To determine fluid extravasation in the splanchnic vascular bed during anaphylactic hypotension, the mesenteric lymph flow (Q(lym)) was measured in anesthetized rats sensitized with ovalbumin, along with the systemic arterial pressure (P(sa)) and portal venous pressure (P(pv)). When the antigen was injected into the sensitized rats (n = 10), P(sa) decreased from 125 ± 4 to 37 ± 2 mmHg at 10 min...

Combination of cyclophosphamide (CY) and passive immunization with lymphoid cells sensitized to allogeneic tumor was studied in the treatment of a methylcholanthrene-induced transplantable fibrosarcoma in WKA rats. For determination of the most effective timing of combination treatment, rats given an injection of CY on Day 3 received passive transfer of the sensitized lymphoid cells on Day 0, 1...

Because of persistent social problems caused by methamphetamine (METH), new therapeutic strategies need to be developed. Thus, we investigated the response of central nervous system neurotensin (NT) systems to METH self-administration (SA) and their interaction with basal ganglia dopamine (DA) pathways. Neurotensin is a peptide associated with inhibitory feedback pathways to nigrostriatal DA pr...

Nowadays, drug abuse and addiction are serious public health problems in the USA. Methamphetamine (METH) is one of the most abused drugs and is known to cause brain damage after repeated exposure. In this paper, we conducted a neuroproteomic study to evaluate METH-induced brain protein dynamics, following a two-week chronic regimen of an escalating dose of METH exposure. Proteins were extracted...

Maternal behavior of the sensitized virgin rat is affected by approach-avoidance systems as well as by hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, which is also activated during stress. The present experiments investigated the effects of adrenalectomy and of varying corticosterone concentrations on the onset and expression of maternal behavior in sensitized virgin rats. In the first experiment, ...

Methamphetamine (METH), administered in large, repeated doses, compromises the dopaminergic and serotonergic systems as indicated by prolonged suppression of tyrosine hydroxylase and tryptophan hydroxylase activity and concurrent decreases in the content of dopamine and 5-hydroxytryptamine. Because dopamine is necessary for these dopaminergic and serotonergic deficits we postulated that dopamin...

BACKGROUND Basic and clinical studies suggest that hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is the neuroendocrine-immune pathway that functionally regulates the chronic inflammatory disease including asthma. Our previous studies showed corresponding changes of cytokines and leukotriene B4 (LTB4) between brain and lung tissues in antigen-challenged asthmatic rats. Here, we investigated how the ...

Exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB) is common; however, key aspects of its pathogenesis are still unclear. We investigated the feasibility of adapting an established animal model of asthma to investigate the earliest stages of EIB. The hypothesis was that a single exposure to a normally innocuous, and brief, exercise challenge could trigger EIB symptoms in rats previously sensitized to o...

Preventing relapse to drug abuse is one of the struggles faced by clinicians in order to treat patients with substance use disorders (DSM-5). There is a large body of clinical evidence suggesting differential characteristics of the disorder in men and women, which is in line with preclinical findings as well. The aim of this study was to assess differences in relapse-like behavior in methamphet...

BACKGROUND BCG, a potent inducer of Th1 immune response, has been suggested to suppress Th2 response which is known to mediate IgE-mediated allergic disorders, in particular allergic asthma. Schultz-Dale reaction is known to be a model of IgE-mediated hypersensitivity. This study was done to investigate whether BCG infection suppresses the Schultz-Dale reaction by inhibiting Th2 response and al...