The Morris water maze (MWM) is one of the most common tasks used to assess spatial learning and memory ability in rodents. Genetic strain and gender are two prominent variants that influence spatial performance. Although it was reported that ICR (Institute of Cancer Research) mice exhibited an unchanged baseline performance in the training phase of the MWM task, this outbred strain has been widely used in learning and memory studies, and little is known regarding the effects of sex on behavioral performance. In this study, we demonstrated that both male and female ICR mice could complete the MWM task. Furthermore, a significant sex difference was observed, with females having shorter escape latencies and longer durations in the target quadrant in both the acquisition and test phases. Our findings emphasize the necessity of careful examination of not only the strain effect on behavioral performance but also the sex effect., J.-F. Ge, ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
To determine whether a short-term change in dietary habits affects postprandial lipemia in men and women in the same way, postprandial triglyceridemia was measured in age- and BMI-matched young healthy men and women after two weeks on the self-selected low-fat low-cholesterol (LF) diet and after another two weeks on the self-selected high-fat high-cholesterol (HF) diet. After a standardized challenge meal (1.4 g fat/kg of body weight), men had higher postprandial triglyceridemia than women on the HF diet but no such difference was observed on the LF diet. The results of this preliminary study suggest that there may be important sex differences in the mechanisms regulating the postprandial lipemia response to different diets, women being able to adapt better to the HF diet with respect to postprandial lipemia., J. Kovář, R. Poledne., and Obsahuje bibliografii
As wine polyphenols were show n to possess many positive effects in mammals, including improvement of vascular function, this study investigated the effect of the Slovak Alibernet red wine extract (AWE) on blood pressure and vascular function in young normotensive Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) and spontaneously hypertensive (SHR) rats. Six weeks old, male, WKY and SHR were treated with AWE for three weeks at the dose of 24.2 mg/kg/day. Blood pressure (BP), determined by tail-cuff plethysmography, was significantly elevated in SHR vs. WKY and AWE failed to affect it. Lipid peroxidation was evaluated by determination of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances. Vascular function was assessed in rings of the femoral artery using Mulvany-Halpern’s myograph. Maximal endothelium-dependent acetylcholine (ACh)-induced rela xation was reduced in control SHR vs. WKY rats by approximatel y 9.3 %, which was associated with a significant decrease of its NO-independent component. AWE failed to affect maximal AC h-induced relaxation, both its NO-dependent and independen t components, compared to controls of the same genotype. AWE however reduced lipid peroxidation in the left ventricle of both WKY and SHR and in the liver of SHR. In conclusion, three-week administration of AWE failed to reduce BP and to improve endothelial function in the femoral arteries of both genotypes investigated., P. Bališ ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje bibliografii a bibliografické odkazy
The aim of this study was the histochemical characterization of NADPH diaphorase-positive neuronal pools in the rabbit lumbosacral segments using a model of single, repeated and multiple sublethal spinal cord ischemia. Following a single 8-min sublethal spinal cord ischemia and 1-hour reperfusion, the staining of NADPH diaphorase-exhibiting neurons in the dorsal horn, pericentral region, dorsal gray commissure and sacral parasympathetic nucleus was comparable with the control sections. In contrast to the foregoing sublethal ischemia, a regionally different somatic NADPH diaphorase (NADPHd) staining was found after multiple sublethal spinal cord ischemia. Whereas an almost complete loss of the staining of large NADPHd-exhibiting somata in the pericentral region was detected, the staining of the NADPHd-exhibiting neuronal pools in the deep dorsal horn and sacral parasympathetic nucleus was fully preserved. Concomitantly, a prominent reduction of small NADPH diaphorase -positive neurons was noted in the superficial dorsal horn layers of lower lumbar and sacral segments., J. Maršala, P. Jalč., and Obsahuje bibliografii
