Nutritional ergogenic Aids.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Shabbir M Moochhala.
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Preprotachykinin-A (PPT-A) gene products substance P and neurokinin-A have been shown to play an important role in neurogenic inflammation. To investigate the role of PPT-A gene products in lung injury in sepsis, polymicrobial sepsis was induced by cecal ligation and puncture in PPT-A gene-deficient mice (PPT-A(-/-)) and the wild-type control mice (PPT-A(+/+)). PPT-A gene deletion significantly protected against mortality, delayed the onset of lethality, and improved the long-term survival following cecal ligation and puncture-induced sepsis. PPT-A(-/-) mice also had significantly attenuated inflammation and damage in the lungs. The data suggest that deletion of the PPT-A gene may have contributed to the disruption in recruitment of inflammatory cells resulting in protection against tissue damage, as in these mice the sepsis-associated increase in chemokine levels is significantly attenuated.
One of the stumbling blocks in the formation of a thermoresponsive cell-hydrogel hybrid (TCH) is the efficient incorporation of cells in thermoresponsive hydrogels (TH) using traditional top-down (i.e., cells penetrate in the pre-set gels from top surface) approach. This approach is slow and tedious because the hydrogel needs to soak in the cells culture for a long time to allow cells to penetrate from the gel surface in to the bulk of the gel. In addition, cell incorporation into TH is difficult because elevated dissolution temperatures of gelators are detrimental to cell viability, whereas the highly viscous gel state that formed at ambient temperatures retards the penetration of cells. We propose a bottom-up approach (i.e., cells mixed prior to gel setting) using a novel two-step protocol. The first step is the rapid cooling of the agarose solution from its dissolution temperature (98 degrees C) to 37 degrees C and equilibrating for 3-4 min. The second step is the mixing of fibroblasts with the agarose solution and natural cooling to the room temperature to form the TCH. With this novel protocol, 90% of fibroblasts are found to be trapped in the cell-gel hybrid.
Pyridostigmine bromide (PB) is a quartenary ammonium compound that inhibits the hydrolysis of acetylcholine by competitive reversible binding to acetylcholinesterase. PB is used for the symptomatic treatment of myasthenia gravis and has been applied as a prophylaxis against nerve agents. Many studies on PB have involved the reliance on techniques that extract and quantify PB in biological samples. This article presents an overview of the currently applied methodologies for the determination of PB and its metabolites in various biological samples. Articles published from January 1975 to the July 2005 were taken into consideration for the discussion of the metabolism and analytical method of PB. HPLC and GC methods have been used and discussed in most of the references cited in this review. Other methods such as RIA and CE that have been recently reported are also mentioned in this article. Basic information about the type of sample used for analysis, sample preparation, chromatographic column, mobile phase, detection mode and validation data are summarized in a table.
A mathematical model is developed to describe the transport phenomena of a water-soluble small molecular drug (caffeine) from highly swellable and dissoluble polyethylene oxide (PEO) cylindrical tablets. Several important aspects in drug release kinetics were taken into account simultaneously in this theoretical model: swelling of the hydrophilic matrix and water penetration, three-dimensional and concentration-dependent diffusion of drug and water, and polymer dissolution. The moving boundary conditions are explicitly derived, and the resulting coupled partial differential equations are solved numerically. In vitro study of swelling, dissolution behavior of PEOs with different molecular weights and drug release are also carried out. When compared with experimental results, this theoretical model agrees with the water uptake, dimensional change and polymer dissolution profiles very well for pure PEO tablets with two different molecular weights. Drug release profiles using this model are predicted with a very good agreement with experimental data at different initial loadings. The overall drug release process is found to be highly dependent on the matrix swelling, drug and water diffusion, polymer dissolution and initial dimensions of the tablets. Their influences on drug release kinetics from PEO with two different molecular weights are also investigated.
Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is a naturally occurring gas with potent vasodilator activity. Cystathionine-gamma-lyase (CSE) and cystathionine-beta-synthase (CBS) utilize L-cysteine as substrate to form H2S. Of these two enzymes, cystathionine-gamma-lyase (CSE) is believed to be the key enzyme that forms H2S in the cardiovascular system. Whilst H2S has been reported to relax precontracted rat arteries in vitro and to lower blood pressure in the rat, its effect in an inflammatory condition such as acute pancreatitis has not previously been reported. In this paper, we report the presence of H2S synthesizing enzyme activity and CSE (as determined by mRNA signal) in the pancreas. Also, prophylactic, as well as therapeutic, treatment with the CSE inhibitor, DL-propargylglycine (PAG), significantly reduced the severity of caerulein-induced pancreatitis and associated lung injury, as determined by 1) hyperamylasemia [plasma amylase (U/L) (control, 1204+/-59); prophylactic treatment: placebo, 10635+/-305; PAG, 7904+/-495; therapeutic treatment: placebo, 10427+/-470; PAG, 7811+/-428; P<0.05 PAG c.f. placebo; n=24 animals in each group]; 2) neutrophil sequestration in the pancreas [pancreatic myeloperoxidase oxidase (MPO) activity (fold increase over control) (prophylactic treatment: placebo, 5.78+/-0.63; PAG, 2.97+/-0.39; therapeutic treatment: placebo, 5.48+/-0.52; PAG, 3.03+/-0.47; P<0.05 PAG c.f. placebo; n=24 animals in each group)]; 3) pancreatic acinar cell injury/necrosis; 4) lung MPO activity (fold increase over control) [prophylactic treatment: placebo, 1.99+/-0.16; PAG, 1.34+/-0.14; therapeutic treatment: placebo, 2.03+/-0.12; PAG, 1.41+/-0.97; P<0.05 PAG c.f. placebo; n=24 animals in each group]; and 5) histological evidence of lung injury. These effects of CSE blockade suggest an important proinflammatory role of H2S in regulating the severity of pancreatitis and associated lung injury and raise the possibility that H2S may exert similar activity in other forms of inflammation.
BACKGROUND: The up-regulation of nitric oxide (NO) and cyclooxgenase-2 (COX-2) has been implicated in the pathophysiology of hemorrhagic shock. We examined the effects of aminoguanidine (AG), which is a known inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) inhibitor, and NS-398, a known COX-2 inhibitor, in our rat model of refractory hemorrhagic shock (RHS). MATERIAL AND METHODS: We measured tissue iNOS and COX-2 protein expression, brain and plasma nitrate/nitrite and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) levels, plasma creatinine and glutamic oxalacetic transaminase (GOT) levels, quantified the histological damages in kidney, liver, lung, and brain, survival rate, and mean arterial blood pressure (MABP) in RHS rats. RESULTS: Semiquantitative analysis of tissues showed iNOS protein was not detected in AG + RHS rats but was detected in normal saline and NS-398 RHS rats. Tissue COX-2 protein was not detected in AG and NS-398 RHS rats but was detected in normal saline + RHS rats. The levels of brain and plasma nitrate/nitrite and PGE2 and plasma creatinine and GOT were significantly lower in the AG + RHS rat group when compared with the normal saline RHS rat group. Histological examinations also showed a reduction in organ damage for AG + RHS rats when compared with treated RHS rats. AG + RHS rats showed significantly increased survival and MABP level when compared with treated RHS rats. CONCLUSION: Our present findings suggest that NO produced by iNOS might result in organ damages. This in turn might lead to COX-2 up-regulation, and it increases the production of reactive oxygen species and toxic prostanoids. NO-mediated organ damage might be one way in which toxic products of COX-2 might further contribute to NO's deleterious effect in the later stages of RHS. It is therefore suggested that treatment of AG via inhibition of NO might contribute to improved physiological parameters and survival rates following RHS.
