The novel dehydroepiandrosterone derivative BNN27 counteracts the impairing effects of anesthetic ketamine on rats' non-spatial and spatial recognition memory.

Conspicuous experimental evidence indicates that anesthetic doses of the non-competitive NMDA receptor antagonist ketamine disrupt memory abilities in rodents. BNN27 is a synthetic analogue of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) with potent antioxidant properties and its involvement in cognition has recently been shown. It is not yet clarified whether BNN27 can attenuate the cognition deficits induced by anesthetic ketamine.

Music exposure attenuates anxiety- and depression-like behaviors and increases hippocampal spine density in male rats.

Epidemiological and clinical studies suggest that early-life stress (ELS) may lead to the development of mental disorders in adulthood. Maternal separation (MS) is a valid animal model of ELS that produces detrimental effects on brain and behavior of experimental animals. Positive environmental stimuli have been shown to counteract the behavioral deficits of ELS and enhance neuroplasticity.

Investigation of the genetic overlap between rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis in a Greek population.

Objectives: Several rheumatoid arthritis (RA) susceptibility loci have also been found to be associated with psoriatic arthritis (PsA), demonstrating that there is a degree of genetic overlap between various autoimmune diseases. We sought to investigate whether single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) mapping to previously reported RA and/or PsA susceptibility loci, including PLCL2, CCL21, REL, STAT4, CD226, PTPN22, and TYK2, are associated with risk for the two diseases in a genetically homogeneous Greek population.

Method: This study included 392 RA patients, 126 PsA patients, and 521 healthy age- and sex-matched controls from Greece.

Tag1 deficiency results in olfactory dysfunction through impaired migration of mitral cells.

The olfactory system provides mammals with the abilities to investigate, communicate and interact with their environment. These functions are achieved through a finely organized circuit starting from the nasal cavity, passing through the olfactory bulb and ending in various cortical areas. We show that the absence of transient axonal glycoprotein-1 (Tag1)/contactin-2 (Cntn2) in mice results in a significant and selective defect in the number of the main projection neurons in the olfactory bulb, namely the mitral cells.

Subdomain-mediated axon-axon signaling and chemoattraction cooperate to regulate afferent innervation of the lateral habenula.

A dominant feature of neural circuitry is the organization of neuronal projections and synapses into specific brain nuclei or laminae. Lamina-specific connectivity is controlled by the selective expression of extracellular guidance and adhesion molecules in the target field. However, how (sub)nucleus-specific connections are established and whether axon-derived cues contribute to subdomain targeting are largely unknown.

In silico search of DNA drugs targeting oncogenes.

Triplex forming oligonucleotides (TFOs) represent a class of drug candidates for antigene therapy. Based on strict criteria, we investigated the potential of 25 known oncogenes to be regulated by TFOs in the mRNA synthesis level and we report specific target sequences found in seven of these genes.

Balancing efficacy and toxicity of novel therapies in systemic lupus erythematosus.

Therapy of systemic lupus erythematosus has been facing the paradox of an overwhelming rate of trials testing novel potential therapeutic agents and the lack of US FDA approval of a single new drug for over five decades. Heterogeneity in disease phenotype, concomitant immunosuppressive medication and a lack of unequivocal hard end points for clinical trials have proven to be significant obstacles in establishing efficacy of candidate therapies. Nevertheless, combination regimens with already existing agents have shown efficacy with acceptable safety profiles, mainly in cases of refractory to conventional treatment disease.

The expression of TAG-1 in glial cells is sufficient for the formation of the juxtaparanodal complex and the phenotypic rescue of tag-1 homozygous mutants in the CNS.

Myelinated fibers are organized into specialized domains that ensure the rapid propagation of action potentials and are characterized by protein complexes underlying axoglial interactions. TAG-1 (Transient Axonal Glycoprotein-1), a cell adhesion molecule of the Ig superfamily, is expressed by neurons as well as by myelinating glia. It is essential for the molecular organization of myelinated fibers as it maintains the integrity of the juxtaparanodal region through its interactions with Caspr2 and the voltage-gated potassium channels (VGKCs) on the axolemma.

Trapping oxidative folding intermediates during translocation to the intermembrane space of mitochondria: in vivo and in vitro studies.

The MIA40 pathway is a novel import pathway in mitochondria specific for cysteine-rich proteins of the intermembrane space (IMS). The newly synthesised precursors are trapped in the IMS by a disulfide relay mechanism that involves introduction of disulfides from the sulfhydryl oxidase Erv1 to the redox-regulated import receptor Mia40 and then on to the substrate. This thiol-disulfide exchange mechanism is essential for the import and oxidative folding of the incoming cysteine-rich substrate proteins.

In vitro assays to analyze translocation of the model secretory preprotein alkaline phosphatase.

Almost one-third of the proteins synthesized in the cytosol of cells ends up in membranes or outside the cell. Secretory polypeptides are synthesized as precursor proteins that carry N-terminal signal sequences. Secretion is catalyzed by the "translocase" that comprises a channel-clamp protein and an ATPase motor.

The RAS-dependent ERF control of cell proliferation and differentiation is mediated by c-Myc repression.

The ERF transcriptional repressor is a downstream effector of the RAS/ERK pathway that interacts with and is directly phosphorylated by ERKs in vivo and in vitro. This phosphorylation results in its cytoplasmic export and inactivation, although lack of ERK activity allows its immediate nuclear accumulation and repressor function. Nuclear ERFs arrest cell cycle progression in G(1) and can suppress ras-dependent tumorigenicity.

A combination of chain and neurophilic migration involving the adhesion molecule TAG-1 in the caudal medulla.

Neuronal populations destined to form several precerebellar nuclei are generated by the rhombic lip in the caudal hindbrain. These immature neurons gather into the olivary and the superficial migratory streams and migrate tangentially around the hindbrain to reach their final position. We focus on the cells of the superficial stream that migrate ventrally, cross the midline and form the lateral reticular (LRN) and external cuneate (ECN) nuclei.

Transactivation of the human apolipoprotein CII promoter by orphan and ligand-dependent nuclear receptors. The regulatory element CIIC is a thyroid hormone response element.

The regulatory elements CIIC (-159/-116) and CIIB (-102/-81) of the apolipoprotein CII (apoCII) promoter have distinct specificities for orphan nuclear receptors (Vorgia, P., Zannis, V. I.