The hypophysectomized rat has been used as a model to study the effects of growth hormone deficiency on bone. Here we have investigated the influence of growth hormone administration to hypophysectomized rats for 6 weeks on accumulation of triglycerides in bone marrow and, on the differentiation of primary marrow stromal cells into adipocytes under in vitro conditions. We found that hypophysect...

OBJECTIVE To examine the role of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and cyclic GMP in the regulation of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) in cultured human endothelial cells. METHODS Cultured endothelial cells from human umbilical veins (HUVEC) were treated with ANP (0.3-30 nM), 8-Br-cGMP (1-100 microM), Rp-8-Br-PET-cGMPS (1 microM), or the phosphodiesterase inhibitors, zaprinast (10-100 micr...

BACKGROUND/AIM Genistein, the most active isoflavone found primarily in soybeans, alters ion transport functions in intestinal and airway epithelia. The present study aims to investigate the acute effects and mechanisms of action of genistein in immortalized porcine endometrial epithelial cells. METHODS Ussing chamber technique was used for transepithelial electrical measurements. RESULTS G...

The present study was conducted to explore the adipogenic potential and glucose uptake stimulatory activity of Phyllanthus emblica and Tinospora cordifolia using 3T3L1 fibroblast cell line as pre-adipocytes.The plant extracts were substituted for insulin in the Insulin-IBMX-DEX cocktail used for differentiation of pre-adipocytes. The degree of differentiation of these plants was assessed by Oil...

The hypophysectomized rat has been used as a model to study the effects of growth hormone deficiency on bone. Here, we have investigated the influence of growth hormone administration to hypophysectomized rats (HX) for 6 wk on accumulation of triglycerides in bone marrow and on the differentiation of primary marrow stromal cells into adipocytes under in vitro conditions. We found that hypophyse...

To define the proteins whose expression is regulated by cAMP and protein kinase A (PKA), we used a quantitative proteomics approach in studies of wild-type (WT) and kin- (PKA-null) S49 murine T lymphoma cells. We also compared the impact of endogenous increases in the level of cAMP [by forskolin (Fsk) and the phosphodiesterase inhibitor isobutylmethylxanthine (IBMX)] or by a cAMP analogue (8-CP...

Bipolar cells are retinal interneurons that receive synaptic input from photoreceptors. Glutamate, the photoreceptor transmitter, hyperpolarizes On bipolar cells by closing nonselective cation channels, an effect mediated by the metabotropic receptor mGluR6. Previous studies of mGluR6 transduction have suggested that the receptor couples to a phosphodiesterase (PDE) that preferentially hydrolyz...

Taurine (TAU) supplementation increases insulin secretion in response to high glucose concentrations in rodent islets. This effect is probably due to an increase in Ca2+ handling by the islet cells. Here, we investigated the possible involvement of the cholinergic/phospholipase C (PLC) and protein kinase (PK) A pathways in this process. Adult mice were fed with 2% TAU in drinking water for 30 d...

We have tested cultured human microvascular endothelial cells (HMEC-1) for their ability to synthesize cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cAMP) in the absence or presence of various drugs. The accumulation of cAMP was only slightly affected by the addition of a phosphodiesterase inhibitor 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (IBMX) to the incubation medium. A direct stimulator of adenylyl cyclase for...

The anionic conductance across toad (Bufo viridis) skin was studied using the voltage-clamp technique following long-term (more than 10 days) acclimation to NaCl and KCl solutions. The non-specific baseline conductance was approximately 0.6 mS cm(-)(2) and was similar in skins from all acclimation conditions. The voltage-activated Cl(-) conductance (G(Cl)) was maximal in skins from distilled-wa...