Effect of 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) on proliferation of glial cells in the rat cortex and striatum: evidence for de-differentiation of resident astrocytes.

Reactive astrogliosis is the universal response to any brain insult. It is characterized by cellular hypertrophy, up-regulation of the astrocyte marker glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), and proliferation. The source of these proliferating cells is under intense debate.

Gender-related effects of prenatal administration of estrogen and progesterone receptor antagonists on VEGF and surfactant-proteins and on alveolarisation in the developing piglet lung.

Background: Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is essential for embryonic lung development and has been shown to be regulated by estradiol (E2) and progesterone (P).

Aim: To investigate the effects of prenatal E2 and P withdrawal by specific receptor antagonists on the mRNA expression of VEGF, surfactant proteins (SP-B and SP-C) and on alveolarisation in lung tissue of male and female pig fetuses.

Methods: Fetuses from 10 sows were randomized to receive either both an intramuscular injection of the E2 receptor blocker ICI 182.

Prenatal estrogen and progesterone deprivation impairs alveolar formation and fluid clearance in newborn piglets.

Exposure to high levels of estradiol (E2) and progesterone (P) derived from the fetoplacentomaternal unit during the last trimester of pregnancy may play a crucial role in prenatal lung development and immediate postnatal alveolar fluid clearance (AFC). To measure prenatal alveolar formation and postnatal amiloride-sensitive AFC after pharmacological deprivation of E2 and P in utero, fetuses from five sows received an intramuscular depot injection of the E2 receptor blocker ICI 182.780 (ICI) and the P receptor blocker RTI 3021-022 (RTI) and fetuses of five other sows received a placebo injection (control group) during a laparotomy at 90 d of gestation (term gestation, 115 d).