weeks of BOO. Bladder compliance significantly decreased with aging, which reflected an increase in threshold pressure without changes in bladder capacity. Partial BOO caused development of severe bladder instability. Following BOO, bladder capacity and compliance were significantly increased in all age groups. Threshold pressure was lower in obstructed animals, except for 6-month rats. Younger animals were able to generate a higher contraction pressure to compensate for the BOO, whereas older animals did not. Using an awake model of cystometric measurement, we have demonstrated that aging, by itself can affect bladder function. Furthermore, aged animals respond differently to BOO than younger animals. These results demonstrate that both aging and disease can contribute to bladder dysfunction, and suggest that treatment of bladder dysfunction may require a combination of therapies targeted to multiple etiologies.
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  • 51
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    Urological research 28 (2000), S. 141-146 
    ISSN: 1434-0879
    Keywords: Key words Kidney ; Nitric oxide ; Ischemia-reperfusion injury ; Rat
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract In this study we attempted to clarify the release of nitric oxide (NO) and its role in the ischemia-reperfusion rat kidney. After right nephrectomy, male Wistar rats were divided into four groups: one sham operated and three groups who underwent ischemia (30 min) and reperfusion of the left renal artery. Thirty minutes prior to ischemia-reperfusion, two groups were injected intraperitoneally with 10 and 30 mg/kg of NG-nitro-l-arginine methylester (L-NAME). Real-time monitoring of blood flow and NO release in the rat kidney was measured with a laser Doppler flowmeter and an NO-selective electrode, respectively. Serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) levels were measured 1 and 7 days after the induction of ischemia-reperfusion. Clamping of the renal artery decreased blood flow to 1–5% of the basal level measured before clamping. After removal of the clip, the blood flow of the 30 mg/kg L-NAME rats was significantly lower than that of the controls. Immediately following the clipping of the renal artery, NO release rapidly increased. After removing the clip, NO release immediately returned to three-quarters of the basal level. Serum creatinine and BUN levels of the ischemia-reperfusion rats were slightly but not significantly higher and those of 30 mg L-NAME rats were significantly higher than those of the control or ischemia-reperfusion rats 1 day and 7 days after ischemia-reperfusion. Our data suggest that NO acts as a cytoprotective agent in ischemia-reperfusion injury of the rat kidney.
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  • 52
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    European journal of applied physiology 83 (2000), S. 310-319 
    ISSN: 1439-6327
    Keywords: Key words Motor unit ; Mechanomyography ; Evoked contraction ; Medial gastrocnemius muscle ; Rat
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract Acoustic phenomena accompanying contractions of single motor units (MUs) have previously received little attention. Therefore, in the present study, the mechanomyographic (MMG) signals during evoked contractions of single MUs have been recorded from the medial gastrocnemius muscle of the rat. A piezoelectric transducer immersed in a paraffin-oil pool was used for the measurement of these signals. Muscle fibre action potentials, tension and MMG were recorded in parallel during twitch (the weakest) and fused tetanic (the strongest) MU contractions. It was observed that the onset of the MMG signals was coincident with the beginning of the increase in tension for both the twitch and tetanus. Weaker MMG signals than those accompanying the beginning of the first phase of the fused tetanus were seen during the beginning of the relaxation after tetanic contraction. During contraction and relaxation, MMG signals were characterised by the reverse-direction of the first extreme phase, positive and negative, respectively. No MMG signals were observed when the tension was constant during the fused tetanus. The amplitude of MMG signals was correlated with both the tension increase and the velocity of tension increase during both the twitch and the fused tetanus. The strongest MUs (fast fatiguable) generated MMG signals of the highest amplitude. MMG signals were not detected for some of the weakest slow MUs (with tension increases of ≤2 mN). These results indicate a strong correlation between the MMG and the change of tension. Therefore, we believe that MMG signals are generated by muscle deformation that occurs during the contraction of MU muscle fibres. We conclude that the number of active muscle fibres, their topography, and their localisation in relation to the muscle surface (which is variable for different types of MUs) influence these MMG phenomena.
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  • 53
    ISSN: 1615-3146
    Keywords: Key Words Spinal cord compression ; Autoradiography ; Blood flow ; ATP ; Glucose ; Lactate ; Bioluminescence ; Rat
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract Many data are available concerning spinal cord blood flow (SCBF) and metabolism on various models and timing after spinal cord injury, however, detailed information on their exact relationship in the same injury model is lacking. This relationship is a crucial factor in the understanding of the pathophysiology of spinal cord trauma. Rats were subjected to lumbar laminectomy or lumbar spinal cord compression trauma. 3 hours later, changes in SCBF were evaluated autoradiographically and changes in ATP, glucose and lactate levels were analyzed using substrate-specific bioluminescence techniques. Measurements were performed at the lesion site (segment L4), adjacent segments (L3 and L5) and at remote thoracic segments (Th8 to Th9). Laminectomy alone did not change SCBF, both in thoracic and lumbar segments. In contrast, ATP levels were significantly reduced and lactate levels were increased at the lesion site and in adjacent lumbar segments at 3 hours after laminectomy, whereas glucose levels were not significantly changed. In animal subjected to additional compression trauma, SCBF was significantly reduced in segments L3, L4 and L5 paralleled by a significant ATP reduction and lactate increase. Glucose levels did not differ significantly from controls 3 hours after compression injury. This metabolic profile was also reflected in the remote thoracic segments. In contrast, SCBF was not reduced in thoracic segments of traumatized animals. The observation that ATP was already significantly reduced and lactate increased in laminectomized segments and in remote thoracic regions after trauma signals that metabolic changes are sensitive indicators to spinal stress. The fact that posttraumatic metabolic profile differs from the pattern of hemodynamic and metabolic changes induced by ischemia, suggests posttraumatic mediators may be involved in the different regulation of the energy producing machinery.
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  • 54
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    Medical & biological engineering & computing 38 (2000), S. 42-48 
    ISSN: 1741-0444
    Keywords: Bowel sounds ; Rat ; Motility ; Body acoustics ; Signal detection ; Signal characterisation
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Chemistry and Pharmacology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract This study is aimed at detecting gastrointestinal sounds (GIS) and correlating their characteristics with gastrointestinal (GI) conditions. The central hypotheses are that GIS generation depends on the motility patterns and the mechanical properties of the gut, and that changes in those result in measurable differences in GIS. An animal model which included both healthy rats and those with small bowel obstruction (SBO) was developed. The acoustic bursts, of GIS were detected by amplitude thresholding the signal envelope. Three methods of envelope estimation were proposed and evaluated. Envelope estimation using a Hilbert transform was found to produce the best results in the current application. The duration and dominant frequency of each detected GIS event was estimated and clear differences between healthy and diseased rats were discovered. In the control state, GIS events were found to consistently be of relatively short duration (3–65ms). Although the majority of events in the SBO state had similar short duration, infrequent longer events were also detected and appeared to be pathognomonic. Long duration events (〉100 ms) occurred in each of seven obstructed, but in none of 14 non-obstructed, cases (p〈0.001). It is concluded that GIS analysis may prove useful in the non-invasive, rapid, and accurate diagnosis of SBO.
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  • 55
    ISSN: 1437-7799
    Keywords: Key words VEGF ; Glomeruli ; Ribonuclease protection assay ; Rat
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract Background. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a selective endothelial growth factor which potently enhances microvascular permeability. In the kidney, VEGF mRNA is known to be highly expressed in visceral epithelial cells in glomeruli. However, the physiological role of VEGF in glomerular function and its involvement in the pathogenesis of proteinuria are not clear. The present studies were designed to determine whether altered expression of VEGF mRNA was observed in the course of puromycin aminonucleoside (PAN) nephrosis in rats (a model of human minimal change nephrosis). Methods. The message level of VEGF in isolated glomeruli of PAN nephrosis rats was measured using a ribonuclease protection assay. Results. VEGF expression began to decrease 4 days after PAN injection and could not be detected in the nephrotic stage of PAN nephrosis (on days 8 and 16). In the remission of stage of PAN nephrosis (on day 28), mRNA was restored to the control level. Conclusions. According to our results, a functional defect in the VEGF expression of visceral epithelial cells was observed in PAN nephrosis. VEGF could be a functional marker of visceral epithelial cells, and the loss of normal expression of VEGF after damage to visceral epithelial cells could affect glomerular endothelial cell function in PAN nephrosis.
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  • 56
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    Pediatric surgery international 16 (2000), S. 285-292 
    ISSN: 1437-9813
    Keywords: Key words Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) ; Rat ; Immunohistochemistry ; Distribution
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract  The present study systematically investigated the expression and distribution of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) classes I and II in the rat. About 150 native tissue probes from eight adult Lewis rats were taken, representative for most organs, tissues, and the vascular system. MHC expression was analyzed by two monoclonal antibodies (mAb) generated against the non-polymorphic determinants of rat MHC class I (Ox-18) and class II (Ox-6). Immunoreactivities were compared to those of different endothelial (HIS52, TLD-3A12, Ox-43, REHA-1 antigen), histiocytic (ED1, ED2), B-cell (RLN-9D3), and T-cell (MRC Ox-52) markers. A nonspecific mAb (MR12/53) served as a negative control. Pretested concentrations on various tissues and the alkaline phosphatase-anti-alkaline phosphatase technique allowed semiquantitative evaluation of serial cryostat tissue sections. MHC class I expression was detected on most immunocompetent cells. Endothelial cells were stained heterogeneously along the vascular system and the organ-specific microcirculation. Furthermore, some organs showed staining of parenchymal cells. MHC class II was found on all immunocompetent cells positive for the B-cell marker and about 15% of cells positive for the histiocytic markers. Besides the well-known expression of MHC class II in the outer zone of the renal proximal tubule, further organ-specific cell forms were found positive. In conclusion, the present study outlines tissue-specific distribution of MHC I/II and implies that each organ carries a variable immunologic burden that needs to be considered for any transplantation model.
