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Biomedical subjects

J Marchand

Publications and source records attributed to J Marchand.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

Inhibition of cyclic nucleotide accumulation following hippocampal tetanic potentiation: effects of diazepam.

Biochemical studies on the hippocampus of acutely prepared rabbits revealed more than twofold increases in cyclic GMP levels following tetanic potentiation of the pathway from the medial septal region to CA1 pyramidal cells. Diazepam, administered intravenously, prevented the elevation in cyclic GMP levels in this region and also attenuated the post-tetanic potentiation seen following the presentation of trains at frequencies within theta rhythm. The results imply a modulatory role for cyclic nucleotides in the enhancement of pyramidal cell excitability and suggest that the biochemical mechanism for the psychoactive benzodiazepines may well include the suppression of cyclic GMP levels.

Animals↗

Mode of action of clonidine upon islet function: dissociated effects upon the time course and magnitude of insulin release.

Clonidine (0.08 to 80.0 ng/ml) caused a dose-related inhibition of glucose-stimulated insulin release, but failed to affect glucose oxidation, glucose-stimulated 45Ca net uptake, and adenylate cyclase activity in isolated rat islets. Phentolamine antagonized the effect of clonidine upon insulin release. Despite profound inhibition of insulin secretion, the drug failed to affect the time course for the changes evoked by glucose in either 45Ca fractional outflow rate from perfused islets or insulin release from the isolated perfused pancreas. The latter changes were multiphasic, revealing an initial secretory peak, a period of low secretory activity, and a second secretory elevation before establishing a period characterized by a steadily and slowly increasing insulin output. In the clonidine-treated islets, the secretory rate was not significantly different from the basal value during the period after the initial secretory response. Thus, despite continuous stimulation with glucose, insulin release appears as a discontinuous phenomenon, even when little insulin is secreted during the initial phase of stimulation.

Adenylyl Cyclases↗

The effect of muscimol on hippocampal pyramidal cells.

The effects of muscimol on rabbit hippocampal pyramidal cell firing were studied and compared after iontophoretic, topical, and intravenous administration of the drug. All modes of application resulted in a bicuculline-sensitive, strychnine-insensitive, depression of the monosynaptically activated population spike evoked by micro-stimulation of the contralateral hippocampal field. These findings indicate that systemically administered muscimol selectively activates hippocampal GABA receptors suggesting that this compound may be useful for studying limbic system physiology.

Action Potentials↗

Interactions of alpha-ketoisocaproate, glucose and arginine in the secretion of glucagon and insulin from the perfused rat pancreas.

The effects of alpha-ketoisocaproate (KIC, 10 mmol/l) on glucagon and insulin release were studied in the in vitro perfused rat pancreas. The experiments were performed at low glucose concentration (3.3 mmol/l) in the absence or presence of arginine (10 mmol/l). In all the experiments KIC induced a marked and not rapidly reversible inhibition of glucagon release. This inhibition was more pronounced in the absence (76 percent) than presence of arginine (61 percent). These inhibitory patterns closely duplicated those which were seen in parallel experiments which included a rise in the concentration of glucose (from 3.3 to 11.1 mmol/l). KIC was also a potent stimulator of insulin release. The results are compatible with the view that the intracellular metabolism of KIC and glucose plays an essential role in the regulation of glucagon release by exogenous substrates.

Animals↗

Calcium dependency of glucagon release: its modulation by nutritional factors.

The calcium dependency of glucagon release by the perfused rat pancreas was investigated in the presence of different nutrients: glucose, arginine, and a mixture of "fumarate + glutamate + pyruvate" (FGP, 5 mM of each salt). At a 3.3 mM glucose concentration, FGP-induced glucagon release was inhibited by the removal of calcium or addition of verapamil. At a higher glucose concentration (16.6 mM), the glucagonotropic action of FGP was again inhibited by verapamil, but the removal of extracellular calcium enhanced transiently glucagon release. Comparable results were obtained when arginine (10 mM) instead of FGP was used to stimulate the alpha cell. These findings suggest that the glucagonotropic effect of FGP or arginine depends on the availability and inward transport of calcium, whereas extracellular calcium per se may be required for glucose to be sensed by the alpha cell as an inhibitor of glucagon secretion. Thus, the nutritional environment offered to the alpha cell may condition the expression of the different mechanisms involved in the control of glucagon release by calcium.

Animals↗

The role of calcium in glucagon release. Studies with verapamil.

The role of calcium transport into the pancreatic A2-cell in release of glucagon was studied in the perfused in vitro rat pancreas exposed to the organic calcium-antagonist verapamil (10 and 20 microns). As judged by the inhibitory effect of verapamil, a sufficient influx of calcium was required for glucagon release to be stimulated by either arginine (10 mM) or a lowering of the glucose concentration from 16.6 to 3.3 mM. However, such was not the case for glucose to inhibit the release of glucagon or when the A-2-cell was established in a stimulated state during prolonged exposure to a low, 3.3 mM, glucose concentration. These findings suggest that the role of inwardly directed transport of calcium in the secretory process of the A2-cell is of a complex nature, being dependent on the type of stimulus employed (arginine or glucose) and, in the case of glucose, on the static or dynamic state of the cell. The intimate mechanisms by which calcium exerts such complex effects on the secretory process in the A2-cell remain to be elucidated.

Animals↗

[Otitic tetanus].

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Facial Muscles↗