Immunohistochemistry study on androgen and estrogen receptors of rat seminal vesicle submitted to simultaneous alcohol-nicotine treatment

Objective: Alcohol consumption is habitually accompanied by the use of other psychoactive substances, mostly tobacco. Nicotine and alcohol affect male accessory reproductive glands function. Most studies have been done on pathologic features of prostate, but there has been no systematic study on the seminal vesicle. Therefore, the aim of current study was to investigate the distribution of androgen receptor (AR) and estrogen receptors-beta (ER-β) immune reactivities following long-term treatment of alcohol, nicotine or a combination of both substances. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, a total of 40 adult Wistar rats, nine weeks of age, were used. Animals were randomly divided into four groups, including: i. Control group receiving normal saline 0.09, ii. Ethanol group receiving ethanol 20 (2 ml/kg, via gavage), iii. Nicotine group receiving nicotine (0.1 mg/kg, subcutaneous injection), and iv. Ethanol-nicotine group receiving simultaneous ethanol 20 (2 ml/kg) and nicotine (0.1 mg/kg) treatment. All treatment lasted for eight weeks. Prior to intracardiac perfusion, blood sample was collected from left ventricle. The seminal vesicles were isolated and processed for paraffn blocking. The sample tissues were then studied for distribution of AR and ER-β immunereactivities using immunohistochemical (IHC) staining method. One way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey's test were performed for data analysis. A value of P<0.05 was considered signifcant. Results: Our results revealed that the lowest mean number of positive cells belonged to the animals of ethanol-nicotine group that was followed by the ethanol, nicotine, and control groups, respectively. However, there was no signifcant difference regarding serum testosterone level among experimental groups. Conclusion: It was concluded that combination of both ethanol and nicotine may be a crucial factor in the expression levels of AR and ER-β

Minocycline mitigation of tremor syndrome and defect of cognitive and balance induced by harmaline

Introduction: Minocycline has anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic, and anti-oxidant effects. Preclinical data suggest that minocycline could be beneficial for treating common neurological disorders, including Parkinson disease and multiple sclerosis. Methods: In this study, the effects of minocycline on harmaline-induced motor and cognitive impairments were studied in male Wistar rats. The rats were divided into four groups of ten animals each. Harmaline was used for the induction of Essential Tremor (ET). Minocycline (90 mg/kg, IP) was administered 30 minutes before the saline or harmaline. Tremor intensity, spontaneous locomotor activity, passive avoidance memory, anxiety-related behaviors, and motor function were assessed in the rats. Results: The results showed that minocycline could recover tremor intensity and step width but failed to recuperate the motor balance. The memory impairments observed in harmalinetreated rats were somewhat reversed by administration of minocycline. The cerebellum and inferior olive nucleus were studied for neuronal degeneration using histochemistry and transmission electron microscopy techniques. Harmaline caused ultrastructural changes and neuronal cell loss in inferior olive and cerebellar Purkinje cells. Minocycline exhibited neuroprotective changes on cerebellar Purkinje cells and inferior olivary neurons. Conclusion: These results open new therapeutic perspectives for motor and memory impairments in ET. However, further studies are needed to clarify the exact mechanisms. © 2021 Iran University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved

Investigating the effects of adult neural stem cell transplantation by lumbar puncture in transient cerebral ischemia

