Dopamine D3 receptor modulates tissue type plasminogen activator (tPA) activity in mouse brain

Growing amount of evidence points to the dopamine D3 receptor (D3R) as an important mediator in the broad array of events that regulate memory function, perhaps through the modulation of molecular pathways involved in neurotrophic factor activation. Tissue type plasminogen activator (tPA) is a proteolytic enzyme that cleaves the precursor of brain derived neurotrophic factor (proBDNF) into the biologically active form of mature BDNF. However, whether D3Rs modulate tPA activity on BDNF in brain has not been ascertained yet. Here in the present study, using D3R knock-out (D3-/-) mice, we demonstrate that receptor inactivation is associated with increased tPA expression both in prefrontal cortex and, to a greater extent, in the hippocampus, two regions associated with memory processes. The heightened tPA levels observed in D3-/- mice inversely correlated with proBDNF protein expression, whereas they positively correlated with both BDNF mRNA and mature BDNF protein levels. In conclusion, our finding strongly suggest that D3Rs might modulate tPAmediated post-transcriptional processing of BDNF in brain regions critical to memory function

Guidelines of the Italian Society of Videosurgery in Infancy for the minimally invasive treatment of the ureteropelvic-junction obstruction

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Guidelines of the Italian Society of Videosurgery in Infancy for the minimally invasive treatment of the esophageal atresia

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Guidelines of the Italian Society of Videosurgery (SIVI) in Infancy for the minimally invasive treatment of Hypertrophic Pyloric Stenosis in neonates and infants

The most appropriate treatment for the infantile Hypertrophic Pyloric Stenosis (HPS) is still debated. The non-surgical conservative treatment with oral or intravenous administration of atropine does not enjoy a widespread appreciation for several factors (...

Guidelines of the Italian Society of Videosurgery in Infancy (SIVI) for the minimally invasive treatment of fetal and neonatal ovarian cysts

In the last three decades, fetal ovarian cysts were diagnosed more frequently, due to technological improvement and the increasing use of prenatal screening ultrasound. Nonetheless, treatment uncertainties are still present, either prenatally or postnatally. Recently, significant innovations on diagnosis and treatment have been proposed and a more conservative, minimally invasive approach may be offered to the Pediatrician or the Surgeon who face with this condition during prenatal or neonatal age. (...

Interesting states in A = 10 mass region, populated in 10B + 10B nuclear reactions

The 10B+10B reactions are measured at beam energies of 50 and 72.2 MeV. The large spin of 10B nucleus (J= 3+) makes this reaction particularly suitable to populate high spin states in the exit channels. Population and decay of different states in A≈10 mass region is studied, and the results are discussed from the structure point of view. In particular, a new state in 12C at Ex= 24.4 MeV is observed to be strongly populated in the triple α-particle coincidences

Biliverdin Protects against Liver Ischemia Reperfusion Injury in Swine

Ischemia reperfusion injury (IRI) in organ transplantation remains a serious and unsolved problem. Organs that undergo significant damage during IRI, function less well immediately after reperfusion and tend to have more problems at later times when rejection can occur. Biliverdin has emerged as an agent that potently suppress IRI in rodent models. Since the use of biliverdin is being developed as a potential therapeutic modality for humans, we tested the efficacy for its effects on IRI of the liver in swine, an accepted and relevant pre-clinical animal model. Administration of biliverdin resulted in rapid appearance of bilirubin in the serum and significantly suppressed IRI-induced liver dysfunction as measured by multiple parameters including urea and ammonia clearance, neutrophil infiltration and tissue histopathology including hepatocyte cell death. Taken together, our findings, in a large animal model, provide strong support for the continued evaluation of biliverdin as a potential therapeutic in the clinical setting of transplantation of the liver and perhaps other organs

Thick-target inverse kinematic method in order to investigate alpha-clustering in212Po

The inverse-kinematic thick-target method has been used in order to investigate 212Po alpha-structure by the elastic scattering of 208Pb on 4He target. A 208Pb beam, accelerated by the Superconducting Cyclotron (CS) of Laboratori Nazionali del Sud - INFN, at the incident energy of 10.1 A MeV was impinging onto a specifically designed 4He gas cell, two meter long. The gas cell wasacting both as target and as beam degrader, stopping the beam before reaching the alpha-particle detection system placed at 0° with respect to the beam axis. In order to disentangle the elastic contribution from other reaction channels (e.g. inelastic scattering) a microchannel plate was used to measure the Time of Flight(ToF) of both the 208Pb beam particles and the ejectiles along the gas cell. The 208Pbstopping power in the 4He gas target was also measured, as a key ingredient in order to establish theinteraction point inside the gas cell, in turn determining the solid angle covered by the detector. In the following, the experimental technique will be described, and the results of a preliminary data analysis will be shown

Guidelines of the Italian Society of Videosurgery in Infancy for the minimally invasive treatment of pediatric nephrectomy and partial nephrectomy

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