Effects of GABA agonists on body temperature regulation in GABA(B(1))-/- mice.

1. Activation of GABA(B) receptors evokes hypothermia in wildtype (GABA(B(1))+/+) but not in GABA(B) receptor knockout (GABA(B(1))-/-) mice. The aim of the present study was to determine the hypothermic and behavioural effects of the putative GABA(B) receptor agonist gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB), and of the GABA(A) receptor agonist muscimol.

Effects of interferon-alpha on cell cycle regulatory proteins in leukemic cells.

One prominent activity of Interferons (IFNs) is their ability to induce cell cycle arrest, and this effect has furthermore been proposed to be of major importance in mediating the clinical antitumor activity of IFNs. In several IFN sensitive established cell lines, a rapid upregulation of the cyclin dependent kinase inhibitor p21 occurs following IFN-alpha treatment, and is thought to play a major role as an effector for this phenomenon by triggering further events. The aim of this study was to investigate how these previous findings in established cells lines correlate with clinical material.

Mechanisms of Interferon-alpha induced apoptosis in malignant cells.

Interferon alpha (IFNalpha) has been used in the treatment of several types of cancer for almost 30 years, yet the mechanism(s) responsible for its anti-tumoral action remains unknown. A variety of cellular responses, including inhibition of cell growth and induction of apoptosis are induced by IFNs, and apoptotic induction by this cytokine has been proposed to be of importance for both its anti-tumoral in addition to its anti-viral responses. The aim of the present study was to delineate the pathways activated during IFNalpha-induced apoptosis in malignant cell lines.

Interferon-alpha inhibits Stat5 DNA-binding in IL-2 stimulated primary T-lymphocytes.

It has previously been shown that IFN-alpha is a potent inhibitor of IL-2 induced proliferation in primary T-lymphocytes, by selectively abrogating the downstream effects of IL-2 on the core cell cycle machinery regulating the G1/S transition. Theoretically this could be mediated through cross-talk between the signalling cascades activated by these cytokines, as several signalling components are known to be shared. IL-2 activates multiple signalling pathways that are important for T-cell proliferation and differentiation.