Propofol decreases spike firing frequency with an increase in spike synchronization in the cerebral cortex
Publication date: Available online 20 November 2019Source: Journal of Pharmacological SciencesAuthor(s): Mie Kajiwara, Risako Kato, Yoshiyuki Oi, Masayuki KobayashiAbstractLittle is known about how propofol modulates the spike firing correlation between excitatory and inhibitory cortical neurons in vivo. We performed extracellular unit recordings from rat insular cortical neurons, and classified neurons with high spontaneous firing frequency, bursting, and short spike width as high frequency with bursting neurons (HFB; pseudo fast-spiking GABAergic neurons) and other neurons with low spontaneous firing frequency and no bur...
Source: Journal of Pharmacological Sciences - November 20, 2019 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Source Type: research

Editorial Board
Publication date: October 2019Source: Journal of Pharmacological Sciences, Volume 141, Issue 2Author(s): (Source: Journal of Pharmacological Sciences)
Source: Journal of Pharmacological Sciences - November 17, 2019 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Source Type: research

Involvement of the dopamine D1 receptor system in the anxiolytic effect of cedrol in the elevated plus maze and light-dark box tests
Publication date: Available online 16 November 2019Source: Journal of Pharmacological SciencesAuthor(s): Kai Zhang, Jing Lu, Lei YaoAbstractCedrol, mainly derived from Juniperus virginiana L. essential oil, has been demonstrated the anxiolytic effect, although its mechanism of action is still not fully established. In the present study, male ICR mice were submitted to the elevated plus maze (EPM) and light-dark box (LDB) tests to investigated the putative mechanism of anxiolytic effect. WAY100635 (5-HT1A receptor antagonist), flumazenil (benzodiazepine receptor antagonist), SCH23390 (dopamine D1 receptor antagonist) or sul...
Source: Journal of Pharmacological Sciences - November 17, 2019 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Source Type: research

Acehytisine suppresses atrial fibrillation in rats with dilated atria caused by chronic volume overload
Publication date: Available online 16 November 2019Source: Journal of Pharmacological SciencesAuthor(s): Xin Cao, Yoshinobu Nagasawa, Chengshun Zhang, Hanxiao Zhang, Megumi Aimoto, Akira TakaharaAbstractAtrial dilation is an independent risk factor for the development of atrial fibrillation (AF) and modulates the efficacy of anti-AF drugs, leading to the unsatisfactory control of AF. Pre-clinical studies showed anti-AF effects of acehytisine, a multi-ion channel inhibitor, in atria without structural and/or electrophysiological abnormalities, but information is limited regarding its anti-AF efficacy in dilated atria. We ev...
Source: Journal of Pharmacological Sciences - November 17, 2019 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Source Type: research

Varenicline aggravates atherosclerotic plaque formation in nicotine-pretreated ApoE knockout mice due to enhanced oxLDL uptake by macrophages through downregulation of ABCA1 and ABCG1 expression
Publication date: Available online 14 November 2019Source: Journal of Pharmacological SciencesAuthor(s): Mitsuhisa Koga, Yuki Kanaoka, Mana Okamoto, Yuki Nakao, Koshun Inada, Saki Takayama, Yasufumi Kataoka, Atsushi YamauchiAbstractVarenicline is a widely used and effective drug for smoking cessation. We previously reported that varenicline aggravates atherosclerosis in apolipoprotein E knockout (ApoE KO) mice. However, it remains unknown whether varenicline affects cardiovascular events in patients with nicotine addiction. Here, we examined the effect of varenicline on atherosclerotic plaque formation in nicotine-pretreat...
Source: Journal of Pharmacological Sciences - November 15, 2019 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Source Type: research

Pretreatment with KGA-2727, a Selective SGLT1 Inhibitor, is Protective against Myocardial Infarction-Induced Ventricular Remodeling and Heart Failure in Mice
We examined the effects of KGA-2727, a selective SGLT1 inhibitor, on myocardial infarction (MI)-induced ischemic cardiomyopathy.To create MI, left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) ligation with or without KGA-2727 administration was performed in C57BL/6J mice. Four weeks after the operation, all mice were investigated.Left ventricular fractional shortening (LVFS) was reduced and KGA-2727 significantly improved it in LAD-ligated MI mice. The cardiomyocyte diameter, and ANP, BNP, β-MHC, and IL-18 gene expressions significantly increased in LAD-ligated mouse left ventricles compared with those of sham-operated mouse...
Source: Journal of Pharmacological Sciences - November 7, 2019 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Source Type: research

β-Hydroxybutyrate enhances the cytotoxic effect of cisplatin via the inhibition of HDAC/survivin axis in human hepatocellular carcinoma cell
In conclusion, βOHB enhanced cisplatin-induced apoptosis via HDAC3/6 inhibition/survivin axis in HepG2 cells, which suggests that βOHB could be a new adjuvant agent for cisplatin chemotherapy. (Source: Journal of Pharmacological Sciences)
Source: Journal of Pharmacological Sciences - November 7, 2019 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Source Type: research