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  • 57
    ISSN: 1437-9813
    Keywords: Key words Fetal transplantation ; Proliferation ; Adrenal glands ; Addisonian crisis ; Rat
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract  The present study investigated the histologic maturation, proliferative capacity, and steroid production of fetal adrenal transplants (Tx) in adrenalectomized rats. A pair of fetal adrenal glands (18–20 days of gestation) was transplanted into the omentum of syngeneic Lewis rats (n=45). Four weeks later, in 5 animals the grafts were excised for morphologic evaluation. Proliferation was investigated by immunohistochemical staining for KI-67 protein and quantified by the proliferation index (PI = positive cells/100 counts). All other hosts (Tx; n = 40) underwent bilateral adrenalectomy (AE) to induce Addisonian crisis. Postoperatively, survival and concentrations of potassium, sodium, aldosterone, and corticosterone were recorded for 6 months. These data were compared to controls (C = only AE; n = 30) and a sham group (S; n = 10). At the end of the study period all surviving hosts were killed for histologic examination of grafts. At 4 weeks post-Tx the adrenal grafts demonstrated a distinct zona glomerulosa and frequent proliferation with a PI of 0.084, comparable to normal control (0.092). Following AE survival was significantly prolonged in Tx (86% vs 12% of C, P 〈 0.05). Control animals developed severe hyponatremia and hyperkalemia, whereas in Tx only transient signs of Addisonian crisis were recorded. Levels of aldosterone dropped within 7 days in the Tx and C groups, but returned to normal for Tx within 8 weeks. Corticosterone levels of Tx animals fell to 25% within week, but steadily increased to 70% by the end of the study. At 6 months, grafts revealed a mature adrenocortical structure with little proliferative activity, which was comparable to controls. In a syngeneic rat model fetal adrenal transplants thus mature and proliferate to provide sufficient steroid production for adrenalectomized hosts.
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  • 58
    ISSN: 1437-9813
    Keywords: Key words Congenital diaphragmatic hernia ; Hypoplastic lung ; Bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) ; Antenatal glucocorticoids ; Rat
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract  The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of antenatal glucocorticoid therapy on smooth-muscle-cell (SMC) DNA synthesis in the pulmonary arteries (PA) in a nitrofen-induced congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) rat model following nitrofen administration on day 9.5 of gestation. Antenatal dexamethasone (DEX) was given intraperitoneally on days 18.5 and 19.5 of gestation. Bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) was injected via a jugular vein into the dam 1 h before the fetuses were killed by cesarean section at term. The fetuses were divided into three groups: group I (n = 10): normal controls; group II (n = 10): nitrofen-induced CDH; group III (n = 10): nitrofen-induced CDH with antenatal DEX treatment. Immunostaining of the lungs with anti-BrdU antibody was obtained by a standard avidin-biotin complex method. The number of immunopositive cells in the PA media and adventitia were counted using an image analyzer and analyzed statistically. The number of BrdU-immunopositive cells in the media was significantly increased in group II (16.83 ± 3.01) compared to groups I (9.16 ± 2.20) and III (6.83 ± 1.70) (P 〈 0.01). There was no significant difference between groups I and III. The number of BrdU-immunopositive cells in the adventitia was not significantly different between the three groups. Antenatal DEX treatment inhibits SMC DNA synthesis in PA media in CDH lungs. This may be a possible mechanism by which antenatal DEX prevents structural PA changes in nitrofen-induced CDH in rats.
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  • 59
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    Pediatric surgery international 16 (2000), S. 485-487 
    ISSN: 1437-9813
    Keywords: Key words Duodenum ; Apoptosis ; Fetus ; Rat ; Duodenal atresia
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract  Duodenum is thought to go through a solid-core stage followed by recanalization during its development. This study investigates the role of apoptosis in normal duodenal development, especially during widening of the lumen, and hence, the possible role of apoptosis in duodenal atresia (DA). Twenty-four time-mated Sprague-Dawley rats were killed from day 13 to day 20 of gestation. Duodenums of 3 fetuses were chosen randomly from each rat and processed. Apoptosis was determined by the terminal deoxytransferase-mediated biotin dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) technique (ApopTag). Apoptosis count and cross-sectional areas were measured with an image analyzer (MetaMorph). The number of apoptotic cells per unit area duodenum peaked on day 15 for the mucosal/submucosal layer and on day 14 for the muscular/mesenchymal layer. The maximal number of apoptotic cells per cross-section of duodenum was between 7 and 8. The cross-sectional areas of the duodenal wall and lumen increased exponentially between day 17 and day 19 while duodenal-wall thickness remained relatively constant throughout duodenal development. The localization, timing, and intensity of apoptosis do not suggest that apoptosis is responsible for the widening of the duodenal lumen; enlargement of the lumen is related to the increase in duodenal circumference. Apoptosis thus may not be involved in the pathogenesis of DA.
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  • 60
    ISSN: 1432-2161
    Keywords: Arthritis ; Rat ; Knee ; MRI ; X-radiography ; histology
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract High-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been used to visualise the changes that occur in both soft tissue and bone during antigen-induced, monoarticular arthritis (AIMA) of the rat knee. Extensive optimisation studies were performed in order to minimise the time of the experiments and to maximise both the signal-to-noise ratio and the contrast in the MR images. The study was cross-sectional rather than longitudinal and at each of the 13 time points studied during the progression of the disease, corresponding X-radiographs and histological sections were obtained. Interpretation of the spin echo MR images was aided by the use of chemical shift-selective imaging, magnetisation transfer contrast and relaxation time experiments, as well as by correlation with the histology and X-radiography data. The MR images clearly show invasion of the synovium by an inflammatory pannus which spreads over the articular cartilage and invades the bone, leading to erosion and later remodelling. Two distinct types of bony erosion were observed: focal erosions, especially at the margins of the joint, and subchondral erosions. It is concluded that MRI provides a sensitive, non-invasive method for investigating both early-stage inflammatory changes and late-stage bony changes in the knee joints of the arthritic rat.
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  • 61
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    Virchows Archiv 425 (1994), S. 305-313 
    ISSN: 1432-2307
    Keywords: Rat ; Pancreatic beta cells ; Immunocytochemistry ; Ultrastructure ; Insulin
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract When studied morphologically in semi-thin sections in the rat in vivo, pancreatic beta cells displayed heterogeneous immunoreactivities for insulin and amylin, depending on the islet size and the intra-islet position of the beta cells. In larger islets, cortical beta cells (beta cells with contacts with all islet cell types and with the exocrine parenchyma) which are located in the periphery were more densely immunostained for insulin and amylin than medullary beta cells (beta cells with contacts only with other beta cells) which are located in the centre of the islet. Ultrastructurally, these findings were accompanied by differences in the number of secretory granules and mitochondria. Beta cells in small islets and at extra-islet sites exhibited a dense immunoreactivity. After administration of glibenclamide, immunoreactivities for insulin and amylin were diminished in a time-dependent manner, decreasing first in medullary and thereafter in cortical beta cells of larger islets. Ultrastructurally, the beta cells exhibited the typical signs of stimulation. A minority of beta cells in small islets and all beta cells in extra-islet locations remained unchanged. Thus pancreatic beta cells under basal and stimulatory conditions in vivo exhibit heterogeneity in hormone content and in ultrastructural features. These differences may represent the basis for a functional heterogeneity of the insulin secretory response of the individual beta cell both in vivo and in vitro in states of normal and impaired insulin secretion. As heterogeneity was observed only among beta cells in islets, while single beta cells surrounded by acinar cells exhibited no changes in insulin immunoreactivity, interactions between beta cells as well as between beta cells and other endocrine cells may be critical for expression of heterogeneity within the beta cell population.
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  • 62
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    Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology 349 (1994), S. 549-554 
    ISSN: 1432-1912
    Keywords: Kynurenate ; Excitatory amino acid receptor ; Vasopressin ; Chemoreceptor ; Vasopressin antagonist ; Rostral ventrolateral medulla ; Carotid body ; Rat
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract The rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM) is involved in the mediation of cardiovascular responses to peripheral chemoreceptor stimulation. To investigate whether excitatory amino acid inputs in the RVLM are related to the responses to chemoreceptor stimulation, we microinjected kynurenate, an amino acid antagonist, unilaterally into the RVLM and examined its effects on the pressor response to stimulation of carotid body chemoreceptors. Male Wistar rats were anesthetized with urethane, paralyzed and artificially ventilated. The carotid chemoreceptors were stimulated with isotonic solutions of inorganic phosphate solution. Stimulation of carotid body chemoreceptors produced increases in blood pressure. Kynurenate injected ipsilaterally but not contralaterally into the RVLM markedly inhibited the pressor response to chemoreceptor stimulation. In rats with spinal transection, stimulation of carotid body chemoreceptors also produced increases in blood pressure. The pressor response in rats with spinal transection was inhibited by intravenous injection of a vasopressin antagonist or by kynurenate injected ipsilaterally into the RVLM. Kynurenate injected into the RVLM inhibited the pressor response to NMDA, AMPA and kainate but not to acetylcholine in intact rats. These findings indicate that excitatory amino acid receptors are involved in mediating the pressor response to carotid body chemoreceptor stimulation in the rat RVLM. It appears that the chemoreceptor stimulation produces an increase in vasopressin release and the enhancement of vasopressin release is also mediated by an increase in excitatory amino acid inputs in the RVLM.
