Maternal dexamethasone [(DEX); a glucocorticoid receptor agonist] exposure delays pubertal onset and alters reproductive behavior in the adult offspring. However, little is known whether maternal DEX exposure affects the offspring's reproductive function by disrupting the gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) neuronal function in the brain. Therefore, this study determined the exposure of mater...

To determine whether the dexamethasone (DEX)-inducible hepatic sulfotransferase gene expression that has been described in the rat is conserved in humans, the effects of DEX treatment on hydroxysteroid sulfotransferase (SULT2A1) and aryl sulfotransferase (SULT1A1) gene expression were investigated in primary cultured human hepatocytes. Hepatocytes were prepared from nontransplantable human live...

OBJECTIVE To explore the effect of dexamethasone (DEX) on monocyte adhesion function and its underlying mechanism. METHODS The effects of DEX and fasudil on adhesion of cultured U937 monocytes to human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) following stimulation with phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) were studied; Changes in the Rho-associated coiled-coil protein kinase 1 (ROCK1) protein cont...

Mouse studies indicate that the synthetic glucocorticoid dexamethasone (Dex) impairs the proliferation of granule neuron precursors in the cerebellum, which are transformed to medulloblastoma by activation of Sonic hedgehog (Shh) signaling. Here, we show that Dex treatment also inhibits Shh-induced tumor growth, enhancing the survival of tumor-prone transgenic mice. We found that Nmyc was speci...

Maternal administration of dexamethasone (DEX) for 48 h early in rat kidney development results in offspring with a reduced nephron endowment. However, the mechanism through which DEX inhibits nephrogenesis is unknown. In this study, we hypothesized that DEX may indirectly inhibit nephrogenesis by inhibiting ureteric branching morphogenesis. Whole metanephroi from embryonic day 14.5 (E14.5) rat...

Glycaemic responses to the dextrin NUTRIOSE 6 (Dex) and the MALTISORB maltitol (Mal) have been studied previously but their effects on vigilance and cognitive performances are still not known. The present study assesses dose-related glycaemic responses following Dex administration and the hypothesis that Dex and Mal could modulate the glycaemic response, improve vigilance under stress condition...

Intratympanic (IT) delivery of drugs to the ear is increasingly used for both clinical and research purposes. One limitation of IT delivery is that drugs are rapidly lost from the middle ear by a number of processes, so that prolonged delivery of drug is technically difficult. In the present study, the delivery characteristics of a poloxamer hydrogel formulation containing dexamethasone (dex) w...

Bacterial chondronecrosis with osteomyelitis (BCO) and turkey osteomyelitis complex (TOC) are characterized by bacterial infection and necrotic degeneration within the tibiae and femora. Stress and immunosuppression have been implicated in the pathogenesis of BCO and TOC. Immunosuppressive doses of dexamethasone (DEX) trigger high incidences of TOC in turkey poults. The present study was conduc...

Recent progress in nanotechnology and electrochemical methods can be applied to fine control of the size, crystal structure, and surface properties of iron oxide nanoparticles. Here we appliedcathodic electrochemical deposition (CED) as an efficient and effective tactic for synthesisand double coating of surface of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs). In first step, bare Fe3O4 n...

Pulmonary surfactant is a mixture of lipids and proteins that controls the surface tension of the fluid lining the inner lung. Its composition is conserved amongst the vertebrates. Here, we hypothesise that the in ovo administration of glucocorticoids and thyroid hormones during late incubation will accelerate surfactant development in the saltwater crocodile, Crocodylus porosus. We also hypoth...