Leptin, the protein product of the ob/ obgene, is thought to have a central site of action, presumably within the hypothalamus, through which it regulates feeding behavior. The paraventricular nucleus (PVN) is one structure that has been implicated in regulating feeding behavior. Using patch-clamp recording techniques, this study examines the direct membrane effects of leptin on neurons in a co...

The alterations in local cerebral glucose utilization in 58 anatomically discrete regions which occur during a period of hemorrhagic hypotension have been investigated in conscious rats, using the quantitative autoradiographic 14C-deoxyglucose technique. Hemorrhagic hypotension (mean arterial pressure reduced by approximately 50 mm Hg) effected significant increases in glucose utilization in ei...

Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress in the brain have been implicated in the pathophysiology of hypertension. This study determined whether ER stress occurs in subfornical organ and hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus in heart failure (HF) and how MAPK signaling interacts with ER stress and other inflammatory mediators. HF rats had significan...

The brain renin-angiotensin system (RAS) contributes to increased sympathetic drive in heart failure (HF). The factors upregulating the brain RAS in HF remain unknown. We hypothesized that aldosterone (ALDO), a downstream product of the systemic RAS that crosses the blood-brain barrier, signals the brain to increase RAS activity in HF. We examined the relationship between circulating and brain ...

Baroreflex dysfunction, oxidative stress and inflammation, important hallmarks of hypertension, are attenuated by exercise training. In this study, we investigated the relationships and time-course changes of cardiovascular parameters, pro-inflammatory cytokines and pro-oxidant profiles within the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus of the spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). Basal values an...

To identify regions of the caprine diencephalone and pituitary gland related to transportation stress, the expression of c-fos protein was examined immunohistochemically as an indicator of neural activation. Ten castrated Shiba goats (Capra hircus), five transported and five controls, were used. Transported goats were trucked for 1 h and killed by transcardiac perfusion 1 h after the end of tra...

The brain renin-angiotensin system (RAS) contributes to increased sympathetic drive in heart failure (HF). The factors upregulating the brain RAS in HF remain unknown. We hypothesized that aldosterone (ALDO), a downstream product of the systemic RAS that crosses the blood-brain barrier, signals the brain to increase RAS activity in HF. We examined the relationship between circulating and brain ...

Background To determine brain areas involved in the antidepressant-related behavioral effects of the selective neuronal nitric oxide synthase inhibitor 1-(2-Trifluoro-methyl-phenyl) imidazole (TRIM) and experimental test compound 4-((3,5-dichloro-2-hydroxybenzyl)amino)-2-hydroxybenzoic acid (ZL006), an inhibitor of the PSD of 95 kDa/neuronal nitric oxide synthase interaction in the N-methyl-D-a...

1. We studied the effects that lesions produced in the paraventricular and suprachiasmatic nuclei and intervening periventricular area had on 24 h mean circadian blood pressures in Dahl salt-sensitive and -resistant rats and their sham-operated controls. We measured blood pressures while the animals were on a low salt diet and after 1, 5 and 13 weeks of 8% NaCl diet. 2. Salt-sensitive rats with...