Hydrogen sulphide (H(2)S) is a naturally occurring gas, with potent vasodilator activity. In this report, we identify a role for H(2)S in carrageenan-induced hindpaw oedema in the rat. Intraplantar injection of carrageenan (150 microl, 2% (w v(-1))) resulted in an increase in hindpaw H(2)S synthesising enzyme activity and increased myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity. Pretreatment (i.p. 60 min before carrageenan) with DL-propargylglycine (PAG, 25-75 mg kg(-1)), an inhibitor of the H(2)S synthesising enzyme cystathionine-gamma-lyase (CSE), significantly reduced carrageenan-induced hindpaw oedema in a dose-dependent manner (e.g. increase in hindpaw weight at 3 h, saline: 0.12+/-0.017 g; carrageenan, 1.39+/-0.037 g; PAG, 50 mg kg(-1), 1.11+/-0.06 g, n=10) and MPO activity (fold increase) in the hindpaw (saline: 1.0+/-0.12; carrageenan, 2.92+/-0.45 g; PAG, 50 mg kg(-1), 1.1+/-0.22, n=10); PAG (50 mg kg(-1)) also inhibited H(2)S synthesising enzyme activity (nmol microg DNA(-1)) in the hindpaw in a dose-dependent manner (saline, 0.46+/-0.05; carrageenan, 0.71+/-0.08 g; PAG, 50 mg kg(-1), 0.17+/-0.05, n=10).
Impaired lung function in severe acute pancreatitis is the primary cause of morbidity and mortality in this condition. Flurbiprofen is a powerful nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). However, administration of this drug is associated with severe gastrointestinal side effects. The NO-releasing derivative of flubiprofen (nitroflurbiprofen, HCT1026) has recently been developed by the addition of a nitroxybutyl moiety to the flurbiprofen structure. This modification does not interfere with the anti-inflammatory activity of the drug but markedly reduces its ability to induce gastric injury. The effects of treatment with flurbiprofen and HCT1026 on the severity of pancreatitis and the associated lung injury were investigated in a mouse model. Acute pancreatitis was induced in mice by hourly intraperitoneal injections of cerulein. Flurbiprofen and HCT1026 were administered either 30 min before or 1 h after starting cerulein injections, and the severity of acute pancreatitis and associated lung injury were assessed. The severity of acute pancreatitis was determined by hyperamylasemia, neutrophil sequestration in the pancreas (pancreatic MPO activity), and pancreatic acinar cell injury/necrosis on histological examination of pancreas sections. The severity of acute pancreatitis-associated lung injury was assessed by neutrophil sequestration in the lungs (lung MPO activity) and by histological examination of lung sections. HCT1026 and flurbiprofen, given prophylactically as well as therapeutically, significantly reduced lung inflammation without having any significant effect on pancreatic injury. These results suggest the usefulness of flurbiprofen as well as HCT1026 as potential treatments for pancreatitis-associated lung injury.
The present study examined the temporal expression of nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclo-oxygenase (COX)-2 in rat brains after traumatic brain injury (TBI). We studied the effects of mercaptoethylguanidine (MEG), a dual inhibitor of the inducible iNOS and COX with scavenging effect on peroxynitrite, on physiologic variables, brain pathogenesis, and neurologic performance in rats after a lateral fluid percussive-induced TBI. Mean arterial blood pressure and percentage cerebral tissue perfusion in MEG-treated TBI rats showed significant improvement when compared with TBI rats. Immunohistochemical analysis showed a marked number of iNOS and COX-2 immunopositive cells in the cerebral cortex ipsilateral to the injury in TBI rats when compared with MEG-treated TBI rats. MEG also significantly decreased the number of hyperchromatic and shrunken cortical neurons when compared with TBI rats' brain nitrate/nitrite, and prostaglandin E2 levels were attenuated in MEG-treated TBI rats when compared with TBI rats. It is therefore suggested that treatment of MEG via inhibition of iNOS and COX-2 might contribute to improved physiologic variables, neuronal cell survival, and neurologic outcome after TBI.
Excessive production of nitric oxide (NO) as result of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) induction has been implicated in the pathophysiology of hemorrhagic shock. Our aim was to study the effects of NOS inhibitors, aminoguanidine (AG) and NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), on survival rate, mean arterial blood pressure (MABP), temporal evolution of infarct volume, nitric oxide (NO) production and neurological deficit in a model of delayed hemorrhagic shock (DHS) in conscious rats. Our results showed that the NOS inhibitors significantly improved survival rate, MABP, and attenuated brain NO overproduction 24, 48 h and 72 h after DHS. AG reduced brain infarct volume and improved the neurological performance evaluated by the rotameric and grip strength tests while L-NAME did not show protective effect in rats following DHS. These findings suggest that NO formation via iNOS activation may contribute to organ damage and that the selective iNOS inhibitor, AG, may be of interest as a therapeutic agent for neurological recovery following DHS.