Stem cells have the ability to self renew and are therefore a good source for cell therapy following ischemia. In this study, we transplanted adult rat neural stem cells (NSCs) by lumbar puncture (LP) to investigate whether these cells can migrate and differentiate into neurons or glial cells, thereby improving functional outcome in cerebral ischemia. Transient ischemia was induced in adult rats (n = 16) for 1 h. Three days after the induction of ischemia, NSCs obtained from the subventricular zone of adult rats were injected into ischemic animals (n = 8) by LP at the level of L6–S1. Improved recovery of the coordination of movement on the 1st, 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th days after the injury was examined by the Rotarod test and compared with non-transplanted ischemic animals (n = 8). The presence of NSCs in the brain tissue of the animals was examined by immunohistofluorscence and immunohistochemical techniques. The coordination of movement in ischemic animals that received neural stem cells was improved significantly (P < 0.05) compared with untreated ischemic animals. Cells labeled with PKH26 were observed in the ischemic area of brain tissue sections. The alkaline phosphatase test and immunohistochemical techniques demonstrated a gathering of NSCs in the lateral ventricle. A number of cells which expressed neuronal and astrocytic cell markers had migrated from the lateral ventricle to the subjacent brain parenchyma. NSCs injected by LP were able to migrate to the ischemic tissue and differentiate into neural-like cells. These differentiated cells may have improved the coordination in movement in the ischemic animals injected with NSCs

The promising effect of barberry (Zereshk) extract against experimental pulmonary microvascular remodeling and hypertension: A comparison with sildenafil

CONTEXT: Despite the beneficial effects of barberry (Berberis integerrima Berberidaceae) on decreasing systemic hypertension, its influence has not been investigated on pulmonary hypertension. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to examine the effect of barberry fruit, on monocrotaline-induced pulmonary hypertension. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Nine groups were arranged as follows: the control group, the monocrotaline (M) group, the barberry groups with doses of 50, 100, and 200 (mg/kg), the M plus barberry groups, and the M plus sildenafil group. Two weeks after a single injection of monocrotaline (60 mg/kg, s.c.), barberry water extracts or sildenafil (30 mg/kg/d) were gavaged daily for 2 weeks. At the end of the 4th week, hemodynamic, biochemical, and histopathological parameters were assessed. RESULTS: In comparison with the M group, barberry (200 mg/kg) or sildenafil significantly reduced the right ventricular systolic pressure (RVSP) (22.95 ± 1.78 mm Hg and 30.71 ± 1.64 mm Hg, versus 41.28 ± 1.5 mm Hg), right ventricular hypertrophy (RVH) (0.39 ± 0.03 and 0.42 ± 0.02, versus 0.57 ± 0.02), and the medial wall thickness (MWT) (4.56 ± 0.15 µm and 5.97 ± 0.19 µm, versus 7.02 ± 0.43 µm). Barberry or sildenafil had no significant effect on the plasma level of endothelin-1, glutathione peroxidase, and the malondialdehide of lung. CONCLUSION: 200 mg/kg of barberry has an improving effect on the monocrotaline-induced pulmonary hypertension. This effect was stronger than that of the sildenafil's and may have been mediated through mechanisms other than the modulation of the endothelin-1 or redox system

Induction of cross-tolerance between protective effect of morphine and nicotine in 6-hydroxydopamine-induce neurotoxicity in SH-SY5Y human dopaminergic neuroblastoma cells

Purpose: Parkinson’s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disease characterized by progressive and selective death of dopaminergic neurons. It has been reported that nicotine and morphine have protective roles during neuronal damage in Parkinson’s disease. In addition, the induction of cross-tolerance between their biological effects has been shown in numerous reports. Methods: Here, we investigated the effects of nicotine and morphine on 6-OHDA-induced neurotoxicity in human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cell line as an in vitro model of Parkinson’s disease. Cell damage was induced by 150 μM 6-OHDA and the cells viability was examined by MTT assay. Intracellular reactive oxygen species, calcium level, and mitochondrial membrane potential were determined by fluorescence spectrophotometer method. Biochemical markers of apoptosis were also evaluated by immunoblotting. Result: The data showed that morphine and nicotine prevent 6-OHDA- induced cell damage and apoptosis. However, the protective effects of nicotine were not observed in chronic morphine-pretreated cells. Morphine had no protective effects in chronic nicotine-incubated cells. Conclusion: A cross-tolerance between protective effects of morphine and nicotine was occurred in 6-OHDA-induced SH-SY5Y cell toxicity. © 2018, © 2018 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group