Protonation and silver(I) complex-formation equilibria of some amino-alcohols

Formation constants of the silver(I) complexes with some amino-alcohols have been determined at 25°C in 0.5 M KNO3 by means of two independent potentiometric measurements employing glass and silver electrode. The ligands considered are: sec-butylamine, 2-amino-l-propanol, 2-amino-l-methoxy-propane, 2-amino-2-methyl-l-propanol, 2- amino-l-butanol, 2-amino-l-pentanol, 2-amino-l-hexanol, 2-amino-l,3-propanediol, 2-amino-l,3-hexandiol, 2-amino- 2-methyl-l,3-propanediol and Tris(hydroxymethyl)-aminomethane. Protonation constants of the selected ligands have also been determined. Calculations were made using HYPERQUAD computer program. The influence exerted by the introduction of hydroxy groups and by the presence of alkyl residuals in the ligand structure on the formation equilibria, is discussed

Complex formation equilibria of some b-amino-alcohols with lead(II) and cadmium(II) in aqueous solution

A study of complex formation equilibria of some b-amino-alcohols with lead(II) and cadmium(II) ions at 25°C and in 0.5 M KNO3 is reported. The amino-alcohols considered are 2-amino-1-propanol, 2-amino-1-butanol, 2-amino-1- pentanol and 2-amino-1,3-propanediol. sec-Buthylamine and 2-amino-1-methoxy-propane have been also considered for comparison. The results are discussed in terms of ligand structure, paying attention to the number of hydroxyl groups and to the length of the alkyl residual. A weak contribution of the alcoholic oxygen in the coordination of cadmium(II) and the presence of a mixed hydroxyl species in lead(II) containing systems are hypothesized

Simultaneous assay for aspartate aminotransferase and guanase in human serum by high-performance liquid chromatography

A simple high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) assay for the simultaneous determination of guanase and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activities in a single serum sample is described. The method is based on direct detection of enzymatically formed products xanthine and glutamate, respectively. The procedure is sensitive, precise (C.V. below 2% for guanase and 3% for AST), suitable for routine purposes and requires only 100 mu l of sample. Kinetic measurements have shown the guanase activity to have an apparent Michaelis constant of 24.5 mu M and the AST activity of 11.1 and 0.18 mM for aspartate and oxoglutarate, respectively, at 37 degrees C in Tris-HCl buffer (pH 7.5)

Abnormal medial prefrontal cortex connectivity and defective fear extinction in the presymptomatic G93A SOD1 mouse model of ALS

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal progressive neuropathy associated with the degeneration of spinal and brainstem motor neurons. Although ALS is essentially considered as a lower motor neuron disease, prefrontal cortex atrophy underlying executive function deficits have been extensively reported in ALS patients. Here, we examine whether prefrontal cortex neuronal abnormalities and related cognitive impairments are present in presymptomatic G93A Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase mice, a mouse model for familial ALS. Structural characteristics of prelimbic/infralimbic (PL/IL) medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) neurons were studied in 3-month-old G93A and wild-type mice with the Golgi-Cox method, while mPFC-related cognitive operations were assessed using the conditioned fear extinction paradigm. Sholl analysis performed on the dendritic material showed a reduction in dendrite length and branch nodes on basal dendrites of PL/IL neurons in G93A mice. Spine density was also decreased on basal dendrite segments of branch order five. Consistent with the altered morphology of PL/IL cortical regions, G93A mice showed impaired extinction of conditioned fear. Our findings indicate that abnormal prefrontal cortex connectivity and function are appreciable before the onset of motor disturbances in this model

Gene expression profiles of APP and BACE1 in Tg SOD1G93A cortical cells

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease defined by motor neuron loss. Transgenic mouse model (Tg SOD1G93A) shows pathological features that closely mimic those seen in ALS patients. An hypothetic link between AD and ALS was suggested by finding an higher amount of amyloid precursor protein (APP) in the spinal cord anterior horn neurons, and of A beta peptides in ALS patients skin. In this work, we have investigated the expression of some genes involved in Alzheimer's disease, as APP, beta- and gamma-secretase, in an animal model of ALS, to understand some possible common molecular mechanisms between these two pathologies. For gene expression analysis, we carried out a quantitative RT-PCR in ALS mice and in transgenic mice over-expressing human wild-type SOD1 (Tg hSOD1). We found that APP and BACE1 mRNA levels were increased 1.5-fold in cortical cells of Tg SOD1G93A mice respect to Tg hSOD1, whereas the expression of gamma-secretase genes, as PSEN1, PSEN2, Nicastrin, and APH1a, showed no statistical differences between wild-type and ALS mice. Biochemical analysis carried out by immunostaining and western blotting, did not show any significant modulation of the protein expression compared to the genes, suggesting the existence of post-translational mechanisms that modify protein levels

Substance P provides neuroprotection in cerebellar granule cells through Akt and MAPK/Erk activation: Evidence for the involvement of the delayed rectifier potassium current

In the current study, we have evaluated the ability of substance P (SP) and other neurokinin I receptor (NK1) agonists to protect, in a dose-and time-dependent manner, primary cultures of rat cerebellar granule cells (CGCs) from serum and potassium deprivation-induced cell death (S-K5). We also established the presence of SP high affinity NK1 transcripts and the NK1 protein localization in the membrane of a sub-population of CGCs. Moreover, SP significantly and dose-dependently reduced the Akt 1/2 and Erk1/2 dephosphorylation induced by S-K5 conditions, as demonstrated by Western blot analysis. Surprisingly, in SP-treated CGCs caspase-3 activity was not inhibited, while the calpain-1 activity was moderately reduced. Corroborating this result, SP blocked calpain-mediated cleavage of tau protein, as demonstrated by the reduced appearance of a diagnostic fragment of 17 kDa by Western blot analysis. In addition, SP induced a significant reduction of the delayed rectifier K+ currents (I-k) in about 42% of the patched neurons, when these were evoked with depolarizing potential steps. Taken together, the present results demonstrate that the activation of NK1 receptors expressed in CGCs promote the neuronal survival via pathways involving Akt and Erk activation and by inhibition Of Ik which can contribute to the neuroprotective effect of the peptide. (C) 2007 Published by Elsevier Ltd