Physostigmine is a major alkaloid found in the seeds of the fabaceous plant Physostigma venenosum. It is a powerful and reversible acetylcholine esterase inhibitor which effectively increases the concentration of acetylcholine at the sites of cholinergic transmission. It exerts its cholinesterase inhibitor effect in both the periphery and central nervous system. Many studies on physostigmine have involved the reliance on techniques that extract and quantify physostigmine in biological samples. This paper presents an overview of the currently applied methodologies for the determination of physostigmine and its metabolites in various biological samples. Papers published from January 1980 to December 2003 were taken into consideration for the discussion of the metabolism and analytical method of physostigmine. HPLC methods have been discussed and used in most of the references cited in this review. A few CE and RIA methods that have been recently reported are also mentioned in this paper. Basic information about the sample assayed, sample preparation, chromatographic column, mobile phase, detection mode and validation data are summarized in a table.
PURPOSE: To develop a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method with photodiode-array ultraviolet detection for the simultaneous determination of vitamin C, vitamin E and beta-carotene. METHODS: Following liquid-phase extraction from the human plasma samples, these three vitamins were successfully separated on the LiChrospher 100 RP-18 column (125 x 4 mm I.D.; particle size, 5 microm) at a flow-rate of 1.2 ml/min, with a mobile phase of methanol-acetonitrile-tetrahydrofuran (75: 20: 5, v/v/v). RESULTS: The limits of quantitation were 100, 0.25 and 0.25 microg/ml for vitamin C, vitamin E and beta-carotene respectively. The method is linear over the studied range of 0.25 to 5 g/ml for vitamin E and beta-carotene and 100 to 5000 microg/ml for vitamin C. The extraction recoveries were greater than 83% for these three vitamins. The within day and between-day precision of the analysis did not exceed 15.3 and 16.2%, respectively. CONCLUSION: A suitable method to determine the concentration of vitamin C, vitamin E and beta-carotene following oral administration of antioxidant supplement capsules to a healthy Chinese volunteer.
The physostigmine-loaded poly(ortho ester) (POE), poly(dl-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) and POE/PLGA blend microspheres were fabricated by a spray drying technique. The in vitro degradation of, and physostigmine release from, the microspheres were investigated. SEM analysis showed that the POE and POE/PLGA blend particles were spherical. They were better dispersed when compared to the pure PLGA microspheres. Two glass transition temperature ( Tg ) values of the POE/PLGA blend microspheres were observed due to the phase separation of POE and PLGA in the blend system. XPS analysis proved that POE dominated the surfaces of POE/PLGA blend microspheres, indicating that the blend microspheres were coated with POE. The encapsulation efficiencies of all the microspheres were more than 95%. The incorporation of physostigmine reduced the Tg value of microspheres. The Tg value of the degrading microspheres increased with the release of physostigmine. For instance, POE blank microspheres and physostigmine-loaded POE microspheres had a Tg value of 67 degrees C and 48 degrees C, respectively. After 19 days in vitro incubation, Tg of the degrading POE microspheres increased to 55 degrees C. Weight loss studies showed that the degradation of the blend microspheres was accelerated with the presence of PLGA because its degradation products catalyzed the degradation of both POE and PLGA. The release rate of physostigmine increased with increase of PLGA content in the blend microspheres. The initial burst release of physostigmine was effectively suppressed by introducing POE to the blend microspheres. However, there was an optimized weight ratio of POE to PLGA (85:15 in weight), below which a high initial burst was induced. The POE/PLGA blend microspheres may make a good drug delivery system.
