Effects of prenatal dexamethasone exposure on adult C57BL/6J mouse metabolism and oxidative stress.

Prenatal glucocorticoid exposure has been shown to alter hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis function resulting in altered fetal development that can persist through adulthood. Fetal exposure to excess dexamethasone, a synthetic glucocorticoid, has been shown to alter adult behaviour and metabolism. This study investigated the effects prenatal dexamethasone exposure had on adult offspring cardiac and liver metabolism and oxidative stress. Pregnant C57BL/6 mice received a dose of 0.4 mg/kg dexamethasone on gestational days 15-17. Once pups were approximately 7 months old, glucose uptake was determined using positron emission tomography and insulin resistance (IR) was determined by homeostatic model assessment (HOMA) IR calculation. Oxidative stress was assessed by measuring 4-hydroxynonenal protein adduct formation and total reactive oxygen species. Female dexamethasone group had significantly increased glucose uptake when insulin stimulated compared to vehicle-treated mice. HOMA IR revealed no evidence of IR in either male or female offspring. There was also no change in oxidative stress markers in either cardiac or liver tissues of male or female offspring. These data suggest that prenatal dexamethasone exposure in male mice does not alter oxidative stress or metabolism. However, prenatal dexamethasone exposure increased glucocorticoids, cardiac glucose uptake, and pAkt signaling in female heart tissues in adult mice, suggesting there are sex differences in prenatal dexamethasone exposure.

The effects of exercise and active assisted cycle ergometry in post-operative total knee arthroplasty patients - a randomized controlled trial.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of the use of an active assisted cycle ergometer as an adjunct to post-operative treatment following total knee arthroplasty. METHOD: A total of 55 participants aged 50-80 years who had undergone unilateral total knee arthroplasty were randomly assigned to either the control group (standard of care) or the active assisted cycle ergometer (AACE) group. The effect on patient motivation, blood biomarkers, and knee pain, function, range of motion (ROM), strength, and swelling was examined. Qualitative feedback was also obtained post-operatively. RESULTS: Although there was no statistically significant difference in the standard of care compared to the AACE group, there was a trend for a greater reduction in knee pain on the visual analog scale, improved Lower Extremity Functional Scale scores, and knee extension ROM and strength. A greater percentage of the experimental group demonstrated higher motivation. There was no significant difference in swelling or blood biomarker measures. Qualitative feedback from the AACE group post-operatively was also positive. CONCLUSIONS: The use of an AACE protocol as an adjunct to total knee arthroplasty rehabilitation may improve post-operative clinical outcomes. This study has been registered at clinicaltrials.gov (identifier NCT02265523 , Oct 16 2014). LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level 1 - randomized controlled trial. Further research with a larger sample size is needed to confirm the benefits of the ergometer use.

N-Alkylated aziridines are easily-prepared, potent, specific and cell-permeable covalent inhibitors of human ß-glucocerebrosidase.

ß-Glucocerebrosidase deficiency leads to Gaucher disease and is a potential marker of Parkinson's disease. We have identified N-octyl conduritol aziridine as a potent and specific covalent inactivator of GBA1 in living cells. This compound is a promising lead towards a positron emission tomography probe intended to image GBA1 activity.

Glycogen and glycogen phosphorylase associated with sarcoplasmic reticulum: effects of fatiguing activity.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of fatiguing muscular activity on glycogen, glycogen phosphorylase (GP), and Ca(2+) uptake associated with the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR). Tetanic contractions (100 ms, 75 Hz) of the gastrocnemius and plantaris muscles, elicited once per second for 15 min, significantly reduced force to 26.5 +/- 4.0% and whole muscle glycogen to 23% of rested levels. SR glycogen levels were 415.4 +/- 76.6 and 20.4 +/- 2.1 microg/mg SR protein in rested and fatigued samples, respectively. The optical density of GP from SDS-PAGE was reduced to 21% of control, whereas pyridoxal 5'-phosphate concentration, a quantitative indicator of GP content, was significantly reduced to 3% of control. GP activity after exercise, in the direction of glycogen breakdown, was reduced to 4% of control. Maximum SR Ca(2+) uptake rate was also significantly reduced to 81% of control. These data demonstrate that glycogen and GP associated with skeletal muscle SR are reduced after fatiguing activity.

p21(Cip1) expression is increased in ambient oxygen, compared to estimated physiological (5%) levels in rat muscle precursor cell culture.

