Phenobarbital is an anticonvulsive drug widely used in newborns with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. The objective of our study was to describe possible effect of frequently co-administered medications (dopamine, dobutamine, norepinephrine, furosemide, phenytoin, and analgesics) on the phenobarbital pharmacokinetics in full term newborns with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. Phenobarbital pharmacokinetic parameters (standardized intravenous loading dose was 10-20 mg/kg, maintenance dose 2-6 mg/kg/day) were computed using non-compartmental analysis. Co-medication was evaluated throughout the whole treatment period up to 5 days. Volume of distribution, clearance, and half-life median values (95 % CI) for phenobarbital in the whole study population (n=37) were 0.48 (0.41-0.56) l/kg, 0.0034 (0.0028-0.0040) l/h/kg, and 93.7 (88.1-99.2) h, respectively. Phenobarbital pharmacokinetic parameters were not significantly affected by vasoactive drugs (dopamine, dobutamine, and norepinephrine), furosemide, phenytoin, or analgesics. Furthermore, no dose-dependent alteration of phenobarbital pharmacokinetic parameters was noted for vasoactive medication at doses equivalent to cumulative vasoactive-inotropic score (area under the curve in a plot of vasoactive-inotropic score against time) 143.2-8473.6, furosemide at cumulative doses of 0.2-42.9 mg/kg, or phenytoin at cumulative doses of 10.3-46.2 mg/kg. Phenobarbital pharmacokinetics was not affected by investigated co-administered drugs used in newborns with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy in real clinical settings., M. Šíma, P. Pokorná, K. Hronová, O. Slanař., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Activated hepatic stellate cells (HSC) are a major source offibrous proteins in cirrhotic liver. Inducing or accelerating their apoptosis is a potential way of liver fibrosis treatment. Extracellular matrix (ECM) surrounding cells in tissue affects their differentiation, migration, proliferation and function. Type I collagen is the main ECM component in fibrotic liver. We have examined how this protein modifies apoptosis of normal rat HSC induced by gliotoxin, cycloheximide and cytochalasin D in vitro and spontaneous apoptosis of HSC isolated from CCl4-damaged liver. We have found that type I collagen gel enhances HSC apoptosis regardless of the agent triggering this process. and L. Bittnerová, A. Jiroutová, E. Rudolf, M. Rezácová, J. Kanta
The effect of different host plants on Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) body size was investigated. Thrips from three different populations, from the Netherlands, Italy, and USA, achieved greater body sizes when reared on cucumber than on bean. The same thrips grew larger when reared on susceptible than on resistant cucumber. On the latter, reproduction was reduced, suggesting that smaller thrips have a lower reproduction. However, no evidence was found for a correlation between size and reproduction in experiments with thrips from four different populations, from the Netherlands, New Zealand, France, and USA that differed significantly in body size. Also when individual thrips from the four populations were tested, there was no correlation between size and reproduction. It is concluded that resistant cucumber affects both size and reproduction of F. occidentalis. However, lower reproduction in general is not associated with smaller body size., Willem Jan de Kogel, Domenico Bosco, Marieke van der Hoek, Chris Mollema, and Lit
a1_Reduced tolerance to ischemia/reperfusion (IR) injury has been shown in elder human and animal hearts, however, the onset of this unfavorable phenotype and cellular mechanisms behind remain unknown. Moreover, aging may interfere with the mechanisms of innate cardioprotection (preconditioning, PC) and cause defects in protective cell signaling. We studied the changes in myocardial function and response to ischemia, as well as selected proteins involved in “pro-survival” pathways in the hearts from juvenile (1.5 months), younger adult (3 months) and mature adult (6 months) male Wistar rats. In Langendorffperfused hearts exposed to 30-min ischemia/2-h reperfusion with or without prior PC (one cycle of 5-min ischemia/5-min reperfusion), we measured occurrence of reperfusion-induced arrhythmias, recovery of contractile function (left ventricular developed pressure, LVDP, in % of pre-ischemic