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H Tanaka
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A Wakisaka
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H Ogasa
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S Kawai
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CT Liang
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In order to establish the cellular basis for using growth factors as possible therapeutic agents for the age-dependent deficit in bone formation activity, we examined the individual and combined effects of IGF-I and/or platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) on the gene expression of osteoblast-related markers in male rats. The expression of osteoblast markers was examined in the femurs of adult and old rats following marrow ablation, which amplifies gene expression activity. The mRNA levels of collagen(alpha1) (I) (COLI), alkaline phosphatase (AP), osteopontin (OP) and osteocalcin (OC) were significantly lower in the old as compared with the adult rats. To determine whether growth factors can abolish the age-related deficits in mRNA expression in old bone, PDGF and/or IGF-I were infused directly into the right femur for 5 days following marrow ablation. The contralateral femur was infused with vehicle only and used as a control. PDGF stimulated the expression of OP mRNA in both adult and old rats, whereas COLI, AP and OC mRNAs were not affected. IGF-I infusion did not have a significant effect on mRNA expression in adult rats. In contrast, treatment with IGF-I significantly enhanced the mRNA levels of COLI, AP and OP in old rats. To examine whether the combination of both factors could affect the expression of osteoblast markers synergistically, PDGF and IGF-I were infused together. In adult bones, the combined treatment with PDGF and IGF-I caused a slight increase in the level of OP gene expression but no change in AP, OC or COLI genes. Although neither IGF-I nor PDGF alone was effective in stimulating the expression of OC, the combined treatment in old bones enhanced OC expression significantly. The expression of COLI, AP and OP was also stimulated, but the stimulation was no different from that of IGF-I alone. In PDGF plus IGF-I treatment with a high dose, no dose-response effects were observed. Within the limits of the present study, it is suggested that IGF-I and, to a much lesser extent, PDGF may partially restore the deficit in the expression of osteoblast markers in old bones, and that the combination of both factors is slightly better than IGF-I alone in stimulating OC expression.

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YF Ma
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M Stimpel
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H Liang
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S Pun
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WS Jee
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Skeletal effects of moexipril, an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor, and hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ), a thiazide diuretic, were studied in ovariectomized (OVX) spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). Moexipril (10 mg/kg per day), HCTZ (10 mg/kg per day), alone or in combination, as well as 17 alpha-estradiol (30 micrograms/kg per day) were given to OVX SHR immediately after surgery and studied for short- and long-term effects (14 and 56 days respectively). All drugs were given orally. Histomorphometric data on the secondary spongiosa of proximal tibial metaphyses (cancellous bone) and tibiofibular junctions of tibial shafts (cortical bone) were analyzed. Ovariectomy induced cancellous bone loss in SHR by inducing negative bone balance. Estrogen prevented ovariectomy-induced cancellous bone loss in the SHR by reducing bone turnover and partially suppressing the coupling of bone formation to resorption on the endocortical surface. HCTZ reduced blood pressure after 1 week of treatment, yet this effect was no lower than that seen in controls after 3 weeks of treatment. Two weeks of HCTZ transiently prevented ovariectomy-induced increases in bone turnover rate and eroded surface. This delayed ovariectomy induced trabecular bone loss in the proximal tibial metaphysis, but had no effect on the tibial shaft. Like HCTZ, moexipril also reduced blood pressure after the first week of treatment but it had no apparent effect on either the proximal tibial metaphysis or the tibial shaft. A combination of moexipril and HCTZ exhibited a much more potent hypotensive effect and had the same effect on bone mass and dynamic end-points as HCTZ alone. Our data indicate that (1) HCTZ treatment has some transient beneficial effects on both antihypertension and osteoprotection in hypertensive osteopenic rats, (2) the combination of moexipril with HCTZ improved the antihypertensive effect but did not potentiate or hamper the osteoprotective effect of HCTZ, and (3) the skeletal effect of estrogen is not impacted by the hypertensive state. These findings are relevant for the use of ACE inhibitor and thiazide diuretics, alone or in combination, in antihypertensive therapy in postmenopausal women.

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Y Yang
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J Cao
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W Xiong
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J Zhang
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Q Zhou
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H Wei
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C Liang
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J Deng
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T Li
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S Yang
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L Xu
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It has been documented that stress or glucocorticoids have conflicting effects on memory under different conditions. However, it is not fully understood why stress can either impair or enhance memory. Here, we have examined the performance of six age groups of Wistar rats in a water maze spatial task to evaluate the effects of stress under different conditions. We found that the impairment or enhancement effect of an 'elevated platform' (EP) stress on memory was dependent on previous stress experience and on age. EP stress impaired memory retrieval in water maze naive animals, but enhanced rather than impaired memory retrieval in young water maze stress-experienced animals. Furthermore, exogenously applied corticosterone or foot shock stress before water maze training prevented the impairment of memory retrieval that should be induced by treatment with corticosterone or foot shock before the 'probe trial'. Again, memory retrieval was enhanced in young animals under these conditions, and this enhancement can be prevented by the glucocorticoid receptor antagonist RU 38486. Thus, glucocorticoid receptor activation not only induced impairment of memory but also increased the capacity of young animals to overcome a later stress. The present findings suggest that the effect of stress on memory can be switched from impairment to enhancement dependent on both stress experience and age.

