Nephrotoxicity of cisplatin (CP) involves renal oxidative stress and inflammation, and sesamin (a major liganin in many plants) has strong antioxidant and antiinflammatory actions. Therefore, we investigated here the possible mitigative action of sesamin on CP nephrotoxicity in rats. Sesamin was given orally (5 mg/kg/day, 10 days), and on the 7th day, some of the treated rats were injected intraperitoneally with either saline or CP (5 mg/kg). On the 11th day, rats were sacrificed, and blood and urine samples and kidneys were collected for biochemical estimation of several traditional and novel indices of renal damage in plasma and urine, several oxidative and nitrosative indices in kidneys, and assessment of histopathological renal damage. CP significantly and adversely altered all the physiological, biochemical and histopathological indices of renal function measured. Kidneys of CP‐treated rats had a moderate degree of necrosis. This was markedly lessened when CP was given simultaneously with sesamin. Sesamin treatment did not significantly alter the renal CP concentration. The results suggested that sesamin had ameliorated CP nephrotoxicity in rats by reversing the CP-induced oxidative stress and inflammation. Pending further pharmacological and toxicological studies sesamin may be considered a potentially useful nephroprotective agent.
Anemia frequently complicates chronic kidney disease (CKD). We investigated here the effect of adenine-induced CKD in rats on erythrocyte count (EC), hematocrit (PCV) and hemoglobin (Hb) concentration, as well as on the activity of L-γ-glutamyl transferase (GGT) and the concentrations of iron (Fe), transferrin (Tf), ferritin (F), total iron binding capacity (TIBC) / unsaturated iron binding capacity (UIBC) and hepcidin (Hp) in serum and erythropoietin (Epo) in renal tissue. Renal damage was assessed histopathologically, and also by measuring the serum concentrations of the uremic toxin indoxyl sulfate (IS), creatinine, and urea, and by creatinine clearance. We also assessed the influence of concomitant treatment with gum acacia (GA) on the above analytes. Adenine feeding induced CKD, accompanied by significant decreases (P<0.05) in EC, PCV, and Hb, and in the serum concentrations of Fe, Tf, TIBC, UIBC and Epo. It also increased Hp and F levels. GA significantly ameliorated these changes in rats with CKD. A general improvement in the renal status of rats with CKD after GA is shown due to its antiinflammatory and anti-oxidant actions, and reduction of the uremic toxin IS, which is known to suppress Epo production, and this may be a reason for its ameliorative actions on the indices of anemia studied., B. H. Ali, M. Al Za'Abi, A. Ramkumar, J. Yasin, A. Nemmar., and Obsahuje bibliografii
The aim of study was to review the status of arterial pH, pO2 and pCO2 under general anesthesias in dependence on the light-dark (LD) cycle in spontaneously breathing rats. The experiments were performed using three- to four-month-old pentobarbital(P)-, ketamine/xylazine(K/X)- and zoletil(Z)-anesthetized female Wistar rats after a four-week adaptation to an LD cycle (12 h light:12 h dark). The animals were divided into three experimental groups according to the anesthetic agent used: P (light n=11; dark n=8); K/X (light n=13; dark n=11); and Z (light n=18; dark n=26). pH and blood gases from arterial blood were analyzed. In P anesthesia, LD differences in pH, pO2, and pCO2 were eliminated. In K/X anesthesia, parameters showed significant LD differences. In Z anesthesia, LD differences were detected for pH and pO2 only. Acidosis, hypoxia, and hypercapnia have been reported for all types of anesthesia during the light period. In the dark period, except for P anesthesia, the environment was more stable and values fluctuated within normal ranges. From a chronobiological perspective, P anesthesia was not the most appropriate type of anesthesia in these rat experiments. It eliminated LD differences, and also produced a more acidic environment and more pronounced hypercapnia than K/X and Z anesthesias., P. Svorc, D. Petrášová, P. Svorc Jr., and Obsahuje bibliografii
This study aimed to investigate the effects of chronic restraint stress (CRS) on the protein levels of dopamine-β-hydroxylase (DBH), noradrenaline transporter (NET), vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT2) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), as well as the concentration of noradrenaline (NA) in the rat hippocampus. The investigated parameters were quantified by Western blot analyses and ELISA kits. We found that CRS increased the protein levels of DBH by 30 %, VMAT2 by 11 %, BDNF by 11 % and the concentration of NA by 104 %, but decreased the protein levels of NET by 16 % in the hippocampus of chronically stressed rats. The molecular mechanisms by which CRS increased the hippocampal NA level are an important adaptive phenomenon of the noradrenergic system in the stress condition.
Male Wistar rats were exposed to whole body irradiation with 14.35 Gy gamma rays after the adaptation to light/dark cycle (LD 12:12). Three groups of rats were examined: A) rats irradiated in the night and placed in the 12 h LD cycle again, B) rats irradiated in the day-time and placed in the 12 h LD cycle, and C) rats irradiated in the night and kept in constant darkness. All analyses were carried out in the dark. Radiation enhanced the activity of pineal N-acetyltransferase 3-4 days after exposure in all groups, in the C group significantly on the 4th day. Different light regimens during and after irradiation did not to affect the activity of this key enzyme of melatonin synthesis substantially.
