Mortality and cerebral glycolytic metabolism were studied after bilateral ligation of the common carotid artery in normotensive Wistar rats (NTR), and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) derived from Wistar strain. In the first 24 hours after occlusion of carotid arteries, 72 per cent of 108 SHR died, whereas it was fatal in only 16 per cent of 43 NTR. In SHR, cerebral lactate and cerebral la...

Huntington's disease (HD) is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder with a characteristic phenotype including chorea and dystonia, uncoordinated fine movements, cognitive decline and psychiatric disturbances. Even though the clinical diagnosis of HD relies on the manifestation of motor abnormalities, the associated memory impairments have been growing in prominence. Indeed, cognitive deficits are e...

Target-derived neurotrophins regulate neuronal survival and growth by interacting with cell-surface tyrosine kinase receptors. The p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75 NTR) is coexpressed with Trk receptors in long-range projection neurons, in which it facilitates neurotrophin binding to Trk and enhances Trk activity. Here, we show that TrkA and TrkB receptors undergo robust ligand-dependent ubiquiti...

CytoCy5S™, a quenched, red-shifted fluorescent probe, has been used to exploit the imaging potential of nitroreductase (NTR) reporter gene platform. Its use reported in number publications, however there are discrepancies both structure and its physicochemical properties. Herein, we aim highlight these define best candidate four substrates under study for preclinical work NTR reporting by optic...

Arabidopsis thaliana was transformed with a gene encoding a nitroreductase (NTR, E.C.1.6.99.7) with activity against a wide range of nitroaromatic compounds. The gene was transferred from Escherichia coli by an Agrobacterium-mediated in planta method. The obtained seeds were sowed to produce T1 plants, and they were assayed for the integration of the transgene in the plant genome. Transgenic pl...

Nerve growth factor (NGF) is an important mediator in the initiation of the inflammatory response and NGF via activation of the p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75(NTR)) and downstream sphingomyelin signaling leads to significant enhancement of the excitability of small-diameter sensory neurons. Because of the interaction between sphingomyelin and cholesterol in creating membrane liquid-ordered doma...

Membrane protein sorting is mediated by interactions between proteins and lipids. One mechanism that contributes to sorting involves patches of lipids, termed lipid rafts, which are different from their surroundings in lipid and protein composition. Although the nerve growth factor (NGF) receptors, TrkA and p75(NTR) collaborate with each other at the plasma membrane to bind NGF, these two recep...

The NAC (nitrogen assimilation control) protein from Klebsiella aerogenes is a LysR-like regulator for transcription of several operons involved in nitrogen metabolism, and couples the transcription of these sigma 70-dependent operons to regulation by the sigma 54-dependent NTR system. NAC activates expression of operons (e.g. histidine utilization, hut), allowing use of poor nitrogen sources, ...

The pan neurotrophin receptor p75(NTR) signals programmed cell death both during nervous system development and after neural trauma and disease in the adult. However, the molecular pathways by which death is mediated remain poorly understood. Here, we show that this cell death is initiated by activation of G-protein-coupled inwardly rectifying potassium (GIRK/Kir3) channels and a consequent pot...

Nerve growth factor (NGF) is generated from a precursor, proNGF, that is proteolytically processed. NGF preferentially binds a trophic tyrosine kinase receptor, TrkA, while proNGF binds a neurotrophin receptor (NTR), p75(NTR), that can have neurotoxic activity. Previously, we along with others showed that the soluble protein α2-macroglobulin (α2M) is neurotoxic. Toxicity is due in part to α2M b...