COVID-19 and Parkinson's Disease: Shared Inflammatory Pathways Under Oxidative Stress.

The current coronavirus pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has resulted in a serious global health crisis. It is a major concern for individuals living with chronic disorders such as Parkinson's disease (PD). Increasing evidence suggests an involvement of oxidative stress and contribution of NFκB in the development of both COVID-19 and PD.

Oral administration of eicosapentaenoic acid or docosahexaenoic acid modifies cardiac function and ameliorates congestive heart failure in male rats.

This study assessed the effects of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) or docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) on normal cardiac function (part 1) and congestive heart failure (CHF) (part 2) through electrocardiogram analysis and determination of EPA, DHA, and arachidonic acid (AA) concentrations in rat hearts. In part 2, pathologic assessments were also performed. For part 1 of this study, 4-wk-old male rats were divided into a control group and 2 experimental groups.

Effects of squalene/squalane on dopamine levels, antioxidant enzyme activity, and fatty acid composition in the striatum of Parkinson's disease mouse model.

Active oxygen has been implicated in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD); therefore, antioxidants have attracted attention as a potential way to prevent this disease. Squalene, a natural triterpene and an intermediate in the biosynthesis of cholesterol, is known to have active oxygen scavenging activities. Squalane, synthesized by complete hydrogenation of squalene, does not have active oxygen scavenging activities.

In vivo tissue uptake of intravenously injected water soluble all-trans beta-carotene used as a food colorant.

Water soluble beta-carotene (WS-BC) is a carotenoid form that has been developed as a food colorant. WS-BC is known to contain 10% of all-trans beta-carotene (AT-BC). The aim of the present study was to investigate in vivo tissue uptake of AT-BC after the administration of WS-BC into rats.

Analysis of the inhibitory mechanism of D-allose on MOLT-4F leukemia cell proliferation.

D-Allose, the C-3 epimer of D-glucose, is one of the rare sugars found in nature. In the present study, we have elucidated for the first time that various leukemia cell lines have different susceptibility to anti-proliferative activity of D-allose, and that this difference is related to the difference in induction of thioredoxin interacting protein (TXNIP) expression. We examined 5 leukemia cell lines (MOLT-4F, IM-9, HL-60, BALL-1 and Daudi), and found that MOLT-4F (T-cell lymphoblastic leukemia) had the highest susceptibility to D-allose, and that Daudi (Burkitt's lymphoma) had the lowest.

Stage and region dependent expression of a radial glial marker in commissural fibers in kindled mice.

Amygdala kindling is regarded as a model of temporal lobe epilepsy in humans because of many points of similarity. In amygdala kindling, bilateralization of epileptic seizures follows from the accumulation of stimulation and commissural fibers may play a role in this process. However, new progenies of cells following amygdala kindling have not been reported and the precise nature of how bilateralization occurs is not clear.

Different expression of macrophages and microglia in rat spinal cord contusion injury model at morphological and regional levels.

Macrophages and microglia are implicated in spinal cord injury, but their precise role is not clear. In the present study, activation of these cells was examined in a spinal cord injury model using 2 different antibodies against ED1 clone and ionized calcium binding adaptor molecule 1 (Iba1). Activation was observed at 1, 4, 8, and 12 weeks after contusion injury and was compared with sham operated controls.

Co-expression of radial glial marker in macrophages/microglia in rat spinal cord contusion injury model.

Macrophages/microglia are implicated in spinal cord injury but their precise role in the process is not clear. Our previous studies have reported that radial glia (RG) possess properties of neural stem cells and remerged after central nervous system (CNS) injury which may play an important role in neural repair and regeneration. In the present study, we examined the expression of ED1 (a specific marker for activated macrophages/microglia) and RG in a spinal cord injury (SCI) model and detected the activation at 1, 4, 8, and 12 weeks in both dorsal funiculus and ventral white matter after SCI.

Localization of nestin in amygdaloid kindled rat: an immunoelectron microscopic study.

Background: Nestin is a class VI intermediate filament protein, expressed during early embryonic development in mammals. Postnatally, nestin and its mRNA are down-regulated and gradually disappear. Recently, nestin expression has been detected in the adult nervous system, and it has been suggested that this protein may be related to neurogenesis, although, its role in the mechanism of neurogenesis is not known.

Regional expression of the radial glial marker vimentin at different stages of the kindling process.

The classical view of the function of radial glia in brain development is a supporting function guiding radial neural migration. However, recent evidence indicates that they may play key roles in neurogenesis and gliogenesis, as ubiquitous precursors that generate neurons and glia. Although we previously reported the emergence of radial glia after spinal cord injury in adult rats, their precise function in this process is still unknown.

Reactive gliosis in areas around third ventricle in association with epileptogenesis in amygdaloid-kindled rat.

Repeated focal electrical stimulation of the brain is known to produce epileptogenesis, and this phenomenon is recognized as kindling. It is also considered to be a model of temporal lobe epilepsy. In the present study, morphological changes in areas around third ventricle in rat brain were examined according to the progression of kindling stage.

Role of the hippocampal CA2 region following postischemic hypothermia in gerbil.

To investigate the changes in the principal subunit of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor 1 (NR1) following the transient ischemia and postischemic hypothermia, in situ hybridization was used in the gerbil hippocampus. One of the alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionic acid (AMPA) receptors, Glutamate receptor 2 (GluR2) was also investigated to compare with NR1. Even at 1 day, NR1 and GluR2 mRNAs in the CA1 region were reduced following ischemia.