scispace - formally typeset
Search or ask a question

Showing papers in "American Journal of Physiology-regulatory Integrative and Comparative Physiology in 2001"


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Human ghrelin elicited a potent, long-lasting GH release and had beneficial hemodynamic effects via reducing cardiac afterload and increasing cardiac output without an increase in heart rate.
Abstract: To investigate hemodynamic and hormonal effects of ghrelin, a novel growth hormone (GH)-releasing peptide, we gave six healthy men an intravenous bolus of human ghrelin (10 microg/kg) or placebo and vice versa 1-2 wk apart in a randomized fashion. Ghrelin elicited a marked increase in circulating GH (15-fold). The elevation of GH lasted longer than 60 min after the bolus injection. Injection of ghrelin significantly decreased mean arterial pressure (-12 mmHg, P < 0.05) without a significant change in heart rate (-4 beats/min, P = 0.39). Ghrelin significantly increased cardiac index (+16%, P < 0.05) and stroke volume index (+22%, P < 0.05). We also examined ghrelin receptor [GH secretagogues receptor (GHS-R)] gene expression in the aortas, the left ventricles, and the left atria of rats by RT-PCR. GHS-R mRNA was detectable in the rat aortas, left ventricles, and left atria, suggesting that ghrelin may cause cardiovascular effects through GH-independent mechanisms. In summary, human ghrelin elicited a potent, long-lasting GH release and had beneficial hemodynamic effects via reducing cardiac afterload and increasing cardiac output without an increase in heart rate.

610 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Regulation of the goldfish antioxidant system during anoxia may constitute a biochemical mechanism that minimizes oxidative stress following reoxygenation.
Abstract: The purpose of this work was to evaluate the response of the antioxidant system of goldfish Carassius auratus during anoxia and reoxygenation. The exposure of goldfish to 8 h of anoxia induced a 14...

374 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This review summarizes evidence for the existence of tissue-specific sympathetic output pathways, which are likely to include distinct populations of premotor neurons whose target specificity could be assessed using the functional fingerprints developed from characterizations of postganglionic efferents to known targets.
Abstract: With advances in experimental techniques, the early views of the sympathetic nervous system as a monolithic effector activated globally in situations requiring a rapid and aggressive response to life-threatening danger have been eclipsed by an organizational model featuring an extensive array of functionally specific output channels that can be simultaneously activated or inhibited in combinations that result in the patterns of autonomic activity supporting behavior and mediating homeostatic reflexes. With this perspective, the defense response is but one of the many activational states of the central autonomic network. This review summarizes evidence for the existence of tissue-specific sympathetic output pathways, which are likely to include distinct populations of premotor neurons whose target specificity could be assessed using the functional fingerprints developed from characterizations of postganglionic efferents to known targets. The differential responses in sympathetic outflows to stimulation of reflex inputs suggest that the circuits regulating the activity of sympathetic premotor neurons must have parallel access to groups of premotor neurons controlling different functions but that these connections vary in their ability to influence different sympathetic outputs. Understanding the structural and physiological substrates antecedent to premotor neurons that mediate the differential control of sympathetic outflows, including those to noncardiovascular targets, represents a challenge to our current technical and analytic approaches.

349 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is shown that a psychosocial stressor induced glucocorticoid resistance in mouse splenic macrophages, and depletion of macrophage cultures abolished both the corticosterone resistance and enhanced IL-6 secretion.
Abstract: Stress-induced levels of plasma glucocorticoid hormones are known to modulate leukocyte function. These experiments examined the effects of a social stressor on the responsiveness of peripheral immune cells. Male mice experienced six evening cycles of social disruption (SDR), in which an aggressive male intruder was placed into their home cage for 2 h. Although circulating corticosterone was elevated in SDR mice, they had enlarged spleens and increased numbers of splenic leukocytes. Splenocytes from SDR and control mice were cultured with lipopolysaccharide and corticosterone. Cells from SDR mice exhibited decreased sensitivity to the antiproliferative effects of corticosterone, suggesting that the peripheral immune cells were resistant to glucocorticoids. In addition, SDR cells produced more interleukin (IL)-6. To determine which cell population was affected, we used antibody-labeled magnetic beads to deplete splenocyte suspensions of B cells or macrophages. Depletion of macrophages from SDR cultures, but not depletion of B cells, abolished both the corticosterone resistance and enhanced IL-6 secretion. These findings demonstrate that a psychosocial stressor induced glucocorticoid resistance in mouse splenic macrophages.

