Publications by authors named "Kaushiki Mukherjee"

The potential influence of astrocytes on neuronal circuitry and psychotic symptoms in schizophrenia have recently been highlighted. Human postmortem studies have observed reduced astrocyte numbers in schizophrenia, but whether this pathology is present at disease onset or accumulates progressively with further psychotic episodes remains unclear. Therefore, we analysed serum levels of the astrocyte-derived proteins glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and fatty acid-binding protein 7 (FABP7) in acutely ill first-episode (n = 60) and relapsed (n = 34) schizophrenia patients compared to 94 matched controls.

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There is substantial evidence that early growth response-1 (Egr1) gene, a zinc-finger transcription factor, behaves as a tumor suppressor in leukemia. This includes reports from this laboratory that constitutive Egr1 overrides leukemia conferred by deregulated c-Myc or E2F-1 in the M1 myeloid leukemic cell line by promoting differentiation. To investigate the effect of Egr1 on the initiation and progression of Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML), lethally irradiated syngeneic wild type mice were reconstituted with bone marrow (BM) from either wild type or Egr1 null mice transduced with a 210-kD BCR-ABL-expressing MSCV-retrovirus (bone marrow transplantation {BMT}).

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The Gadd45a stress sensor gene is a member in the Gadd45 family of genes that includes Gadd45b & Gadd45g. To investigate the effect of GADD45A in the development of CML, syngeneic wild type lethally irradiated mice were reconstituted with either wild type or Gadd45a null myeloid progenitors transduced with a retroviral vector expressing the 210-kD BCR-ABL fusion oncoprotein. Loss of Gadd45a was observed to accelerate BCR-ABL driven CML resulting in the development of a more aggressive disease, a significantly shortened median mice survival time, and increased BCR-ABL expressing leukemic stem/progenitor cells (GFP+Lin- cKit+Sca+).

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The GADD45 family of proteins functions as stress sensors in response to various physiological and environmental stressors. Here we show that primary mouse embryo fibroblasts (MEFs) from Gadd45b null mice proliferate slowly, accumulate increased levels of DNA damage, and senesce prematurely. The impaired proliferation and increased senescence in Gadd45b null MEFs is partially reversed by culturing at physiological oxygen levels, indicating that Gadd45b deficiency leads to decreased ability to cope with oxidative stress.

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Nicotine, the primary psychoactive component of tobacco products, produces diverse neurophysiological, motivational, and behavioral effects through several brain regions and neurochemical pathways. Various neurotransmitter systems have been explored to understand the mechanisms behind nicotine tolerance, dependence, and withdrawal. Recent evidence suggests that glutamate neurotransmission has an important role in this phenomenon.

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This study evaluates the effects of three nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitors (L-NNA, L-NAME, L-NMMA) in attenuating the precipitated nicotine withdrawal syndrome in rats. Male albino Wistar rats were made dependent on nicotine by subcutaneous infusion of nicotine (9.0 mg/kg/day) via a 7 day osmotic pump, whereas control rats received saline via osmotic pumps.

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