Detection of acute stress by smooth muscle electromyography: A translational study on rat and human.

Aims: Non-invasive and simultaneous recording of gastrointestinal (GI) activity during stress induction is still an unexplored field. In our previous investigation, the stress-induced alteration of the gastrointestinal tract was explored in rats. Our aims were to expand our previous rat experiment and to induce stress response in rats (Study 1) and humans (Study 2) to detect the GI tract activity, heart rate and body temperature.

Biological Activities of Four Adaptogenic Plant Extracts and Their Active Substances on a Rotifer Model.

Rotifers have been widely used as well-characterized models of aging, since their multiorgan character makes them suitable as toxicological and lifespan models. Here we report the assessment of four adaptogenic plants and their extracts for the first time in this model. The effects on rotifer viability of extracts and characteristic active markers of , , and were tested .

In vivo screening of diterpene alkaloids using bdelloid rotifer assays.

The group of diterpene alkaloids contains numerous compounds with complex chemistry and diverse pharmacological activities. Beside toxicity, these compounds possess activity on the cardiovascular system, tumor cell lines and nervous system. The pharmacological properties have been described using in vitro and in vivo techniques; however, the bioactivities of many compounds have not thoroughly been studied.

Extracellular Zn Is Essential for Amyloid β-Induced Cognitive Decline in the Normal Brain and Its Rescue.

Brain Aβ accumulation is considered an upstream event in pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. However, accumulating evidence indicates that other neurochemical changes potentiate the toxicity of this constitutively generated peptide. Here we report that the interaction of Aβ with extracellular Zn is essential for rapid uptake of Aβ and Zn into dentate granule cells in the normal rat hippocampus.

Adiponectin Receptors Are Less Sensitive to Stress in a Transgenic Mouse Model of Alzheimer's Disease.

Adiponectin and leptin are implicated in the initiation and pathomechanism of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The serum concentrations of these adipokines has been extensively studied in AD, however little is known about their receptors in this disease. We developed a novel approach to examine whether the receptors of adiponectin (AdipoR1 and -R2) and/or leptin (LepR) can contribute to AD pathomechanism.

Proteome-wide study of endoplasmic reticulum stress induced by thapsigargin in N2a neuroblastoma cells.

Disturbances in intraluminal endoplasmic reticulum (ER) Ca(2+) concentration leads to the accumulation of unfolded proteins and perturbation of intracellular Ca(2+) homeostasis, which has a huge impact on mitochondrial functioning under normal and stress conditions and can trigger cell death. Thapsigargin (TG) is widely used to model cellular ER stress as it is a selective and powerful inhibitor of sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+) ATPases. Here we provide a representative proteome-wide picture of ER stress induced by TG in N2a neuroblastoma cells.

A novel application of the fluorescent dye bis-ANS for labeling neurons in acute brain slices.

The cell-impermeant oligomer-(e.g. beta-amyloid-, or tubulin-) specific fluorescent dye, bis-ANS (4,4'-bis-1-anilinonaphtalene-8-sulfonate), was successfully used for labeling mechanically damaged but still viable neuron bodies, neurites and neurite cross sections in acute brain slices.

Proteomic study of the toxic effect of oligomeric Aβ1-42 in situ prepared from 'iso-Aβ1-42'.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most prevalent form of neurodegenerative disorders even so the exact pathomechanism is still unclear. Recently, it is widely accepted that amyloid-beta peptide (Aβ) toxicity is positively linked to Aβ oligomers, which may be responsible for the initiation of AD. For this reason, AD research requires well defined aggregation state and structure of Aβ.

Differences between normal and alpha-synuclein overexpressing SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells after Abeta(1-42) and NAC treatment.

Alpha-synuclein (alphaSN) plays a major role in numerous neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. Intracellular inclusions containing aggregated alphaSN have been reported in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's affected brains. Moreover, a proteolytic fragment of alphaSN, the so-called non-amyloid component of Alzheimer's disease amyloid (NAC) was found to be an integral part of Alzheimer's dementia related plaques.

A novel and simple fluorescence method for the measurement of presynaptic vesicular zinc release in acute hippocampal slices with a fluorescence plate reader.

The synaptic vesicles in the hippocampal neuronal terminals are abundantly supplied with zinc ions (Zn2+), which can be released into the synaptic cleft. In the glutamatergic systems (e.g.

Reversible mechanical unzipping of amyloid beta-fibrils.

Amyloid fibrils are self-associating filamentous structures, the deposition of which is considered to be one of the most important factors in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease and various other disorders. Here we used single molecule manipulation methods to explore the mechanics and structural dynamics of amyloid fibrils. In mechanically manipulated amyloid fibrils, formed from either amyloid beta (Abeta) peptides 1-40 or 25-35, beta-sheets behave as elastic structures that can be "unzipped" from the fibril with constant forces.