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  • 63
    ISSN: 1432-198X
    Keywords: Glomerular filtration rate ; Technetium-DTPA ; Hyperfiltration ; Uninephrectomy ; High-protein diet ; Rat
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract It has been suggested that a prolonged course of hyperfiltration could lead to progressive deterioration of renal function. In order to test this hypothesis, the following protocol was applied to 60 male Wistar rats. At 12 weeks of life, the rats were submitted to a surgical procedure: sham operation (25 rats), unilateral nephrectomy (25 rats) or 3/4 nephrectomy (10 rats). The three groups were again divided into two subgroups: one with high-protein intake (36%) and one with a low-protein intake (12%). In order to avoid any additional traumatic procedure which could shorten the animal's life, the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was measured without blood sampling, using a previously validated technique based on an image recorded by a gamma camera between the 9th and the 10th min after intravenous injection of99m technetium diethylenetriaminepentaacetate (DTPA). The sum of both kidneys and bladder activity was expressed as a percentage of the injected dose. The test was performed before surgery and every month thereafter. Six weeks after surgery, the highest filtration rate was found in the rats with “two kidneys/high-protein diet”, followed by the “two kidneys/low-protein diet”, the “one kidney/high-protein diet”, the “one kidney/low-protein diet” and the “1/2 kidney”. The overall GFR in the one kidney/high-protein diet rat and in the 1/2 kidney rat was respectively 80% and 55% of the pre-operative values. Until 109 weeks of age, the survival rate was comparable in the five groups of rats. At 109 weeks of age, non-significant changes in renal function were observed, the follow-up slopes of the different subgroups being more or less parallel. At that age, the lesions of glomerular sclerosis were focal and discrete, without significant differences in the five groups.
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  • 64
    ISSN: 1432-1912
    Keywords: Nitric oxide ; NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester ; Kidney ; Heart ; Hypertension ; Renal haemodynamics ; Renin-angiotensin system ; Rat
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract Inhibition of the angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) with ramipril was studied in male Wistar rats during long-term inhibition of nitric oxide (NO) synthase by NG-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (l-NAME). Chronic treatment with l-NAME in a dose of 25 mg/kg per day over 6 weeks caused myocardial hypertrophy and a significant increase in systolic blood pressure (245 ± 16 mmHg) as compared to controls (155+4 mmHg). Animals receiving simultaneously l-NAME and ramipril were protected against blood pressure increase and partially against myocardial hypertrophy. L-NAME caused a significant reduction in glomerular filtration rate (GFR: 2.56+0.73 ml·kg−1·min−1) and renal plasma flow (RPF: 6.93±1.70ml·kg−1·min−1) as compared to control (GFR: 7.29±0.69, RPF: 21.36±2.33ml·kg−1·min−1). Addition of ramipril prevented l-NAME-induced reduction in GFR and renal plasma flow. l-NAME produced an elevation in urinary protein excretion and serum creatinine and a decrease in potassium excretion which was antagonised by ramipril. L-NAME-induced increase in plasma renin activity (PRA) was further elevated with ramipril treatment. Isolated hearts from rats treated with l-NAME showed increased post-ischaemic reperfusion injuries. Compared to controls duration of ventricular fibrillation was increased and coronary flow reduced. During ischaemia the cytosolic enzymes lactate dehydrogenase and creatine kinase, as well as lactate in the venous effluent were increased. Myocardial tissue values of glycogen, ATP, and creatine phosphate were decreased, whereas lactate was increased. Coadministration of ramipril reversed these effects. l-NAME treatment reduced the cyclic GMP content in urine and renal arteries, and was not changed by additional ramipril-treatment. In the kidney hyalinosis of arterioles and of glomerular capillaries, as well as mesangial expansion and tubular atrophies seen after long-term inhibition of NO synthase were reduced by coadministration of ramipril. In conclusion, long-term ACE inhibition by ramipril prevented l-NAME-induced hypertension and cardiac hypertrophy, and attenuated functional and morphological changes in the kidneys. In addition, cardiac-dynamic and -metabolic deterioration induced by L-NAME was normalised by co-treatment with ramipril.
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  • 65
    ISSN: 1432-1912
    Keywords: Halothane ; Vanoxerine ; GBR 12909 ; d-Amphetamine ; Dopamine uptake ; Microdialysis ; Rat
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract The anesthetic, isoflurane, has been shown to potentiate the ability of the dopamine (DA)-uptake inhibitor, nomifensine, to increase the brain interstitial dopamine level ([DA]e). Since the effect of the more commenly used anesthetic, halothane, on this system is unknown, we determined [DA]e by microdialysis in the striatum of rats, conscious or anesthetized with halothane, in the presence of the more selective DA uptake inhibitor, vanoxerine (GBR 12909), or the DA releaser, d-amphetamine. Basal [DA]e was not changed by halothane. However, in halothane-anesthetized rats, the vanoxerine (3 mg/kg i.v.)-induced DA response increased severalfold compared to the response in conscious rats. The initial peak response to d-amphetamine (1 mg/kg i.v.) did not change, but the late response (1–3 h after injection) was augmented in anesthetized rats. Halothane is believed to increase firing of DA neurons in the substantia nigra and, hence, to release striatal DA. We hypothesize that [DA]e, is maintained at a normal level during the increased firing by equally increased activity of the DA transporter. However, when the DA transporter is blocked by vanoxerine, the increased DA release is unimpaired and [DA]e rises.
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  • 66
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    Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology 350 (1994), S. 393-397 
    ISSN: 1432-1912
    Keywords: Seizures ; Development ; Rat ; Benzodiazepine ; Inverse agonist
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract An inverse benzodiazepine receptor agonist Ro 19-4603, administered intraperitoneally, was found to induce two types of motor seizures, i.e. minimal, predominantly clonic and major, generalized tonic-clonic, in rats at all developmental stages studied (7, 12, 18 and 25 days old). The developmental profile of the two types of seizure was different. Minimal seizures could be induced easily in the two youngest groups, whereas there were no marked differences in the induction of major seizures between the age groups. A lethal outcome was more common in 18- and 25-day-old rats than in younger animals. The convulsant action of the benzodiazepine agonist/inverse agonist Ro 19-4603 shows only quantitative changes during post-natal development in the rat.
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  • 67
    ISSN: 1432-1750
    Keywords: Rat ; DNA ; mRNA ; Collagen ; Fibronectin ; c-myc
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract Continuous exposure of rats to ozone has been shown to result in lung epithelial damage, inflammation, and subsequent increases in collagen content. The main goal of this study was to identify the earliest time point of altered extracellular matrix protein gene expression by utilizing Northern blot analyses of rat lungs continuously exposed to 1.0 ppm ozone for 14 days. An early increase of steady-state fibronectin mRNA levels was observed at 2 days of exposure, prior to the time point of increased type I collagen mRNA, which was seen at 4 days. This increased level of type I collagen mRNA preceded measurable changes in total lung collagen content, observed at 7 days. In addition, peak levels of the growth-related proto-oncogene c-myc mRNA could be correlated with maximal increases of lung DNA content, although the initial increase in c-myc mRNA preceded measurable changes of total lung DNA. The use of specific cDNA probes for measuring altered gene expression can be useful for defining the early cellular and molecular events in ozone-induced lung injury.
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  • 68
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    Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology 349 (1994), S. 61-65 
    ISSN: 1432-1912
    Keywords: AMPA receptor ; NBQX ; GYKI 52466 ; Dizocilpine ; Quinpirole ; l-DOPA ; Catalepsy ; Rat
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract The AMPA antagonists NBQX (2.5, 5, 10 mg/kg) and GYKI 52466 (4.8, 8 mg/kg) were investigated in haloperidol (0.5 mg/kg)-induced catalepsy in the rat. The effects of AMPA antagonists administered either alone or in combination with the noncompetitive NMDA antagonist dizocilpine (0.02 mg/kg), with the dopamine D-2 agonist quinpirole (1 mg/kg) or with L-DOPA (50, 100 mg/kg plus benserazide) were tested. NBQX or GYKI 52466 did not exert anticataleptic effects, neither alone nor in combination with dizocilpine, quinpirole or l-DOPA. Thus, in the rat inhibition of AMPA receptors with NBQX or GYKI 52466 does not have effects predictive for an antiparkinsonian potential.
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  • 69
    ISSN: 1432-1440
    Keywords: Cerebral blood flow ; Carotid stenosis ; Microspheres ; Ventricular tachycardia ; Rat
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of hypotensive tachycardias on cerebral blood flow (CBF) in the presence of significant carotid stenosis. The experiments were performed in 57 spontaneously breathing rats during arterial normoxia and normocapnia anesthetized with thiobarbital. CBF was determined with radio-labeled microspheres during control conditions (normofrequent sinus rhythm, normotension; group A; n = 15), during high-rate left ventricular pacing (660–840 ppm) at normotension (group B1; n = 13), borderline hypotension (group B2; n = 15) and severe hypotension (group B3; n = 7). In addition, CBF measurements were performed during borderline hypotension induced by hemorrhage (group C; n = 7). Global CBF was 1.09 ± 0.29 ml g−1 min−1 in group A, 0.93 ± 0.40 in group B1, 0.68 ± 0.31 in group B2 (P 〈 0.05 vs. A), 0.42 ± 0.16 in group B3 (P 〈 0.05 vs. A) and 0.83 ± 0.2 in group C. The highest CBF values were found in the cerebellum (A; 1.43 ± 0.5 ml g−1 min−) and the lowest in the postocclusive tissue of the ipsilateral hemisphere (A; 0.74 ± 0.2 ml g−1 min−1). In all groups a 15% mean CBF reduction in the right hemispherical cerebrum in comparison to the left hemisphere was observed (P 〈 0.01). In contrast, hemispherical CBF of the cerebellum did not differ. The CBF blood pressure relationship shifted to lower CBF values, the threshold of CBF regulation shifted to higher blood pressure values in the tissue regions distal to the occluded vessel during hypotensive tachycardias. One carotid artery occlusion and high rate ventricular pacing seem to be a reliable model for quantifying cerebral hemodynamics during arrhythmias in the presence of carotid stenoses. Using this experimental approach it was demonstrated that hypotensive tachycardias and obstructions within the ectracranial carotid vascular bed such as arterial vessel stenoses and occlusions have an additive effect on CBF reduction.
