Leptin, a cytokine-like hormone secreted by adipocytes, is known to regulate food intake but has also emerged as a significant factor in the regulation of bone mass. In humans, states of energy deprivation with low serum leptin have been associated with low bone mass. In mice, leptin deficiency led to increased trabecular bone mass with overall decrease in cortical bone. Leptin regulates bone metabolism indirectly in the hypothalamus thereby activating the sympathetic nervous system (SNS). In addition to the SNS, leptin also interacts with various hypothalamic neuropeptides, such as cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript, neuropeptide Y and/or neuromedin U, which might modulate the effects of leptin on bone. In osteoblasts sympathetic signaling is further gated by the transcriptional factors called molecular clock. As a result, bone loss is accelerated showing that the central effect of leptin seems to be antiosteogenic. Additionally, leptin has a direct anabolic effect within the bone driving the differentiation of bone marrow stem cells into the osteoblastic cell lineage. Besides the interaction between the central and peripheral pathways, the overall effect of leptin on bone might be bimodal depending on leptin serum concentrations. Regulatory pathways triggering osteoblast activity might open new possibilities for anabolic treatment of osteoporosis., V. Cirmanová, M. Bayer, L. Stárka, K. Zajíčková., and Obsahuje bibliografii a bibliografické odkazy
This study was designed to investigate effect of alpha-lipoic acid (LA) on lipid peroxidation, nitric oxide production and antioxidant systems in rats exposed to chronic restraint stress. Twenty four male Wistar rats, aged three months, were divided into four groups: control (C), the group treated with LA (L), the group exposed to restraint stress (S) and the group exposed to stress and treated with LA (LS). Restraint stress was applied for 21 days (1 h/day) and LA (100 mg/kg/day) was injected intraperitonally to the L and LS groups for the same period. Restraint stress significantly decreased brain copper/zinc superoxide dismutase (Cu,Zn-SOD) and brain and retina glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and catalase (CAT) activities compared with the control group. Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), nitrite and nitrate levels were significantly increased in the tissues of the S group compared with the C group. LA produced a significant decrease in brain and retina TBARS, nitrite and nitrate levels of the L and LS groups compared to their corresponding control groups. LA increased all enzyme activities in the tissues of the LS group compared to the S group. Our study indicated that LA is an ideal antioxidant candidate for the prevention of stress-induced lipid peroxidation., D. Akpinar, P. Yargiçoğlu, N. Derin, Y. Alicigüzel, A. Ağar., and Obsahuje bibliografii a bibliografické odkazy
The effect of chronic hydrocortisone administration (0.5 mg/kg) on the liver and plasma lipid content was assessed in Wistar rats. It was found after that the liver cholesterol content was significantly increased 6 months of hydrocortisone treatment. At the same time, the distribution of liver phospholipid fractions was altered. The fatty acid composition of liver lipids showed a significant increase of 22:6 n-3. Decreased levels of cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol were found in the plasma of the hydrocortisone-treated rats.
Young plants of maize inbred lines CE777, CE704, and CE810 and their F1 hybrids displaying a positive heterotic effect in various photosynthetic characteristics were exposed to low temperature during their early growth developmental stage. The photochemical activity of isolated mesophyll chloroplasts and the contents of photosynthetic pigments in leaves of stressed and non-stressed plants were compared with the aim to find out the possible changes in the relationship between parents and hybrids, and to determine the genetic basis of heterosis in F1 generation. Strong decrease in the content of chlorophylls was observed for all genotypes examined when plants were subjected to low growth temperature. Similar change was recorded for Hill reaction activity (HRA) of inbred lines but not of their F1 hybrids, and no significant response at all was found for photosystem 1 (PS1) activity or the total carotenoids content. The intraspecific variation due to differences between genotypes was found for most of photosynthetic characteristics examined. This variation was caused by the additive and dominance genetic effects. Positive dominance was the main cause of positive heterosis in HRA and in the contents of photosynthetic pigments and was much more pronounced in the stressed plants compared to the non-stressed ones. The maternal additive effects participated in the inheritance of contents of photosynthetic pigments in plants exposed to low temperature, too. and M. Körnerová, D. Holá.
