There is no definite morphological distinction between phaeochromocytomas and paragangliomas. We, therefore, attempted to determine the universality and differential utility of a panel of tumour markers for diagnosis in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded specimens. Antibodies to neuron-specific enolase (NSE), chromogranin, synaptophysin, Leu-7, neurofilaments, cytokeratins, carcinoembryonic anti...

The partial opioid agonist thienorphine is currently in Phase II clinical trials in China as a candidate drug for the treatment of opioid dependence. However, its effect on synaptic plasticity in the NAc (nucleus accumbens) remains unclear. In the present study, we measured structural parameters of the synaptic interface to investigate the effect of thienorphine, morphine or a combination of bo...

Maslinic acid, a natural pentacyclic triterpene from Olea europaea plants, possesses neuroprotective effects both in vivo and in vitro. However, the mechanism of its action is not well understood. In this study, we investigated the potential effects of maslinic acid on synaptogenesis and axonal regeneration, as well as the possible signal pathway involved in a cerebral ischemia mouse model. Adu...

Synaptophysin is an integral membrane glycoprotein (Mr 38,000) that occurs in presynaptic vesicles of neurons and in similar vesicles of the adrenal medulla. By using a monoclonal antibody to this protein (SY38), we have found, by immunohistochemistry and immunoblotting, that an identical or similar protein is also expressed in neuroendocrine tumors of neural type, such as pheochromocytomas and...

BACKGROUND Glomus tumors typically occur in the subcutaneous tissue of distal extremities, but rarely in visceral organs. Most glomus tumors are benign, while others have been reported to have malignant potential. Herein, a unique case of a liver glomus tumor with atypical histological features is reported. CASE PRESENTATION A 39-year-old man felt fullness in the epigastrium, and an enhanced ...

We have recently localized a small GTP-binding protein (Rab6p) thought to be involved in vesicular membrane transport, to the medial and trans-cisternae of the Golgi apparatus in NRK (normal rat kidney) cells. Here, we have localized and quantified Rab6p during the development in culture of embryonic neurons, up to synapse formation, and compared its subcellular distribution and level of expres...

Disturbances of synaptic connectivity during perinatal and adolescent periods have been hypothesized to be related to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Rho guanine nucleotide exchange factor 11 (ARHGEF11) is a specific guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEF) for RhoA, which is a critical regulator of actin cytoskeleton dynamics and organization of dendritic spines and inhibitor of spine m...

BACKGROUND The purpose of the study was to examine serotonin, CD56, neurone-specific enolase (NSE), chromogranin A and synaptophysin by immunohistochemistry in renal cell carcinomas (RCCs) with special emphasis on patient outcome. METHODS We studied 152 patients with primary RCCs who underwent surgery for the removal of kidney tumours between 1990 and 1999. The mean follow-up was 90 months. T...

The pathways of synaptic vesicle (SV) biogenesis and recycling are still poorly understood. We have studied the effects of Brefeldin A (BFA) on the distribution of several SV membrane proteins (synaptophysin, synaptotagmin, synaptobrevin, p29, SV2 and rab3A) and on endosomal markers to investigate the relationship between SVs and the membranes with which they interact in cultured hippocampal ne...

Retinal neuropathy is an early event in the development of diabetic retinopathy. One of the potential enzymes that are activated by oxidative stress in the diabetic retina is poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP). We investigated the effect of the PARP inhibitor 1,5-isoquinolinediol on the expression of the neurodegeneration mediators and markers in the retinas of diabetic rats. After two weeks o...