Introduction: Astrocytes have an important role in many neurodegenerative diseases. Active astrocytes release inflammatory factors such as NO and ILs. Shikonin, a naphthoquinone pigment of Lithospermum erythrorhizon roots has anti-inflammatory and antitumoral effects. The present study aims to investigate the anti-inflammatory and toxic effects of Shikonin on cultured astrocytes. Methods...

AIMS Proinflammatory factors released from activated microglia contribute to maintaining homeostasis against various noxious stimuli in the central nervous system. If excessive, however, they may initiate a pathologic neuroinflammatory process. In this investigation, we evaluated whether agmatine, a primary polyamine known to protect neurons, reduces lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced damage to m...

Rhapontici Radix (RR) has been used in traditional medicine in East Asia and has been shown to have various beneficial effects. However, its biological properties or mechanism on inflammation-related diseases is unknown. The goal of this study was to determine the anti-inflammatory activity and underlying molecular mechanisms of Rhapontici Radix ethanol extract (RRE). The inhibitory effect of R...

BACKGROUND The present study aims to investigate the effect of noscapine (0.5-2.5 μM), an alkaloid from the opium poppy, on primary murine fetal cortical neurons exposed to oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD), an in vitro model of ischemia. METHODS Cells were transferred to glucose-free DMEM and were exposed to hypoxia in a small anaerobic chamber. Cell viability and nitric oxide production were...

Nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kB) and activating protein-1 (AP-1) transcription factors are ubiquitously expressed signaling molecules known to regulate the transcription of a large number of genes involved in immune responses, namely the inducible isoform of nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). In this study, we demonstrate that a fetal skin-derived dendritic cell line (FSDC) produces nitric oxide (NO) ...

347 Abstract: In this study the effect of diphtheria toxin (DT) on nitric oxide (NO) production from RAW 264.7 murine macrophages was investigated. Griess reagent was used to determine NO production by measuring nitrite levels in the culture supernatants. Corynebacterium diphtheriae G12/6 strain-produced DT (Limes flocculation activity and immunodiffusion assays were positive) demonstrated a do...

Objective To investigate β-catenin-mediated bacterial elimination during Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection of macrophage-like RAW264.7 cells. Methods Cell viability and catenin beta 1 ( CTNNB1) expression in RAW264.7 cells following P. aeruginosa infection versus uninfected cells, were detected by cell counting kit-8 assay and β-catenin Western blots. RAW264.7 cells with CTNNB1 overexpression we...

AIMS To evaluate the role of nitric oxide (NO) in ocular involvement during systemic toxoplasmosis. METHODS C57B1/6 mice were infected with Toxoplasma gondii strain ME49. The synthesis of NO was inhibited by an intraperitoneal injection of aminoguanidine every 8 hours, starting on the day of infection. Control infected mice received phosphate buffered saline vehicle alone. After 14 days, the ...

In the present work we set out to investigate the neuroprotective effects of noscapine (0.5-2 µM) in presence of D-glucose on primary murine foetal cortical neurons after oxygen-glucose deprivation/24 h. recovery. Cell viability, nitric oxide production and intracellular calcium ((ca(2+))i) levels were evaluated by MTT assay, the modified Griess method and Fura-2 respectively. 25 and 100 mM D-g...

Nine monoterpenoids from Radix Paeoniae Alba, including paeoniflorin derivatives, paeoniflorin (PF), 4-O-methylpaeoniflorin (MPF), 4-O-methylbenzoylpaeoniflorin (MBPF); paeonidanin derivatives, paeonidanin (PD), paeonidanin A (PDA), albiflorin derivatives, albiflorin (AF), benzoylalbiflorin (BAF), galloylalbiflorin (GAF), and debenzoylalbiflorin (DAF), were obtained in our previous phytochemist...