OBJECTIVE: While it is common practice to culture cells in the presence of ambient oxygen (approximately 21% O2), O2 level observed in the physiological environment is often much lower. Previous efforts to culture a variety of different stem cells, including muscle precursor cells (MPC), under O2 conditions that better mimic in vivo conditions have resulted in enhanced proliferation. In the present study, we hypothesized that 20% O2 in culture represents a sufficient stimulus to cause increased expression of two key negative regulators of the cell-cycle Cip/Kip family of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors, p21(Cip1) and p27(Kip1), in MPCs. MATERIALS AND METHODS: MPCs were isolated from Fischer 344 x Brown Norway F(1) hybrid male rats and O2 was adjusted in culture using a tri-gas incubator. RESULTS: 5-Bromo-2'-deoxyuridine incorporation, cell number and nuclear proliferating cell nuclear antigen expression were all decreased after 48 h culture in 20% O2, compared to 5% O2. Twenty per cent O2 had no effect on either p27(Kip1) promoter activity or protein expression. Although p21(Cip1) promoter activity remained unchanged between 5% and 20% O2, there were significant increases in both p21(Cip1) mRNA and protein expression. Furthermore, 20% O2 caused an increase in p21(Cip1) mRNA stability and p53 transcription factor activity. CONCLUSION: These findings are considered important because they reveal p21(Cip1) as a critical regulatory protein that needs to be considered when interpreting proliferation data from MPCs studied in culture. In addition, O2-dependent regulation of MPC proliferation is relevant to conditions, including sarcopenia, heart failure, cancer and muscular dystrophy, where increased oxidative stress exists.

Glycogen debranching enzyme is associated with rat skeletal muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum.

AIMS: Gel electrophoresis revealed a band of molecular weight approximately 160 000 Da associated with the skeletal muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) vesicle preparations. This investigation sought to examine glycogen debranching enzyme associated with skeletal muscle SR. METHODS: Sarcoplasmic reticulum samples were also taken from muscle whose glycogen content had been reduced either via stimulation of the sciatic nerve or alpha-amylase treatment of muscle homogenates. RESULTS: The stimulation protocol reduced whole muscle glycogen by 86% (7.4 +/- 0.4 vs. 1.0 +/- 0.3 microg mg(-1) wet mass, P < or = 0.05). Glycogen associated with the SR was reduced by 82% in the stimulation protocol (533 +/- 82 vs. 96 +/- 7 microg mg(-1) protein) and by 94% in alpha-amylase treatment (493 +/- 11 vs. 29 +/- 2 microg mg(-1) protein), respectively. Gel electrophoresis and Western blots revealed that the content of glycogen debranching enzyme was reduced by approximately 53% as a result of muscle stimulation and by approximately 46% in alpha-amylase treatment (P < or = 0.05). In addition, glycogen debranching enzyme activity was reduced by 61% in stimulated samples compared with control (20.3 +/- 1.0 vs. 8.0 +/- 1.2 nmol mg(-1) min(-1), respectively), a value consistent with reductions observed from gel electrophoresis and Western blots. CONCLUSION: These results confirm that similar to glycogen phosphorylase, glycogen debranching enzyme is associated with the skeletal muscle SR and is dissociated under exercise conditions.

Multiple cysteine proteinases of the pathogenic protozoon Tritrichomonas foetus: identification of seven diverse and differentially expressed genes.

The cattle protozoan parasite Tritrichomonas foetus has multiple forms of cysteine proteinases. To investigate their diversity, PCR and reverse transcriptase PCR were used to isolate genomic DNA and cDNA fragments, respectively, encoding different cysteine proteinases. Seven genes have been identified, TFCP3-6 from amplification of genomic DNA and TFCP7-9 from amplification of cDNA. Comparison of the predicted amino acid sequences indicates that the T. foetus enzymes are cathepsin-L-like rather than cathepsin-B-like in structure. However, there is considerable diversity among the proteinases. TFCP7 and TFCP8 are most similar to one another (78% identity), while TFCP3 and TFCP9 are the least closely related (30% identity). All but one of the genes are single-copy, the exception being TFCP3, which was present in multiple copies in one of the three isolates examined. Single transcripts were detected for each of the seven genes. TFCP8 was expressed at the highest levels, while transcripts for TFCP4 were only just detectable. In T. foetus F2, the strain from which the genomic DNA and mRNA were isolated, transcripts of the five other genes were present at intermediate levels. When two other isolates were compared with F2, differences in the expression of individual genes were apparent, with either one or two of them not expressed. In spite of these differences the major cysteine proteinases detected in the three isolates using substrate-SDS-PAGE appeared identical. The data show that the multiplicity of cysteine proteinases in T. foetus is due, in part at least, to the presence of multiple genes and that some of the genes encode cysteine proteinases which are not among the high-activity enzymes detected previously.