Total inhibition of germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD) was observed in growing pig oocytes (internal diameter 80, 90 and 100 microns) when they were cultured in a medium conditioned by cumulus oocyte complexes (COCs) of fully grown oocytes. In denuded growing oocytes, only partial inhibition was observed. The inhibitory effect was fully reversible. The addition of heparin (300 IU/ml) could overc...

Human marrow stromal cells (hMSCs) are multipotential stem cells that can be differentiated into bone, cartilage, fat, and muscle. In the experiments here, we found that undifferentiated cultures of hMSCs express some markers characteristic of neural cells such as microtubule-associated protein 1B (MAP1B), neuron-specific tubulin (TuJ-1), neuron-specific enolase (NSE), and vimentin. By treating...

Cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterases (PDEs) are a superfamily of enzymes whose physiological role is the attenuation of the signaling mediated by the ubiquitous second messengers cAMP and cGMP. Given the myriad of physiological processes regulated by cAMP and cGMP, PDEs have long been studied as potential therapeutic targets. Although phosphodiesterase 3 (PDE3) activity is abundant in human car...

PC12 cells, which differentiate morphologically and biochemically into sympathetic neuron-like cells when treated with nerve growth factor, also respond to fibroblast growth factor. Some of the changes induced by fibroblast growth factor are similar to those seen after nerve growth factor treatment. Specifically, pituitary fibroblast growth factor causes the formation of processes initially com...

BACKGROUND The uterine response to the presence of embryos is poorly understood in the domestic dog (Canis familiaris). The intimate embryo-maternal cross-talk, which begins following the hatching of blastocysts and embryo attachment leads to strong structural and functional remodelling of the uterus. A part of this process is decidualisation, comprising morphological and biochemical changes th...

The glial glutamate transporter GLT-1 may be the predominant Na-dependent glutamate transporter in forebrain. Expression of GLT-1 correlates with astrocyte maturation in vivo and increases during synaptogenesis. In astrocyte cultures, GLT-1 expression parallels differentiation induced by cAMP analogs or by coculturing with neurons. Molecule(s) secreted by neuronal cultures contribute to this in...

The purpose of the present study was to determine whether functional receptors for pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) are expressed in cultured rat fetal hepatocytes and eventually play a role in regulating gene expression of corticosteroid-binding globulin (CBG). We found PACAP38 and PACAP27 to elevate cAMP levels in hepatocytes in a dose-dependent manner, with a platea...