288 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The presence of IL-18 in the inflamed mucosa of patients with Crohn's disease is a clue to the involvement of EMT in the development of the bowel disease.
Abstract: Interleukin (IL)-18, initially described as interferon (IFN)-γ-inducing factor, is expressed in the inflamed mucosa of patients with Crohn's disease. To investigate the role of IL-18 in intestinal ...

265 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In normal subjects, arterial baroreflex can induce beat-by-beat PI changes in response to only 21% of all SBP ramps, possibly because of central inhibitory influences or of interferences at sinus node level by nonbaroreflex mechanisms, and BEI provides information on the barore Flex function that is complementary to BRS.
Abstract: In healthy subjects, progressive beat-to-beat increases or decreases in systolic blood pressure (SBP) ramps are not always accompanied by baroreflex-driven lengthening or shortening in pulse interv...

248 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is demonstrated that adenosine acting on A1R is required for TGF and modulates renin release.
Abstract: The hypothesis that adenosine acting on adenosine A1 receptors (A1R) regulates several renal functions and mediates tubuloglomerular feedback (TGF) was examined using A1R knockout mice. We anesthet...

234 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Crewmembers on these flights experienced circadian rhythm disturbances, sleep loss, decrements in neurobehavioral performance, and postflight changes in REM sleep.
Abstract: Sleep, circadian rhythm, and neurobehavioral performance measures were obtained in five astronauts before, during, and after 16-day or 10-day space missions. In space, scheduled rest-activity cycles were 20-35 min shorter than 24 h. Light-dark cycles were highly variable on the flight deck, and daytime illuminances in other compartments of the spacecraft were very low (5.0-79.4 lx). In space, the amplitude of the body temperature rhythm was reduced and the circadian rhythm of urinary cortisol appeared misaligned relative to the imposed non-24-h sleep-wake schedule. Neurobehavioral performance decrements were observed. Sleep duration, assessed by questionnaires and actigraphy, was only approximately 6.5 h/day. Subjective sleep quality diminished. Polysomnography revealed more wakefulness and less slow-wave sleep during the final third of sleep episodes. Administration of melatonin (0.3 mg) on alternate nights did not improve sleep. After return to earth, rapid eye movement (REM) sleep was markedly increased. Crewmembers on these flights experienced circadian rhythm disturbances, sleep loss, decrements in neurobehavioral performance, and postflight changes in REM sleep.

228 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This study provides further evidence that CCK is an endogenous physiological satiety signal acting through CCK-A receptor-mediated mechanisms, and Repeated-dose studies comparing hunger and satiety responses after CCK -A receptor blockade in healthy subjects and patients with eating disorders may help clarify the possible involvement of endogenous CCK in these conditions.
Abstract: Exogenous cholecystokinin (CCK) induces early satiety when infused into humans. Whether alimentary CCK (CCK-A) receptor blockade stimulates food intake in humans is, however, uncertain. The aim of ...

216 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The study establishes that neuromuscular activity in peripheral skeletal muscle falls parallel with reduction in power output during bouts of high-intensity exercise and suggests the presence of a central neural governor that reduces the active muscle recruited during prolonged exercise.
Abstract: We examined neuromuscular activity during stochastic (variable intensity) 100-km cycling time trials (TT) and the effect of dietary carbohydrate manipulation. Seven endurance-trained cyclists perfo...