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  • 70
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    Cancer chemotherapy and pharmacology 35 (1994), S. 213-218 
    ISSN: 1432-0843
    Keywords: Key words Anthracyclines ; Daunorubicin ; Daunorubicinol ; Pharmacokinetics ; Rat ; Tissue concentrations
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract  Recent evidence suggests that 13-hydroxy metabolites of anthracyclines may contribute to cardiotoxicity. This study was designed to determine the pharmacokinetics of daunorubicin and the 13-hydroxy metabolite daunorubicinol in plasma and tissues, including the heart. Fisher 344 rats received 5 mg kg–1 daunorubicin i.v. by bolus injection. Rats were killed at selected intervals for up to 1 week after daunorubicin administration for determination of concentrations of daunorubicin and daunorubicinol in the plasma, heart, liver, kidney, lung, and skeletal muscle. Peak concentrations of daunorubicin were higher than those of daunorubicinol in the plasma (133 ± 7 versus 36 ± 2 ng ml–1; P 〈 0.05), heart (15.2 ± 1.4 versus 3.4 ± 0.4 μg g–1; P 〈 0.05), and other tissues. However, the apparent elimination half-life of daunorubicinol was longer than that of daunorubicin in most tissues, including the plasma (23.1 versus 14.5 h) and heart (38.5 versus 19.3 h). In addition, areas under the concentration/time curves (AUC∞) obtained for daunorubicinol exceeded those found for daunorubicin in almost all tissues, with the ratios being 1.9 in plasma and 1.7 in the heart. The ratio of daunorubicinol to daunorubicin concentrations increased dramatically with time from 〈1 at up to 1 h to 87 at 168 h in cardiac tissue. Thus, following daunorubicin injection, cumulative exposure (AUC∞) to daunorubicinol was greater than that to daunorubicin in the plasma and heart. If daunorubicinol has equivalent or greater potency than daunorubicin in causing impairment of myocardial function, it may make an important contribution to the pathogenesis of cardiotoxicity.
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  • 71
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    Calcified tissue international 54 (1994), S. 150-154 
    ISSN: 1432-0827
    Keywords: Vitamin D analog ; KH1060 ; Kidney transplantation ; Rat
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Medicine , Physics
    Notes: Abstract KH1060 is a new 20-epi-vitamin D3 analog, which has exerted a considerable immunosuppressive potency in vitro. We have tested in vivo the effect of KH1060 on the suppression of renal allograft rejection in the rat. Allogenic kidney transplantation from DA donor rats to Lewis recipient rats treated intraperitoneally with KH1060 in doses from 0.2 to 6 μg/kg/day, or saline (placebo group), or CyA 10 mg/kg/day for 10 days (positive control group), was performed. Median graft survival time in KH1060-treated groups was 7–9 days, in the placebo group 6 days, whereas CyA led to long-term graft survival, 34 days in 50% of rats and 〉100 days in 50% of rats. In vivo, KH1060 failed to prolong renal allograft survival considerably, and led to development of hypercalcemia. Our results stress the existence of a large discrepancy between the in vitro and in vivo immunoregulatory effects of this vitamin D analog.
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  • 72
    ISSN: 1432-0827
    Keywords: Loading ; Strain ; Modeling ; Rat ; Ulna
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Medicine , Physics
    Notes: Abstract Adaptive changes in bone modeling in response to noninvasive, cyclic axial loading of the rat ulna were compared with those using 4-point bending of the tibia. Twenty cycles daily of 4-point bending for 10 days were applied to rat tibiae through loading points 23 and 11 mm apart. Control bones received nonbending loads through loading points 11 mm apart. As woven bone was produced in both situations, any strain-related response was confounded by the response to direct periosteal pressure. Four-point bending is not, therefore, an ideal mode of loading for the investigation of strain-related adaptive modeling. The ulna's adaptive response to daily axial loading over 9 days was investigated in 30 rats. Groups 1–3 were loaded for 1200 cycles: Group 1 at 10 Hz and 20 N, Group 2 at 10 Hz and 15 N, and Group 3 at 20 Hz and 15 N. Groups 4 and 5 received 12,000 cycles of 20 N and 15 N at 10 Hz. Groups 1 and 4 showed a similar amount of new bone formation. Group 4 showed the same pattern of response but in reduced amount. The responses in Groups 2 and 3 were either small or absent. Strains were measured with single-element, miniature strain gauges bonded around the circumference of dissected bones. The 20 N loading induced peak strains of 3500–4500 μstrain. The width of the periosteal new bone response was proportional to the longitudinal strain at each point around the bone's circumference. It appears that when a bone is loaded in a normal strain distribution, an osteogenic response occurs when peak physiological strains are exceeded. In this situation the amount of new bone formed at each location is proportional to the local surface strain. Cycle numbers between 1200 and 12,000, and cycle frequencies between 10 and 20 Hz have no effect on the bone's adaptive response.
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  • 73
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    Cancer chemotherapy and pharmacology 34 (1994), S. 297-301 
    ISSN: 1432-0843
    Keywords: Microdialysis ; Methotrexate ; Tissue ; Rat
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract The feasibility of using a microdialysis technique to obtain pharmacokinetic data on tissue exposure to methotrexate (MTX) was investigated. Microdialysis probes were implanted in the jugular vein, femoral muscle, and liver ofanesthetized male Wistar rats. MTX (100 mg/kg) was given as a bolus injection through an indwelling venous catheter, and blood samples were obtained through a second venous access and by microdialysis for a total of 6 h. Heparinized plasma, ultrafiltered plasma, and microdialysis effluent from tissue and venous probes were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography. Centrifugal ultrafiltration of rat plasma spiked in vitro with MTX (1–100 μM) revealed a mean binding to plasma proteins of 21%. In vitro microdialysis of this spiked plasma resulted in 23% relative recovery of the unbound fraction. In rats receiving MTX, plasma protein binding was 23% and the relative drug recovery as assessed with venous microdialysis probes was 18%. Plotting of unbound (i.e., ultrafiltrate) MTX concentrations in the blood against venous microdialysis perfusate values in the blood gave a good linear correlation with a coefficient of correlation (r 2) of 0.98. There was also a linear correlation between the total MTX concentrations in venous blood and the drug levels in microdialysis samples from muscle and liver (r 2=0.93 and 0.74, respectively). Area under the curve estimations were consistent with an MTX exposure of 30% and 46% for the muscle and liver as compared with the circulation. The present study demonstrates that the microdialysis technique can provide reproducible data on tissue exposure to MTX in an animal model and indicates that the methodology is adaptable to clinical settings.
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  • 74
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    Calcified tissue international 55 (1994), S. 33-37 
    ISSN: 1432-0827
    Keywords: Osteoporosis ; Rat ; Orchidectomy ; Exercise ; Strength
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Medicine , Physics
    Notes: Abstract The effect of exercise on castration-induced osteoporosis in 3-month-old male rats weighing 264±4 g at the beginning of the experiment was studied. A testosterone deficiency was induced by orchidectomy (ORC), and the exercise group ran 10 m/minute for 1 hour a day on a treadmill at 0% grade. There were seven groups of eight rats (n=56) randomized into a control group killed at time 0, and sham, ORC and ORC and exercise groups killed at 4 and 8 weeks. ORC reduced body weight gain (with analysis of variance (ANOVA) P〈0.001), and at 4 weeks the body weight was 343±14 g in ORC group and 301±4 g in the ORC and exercise group (P〈0.01). The increase in femoral length was slower in the ORC+exercise groups. The ash weight of the tibia did not decrease significantly after ORC or ORC+ exercise. ORC did not affect 45Ca incorporation, but exercise slightly increased it in the whole tibia 8 weeks after ORC (with ANOVA P=0.057). ORC had significantly lowered the trabecular bone volume in the secondary spongiosa of the distal femur at 4 and 8 weeks, and exercise did not prevent this. This is an opposite finding to our previous study with ovariectomized female rats [12]. ORC also significantly had reduced the osteoblast-lined trabecular bone surface and the number of osteoclasts by 8 weeks after the operation. Exercise increased the osteoblast-lined surface and the number of osteoclasts. The mechanical strength of the femoral neck also was reduced after ORC and this was not prevented by exercise either. In conclusion, ORC reduces bone growth and turnover which leads to osteopenia in growing rats. Moderate treadmill exercise does not reverse the ORC-induced loss of trabecular bone and the reduced mechanical strength of the femoral neck, although it has a positive effect on the osteoblast and osteoclast indices and on calcium incorporation into bone.
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  • 75
    ISSN: 1432-0827
    Keywords: Bone mechanics ; Bone composition ; Vitamin D3 ; Corticosteroid ; Rat
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Medicine , Physics
    Notes: Abstract The effects of 1α-vitamin D3 were studied for 6 months in 2-month-old male and female rats on a moderately low calcium diet with or without low-dose prednisolone treatment. Both cortical bone mechanical and biochemical properties were examined. Femoral bone specimens were subjected to torsional loading tests. With age, bone strength and stiffness increased in both sexes, accompanied by an increased degree of mineralization (bone ash and calcium concentrations). During growth, strength and stiffness increased more in male than in female rats. When 1α-vitamin D3 (0.5 μg/kg/day) was given alone, bone mechanical competence improved significantly whereas insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) and calcium concentrations in the bone matrix were significantly reduced. Treatment with low-dose prednisolone (0.5 mg/kg/day) alone did not influence bone mechanical properties compared with intact control rats (without prednisolone) although a significant reduction in calcium concentration and an increased phosphorus concentration were measured. A combined therapy with prednisolone and 1α-vitamin D3 significantly increased bone strength, toughness, and stiffness compared with control bones. Both mineralization degree (ash and calcium concentration) and IGF-I concentration were decreased. We conclude that (1) mechanical properties of rat cortical bones improve relatively more in males compared with agematched females during growth which is related to increased bone mass and size, (2) low-dose prednisolone treatment does not change mechanical properties in males, and altered them only nonsignificantly in females despite a change in mineralization degree in both sexes; (3) treatment with 1α-vitamin D3 results in a consistent increase in mechanical competence of the bone accompanied by a significant decrease in IGF-I concentration in the bone matrix.
