Aromatase and estrogen receptor beta expression in the rat olfactory bulb: neuroestrogen action in the first relay station of the olfactory pathway?

The expression pattern of aromatase (ARO), the enzyme converting androgens to estrogens, was analyzed in the olfactory bulb of adult male rats and was compared with the distribution of estrogen receptor beta (ER beta), the main estrogen receptor isoform expressed in this brain region. A strong ARO immunolabeling obtained with a specificity tested antibody was observed in juxtaglomerular neurons of the glomerular layer and a weaker immunoreaction was detected in the mitral cell layer of the main olfactory bulb, while the granule cell layer of the main olfactory bulb as well as all layers in the accessory olfactory bulb showed faint immunolabeling. Fluorescence double labeling experiments revealed that ARO detected in juxtaglomerular neurons of the main olfactory bulb colocalized with tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and glutamic acid decarboxylase 67 (GAD67), while no colocalization between ARO and the calcium binding proteins calretinin (CR) and calbindin (CB) was observed. Furthermore, the TH immunoreactive neurons expressed metabotropic glutamate receptor 1 (mGluR1) too. ER beta immunoreactivity, in contrast to ARO, was detected in all layers of both the main and accessory olfactory bulb. In the glomerular layer of the main olfactory bulb it was expressed in TH and GAD67 containing juxtaglomerular neurons, and it colocalized with CR, CB and even with glial fibrillary acidic protein too. Our morphological findings suggest that ARO expression is a novel feature of dopaminergic/GABAergic juxtaglomerular neurons in the adult rat main olfactory bulb, and raise the possibility that ARO activity may change in function of olfactory input via mGluR1. In situ estrogen production in the olfactory bulb in turn may modulate interglomerular circuits through ER beta

The Curcumin Analog C-150, Influencing NF-kappaB, UPR and Akt/Notch Pathways Has Potent Anticancer Activity In Vitro and In Vivo

C-150 a Mannich-type curcumin derivative, exhibited pronounced cytotoxic effects against eight glioma cell lines at micromolar concentrations. Inhibition of cell proliferation by C-150 was mediated by affecting multiple targets as confirmed at transcription and protein level. C-150 effectively reduced the transcription activation of NFkB, inhibited PKC-alpha which are constitutively over-expressed in glioblastoma. The effects of C-150 on the Akt/ Notch signaling were also demonstrated in a Drosophila tumorigenesis model. C-150 reduced the number of tumors in Drosophila with similar efficacy to mitoxantrone. In an in vivo orthotopic glioma model, C-150 significantly increased the median survival of treated nude rats compared to control animals. The multi-target action of C-150, and its preliminary in vivo efficacy would render this curcumin analogue as a potent clinical candidate against glioblastoma

Az Ureaplasma urealyticum és a Mycoplasma hominis antibiotikum-érzékenysége és gyakorisága szexuálisan aktív egyének genitális mintáiban [Frequency and antibiotic resistance of Ureaplasma urealyticum and Mycoplasma hominis in genital samples of sexually active individuals]

Ureaplasma urealyticum and Mycoplasma hominis have important role among the causative agents of sexually transmitted diseases. AIM: The aim of the study was to determine the frequency and antibiotic resistance of Ureaplasma urealyticum and Mycoplasma hominis in genital samples obtained from patients examined in the Sexually Transmitted Diseases Centre of the Department of Dermatology, Venerology and Dermatooncology, Semmelweis University, Budapest between May 1, 2008 and July 31, 2010. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Samples were taken from the urethra in men and from the cervix and urethra in women by universal swab (Biolab(R)) into Urea-Myco DUO kit (Bio-Rad(R)) and were incubated for 48 hours at 37 C degrees . Antibiotic sensitivity of positive samples was determined in U9 bouillon using SIR Mycoplasma kit (Bio-Rad(R)). RESULTS: Samples for 4154 patients aged 16-60 years were examined. In 247/4154 samples (6%) U. urealyticum and in 26/4154 samples (0.63%) M. hominis was isolated from the genital tract. Most U. urealyticum and M. hominis strains (75% and 77%, respectively) were cultured from cervix, while the remaining 25%, and 23% from the male and female urethra, respectively. U. urealyticum and M. hominis were most commonly detected in patients aged between 21 and 40 years. The majority of U. urealyticum strains were sensitive to tetracycline (94%), doxycycline (95%), azithromycin (88%) and josamycin (90%), but were resistant to ofloxacin (21%), erythromycin (85%) and clindamycin (79%). Seventy-seven percent of the U. urealyticum strains were simultaneously resistant to erythromycin and clindamycin, suggesting that ex iuvantibus therapies may select cross-resistant strains to both antibiotics. The resistance of M. hominis to clindamycin, doxycycline, ofloxacin and tetracycline varied between 4% and 12 %. CONCLUSIONS: Because none of the strains was sensitive to all examined antibiotics, the antibiotic sensitivity of U. urealyticum and M. hominis strains should be determined. The high rate of ofloxacin, erythromycin and clindamycin resistance should be considered in the therapy of U. urealyticum infections in Hungary. This is the first such a clinical microbiological study in this topic in Hungary