Comparison of dark- and light-adapted carp retinas with NADPH diaphorase staining

The carp retina was examined by NADPH diaphorase histochemistry to determine if the staining pattern of retinal cells was changed depending on the adaptation state of the retina. When dark-adapted for 5 h, ellipsoids of inner segments of both rods and cones and some horizontal cells were heavily stained. Staining was also found in subpopulations of amacrine cells and ganglion cells. In addition, Muller cells were strongly positive for NADPH diaphorase. When light-adapted for 5h, ellipsoids of photoreceptors and ganglion cells were less intensely stained, whereas Muller cells and horizontal cells became negative for NADPH diaphorase. Furthermore, rod ON-center bipolar cells were clearly stained. The difference of staining of amacrine cells between dark- and light-adapted retinas was not significant. The differences in diaphorase-staining pattern between dark- and light-adapted retinas suggest that Muller cells, some horizontal cells and rod ON-center bipolar cells contain inducible nitric oxide synthase, whose induction depends on the adaptation state.

Orofacial inflammatory pain affects the expression of MT1 and NADPH-d in rat caudal spinal trigeminal nucleus and trigeminal ganglion

Very little is known about the role of melatonin in the trigeminal system, including the function of melatonin receptor 1. In the present study, adult rats were injected with formaldehyde into the right vibrissae pad to establish a model of orofacial inflammatory pain. The distribution of melatonin re- ceptor 1 and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate diaphorase in the caudal spinal trigeminal nucleus and trigeminal ganglion was determined with immunohistochemistry and histo- chemistry. The results show that there are significant differences in melatonin receptor 1 expression and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate diaphorase expression in the trigeminal ganglia and caudal spinal nucleus during the early stage of orofacial inflammatory pain. Our findings sug- gest that when melatonin receptor 1 expression in the caudal spinal nucleus is significantly reduced, melatonin＇s regulatory effect on pain is attenuated.

Up-regulation of NAD(P)H quinone oxidoreductase 1 during human liver injury

AIM： To investigate the expression and activity of NAD（P）H quinone oxidoreductase 1 （NQO1） in human liver specimens obtained from patients with liver damage due to acetaminophen （APAP） overdose or primary biliary cirrhosis （PBC）. METHODS： NQOt activity was determined in cytosol from normal, APAP and PBC liver specimens. Western blot and immunohistochemical staining were used to determine patterns of NQO1 expression using a specific antibody against NQO1. RESULTS： NQO1 protein was very low in normal human livers. In both APAP and PBC livers, there was strong induction of NQO1 protein levels on Western blot. Correspondingly, significant up-regulation of enzyme activity （16- and 22-fold, P〈0.05） was also observed in APAP and PBC livers, respectively. Immunohistochemical analysis highlighted injury-specific patterns of NQO1 staining in both APAP and PBC livers. CONCLUSION： These data demonstrate that NQO1 protein and activity are markedly induced in human livers during both APAP overdose and PBC. Up-regulation of this cytoprotective enzyme may represent an adaptive stress response to limit further disease progression by detoxifying reactive species.

An Optical Based Biosensor for the Determination of Ammonium in Aqueous Environment

A simple and rapid optical biosensor for the determination of ammonium was developed by immobilization of gluta-mate dehydrogenase (GLDH) and diaphorase (Dph) in chitosan film coated on a glass slide employing thiazolyl blue tetrazolium bromide (MTT) as a color indicator. The developed biosensor displays a purple color formation of formazan attributed to the unreacted NADH in the reaction system in the presence of ammonium. The color intensity was found to decrease proportionally with the increase of ammonium concentrations after 10 min exposure. The linearity of the biosensor towards ammonium was in the range of 16.8 – 70 μM (R2 = 0.9955) with detection limit of 11 μM. A good agreement (R2 = 0.9984) with indothymol method was obtained in the measurement of fish pond water samples. The effect of potential interferences such as metals ion has also been evaluated.

Coexistence of nitric oxide synthase with γ-aminobutyric acid during seizure induced by kainic acid in SD rats

Objective: Functional significance of NO and central inhibitory neurotransmitter γ-aminobutyric(GABA) during seizures were investigated morphorlogically. Methods: A kainate-induced complex partialseizure model was used in our experiment. Twenty SD rats were randomly divided into KA 30, 60, 90, 200min and control groups. The brain sections were stained by NADPh (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate ) diaphorase (Nd ) histochemically, and were further stained by GABA immunohistochemically.Results: Histological and immunohistochemical study revealed that in KA groups the number of Nd and GABA-positive double labelled neurons in CA3 region, CA3 region and dentate gyms was significantly reduced,compared with the control group. Conclusion: Nd coexisted with GABA in the brain. Reduction of GABA release led to relief of GABA-ergic inhibition and in the same way, reduction of NO release weakened its negative feedback modulation. Therefore neuronal synchronous paroxysmal discharges increased. GABA and NO,both having antiepileptic action, acted through different ways or different link in the same way. NO may involve in the effect of GABA-ergic neurons and play cooperative antiepileptic action with GABA.