Lungs and adrenals were removed, weighed and

analyzed by morphometry. Ovalbumin-exposed animals submitted to repeated stress had a reduction in mucociliary transport, and an increase on serum cortisol, adrenals weight, mucus wettability and adhesivity, positive acid mucus area and IL-4 positive cells in airway compared to non-stressed ovalbumin-exposed animals (p < 0.05). There were no effects on eosinophilic recruitment and IL-13 positive cells. Repeated stress reduces mucociliary clearance due to mucus theological-property alterations, increasing acid mucus and its wettability and adhesivity. These effects seem to be associated with IL-4 activation. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.”
“Studies have suggested that aluminum, a neurotoxic metal, is involved in the progression of neurodegenerative diseases. Previous selleck compound studies have confirmed that aluminum influences intracellular Ca2+ homeostasis.

However, it remains unclear whether aluminum increases or decreases intracellular Ca2+ concentrations. The present study demonstrated that Al3+ competitively binds to calmodulin (CaM), together with Ca2+, which resulted in loss of capacity of CaM to bind to Ca2+, leading to increased [Ca2+](i). Al3+ stimulated voltage-gated calcium channels on cell membranes, which allowed a small quantity of Ca2+ into the cells. Al3+ also promoted calcium release from organelles by stimulating AZD6094 chemical structure L-Ca2+alpha(1c) to trigger calcium-induced calcium release. Although Al3+ upregulated expression of Na+/Ca2+ exchanger mRNA, increased levels of Ca2+ and Na+/Ca2+ exchanger did not maintain a normal Ca2+ balance. Al3+ resulted in disordered intracellular calcium homeostasis by affecting calcium channels, calcium buffering, and calcium expulsion.”
“Distinct forms of

MEF2 transcription factor act as positive or negative regulators of dendritic spine formation, with MEF2C playing a key regulator role in synapse plasticity. We report here that acute cocaine treatment of rats induced the expression of MEF2C in the striatum through a recently discovered transduction pathway. Repeated injections were found to induce MEF2C to a lesser extent. The mechanism GS-7977 supplier by which MEF2C was induced involves the subsequent activation of the salt-inducible kinase SIK1 and the phosphorylation of HDAC5, a member of the class IIa of HDACs. Cocaine activated SIK1 by phosphorylation on Thr-182 residue, which was accompanied by the nuclear import of the kinase. In the nuclear compartment, SIK1 then phosphorylated HDAC5 causing the shuttling of its phospho-form from the nucleus to the cytoplasm of striatal cells. Activation of SIK1 by cocaine was further validated by the phosphorylation of TORC1/3, which was followed by the shuttling of TORC proteins from the nucleus to the cytoplasm. Activation of MEF2C was assessed by measuring the expression of the MEF2C gene itself, since the gene is known to be under the control of its own product.