197 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is demonstrated that glucocorticoid-induced fetal growth restriction is associated with a transient reduction in postnatal arterial pressure, but glucoc Corticoid exposure with or without growth restriction alters glucose metabolism.
Abstract: Our aim was to determine the postnatal effects of single and repeated glucocorticoid injections during late gestation. Repeated (104, 111, 118, 125 days) or single (104 days) injections of betamethasone or saline were given to the ewe or by ultrasound guided injection to the fetus (term 150 days). Lambs were born spontaneously and studied at 3 and 6 mo and 1 yr of age. Arterial pressure was measured at each age, and we performed intravenous glucose tolerance tests at 6 mo and 1 yr. Repeated maternal, but not single maternal or fetal, betamethasone injections prolonged gestation, reduced weight at birth and 3 mo, and was associated with low arterial pressure at 3 mo but not at 6 mo and 1 yr. Glucose metabolism was altered in all betamethasone treatment groups, regardless of the number or route of injections. Our data demonstrate that glucocorticoid-induced fetal growth restriction is associated with a transient reduction in postnatal arterial pressure, but glucocorticoid exposure with or without growth restriction alters glucose metabolism.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The findings demonstrate that the early course of heart failure is characterized not by a simple "switching on" of neurohumoral drive, but rather by dynamic fluctuations in Neurohumoral regulation that are linked to the process of left ventricular remodeling.
Abstract: This study examined the early neurohumoral events in the progression of congestive heart failure (CHF) after myocardial infarction (MI) in rats. Immediately after MI was induced by coronary artery ...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is concluded that fat intake postexercise strongly promotes IMCL repletion independently of training status and replenishment of IMCL can be completed within a day when fat intake is sufficient.
Abstract: The hypotheses that postexercise replenishment of intramyocellular lipids (IMCL) is enhanced by endurance training and that it depends on fat intake were tested. Trained and untrained subjects exercised on a treadmill for 2 h at 50% peak oxygen consumption, reducing IMCL by 26-22%. During recovery, they were fed 55% (high fat) or 15% (low fat) lipid energy diets. Muscle substrate stores were estimated by (1)H (IMCL)- and (13)C (glycogen)-magnetic resonance spectroscopy in tibialis anterior muscle before and after exercise. Resting IMCL content was 71% higher in trained than untrained subjects and correlated significantly with glycogen content. Both correlated positively with indexes of insulin sensitivity. After 30 h on the high-fat diet, IMCL concentration was 30-45% higher than preexercise, whereas it remained 5-17% lower on the low-fat diet. Training status had no significant influence on IMCL replenishment. Glycogen was restored within a day with both diets. We conclude that fat intake postexercise strongly promotes IMCL repletion independently of training status. Furthermore, replenishment of IMCL can be completed within a day when fat intake is sufficient.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The high resistance of diapause II embryos to water stress is not correlated with ontogenetic changes in the egg envelope, and this is unprecedented among aquatic vertebrates.
Abstract: Diapausing embryos ofAustrofundulus limnaeus survive desiccating conditions by reducing evaporative water loss. Over 40% of diapause II embryos survive 113 days of exposure to 75.5% relative humidi...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In conclusion, although unexplained, the increased CS with acute exercise can clearly confound training responses and artificially elevate CS values and offers an explanation for the large variation in CS previously reported.
Abstract: Maximal citrate synthase activity (CS) is routinely used as a marker of aerobic capacity and mitochondrial density in skeletal muscle. However, reported CS has been notoriously variable, even with ...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Results from the in vivo and in vitro studies together with the previous observation of the presence of orexin A-immunoreactive fibers in the IML suggest that orexins, when released within the IML, augment sympathetic outflow by acting directly on SPNs.
Abstract: The two recently isolated hypothalamic peptides orexin A and orexin B, also known as hypocretin 1 and 2, are reported to be important signaling molecules in feeding and sleep/wakefulness. Orexin-containing neurons in the lateral hypothalamus project to numerous areas of the rat brain and spinal cord including the intermediolateral cell column (IML) of the thoracolumbar spinal cord. An in vivo and in vitro study was undertaken to evaluate the hypothesis that orexins, acting on sympathetic preganglionic neurons (SPNs) in the rat spinal cord, increase sympathetic outflow. First, orexin A (0.3, 1, and 10 nmol) by intrathecal injection increased mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR) by an average of 5, 18, and 30 mmHg and 10, 42, and 85 beats/min in urethane-anesthetized rats. Intrathecal injection of saline had no significant effects. Orexin B (3 nmol) by intrathecal administration increased MAP and HR by an average of 11 mmHg and 40 beats/min. The pressor effects of orexin A were attenuated by pri...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A modeling framework, flux-balance analysis, was used to characterize the optimal flux distributions for maximal ATP production in the mitochondrion and predicts the secretion of TCA-cycle intermediates, which is observed in clinical studies of mitochondriopathies such as those associated with fumarase deficiency.
Abstract: Mitochondrial metabolism is a critical component in the functioning and maintenance of cellular organs. The stoichiometry of biochemical reaction networks imposes constraints on mitochondrial function. A modeling framework, flux-balance analysis (FBA), was used to characterize the optimal flux distributions for maximal ATP production in the mitochondrion. The model predicted the expected ATP yields for glucose, lactate, and palmitate. Genetic defects that affect mitochondrial functions have been implicated in several human diseases. FBA can characterize the metabolic behavior due to genetic deletions at the metabolic level, and the effect of mutations in the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle on mitochondrial ATP production was simulated. The mitochondrial ATP production is severely affected by TCA-cycle mutations. In addition, the model predicts the secretion of TCA-cycle intermediates, which is observed in clinical studies of mitochondriopathies such as those associated with fumarase deficiency. The model provides a systemic perspective to characterize the effect of stoichiometric constraints and specific metabolic fluxes on mitochondrial function.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is demonstrated for the first time that the manner of mRNA expression of various cardiovascular regulating factors in the heart differs between physiological and pathological cardiac hypertrophy.
Abstract: Pressure overload, such as hypertension, to the heart causes pathological cardiac hypertrophy, whereas chronic exercise causes physiological cardiac hypertrophy, which is defined as athletic heart....

