The present study was conducted to explore the possible contribution of a recently described leak K+ channel, TASK (TWIK-related acid-sensitive K+ channel), to the high resting K+ conductance of adrenal glomerulosa cells. Northern blot analysis showed the strongest TASK message in adrenal glomerulosa (capsular) tissue among the examined tissues including heart and brain. Single-cell PCR demonst...

This study was designed to investigate the synthesis and action of adrenomedullin in the rat adrenal gland. The results obtained from in situ hybridization and immunocytochemical studies suggest that adrenomedullin is synthesized not only in the medulla, but also within the zona glomerulosa of the rat adrenal cortex. Findings from in situ hybridization and binding studies also suggested that sp...

      The effect of aqueous extract of Nepata glomerulosa Boiss. aerial parts on morphine withdrawal syndrome was investigated in mice. Dependence was induced by subcutaneous injections of morphine for 3 consecutive days. On day 4, morphine was injected 2 h prior to intraperitoneal injection of naloxone. The number of jumps during a 20 min. period after naloxone injection was considere...

Iranian Traditional Medicine (ITM) describes a kind of dementia with similar signs and symptoms of Alzheimer's disease (AD). It explains the pathology of dementia with cold intemperament of the brain, which means that the brain is colder than its healthy form. ITM strategy for treatment of dementia is to heat the brain up by medical "hot" herbs. Nepeta menthoides (NM) is one of these "hot" herb...

1. Intracellular K+ content, water spaces and corticosterone output were measured in isolated zona glomerulosa and zona fasciculata-reticularis cell suspensions of rat adrenal cortex, after incubation in vitro under conditions designed to alter steroidogenesis. 2. Intracellular K+ of unpurified zona glomerulosa cells was not altered after stimulation of corticosterone output with serotonin. Sim...

Medicinal plants play an important role in the treatment of a wide range of diseases, even if their chemical constituents are not always completely recognized. Observations on their use and efficacy significantly contribute to the disclosure of their therapeutic properties. Calamintha nepeta (L.) Savi is an aromatic herb with a mint-oregano flavor, used in the Mediterranean areas as a tradition...

The main objective of this study was to find out if the reported changes in the aldosterone-suppressant activity of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) during different hormonal states in rats are due to a modulation of ANP receptors. In zona glomerulosa cells, ribonuclease protection assay detected mRNAs for guanylate cyclase (GC)-coupled ANP GC-A and GC-B receptors, and for ANP C receptors, whic...