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  • 76
    ISSN: 1432-0568
    Keywords: Neuropeptides ; Visual cortex ; Somatosensory cortex ; Auditory cortex ; Rat
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract The expression of somatostatin mRNA within the neocortex of the rat was examined by in situ hybridization with an alkaline phosphatase-labeled probe. We sought to determine whether parcellation of the neocortex could be based upon the number and laminar location of the hybridized cells. Our investigation demonstrated that the boundaries of the neocortical areas can be determined by the distribution pattern of neurons expressing somatostatin mRNA. Few hybridized cells were located within layer IV, and this sparsity of cells within their wide granular layer marked the primary sensory areas. The occipital region was stratified, with insensely labeled cells in layers II/III and VI and faintly labeled cells in layer V. The parietal region carried a similar stratification, but more space between intensely labeled cells in layers III and V and between layers V and VI gave the region a three-tiered appearance. The temporal region displayed intensely labeled cells dispersed throughout layers III and VI and many in layer V as well as those faintly labeled without any breaks between the laminae. The distribution of the cells hybridized for somatostatin mRNA formed two configurations within the frontal region. It was difficult to identify any lamination in the first area, whereas the second area demonstrated a stratification reminiscent of the parietal region, but with only two tiers. The conclusion of the investigation is that in situ hybridization for somatostatin mRNA provides an exceptional means by which the areal boundaries within the neocortex may be drawn.
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  • 77
    ISSN: 1432-0533
    Keywords: Traumatic brain injury ; Hypothermia Histopathology ; Fluid percussion ; Rat ; Contusion
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract The purposes of this study were (1) to document the histopathological consequences of moderate traumatic brain injury (TBI) in anesthetized Sprague-Dawley rats, and (2) to determine whether posttraumatic brain hypothermia (30°C) would protect histopathologically. Twenty-four hours prior to TBI, the fluid percussion interface was positioned over the right cerebral cortex. On the 2nd day, fasted rats were anesthetized with 70% nitrous oxide, 1% halothane, and 30% oxygen. Under controlled physiological conditions and normothermic brain temperature (37.5°C), rats were injured with a fluid percussion pulse ranging from 1.7 to 2.2 atmospheres. In one group, brain temperature was maintained at normothermic levels for 3 h after injury. In a second group, brain temperature was reduced to 30°C at 5 min post-trauma and maintained for 3 h. Three days after TBI, brains were perfusion-fixed for routine histopathological analysis. In the normothermic group, damage at the site of impact was seen in only one of nine rats. In contrast, all normothermic animals displayed necrotic neurons within ipsilateral cortical regions lateral and remote from the impact site. Intracerebral hemorrhagic contusions were present in all rats at the gray-white interface underlying the injured cortical areas. Selective neuronal necrosis was also present within the CA3 and CA4 hippocampal subsectors and thalamus. Post-traumatic brain hypothermia significantly reduced the overall sum of necrotic cortical neurons (519±122 vs 952±130, mean ±SE, P=0.03, Kruskal-Wallis test) as well as contusion volume (0.50±0.14 vs 2.14±0.71 mm3, P=0.004). These data document a consistent pattern of histopathological vulnerability following normothermic TBI and demonstrate hypothermic protection in the post-traumatic setting.
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  • 78
    ISSN: 1432-0533
    Keywords: Rat ; Chronic cerebral hypoperfusion ; Glial activation ; White matter changes
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract Activation of glial cells and white matter changes (rarefaction of the white matter) induced in the rat brain by permanent bilateral occlusion of the commom carotid arteries were immunohistochemically investigated up to 90 days. One day after ligation of the arteries, expression of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I antigen in microglia increased in the white matter including the optic nerve, optic tract, corpus callosum, internal capsule, anterior commissure and traversing fiber bundles of the caudoputamen. After 3 days of occlusion, MHC class I antigen was still elevated and in addition MHC class II antigen and leukocyte common antigen were up-regulated in the microglia in these same regions. Astroglia, labeled with glial fibrillary acidic protein, increased in number in these regions after 7 days of occlusion. A few lymphocytes, labeled with CD4 or CD8 antibodies, were scattered in the neural parenchyma 1 h after occlusion. Activation of glial cells and infiltration of lymphocytes persisted after 90 days of occlusion in the white matter and the retinofugal pathway. However, cellular activation and infiltration in microinfarcts of the gray matter was less extensive and was substantially diminished 30 days after occlusion. The white matter changes were most intense in the optic nerve and optic tract, moderate in the medial part of the corpus callosum, internal capsule and anterior commissure, and slight in the fiber bundles of the caudoputamen. These results indicated that chronic cerebral hypoperfusion induced glial activation preferentially in the white matter. This activation seemed to be an early indicator of the subsequent changes in the white matter.
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  • 79
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    Anatomy and embryology 189 (1994), S. 361-373 
    ISSN: 1432-0568
    Keywords: Postnatal development ; Neuropeptide Y ; Calcitonin gene-related peptide ; Urinary bladder ; Rat
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract The postnatal development of neuropeptide Y- and calcitonin gene-related peptide-immunoreactive (NPY-IR and CGRP-IR) nerve fibers in the rat urinary bladder was investigated using whole-mount preparations and cryostat sections. In newborn and 3-day-old rats, many NPY-IR nerve fibers were observed in the subserous and muscle layers. Many NPY-IR nerve cell bodies clustered at branching points of the subserous nerve bundles. Within 4 weeks after birth, these cell bodies drastically decreased in number and spread along the bundles, although the number of NPY-IR nerve fibers increased moderately. In contrast, CGRP-IR nerve fibers in newborn and 3-day-old rats were less developed, and no CGRP-IR nerve cell body was observed in any rat. However, CGRP-IR nerve fiber distribution in the urinary tissues conspicuously increased within 4 weeks after birth. Especially, an increase of the infraepithelial fibers showing a meshwork appearance was prominent in the fundus and corpus of the bladder. The infra- and intraepithelial CGRP-IR nerve meshwork of the ventral wall was more dense than that of the trigone. At 4 weeks, NPY-IR and CGRP-IR nerves were similar to those of the adult rat (8–12 weeks old). The present study suggests a correlation between the development of the peripheral nervous system in the urinary bladder and maturation of micturition behavior in the rat.
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  • 80
    ISSN: 1432-0533
    Keywords: KeyWordsHypoxia-ischemia ; Rat ; Perinatology Cerebral cortex ; Immunocytochemistry
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract A former study indicated that hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy in rat sustained during early postnatal life may result in permanent epileptic activity in the baseline electroencephalogram. We, therefore, investigated whether the presumed higher firing frequency and metabolic activity of neurons in such hypoxia-damaged cortical areas would be reflected by an enhanced light microscopic immunoreactivity of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), the two isoforms of glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD67 and GAD65), the mitochondrial enzymes cytochrome c oxidase and ATP synthase, and/or glial fibrillary acid, protein (GFAP). To that end rat pups, 12–13 days of age, were unilaterally exposed to hypoxic-ischemic conditions and, after a survival period of 2 and 6--e2--12 months, respectively, killed by perfusion fixation. After dissection of the brain, coronal vibratome sections of animals showing cortical damage were immunostained for the presence of the above-mentioned antigens. Subsequent qualitative analysis revealed that the surroundings of cortical infarctions were unambiguously characterized by a disordered neural network containing numerous nerve cells, fibers and/or endings showing an enhanced immunoreactivity for GABA, both isoforms of glutamic acid decarboxylase, and cytochrome c oxidase and ATP synthase, while the astrocytes showed an enhanced immunoreactivity for GFAP. The diverse patterns of enhanced immunoreactivity suggested, furthermore, a wider low-to-high range of metabolic activities in both excitatory and inhibitory neurons.
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  • 81
    ISSN: 1432-0533
    Keywords: Hypoxia-ischemia ; Rat ; Perinatology ; Cerebral cortex ; Immunocytochemistry
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract A former study indicated that hypoxicischemic encephalopathy in rat sustained during early postnatal life may result in permanent epileptic activity in the baseline electroencephalogram. We, therefore, investigated whether the presumed higher firing frequency and metabolic activity of neurons in such hypoxia-damaged cortical areas would be reflected by an enhanced light microscopic immunoreactivity of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), the two isoforms of glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD67 and GAD65), the mitochondrial enzymes cytochrome c oxidase and ATP synthase, and/or glial fibrillary acidic, protein (GFAP). To that end rat pups, 12–13 days of age, were unilaterally exposed to hypoxic-ischemic conditions and, after a survival period of 2 and 61/2 months, respectively, killed by perfusion fixation. After dissection of the brain, coronal vibratome sections of animals showing cortical damage were immunostained for the presence of the abovementioned antigens. Subsequent qualitative analysis revealed that the surroundings of cortical infarctions were unambiguously characterized by a disordered neural network containing numerous nerve cells, fibers and/or endings showing an enhanced immunoreactivity for GABA, both isoforms of glutamic acid decarboxylase, and cytochrome c oxidase and ATP synthase, while the astrocytes showed an enhanced immunoreactivity for GFAP. The diverse patterns of enhanced immunoreactivity suggested, furthermore, a wider low-to-high range of metabolic activities in both excitatory and inhibitory neurons.