values), and size of infarction (IS, in % of area at risk size, TTC staining and computerized planimetry). In parallel groups, LV tissue was sampled for the detection of protein levels (WB) of Akt kinase (an effector of PI3-kinase), phosphorylated (activated) Akt (p-Akt), its target endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) and protein kinase Cε (PKCε) as components of “pro-survival” cascades. Maturation did not affect heart function, however, it impaired cardiac response to lethal IR injury (increased IS) and promoted arrhythmogenesis. PC reduced the occurrence of malignant arrhythmias, IS and improved LVDP recovery in the younger animals, while its efficacy was attenuated in the mature adults. Loss of PC protection was associated with age-dependent reduced Akt phosphorylation and levels of eNOS and PKCε in the hearts of mature animals compared with the younger ones, as well as with a failure of PC to upregulate these proteins., a2_Agingrelated alterations in myocardial response to ischemia may be caused by dysfunction of proteins involved in protective cell signaling that may occur already during the process of maturation., L. Griecsová, V. Farkašová, I. Gáblovský, V. K. M. Khandelwal, I. Bernátová, Z. Tatarková, P. Kaplan, T. Ravingerová., and Obsahuje bibliografii
The occurrence of melatonin is known in nearly all organisms, but nothing is known exactly about its function outside of vertebrates. Long-term perifusions as well as short-term batch incubations of brains and moulting glands of the cockroach Periplaneta americana were used to identify the effect of melatonin on the release of prothoracicotropic hormone, a glandotropic neuropeptide in the brain, which stimulates the production of the moulting hormone ecdysone in the moulting gland. This is the first experimental evidence of a neurohormonal releasing effect of melatonin in the insect nervous system., Klaus Richter, Elmar Peschke, Dorothee Peschke, and Lit
Soil and changes in vegetation may affect ant assemblages, but the relative importance of each in different habitats is not well characterized. In particular, information on the effects of ecological restoration on arthropods is scarce. It was decided, therefore, to study how reforestation may affect an ant assemblage. Ants were sampled in area that had been reforested and adjacent grassland using pitfall traps. Soil surface and vegetation were characterized. The disturbance of the vegetation caused by reforestation resulted in a decrease in the cover of Stipa tenacissima and Cistaceae and an increase in the cover of pine. The mechanical preparation of the site also resulted in changes in the soil surface, with an increase in the cover of stones and rocks. Ant species richness and abundance were greater at the reforested site than in the grassland and more species showed a positive than a negative response to reforestation. The underlying causes of this pattern are mainly related to changes in vegetation and structure of the soil surface and are associated with the increase in the cover of pine, which most probably provided additional food resources, and the greater cover of stones and rocks that provided more shelter for the ant assemblage., Chema Catarineu, Joaquín Reyes-López, Joan A. Herraiz, Gonzalo G. Barberá., and Obsahuje bibliografii
We investigated the impact of a high-fat (HF) diet during pre- and post-weaning periods on the intestinal microbiota and alkaline phosphatase (AP) activity in male rats. Nutrition from birth was influenced by feeding rat dams with either a standard or HF diet. After weaning male pups nursed by control dams continued on a standard diet (CC) or HF diet (C-HF), while offspring nursed by HF dams continued on HF diet (HF) or standard diet (HF-C). The numbers of Bacteroides/Prevotella (BAC) and Lactobacillus/Enterococcus (LAB) in the gut were determined by FISH technique. HF pups displayed enhanced adiposity and increased AP activity (19 %), as well as higher LAB (P<0.001) and lower numbers of BAC (P<0.001) in the jejunum and colon than controls. In HF-C rats, post-weaning lower fat intake resulted in decreased fat deposition accompanied by reduced AP activity (20 %) compared to HF rats. Composition of the intestinal microbiota in these rats was not influenced. In contrast, in comparison with controls, C-HF rats displayed higher LAB (P<0.001) and lower BAC (P<0.001) together with increased adiposity and AP activity (14 %). These results indicate that consumption of diet with different fat content could modulate gut microbial/functional conditions depending on the period when the nutritional manipulation occurs., Z. Šefčíková, D. Bujňáková., and Obsahuje bibliografii
