The α2 glycine receptor (GlyR) subunit, abundant in embryonic neurons, is replaced by α1 in the adult nervous system. The single-channel activity of homomeric α2 channels differs from that of α1-containing GlyRs, as even at the lowest glycine concentration (20 µM), openings occurred in long (>300-ms) groups with high open probability (P(open); 0.96; cell-attached recordings, HEK-expressed chann...

Basal ganglia play an essential role in motor coordination and cognitive functions. The GABAergic medium spiny neurons (MSNs) account for ~95% of all the neurons in this brain region. Central to the normal functioning of MSNs is integration of synaptic activity arriving from the glutamatergic corticostriatal and thalamostriatal afferents, with synaptic inhibition mediated by local interneurons ...

Endogenous cardiotonic steroids, through their interaction with the ouabain-binding site of the Na-K-ATPase α-subunit, have been implicated in a variety of cardiovascular disease states including hypertension. We have previously shown that ACTH-induced hypertension is abolished in mutant mice expressing ouabain-resistant α1- and α2-subunits. To further evaluate hypertension resistance in these ...

Xylazine hydrochloride, α2 adrenoceptor agonist, is an analgesic, sedative, tranquilizer, and muscle relaxant agent in veterinary medicine which is mostly used as in pre-anesthesia in veterinary medicine. One of the main adverse effects of xylazine which limits application of this medication in small animal veterinary practice (mostly in cats) is nausea and vomiting which can end up with aspira...

abstract background thalassemia is common in the iranian population, and it must be considered in the differential diagnosis of the microcytic hypochromic anemia. the molecular analysis of β-thalassemia is necessary for prenatal molecular diagnosis. α-thalassemia caused by loss of function of either one of the two duplicated α-globin genes or in less frequent non deletion mutations mostly locat...

The α2 adrenergic receptors which abundantly express in the CA1 region of the hippocampus play an important role in the regulation of sleep and memory retention processes. Based on the available evidence, the aim of our study was to investigate consequences of the activation and deactivation of CA1 α2 adrenergic receptors (by clonidine and yohimbine, respectively) on the impairment of memory re...

BACKGROUND The adrenergic system and progesterone play major roles in the control of the uterine function. Our aims were to clarify the changes in function and expression of the α2-adrenergic receptor (AR) subtypes after progesterone pretreatment in late pregnancy. METHODS Sprague Dawley rats from pregnancy day 15 were treated with progesterone for 7 days. The myometrial expressions of the α2...

There are three isoforms of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ coactivator 1α (PGC-1α) mRNA, which promotes mitochondrial biogenesis in skeletal muscles. Compared with PGC-1α-a mRNA, PGC-1α-b or PGC-1α-c mRNA is transcribed by a different exon 1 of the PGC-1α gene. In this study, effects of exercise intensity and 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide-1β-d-ribofuranoside (AICAR) on isoform-sp...

We previously reported that orexin neurons are directly hyperpolarized by noradrenaline (NA) and dopamine. In the present study, we show that NA, dopamine and adrenaline all directly hyperpolarized orexin neurons. This response was inhibited by the α2 adrenergic receptor (α2-AR) antagonist, idazoxan or BRL44408, and was mimicked by the α2-AR selective agonist, UK14304. A low concentration of Ba...

Norepinephrine (NE) is a potent modulator of breathing that can increase/decrease respiratory activity by α1-/α2-adrenergic receptor (AR) activation, respectively. The retrotrapezoid nucleus (RTN) is known to contribute to central chemoreception, inspiration, and active expiration. Here we investigate the sources of catecholaminergic inputs to the RTN and identify respiratory effects produced b...