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  • 82
    ISSN: 1432-0533
    Keywords: Ischemia ; Hypothermia ; Brain ; Immature ; Rat
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract We describe a method of focal cooling of the head and its effects on hypoxic-ischemic cerebral damage in neonatal rat. Focal cooling of the head was obtained by positioning a catheter under the scalp ipsilateral to the ligated common carotid artery and by running cold water through the catheter during 2 h of systemic hypoxia. Hypoxia was produced in neonatal rats by breathing 8% oxygen for 2 h in a 37°C chamber. Animals underwent focal cooling with ipsilateral scalp temperatures ranging from 22°C to 35°C. Temperature recordings from the ipsilateral scalp, cerebral hemisphere (dorsal hippocampus) and core (rectal) were obtained. The results suggest that the method is effective in cooling of brain and also to a lesser extent in lowering of the core temperature. At a mean scalp temperature of 28°C, mean hippocampal temperature in hypoxic rat was 29.5°C and mean core temperature in hypoxic rat was 32.8°C. At a lower scalp temperature of 22°C, mean hippocampal temperature in hypoxic rat was 24.7°C and mean core temperature was 31.3°C. Neuropathologic examination 3–4 days following hypoxia-ischemia showed that focal cooling with a scalp temperature of lower than 28°C completely protected from brain damage, and that there was a trend towards greater damage with higher scalp temperatures.
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  • 83
    ISSN: 1432-0533
    Keywords: KeyWordsIschemia ; Hypothermia ; Brain Immature ; Rat
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract We describe a method of focal cooling of the head and its effects on hypoxic-ischemic cerebral damage in neonatal rat. Focal cooling of the head was obtained by positioning a catheter under the scalp ipsilateral to the ligated common carotid artery and by running cold water through the catheter during 2 h of systemic hypoxia. Hypoxia was produced in neonatal rats by breathing 8   % oxygen for 2 h in a 37 °C chamber. Animals underwent focal cooling with ipsilateral scalp temperatures ranging from 22 °C to 35 °C. Temperature recordings from the ipsilateral scalp, cerebral hemisphere (dorsal hippocampus) and core (rectal) were obtained. The results suggest that the method is effective in cooling of brain and also to a lesser extent in lowering of the core temperature. At a mean scalp temperature of 28 °C, mean hippocampal temperature in hypoxic rat was 29.5 °C and mean core temperature in hypoxic rat was 32.8 °C. At a lower scalp temperature of 22 °C, mean hippocampal temperature in hypoxic rat was 24.7 °C and mean core temperature was 31.3 °C. Neuropathologic examination 3–4 days following hypoxia-ischemia showed that focal cooling with a scalp temperature of lower than 28 °C completely protected from brain damage, and that there was a trend towards greater damage with higher scalp temperatures.
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  • 84
    ISSN: 1432-0568
    Keywords: Acetylcholinesterase ; HNK-1 ; Heart ; Morphogenesis ; Rat
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity was topographically investigated in the presumptive cardiac conduction tissue regions visualized by HNK-1 immunoreactivity in rat embryos, and AChE-positive cells were examined with the electron microscope. On embryonic day (ED) 14.5, when HNK-1 was most intensely visualized, AChE activity could not be detected enzyme-histochemically in the conduction tissue regions, except in the ventricular trabeculae and part of the AV node. On ED 16.5, however, the AChE activity was clearly demonstrated in some parts of the developing conduction tissue. One exception was the AV node region, where an AChE-positive area was in close proximity to an area showing HNK-1 immunoreactivity but did not overlap. Furthermore, AChE activity was demonstrated predominantly in the ventricular trabeculae, including cardiac myocytes, but was rather weak in the atrium. With the electron microscope, AChE reaction products were observed predominantly intracellulary in both developing conduction tissue cells and developing ordinary myocytes, and no reactivity was found in neuronal components. From ED 18.5 until birth, both AChE activity and HNK-1 immunoreactivity faded away in the conduction tissue. Thus, transient AChE activity in the embryonic heart seems to be different from the developing adult form and may be related to a morphogenetic function in embryonic tissues, as proposed by other authors.
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  • 85
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    Anatomy and embryology 189 (1994), S. 393-399 
    ISSN: 1432-0568
    Keywords: Rat ; Myelinated axons ; C-fibers ; Skin ; Electron microscopy
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract This study examines the fiber composition of two nerves projecting to the rat hindpaw: the lateral plantar nerve (LPN), which innervates plantar glabrous skin and some plantar muscles, and the foot branch of the superficial peroneal nerve (fSPN), which projects to dorsal hairy skin. The LPN contains 872 (33%) myelinated axons with a size range of 1–7 μm and a peak at 4 μm. Some 200 of the myelinated axons are muscle efferents. There are 1,969 (67%) C-fibers. After neonatal capsaicin treatment, the number of C-fibers in the LPN is 61% below the normal level, but it is not significantly different from control levels after chemical sympathectomy with guanethidine. The fSPN is composed of 470 (20%) myelinated axons with a size range similar to that in the LPN. Virtually all myelinated fibers are sensory. There are 1,791 (80%) C-fibers. In neonatally capsaicin-treated animals, the occurrence of C-fibers is 65% below control levels. In chemically sympathectomized animals, the number of C-fibers in the fSPN is normal. This description of the fiber composition of the LPN and the fSPN in the rat provides a basis for future experimental studies.
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  • 86
    ISSN: 1420-908X
    Keywords: Lipopolysaccharide ; Interleukin 13 ; Pyrexia ; Flezelastine ; Rat
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract The effects of the novel antiasthmatic/antiallergic compound flezelastine on LPS-induced actions were investigatedin vitro andin vivo. In monocytes, IL-1β generation stimulated by LPS was inhibited dose dependently.In vivo, LPS-induced fever in rats, which is at least partly driven by the release of IL-1β, was also inhibited by flezelastine. These findings suggest that flezelastine inhibits IL-1 synthesis and/or releasein vitro andin vivo.
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  • 87
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    Journal of biomedical science 1 (1994), S. 201-203 
    ISSN: 1423-0127
    Keywords: Hypertension ; Eicosanoid ; Rat ; Genetics ; Kidney
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract The present paper reviews the evidence for a possible involvement of renal eicosanoids in the pathophysiology of high blood pressure in genetically hypertensive rats of the Lyon strain. Both in vivo and in vitro experiments suggest that an increased ability to synthesize the vasoconstrictor prostaglandin H2 and/or thromboxane A2 in renal vessels (1) acts as an autocrine amplifier of pressor agents and (2) may contribute to resetting the pressure natriuresis curve which is a prerequisite for the development and maintenance of hypertension.
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  • 88
    ISSN: 1432-0851
    Keywords: Lymphokine-activated killer activity ; Interleukin-2 ; 2-Mercaptoethanol ; Macrophages/monocytes ; Rat
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract In the present study we investigated the inhibition of interleukin-2(IL-2)-induced lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) activity in rat splenocyte cultures in relation to the presence of 2-mercaptoethanol and macrophages/monocytes. The presence of 2-mercaptoethanol is necessary for induction of LAK activity in rat splenocyte cultures. Removal of macrophages/monocytes from rat splenocytes by plastic or nylon-wool adherence, or iron ingestion resulted in LAK induction by IL-2 in the absence of 2-mercaptoethanol. The effect of macrophages/monocytes on LAK activity was also studied in transwell co-cultures. In the absence of 2-mercaptoethanol, the induction of LAK activity was very low in macrophage/monocyte-depleted splenocytes with macrophages/monocytes in the upper compartment of a transwell culture. In contrast, in the presence of 2-mercaptoethanol a high level of LAK activity was induced in these transwell cultures, showing that 2-mercaptoethanol abolished the LAK-inhibiting capacity of macrophages/monocytes. In addition, established LAK activity was strongly inhibited when, after LAK induction, splenocytes were cultured with supernatant of unfractionated splenocytes, which were cultured with IL-2 but in the absence of 2-mercaptoethanol. Addition of 2-mercaptoethanol abrogated the inhibiting effect of the supernatant completely. These experiments demonstrate that rat macrophages/monocytes produce 2-mercaptoethanolsensitive soluble LAK-inhibiting factors. Ultrafiltration of conditioned culture medium of macrophages/monocytes revealed the presence of LAK-inhibiting factors larger than 10 kDa. We concluded that 2-mercaptoethanol-sensitive soluble factors produced by macrophages/monocytes determine the level of LAK induction in rat splenocyte cultures.
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  • 89
    ISSN: 1432-0738
    Keywords: Key words Tobacco-specific nitrosamine ; 4-(Methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone ; [4-(Methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)but-1-yl]- β-O-d-glucosiduronic acid ; Rat ; Urine ; Metabolism
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract  Besides 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol (NNAL), [4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)but-1-yl]-β-O-d-glucosiduronic acid (NNAL-Glu) is another important metabolite of the tobacco-specific nitrosamine 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK) which has been detected in the urine of tobacco users and non-smokers heavily exposed to sidestream cigarette smoke. In order to evaluate the toxicological significance of NNAL-Glu formation and excretion, the metabolism of [5-3H]-NNAL-Glu was studied in rats. Five male F344 rats were administered 3.7 mg/kg [5-3H]-NNAL-Glu by i.v. injection and the metabolites in urine analysed by HPLC. More than 90% of the radioactivity was excreted in urine within the first 24 h. Unchanged NNAL-Glu accounted for 81.2±3.1% of the total radioactivity; the remaining part of the dose appears to be deconjugated resulting in the urinary excretion of NNAL (3.6±1.7%) and its α-hydroxylation (11.5±2.2%) and N-oxidation (3.6±1.6%) products. The presence of α-hydroxylation products of NNAL-Glu in urine suggests that this NNK metabolite may be activated in vivo to carcinogenic intermediates.
