Only one catalase, katG, is detectable in Rhizobium etli, and is encoded along with the regulator OxyR on a plasmid replicon.

The plasmid-borne Rhizobium etli katG gene encodes a dual-function catalase-peroxidase (KatG) (EC 1.11.1.

Commercial dietary antioxidant supplements assayed for their antioxidant activity by different methodologies.

Seven commercial dietary antioxidant supplements were evaluated for their in vitro antioxidant capacity by different methodologies: antiradical activity against 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH.), inhibition of methyl linoleate (MeLo) autoxidation, and resistance to ion-dependent oxidation of human low-density lipoprotein (LDL). Great variability in antioxidant activity was seen among the supplements, as well as different patterns of antioxidant capacity depending on the method used.

Neuroprotective effects of aspirin in patients with acute cerebral infarction.

Aspirin may reduce ischemic brain injury. The aim of this study was to explore the effect of aspirin on glutamate release after acute stroke. We studied 238 patients with a first episode of hemispheric ischemic stroke of less than 24 h duration.

Levels of anti-inflammatory cytokines and neurological worsening in acute ischemic stroke.

Background: Mechanisms involved in stroke progression are incompletely understood. Ischemic brain injury is characterized by acute local inflammatory response mediated by cytokines. Anti-inflammatory cytokines act in a feedback loop to inhibit continued proinflammatory cytokine production.

[Intravenous tissue-type plasminogen activator for the treatment of acute cerebral ischemia].

Background And Objective: Whether the risk of symptomatic hemorrhagic transformation (SHT) of cerebral infarction associated with the use of tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) is higher in clinical practice than in clinical trials is unknown. The aim of this study was to analyze the safety profile and clinical outcome of patients with acute cerebral ischemia who received open treatment with t-PA in Spanish hospitals.

Patients And Method: This prospective and observational study included 155 consecutive patients with an ischemic stroke treated within 3 hours from the onset of symptoms, or within 6 hours in the absence of early signs of large cerebral infarction on CT.

Plasma metalloproteinase-9 concentration predicts hemorrhagic transformation in acute ischemic stroke.

Background And Purpose: Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) activity has been associated with hemorrhagic transformation (HT) in experimental models of cerebral ischemia. Our aim was to investigate the relationship between MMP-9 concentrations in blood within 24 hours of stroke onset and subsequent HT of cerebral infarction.

Methods: We studied 250 patients with a hemispheric ischemic stroke of 7.

Oral citicoline in acute ischemic stroke: an individual patient data pooling analysis of clinical trials.

Background And Purpose: No single neuroprotective agent has been shown to influence outcome after acute stroke. Citicoline has been studied worldwide in many clinical trials with positive findings, but only 1 trial has obtained significant results in the primary efficacy variables. Our objective was to evaluate the effects of oral citicoline in patients with acute ischemic stroke by a data pooling analysis of clinical trials.

Upregulation of TACE/ADAM17 after ischemic preconditioning is involved in brain tolerance.

A short ischemic event (ischemic preconditioning [IPC]) can result in a subsequent resistance to severe ischemic injury (ischemic tolerance [IT]). Although tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) contributes to the brain damage, its expression and neuroprotective role in models of IPC have also been described. However, the role of TNF-alpha convertase (TACE) in IPC and IT is not known.

Iron intake increases infarct volume after permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion in rats.

Experimental and clinical data suggest an important role of iron in cerebral ischaemia. We measured infarct volume and analysed the oxidative stress, and also the excitatory and inflammatory responses to brain injury in a rat stroke model after an increased oral iron intake. Permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) was performed in ten male Wistar rats fed with a diet containing 2.

Unfractionated heparin is associated with a lower rise of serum vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 in acute ischemic stroke patients.

We sought to assess the anti-inflammatory properties of unfractionated heparin (UFH) in patients with ischemic stroke treated within 24 h from the onset of symptoms. We studied prospectively 167 patients that received 1000 IU/h intravenous UFH (n=70) or 300 mg oral aspirin (n=97) at a mean treatment delay of 6.7 h.

[False negative diffusion in acute ischemic stroke].

Introduction: The new techniques of magnetic resonance imaging have produced a important advance in the early diagnosis of acute ischemic stroke. The diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) has a high sensitivity and specificity in the acute ischemia.

Case Report: 70 years old woman with previous history of hypertension and dyslipemia.

Headache as a surrogate marker of the molecular mechanisms implicated in progressing stroke.

The mechanism for headache in patients with acute ischaemic stroke are not completely understood. We analysed the relationship between headache and the early worsening of neurological symptoms in patients with acute ischaemic stroke, and we studied the possible biochemical mechanisms implicated. Headache at the onset of ischaemic stroke predicted progression with a sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value of 56%, 99%, and 98%, respectively.