In our previous study, healthy volunteers showed considerable short-term dynamics and patterns of the coherence of high time resolution between respiratory movements (RESP), heart rate fluctuations (HRF), and arterial blood pressure fluctuations (BPF). These are physiological indicators of autonomic short-term coordination mediated mainly by the brainstem which could be impaired in severe brain disorders. We hypothesized a direct or indirect impairment of these functions by these disorders and examined these patterns in 16 patients suffering from severe brain disorders. We calculated partial and ordinary coherence sequences and found almost the same patterns of coherence sequences as in healthy volunteers, but a distinctly reduced frequency of pattern incidence in patients (2.8*1.5/10 min/patient and 9.5*2.8/10 min/subject, P<0.05). Furthermore, there is a significantly smaller frequency of HRF-related patterns in patients with poor outcome, compared with those in patients with good outcome (1.8*0.8/10 min/patient and 4.5*2.7/10 min/patient, P<0.05). We conclude that severe brain disorders reduce physiological short-term dynamics of autonomic coordination patterns in the mean values of patients, but not in every patient., U. Zwiener, Ch. Schelenz, S. Bramer, D. Hoyer., and Obsahuje bibliografii
The possible linear short-term coordination between respiratory movements (RESP), heart rate fluctuations (HRF), and arterial blood pressure fluctuations (BPF) in conscious human beings has not yet been investigated because of the restricted time resolution of conventional time series analysis. At present, this short-term dynamics as an expression of relative coordination can be quantified by newly developed adaptive autoregressive modeling of time series using Kalman filtering. Thus, in 6 conscious healthy volunteers, RESP, HRF, and BPF were recorded during 10 min in the supine position, at rest and during paced breathing. A considerable part of calculated ordinary and partial coherence sequences of short-term resolution between RESP and HRF, RESP and BPF, and partially between HRF and BPF showed patterns varying in time that could be correlated to changes between gradual coordinations (coherence changing between 0.40 and 0.95). They were more seldom complete or absent. There were mostly opposite changes between partial coherence sequences RESP-HRF/BPF and RESP-BPF/HRF demonstrating competitive behavior between these coordinations. Paced breathing did not essentially affect any observed characteristics. Therefore, these coherence dynamics are not essentially dependent on voluntary breathing movements. We conclude that to a different extent these linear and changing couplings between RESP, HRF, and BPF in conscious human beings exhibit properties of short-term complete and more frequently gradual coordinations showing dynamics that can not be determined by conventional methods., U. Zwiener, C. Schelenz, S. Bramer, D. Hoyer., and Obsahuje bibliografii
The effect of three-day fasting on cardiac ischemic tolerance was investigated in adult male Wistar rats. Anesthetized open-chest animals (pentobarbitone 60 mg/kg, i.p.) were subjected to 20-min left anterior descending coronary artery occlusion and 3-h reperfusion for infarct size determination. Ventricular arrhythmias were monitored during ischemia and at the beginning (3 min) of reperfusion. Myocardial concentrations of beta-hydroxybutyrate and acetoacetate were measured to assess mitochondrial redox state. Short-term fasting limited the infarct size (48.5±3.3 % of the area at risk) compared to controls (74.3±2.2 %) and reduced the total number of premature ventricular complexes (12.5±5.8) compared to controls (194.9±21.9) as well as the duration of ventricular tachycardia (0.6±0.4 s vs. 18.8±2.5 s) occurring at early reperfusion. Additionally, fasting increased the concentration of beta-hydroxybutyrate and betahydroxybutyrate/acetoacetate ratio (87.8±27.0) compared to controls (7.9±1.7), reflecting altered mitochondrial redox state. It is concluded that three-day fasting effectively protected rat hearts against major endpoints of acute I/R injury. Further studies are needed to find out whether these beneficial effects can be linked to altered mitochondrial redox state resulting from increased ketogenesis., M. Šnorek ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