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  • 90
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    Experimental brain research 98 (1994), S. 391-400 
    ISSN: 1432-1106
    Keywords: Optokinetic nystagmus ; Vestibulo-ocular reflex ; Frontal eye field ; Hemineglect ; Rat
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract Spontaneous saccadic orientation and compensatory eye movements in response to optokinetic and vestibular velocity steps were studied in head-restrained, pigmented rats before and 1–2 weeks after unilateral ablation of the frontal eye field (FEF). One group of rats (n=5) received a deep lesion and another group of rats (n=4) received a superficial lesion of the left FEF. Postoperative response parameters such as the duration of slow buildup of eye velocity, the steady state velocity gain, the duration of optokinetic afternystagmus and of per- and postrotatory vestibular nystagmus were similar in the two groups of rats and did not differ from preoperative values measured in the same individuals. Superimposed upon these velocity components of nystagmus was a transient orienting response that expressed itself by a shift of the beating field of nystagmus in quick phase direction (gaze shift). The amplitudes of this gaze shift in quick phase direction were asymmetric in rats with a deep FEF lesion. Gaze shift amplitudes toward the side of the lesion were significantly enhanced and gaze shift amplitudes toward the intact side were significantly reduced. Similar asymmetries were observed in the distribution of spontaneous orienting movements of these rats in the light. Spontaneous saccadic eye movements of the same animals in darkness, however, were symmetric in amplitude to either side. These deficits suggest a partial sensory hemineglect after a deep unilateral lesion of the FEF and an involvement of this structure in the selective attention for targets in visual space. Thus the FEF orients the gaze at rest by means of saccades toward points of interest and during simulated circular locomotion by means of a shift of the beating field of nystagmus toward the visual sector that will be approached next.
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  • 91
    ISSN: 1432-1106
    Keywords: GABA ; Calcium-binding protein Hippocampus ; Disector ; Immunocytochemistry ; Rat
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract The numerical density of neurons in the CA1 region of the rat dorsal hippocampus has been estimated by a stereological method, the disector, using pairs of video images of toluidine blue-stained, plastic-embedded, 0.5-μm-thick sections, 3 μm distant from each other. The chemical properties of those disector-counted cells were further analyzed by postembedding immunocytochemical methods on adjacent, semithin sections using antibodies against gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and a specific calcium-binding protein, parvalbumin (PV). The density of neurons in the CA1 region was 35.2 × 103/mm3; numerical densities in the stratum oriens (SO), stratum pyramidale (SP), and strata radiatum-lacunosum-moleculare (SRLM) were 11.3 × 103/mm3, 272.4 × 103/mm3, and 1.9 × 103/mm3, respectively. The numerical densities of GABA-like immunoreactive (GABA-LIR) and PV-immunoreactive (PV-IR) neurons were 2.1 × 103/mm3 and 1.1 × 103/mm3, respectively, which were 5.8% and 3.2% of all neurons, respectively. In the CA1 region only about 60% of PV-positive neurons were GABA-LIR. However, taking the previous observation into consideration that almost all hippocampal PV-positive neurons were immunoreactive for the GABA-synthesizing enzyme glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD), neurons that were immunoreactive to either GABA or PV or both (GABA+ and/or PV + neurons) were regarded as a better representative of GABAergic neurons in this region; thus, the numerical density of these GABA + and/or PV + neurons was 2.5 × 103/mm3 and they were 7.0% of all neurons in the CA1 region. Lamellar analysis showed that the numerical densities of GABA+ and/or PV+, GABA-LIR, and PV-IR neurons were highest in the SP, where they were 8.2 × 103/mm3, 6.2 × 103/mm3, and 5.4 × 103/mm3, respectively. The results of the present study indicate that the proportions of GABAergic neurons and a subpopulation of them, PV-containing GABAergic neurons, to other presumable non-GABAergic neurons are far smaller in the CA1 region of the hippocampus than in several neocortical regions previously reported.
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  • 92
    ISSN: 1432-1106
    Keywords: α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole-propionic acid lesion ; Cholinergic ; GABAergic ; Nucleus basalis ; Iontophoresis ; Rat
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract Unilateral lesions of the nucleus basalis magnocellularis (NBM) produced by α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionic acid in rats caused, 8–10 weeks after the lesion, a 94% reduction in cortical acetylcholinesterase fibres and reduced activities of acetylcholinesterase and choline acetyltransferase by 70–80% in the frontal cortex ipsilateral to the lesion. In anaesthetized unlesioned control rats, iontophoretic administration of acetylcholine and carbachol produced atropine-sensitive inhibition and excitation of frontal cortical neurones, effects similar to those produced by electrically stimulating the NBM. The lesion reduced cortical neuronal firing rates but increased the percentage and sensitivity of neurones responding to acetylcholine, the predominant response changing from inhibition to excitation; response duration increased but latency was unaffected. The size of the response of individual neurones to carbachol, but not the percentage of sensitive neurones, was also increased in lesioned animals. The proportion of neurones responding to bicuculline and their individual sensitivities were increased by the lesion, suggesting that the lesion increased GABAergic tone; responses to glutamate were unchanged. The lesion did not affect the proportion of neurones in which acetylcholine modulated neuronal responses but reversed the nature of the modulation to predominantly excitatory; excitation was the predominant response to electrical forepaw stimulation in unlesioned control animals. This suggests a possible interaction between GABAergic and cholinergic mechanisms in selective attention and processing of cognitive information. Acute administration of di-isopropyl fluorophosphate to unlesioned animals significantly increased the number of frontal cortical neurones responding to acetylcholine, without affecting individual neuronal sensitivity or responses to carbachol and glutamate. The similarity of these effects to those of acetylcholine in lesioned animals suggests that the increased sensitivity to acetylcholine in the latter was due to loss of acetylcholinesterase, enabling diffusion of acetylcholine to more distant neurones. However, acetylcholinesterase does not hydrolyse carbachol and therefore it is necessary to postulate a different post-synaptic mechanism to explain the lesion-induced increases in the sensitivities of individual neurones to carbachol and to acetylcholine; interpretation of experimental findings should take these two mechanisms into account.
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  • 93
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    Experimental brain research 99 (1994), S. 205-213 
    ISSN: 1432-1106
    Keywords: Calcium-binding protein ; Development ; Immunocytochemistry ; Olfactory bulb ; Rat
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract The laminar development of the external plexiform layer (EPL) in the rat main olfactory bulb and the postnatal development of parvalbumin-immunoreactive [PV(+)] neurons mainly located in this layer were studied in animals at postnatal week 1–4 at a light microscopic level. The EPL in the adult olfactory bulb consists of two sublayers, the inner sublayer (ISL) and the outer sublayer (OSL). The ISL was already developed well even at postnatal day 7 (P7), whereas the OSL was first recognized at P10 as a thin zone consisting of more or less loosely packed large-sized and small-to-medium-sized somata subjacent to the glomerular layer (GL). The OSL increased in thickness and came to occupy nearly one-third to -half of the EPL at P14. PV(+) neurons first appeared at P10 mainly in the inner border of EPL. Only a few PV(+) neurons were scattered in the EPL at P10, but they increased remarkably in number during P14–21. Some of these PV(+) neurons at P10 had an intensely immunoreactive soma, extending relatively long processes with varicosities and/or spines. At P14, PV(+) neurons were located not only in the ISL but also at the border between the ISL and OSL, but in the OSL proper they were rarely observed. These PV(+) neurons showed branched and complicated processes with numerous varicosities and spines, displaying more mature features than those in previous stages. Even at P14 many of these PV(+) neurons appeared to exhibit some characteristic structural features of those in the adult stage. At P21, PV(+) neurons were observed in the OSL and thus showed almost the adult pattern in their distribution and morphological features. The present study showed the development of PV(+) neurons in the rat main olfactory bulb and the difference between the ISL and OSL of the EPL in postnatal development.
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  • 94
    ISSN: 1432-1106
    Keywords: Amoeboid microglia Major histocompatibility complex Type 3 complement receptor ; Endotoxin ; Rat
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract In rats given two single intraperitoneal injections of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) at 1 and 4 days of age and killed at 7 days of age, 11.5–12% of amoeboid microglial cells (AMC) in the supraventricular corpus callosum were induced to express major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II antigen, as detected with monoclonal antibody OX-6. The MHC class II antigen induced was colocalized with MHC class I antigen and type 3 complement receptors on the same cells. The expression of MHC class II antigen on the plasma membrane of AMC was confirmed in immunoelectron microscopy. Although OX-6-positive AMC often assumed a perivascular position, the majority of them, however, were far removed from the blood vessels. The cytoplasmic processes of the perivascular OX-6-positive AMC appeared to rest directly on the vascular lamina, and in some section profiles they were in contact with a large surface area of the outer wall of small blood vessels. It is concluded from this study that although MHC class II antigen is not constitutively present on AMC, it is, however, inducible under stimulation with LPS. It is, therefore, suggested that the OX-6-positive AMC, especially the perivascular AMC, may have the potentiality to function as antigen-presenting cells in the developing brain when challenged by LPS.
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  • 95
    ISSN: 1432-1106
    Keywords: Amygdala ; Estrogen ; Preoptic area ; Septum ; Rat
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract Electrical stimulation of the medial amygdala (AMY) elicited antidromic action potentials in neurons in the preoptic area (POA) and the lateral septum (LS) of 36 urethane-anesthetized ovariectomized female rats, which were either treated with estrogen o not treated. The extracellular potentials from the two sites showed similar characteristics, with the exception of the sensitivity to estrogen: they had latencies between 3 and 35 ms. Thresholds were as low as 100 μA. The mean relative refractory period was 2.2 ms. The peak-to-peak amplitudes of the positive-negative biphasic potential ranged from 1.0 mV to 12.0 mV. Estrogen had site-specific effects on parameters of antidromic activation in the POA. Estrogen-treated rats had a significantly higher threshold (937 vs 664 μA) and a longer refractory period (2.5 vs 2.1 ms) than the ovariectomized rats (P 〈 0.05 for each). The effects were absent in the LS. Selective cutting of the stria terminalis diminished the AMY-induced antidromic responses in the POA and LS. Electrical stimulation of the stria blocked the AMY-induced antidromic potentials by collision. Thus, estrogen-sensitive POA efferents as well as non-estrogen-sensitive LS efferents project to the AMY via the stria terminalis. Reductions in axonal excitability would inhibit neural conduction and transmission. Estrogen may therefore reduce the AMY inputs from the POA, without affecting those from the LS. Such alterations in the neural impulse flow may underlie estrogen-dependent neuroendocrine or behavioral regulation.
