Published in ACS chemical neuroscience
Kainic acid (KA) is an excitotoxic glutamate analogue produced by a marine seaweed. It elicits neuronal excitotoxicity leading to epilepsy in rodents. Activation of transient receptor potential vanilloid subfamily 1 (TRPV1), a nonselective cation channel protein, by capsaicin, prevents KA-induced seizures in a mouse model of temporal lobe epilepsy....
Published in ACS chemical neuroscience
There is a critical need to find safe therapeutics to treat an increasingly obese population and diseases associated with an imbalance in energy homeostasis. The melanocortin-3 receptor (MC3R) and melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) ligands have long been the focus to help scientists understand energy homeostasis and the regulation of feeding behavior. ...
Published in ACS chemical neuroscience
Ebselen (EBS) is an organo-selenium containing compound that has anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor and anti-bacterial properties. EBS is being explored as a possible treatment for reperfusion injury, stroke, is under clinical trials as a mimetic of lithium in treatment of bipolar disorder1, and noise-induced hearing loss as a result of these actives2-5...
Published in ACS chemical neuroscience
Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) causes permanent neurological sequelae, but the underlying mechanism needs to be further clarified. Here, we show that inhibition of metabotropic glutamate receptor 1 (mGluR1) with negative allosteric modulator JNJ16259685 improves long-term neurobehavioral outcomes in an endovascular perforation model of SA...
Published in ACS chemical neuroscience
Published in ACS chemical neuroscience
Oxygen (O2) is a critical component of life; without proper O2 levels, cells are unable to respire, meaning glucose cannot be utilized. Thus, hypoxia (low O2 levels) is a well-documented stressor, especially in aquatic environments. Neuropeptides are a major class of regulators for stress-induced responses; however, their global expression changes ...
Published in ACS chemical neuroscience
Friedreich ataxia (FRDA) is an inherited neurodegenerative disorder for which there is no cure or approved treatment. It is characterized by the loss or impaired activity of frataxin protein, which is involved in the biogenesis of iron-sulfur clusters. Our previous studies suggested that cell death in FRDA may involve ferroptosis, an iron-dependent...
Published in ACS chemical neuroscience
Dopamine is a key neurotransmitter in the pathophysiology of various neurological disorders such as addiction or Parkinson's disease. Disturbances in its metabolism could lead to dopamine accumulation in the cytoplasm and an increased production of o-quinones and their derivatives, which have neurotoxic potential and act as precursors in neuromelan...
Published in ACS chemical neuroscience
Lithium has been used for the treatment of mood disorders for decades though the molecular mechanism of its therapeutic action and intracellular targets remain furtive. We report that neurotropic agent Li+ binds to the neuronal calcium sensor, Downstream Regulatory Element Antagonist Modulator (DREAM), with an equilibrium dissociation constant of 3...
Published in ACS chemical neuroscience
Herein, we report novel neuroprotective activity of the neurohypophyseal hormone analogue desmopressin (DDAVP) against toxic conformations of human prion protein. Systematic analysis using biophysical techniques in conjunction with surface plasmon resonance, high-end microscopy, conformational antibodies, and cell-based assays demonstrated DDAVP's ...