It was previously shown that 4 hours´ lasting inhibition of nitric oxide synthesis by administration of an L-arginine analogue, the NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) changed the affinity of the Na-binding site of Na,K-ATPase thus resulting in elevation of enzyme activity especially at higher concentrations of sodium. Using the same experimental model, we focused our attention in the present study to the question of binding of ATP to the enzyme molecule in the left ventricle (LV), ventricular septum (S) and the right ventricle (RV) of the dog heart. Activation of the enzyme by increasing concentrations of ATP revealed a significant increase of the Vmax only in septum (by 38 %). The KM increased significantly in septum (by 40 %) and in left ventricle (by 56 %) indicating an altered sensitivity of the ATP-binding site of Na,K-ATPase in the hearts of NO-deficient animals. The alterations of Na,K-ATPase in its ability to bind and hydrolyze ATP are localized to the tissue surrounding the cavity of the left ventricle., N. Vrbjar, M. Strnisková, O. Pecháňová, M. Gerová., and Obsahuje bibliografii
It is known that hypertension is accompanied by increased [Na+]i. The functional properties of Na,K-ATPase, which transports the Na+ out and K+ into myocardial cells during the relaxation phase, were investigated in the left ventricle (LV), septum (SV) and the right ventricle (RV) of anesthetized dogs with moderate acute blood pressure elevation elicited by short-term (4-hour) NO synthase inhibition. The NO-insufficiency was induced by administration of an L-arginine analogue, the NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME). Concerning the function of Na,K-ATPase under the conditions of lowered NO synthesis, we focused our attention to the binding of Na+ to the enzyme molecule. Activation of the enzyme by increasing Na+ concentrations revealed significant changes in both the maximal velocity (Vmax) and the affinity for Na+ (KNa) in all investigated heart sections. The Vmax increased by 27 % in LV, by 87 % in SV and by 58 % in RV. The KNa value increased by 86 % in LV, by 105 % in SV and by 93% in RV, indicating an apparent decrease in the sensitivity of the Na+-binding site in the Na,K-ATPase molecule. This apparently decreased pump affinity for Na+ together with the increase of Vmax suggest that, during the short-term inhibition of NO synthesis, the Na,K-ATPase is capable of extruding the excessive Na+ from the myocardial cells more effectively at higher [Na+]i as compared to the Na,K-ATPase of control animals., N. Vrbjar, M. Strnisková, O. Pecháňová, M. Gerová., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Adiponectin belongs to the group of biologically active substances secreted by adipocytes and referred to as adipokines. Disturbances in its secretion an d/or action are thought to be involved in the pathogenesis of some metabolic diseases. However, regulation of adiponectin secretion is poorly elucidated. In the present study, short-term regulation of adiponectin secretion in primary rat adipocytes was investigated. Isolated rat adipocytes were incubated in Krebs-Ringer buffer containing 5 mM glucose and insulin alone or in the combination with epinephrine, dibutyryl-cAMP, adenosine A 1 receptor antagonist (DPCPX), palmitate, 2-bromopalmitate or inhibitor of mitochondrial electron transport (rotenone). Adipocyte exposure for 2 h to insulin (1-100 nM) significantly increased secretion of adiponectin compared with secretion observed without insulin. Furthermore, secretion of adipon ectin from adipocytes incubated with glucose and insulin was reduced by 1 and 2 μ M epinephrine, but not by 0.25 and 0.5 μ M epinephrine. Under similar conditions, 1 and 2 mM dibutyryl-cAMP substantially diminished secretion of adiponectin, whereas 0.5 mM dibutyryl-cAMP was ineffective. Secretion of adiponectin was found to be effectively decreased by DPCPX. Moreover, ad ipocyte exposure to rotenone also resulted in a substantial diminution of secretory response of adipocytes incubated for 2 h with glucose and insulin. It was also demonstrated that palmitate an d 2-bromopalmitate (0.06-0.5 mM) failed to affect secretion of leptin. The obtained results indicated that in short-term regulation of adiponectin secretion, insulin and epinephrine exert the opposite effects. These effects appeared as early as after 2 h of exposure. Moreover, deprivation of energy or blockade of adenosine action substantially decreased secretion of adiponectin., T. Szkudelski, L. Nogowski, K. Szkudelska., and Obsahuje bibliografii a bibliografické odkazy