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J I Reimers
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A K Rasmussen
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A E Karlsen
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U Bjerre
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H Liang
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O Morin
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H U Andersen
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T Mandrup-Poulsen
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A G Burger
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U Feldt-Rasmussen
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J Nerup
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Abstract

Interleukin-1β has been implicated as a pathogenic factor in the development of autoimmune thyroiditis. When given for 5 days to normal non-diabetes-prone Wistar Kyoto rats, it decreased plasma concentrations of total tri-iodothyronine and thyroxine and increased plasma TSH. These effects were not prevented by co-injection of nitroarginine methyl ester or aminoguanidine, inhibitors of NO synthases. Exposure to interleukin-1β dose-dependently reduced iodine uptake in FRTL-5 cells, but had no effect on thyroglobulin secretion. Nitrite was not detected in the FRTL-5 cell culture media after exposure to interleukin-1β. However, reverse transcription PCR analysis of mRNA isolated from interleukin-1β-exposed FRTL-5 cells revealed a transitory expression of the inducible NO synthase, which was markedly lower than inducible NO synthase induction in interleukin-1β-exposed isolated rat islets of Langerhans. Co-incubation with the NO synthase inhibitor N G-monomethylarginine did not ameliorate the effect of interleukin-1β on FRTL-5 cell iodine uptake. Furthermore, we demonstrate that daily injections of interleukin-1β for 13 weeks aggravated spontaneous thyroiditis and induced severe hypothyroidism in non-diabetic diabetes-prone BB rats. The data suggest that NO does not mediate interleukin-1β-induced inhibition of rat thyroid function in vivo or in vitro in FRTL-5 cells, and the induction of hypothyroidism by interleukin-1β in diabetes-prone BB rats is speculated to be due to exacerbation of recruitment and activation of intrathyroidal mononuclear cells.

Journal of Endocrinology (1996) 151, 147–157

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Shisan Xu Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Science, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, People’s Republic of China

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Fangjing Xie Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Science, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, People’s Republic of China

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Li Tian Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Science, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, People’s Republic of China

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Samane Fallah Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Science, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, People’s Republic of China

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Fatemeh Babaei Department of Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, People’s Republic of China

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Sinai H C Manno Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Science, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, People’s Republic of China

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Francis A M Manno III School of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

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Lina Zhu Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Science, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, People’s Republic of China

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Kin Fung Wong Department of Biomedical Engineering, Polytechnic University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, People’s Republic of China

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Yimin Liang Department of Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, People’s Republic of China

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Rajkumar Ramalingam Department of Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, People’s Republic of China

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Lei Sun Department of Biomedical Engineering, Polytechnic University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, People’s Republic of China

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Xin Wang Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Science, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, People’s Republic of China

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Robert Plumb Waters Technologies Corporation, Milford, Massachusetts, USA

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Lee Gethings Waters Technologies Corporation, Milford, Massachusetts, USA

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Yun Wah Lam Department of Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, People’s Republic of China

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Shuk Han Cheng Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Science, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, People’s Republic of China
State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution (SKLMP) at City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, People’s Republic of China
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, College of Science and Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, People’s Republic of China

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Sexual differences have been observed in the onset and prognosis of human cardiovascular diseases, but the underlying mechanisms are not clear. Here, we found that zebrafish heart regeneration is faster in females, can be accelerated by estrogen and is suppressed by the estrogen-antagonist tamoxifen. Injuries to the zebrafish heart, but not other tissues, increased plasma estrogen levels and the expression of estrogen receptors, especially esr2a. The resulting endocrine disruption induces the expression of the female-specific protein vitellogenin in male zebrafish. Transcriptomic analyses suggested heart injuries triggered pronounced immune and inflammatory responses in females. These responses, previously shown to elicit heart regeneration, could be enhanced by estrogen treatment in males and reduced by tamoxifen in females. Furthermore, a prior exposure to estrogen preconditioned the zebrafish heart for an accelerated regeneration. Altogether, this study reveals that heart regeneration is modulated by an estrogen-inducible inflammatory response to cardiac injury. These findings elucidate a previously unknown layer of control in zebrafish heart regeneration and provide a new model system for the study of sexual differences in human cardiac repair.

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