There is, I think, something ethereal about i —the square root of minus one. I remember first hearing about it at school. It seemed an odd beast at that time—an intruder hovering on the edge of reality.

Usually familiarity dulls this sense of the bizarre, but in the case of i it was the reverse: over the years the sense of its surreal nature intensified. It seemed that it was impossible to write mathematics that described the real world in …

I and i

The Gut Microbiota Mediates the Anti-Seizure Effects of the Ketogenic Diet

Decoding Alzheimer's disease from perturbed cerebral glucose metabolism: Implications for diagnostic and therapeutic strategies

Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP4) is a widely expressed enzyme transducing actions through an anchored transmembrane molecule and a soluble circulating protein. Both membrane-associated and soluble DPP4 exert catalytic activity, cleaving proteins containing a position 2 alanine or proline. DPP4-mediated enzymatic cleavage alternatively inactivates peptides or generates new bioactive moieties that may exert competing or novel activities. The widespread use of selective DPP4 inhibitors for the treatment of type 2 diabetes has heightened interest in the molecular mechanisms through which DPP4 inhibitors exert their pleiotropic actions. Here we review the biology of DPP4 with a focus on: 1) identification of pharmacological vs physiological DPP4 substrates; and 2) elucidation of mechanisms of actions of DPP4 in studies employing genetic elimination or chemical reduction of DPP4 activity. We review data identifying the roles of key DPP4 substrates in transducing the glucoregulatory, anti-inflammatory, and cardiometabolic actions of DPP4 inhibitors in both preclinical and clinical studies. Finally, we highlight experimental pitfalls and technical challenges encountered in studies designed to understand the mechanisms of action and downstream targets activated by inhibition of DPP4.

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Pharmacology, Physiology, and Mechanisms of Action of Dipeptidyl Peptidase-4 Inhibitors

Jadranka Varljen

Papers

Lithium plus pilocarpine induced status epilepticus--biochemical changes.

Pentylenetetrazol-induced seizures and kindling: changes in free fatty acids, superoxide dismutase, and glutathione peroxidase activity

Altered activities of rat brain metabolic enzymes caused by pentylenetetrazol kindling and pentylenetetrazol--induced seizures.

Structural analysis of a rhamnoarabinogalactan and arabinogalactans with immuno-stimulating activity from Calendula officinalis

Electroconvulsive shock in rats: changes in superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase activity.