The response of kainate receptors to deafferentation and subsequent reinnervation following unilateral entorhinal cortex lesions was studied in the rat hippocampus using quantitative in vitro autoradiography. The binding levels of [3H]kainic acid (KA) and changes in the distribution of KA sites were investigated in the dentate gyrus molecular layer (ML) and in various terminal zones in the CA1 ...

Background: Avian influenza A has been a major threat to worldwide public health. The evolutionary patterns of the pathogenic viruses between humans and birds are essential to effective monitoring of disease propagation. In this study, we focused on finding an appropriate evolutionary measure for avian influenza A to reflect its adaptation to human hosts and outbreaks in human population. We es...

This laboratory has recently described a monolayer culture system that allows the survival and differentiation of chick embryo retinal neurons and photoreceptors in the absence of contamination by connective tissue, endothelial, glial, or pigmented epithelial cells. The authors report here that the photoreceptor cells can be further purified by exploiting the selective toxicity of kainic acid (...

Kainic acid (KA) is a potent neurotoxic substance valuable in research of temporal lobe epilepsy. We tested how subconvulsive dose of KA influences spontaneous behavior of adult Wistar rats. Animals were treated with 5 mg/kg of KA and tested in Laboras open field test for one hour in order to evaluate various behavioral parameters. Week after the KA treatment animals were tested again in Labora...

We have generated a record of alkenone sea surface temperatures (SSTs) during the last 28000 years from Core MD97-2146 for the northern South China Sea (SCS). The SST record showed a typical pattern for change in the northern SCS SST. The SST during the LGM was ~25 C, this decreased to ~24 C to 17 ka, increased to ~25.5 C to 14.5 ka, decreased again to ~24.5 C to 11.8 ka, increased gradually to...

We present the results of pollen analysis performed on an ice core recovered from Nevado Sajama, Bolivia, dated to 25 ka BP. Low pollen concentrations from 25 to 15 ka BP are consistent with the scenario of an expanded ice cap surrounded by sparse vegetation and cold conditions on the Altiplano during the Last Glacial Maximum. After 15 ka BP, more pollen is present and percentages show vegetati...

Mechanical damage can induce fruiting body production in fungi. In this study, the antioxidant kojic acid (KA) was found to enhance injured mycelial regeneration and increase fruiting body production in Hypsizygus marmoreus. KA reduced the level of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are harmful to mycelia when excessively generated by mechanical damage. Moreover, KA increased catalase and sup...

Treatment with the nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitor, L-NAME prior to the induction of seizures with kainic acid (KA) [L-NAME+KA] increases the expression of activity-dependent neuroprotective protein (ADNP) in cells in the subgranular zone (SGZ) of the rat dentate gyrus 3-days after seizure induction (Cosgrave et al., 2009). Using the incorporation of BrdU we found that this protocol [L-NA...

Kainic acid (KA) exposure causes neuronal degeneration featured by Alzheimer-like tau hyperphosphorylation and memory deficits. Melatonin (Mel) is known to protect hippocampal neurons against KA-induced damage. However, the underlying mechanisms remain elusive. In the current study, we investigated the protective effect of melatonin on KA-induced tau hyperphosphorylation by focusing on endoplas...

In this study, we investigated the effects of 2,2'-dithienyl diselenide (DTDS), an organoselenium compound, against seizures induced by kainic acid (KA) in rats. Rats were pretreated with DTDS (50 or 100 mg/kg) by oral route 1 h before KA injection (10 mg/kg, intraperitoneal). Our results showed that DTDS (100 mg/kg) was effective in increasing latency for the onset of the first clonic seizure ...