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  • 96
    ISSN: 1432-1106
    Keywords: Respiratory control ; Phrenic nerve ; Motoneuron ; Spinal hemisection ; Serotonin ; Rat
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract Serotonin reveals ineffective (subthreshold) pathways from the C2 lateral funiculus to ipsilateral phrenic motoneurons in spinalized rats. The objective of the present study was to investigate serotonergic modulation of crossed-spinal pathways to contralateral phrenic motoneurons. Rats (n = 10) were anesthetized (urethane), paralyzed, vagotomized, and artificially ventilated. The spinal cord was hemisected at C1–C2 and, on the intact side, a tungsten stimulating electrode was placed ventral to the C2 dorsal root entry zone in the dorsolateral (∼ 1.1 mm) or the ventrolateral funiculus (∼2.2 mm depth). Single shocks (100–750 μA, 0.1–0.5 ms, 2 Hz) elicited a short-latency (∼ 1.0 ms to peak) excitation in the ipsilateral phrenic nerve, but usually evoked little or no response in the contralateral phrenic nerve at either stimulus site. Following systemic injection of the monoamine oxidase inhibitor pargyline (25 mg/kg) and the serotonin precursor 5-hydroxytryptophan (5–10 mg/kg), complex responses were revealed in the contralateral phrenic nerve, including; (1) spontaneous tonic activity; (2) a short-latency (∼1.0 ms to peak) evoked excitation; and (3) two long-latency (∼2.2 and 7.8 ms to peak) evoked excitations. The longest latency excitation was expressed only when the stimulating electrode was positioned in the dorsolateral funiculus. Contralateral evoked responses were blocked by systemic methysergide (2–6 mg/kg), a broad-spectrum serotonin receptor antagonist. These results indicate that serotonin converts ineffective crossed phrenic pathways in the spinal cord to effective pathways. It remains to be determined whether serotonin is both necessary and sufficient in this modulatory process, or if it is a nonspecific result of increased phrenic motoneuron excitability.
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  • 97
    ISSN: 1432-1106
    Keywords: Acidosis ; Seizures ; Brain slices ; Rat
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract Lowering [Mg2+]o induces epileptiform bursting in hippocampus and entorhinal cortex (EC), presumably by activation of N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptors. Since increasing [H+]o has been shown to reduce NMDA receptor activation, we hypothesized that this could contribute to anticonvulsant actions of acidic pH. To test this, we studied the effects of raising extracellular PCO2 (20.6%, pH = 6.7) or lowering extracellular pH (6.7 or 6.2) on low-Mg2+-induced epileptiform discharges. Lowering the pH to 6.7 by either means increased the interval between seizure-like events (SLEs), decreased the maximal amplitude of SLEs, and, if the site of seizure generation was at a distance from the recording site, acidification slowed the rate of seizure propagation. In contrast, the duration of SLEs was unaffected by acidic pH or high PCO2. Raising PCO2 or lowering pH to 6.7 also blocked early (8–10 min) but not late (〉 20 min) phases of status-like discharges. All effects of the extracellular pH changes were fully reversible. Further lowering of extracellular pH to 6.2 completely and reversibly blocked both SLEs and status-like discharges. Our data show that the effects of high PCO2 and low pH on seizures in the EC in vitro may be dose-dependent and consistent with induction by proton blockade of NMDA receptors. Thus, blockade of NMDA currents by protons may be an important component of the anticonvulsant action of extracellular acidosis. The results also suggest that acidosis may be a desirable property for new antiepileptic treatments.
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  • 98
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    Experimental brain research 101 (1994), S. 59-72 
    ISSN: 1432-1106
    Keywords: Spinal cord ; Synaptic transmission ; GABAB receptors ; Baclofen agonists and antagonists ; Rat ; Cat
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract The actions of a series of derivatives of 3-aminopropyl-phosphinic acid as baclofen agonists and antagonists have been examined on the synaptic excitation of neurones by impulses in primary afferent fibres in the lumbar spinal cords of pentobarbitone-anaesthetised cats and rats. Both the pre-and postsynaptic inhibitory actions of microelectrophoretic (-)-baclofen were reduced by similarly administered CGP 35 348, 36 742, 46 381, 52 432, 54 626 and 55 845, the latter being the most potent antagonist. None of these antagonists either decreased or increased the excitability of spinal neurones, and the inhibitory action of GABA was reduced only by local concentrations of antagonists which also reduced the action of piperidine-4-sulphonic acid, a GABAA agonist. Although the weak inhibitory effect of 3-aminopropylphosphinic acid in both the rat and the cat was not reduced by these baclofen antagonists, the pre-and postsynaptic inhibitory effects of 3-aminopropyl-methyl-osphinic acid (CGP 35 024), which was more potent than (-)-baclofen, were reduced by the antagonists. Like (-)-baclofen, CGP 35 024 was relatively ineffective in reducing transmitter release in the cord from the terminals of excitatory spinal interneurones, the terminals of excitatory tracts in the dorsolateral funiculus and the cholinergic terminals of motor axon collaterals. In both rat and cat cords, receptors for (-)-baclofen could not be demonstrated to be activated by microelectrophoretic GABA, possibly because of the predominantly dendritic location of GABAB receptors. Spinal pre-and postsynaptic baclofen receptors appeared to be pharmacologically similar but differed from those in the higher central nervous system of the rat, where 3-aminopropylphosphinic acid has been reported to be an effective baclofen agonist. The compounds tested, particularly CGP 55 845 and 46 381, will be of use in further investigations of the physiological relevance of baclofen receptors at central synapses where GABA may be the transmitter.
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  • 99
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    Experimental brain research 101 (1994), S. 73-85 
    ISSN: 1432-1106
    Keywords: Substantia nigra ; Striatum ; Transplant Dopamine ; Rat
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract The ability of mature dopaminergic neurons derived from ventral mesencephalon to re-initiate growth after making contact with a non-innervated target was studied using the intra-ocular grafting model. Foetal ventral mesencephalic tissue or brain stem including the locus coeruleus area was grafted to the anterior chamber of the eye. Two weeks, 6 weeks or 1 year after the first implantation, foetal striatal tissue was placed in contact with the nigral graft or grafted alone. The size of the transplants was measured through the cornea. The final size of the striatal grafts was significantly larger when placed alone than when co-grafted with 1-year-old or 6-week-old dopaminergic grafts. Striatum grafted together with 2-week-old nigra was larger than when grafted adjacent to mature substantia nigra, but not significantly so. Nerve fibre outgrowth into the iris from the nigral transplants did not increase after maturation, but the re-innervated area of the host iris progressively increased around the locus coeruleus grafts. Ingrowth of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) immunoreactive nerve fibres into the striatal grafts was studied 6 weeks after the second implantation. TH immunohistochemistry revealed innervation of the striatal piece in all cases, except for the group where striatum alone was grafted. With the short survival time for cografts of 6 weeks, TH-positive nerve fibres innervated a larger volume, had a patchy appearance and the density was higher in striatum grafted to 2 week-old nigral transplants than that seen in striatal transplants grafted to mature nigral grafts. The patchy pattern of TH-immunoreactive nerve terminals was also seen in striatum co-grafted with 6-week-old or 1-year-old nigral transplants. No difference in striatal innervation volume was detected between those latter two groups. When striatum was implanted adjacent to mature ventral mesencephalon and grown together for 6 months — the longer survival time — the same dense TH-positive innervation as seen in striatum co-grafted with immature nigral tissue at the shorter survival time was found. Additionally, the nigral part of the co-grafts showed increased TH-immunoreactive nerve fibre density. In conclusion, dopaminergic neurites from mature ventral mesencephalic transplants can re-initiate growth if placed in contact with non-innervated striatal tissue. The nigral grafts do not progressively re-innervate the host iris, while locus coeruleus grafts do. The intra-ocular grafting model can be used to study the in vivo effects of trophic factors on mature dopaminergc neurons.
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  • 100
    ISSN: 1432-1106
    Keywords: Hippocampal formation ; Parahippocampal cortex ; Perforant pathway ; Limbic system ; Neuroanatomy ; Rat
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Medicine
    Notes: Abstract The relations between the inputs from the presubiculum and the parasubiculum and the cells in the entorhinal cortex that give rise to the perforant pathway have been studied in the rat at the light microscopical level. Projections from the presubiculum and the parasubiculum were labeled anterogradely, and, in the same animal, cells in the entorhinal cortex that project to the hippocampal formation were labeled by retrograde tracing and subsequent intracellular filling with Lucifer Yellow. The distribution and the number of appositions between the afferent fibers and hippocampal projection neurons in the various layers of the entorhinal cortex were analyzed. The results show that layers I–IV of the entorhinal cortex contain neurons that give rise to projections to the hippocampal formation. The morphology of these projection neurons is highly variable and afferents from the presubiculum and the parasubiculum do not show a preference for any specific morphological cell type. Both inputs preferentially innervate the dendrites of their target cells. However, presubicular and parasubicular projections differ with respect to the layer of entorhinal cortex they project to. The number of appositions of presubicular afferents with cells that have their cell bodies in layer III of the entorhinal cortex is 2–3 times higher than with cells in layer II. In contrast, afferents from the parasubiculum form at least 2–3 times as many synapses on the dendrites of cells located in layer II than on neurons that have their cell bodies in layer III. Cells in layers I and IV of the entorhinal cortex receive weak inputs from the presubiculum and parasubiculum. Not only is the presubiculum different from the parasubiculum with respect to the distribution of projections to the entorhinal cortex, they also differ in their afferent and efferent connections. In turn, cells in layer II of the entorhinal cortex differ in their electrophysiological characteristics from those in layer III. Moreover, layer II neurons give rise to the projections to the dentate gyrus and field CA3/CA2 of the hippocampus proper, and cells in layer III project to field CA1 and the subiculum. Therefore, we propose that the interactions of the entorhinal-hippocampal network with the presubiculum are different from those with the parasubiculum.
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