Thus, the pathophysiological hijacking of a critical regulator of synaptic plasticity and homeostasis by the secondary injury cascade may represent a new therapeutic target for neuroprotection. “
“Through their capacity to secrete, upon activation, a variety of bioactive molecules, brain macrophages (and resident

microglia) play an important role in brain immune and inflammatory responses. To test our hypothesis that selleck products activated macrophages induce neuronal injury by enhancing neuronal outward K+ current, we studied the effects of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated human monocyte-derived macrophage (MDM) on neuronal transient A-type K+ current (IA) and resultant neuronal injury in primary rat hippocampal neuronal cultures. Bath application of LPS-stimulated MDM-conditioned media (MCM+) enhanced neuronal IA in a concentration-dependent manner. Non-stimulated GSK2126458 MCM (MCM-) failed to alter IA. The enhancement of neuronal IA was recapitulated in neurons co-cultured with macrophages. The link

of MCM(+)-induced enhancement of IA to MCM(+)-associated neuronal injury, as detected by propidium iodide and 4″,6-diamidino-2-phenylindol staining (DAPI) and 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, was demonstrated by experimental results showing that addition of IA blocker 4-aminopyridine to the cultures protected hippocampal neurons from MCM(+)-induced neuronal injury. Further investigation revealed that glutamate was involved in MCM(+)-induced enhancement of neuronal IA. These

results suggest that during brain inflammation macrophages (and microglia) might mediate neuronal injury via enhancement of neuronal IA, and that neuronal Kv channel might be a potential target for the development of therapeutic strategies for some neurodegenerative disorders by which immune and inflammatory responses are believed to be involved in the pathogenesis. “
“We report a high rate of IS426 transposition in Agrobacterium tumefaciens in the presence of the Sri Lankan cassava mosaic virus (SLCMV) replication associated protein gene (Rep). Upon conjugal transfer of Orotidine 5′-phosphate decarboxylase the binary plasmid pCam-SLCMV-Rep with the SLCMV Rep gene in the sense orientation under the transcriptional control of the Cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) 35S promoter into the A. tumefaciens vir helper strain EHA105, the binary plasmid size increased in all 15 transconjugants studied. Southern blot analysis of the transconjugants with the binary plasmid probe revealed that the 35S promoter and its proximal sequences in the T-DNA were rearranged. The rearranged sequences harboured the 1.3-kb IS426 element of A. tumefaciens.