AMP-dependent kinase (AMPK) and GLUT1-mediated sugar transport in blood-brain barrier endothelial cells are activated during acute cellular metabolic stress. Using murine brain microvasculature endothelium bEnd.3 cells, we show that AMPK phosphorylation and stimulation of 3-O-methylglucose transport by the AMPK agonist AICAR are inhibited in a dose-dependent manner by the AMPK antagonist Compou...

Intracellular Ca2+ is influenced by both Ca2+ influx and release. We examined intracellular Ca2+ following action potential firing in the bag cell neurons of Aplysia californica. Following brief synaptic input, these neuroendocrine cells undergo an afterdischarge, resulting in elevated Ca2+ and the secretion of neuropeptides to initiate reproduction. Cultured bag cell neurons were injected with...

Exposure of rat hippocampal neurons or human D283 medulloblastoma cells to the apoptosis-inducing kinase inhibitor staurosporine induced rapid cytochrome c release from mitochondria and activation of the executioner caspase-3. Measurements of cellular tetramethylrhodamine ethyl ester fluorescence and subsequent simulation of fluorescence changes based on Nernst calculations of fluorescence in t...

Mitochondrial Ca(2+) handling has been implicated in spontaneous rhythmic activity in smooth muscle and interstitial cells of Cajal. In this investigation we evaluated the effect of mitochondrial inhibitors on spontaneous action potentials (APs), Ca(2+) flashes, and Ca(2+) waves in gallbladder smooth muscle (GBSM). Disruption of the mitochondrial membrane potential with carbonyl cyanide 3-chlor...

Mg(2+) plays important roles in numerous cellular functions. Mitochondria take part in intracellular Mg(2+) regulation and the Mg(2+) concentration in mitochondria affects the synthesis of ATP. However, there are few methods to observe Mg(2+) in mitochondria in intact cells. Here, we have developed a novel Mg(2+)-selective fluorescent probe, KMG-301, that is functional in mitochondria. This pro...

AIM To investigate the role of Ca(2+) release-activated Ca(2+) (CRAC) channels in the ROS production in macrophages. METHODS The intracellular [Ca(2+)](i) was analyzed by confocal laser microscopy. The production of ROS was assayed by flow cytometry. RESULTS Both LPS and thapsigargin induced an increase in intracellular [Ca(2+)](i), either in the presence or absence of extracellular Ca(2+) ...

There are an increasing number of reports on obesity being a key risk factor for the development of colon cancer. Our goal in this study was to explore the metabolic networks and molecular signaling pathways linking obesity, adipose tissue and colon cancer. Using in-vivo experiments, we found that mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD) and injected with MC38 colon cancer cells develop significantly lar...

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has attracted widespread attention due to its potential in the treatment of various cancers. Porphyrinic pyropheophorbide-a (PPa) has been shown to be a potent photosensitizer in PDT experiments. In this paper, a C-3¹,13¹ bisphenylhydrazone modified methyl pyropheophorbide-a (BPHM) was designed and synthesized with the consideration that phenylhydrazone structure may ...

Mitochondria maintain a web-shaped network in cells through a balance between fusion and fission. Under certain physiological and pathological conditions, this balance is breached, and as a result, change in mitochondrial morphology ensues. Real-time monitoring of such change is of significant importance for studying mitochondrial physiology and pathology, such as apoptosis, aging, and neurodeg...

Mitochondrial dysfunction has been linked to myriad human diseases and toxicant exposures, highlighting the need for assays capable of rapidly assessing mitochondrial health in vivo. Here, using the Seahorse XFe24 Analyzer and the pharmacological inhibitors dicyclohexylcarbodiimide and oligomycin (ATP-synthase inhibitors), carbonyl cyanide 4-(trifluoromethoxy) phenylhydrazone (mitochondrial unc...