Naltrexone blocks alcohol-induced effects on kappa-opioid receptors in the plasma membrane.

Naltrexone (NTX), a homolog of the opiate antidote naloxone, is an orally active long-acting general opioid receptor antagonist used in the treatment of opiate dependence. NTX is also found to relieve craving for alcohol and is one of few FDA-approved medications for treatment of alcohol use disorder (AUD). While it was early on established that NTX acts by blocking the binding of endogenous opioid peptide ligands released by alcohol, experimental evidence emerged that could not be fully accounted for by this explanation alone, suggesting that NTX may have additional modes of action.

Light on abnormal red blood cell subpopulations: Label-free optics-based approach for studying in vitro rigidified blood cells.

RBCs deformability plays a crucial role in maintaining proper blood flow and oxygen delivery throughout the body. Conventional ektacytometry fails to differentiate between variations in deformability of RBC subpopulations as the averaging measurement process obscures these differences. In this study, we introduced an approach that integrates label-free optics-based techniques (flow cytometry, phase-contrast, and two-photon excitation fluorescent microscopy) with ektacytometry to evaluate subpopulations that exhibit decreased RBCs deformability upon an in vitro oxidation using 0.

Innovative statistical approaches: the use of neural networks reduces the sample size in the splenectomy-MCAO mouse model.

Aim: To compare the effectiveness of artificial neural network (ANN) and traditional statistical analysis on identical data sets within the splenectomy-middle carotid artery occlusion (MCAO) mouse model.

Methods: Mice were divided into the splenectomized (SPLX) and sham-operated (SPLX-sham) group. A splenectomy was conducted 14 days before middle carotid artery occlusion (MCAO).

Interactions of ultrashort laser pulses with hemoglobin: Photophysical aspects and potential applications.

Hemoglobin (Hb), a life-sustaining and highly abundant erythrocyte protein, is not readily fluorescent. A few studies have already reported Two-Photon Excited Fluorescence (TPEF) of Hb, however, the mechanisms through which Hb becomes fluorescent upon interaction with ultrashort laser pulses are not completely understood. Here, we characterized photophysically this interaction on Hb thin film and erythrocytes using fluorescence spectroscopy upon single-photon/two-photon absorption, and UV-VIS single-photon absorption spectroscopy.