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Objective: Protease-activated receptors (PARs) 1 and 2 are expressed in various blood vessels including rat aorta, modulating vascular tone. We investigated the roles of PAR-1 and PAR-2 in vasomotor modulation in rat superior mesenteric artery. Methods and results: Effects of the PAR-2-activating peptide Ser-Leu-Ile-Gly-Arg-Leu-amide (SLIGRL-amide) and the PAR-1-activating peptide Thr-Phe-Leu-Leu-Arg-amide (TFLLR-amide) on isometric tension were examined in isolated rat superior mesenteric artery or aorta. Both SLIGRL-amide and TFLLR-amide caused relaxation in the precontracted rat aortic rings. The latter peptide, but not the former, produced contraction in the resting rings. N G-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (l-NAME), but not apamin/charybdotoxin known to block the endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor (EDHF) pathway, abolished the relaxation and facilitated the contraction. In the precontracted rat superior mesenteric artery, SLIGRL-amide, but not TFLLR-amide, elicited endothelium-dependent relaxation, which was only partially inhibited by l-NAME with and without indomethacin. The residual relaxation was abolished by apamin/charybdotoxin. Carbenoxolone, a gap junction inhibitor, significantly attenuated the SLIGRL-amide-evoked, EDHF-dependent relaxation, although neither 17-octadecynoic acid, a P450 epoxygenase inhibitor, nor catalase, a hydrogen peroxide scavenger, revealed inhibitory effects. The residual response resistant to carbenoxolone was unaffected by ouabain/BaCl2. In the resting artery, TFLLR-amide, but not SLIGRL-amide, produced only slight contraction, which was dramatically facilitated by combination of l-NAME and apamin/charybdotoxin or by removal of the endothelium. Conclusions: Our data suggest that, in rat superior mesenteric artery, endothelial PAR-2, upon activation, causes relaxation via both NO and EDHF pathways, and that activation of muscular PAR-1 exhibits potential contractile activity that is largely masked by NO and EDHFs pathways triggered by endothelial PAR-1. Gap junctions might be involved in the EDHF mechanisms in this artery.

Protease-activated receptor-2 (PAR-2), a G protein-coupled seven trans-membrane domain receptor, is distributed throughout the gastrointestinal tract, modulating various functions. In gastric mucosa, PAR-2 present in sensory neurons, upon activation, triggers mucus secretion by stimulating release of CGRP and tachykinins, resulting mucosal cytoprotection. PAR-2 activation also suppresses acid secretion and increase mucosal blood flow, contributing to the protective mechanisms. In contrast, PAR-2 is also present in chief cells, facilitating pepsinogen secretion. PAR-2 would thus appear to be primarily protective in gastric mucosa, but may also have an aggressive property in certain conditions. Finally, functions of PARs other than PAR-2 in gastric mucosa are also discussed.

We examined if thrombin or a receptor-activating peptide for protease-activated receptor-1 (PAR-1), a thrombin receptor, could modulate nociception at peripheral levels. Intraplantar administration of PAR-1 activators, thrombin or TFLLR-NH 2 , but not its inactive control FTLLR-NH 2 or a PAR-2 activator SLIGRL-NH 2 , significantly attenuated the hyperalgesia in rats treated with carrageenan, although they had no effect on nociception in naive rats. The thrombin-PAR-1 system might thus act to attenuate nociception during inflammatory hyperalgesia.

Activation of protease-activated receptor-2 (PAR-2), a receptor activated by trypsin/tryptase, induces neurally mediated gastric mucus secretion accompanied by mucosal cytoprotection. In the present study, we investigated whether PAR-2 could modulate gastric acid secretion in rats. Messenger RNAs for PAR-2 and PAR-1 were detected in the gastric mucosa and smooth muscle. The PAR-2-activating peptide SLIGRL-NH2, but not the inactive control peptide, when administered i.v., strongly suppressed gastric acid secretion in response to carbachol, pentagastrin or 2-deoxy- d -glucose in the rats with a pylorus ligation. The PAR-2-mediated suppression of acid secretion was resistant to cyclooxygenase inhibition or ablation of sensory neurons by capsaicin. Our results provide novel evidence that in addition to stimulating neurally mediated mucus secretion, activation of PAR-2 suppresses gastric acid secretion independently of prostanoid production or sensory neurons. These dual actions of PAR-2 would result in gastric mucosal cytoprotection.

Protease-activated receptor-2 (PAR-2) in the sensory neurons may be involved in nociceptive processing. We attempted to detect and characterize specific expression of spinal Fos, a marker of nociception, in mast cell-depleted rats. Intraplantar (i.pl.) administration of not only the PAR-2 agonist SLIGRL-NH 2 , but also the control peptide LSIGRL-NH 2 , induced Fos expression in naive rats, whereas only the former specifically produced Fos expression in mast cell-depleted rats. This Fos expression was blocked by intrathecal DAMGO, a p-opioid agonist, and, in part, by i.pl. calphostin C, a protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitor. Thus, specific expression of spinal Fos following peripheral PAR-2 activation is detectable in mast cell-depleted rats, suggesting activation of spinal nociceptive neurons, which is partially mediated by activation of PKC.

