Nephrectomy-induced systolic arterial hypertension was significantly reduced in a dose dependent manner with Epi treatment. Increased serum creatinine and urea were reduced almost to normal values. The concentration of tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4), used as subrogate of endothelial dysfunction, decreased in nephrectomyzed animals, Epi treatment increased BH4 levels almost reaching normal values. The expression of angiotensin II receptor (AT1-R) and NADPH oxidase-4 (NOX-4) and 3-nitrotyrosine levels increased with nephrectomy and were reduced with Epi treatment. Renal tissue morphology in the remaining tissue was conserved with Epi treatment in a dose dependent manner.
Gulf War Illness (GWI) afflicts US military personnel who served in the Persian Gulf War. Suspect causal agents include exposure to pyridostigmine (PB), permethrin (PM) and N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide (DEET). Prominent symptoms include cognitive deficits, such as memory impairment. In aging animal models, we have documented the beneficial effect of the flavanol (-)-epicatechin (Epi) on hippocampus structure and related function. Using a rat model of GWI, we examined the effects of Epi on hippocampus inflammation, oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, cell death/survival pathways, and memory endpoints. Male Wistar rats underwent 3 weeks of exposure to either vehicles or DEET, PM, PB, and stress.
Evidence has implicated oxidative stress (OS) and inflammation as drivers of neurodegenerative pathologies. We previously reported on the beneficial effects of (−)-epicatechin (Epi) treatment on aging-induced OS and its capacity to restore modulators of mitochondrial biogenesis in the prefrontal cortex of 26-month-old male mice. In the present study using the same mouse model of aging, we examined the capacity of Epi to mitigate hippocampus OS, inflammation, hyperphosphorylation of tau protein, soluble β-amyloid protein levels, cell survival, memory, anxiety-like behavior levels and systemic inflammation. Mice were subjected to 4 weeks of Epi treatment (1 mg kg−1 day−1) and samples of the
Consumption of (−)-epicatechin (Epi), a cacao flavanol improves cognition. The aim was to compare the effects of (−)-Epi or its stereoisomer (+)-Epi on mouse frontal cortex-dependent short-term working memory and modulators of neurogenesis. Three-month-old male mice (n = 7 per group) were provided by gavage either water (vehicle; Veh), (−)-Epi, at 1 mg kg−1 or (+)-Epi at 0.1 mg per kg of body weight for 15 days. After treatment, spontaneous alternation was evaluated by Y-maze. Brain frontal cortex was isolated for nitrate/nitrite measurements, Western blotting for nerve growth factor (NGF), microtubule associated protein 2 (MAP2), endothelial and neuronal nitric oxide
Multiple components of the dystrophin-associated protein complex (DAPC) are expressed in numerous tissues including the brain. Members of the DAPC and dysbindin are abnormally expressed in the brain of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) patients, which has been associated with cognitive impairments. However, little is known about the expression pattern of individual members of the DAPC in animal models of DMD and their relationship with dysbindin.