Improvement of peripheral vascular impairment by a phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor tadalafil prevents oxaliplatin-induced peripheral neuropathy in mice
In this study, we investigated the effects of vasodilators on cumulative peripheral neuropathy induced by repeated injections of oxaliplatin (10 mg/kg) once a week for 8 weeks in mice. Single injections of vasodilators, including a phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor tadalafil acutely alleviated oxaliplatin-induced cold hypersensitivity, while tadalafil had no effect on the mechanical hypersensitivity. By contrast, long-term administration of tadalafil (0.1% in chow diets) during the oxaliplatin injection period reduced the oxaliplatin-induced decreases in skin temperature and blood flow without affecting platinum concentra...
Source: Journal of Pharmacological Sciences - November 4, 2019 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Source Type: research

Electropharmacological profile of an atrial-selective sodium channel blocker acehytisine assessed in the isoflurane-anesthetized guinea-pig model
Publication date: Available online 2 November 2019Source: Journal of Pharmacological SciencesAuthor(s): Xin Cao, Yoshinobu Nagasawa, Chengshun Zhang, Hanxiao Zhang, Megumi Aimoto, Akira TakaharaAbstractExperimental evidence regarding the risk of proarrhythmic potential of acehytisine is limited. We assessed its electropharmacological effect together with proarrhythmic potential at intravenous doses of 4 and 10 mg/kg (n=6) using isoflurane-anesthetized guinea pig in comparison with bepridil at 1 and 3mg/kg, intravenously (n=6). Acehytisine at therapeutic dose (4 mg/kg) decreased the heart rate, prolonged P wave duration, QR...
Source: Journal of Pharmacological Sciences - November 3, 2019 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Source Type: research

Adoptive transfer of type 1 regulatory T cells suppressed the development of airway hyperresponsiveness in ovalbumin-induced airway inflammation model mice
In conclusion, we demonstrated that Tr1 cells suppressed allergic asthma in mice. (Source: Journal of Pharmacological Sciences)
Source: Journal of Pharmacological Sciences - November 3, 2019 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Source Type: research

Metformin inhibits cell proliferation in SKM-1 cells via AMPK-mediated cell cycle arrest
Publication date: Available online 2 November 2019Source: Journal of Pharmacological SciencesAuthor(s): Xiaojia Zhou, Yunchun Kuang, Simin Liang, Li WangAbstractMetformin, a widely used antidiabetic drug, has previously been demonstrated to exert anti-cancer effects in certain hematological malignancies, but its effects on the transformation of myelodysplastic syndromes to acute myeloid leukemia (AML-MDS) remain unclear. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of metformin on SKM-1 cells (an AML-MDS cell line) and its underlying mechanisms. SKM-1 cells were treated with different concentrations of metformin. Cel...
Source: Journal of Pharmacological Sciences - November 2, 2019 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Source Type: research

Editorial Board
Publication date: September 2019Source: Journal of Pharmacological Sciences, Volume 141, Issue 1Author(s): (Source: Journal of Pharmacological Sciences)
Source: Journal of Pharmacological Sciences - October 31, 2019 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Source Type: research

Post-weaning social isolation of mice: a putative animal model of developmental disorders
Publication date: Available online 25 October 2019Source: Journal of Pharmacological SciencesAuthor(s): Kinzo Matsumoto, Hironori Fujiwara, Ryota Araki, Takeshi YabeAbstractPost-weaning social isolation of laboratory animals is known induce many behavioural and neurochemical abnormalities, which resemble neuropsychiatric disorders such as depression and anxiety. Therefore, they can help provide a suitable animal model to investigate the pathophysiology of neuropsychiatric symptoms and explore potential drugs for the treatment of neuropsychiatric diseases. Our recent studies have demonstrated that post-weaning social isolat...
Source: Journal of Pharmacological Sciences - October 27, 2019 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Source Type: research

Blonanserin Suppresses Impulsive Action in Rats
Publication date: Available online 21 October 2019Source: Journal of Pharmacological SciencesAuthor(s): Naoya Nishitani, Hitomi Sasamori, Yu Ohmura, Takayuki Yoshida, Mitsuhiro YoshiokaAbstractHigh impulsivity will increase the risk of criminal behavior, drug abuse, and suicide. We chose two drugs by following a strategy recently we proposed for identifying potential anti-impulsivity drugs, and examined the effects on impulsive action in rats by using a 3-choice serial reaction time task. We showed that the administration of blonanserin, an atypical antipsychotic, reduced impulsive actions in a U-shaped manner. 1-(2-Pyriid...
Source: Journal of Pharmacological Sciences - October 21, 2019 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Source Type: research

Editorial Board
Publication date: August 2019Source: Journal of Pharmacological Sciences, Volume 140, Issue 4Author(s): (Source: Journal of Pharmacological Sciences)
Source: Journal of Pharmacological Sciences - October 18, 2019 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Source Type: research