Sex-specific attenuation of constant light-induced memory impairment and Clock gene expression in brain in hepatic Npas2 knockout mice.

NPAS2 (Neuronal PAS Domain Protein 2) is a component of the core circadian clock and the coordinated activity between central brain and peripheral liver clock proteins postulated to be instrumental for linking behaviour and metabolism. We investigated a conditional liver-specific knockout mouse model (Npas2-/- or cKO) to explore its function in activity, circadian rhythms and cognition (novel object recognition-NOR). Circadian rhythms showed no genotype differences.

Thymosin beta 4 prevents systemic lipopolysaccharide-induced plaque load in middle-age APP/PS1 mice.

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) produced by the gut during systemic infections and inflammation is thought to contribute to Alzheimer's disease (AD) progression. Since thymosin beta 4 (Tβ4) effectively reduces LPS-induced inflammation in sepsis, we tested its potential to alleviate the impact of LPS in the brain of the APPswePS1dE9 mouse model of AD (APP/PS1) and wildtype (WT) mice. 12.

Rapid Assessment of Insect Steroid Hormone Entry Into Cultured Cells.

Steroid hormones control development and homeostasis in a wide variety of animals by interacting with intracellular nuclear receptors. Recent discoveries in the fruit fly revealed that insect steroid hormones or ecdysteroids are incorporated into cells through a membrane transporter named Ecdysone Importer (EcI), which may become a novel target for manipulating steroid hormone signaling in insects. In this study, we established an assay system that can rapidly assess EcI-mediated ecdysteroid entry into cultured cells.