We have previously suggested that the decrease in the levels of serum total thyroxine (T(4)) and free T(4) by a single administration to rats of Kanechlor-500 (KC500) at a dose of 100 mg/kg is not necessarily dependent on the increase in hepatic T(4)-UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UDP-GT). In the present study, we determined whether or not a consecutive treatment with KC500 at a relatively low do...

The effects of severe protein malnutrition (4%) on myenteric neurons of Wistar rat duodenum, in relation to a standard 22%-protein diet for rodents, were assessed in this study. Segments of the duodenum from 10 rats from each nutritional group were submitted to the elaboration of whole mounts - 5 stained with Giemsa to determine the total population of myenteric neurons and the others stained b...

BACKGROUND The purpose of the present study was to analyse species-specific forms of behaviour (digging and swimming) and response to novelty in laboratory rats and their wild type counterparts at a very early stage of laboratorization. Three behavioural phenomena were taken into account: burrowing, spontaneous swimming, and neophobic behaviour. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Wild-type rats and three str...

The way hippocampal neurons function during stress in old age (critical times of life) is dependent on brain derived neurotrophin factor (BDNF). This study examined the influence of acute and chronic forced swim (FS) or high-light open field (HL‑OF) stimulation on the density of BDNF immunoreactive (ir) neurons in the hippocampal pyramidal layers of CA1, CA2, CA3 regions and the granular layer ...

Article history: Received on: 08/11/2012 Revised on: 29/11/2012 Accepted on: 15/12/2012 Available online: 28/01/2013 In this study, assessment of the potential effect of cypermethrin-treated lettuce on the rat liver physiology is carried out. Cypermethrin-treated lettuce and three doses of cypermethrin (CY) were administered during 28 days to rats. Along the experimental period, animal behavior...

OBJECTIVE(S) The effect of prolonged overtraining on cytokine kinetics was compared with moderate exercise in the present study. MATERIALS AND METHODS Male Wistar rats were randomly divided into control sedentary (C), moderate trained (MT), (V=20 m/min, 30 min/day for 6 days a week, 8 weeks), overtrained (OT) (V=25 m/min, 60min/day for 6 days a week, 11 weeks) and recovered overtrained (OR) (...

The purpose of this study was to examine effects of hypertension on mechanics of cerebral arterioles in nongenetic and genetic models of chronic hypertension. Pressure (servo null) and diameter were measured in pial arterioles of anesthetized renal hypertensive rats (one-kidney, one clip), uninephrectomized normotensive rats, spontaneously hypertensive rats, and normotensive Wistar-Kyoto rats. ...

Cardiovascular hemodynamics (microspheres) and plasma norepinephrine and epinephrine levels at rest and during short-term shaker stress were investigated in conscious spontaneously hypertensive rats and Wistar-Kyoto rats, with or without oral taurine (1.5%) treatment for 8 weeks. Taurine effects were evaluated by comparing data on the taurine-treated and untreated rats. Taurine affected neither...

BACKGROUND Plasma concentrations of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), a powerful angiogenic growth factor inducible by heparin, increase in thrombus-associated disorders such as myocardial infarction and unstable angina. The mechanism of this thrombus-associated HGF release, however, is unknown. METHODS AND RESULTS Wistar rats received through the tail vein (1) normal saline (NS), (2) 50 micro ...

Ethylene glycol (EG) exposure is a common model for kidney stones, because animals accumulate calcium oxalate monohydrate (COM) in kidneys. Wistar rats are more sensitive to EG than Fischer 344 (F344) rats, with greater COM deposition in kidneys. The mechanisms by which COM accumulates differently among strains are poorly understood. Urinary proteins inhibit COM adhesion to renal cells, which c...