Comparative population genomics reveals genetic divergence and selection in lotus, Nelumbo nucifera.

Background: Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) is an aquatic plant with important agronomic, horticulture, art and religion values. It was the basal eudicot species occupying a critical phylogenetic position in flowering plants. After the domestication for thousands of years, lotus has differentiated into three cultivated types -flower lotus, seed lotus and rhizome lotus.

Paeoniflorin suppresses the expression of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) in endotoxin-treated human monocytic cells.

Background And Purpose: Paeoniflorin (PF) has ameliorative effects on learning and memory impairment and cerebral ischaemia in rats and has protective effects against the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in substantia nigra. The neuroprotective effects of PF are most probably derived from its anti-inflammatory property. Abnormally high levels of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) have been found to be associated with a wide range of inflammatory and immune responses.

Decreased RGS9 protein level in the striatum of rodents undergoing MPTP or 6-OHDA neurotoxicity.

Western blot has been used to study the time-course effect of the two most popular parkinsonian neurotoxins, 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP, i.p.) and 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA, intra-substantia nigra), on the expression of several regulators of G-protein signaling (RGS2, 4 and 9) in striatum in rodents.

Adenosine A(1) receptor-mediated transactivation of the EGF receptor produces a neuroprotective effect on cortical neurons in vitro.

Aim: To understand the mechanism of the transactivation of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mediated by the adenosine A(1) receptor (A(1)R).

Methods: Primary cultured rat cortical neurons subjected to oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD) and HEK293/A(1)R cells were treated with the A(1)R-specific agonist N(6)-cyclopentyladenosine (CPA). Phospho-EGFR, Akt, and ERK1/2 were observed by Western blot.

The enhancement of dopamine D1 receptor desensitization by adenosine A1 receptor activation.

The present study was designed to examine the effects of adenosine A(1) receptor on dopamine D(1) receptor desensitization in a human embryonic kidney 293 cell line stably cotransfected with human adenosine A(1) receptor and dopamine D(1) receptor cDNAs (A(1)D(1) cells) by means of cAMP accumulation assay. Long-term exposure of A(1)D(1) cells to dopamine D(1) receptor agonist (+/-)-1-phenyl-2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-(1H)-3-benzazepine-7,8-diol hydrochloride (SKF38393) caused a rapid desensitization of dopamine D(1) receptor. Coadministration of adenosine A(1) receptor agonist N(6)-cyclopentyladenosine (CPA) potentiated the effect of SKF38393.

Activation of adenosine A1 receptor modulates dopamine D1 receptor activity in stably cotransfected human embryonic kidney 293 cells.

The antagonistic interactions between adenosine A1 receptors and dopamine D1 receptors were studied in a human embryonic kidney 293 cell line stably cotransfected with human adenosine A1 receptor and dopamine D1 receptor cDNAs. In the cotransfected cells, but not in control cells only transfected with dopamine D1 receptors, adenosine A1 receptor agonist N6-cyclopentyladenosine (CPA, 10 microM) increased the Kd of dopamine D1 receptor antagonist [N-methyl-3H]R(+)-7-Chloro-8-hydroxy-3-methyl-1-phenyl-2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-1H-3-benzazepine ([3H]SCH23390) without affecting the Bmax. Moreover, CPA induced a concentration-dependent decrease in the affinity of dopamine D1 receptors for the agonist (+/-)-1-Phenyl-2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-(1H)-3-benzazepine-7,8-diol hydrochloride (SKF38393) and inhibited dopamine D1 receptor-mediated cyclic AMP response element recruitment.

Procyanidin dimer B2 [epicatechin-(4beta-8)-epicatechin] suppresses the expression of cyclooxygenase-2 in endotoxin-treated monocytic cells.

The anti-inflammatory activity of the predominant procyanidin dimer in cocoa, dimer B2, was investigated in this study. Pretreatment of the procyanidin dimer B2 reduced COX-2 expression induced by the endotoxin lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in differentiated human monocytic cells (THP-1) in culture. To further elucidate the underlying mechanism of COX-2 inhibition by procyanidin, we examined their effects on the activation of extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (ERK), Jun-terminal kinase (JNK), and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), which are upstream enzymes known to regulate COX-2 expression in many cell types.

Role of the second transmembrane domain of rat adenosine A1 receptor in ligand-receptor interaction.

Initial mutagenesis studies exploring the ligand recognition model of A1 adenosine receptor (A1R) mainly focused on the residues in the 5th-7th transmembrane domains (TMs5-7). Little is known about the role of residues in TM2. To explore the importance of reserved hydrophobic region in TM2 of A1R, we mutated the hydrophobic residues at positions 65 and 69 to hydrophilic residues (L65T, Leu-65 to Thr-65; I69T, Ile-69 to Thr-69; I69S, Ile-69 to Ser-69) to change the hydrophobicity at the outer end of TM2.

Neuroprotective effect of paeoniflorin on cerebral ischemic rat by activating adenosine A1 receptor in a manner different from its classical agonists.

The effects of paeoniflorin (PF), a compound isolated from Paeony radix, on neurological impairment and histologically measured infarction volume following transient and permanent focal ischemia were examined in Sprague-Dawley rats. In transient ischemia model, rats were subjected to a 1.5-h occlusion of the middle cerebral artery (MCA).