The present approach suppressed diffusional blur of the glutamate signal and improved the temporal resolution as compared with the BSA-HRP membrane method described earlier. (C) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.”
“XIAP is an important antiapoptotic protein capable of conferring resistance to cancer cells. Embelin, the small molecular inhibitor of XIAP, possesses wide spectrum of biological activities with strong inhibition of nuclear factor kappa B and downstream antiapoptotic genes. However, the mechanism of its

cell death induction is not known. Our studies using colon cancer cells lacking p53 and Bax suggest that both lysosomes and mitochondria are prominent targets of embelin-induced cell death. Embelin induced selleck chemicals cell-cycle arrest in G(1) phase through p21, downstream of p53. In the absence of p21, the cells are sensitized to death in a Bax-dependent manner. The loss of mitochondrial membrane potential induced by embelin was independent of Bax and p53, but lysosomal integrity loss was strongly influenced by the presence of p53 but not by Bax. Lysosomal role was further substantiated by enhanced cathepsin ACY-738 B activity

noticed in embelin-treated cells. p53-dependent lysosomal destabilization and cathepsin B activation contribute for increased sensitivity of p21-deficient cells to embelin with enhanced caspase 9 and caspase 3 activation. Cathepsin B inhibitor reduced cell death and cytochrome c release in embelin-treated cells indicating lysosomal pathway as the upstream of mitochondrial

death signaling. Deficiency of cell-cycle arrest machinery renders cells more sensitive to embelin with enhanced lysosomal destabilization and caspase processing emphasizing its potential therapeutic importance to address clinical drug resistance. (C) 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.”
“J. Neurochem. (2012) 122, 308320. Abstract Cortical dopamine (DA) modulation of the gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA) system is closely associated with cognitive function and psychiatric disorders. We recently reported that the glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta (GSK-3 beta) pathway is required for hyperdopamine/D2 receptor-mediated Salubrinal inhibition of NMDA receptors in the prefrontal cortex. Here we explore whether or not GSK-3 beta is also involved in dopaminergic modulation of GABAA receptor-mediated inhibitory transmission. We confirmed that DA induces a dose-dependent, bidirectional regulatory effect on inhibitory postsynaptic currents (IPSCs) in prefrontal neurons. The modulatory effects of DA were differentially affected by co-application of GSK-3 beta inhibitors and different doses of DA. GSK-3 beta inhibitors completely blocked high-dose (20 mu M) DA-induced depressive effects on IPSCs but exhibited limited effects on the facilitating regulation of IPSC in low-dose DA (200 nM).