The binding of [3H]SCH 23390 has been studied in various brain regions of male mice with the experience of repeated victory (winners) or defeat (losers) gained over 10 (T10) and 20 (T20) days of daily agonistic confrontations. In the frontal cortex, Bmax of [3H]SCH 23390 binding sites was found to be increased in T10 losers and decreased in T20 losers when compared to the control mice. In the striatum, T10 and T20 winners had reduced values of [3H]SCH 23390 binding sites than the ones in the control mice. The Kd was increased in the frontal cortex of T10 losers and T10 winners as well as in the amygdala of T20 losers. Reduced Kd values were found in the striatum of all experimental groups as well as in the amygdala of T20 winners. Thus, both specific changes relating to social behavior patterns and non-specific ones in [3H]SCH 23390 binding were found in the brain regions of mice after 10 and 20 days of intermale confrontations., D. F. Avgustinovich, O. V. Alekseyenko., and Obsahuje bibliografii a bibliografické odkazy
Colonic mucosal protection is provided by the mucus gel, mainly composed of mucins. Several factors can modulate the formation and the secretion of mucins, and among them butyrate, an end-product of carbohydrate fermen tation. However, the specific effect of butyrate on the various colonic mucins, and the consequences in terms of the mucus layer thickness are not known. Our aim was to determine whether butyrate modulates colonic MUC genes expression in vivo and whether this results in changes in mucus synthesis and mucus layer thickness. Mice received daily for 7 days rectal enemas of butyrate (100 mM) versus saline. We demonstrated that butyrate stimulated the gene expression of both secreted (Muc2) and membrane-linked (Muc1, Muc3, Muc4) mucins. Butyrate especially induced a 6-fold increase in Muc2 gene expression in proximal colon. However, butyrate enemas did not modify the number of epithelial cells containing the protein Muc2, and caused a 2-fold decrease in the thickness of adherent mucus layer. Further studies should help understanding whether this last phenomenon, i.e. the decrease in adherent mucus gel thickness, results in a diminished protective function or not., E. Gaudier ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
Free radicals and proinflammatory cytokines from phagocytes have been implicated in the pathogenesis of endotoxic shock, a disease with high mortality caused by Gram-negative bacterial endotoxin. In the present study, male BALB/c and Swiss mice received intraperitoneally lipopolysaccharide (LPS) at 100 mg/kg and 150 mg/kg, respectively, that led to a lethal endotoxic shock (100 % of mortality before 30 h). Swiss mice injected with 100 mg/kg, that did not show lethal endotoxic shock, were also studied. Peritoneal macrophages were obtained from animals at 2, 4, 12 or 24 h after injection of LPS or saline (control) solutions. Superoxide anion and tumor necrosis factor (TNFα) production were determined in these cells as well as other functions such as adherence capacity, chemotaxis and phagocytosis. The increase in superoxide anion production after endotoxin injection was higher in cells from mice with lethal shock than in those with non-lethal shock. However, the enhancement of TNFα production was similar in all cases, although in Swiss mice the highest levels of TNFα were observed at 1.5 h after endotoxin injection, while in BALB/c mice they occurred at 2 h after LPS injection. This oxidative stress was also revealed by the other functions analyzed, since adherence to substrate and phagocytosis were stimulated and chemotaxis was decreased after endotoxin injection as compared to controls, the differences being even more significant in animals with lethal shock. These data suggest that these changes, mainly the increased production of free radicals even more than the TNFα release, could be involved in mouse mortality caused by LPS., V. M. Víctor, M. de la Fuente., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Plant essential oils (EOs) have been reported to have health benefit properties and their preventive and therapeutic use in animals is expected to increase in the future. We evaluated the influence of five essential oils obtained from plant species which are known to have positive antimicrobial, antioxidative and anti-inflammatory effects – sage EO from Salvia officinalis L. (Lamiaceae), oregano EO from Origanum vulgare L. (Lamiaceae), thyme EO from Thymus vulgaris L. (Lamiaceae), clove EO from Syzygium aromaticum L. (Myrtaceae) and cinnamon EO from Cinnamomum zeylanicum Blume (Lauraceae) on the growth and development of mouse preimplantation embryos in vivo. Essential oils were added to commercial diet at concentrations of 0.25 % for sage EO, thyme EO, clove EO, cinnamon EO and 0.1 % for oregano EO, and fed to ICR female mice for 2 weeks ad libitum. Females were then mated with males of the same strain. Embryos obtained on Day 4 of pregnancy at the blastocyst stage were stained by morphological triple staining (Hoechst, PI, Calcein-AM) and evaluated using fluorescent microscopy. The effects of essential oils were estimated by the viability of embryos, number of nuclei and distribution of embryos according to nucleus number. Cinnamon EO significantly decreased the number of nuclei and the distribution of embryos according to nucleus number was significantly altered. Sage EO negatively influenced the distribution of embryos according to nucleus number. Clove and oregano EOs induced a significantly increased rate of cell death. Only thyme EO had no detectable effects on embryo development. In conclusion, none of the essential oils had any positive effect on embryo development, but some of them reduced the number of cells and increased the incidence of cell death., M. Domaracký, P. Rehák, Š. Juhás, J. Koppel., and Obsahuje bibliografii a bibliografické odkazy
