Polyamines

The mechanisms that control polyamine (PA) metabolism in plant cell lines with different embryogenic potential are not well understood. This study involved the use of two Araucaria angustifolia cell lines, one of which was defined as being blocked, in that the cells were incapable of developing somatic embryos, and the other as being responsive, as it could generate somatic embryos. Cellular PA metabolism was modulated by using 5 mM arginine (Arg) or ornithine (Orn) at two time points during cell growth. Two days after subculturing with Arg, an increase in citrulline (Cit) content was observed, followed by a higher expression of genes related to PA catabolism in the responsive cell line; whereas, in the blocked cell line, we only observed an accumulation of PAs. After fourteen days, metabolism was directed towards putrescine accumulation in both cell lines. Exogenous Arg and Orn not only caused a change in cellular contents of PAs, but also altered the abundance of a broader spectru...

The surface charge of a biomaterial represents a promising tool to direct cellular behavior, which is crucial for therapeutic approaches in regenerative medicine. To expand the understanding of how the material surface charge affects protein adsorption and mesenchymal stem cell behavior, differently charged surfaces with zeta potentials spanning from -25 mV to +15 mV were fabricated by the conjugation of poly(amidoamine) to alginate-based hydrogels. We showed that the increase of the biomaterials surface charge resulted in enhanced quantities of biologically available, surface-attached proteins. Since different surface charges were equalized after protein adsorption, mesenchymal stem cells interacted rather with diverse protein compositions instead of different surface features. Besides an enhanced cell attachment to increasingly positively charged surfaces, the cell spreading area and the expression of adhesion-related genes integrin α5 and tensin 1 were found to be increased after...

Ficus carica Linn. (Moraceae) is commonly known as edible fig. The leaves, roots, fruits and latex of the plant are medicinally used in different diseases. The leaves are claimed to be effective in various inflammatory conditions like painful or swollen piles, insect sting and bites. However, there has been no report on anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity of F. carica leaves. Therefore the aim of this study was to evaluate the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity of F. carica leaves. Our study validated the traditional claim with pharmacological data. Anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity of the drug could be due to the presence of steroids and flavanoids, respectively, which are reported to be present in the drug. Furthermore, the anti-inflammatory activity of the drug could be due to its free radical scavenging activity. Further work is also required to isolate and characterise the active constituents responsible for the anti-inflammatory activities.

Huntington hastalığı, istemsiz koreik hareketler, bilişsel kayıplar ve psikolojik bozukluklarla karakterize edilen, otozomal dominant geçişli, geç başlangıçlı ve ölümcül bir hastalıktır. Hastalığa sebep olan mutasyon, IT-15 geninin birinci ek sonunda tekrar eden CAG bazlarının sayılarındaki artıştır. Mutant genin ifadesi, striyatal gam ma amino bütirik asit ile ten (GA BA-er jik) orta boy dikensi nö ronların seçimli ölümüne neden olur. Mutant huntingtin (htt) proteininin konformasyonu,
pro te in yı kı mı ve übi kü tin-pro te o zom sis te mi (UPS), gen ya zı lı mı dü zen le me le rin de ki de ği şim ler
ve ek si to tok si si te, nö ro de je ne ras yo nun mo le kü ler me ka niz ma la rı ara sın da dır. Uya rı cı kim ya sal la -
rın aşı rı mik ta rı hüc re le ri sü rek li uya ra rak has sas hüc re le rin ek si to tok sik ölüm le ri ne se bep olur lar.
Glu ta mat da ba zal gang li ya dan sa lı nan uya rı cı nö rot rans mi ter ler den bi ri dir. Hun ting ton has ta lı -
ğın da stri ya tal nö ron la rın kay be dil me si glu ta mat re sep tö rü ara cı lı ek si to tok si si te nin pa to ge nez de etki
li ola bi le ce ği ne işa ret eder. İyo not ro fik glu ta mat re sep tör le ri (iG luR) ara sın dan bi ri olan
N-me til-D-As par tat re sep tör le ri (NMDAR)’nin uya rıl ma sı ve bu nu ta ki ben nük le er fak tör kap pa B
(NF ± B) ya zı lım fak tö rü nün ak ti vas yo nu nö ro nal ölüm ile so nuç la nır. NMDAR, glu ta mat bağ lan -
ma böl ge le ri ne ek ola rak po li a min bağ lan ma böl ge le ri de içe rir. Po li a min le rin mu tant htt pro te i -
ni nin, NMDAR ve NF ± B ya zı lım fak tö rü ile ay rı ay rı iliş ki içe ri sin de ol ma sı, bu pro te i nin,
Hun ting ton has ta lı ğın da mey da na ge len nö ro de je ne ras yon da mer ke zi bir rol oy na ya bi le ce ği ni düşün
dür mek te dir. Bu ne den le, Hun ting ton has ta lı ğın da po li a min me ta bo liz ma sı nın de tay lı araş tırıl ma sı ve an la şıl ma sı has ta lı ğın te da vi sin de ye ni yak la şım lar üre til me si ni sağ la ya cak tır.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder with progressive memory loss. It has been shown that the cholinergic neurotransmission deficit is one of the neurochemical characteristics of AD, and that L-arginine and its metabolites also play a prominent role in AD pathogenesis. Scopolamine, a non-selective muscarinic receptor antagonist, blocks cholinergic neurotransmission and impairs behavioural function, including learning and memory. This study investigated the effects of scopolamine on animals' behavioural performance and L-arginine metabolism in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. Rats were given intraperitoneal injections of scopolamine (0.8 mg/kg) or saline (1 ml/kg) and tested in the Y-maze, open field, water maze and elevated plus maze 30 min post-treatment. After completion of the behavioural testing, the CA1, CA2/3 and dentate gyrus (DG) sub-regions of the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex were harvested to measure the activity and protein expression of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) and arginase, and the levels of L-arginine, L-citrulline, L-ornithine, agmatine, putrescine, spermidine, spermine, glutamate and GABA. Scopolamine treated rats displayed reduced alternation and exploratory behaviour, increased swimming speed and impaired spatial learning and memory. There were significantly decreased NOS activity, increased arginase activity, and increased L-ornithine and putrescine levels in the DG, but not other regions examined, in the scopolamine treated rats as compared to the controls. These findings suggest that scopolamine impairs behavioural function and alters L-arginine metabolism in the DG sub-region of the hippocampus specifically. The underlying mechanisms of it remain to be explored further.