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Data indicate that ANG II type 1 receptors within the PVN mediate an excitatory effect on RSND, AP, and HR, which can be induced by ANG II stimulation, in turn inhibits the ANG II-mediated increase in sympathetic nerve activity.
Abstract: The paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of the hypothalamus is an important site of integration in the central nervous system for sympathetic outflow. Both glutamate and nitric oxide (NO) play an importa...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Captive European starlings were exposed to the stress of handling and restraint while corticosterone, glucose, and triglyceride concentrations were monitored in blood plasma to suggest that cortic testosterone's role in metabolism changes to meet varying energetic demands throughout the day.
Abstract: Captive European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) were exposed to the stress of handling and restraint while corticosterone, glucose, and triglyceride concentrations were monitored in blood plasma. In ...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Processes intrinsic to adipose cells involving changes in C/EBP family members contribute to impaired adipogenesis and altered fat tissue function with aging, and are potentially reversible.
Abstract: Fat mass, adipocyte size and metabolic responsiveness, and preadipocyte differentiation decrease between middle and old age. We show that expression of CCAAT/enhancer binding protein (C/EBP)-alpha, a key regulator of adipogenesis and fat cell function, declined substantially with aging in differentiating preadipocytes cultured under identical conditions from rats of various ages. Overexpression of C/EBP alpha in preadipocytes cultured from old rats restored capacity to differentiate into fat cells, indicating that downstream differentiation-dependent genes maintain responsiveness to regulators of adipogenesis. C/EBP alpha-expression also decreased with age in fat tissue from three different depots and in isolated fat cells. The overall level of C/EBP beta, which modulates C/EBP alpha-expression, did not change with age, but the truncated, dominant-negative C/EBP beta-liver inhibitory protein (LIP) isoform increased in cultured preadipocytes and isolated fat cells. Overexpression of C/EBP beta-LIP in preadipocytes from young rats impaired adipogenesis. C/EBP delta, which acts with full-length C/EBP beta to enhance adipogenesis, decreased with age. Thus processes intrinsic to adipose cells involving changes in C/EBP family members contribute to impaired adipogenesis and altered fat tissue function with aging. These effects are potentially reversible.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The results show that the L-glutamate microinjection into the PPT can increase wakefulness and/or REM sleep depending on the dosage, and support the hypothesis that excitation of the P PT cells is causal to the generation of wakeful and REM sleep in the rat.
Abstract: The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that the cells in the brain stem pedunculopontine tegmentum (PPT) are critically involved in the normal regulation of wakefulness and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. To test this hypothesis, one of four different doses of the excitatory amino acid L-glutamate (15, 30, 60, and 90 ng) or saline (control vehicle) was microinjected unilaterally into the PPT while the effects on wakefulness and sleep were quantified in freely moving chronically instrumented rats. All microinjections were made during wakefulness and were followed by 6 h of polygraphic recording. Microinjection of 15- ng (0.08 nmol) and 30-ng (0.16 nmol) doses of L-glutamate into the PPT increased the total amount of REM sleep. Both doses of L-glutamate increased REM sleep at the expense of slow-wave sleep (SWS) but not wakefulness. Interestingly, the 60-ng (0.32 nmol) dose of L-glutamate increased both REM sleep and wakefulness. The total increase in REM sleep after the 60-ng dose of L-glutamate was significantly less than the increase from the 30-ng dose. The 90-ng (0.48 nmol) dose of L-glutamate kept animals awake for 2-3 h by eliminating both SWS and REM sleep. These results show that the L-glutamate microinjection into the PPT can increase wakefulness and/or REM sleep depending on the dosage. These findings support the hypothesis that excitation of the PPT cells is causal to the generation of wakefulness and REM sleep in the rat. In addition, the results of this study led to the identification of the PPT dosage of L-glutamate that optimally induces wakefulness and REM sleep. The knowledge of this optimal dose will be useful in future studies investigating the second messenger systems involved in the regulation of wakefulness and REM sleep.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is indicated that physical exercise accelerates phase-advance shifts of the human circadian pacemaker associated with the forced sleep-wake schedule and significantly phase advanced plasma melatonin rhythm.