OBJECTIVE: Haemorrhagic shock (HS) is implicated in the induction of inducible nitric oxide synthase that leads to increased production of nitric oxide (NO). We investigated the influence of aminoguanidine (AG), a selective iNOS inhibitor, N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), a non-selective inhibitor and S-Nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine (SNAP), a NO donor, each of which was given with (+) or without (-) angiotensin II (ANGII), a vasoconstrictor, on the survival rate of HS decompensatory phased (HSDP) rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: HSDP was achieved via a constant pressure method. Organs were harvested and analyzed from rats sacrificed 72 h after HSDP or upon death. Plasma collected from HSDP rats were used to measure nitrate/nitrite, GOT and creatinine levels. RESULTS: AG+ANGII-treated rats had significantly higher survival rates compared to the other treatment groups, 72 h following HSDP. A marked increase in MABP level was observed in AG+ANGII-treated rats when compared to other treatment groups. Histological examinations also showed a reduction of organ damage in AG+ANGII-treated rats compared to other treatment groups. Nitrate/nitrite level, glutamic oxalacetic transaminase (GOT) level and creatinine level were also significantly improved in AG+ANGII-treated rats compared to the other groups. CONCLUSIONS: A greater beneficial effect was achieved with treatment by the AG+ANGII combination. Our experiments showed that the inhibition of excessive NO formation that occurred during HSDP, had augmented the vascular responsiveness effect of ANGII following protracted HS.
BACKGROUND: The present study investigated the neuroprotective role of aminoguanidine, a known inducible nitric oxide synthase inhibitor, in both behavioral and morphologic changes in rats subjected to nonpenetrative blast injury. METHODS: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into groups to receive either normal saline or aminoguanidine (AG) before or after exposure to two blast dosages of either 2.8 or 20 kPa. The neurobehavioral alterations were determined by subjecting the animals to rotametric, grip-strength, passive avoidance, total and ambulatory locomotor activities, and acoustic startle response tests. RESULTS: Exposure to blast at 20 kPa resulted in a significant performance decrement on rotametric and grip-strength tests in rats treated with normal saline. In contrast, animals receiving AG either prophylactically before or after the blast seemed unaffected by the same blast. This finding also correlates well with histologic examination that showed a reduction in degenerating cortical neurons in AG-treated rats compared with those receiving saline injection. CONCLUSION: It is thus suggested that AG could play a neuroprotective role in rats subjected to blast exposure.
OBJECT: In this study the authors compared the effects of both a selective inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) inhibitor and a nonselective inhibitor on posttraumatic recovery and neuron survival by using a combined model of lateral fluid-percussion injury (FPI) and hemorrhagic shock (HS). METHODS: Male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing 300 to 350 g underwent FPI to the brain (3.5 atm) and hemorrhage to a mean arterial blood pressure (MABP) of 40 mm Hg for 1 hour. Rats were then resuscitated during 1 hour with bolus infusions of aminoguanidine (AG) or nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME). Neuronal apoptosis was determined by performing Nissl staining and in situ terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate nick-end labeling technique. Rats infused with AG showed a significant increase in mean survival time and cerebral tissue perfusion, although the MABP and nitrate/nitrite levels did not significantly change compared with those in L-NAME-treated rats even though both animal groups had been subjected to combined FPI and HS, FPI alone, or HS alone. Furthermore, infusion of AG also significantly decreased the number of apoptotic neurons when compared with the number in rats treated with L-NAME. CONCLUSIONS: The authors asserted that treatment with AG, which causes the inhibition of iNOS, might contribute to improved physiological parameters and neuronal cell survival following FPI and HS.
Several studies have shown that the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) I allele is associated with enhanced physical performance. We investigated whether this phenomenon is observed in a cohort of 67 Chinese men in Singapore. Angiotensin-converting enzyme ID polymorphism was typed with PCR method and maximal oxygen uptake (VO(2max)) of the DD, ID, and II genotypes was compared. Analysis of covariance revealed that VO(2max) was significantly higher (p<0.05) for the DD genotype (57.86 +/- 3.5 ml.kg.(-1)min(-1)) versus the ID (50.58 +/- 1.80 ml.kg.(-1)min(-1)) or II (50.48 +/- 1.58 ml.kg.(-1) min(-1)) genotype. Our findings suggest that the ACE DD genotype in young adult Chinese males is associated with higher levels of VO(2max).