Acetlycysteine

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the role of high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) and receptor for advanced glycation end product (RAGE) in the lungs of hyperoxia-induced rats and the effect of N--acetlycystein (NAC). METHODS: A model of hyperoxic lung injury was established, rats in the NAC intervention, and control, hyperoxia group were given nebulized NAC aerosol, nebulized same volume of saline once a day for 7 consecutive days, respectively. Wet/dry ( W/ D) ratio of the lungs was determined to evaluate the edema of the lung tissues...

Using a neuronal model of serum starved SK-N-SH neuroblastoma cells, we showed previously that the phosphorylation of Akt and the mTOR substrates S6K and S6 through the vascular endothelial growth factor receptor VEGFR2 was enhanced by treatments with the phosphatase PP2A inhibitor okadaic acid (OA). These findings suggested that PP2A inhibition uncouples the regulation of Akt signaling by mTOR and affects cell survival. We therefore examined the effects of mTOR inhibition on Akt phosphorylation at sites threonine 308 (T308) and serine 473 (S473) and survival in OA treated cells...

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a debilitating mental illness which has a significant impact on quality of life. First-line SSRI treatments for OCD typically are of limited benefit to only 40-60% of patients, and are associated with a range of adverse side effects. Current preclinical research investigating nutraceuticals (natural products) for OCD, reveals encouraging novel activity in modulating key pathways suggested to be involved in the pathogenesis of OCD (glutamatergic and serotonergic pathway dysregulation)...

The effect of 1'-acetoxychavicol acetate (ACA), an anticarcinogenic compound naturally obtained from rhizomes and seeds of South East Asia plants, on the intracellular concentration of glutathione and the activities of enzymes related to glutathione metabolism was studied in Ehrlich ascites tumor cells. We showed in a previous study that ACA induced apoptosis in tumor cells and the cell death was reversed by the addition of N-acetlycysteine or glutathione ethylester. Here we found that ACA caused a rapid decrease in glutathione level in less than 10 min after ACA exposure...

2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) is a persistent and potent developmental toxicant in various animals, with developing fish being the most sensitive organisms. Although the expression of aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) as well as the partner molecule, AHR nuclear translocator (ARNT) in the brain has been reported, the effect of TCDD on the brain remains to be clarified in detail. Previously, we reported local circulation failure and apoptosis in dorsal midbrain caused by TCDD in developing zebrafish...

alpha-Hederin, a pentacyclic triterpene saponin isolated from the seeds of Nigella sativa, was recently reported to have potent in vivo antitumor activity against LL/2 (Lewis Lung carcinoma) in BDF1 mice. In this study we observed that alpha-hederin caused a dose- and time-dependent increase in apoptosis of murine leukemia P388 cells. In order to evaluate the possible mechanisms for apoptosis, the effects of alpha-hederin on intracellular thiol concentration, including reduced glutathione (GSH), and protein thiols, and the effects of pretreatment with N-acetlycysteine (NAC), a precursor of intracellular GSH synthesis, or buthionine sulfoxime (BSO), a specific inhibitor of intracellular GSH synthesis, on alpha-hederin-induced apoptosis were investigated...