Abstract: Effects of forced sleep-wake schedules with and without physical exercise were examined on the human circadian pacemaker under dim light conditions. Subjects spent 15 days in an isolation facility separately without knowing the time of day and followed a forced sleep-wake schedule of a 23 h 40-min period for 12 cycles, and physical exercise was imposed twice per waking period for 2 h each with bicycle- or rowing-type ergometers. As a result, plasma melatonin rhythm was significantly phase advanced with physical exercise, whereas it was not changed without exercise. The difference in phase was already significant 6 days after the start of exercise. The amplitude of melatonin rhythm was not affected. A single pulse of physical exercise in the afternoon or at midnight significantly phase delayed the melatonin rhythms when compared with the prepulse phase, but the amount of phase shift was not different from that observed in the sedentary controls. These findings indicate that physical exercise accelerates phase-advance shifts of the human circadian pacemaker associated with the forced sleep-wake schedule.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is suggested that low doses of intraperitoneal IL-1beta induce fever via a vagal route and that dose may account for some of the discrepancies in the literature.
Abstract: It has been suggested that proinflammatory cytokines communicate to the brain via a neural pathway involving activation of vagal afferents by interleukin-1β (IL-1β), in addition to blood-borne routes. In support, subdiaphragmatic vagotomy blocks IL-1β-induced, brain-mediated responses such as fever. However, vagotomy has also been reported to be ineffective. Neural signaling would be expected to be especially important at low doses of cytokine, when local actions could occur, but only very small quantities of cytokine would become systemic. Here, we examined core body temperature after intraperitoneal injections of three doses of recombinat human IL-1β (rh-IL-1β). Subdiaphragmatic vagotomy completely blocked the fever produced by 0.1 μg/kg, only partially blocked the fever produced by 0.5 μg/kg, and had no effect at all on the fever that followed 1.0 μg/kg rh-IL-1β. Blood levels of rh-IL-1β did not become greater than normal basal levels of endogenous rat IL-β until the 0.5-μg/kg dose nor was IL-1β induced in the pituitary until this dose. These results suggest that low doses of intraperitoneal IL-1β induce fever via a vagal route and that dose may account for some of the discrepancies in the literature.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A role for DMH NPY upregulation in the dorsomedial hypothalamus is suggested in the etiology of OLETF hyperphagia and obesity.
Abstract: Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty (OLETF) rats lacking CCK-A receptors are hyperphagic, obese, and diabetic. We have previously demonstrated that these rats have a peripheral satiety deficit resulting in increased meal size. To examine the potential role of hypothalamic pathways in the hyperphagia and obesity of OLETF rats, we compared patterns of hypothalamic neuropeptide Y (NPY), proopiomelanocortin (POMC), and leptin receptor mRNA expression in ad libitum-fed Long-Evans Tokushima (LETO) and OLETF rats and food-restricted OLETF rats that were pair-fed to the intake of LETO controls. Pair feeding OLETF rats prevented their increased body weight and elevated levels of plasma insulin and leptin and normalized their elevated POMC and decreased NPY mRNA expression in the arcuate nucleus. In contrast, NPY expression was upregulated in the dorsomedial hypothalamus (DMH) in pair-fed OLETF rats. A similar DMH NPY overexpression was evident in 5-wk-old preobese OLETF rats. These findings suggest a role for DMH NPY upregulation in the etiology of OLETF hyperphagia and obesity.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The data suggest that elevated concentrations of ascorbate in plasma provide an antioxidant source that is redistributed to tissues during the metabolic stress that accompanies arousal.
