Effect of serotonin axon injury on the somatostatinergic system in rat frontoparietal cortex

In order to investigate the possibility that, in the rat, some cerebral cortex\ud somatostatin (SS) receptors may be localized presynaptically on the terminals of\ud serotonergic neurons, serotonin [5-hydroxytryptamine, (5-HT)] neurons in the\ud central nervous system were damaged with a local intracerebral injection of the\ud serotonergic neurotoxin, 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine (5,7-DHT). The injection of 5,7-\ud DHT (11 /~g free base dissolved in 10 t~l of isotonic saline containing 0.01%\ud ascorbic acid) in rats produced an reduction by about 74 % in frontoparietal cortical\ud 5-HT content at 1 and 3 weeks after injection. These changes were associated with\ud a significant decrease by about 30 % in the total number of specific SS receptors\ud in the frontoparietal cortex at both times studied without influencing the apparent\ud affinity of the receptors. Together, these results suggest that a portion of the\ud frontoparietal cortex SS receptors may be localized presynaptically on the\ud serotonergic nerve terminals. The 5,7-DHT did not affect SS-like immunoreactivity\ud (SSLI) levels suggesting that SS and 5-HT are not colocalized within the same\ud neuronal elements in the rat frontoparietal cortex

Effect of phenylephrine and prazosin on the somatostatinergic system in the rat frontoparietal cortex

Somatostatin (SS) and noradrenaline (NA) are distributed in the rat cerebral cortex, and seizure activity is one of the aspects of behavior affected by both neurotransmitters. Due to the possible interaction between both neurotransmitter systems, we studied whether phenylphrine, an alpha(1)-adrenoceptor agonist, and prazosin, an alpha(1)-adrenoceptor antagonist, can modulate SS-like immunoreactivity (SS-LI) levels, binding of [I-125][Tyr(11)]SS to its specific receptors, the ability of SS to inhibit adenylate cyclase (AC) activity, and the guanine nucleotide binding regulatory protein G(1) and G(0), in the Sprague-Dawley rat frontoparietal cortex. An IP dose of 2 or 4 mg/kg of phenylephrine injected 7 h before decapitation decreased the number of SS receptors and increased the apparent affinity in frontoparietal cortex membranes. An IP dose of 20 or 25 mg/kg of prazosin administered 8 h before decapitation increased the number of SS receptors and decreased their apparent affinity. The administration of prazosin before the phenylephrine injection prevented the phenylephrine-induced changes in SS binding. The addition of phenylephrine and/or prazosin 10(-5) M to the incubation medium changed neither the number nor the affinity of the SS receptors in the frontoparietal cortex membranes. Phenylephrine or prazosin affected neither SS-LI content nor the basal or forskolin (FK)-stimulated AC activities in the frontoparietal cortex. In addition, SS caused an equal inhibition of AC activity in frontoparietal cortex membranes of phenylephrine- and prazosin-treated rats compared with the respective control group. Finally, phenylephrine and prazosin did not vary the pertussis toxin (PTX)-catalyzed ADP ribosylation of G(1)- and/or G(0)-proteins. These results suggest that the above mentioned changes are related to the phenylephrine activation of alpha(1)-adrenoceptors or to the blocking of these receptors by prazosin. In addition, these data provide further support for a functional interrelationship between the alpha(1)-adrenergic and somatostatinergic systems in the rat frontoparietal cortex

Desmethylimipramine pretreatment prevents 6-hydroxydopamine induced somatostatin receptor reduction in the rat hippocampus

