58 research outputs found
Activation of mGlu3 Receptors Stimulates the Production of GDNF in Striatal Neurons
Metabotropic glutamate (mGlu) receptors have been considered potential targets
for the therapy of experimental parkinsonism. One hypothetical advantage
associated with the use of mGlu receptor ligands is the lack of the adverse
effects typically induced by ionotropic glutamate receptor antagonists, such as
sedation, ataxia, and severe learning impairment. Low doses of the mGlu2/3
metabotropic glutamate receptor agonist, LY379268 (0.25–3 mg/kg, i.p.)
increased glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) mRNA and protein
levels in the mouse brain, as assessed by in situ
hybridization, real-time PCR, immunoblotting, and immunohistochemistry. This
increase was prominent in the striatum, but was also observed in the cerebral
cortex. GDNF mRNA levels peaked at 3 h and declined afterwards, whereas GDNF
protein levels progressively increased from 24 to 72 h following LY379268
injection. The action of LY379268 was abrogated by the mGlu2/3 receptor
antagonist, LY341495 (1 mg/kg, i.p.), and was lost in mGlu3 receptor knockout
mice, but not in mGlu2 receptor knockout mice. In pure cultures of striatal
neurons, the increase in GDNF induced by LY379268 required the activation of the
mitogen-activated protein kinase and phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase pathways, as
shown by the use of specific inhibitors of the two pathways. Both in
vivo and in vitro studies led to the conclusion
that neurons were the only source of GDNF in response to mGlu3 receptor
activation. Remarkably, acute or repeated injections of LY379268 at doses that
enhanced striatal GDNF levels (0.25 or 3 mg/kg, i.p.) were highly protective
against nigro-striatal damage induced by
1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine in mice, as assessed by
stereological counting of tyrosine hydroxylase-positive neurons in the pars
compacta of the substantia nigra. We speculate that selective mGlu3 receptor
agonists or enhancers are potential candidates as neuroprotective agents in
Parkinson's disease, and their use might circumvent the limitations
associated with the administration of exogenous GDNF
Effects of Various Agents on Ristocetin-Willebrand Factor Activity in Long-Term Cultures of von Willebrand and Normal Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells
Inhibition of endogenous NGF degradation induces mechanical allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia in rats
10.1186/1744-8069-9-37Molecular Pain913
Electrochemical and XPS Studies toward the Role of Monomeric and Polymeric Sulfonate Counterions in the Synthesis, Composition, and Properties of Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)
Influence of Multi-Pass Friction Stir Processing on the Corrosion Behavior of an Al-Mg-Si Alloy
The effects of solvents on the morphology and sheet resistance in poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)–polystyrenesulfonic acid (PEDOT–PSS) films
Films of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)–polystyrenesulfonic acid (PEDOT–PSS), prepared by coating the aqueous PEDOT–PSS dispersion and by coating a mixture of the PEDOT–PSS dispersion and different solvents, have been studied using four-point probe conductivity measurements, atomic force microscopy and photoelectron spectroscopy. The electrical conductivity of thin films of the second type (further on called PEDOT–PSS–solvents) was increased by a factor of about 600 as compared to films of the first type (further on called PEDOT–PSS–pristine). Morphological and physical changes occur in the polymer film due to the presence of the solvent mixture, the most striking being that the ratio of PEDOT-to-PSS in the surface region of the films is increased by a factor of 2–3. This increase of PEDOT at the surface indicates that the thickness of the insulating PSS ‘shell’ that surrounds the conducting PEDOT–PSS grains is reduced. The (partial) reduction of the excess PSS layer that surrounds the conducting PEDOT–PSS grains is proposed to lead to an increased and improved connectivity between such grains in the film and hence a higher conductivity. When PEDOT–PSS–solvents receives a post-coating heat treatment, the increased PEDOT-to-PSS ratio at the surface is maintained or even slightly improved, as is the increase in electrical conductivity, even though spectroscopy show that the solvent molecules are removed. This suggests that screening or doping by the solvents throughout the film are not likely to be the key mechanisms for the improved conductivity and supports our proposed mechanism of improved conductivity through improved connectivity between the conducting grains
Influence of Multi-Pass Friction Stir Processing on the Corrosion Behavior of an Al-Mg-Si Alloy
The effect of multi-pass (100% overlap) friction stir processing (FSP) on the NaCl-induced atmospheric corrosion behavior of an extruded 6005-T6 aluminum alloy has been studied. Samples were contaminated with 70 and 200 mu g/cm(2) NaCl and exposed in the presence of 400 ppm CO2 for a time interval of 200-3200 h. The results showed that increasing the number of passes gives rise to several crucial changes in the microstructure of the processed regions. Gravimetric analyses and morphological inspections of the corroded samples revealed that multi-pass FSP has also a significant impact on the NaCl-induced atmospheric corrosion behavior of the FS processed samples. While increasing the number of FSP passes resulted in a reduced extent of pitting corrosion in the stir zone, it induced a significant pitting corrosion attack in the heat affected zone of the samples, which were shown to be linked to a reduction in the size of intermetallic particles in the stir zone of the multi-pass FSP specimens. The results also showed that the cathodic activity of intermetallic particles in this family of Al alloys is size-dependent. (C) The Author(s) 2016. Published by ECS. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (CC BY, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse of the work in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. All rights reserved
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