Activation of group I metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) elicits persistent ictaform discharges in guinea pig hippocampal slices, providing an in vitro model of epileptogenesis (Merlin and Wong 1997). The induction of these persistent ictaform bursts is prevented by Lcysteine sulfinic acid (CSA), an agonist at phospholipase D (PLD)-coupled mGluRs (Rico and Merlin 2004). Studies described...

Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), acting through CGRP receptors, produces behavioral signs of mechanical hyperalgesia in rats and sensitization of wide dynamic range (WDR) neurons in the spinal cord dorsal horn. Although involvement of CGRP receptors in central sensitization has been confirmed, the second-messenger systems activated by CGRP receptor stimulation and involved in pain transm...

Previously, we showed that sulfaphenazole (SUL), an antimicrobial agent that is a potent inhibitor of cytochrome P4502C9, is protective against ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury (Ref. 15). The mechanism, however, underlying this cardioprotection, is largely unknown. With evidence that activation of autophagy is protective against simulated I/R in HL-1 cells, and evidence that autophagy is upreg...

Prior studies utilizing neurons cultured from the hypothalamus and brain stem of newborn rats have demonstrated that ANG II-induced modulation of neuronal firing involves activation of both protein kinase C (PKC) and Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII). The present studies were performed to determine whether these signaling molecules are also involved in physiological responses...

Mammalian sterile 20-like kinase 1 (Mst1) is a critical component of the Hippo signaling pathway, which regulates a variety of biological processes ranging from cell contact inhibition, organ size control, apoptosis and tumor suppression in mammals. Mst1 plays essential roles in the heart disease since its activation causes cardiomyocyte apoptosis and dilated cardiomyopathy. However, the mechan...

Current evidence suggests that members of the Kv4 subfamily may encode native cardiac transient outward current ( I to). Antisense hybrid-arrest with oligonucleotides targeted to Kv4 mRNAs specifically inhibited rat ventricular I to, supporting this hypothesis. To determine whether protein kinase C (PKC) affects I to by an action on these molecular components, we compared the effects of PKC act...

At the rat motor endplate, pre-synaptic facilitatory adenosine A 2A and muscarinic M 1 receptors are mutually exclusive. We investigated whether these receptors share a common intracellular signalling pathway. Suppression of McN-A-343-induced M 1 facilitation of [ 3 H]ACh release was partially recovered when CGS21680C (an A 2A agonist) was combined with the cyclic AMP antagonist Rp-cAMPS. Forsk...

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) play an important role in the innate immune response of avian heterophils. We previously used the pharmacological inhibitors genistein, verapamil, chelerythrine, and pertussis toxin to investigate the upstream signaling events involved in TLR2-mediated oxidative burst in chicken heterophils. Only chelerythrine, a protein kinase C inhibitor, was found to significantly ...

Activation of group I metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) elicits persistent ictaform discharges in guinea pig hippocampal slices, providing an in vitro model of epileptogenesis. The induction of these persistent ictaform bursts is prevented by l-cysteine sulfinic acid (CSA), an agonist at phospholipase D (PLD)-coupled mGluRs. Studies described herein examined the role of protein kinase C...