1. Agonists of protease-activated receptor-2 (PAR-2) trigger neurally mediated mucus secretion accompanied by mucosal cytoprotection in the stomach. The present study immunolocalized PAR-2 in the rat gastric mucosa and examined if PAR-2 could modulate pepsin/pepsinogen secretion in rats. 2. PAR-2-like immunoreactivity was abundant in the deep regions of gastric mucosa, especially in chief cells. 3. The PAR-2 agonist SLIGRL-NH(2), but not the control peptide LSIGRL-NH(2), administered i.v. repeatedly at 0.3 - 1 micromol kg(-1), four times in total, significantly facilitated gastric pepsin secretion, although a single dose produced no significant effect. 4. The PAR-2-mediated gastric pepsin secretion was resistant to omeprazole, N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) or atropine, and also to ablation of sensory neurons by capsaicin. 5. Our study thus provides novel evidence that PAR-2 is localized in mucosal chief cells and facilitates gastric pepsin secretion in the rats, most probably by a direct mechanism.

H2S, a gasotransmitter, is formed by multiple enzymes including cystathionine-gamma-lyase (CSE). H2S enhances function of Cav3.2 T-type calcium channels in NG108-15 cells, isolated dorsal root ganglion neurons and Cav3.2-transfected HEK293 cells, and the H2S/Cav3.2 pathway plays a role in somatic and visceral pain signaling. H2S also causes Cav3.2-dependent neuronal differentiation characterized by neuritogenesis in NG108-15 cells. Interestingly, androgen-sensitive human prostate cancer LNCaP cells exhibit neuroendocrine-like differentiation following elevation of intracellular cyclic AMP levels or androgen deprivation, and the differentiated cells abundantly express Cav3.2 responsible for calcium-dependent secretion of proliferation factors. We have found that neuroendocrine-like differentiation causes upregulation of CSE as well as Cav3.2, and endogenous H2S formed by CSE facilitates Cav3.2 function and then secretory responses in LNCaP cells. Expression of Egr1 at an early stage appears to be involved in transcriptional upregulation of Cav3.2. Our study thus suggest that H2S formed by upregulated CSE regulates secretory function via activation of upregulated Cav3.2 in neuroendocrine-like differentiated LNCaP cells, contributing to androgen-independent proliferation of surrounding cells, and the CSE/H2S/Cav3.2 pathway might serve as targets for pharmacological interventions for preventing acquisition of hormone therapy resistance of prostate cancer.

H2S induces somatic and visceral hyperalgesia via Cav3.2 T-type Ca2+ channels (T-channels) and also TRPA1 channels. Interestingly, ascorbic acid (AA) selectively inhibits Cav3.2, and AA administration inhibits H2S-induced hyperalgesia and neuropathic pain. Here we examined effect of AA deficiency on H2S-evoked somatic or visceral hyperalgesia, using SMP30/GNL knockout (KO) mice that are incapable of synthesizing AA and dependent on dietary AA. After weaning, the KO mice were fed on an AA-deficient diet and had free access to water containing sufficient (1.5 g/L) AA [AA (+)] or only minimum AA (0.0375 g/L) [AA (−)] for seven weeks. The AA content dramatically decreased in the brain, spinal cord, plasma, hindpaw and colon from AA (−) KO mice, but not AA (+) KO mice, although AA deficiency was not induced by dietary control in wild-type (WT) mice. In WT mice, intraplantar (i.pl.) and intracolonic (i.col.) administration of NaHS, an H2S donor, caused hyperalgesia in the hindpaw and lower abdomen, respectively, as assessed by von Frey test, which was blocked by T-channel inhibitors or AA. In AA (−) KO mice, i.pl. and i.col. NaHS produced greater somatic and colonic pronociceptive activities, respectively, as compared with AA (+) KO mice and WT mice. In contrast, AA deficiency did not alter the pronociceptive effects of ally isothiocyanate, a TRPA1 agonist, in KO mice. Together, AA appears to modulate H2S-induced somatic/visceral pain most probably by limiting Cav3.2 function (1489).

Hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S) is a gasotransmitter synthesized by multiple enzymes including cystathionine-gamma-lyase (CSE) in the mammalian body. H 2 S donors cause neuronal differentiation characterized by neuritogenesis via activation of Ca v 3.2 T-type Ca 2+ channels (T-channels) in NG108-15 cells. Recently, we have shown that the cAMP/PKA pathway induces prompt phosphorylation and sensitization of Ca v 3.2 in NG108-15 cells. Thus, we investigated roles of the endogenous H 2 S/Ca v 3.2 pathway in the cAMP-dependent neuritogenesis in NG108-15 cells. Neuritogenesis was produced by stimulation with dibutyryl cAMP (db-cAMP) or Na 2 S, an H 2 S donor, for 16 h. The db-cAMP-induced neuritogenesis was suppressed by inhibitors of PKA, CSE, and T-channels, while the Na 2 S-induced neuritogenesis was reduced by inhibitors of T-channels, but not PKA. Stimulation with db-cAMP for 6 h caused functional and protein upregulation of Ca v 3.2, but did not alter CSE protein expression. A CSE inhibitor suppressed the persistently enhanced T-currents by 6-h db-cAMP stimulation, although it did not affect the rapid facilitation of T-currents by 10-min db-cAMP stimulation. Our data suggest that the cAMP/PKA pathway does not only cause rapid phosphorylation-mediated Ca v 3.2 sensitization, but also long-lasting functional facilitation of Ca v 3.2 through protein upregulation and of the CSE/H 2 S pathway that further enhances Ca v 3.2 function, resulting in neuritogenesis and possibly neuronal differentiation in NG108-15 cells.

