The Ionized calcium-Binding Adapter molecule 1 (Iba1), also known as Allograft Inflammatory Factor 1 (AIF-1), is a 17 kDa cytokine-inducible protein, produced by activated macrophages during chronic transplant rejection and inflammatory reactions in Vertebrates. In mammalian central nervous system (CNS), Iba1 is a sensitive marker associated with activated macrophages/microglia and is upregulat...

The evolutionary patterns of divergence of seven euhirudinean families were investigated by cladistic analysis of 33 euhirudinean species. Oligochaetes, Acanthobdella peledina, and branchiobdellidans were included as outgroup taxa. Cladistic analysis employed 1.8 kb of nuclear 18S ribosomal DNA and 651 bp of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I in addition to morphological data. The use...

We examined the effect of the glutamatergic agonist kainate on the membrane potential, the intracellular Na+ concentration ([Na+]i), the intracellular-free Ca2+ concentration, and on the intracellular pH of Retzius neurons of the medicinal leech, Hirudo medicinalis, in order to investigate the mechanism responsible for the intracellular acidification caused by glutamatergic stimulation. The rec...

Earlier, three genes Ds1, Ds2, and Ds3 encoding corresponding destabilase-lysozyme isoforms were identified. However only one form of the enzyme encoded by Ds3 gene coincided with the protein CNBr fragments [Mol. Gen. Genet. 253 (1996) 20]. In this work we found by ESI-TOF mass spectrometry that the enzyme preparation consists of at least three forms with molecular masses of 12677.6, 12839.7, a...

Prothrombin (coagulation factor II) is the inactive precursor molecule of thrombin (coagulation factor IIa). Proteolytic cleavage of the peptide bond Arg320-Ile321 converts prothrombin into the two-chain thrombin precursor meizothrombin. Meizothrombin hydrolyses peptidyl substrates, but cleavage of fibrinogen is poor. Unfortunately, meizothrombin exhibits a significant autocatalytic activity an...

Studies of neuronal network emergence during sensory processing and motor control are greatly facilitated by technologies that allow us to simultaneously record the membrane potential dynamics of a large population of neurons in single cell resolution. To achieve whole-brain recording with the ability to detect both small synaptic potentials and action potentials, we developed a voltage-sensiti...

The freshwater leech, Hirudo medicinalis, is a versatile model organism that has been used to address scientific questions in the fields of neurophysiology, neuroethology, and developmental biology. The goal of this report is to consolidate experimental techniques from the leech system into a single article that will be of use to physiologists with expertise in other nervous system preparations...

Microglia are intrinsic components of the central nervous system (CNS). During pathologies in mammals, inflammatory processes implicate the resident microglia and the infiltration of blood cells including macrophages. Functions of microglia appear to be complex as they exhibit both neuroprotective and neurotoxic effects during neuropathological conditions in vivo and in vitro. The medicinal lee...