Publications by authors named "M N Nenov"

Growing body of evidence suggests that cardiovascular risk factor, asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), can be implicated in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders. In part, ADMA can affect brain health negatively modulating critical functions of the blood-brain barrier (BBB). The precise mechanisms and consequences of ADMA action on the cerebral vasculature remains unexplored.

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Extracellular Ca plays a pivotal role in the regulation of cardiac contractility under normal and extreme conditions. Here, by using nickel chloride (NiCl), a non-specific blocker of extracellular Ca influx, we studied the input of extracellular Ca on the regulation of papillary muscle (PM) contractility under normal and hypothermic conditions in ground squirrels (GS), and rats. By measuring isometric force of contraction, we studied how NiCl affects force-frequency relationship and the rest effect in PM of these species at 30 °C and 10 °C.

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Background: Glutamate signaling within the nucleus accumbens underlies motivated behavior and is involved in psychiatric disease. Although behavioral sex differences in these processes are well-established, the neural mechanisms driving these differences are largely unexplored. In these studies, we examine potential sex differences in synaptic plasticity and excitatory transmission within the nucleus accumbens core.

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Background: Retromer complex proteins are decreased in postmortem brain tissues from Down syndrome subjects and inversely correlate with the Alzheimer's disease-like neuropathology. However, whether targeting in vivo the retromer system affects cognitive deficits and synaptic function in Down syndrome remains unknown.

Objective: The aim of the current study was to examine the effects of pharmacological retromer stabilization on cognitive and synaptic functions in a mouse model of Down syndrome.

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Various models, including stem cells derived and isolated cardiomyocytes with overexpressed channels, are utilized to analyze the functional interplay of diverse ion currents involved in cardiac automaticity and excitation-contraction coupling control. Here, we used β-NAD and ammonia, known hyperpolarizing and depolarizing agents, respectively, and applied inhibitory analysis to reveal the interplay of several ion channels implicated in rat papillary muscle contractility control. We demonstrated that: 4 mM β-NAD, having no strong impact on resting membrane potential (RMP) and action potential duration (APD90) of ventricular cardiomyocytes, evoked significant suppression of isometric force (F) of paced papillary muscle.

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