A -174G/C polymorphism of the interleukin-6 gene in patients with lacunar infarction.

Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a pleiotropic cytokine that plays a central role in the pathogenesis of stroke. A base pair substitution -174G/C in the promoter region of the IL-6 gene regulates IL-6 gene expression. We compared the prevalence of this polymorphism in patients with lacunar stroke and in an age- and sex-matched cohort of asymptomatic controls.

Semaphorin 3F gene from human 3p21.3 suppresses tumor formation in nude mice.

Loss of heterozygosity on human chromosome 3p21.3 is a frequent occurrence in many tumor types. In a previous study, our laboratory demonstrated that an 80-kb P1 clone from chromosome 3 suppresses the tumorigenicity of the mouse fibrosarcoma cell line A9.

Inflammation-mediated damage in progressing lacunar infarctions: a potential therapeutic target.

Background And Purpose: The mechanisms underlying neurological deterioration in patients with lacunar infarction are not completely understood. In this study, we sought to investigate the role of proinflammatory molecules in the early worsening and outcome of acute lacunar stroke.

Methods: We performed a secondary analysis of 113 consecutive patients with lacunar infarction included within the first 24 hours of the onset of symptoms in a previous study aimed at investigating clinical and biochemical factors of early neurological deterioration (END).

AniA regulates reserve polymer accumulation and global protein expression in Rhizobium etli.

Previously, it was reported that the oxidative capacity and ability to grow on carbon sources such as pyruvate and glucose were severely diminished in the Rhizobium etli phaC::OmegaSm(r)/Sp(r) mutant CAR1, which is unable to synthesize poly-beta-hydroxybutyric acid (PHB) (M. A. Cevallos, S.

A review of the state of research into the role of iron in stroke.

Iron is a double edged sword for living systems, as it is essential for a wide range of metabolic processes while it also has potential deletereous effects. Oxidative metabolism during ischaemic stroke together with high iron content in the brain synergise to increase the oxidative damage. High plasma ferritin, as a measurement of iron stores, and high cerebrospinal fluid ferritin have been related to poor outcome in stroke patients.

Molecular signatures of brain injury after intracerebral hemorrhage.

Background: The mechanisms of cellular death in the tissue surrounding an intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) are not defined.

Objective: To investigate the relationship of markers of excitotoxicity and inflammation to brain injury after ICH.

Methods: A total of 124 consecutive patients with spontaneous ICH admitted within 24 hours of stroke onset were prospectively investigated.

Neuroprotective effect of aspirin by inhibition of glutamate release after permanent focal cerebral ischaemia in rats.

Aspirin reduces the size of infarcts after ischaemic stroke. Although this fact has been attributed to its anti-platelet actions, direct neuroprotective effects have also been reported. We have recently demonstrated that aspirin is neuroprotective by inhibiting glutamate release in 'in vitro' models of brain ischaemia, via an increase in ATP production.

Neurological deterioration in acute lacunar infarctions: the role of excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters.

Background And Purpose: The mechanisms involved in the neurological deterioration of acute lacunar strokes are unknown. Although accumulating evidence suggests that glutamate release plays a role in the progression of territorial infarctions, it remains to be established whether excitotoxicity also participates in lacunar stroke progression. We investigated whether excitatory and inhibitory amino acid concentrations in blood predict subsequent progressive motor deficits in lacunar infarctions.

Atherosclerotic aortic arch plaques in cryptogenic stroke: a microembolic signal monitoring study.

Background And Purpose: To find out the prevalence of relevant atherosclerotic plaques in the aortic arch and their potential role as a source of embolism in cryptogenic stroke.

Methods: We performed a transoesophageal echocardiography (TEE) on 49 patients with cryptogenic stroke from a total series of 212 non-selected patients with acute ischaemic stroke studied prospectively by cranial computed tomography (CT), colour-duplex and transcranial Doppler (TCD) sonography with micro-embolic signal (MES) monitoring. Cryptogenic stroke was diagnosed in those patients without carotid or intracranial stenosis > 50%, nor lacunar or cardio-embolic strokes.

Embolism in acute middle cerebral artery stenosis.

Objective: To investigate the frequency of middle cerebral artery (MCA) stenosis in a series of nonselected patients and the coexistence of microembolic signals with stenosis.

Methods: MCA stenosis was sought by transcranial Doppler (TCD) in 387 patients admitted consecutively with acute ischemic cerebrovascular disease within the first 48 hours of the onset of symptoms and again at 6 months. TCD monitoring for microembolic signals was performed on all patients with MCA stenosis.