Hemorrhagic shock (HS) represents an acute event with high mortality. The optimal combination of anesthetics that would prevent hemodynamic collapse and allow damage control surgery has not yet been determined. We tested the hypothesis that a combination of dissociative anesthetic ketamine with alpha2- agonist medetomidine (MK group, n=10) would provide superior hemodynamic control compared to propofol-remifentanil (PR group, n=10) during HS in minipigs. A modified Wiggers‘ model of HS with a target mean arterial pressure (MAP) of 40 mm Hg and 2 h duration was used. All minipigs survived. HS led to a ~50 % decrease in cardiac output in both groups (P<0.001 for baseline vs. HS 120 min) with no differences between groups. Total volume of removed blood was larger in the MK group (1321±133 ml vs. 1111±246 ml in the PR group, respectively; P<0.05). MAP was higher during the initial phases of HS in the MK group than in PR group (P<0.05 at HS 30-90 min). HR was lower in the MK group at the late phases of HS (P<0.05 at HS 60-120 min). In conclusion, medetomidine-ketamine provides a feasible and possibly a more favorable alternative to the propofol-remifentanil combination in our model of HS in minipigs., A. Brezina ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje bibliografii a bibliografické odkazy
Water availability is the main factor limiting crop growth and productivity in dry regions. This study was carried out in order to determine the effect of spraying methanol solution on the photosynthetic characteristics of bean plants. The main aim of our experiment was to improve plant performance under stress caused by water shortage. Two factors were involved: water-deficit stress, such as severe stress (25% of field capacity), mild stress (75% of field capacity), and no stress (100% of field capacity), and application of methanol solution spray at four concentrations: control (without spraying), 10, 20, and 30%. Methanol was applied three times at different growth stages (seedling, flowering, and podding stage) in 10-d intervals. The treatment with 20% methanol at the seedling stage resulted in increased net photosynthesis (P N), intercellular CO2 concentration (C i), and decreased transpiration rate (E) under no stress and mild stress conditions. Under severe stress, 10 and 20%-methanol treatments resulted in increased C i, maximal quantum yield of PSII photochemistry, and decreased E. At the flowering stage, methanol treatments resulted in decreased E and increased C i under mild and severe stress. At the podding stage, 10 and 20%-methanol treatments resulted in increased P N, C i, and total chlorophyll content under mild stress. In conclusion, we suggested that foliar application of methanol had a positive role in enhancing photosynthetic performance., N. Armand, H. Amiri, A. Ismaili., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
Type 2 diabetes (T2D) as well as cardiovascular disease (CVD) represent major complications of obesity and associated metabolic disorders (metabolic sy ndrome). This review focuses on the effects of long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (omega-3) on insulin sensitivity and glucose homeostasis, which are improved by omega-3 in many animal models of metabolic syndrome, but remain frequently unaffected in humans. Here we focus on: (i) mechanistic aspects of omega-3 action, reflecting also our experiments in dietar y obese mice; and (ii) recent studies analysing omega-3’s effects in various categories of human subjects. Most animal experiments document beneficial effects of omega-3 on insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism even under conditions of established obesity and insulin resistance. Besides positive results obtained in both cross- sectional and prospective cohort studies on healthy human populations, also some intervention studies in prediabetic subjects document amelioration of impaired glucose homeostasis by omega-3. However, the use of omega-3 to reduce a risk of new-onset diabetes in prediabetic subjects still remains to be further characterized. The results of a majority of clinical trials performed in T2D patients suggest that omega-3 have none or marginal effects on metabolic control, while effectively reducing hypertriglyceridemia in these pati ents. Despite most of the recent randomized clinical trials do not support the role of omega-3 in secondary prevention of CVD, this issue remains still controversial. Combined interventions using omega-3 and antidiabetic or hypolipidemic drugs should be further explored and considered for treatment of patients with T2D and other diseases., P. Flachs, M. Rossmeisl, J. Kopecky., and Obsahuje bibliografii a bibliografické odkazy
A major obstacle to the therapeutic use of anthracyclines, highly effective anticancer agents, is the fact that their administration results in dose-dependent cardiomyopathy. According to the currently accepted hypothesis, anthracyclines injure the heart by generating oxygen free radicals. The ability of pyridoxal isonicotinoyl hydrazone (PIH) and salicylaldehyde isonicotinoyl hydrazone (SIH) – new iron chelators – to protect against peroxidation as well as their suitable biological, physical and chemical properties make the compounds promising candidates for pre-clinical and clinical studies. Activities of carbonyl reductase CR (1.1.1.184), dihydrodiol dehydrogenase DD2 (1.3.1.20), aldehyde reductase ALR1 (1.1.1.2) and P450 isoenzymes (CYP1A1, CYP1A2, CYP2B, CYP3A) involved in the metabolism of daunorubicin, doxorubicin and other drugs or xenobiotics were studied. Various concentrations of the chelators were used either alone or together with daunorubicin or doxorubicin for in vitro studies in isolated hepatocytes. A significant decrease of activity was observed for all enzymes only at PIH and SIH concentrations higher than those presumed to be used for therapy. The results show that PIH and SIH have no effect on the activities of the enzymes studied in vitro and allow us to believe that they will not interfere with the metabolism of co-administered drugs and other xenobiotics. Daunorubicin (Da) and doxorubicin (Dx) significantly reduce cytochrome P450 activity, but the addition of SIH and PIH chelators (50 μM) reverses the reduction and restores the activity to 70-90 % of the activity of relevant controls.