Introduction: Cardiac preconditioning is an important method to reduce the damage caused by prolonged ischemia. Previous studies have shown that corticosteroids have protective effects on the heart, however at high concentrations this effect may be reduced with unknown mechanisms. We hypothesize that the contradictory effects of hydrocortisone at high concentration may be mediated via minera...

introduction: previous studies have indicated that stress levels of glucocorticoid hormones induce impairment of long term memory retrieval, but the underlying mechanisms (genomic or non-genomic) are not clear. to clarify this issue, we investigated the involvement of brain corticosteroid receptors and protein synthesis in the glucocorticoid-induced impairment of memory retrieval. methods: 140 ...

previous reports showed that elevated levels of glucocorticoids following morphine withdrawal play an important role in memory impairment. in addition, glucocorticoid receptor (gr) inhibitors improved memory perfor-mance in morphine withdrawal mice. since mineralocorticoid receptor (mr) and grs complement each other, the aim of the current study was to evaluate the effects of spironolactone on ...

reconsolidation memory is defined as a process in which the retrieval of a previously consolidated memory returns to a labile state which is then subject to stabilization. previous studies have shown that mineralocorticoid receptors (mrs) modulate distinct phases of learning and memory, which display a high concentration and distinct distribution in the hippocampus. moreover, we found no studie...

Calcium channel blockers are widely used antihypertensives. Mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists are also used to treat hypertension and heart failure. We report here that a number of widely used dihydropyridine class calcium channel blockers are able to inhibit aldosterone-induced activation of mineralocorticoid receptor. These dihydropyridines varied in the extent of their effect on mineral...

Overactivation of the mineralocorticoid receptor signaling is implicated in cardiovascular disease, including hypertensive heart disease. Oxidative stress is suggested to augment mineralocorticoid receptor signal transduction, but the precise mechanisms remain unclear. Mineralocorticoid receptor activity is regulated by multiple factors, in addition to plasma ligand levels. We previously identi...

Angiotensin II causes cardiovascular injury in part by aldosterone-induced mineralocorticoid receptor activation, and it can also activate the mineralocorticoid receptor in the absence of aldosterone in vitro. Here we tested whether endogenous aldosterone contributes to angiotensin II/salt-induced cardiac, vascular, and renal injury by the mineralocorticoid receptor. Aldosterone synthase knocko...

Glucocorticoids, acting via the mineralocorticoid receptor, are required for granule neuronal survival in the rat dentate gyrus. Whether this mineralocorticoid receptor-mediated neuroprotective effect has more general applicability is unknown. Here we report increased mineralocorticoid receptor expression in rat hippocampal and cortical neurons exposed in vitro to low levels of staurosporine an...

Mineralocorticoid receptor blockade protects from angiotensin II-induced target-organ damage. 11beta-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 protects the mineralocorticoid receptor from activation by glucocorticoids; however, high glucocorticoid concentrations and absent 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 in some tissues make glucocorticoids highly relevant mineralocorticoid receptor ligand...