(C) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.”
“This study was aimed to assess the content of total Fe, Ferritin (Ft) and labile Fe pool (LIP) in developing rat brain exposed in utero to 1 Gy of gamma-irradiation. A significant increase (2.3-fold) in the total Fe content of the fetal rat brain irradiated in utero was observed from 1 to 4 h post-irradiation, as compared to the content in non-irradiated brain. Ft was analyzed by immunoblotting. The Ft protein was composed
by 20 kDa subunits. According to the analysis of the band density in the Western blot, the Ft content decreased by 77 +/- 15%2 h after gamma-irradiation, as compared to the values in non-irradiated samples. The effect of gamma-irradiation
on the LIP was studied APR-246 cell line by both electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and by a fluorescence technique employing calcein (CA). A reduction on the LIP was detected at 2 h post-irradiation, independently of the methodology employed AZD3965 mw for the assay. Since NO content increased in the same time frame of LIP decreasing, a protective role for NO is suggested in fetal rat brain exposed to gamma-irradiation. The data presented in this work are the first experimental evidence suggesting that, as part of the network of the cellular response to limit irradiation-dependent injury, a complex interaction between Fe and NO could be triggered. (C) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.”
“Diadenosine tetraphosphate (AP(4)A), two adenosine moieties bridged by four phosphates, is an endogenous purinergic ligand found in brain. Previous studies have shown that ANA reduced neurodegeneration caused by the dopaminergic
neurotoxin 6-hydroxydopamine in rat striatum and substantia nigra. The purpose of this study was to determine whether AP4A is protective against methamphetamine (MA)-mediated toxicity. Primary neuronal cultures were prepared from rat embryonic (E14-E15) ventral mesencephalic tissue. Cultures treated with 2 mM MA exhibited decreased tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) immunoreactivity and increased cleaved caspase-3 immunoreactivity and TUNEL labeling. All these changes were lessened by pretreatment with AP(4)A. The protective effect of AP(4)A was also found in vivo. Adult MycoClean Mycoplasma Removal Kit Sprague-Dawley rats were injected with AP(4)A (25 mu g/20 mu l) or vehicle intracerebroventricularly followed by 4 doses of MA (5 or 10 mg/kg), given subcutaneously every 2 h. Administration of MA reduced locomotor activity 1 day after injection, which was significantly antagonized by the pretreatment with AP(4)A. Using immunohistochemical analysis, TH fiber density at the substantia nigra pars reticulata was found reduced while cleaved caspase-3 immunoreactivity in striatum was increased after MA treatment; these responses were also significantly antagonized by AP(4)A.