Environmental enrichment restores the reduced expression of cerebellar synaptophysin and the motor coordination impairment in rats prenatally treated with betamethasone.

Preterm babies treated with synthetic glucocorticoids in utero exhibit behavioural alterations and disturbances in brain maturation during postnatal life. Accordingly, it has been shown in preclinical studies that SGC exposure at a clinical dose alters the presynaptic and postsynaptic structures and results in synaptic impairments. However, the precise mechanism by which SGC exposure impairs synaptic protein expression and its implications are not fully elucidated.

Histochemical detection of sugar residues in lizard teeth (Liolaemus gravenhorsti): a lectin-binding study.

The structural diversity of the many oligosaccharide chains of surface glycoconjugates renders them likely candidates for modulators of cell-interactions, cellular movements, differentiation, and cellular recognition. A selection of different lectins was used to investigate the appearance of cellular distribution and changes in sugar residues during tooth development in the polyphyodont lizard, Liolaemus gravenhorsti. Lectins from three groups were used: (1) N-acetylgalactosamine specificity: BS-1, PNA, RCA-120; (2) N-acetylglucosamine specificity: ECA; and (3) fucose specificity: UEA 1 and LTA.

Effects of steroidal and non steroidal drugs on the neovascularization response induced by tumoral TA3 supernatant on CAM from chick embryo.

Angiogenesis, the development of new blood vessels from the existing vascular network, may result as a consequence of the increase or decrease of proangiogenic or antiangiogenic factors, respectively. The tumor itself could up-regulate the production of angiogenic factors. Recently, we established that the steroidal drug betamethasone in low concentration inhibit the neovascularization promoted by TA3 Ts on CAM of chick embryos.

Effects of betamethasone, sulindac and quinacrine drugs on the inflammatory neoangiogenesis response induced by polyurethane sponge implanted in mouse.

In this study, we showed the effect of the betamethasone, sulindac and quinacrine alone or combined, on the inflammatory angiogenesis promoted by polyurethane sponge on mice. The main finding reported here is that the formation of new blood vessels was strongly inhibited by low concentration of betamethasone, sulindac or quinacrine, whether alone or in combination. It is known that steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs inhibit the enzymes required for the production of prostaglandins through a nuclear glucocorticoid receptor (GR) mediated mechanism.

Effect of sulfated beta-cyclodextrin, a water soluble cycloamylose, on the promotion and/or inhibition of angiogenesis.

Previous studies have reported that sulfated b b-cyclodextrin, a naturally occurring cycloamylose built up from six to eight glucopyranose units, when administered alone promotes angiogenesis, but administered with an angiostatic steroid inhibits angiogenesis in the cick embryo bioassay. In our experiments sulfated b b-cyclodextrin has been shown to possess many properties unrelated to its classical functions in the promotion and inhibition of angiogenesis that were not previously described. We studied the angiogenic and angiostatic properties of b b-cyclodextrin in a subcutaneous plastic sponge model in mice.