Weak if any effect of estrogen on spatial memory in rats

In a number of species, males appear to have spatial abilities that are superior to those of females. The favored explanation for this cognitive difference is hormonal: higher testosterone levels in males than in females. An alternative explanation focuses on the role of varying levels of estrogens in females during the estrus cycle; females perform as well as males on days of low estrogen, but more poorly on days of high estrogen. Other investigators have reported that estrogens improve both types of memory processes, which depend on the striatal (nonspatial navigation) and hippocampal (spatial) memory systems. Additionally, estrogens have been found to protect the working memory. These contradictory results initiated the present study, in which ovariectomized female rats were trained to escape in a Morris water maze. The daily trials were preceded by estradiol application in low doses (Experiment I) or in higher doses (Experiment II). In Experiment I, no differences at all were found between the latencies of the treated and control groups to reach a submerged platform in a Morris water maze. In Experiment II, however, the animals treated with the higher dose of estradiol showed a small deficit in the acquisition of the Morris water maze task. This study indicates that estradiol at around the physiological level has no effect on spatial learning and memory functions

Hallási mondatterjedelem teszt : a Listening Span teszt magyar nyelvű verziójának alapjai

A verbális munkamemória feladata a „beszédalapú" információk tárolása és frissítése. Ennek az egyik legtöbbet használt mérőeljárása a listening span teszt. Mivel az angol nyelvű változat sztenderd értékei nem érvényesek a magyar lakosságra, ezért elkészítettük a teszt magyar nyelvű verzióját, a hallási mondatterjedelem tesztet. A sztenderdizálási folyamat első lépéseként megvizsgáltuk kapcsolatát más munkamemória feladatokkal: az olvasási terjedelem teszttel, a számterjedelem teszttel, a fordított számterjedelem teszttel és az álszó ismétlési teszttel. Vizsgálatunkban korrelációt találtunk mind a négy mérőeljárással, legmagasabbat az olvasási terjedelem teszttel, amely megfelel elvárásainknak, mivel az angol nyelvű változatokban is ez a két teszt korrelált a legjobban egymással. További célkitűzéseink közt szerepel a teszt felvétele különböző korcsoportokban, a sztenderd értékek meghatározása céljából. Az általunk kidolgozott hallási mondatterjedelem teszt jól alkalmazható lesz mind az egészséges, mind a patológiás kognitív működés vizsgálatára. One of the most frequently used tasks for measuring complex verbal working memory capacity is the listening span test. Our research group developed the Hungarian version of this test. The purpose of this study was to make a comparison among reading span test, digit span test, the backward digit span test and the non-word repetition test. In our study the highest correlation was found between the listening span and the reading span test. The English versions of these tests show the same pattern. After the standardization procedure this test will be a useful method for mapping working memory capacity in Hungarian language

Heck-oxyarylation of 2-phenyl-2H-chromenes and 1,2-dihydronaphthalenes

The Heck-oxyarylation of racemic 2-phenyl-2H-chromene [(±)-4b] and 1,2-dihydronaphthalenes (14a,b) has been studied with 2-chloromercuriphenols (5a–d) in the presence of Li2[PdCl4] catalyst. The reactions resulted in the diastereoselective formation of racemic 6- phenylpterocarpans of (6R, 6aR,11aR) relative configuration [(±)-8a–d] and their dibenzo[1,3]dioxocine analogues [(±)-12a–d] as main products, respectively. The ratio of products and the lack of regioisomeric products (13a–d) corroborated the cationic mechanism of the oxyarylation of 2H-chromenes, which has been also supported by the transformation of 14a,b under similar conditions.(doi: 10.5562/cca2103

Szenzoros neuropeptid felszabadulás farmakológiai gátlása, mint új gyógyszerhatás mechanizmus az asthma és a krónikus obstruktív légúti betegség terápiájában = Pharmacological inhibition of sensory neuropeptide release as a novel mechanism of action in the treatment of bronchial asthma and chronic obstructive airway disease

