Role of Brain Endothelin Receptor Type B (ET) in the Regulation of Tyrosine Hydroxylase in the Olfactory Bulb of DOCA-Salt Hypertensive Rats.

Background: We previously reported that endothelins (ETs) regulate tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) activity and expression in the olfactory bulb (OB) of normotensive and hypertensive animals. Applying an ET receptor type A (ET) antagonist to the brain suggested that endogenous ETs bind to ET receptor type B (ET) to elicit effects.

Objective: The aim of the present work was to evaluate the role of central ET stimulation on the regulation of blood pressure (BP) and the catecholaminergic system in the OB of deoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA)-salt hypertensive rats.

Central endothelin ET receptor activation reduces blood pressure and catecholaminergic activity in the olfactory bulb of deoxycorticosterone acetate-salt hypertensive rats.

Endothelins regulate catecholaminergic activity in the olfactory bulb (OB) in normotensive and hypertensive animals. Administration of an endothelin ET receptor antagonist decreases blood pressure in deoxycorticosterone acetate-salt (DOCA-salt) rats along with a reduction in tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) activity and expression. In the present work, we sought to establish the role of brain endothelin ET receptor on blood pressure regulation and its relationship with the catecholaminergic system within the OB of DOCA-Salt rats.

Coenzyme Q 10 supplementation: A potential therapeutic option for the treatment of intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy.

Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) is a pregnancy specific liver disease characterized by pruritus, elevated serum bile acids and abnormal liver function that may be associated with severe adverse pregnancy outcomes. We previously reported that plasma coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is decreased in women with ICP as it is its analogue coenzyme Q9 (CoQ9) in rats with ethinyl estradiol (EE)-induced cholestasis. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the possible therapeutic role of CoQ10 in experimental hepatocellular cholestasis and to compare it with ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) supplementation.

Role of endothelin receptor type A on catecholamine regulation in the olfactory bulb of DOCA-salt hypertensive rats: Hemodynamic implications.

Increasing evidence shows that the olfactory bulb is involved in blood pressure regulation in health and disease. Enhanced noradrenergic transmission in the olfactory bulb was reported in hypertension. Given that endothelins modulate catecholamines and are involved in the pathogenesis of hypertension, in the present study we sought to establish the role of the endothelin receptor type A on tyrosine hydroxylase, the rate limiting enzyme in catecholamine biosynthesis, in the olfactory bulb of DOCA-salt hypertensive rats.

The exocrine pancreas is an extracardiac source of atrial natriuretic peptide.

Previous studies have shown that atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) regulates exocrine pancreatic function in health and disease. As extracardiac sources of ANP have been identified and ANP-like immunoreactivity has been reported in the exocrine pancreas, in the present work we sought to establish whether ANP was produced in the rat exocrine pancreas and if conditions like fasting/feeding or acute pancreatitis were reflected on ANP expression. By using RT-PCR, immunoblotting, and immunofluorescence microscopy assays, it was found that both mRNA and protein ANP were present in the acinar cells of the exocrine pancreas.