Abstract: During hibernation in Arctic ground squirrels (Spermophilus parryii), O(2) consumption and plasma leukocyte counts decrease by >90%, whereas plasma concentrations of the antioxidant ascorbate increase fourfold. During rewarming, O(2) consumption increases profoundly and plasma ascorbate and leukocyte counts return to normal. Here we investigated the dynamic interrelationships among these changes. Plasma ascorbate and uric acid (urate) concentrations were determined by HPLC from blood samples collected at approximately 15-min intervals via arterial catheter; leukocyte count and hematocrit were also determined. Body temperature, O(2) consumption, and electromyographic activity were recorded continuously. Ascorbate, urate, and glutathione contents in body and brain samples were determined during hibernation and after arousal. During rewarming, the maximum rate of plasma ascorbate decrease occurred at the time of peak O(2) consumption and peak plasma urate production. The ascorbate decrease did not correlate with mouth or abdominal temperature; uptake into leukocytes could account for only a small percentage. By contrast, liver and spleen ascorbate levels increased significantly after arousal, which could more than account for ascorbate clearance from plasma. Brain ascorbate levels remained constant. These data suggest that elevated concentrations of ascorbate [(Asc)] in plasma [(Asc)(p)] provide an antioxidant source that is redistributed to tissues during the metabolic stress that accompanies arousal.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Experimental data indicating an overexpression of muscle Ub mRNA in cancer cachexia is confirmed, and lack of correlation with nutritional status suggests that Ub activation in human cancer is an early feature that precedes any clinical sign of cachexia.
Abstract: The intramuscular ATP-dependent ubiquitin (Ub)-proteasome proteolytic system is hyperactivated in experimental cancer cachexia. The present study aimed at verifying whether the expression of the muscle Ub mRNA is altered in patients with cancer. Total muscle RNA was extracted using the guanidinium isothiocyanate/phenol/chloroform method from rectus abdominis biopsies obtained intraoperatively from 20 gastric cancer (GC) patients and 10 subjects with benign abdominal diseases (CON) undergoing surgery. Ub mRNA levels were measured by northern blot analysis. Serum soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor (sTNFR) was measured by ELISA. Ub mRNA levels (arbitrary units, means ± SD) were 2,345 ± 195 in GC and 1,162 ± 132 in CON ( P = 0.0005). Ub mRNA levels directly correlated with disease stage ( r = 0.608, P = 0.005), being 1,945 ± 786 in stages I and II, 2,480 ± 650 in stage III, and 3,799 ± 66 in stage IV. Ub mRNA and sTNFR did not correlate with age and nutritional parameters. This study confirms experimental data indicating an overexpression of muscle Ub mRNA in cancer cachexia. Lack of correlation with nutritional status suggests that Ub activation in human cancer is an early feature that precedes any clinical sign of cachexia.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: NAC ameliorates the renal failure and the outer medullary vasoconstriction induced by ICVO, effects that seem to be dependent on the presence of NO and the scavenging of peroxynitrite.
Abstract: This study evaluated the effects of N-acetyl-l-cysteine (NAC), a free radical scavenger, andN ω-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (l-NAME), a nitric oxide (NO) synthesis inhibitor, on the changes in re...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The finding that, during REM sleep, basal forebrain ACh release is significantly elevated over waking levels suggests a differential role for basal fore brain ACh duringREM sleep and waking.
Abstract: Cholinergic neurons of the basal forebrain supply the neocortex with ACh and play a major role in regulating behavioral arousal and cortical electroencephalographic activation. Cortical ACh release is greatest during waking and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and reduced during non-REM (NREM) sleep. Loss of basal forebrain cholinergic neurons contributes to sleep disruption and to the cognitive deficits of many neurological disorders. ACh release within the basal forebrain previously has not been quantified during sleep. This study used in vivo microdialysis to test the hypothesis that basal forebrain ACh release varies as a function of sleep and waking. Cats were trained to sleep in a head-stable position, and dialysis samples were collected during polygraphically defined states of waking, NREM sleep, and REM sleep. Results from 22 experiments in four animals demonstrated that means ± SE ACh release (pmol/10 min) was greatest during REM sleep (0.77 ± 0.07), intermediate during waking (0.58 ± 0.03), and lowest during NREM sleep (0.34 ± 0.01). The finding that, during REM sleep, basal forebrain ACh release is significantly elevated over waking levels suggests a differential role for basal forebrain ACh during REM sleep and waking.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Membrane transport systems for Pi transport are key elements in maintaining homeostasis of Pi in organisms as diverse as bacteria and human.
Abstract: Membrane transport systems for Pi transport are key elements in maintaining homeostasis of Pi in organisms as diverse as bacteria and human. Two Na-Pi cotransporter families with well-described fun...