The seasonal influence on circadian oscillations of serum thyroid hormones has been confirmed in the laboratory rat, an animal exhibiting low photoperiodic activity. The aim of this paper was to study the influence of various photoperiods, applied in a single season, on circadian variations in the levels of thyroid hormones in male Wistar rats. After 6-weeks of adaptation to artificial light-dark regimens (LD) 08:16 h, 12:12 h, 16:08 h, and to the standard housing conditions, the rats were examined in 3 h intervals in the course of 24 h in December. The concentrations of thyroxine (T4), triiodothyronine (T3) and reverse T3 (rT3) were examined in the serum. The curves of T4 circadian oscillations showed two peaks in all the photoperiods followed. Computative acrophases were localized between 07.00 and 08.00 h, the amplitude in the LD 12:12 regimen was twice that observed in LD 08:16 and 16:08, the rhythm was present and the mesors were approximately the same. Circadian oscillations of T3 exhibited rhythmicity in all the photoperiods with computative acrophases localized between 07.30 and 09.00 h, and the values of mesors in LD 08:16 and 16:08 regimens were significantly lower in comparison with those in the LD 12:12 regimen. The rT3 circadian variations in the LD 12:12 regimen showed rhythmicity with acrophase at 06.00 h. The rhythm in the LD 16:08 regimen was of borderline significance, the computative acrophase occurred at 8.16 h, and the mesor value was significantly higher than those in the LD 12:12 regimen. The decrease in the amplitude of T4 oscillations and the lower T3 mesors in LD 08:16 and 16:08 regimens in comparison with the LD 12:12 values indicated only minor modification in circadian oscillations of T4 and T3 resulting from artificial photoperiods. In comparison with our previous studies these data suggest that changes in circadian oscillations of serum thyroid hormones might reflect the effect of the season of the year rather than the effect of day duration, i.e. the photoperiod.
Gum acacia (GA) is used in pharmaceutical, cosmetic and food industries as an emulsifier and stabilizer, and in some countries in the traditional treatment of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). We have previously found that GA ameliorates adenine -induced chronic renal failure (CRF) in rats. Different brands of GA are commercially available, but their comparative efficacy against adenine-induced CKD is unknown. Here, we explored the effects of three different brands of GA (Sudanese GA, SupergumTM and GA from BDH) on some physiological, biochemical, and histological effects of adenine-induced CRF in rats. Adenine (0.75 %, w/w in feed, four weeks) reduced body weight, and increased urine output. It also induced significant increases in blood pressure, and in creatinine, urea, several inflammatory cytokines in plasma, and indices of oxidative stress, and caused histological damage in kidneys. Treatment of rats concomitantly with any of the three GA brands, significantly, and to a broadly similar extent, mitigated all the signs of CRF. The results suggested equivalent efficacy of these brands in antagonizing the CRF in this animal model. However, to enable standardization of different brands between laboratories, the use of the chemically well-characterized GA preparation (such as SupergumTM) is recommended., B. H. Ali, ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
The diet of the barn owl from three localities in Thessaly, Central Greece, was studied in the breeding and non breeding seasons over one year. A total of 420 pellets with 1.013 prey items were analyzed. Twelve small mammalian species were taken (94.9% by number and 96.1% by biomass), although Mus domesticus (26.3%), Crocidura spp. (25.3%) and Apodemus spp. (18.4%) were the main species predated by number. Rats (Rattus spp.), showed the highest frequency (11%) and biomass percentages observed to date in Greece, and their presence in the barn owl diet is also among the highest in the Mediterranean Europe. Birds (Passer spp. and Carduelis spp.) and insects (Acrididae) were also present (3.9% and 1.2%, respectively). Ecological niche values, seasonal and geographical differences were tested, the results pointing to the opportunistic feeding behavior of the barn owl in the croplands of central Greece.
A voltammetry technique has been used to determine changes in dopamine release in the rat corpus striatum after two doses of ethanol administration. The dopamine oxidation current reached a maximal value at 30 min after the first alcohol dose with a subsequent decrease towards the initial level at 60 min and kept to the basal level with a statistically insignificant oscillation. When a second dose of alcohol was applied at 60 min, it was followed by a decrease of the dopamine oxidation current peak to 50 % of the initial value after another 60 min observation. The results resemble the known effect of alcohol on human behaviour (excitation followed by depression).
The present study was designed to evaluate the effect of short ethanol intake on ADCC activity in blood and spleen mononuclear cells.Wistar rats were fed a standard diet and drank 0.1 M ethanol solution for three days. Glucose and water controls were used in this experiment. Increased ADCC activity was found in ethanol consuming rats in the blood and spleen as compared to both controls. Our findings support the assumption that ADCC may play an important role in liver disease of alcoholics.