Upregulation of NADH/NADPH oxidase 4 by angiotensin II induces podocyte apoptosis.

Background: Angiotensin II induces glomerular and podocyte injury via systemic and local vasoconstrictive or non-hemodynamic effects including oxidative stress. The release of reactive oxygen species (ROS) from podocytes may participate in the development of glomerular injury and proteinuria. We studied the role of oxidative stress in angiotensin II-induced podocyte apoptosis.

Lateral hypothalamic leptin receptor neurons drive hunger-gated food-seeking and consummatory behaviours in male mice.

For survival, it is crucial for eating behaviours to be sequenced through two distinct seeking and consummatory phases. Heterogeneous lateral hypothalamus (LH) neurons are known to regulate motivated behaviours, yet which subpopulation drives food seeking and consummatory behaviours have not been fully addressed. Here, in male mice, fibre photometry recordings demonstrated that LH leptin receptor (LepR) neurons are correlated explicitly in both voluntary seeking and consummatory behaviours.

Autophagy Precedes Apoptosis in Angiotensin II-Induced Podocyte Injury.

Background/aims: Angiotensin II (Ang II) induces podocyte injury resulting in apoptosis in vitro and in vivo. However, the relationship between autophagy and apoptosis in Ang II-induced podocyte injury is unknown and the role of Ang II-induced autophagy in podocyte survival or death remains unclear. We investigated the sequential relationship between autophagy and apoptosis in Ang II-induced podocytes as well as the role of phosphatidylinositide 3-kinase (PI3-kinase).

Food Craving, Seeking, and Consumption Behaviors: Conceptual Phases and Assessment Methods Used in Animal and Human Studies.

What drives us to eat? It is one of the most fundamental questions in the obesity research field which have been investigated for centuries. Numerous novel technologies in the neuroscience field allows us to reevaluate the multiple components and phases of food-related behaviors. Focused on the cognitive, executive, behavioral and temporal aspects, food-related behaviors can be distinguished into appetitive phase (food craving→food seeking) and consummatory phase (food consumption).

Ginseng Total Saponin Attenuates Podocyte Apoptosis Induced by Diabetic Conditions Through the Recovery of CD2-Associated Protein.

CD2-associated protein (CD2AP), an adaptor protein, plays several important roles in podocyte function, linking slit diaphragms to actin-based cytoskeleton and sending survival signals. Here, we investigated whether ginseng total saponin (GTS) had a protective role in the changes of podocyte CD2AP protein and podocyte apoptosis under in vitro diabetic conditions. Conditionally immortalized mouse podocytes cultured with normal glucose (5 mM) or high glucose (30 mM) and with or without advanced glycosylation end products were treated with GTS.

Does Nest Predation Influence Colony Movements of Saunders's Gulls (Saundersilarus saundersi) in a Reclaimed Land Area?

Some seabirds commonly use artificially reclaimed lands, which are frequently located next to mainland environments, for breeding. Nest predation risk caused by birds or mammals from the mainland has negative influence on fitness-related costs and distribution of seabirds. Here, we sought to link potential factors, specifically those related to nest predation and nest environment, with breeding performance and colony movements of the Saunders's gull (Saundersilarus saundersi), a vulnerable species, on a large reclaimed area (1350 ha) in Incheon in Republic of Korea.

Puromycin aminonucleoside triggers apoptosis in podocytes by inducing endoplasmic reticulum stress.

Background: Puromycin aminonucleoside (PAN) is a known podocytotoxin. PAN-induced nephrosis is a widely used animal model for studying human idiopathic nephrotic syndrome. Abnormal protein accumulation associated with podocyte-specific endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress damages cells structurally and functionally, which in turn induces apoptosis and severe proteinuria.

Heat shock protein gene family of the Porphyra seriata and enhancement of heat stress tolerance by PsHSP70 in Chlamydomonas.

Heat shock proteins and molecular chaperones are key components contributing to survival in the abiotic stress response. Porphyra seriata grows on intertidal rocks exposed to dynamic environmental changes associated with the turning tides, including desiccation and heat stress. Analysis of the ESTs of P.