Interspecies differences in glycosidation potential in mammalian tissues represent a factor contributing to ambiguity when endobiotic and/or xenobiotic metabolic pathways are extrapolated from animals to man. Using the TLC/autoradiographic technique, we conducted an in vitro investigation involving mouse, rat, monkey, as well as human liver and kidney microsomes to evaluate their glycoconjugation potential towards 3H-labeled, purine-derived selective inhibitors of cyclin-dependent kinases such as olomoucine, bohemine, roscovitine, 6-(2-hydroxybenzyl)amino-2-(1-hydroxymethyl-2-methylpropyl)amino-9-isopropylpurine (compound A-4), and 6-(3-hydroxybenzyl)amino-2-[(1(R/S)-hydroxymethyl)propyl]amino-9-isopropylpurine (compound A-5) as aglycones. Principally, this study confirmed the aliphatic hydroxyl group of olomoucine-type inhibitors as a relatively suitable target for glucuronide, glucoside, xyloside, galactoside, and/or N-acetylaminoglucoside conjugation. Of the tissues examined, only the mouse microsomes were able to perform glucosidation and galactosidation reactions with the aglycones. On the other hand, monkey microsomes were superior to the mouse microsomes in a variety of glucuronide conjugates produced with compounds A-4 and A-5., K. Červenková, M. Belejová, Z. Chmela, M. Rypka, D. Riegrová, K. Michnová, K. Michalíková, I. Šúrová, A. Brejcha, J. Hanuš, B. Černý, K. Fuksová, L. Havlíček, J. Veselý., and Obsahuje bibliografii
This study was aimed to evaluate the role of commensal Gram-negative bacterium Bacteroides ovatus in murine model of chronic intestinal inflammation. The attempt to induce chronic colitis was done in Bacteroides ovatus-monoassociated, germ-free and conventional mice either in immunocompetent (BALB/c) mice or in mice with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID), using 2.5 % dextran-sodium sulfate (DSS) in drinking water (7 days DSS, 7 days water, 7 days DSS). Conventional mice developed chronic colitis. Some of germ-free BALB/c and the majority of germ-free SCID mice did not survive the long-term treatment with DSS due to massive bleeding into the intestinal lumen. However, monocolonization of germ-free mice of both strains with Bacteroides ovatus prior to long-term treatment with DSS protected mice from bleeding, development of intestinal inflammation and precocious death. We observed that though DSS-treated Bacteroides ovatus-colonized SCID mice showed minor morphological changes in colon tissue, jejunal brush-border enzyme activities such as γ-glutamyltranspeptidase, lactase and alkaline phosphatase were significantly reduced in comparison with DSS-untreated Bacteroides ovatus-colonized mice. This modulation of the enterocyte γ-glutamyltranspeptidase localized to the brush border membrane has been described for the first time. This enzyme is known to reflect an imbalance between pro-oxidant and anti-oxidant mechanisms, which could be involved in protective effects of colonization of germ-free mice with Bacteroides ovatus against DSS injury., T. Hudcovic ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
We have previously shown that chronic renal failure in rats induces changes in motor activity and behavior. Similar work on the possible effects of acute renal failure (ARF) induced by cisplatin (CP) is lacking. This is the subject matter of the current work. CP was injected intraperitoneally (i.p.) at a single dose of 20 mg/kg to induce a state of ARF, and three days later, its effects on motor activity, thermal and chemical noci ceptive tests, neuromuscular coordination, pentobarbitone-sleeping time, exploration activity and tw o depression models were investigated. The platinum concentration in the kidneys and brains of mice was also measured. The occurrence of CP-induced ARF was ascertained by standard physiological, biochemical and histo-pathological methods. CP induced all the classical biochemical, physiological and histopathological signs of ARF. The average renal platinum concen tration of CP-treated mice was 5.16 ppm, but there was no measurable concentration of platinum in the whole brains. CP treatment significantly decreased motor and exploration activities, and increased immobility time in depression models, suggesting a possible depression-like state. There was also a significant decrease in neuromuscular coordination in CP-treated mice. CP, given at a nephrotoxic dose, induced several adverse motor and behavioral alterations in mice. Further behavioral tests and molecular and biochemical investigations in the brains of mice with CP-induced ARF are warranted., B. H. Ali ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje bibliografii a bibliografické odkazy
An interaction between N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) and MK-801 was examined in mice using a modified elevated plus-maze paradigm that allows assessment of the adaptive form of spatial memory. NMDA administered (s.c.) immediately after the acquisition session protected the animals against the amnesia induced by MK-801 given shortly before the retention session. Behavioral performance, expressed as the transfer latency, and therefore spatial memory potency of NMDA plus MK-801 treated animals was comparable with that of both NMDA-treated animals and the controls., Z. Hliňák, I. Krejčí., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Raloxifen is a selective estrogen receptor modulator which prevents bone loss in ovariectomized female mice in a fashion similar to estrogens. Since testosterone-deficient male mice also lose bone mass, we were interested in testing the effects of raloxifen on bones in intact and castrated male mice. Bone density was significantly reduced in castrated animals (1.36±0.04 g/ml) as compared to intact animals (1.42±0.03 g/ml) (p<0.01). When castrated mice with extraordinarily low concentrations of testosterone and with reduced weight of seminal vesicles were treated with raloxifen, the changes in bone density and bone minerals resulting from castration (1.36±0.04 g/ml) were entirely prevented (1.40±0.01 g/ml). Cortical bone was lost in orchidectomized mice, and this decrease in cortical thickness of the femur was prevented by raloxifen administration. Raloxifen in a dose used in humans for treatment of osteoporosis decreased the weight of seminal vesicles, an organ which is highly sensitive to the androgenic effect, decreased the concentration of testosterone (12.5±2.8 μmol/l) (p<0.01) but not to the same level as in the case of castrated animals (0.6±0.3 μmol/l), and did not have any effect on bone density or mineral content in intact mice. The results of the present study may thus be interpreted as supporting the hypothesis that raloxifen is an effective agent against the deleterious effects of castration-induced osteopenia in male mice and also support the hypothesis that estrogens may have physiological skeletal effects in male mice., P. D. Broulík, K. Broulíková., and Obsahuje bibliografii a bibliografické odkazy