Murine osteoclasts secrete serine protease HtrA1 capable of degrading osteoprotegerin in the bone microenvironment.

Osteoclasts are multinucleated cells responsible for bone resorption. The differentiation of osteoclasts from bone marrow macrophages (BMMs) is induced by receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL). Osteoprotegerin (OPG), a decoy receptor of RANKL, inhibits osteoclastogenesis by blocking RANKL signaling.

Analgesic effect of S (+)-flurbiprofen plaster in a rat model of knee arthritis: analysis of gait and synovial fluid prostaglandin E levels.

Objectives: We developed S (+)-flurbiprofen plaster (SFPP), a novel NSAID patch containing S (+)-flurbiprofen (SFP), a potent cyclooxygenase (COX) inhibitor. The purpose of this study was to assess efficacy of SFPP by analysing its effect on the gait disturbance and measuring the prostaglandin E (PGE ) production in synovial fluid in a rat model of knee arthritis.

Methods: Knee inflammation was induced in rats by intra-articular injection of a yeast suspension.

Topical Anti-Inflammatory and Analgesic Effects of Multiple Applications of S(+)-Flurbiprofen Plaster (SFPP) in a Rat Adjuvant-Induced Arthritis Model.

Preclinical Research The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of multiple applications of S(+)-flurbiprofen plaster (SFPP), a novel Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) patch, for the alleviation of inflammatory pain and edema in rat adjuvant-induced arthritis (AIA) model as compared to other NSAID patches. The AIA model was induced by the injection of Mycobacterium butyricum and rats were treated with a patch (1.0 cm × 0.

Analgesic Effect of the Newly Developed S(+)-Flurbiprofen Plaster on Inflammatory Pain in a Rat Adjuvant-Induced Arthritis Model.

Preclinical Research This article describes the properties of a novel topical NSAID (Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug) patch, SFPP (S(+)-flurbiprofen plaster), containing the potent cyclooxygenase (COX) inhibitor, S(+)-flurbiprofen (SFP). The present studies were conducted to confirm human COX inhibition and absorption of SFP and to evaluate the analgesic efficacy of SFPP in a rat adjuvant-induced arthritis (AIA) model. COX inhibition by SFP, ketoprofen and loxoprofen was evaluated using human recombinant COX proteins.

Effects of combined treatment with eldecalcitol and alendronate on bone mass, mechanical properties, and bone histomorphometry in ovariectomized rats: a comparison with alfacalcidol and alendronate.

Eldecalcitol (ELD), a 2β-hydroxypropyloxy derivative of 1α,25 (OH) 2D3, inhibits bone resorption more potently than alfacalcidol (ALF) while maintaining osteoblastic function in an ovariectomized (OVX) osteoporosis rat model. Alendronate (ALN), which is the most common bisphosphonate used for the treatment of osteoporosis, increases the bone mineral density (BMD) by suppressing bone resorption. In this study, we investigated the effects of combination treatments with ELD and ALN or with ALF and ALN on bone mass and strength in OVX rats.

Effects of quercetin on the sleep-wake cycle in rats: involvement of gamma-aminobutyric acid receptor type A in regulation of rapid eye movement sleep.

The bioflavonoid quercetin is widely found in plants and exerts a large number of biological activities such as anti-hypertensive and anti-inflammatory properties. However, the effect of quercetin on the sleep-wake cycle has not been investigated. In the present study, we investigated the effect of quercetin on sleep-wake regulation.

Neuropsin is essential for early processes of memory acquisition and Schaffer collateral long-term potentiation in adult mouse hippocampus in vivo.

Long-term potentiation (LTP) is thought to be particularly important in the acquisition of hippocampus-associated memory, in part because it develops quickly and persists for indefinite periods. Extracellular proteolysis has been hypothesized to contribute to LTP by modifying adhesive relations of synapses and thus the morphology of excitatory synapses. Here we report that neuropsin (NP), an extracellular serine protease, is critically involved in the formation of both the potentiation effect and hippocampus-dependent forms of memory.

Repression of transcription and interference with DNA binding of TATA-binding protein by C-terminal alternatively spliced p53.

The protein encoded by C-terminal alternatively spliced p53 mRNA (p53as) has been shown previously to occur naturally in mouse cells and to bind sequence-specifically to DNA more efficiently than p53 (p53r, regular form). In the current study, p53as and p53r proteins ectopically expressed in p53-deficient cells each transactivated reporter plasmids containing p53 binding sites. However, p53as consistently was more efficient in transcriptional repression of promoters lacking p53 binding sites and in concentration-dependent repression of the p21(WAF1/Cip-l/Sdi) promoter sequence.