In vitro trachea perfúziós rendszerünkben 94 új szomatosztatin (SOM) agonistát (Biostatin Kft. Budapest) vizsgáltunk a kapszaicin-érzékeny afferensekből történő P-anyag (SP) felszabadulására, melyek közül 24 szignifikáns gátlást okozott. A legjobb 6 vegyületet in vivo is teszteltük, gyulladásmodellekben hatásosnak bizonyultak. A PACAP-38 és a szelektív sst4 receptor agonista peptidomimetikum J-2156 (Juvantia Pharma, Turku) e modellben koncentráció-függő módon gátolta az SP, CGRP és SOM felszabadulását. Specifikus RIA-t fejlesztettünk ki PACAP-38 mérésre, mellyel igazoltuk e peptid szenzoros rostokból történő felszabadulását. Endotoxinnal kiváltott szubakut légúti gyulladás egérmodellben funkcionális, morfológiai és biokémiai módszerekkel igazoltuk, hogy TRPV1 kapszaicin receptor génhiányos egerekben fokozott gyulladás és a következményes bronchialis hiper-reaktivitás alakult ki. SOM RIA és sst receptor antagonista kezeléssel biokémiai és funkcionális bizonyítékokat szolgáltattunk, hogy a gyulladás során TRPV1 receptor aktivációval SOM szabadul fel, amely gátolja a gyulladást és a bronchokonstrikciós hajlamot. A fenti eredményeink alapján szintetikus sst4 receptor agonisták, a heptapeptid TT-232 és peptidomimetikum J-2156, vizsgálata történt az előbbiekben ismertetett módszerekkel az LPS-indukálta pneumonitis és az ovalbuminnal kiváltott asztma modellekben egérben. E vegyületek mindkét modellben hatékonyan gátolták a légúti gyulladást és hiper-reaktivitást. | The effect of 94 novel somatostatin (SOM) agonists (Biostatin Ltd., Budapest) on substance P (SP) release from capsaicin-sensitive afferents were examined in our in vitro isolated trachea perfusion system. Among these 24 caused significant inhibition, the most effective 6 ligands diminished inflammation in vivo. PACAP-38 and the selective sst4 receptor agonist peptidomimetic J-2156 (Juvantia Pharma, Turku) concentration-dependently inhibited SP, CGRP and SOM release in this model. We have developed a specific RIA for measuring PACAP-38 and with its help the outflow of this peptide from capsaicin-sensitive afferents has been evidenced. Experiments using TRPV1 receptor gene-deficient mice provided functional, morphological and biochemical evidence for a novel type of counter-regulatory mechanism during endotoxin-induced airway inflammation. This is mediated by SOM released from sensory nerve terminals into the circulation in response to TRPV1 receptor activation. It inhibits inflammation and bronchial hyper-reactivity. Desensitization of capsaicin-sensitive afferents enhances inflammation which might be due to the lack of SOM released from these fibres. Based on the above described results, synthetic sst4 receptor agonists, the heptapeptide TT-232 and the peptidomimetic J-2156 have been studied in endotoxin-induced subacute pneumonitis and ovalbumin-evoked asthma models of the mouse and effectively inhibited airway inflammation and consequent hyper-reactivity

Melanoma Cells Can Adopt the Phenotype of Stromal Fibroblasts and Macrophages by Spontaneous Cell Fusion in Vitro

After the removal of primary cutaneous melanoma some patients develop local recurrences, even after having histologically tumor-free re-excision. A potential explanation behind this phenomenon is that tumor cells switch their phenotype, making their recognition via standard histopathological assessments extremely difficult. Tumor-stromal cell fusion has been proposed as a potential mechanism for tumor cells to acquire mesenchymal traits; therefore, we hypothesized that melanoma cells could acquire fibroblast- and macrophage-like phenotypes via cell fusion. We show that melanoma cells spontaneously fuse with human dermal fibroblasts and human peripheral blood monocytes in vitro. The hybrid cells' nuclei contain chromosomes from both parental cells and are indistinguishable from the parental fibroblasts or macrophages based on their morphology and immunophenotype, as they could lose the melanoma specific MART1 marker, but express the fibroblast marker smooth muscle actin or the macrophage marker CD68. Our results suggest that, by spontaneous cell fusion in vitro, tumor cells can adopt the morphology and immunophenotype of stromal cells while still carrying oncogenic, tumor-derived genetic information. Therefore, melanoma-stromal cell fusion might play a role in missing tumor cells by routine histopathological assessments