Reduction of [11C](+)3-MPB binding in brain of chronic fatigue syndrome with serum autoantibody against muscarinic cholinergic receptor.

Background: Numerous associations between brain-reactive antibodies and neurological or psychiatric symptoms have been proposed. Serum autoantibody against the muscarinic cholinergic receptor (mAChR) was increased in some patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) or psychiatric disease. We examined whether serum autoantibody against mAChR affected the central cholinergic system by measuring brain mAChR binding and acetylcholinesterase activity using positron emission tomography (PET) in CFS patients with positive [CFS(+)] and negative [CFS(-)] autoantibodies.

Unique expression patterns of 5-HT2A and 5-HT2C receptors in the rat brain during postnatal development: Western blot and immunohistochemical analyses.

Serotonin (5-HT) is recognized as a potential regulatory factor in neuronal development. Two subtypes of receptors for it, 5-HT2A and 5-HT2C, are distributed broadly in the rat brain, suggesting their role in a variety of brain functions. Here, we investigated the expression patterns of these 5-HT2 receptors in the rat brain during postnatal development by using Western blot and immunohistochemical analyses.

Role of heme oxygenase-1 protein in the neuroprotective effects of cyclopentenone prostaglandin derivatives under oxidative stress.

Previously we found that some cyclopenteone prostaglandin derivatives (PGs), referred to as neurite outgrowth-promoting PGs (NEPPs), have dual biological activities of promoting neurite outgrowth and preventing neuronal death [Satoh et al. (2000) J. Neurochem.