We have examined the regional brain distribution of [18F]GBR 13119 (18F: beta +, T1/2 = 110 min), a dopamine uptake inhibitor, in CD-1 and C57BL/6 mice. High levels of binding are observed in the striatum of both species, with striatum/cerebellum ratios of 3-4 at 60 min after injection of the radiotracer. Striatum radioactivity and striatum/cerebellum ratios are more than 50% reduced in C57BL/6...

Genome sequences of five different Group II (nonproteolytic) Clostridium botulinum type F6 strains were compared at a 50-kb locus containing the neurotoxin gene cluster. A clonal origin for these strains is indicated by the fact that sequences were identical except for strain Eklund 202F, with 10 single-nucleotide polymorphisms and a 15-bp deletion. The essential topB gene encoding topoisomeras...

conclusion: the newly produced recombinant protein bmk revealed to be immunogenic. moreover, anti-bmk antibodies produced in mice were able to recognize both the recombinant bmk neurotoxin and the one in m. eupeus crude venome. taken together, the molecular characterization and recombinant production of the iranian scorpion m. eupeus venom component can serve as a new probe for further studies ...

Rat embryonic mesencephalic cultures were employed to evaluate the consequences of adding GM1 ganglioside to cultures lesioned with the selective neurotoxin 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP+). MPP+ reduced dopamine and DOPAC content, dopamine uptake, aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase activity, and the number of tyrosine hydroxylase-immunopositive neurons. The immunopositive neurons that remai...

After a single injection of cholinergic neurotoxin ethylcholine aziridinium (AF64A, 3 nmol intracerebroventricularly (i.c.v.)), rats failed to perform the tasks in the active avoidance (learning and retention paradigms) and water maze tests. N-Acetylserotonin (NAS), melatonin and their newly synthesized derivatives, CA-15 and CA-18, (0.3-3.0 mg/kg daily for 12-14 days) reversed the effect of AF...

Local injections of botulinum neurotoxin are now considered an efficacious treatment for neurological and non-neurological conditions. One of the most recent achievements in the field is the observation that botulinum neurotoxin provides benefit in diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. Botulinum neurotoxin inhibits contraction of gastrointestinal smooth muscles and sphincters; it has also bee...

f((1− t)x1 + tx2) ≤ (1− t)f(x1) + tf(x2), x1, x2 ∈ C, 0 ≤ t ≤ 1, then f : X → R is convex. Proof. Let (x1, α1), (x2, α2) ∈ epi f and 0 ≤ t ≤ 1. The fact that the pairs (xi, αi) belong to epi f means in particular that f(xi) < ∞, and hence that xi ∈ C, as otherwise we would have f(xi) =∞. But (1− t)(x1, α1) + t(x2, α2) = ((1− t)x1 + tx2, (1− t)α1 + tα2), and, as x1, x2 ∈ C, f((1− t)x1 + tx2) ≤ (...

1. A large-scale purification procedure has been developed for Clostridium botulinum type F neurotoxin. Commencing with 160 litres of bacterial culture, 101 mg of purified type F neurotoxin with a specific toxicity of 2 x 10(7) mouse LD50 (median lethal dose).mg-1 were obtained. 2. Purified type F neurotoxin was labelled to high specific radioactivity (900-1360 Ci/mmol) without loss of biologic...

Large synaptosome fractions were isolated from the cerebellar and cerebral cortices of rats and were incubated with Clostridium botulinum type A neurotoxin in vitro. The binding of the neurotoxin to the synapses was observed by electron microscopy, using the double-sandwich immunocytochemical method. Botulinum neurotoxin was preferentially bound to the presynaptic membrane in the large synaptos...