Several studies have shown anatomical and functional interconnections between catecholaminergic and somatostatinergic systems. To assess whether somatostatin (SS) may act presynaptically on catecholamine neurons, SS receptors were measured using radioligand test-tube binding assays on synaptosomes from hippocampus and frontoparietal cortex — areas that are innervated by catecholaminergic neurons with different densities and that have a high number of SS receptors — from control and 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-treated rats. Intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) injection of the catecholamine neurotoxin 6-OHDA (0.78 mg free base/kg of body weight in saline with 0.1% ascorbic acid) lowered hippocampal and frontoparietal cortical noradrenaline (NA) and dopamine (DA) levels at 1 week following the injection. Pretreatment of rats with desmethylimipramine (DMI) (40 mg/kg, intraperitoneal) prevented the drop in NA levels, but was not effective in attenuating DA depletion in the two brain areas studied. Treatment with 6-OHDA lowered the number of 125I-Tyr11-SS receptors in the hippocampus (130 ± 19 vs. , P < 0.001), whereas in the frontoparietal cortex a non significant 20% reduction in receptor number was found. The dissociation constants of 125I-Tyr11-SS binding to synaptosomes from frontoparietal cortex (0.65 ± 0.06 vs. 0.60 ± 0.04, P not significant) and hippocampus (0.44 ± 0.04 vs. 0.63 ± 0.14, P not significant) were similar in control and treated groups. Pretreatment with DMI reversed up to 80% of the effect of 6-OHDA on hippocampus SS receptors. DMI alone had no observable effect on the number and affinity of SS receptors. The 6-OHDA and the DMI treatment did not affect SLI levels in the brain areas studied. These results suggest that a portion of the hippocampal SS receptors may be localized presynaptically on the noradrenergic and dopaminergic nerve terminals

Anti-phosphatidylserine/prothrombin antibodies at two points: Correlation with lupus anticoagulant and thrombotic risk marker

Patients with autoimmune diseases (ADs) are a challenge for the intensivist; it is hard to differentiate among infection, disease activity, and combinations of both, leading to high mortality. This study is a retrospective analysis of 124 critically ill patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) in a university hospital between 2008 and 2016. Bivariate case-control analysis was performed, using patients who died as cases; later, analysis using a logistic regression model with variables that were associated with mortality was conducted. Four variables were consistently associated with mortality in the logistic regression model and had adequate prediction value (Hosmer and Lemeshow statistic = 0.760; Nagelkerke R-squared = 0.494). The risk of death was found to be statistically associated with the following: shock at admission to ICU [odds ratio (OR): 7.56; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.78-31.97, p = 0.006], hemoglobin level <8 g/dL (OR: 16.12; 95% CI: 3.35-77.52, p = 0.001), use of cytostatic agents prior to admission to the ICU (OR: 8.71; 95% CI: 1.23-61.5, p = 0.03), and low levels ofcomplement C3 (OR: 5.23; 95% CI: 1.28-21.35, p = 0.02). These variables can guide clinicians in the early identification of patients with AD with increased risk of death during hospitalization, leading to initial therapies seeking to improve survival. These results should be evaluated prospectively in future studies to establish their predictive power

Neanderthal diet in fluvial environments at the end of the Middle Pleistocene/early Late Pleistocene of PRERESA site in the Manzanares Valley (Madrid, Spain)

Most Middle Palaeolithic sites with faunal remains processed by humans in the Iberian Peninsula are located in rock shelters or caves. PRERESA is one of the few open-air sites, dating to the end of the Middle or early Late Pleistocene, in which faunal remains associated with lithic industry has been recorded. At least one individual of Mammuthus/Elephas has been identified, as well as two individuals of Bos primigenius, a further two of Haploidoceros mediterraneus, and other mammals of different sizes. The simple is well preserved; carnivore activity is scant and the remains were buried shortly after death. The site is located in the floodplain of the Manzanares river, in an environment of forest and open areas, characterized by herbaceous plants and river woodlands which developed in a mild climate with some humidity. One Haploidoceros and one auerochs were almost complete and semi anatomically connected. A proboscidean, one of the auerochs and an unidentified mammal show conspicuous evidence of having been exploited by human beings. Lithic knapping was aimed at flake production. All phases of the operational chain are represented, which suggests that the lithic assemblage was manufactured with the purpose of processing meat. The scantly elaborated technical schemes of the lithic industry, together with the limited evidence of human processing of faunal remains as well as the presence of animals deposited in a natural way could suggest that this site was used by Neanderthals only sporadically. However, the presence of certain taxa such as proboscidea, auerochs and four other mammal species of different sizes, which were a anthropically processed, could indicate that the site was visited recurrently by human groups with the purpose of processing such mammals. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the taphonomic history of the site, as well as to add to the knowledge of the Neanderthal group behaviour patterns