This study aimed to examine how regular aerobic training can affect the muscle hypertrophy induced by overloading. Male C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into three groups: rest group, low-intensity aerobic exercise group, and high-intensity aerobic exercise group. Mice in the exercise groups were assigned to run at a speed of 10 m/min (low-intensity) or 25 m/min (high-intensity) for 30 min/day, five days/week, for four weeks. Then, the right hind leg gastrocnemius muscles were surgically removed to overload the plantaris and soleus muscles, while the left hind leg was subjected to a sham-operation. Both the plantaris and soleus muscles grew larger in the overloaded legs than those in the sham-operated legs. Muscle growth increased in the plantaris muscles in the low-intensity exercise group compared to that in the rest or high-intensity exercise groups at one and two weeks after overloading. This enhancement was not observed in the soleus muscles. Consistently, we observed changes in the expression of proteins involved in anabolic intracellular signaling, including Akt, mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR), and p70S6K, in the plantaris muscles. Our data showed for the first time that chronic low-intensity aerobic exercise precipitates overload-induced muscle growth., Siriguleng, T. Koike, Y. Natsume, S. Iwama, Y. Oshida., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Baclofen is the only clinically available metabotropic GABAB receptor agonist. In our experiment, we tested the hypothesis that long-term baclofen administration can impair learning and memory in rats. The experiment consisted of three parts. In the first part of the study the drug was administered simultaneously with the beginning of the behavioral tests. In the second and third part of the experiment baclofen was administered daily for 14 days and for one month before the tests. In each part of the experiment, adult rats were randomly divided into four treatment groups. Three groups were given an injection of baclofen at doses of 1 mg/kg, 5 mg/kg, 10 mg/kg, while the fourth group was injected with saline. The injections were given after each session. Spatial learning and memory were tested using the Morris water maze, involving three types of tests: Acquisition, Probe, and Re-acquisition. This work reveals that baclofen did not affect spatial learning at any of the tested doses and regardless of the length of administration. Memory was observed to be affected, but only at the highest dose of baclofen and only temporarily. This conclusion is in line with previously published clinical cases., M. Holajová, M. Franěk., and Seznam literatury
Sophoridine is a type of alkaloid extract derived from the Chinese herb Sophora flavescens Ait (kushen) and possess a variety of pharmacological effects including anti- inflammation, anti - anaphylaxis, anti - cancer, anti - arrhythmic and so on. However, the effect of sophoridine on heart failure has not been known yet. In this study, the effect of sophoridine on heart failure was investigated using Sprague -Dawley (SD) rat model of chronic heart failure. Morphological results showed that in medium and high dose group, myofilaments were arranged orderly and closely, intermyofibrillar ly sis disappeared and mitochondria contained tightly packed cristae compared with heart failure group. We investigated the Ca 2+ induced Ca 2+ transients and assessed the expression of ryanodine receptor (RyR2) and L-type Ca 2+ channel (dihydropyridine receptor, DHPR). We found that the cytosolic Ca 2+ transients were markedly increas ed in amplitude in medium ( ΔF/F 0 =43.33±1.92 ) and high dose groups ( ΔF/F 0 =47.21 ±1.25 ) compared with heart failure group ( ΔF/F 0 =16.7±1.29, P <0.0 1), Moreover, we demonstrated that the expression of cardiac DHPR was significantly increased in medium - and high dose -group compared with heart failure rats. Our results suggest that sophoridine could improve heart failure by ameliorating cardiac Ca 2+ induced Ca 2+ transients, and that thi s amelioration is associated with upregulation of DHPR., S.-T. Hu, Y.-F. Shen, J.-M. Gong, Y.-J. Yang., and Obsahuje bibliografii