Resveratrol protects against a model of vacuous chewing movements induced by reserpine in mice.

Reserpine treatment is a putative animal model of orofacial dyskinesia, tremor, and Parkinsonism. Here, we examined the effects of resveratrol, a polyphenol with neuroprotective properties primarily contained in red grapes and red wine, in an animal model of vacuous chewing movements (VCMs) induced by treatment with reserpine. Mice were treated with reserpine (1 mg/kg, subcutaneously on days 1 and 3) and/or resveratrol (5 mg/kg, intraperitoneally 3 consecutive days).

Propylthiouracil-induced congenital hypothyroidism upregulates vimentin phosphorylation and depletes antioxidant defenses in immature rat testis.

Congenital hypothyroidism was induced in rats by adding 0.05% 6-propyl-2-thiouracil in the drinking water from day 9 of gestation, and continually up to postnatal day 15. Structural alterations observed by light microscopy of seminiferous tubules and by transmission electron microscopy of Sertoli cells of treated animals were consistent with hypothyroid condition.

Hyperthyroidism in the developing rat testis is associated with oxidative stress and hyperphosphorylated vimentin accumulation.

Hyperthyroidism was induced in rats and somatic indices and metabolic parameters were analyzed in testis. In addition, the morphological analysis evidenced testes maturation and intense protein synthesis and processing, supporting the enhancement in vimentin synthesis in hyperthyroid testis. Furthermore, vimentin phosphorylation was increased, indicating an accumulation of phosphorylated vimentin associated to the cytoskeleton, which could be a consequence of the extracellular-regulated kinase (ERK) activation regulating the cytoskeleton.

Ionic involvement and kinase activity on the mechanism of nongenomic action of thyroid hormones on 45Ca2+ uptake in cerebral cortex from young rats.

Thyroid hormones (TH) play important roles in brain development. Although most of the nongenomic actions of TH are known to be calcium-dependent, the effects of 3,5,3'-triiodo-L-thyronine (T(3)) or thyroxine (T(4)) on calcium influx in cerebral cortex of rats are not clear. In this study we investigate some mechanisms involved in the effect of T(3) and T(4) on Ca(2+) uptake in slices of cerebral cortex from 10-day-old male rats.

Involvement of K+ channels and calcium-dependent pathways in the action of T3 on amino acid accumulation and membrane potential in Sertoli cells of immature rat testis.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the involvement of calcium in K+ currents and its effects on amino acid accumulation and on the membrane potential regulated by tri-iodo-L-thyronine (T3) in Sertoli cells. Immature rat testes were pre-incubated for 30 min in Krebs-Ringer bicarbonate buffer and incubated for 60 min in the presence of [14C]methylaminoisobutyric acid with and without T3 or T4 (dose-response curve). Specific channel blockers or chelating agents were added at different concentrations during pre-incubation and incubation periods to study the basal amino acid accumulation and a selected concentration of each drug was chosen to analyze the influence on the stimulatory hormone action.