BDNF levels in adipose tissue and hypothalamus were reduced in mice with MSG-induced obesity.

Objectives: To observe the expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in hypothalamic and adipose tissue in mice with monosodium glutamate (MSG)-induced obesity.

Methods: The effects of hypothalamic lesions, specifically arcuate nucleus (ARC) lesions, induced by MSG injection were studied in male ICR mice at the neonatal stage. The following parameters were compared: body weight, body length, Lee's index, food intake, body temperature, fat weight, and levels of total cholesterol (CHOL), triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), and blood glucose (GLU).

PGC-1α may associated with the anti-obesity effect of taurine on rats induced by arcuate nucleus lesion.

Objective: To observe the effect of taurine treatment in rats with monosodium glutamate (MSG)-induced obesity.

Methods: Rats with MSG-induced obesity were administered taurine for five weeks. The Lee's index, food intake, blood pressure, body temperature, body mass index (BMI), fat weight, and triglyceride (TG), low density lipoprotein (LDL), and high density lipoprotein (HDL) levels were compared.

Rhodamine-based "turn-on" fluorescent probe with high selectivity for Fe(2+) imaging in living cells.

A rhodamine-based "turn-on" fluorescent probe 1 was synthesized with high yield. The recognizing behavior displays high selectivity of 1 toward Fe(2+) with a 2:1 complex, and 1 exhibits a stable response for Fe(2+) over a concentration range from 2 μM to 24 μM. Most importantly, probe is hardly interfered by other transition metal ions.

Simultaneous Determination of Glutamate, Glycine, and Alanine in Human Plasma Using Precolumn Derivatization with 6-Aminoquinolyl-N-hydroxysuccinimidyl Carbamate and High-Performance Liquid Chromatography.

A simple, sensitive and reproducible high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method has been validated for determining concentrations of glutamate, glycine, and alanine in human plasma. Proteins in plasma were precipitated with perchloric acid, followed by derivatization with 6-aminoquinolyl-N-hydroxysuccinimidyl carbamate (AQC). Simultaneous analysis of glutamate, glycine, and alanine is achieved using reversed-phase HPLC conditions and ultraviolet detection.

Endogenous agmatine inhibits cerebral vascular matrix metalloproteinases expression by regulating activating transcription factor 3 and endothelial nitric oxide synthesis.

Earlier investigations from our laboratory demonstrated that the expression of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) was down-regulated by exogenously administered agmatine against ischemia-like injuries in the murine brain capillary endothelial (bEnd.3) cells. In our present study, we intended to investigate the mechanism involved in the inhibition of MMPs in bEnd.

Agmatine inhibits matrix metalloproteinase-9 via endothelial nitric oxide synthase in cerebral endothelial cells.

Objectives: Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are up-regulated by ischemic injury and degrade the basement membrane of brain vessels to promote cell death and tissue injury. We previously showed that agmatine has a neuroprotective effect on neurons against ischemic injury. In the present study, we investigated the effect of agmatine on the expression of MMPs and nitric oxide (NO) production in cerebral endothelial cells (CECs) after oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD)-reperfusion injury and its potential association with endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS).

Recombinant human prothrombin kringle-2 inhibits B16F10 melanoma metastasis through inhibition of neovascularization and reduction of matrix metalloproteinase expression.

Angiogenesis, a multi-step process which involves endothelial cell proliferation, adhesion, migration, and basement membrane (BM) degradation, is essential for tumor metastasis. Here we show that recombinant human prothrombin kringle-2 (rk-2) inhibited bovine capillary endothelial cell migration with an IC(50) (concentration for half maximal inhibition) of 38 nM and inhibited adhesion to extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins. Because tumor metastasis requires angiogenesis, we examined whether rk-2 could inhibit metastases induced by injection of B16F10 melanoma cells into mice.