Protease-activated receptor-2 (PAR-2), a receptor activated by trypsin/tryptase, modulates smooth muscle tone and exocrine secretion in the salivary glands and pancreas. Given that PAR-2 is expressed throughout the gastrointestinal tract, we investigated effects of PAR-2 agonists on mucus secretion and gastric mucosal injury in the rat. PAR-2-activating peptides triggered secretion of mucus in the stomach, but not in the duodenum. This mucus secretion was abolished by pretreatment with capsaicin, which stimulates and ablates specific sensory neurons, but it was resistant to cyclo-oxygenase inhibition. In contrast, capsaicin treatment failed to block PAR-2-mediated secretion from the salivary glands. Intravenous calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) and neurokinin A markedly elicited gastric mucus secretion, as did substance P to a lesser extent. Specific antagonists of the CGRP1 and NK2, but not the NK1, receptors inhibited PAR-2-mediated mucus secretion. Pretreatment with the PAR-2 agonist strongly prevented gastric injury caused by HCl-ethanol or indomethacin. Thus, PAR-2 activation triggers the cytoprotective secretion of gastric mucus by stimulating the release of CGRP and tachykinins from sensory neurons. In contrast, the PAR-2-mediated salivary exocrine secretion appears to be independent of capsaicin-sensitive sensory neurons.

Electrical stimulation of the secondary somatosensory cortex (S-II), which is clinically effective in some chronic pain patients, produces a weak antinociception by itself and also strongly facilitates the antinociceptive effect of the neuronal NO synthase inhibitor 7-nitro-indazole in laboratory animals (rats). The present study thus investigated the mechanisms by which S-II stimulation facilitates the 7-nitro-indazole-induced antinociception. S-II stimulation in combination with 7-nitro-indazole at a subeffective dose, 5 mg/kg, synergistically reduced the number of cells expressing c-Fos in response to intraplantar injection of formalin in the superficial regions (laminae I and II) of the L4 and L5 spinal dorsal horn in conscious rats, although each had no significant effect. A similar synergism produced by S-II stimulation and 7-nitro-indazole was also confirmed in both the first and second phases in the formalin-induced behavioral nociception test. The synergistic antinociception exerted by S-II stimulation in combination with 7-nitro-indazole was resistant to systemic administration of the opioid antagonist naloxone or the alpha-adrenoceptor antagonist phentolamine. In contrast, intrathecally administered methysergide, a serotonin receptor antagonist, at 20 microg/rat, abolished the first-phase, but not the second-phase, antinociception following S-II stimulation in combination with 7-nitro-indazole. These findings suggest that S-II stimulation, in combination with inhibition of neuronal NO synthase, can suppress spinal nociceptive neurons, at least in part through the descending spinal serotonergic pathway, resulting in antinociception.

Protease-activated receptor-2 (PAR-2) acts as a modulator of multiple physiological/pathophysiological functions including salivary exocrine secretion. Given the supersensitivity of endothelial PAR-2 under endotoxaemia, we investigated if endotoxin/lipopolysaccharide (LPS) could alter the sensitivity of PAR-2 in the salivary glands. The in vivo salivation in response to i.v. administration of the PAR-2-activating peptide SLIGRL-NH2, but not of carbachol, gradually decreased 6-20 h after LPS administration in the mice. The LPS-induced hyporeactivity to the PAR-2 agonist was partially reversed by repeated administration of aprotinin, a non-specific protease inhibitor. PAR-2 mRNA levels in the salivary glands, as assessed by the semi-quantitative RT-PCR analysis, remained unchanged following LPS challenge. Our findings indicate that in contrast to the supersensitivity of endothelial PAR-2 as described previously, subsensitivity of PAR-2 in the salivary glands develops during the LPS-induced systemic inflammation, which might involve desensitisation of PAR-2 by endogenous proteases.

Activation of protease-activated receptor-1 (PAR-1) produces a dual action, apamin-sensitive relaxation followed by contraction, in the rat duodenal smooth muscle, which is partially dependent on activation of L-type Ca2+ channels, protein kinase C (PKC) or tyrosine kinase (TK), and resistant to tetrodotoxin. The present study further characterized the PAR-1-mediated duodenal responses. Removal of extracellular Ca2+ as well as SK&F96365 reduced the contraction due to the PAR-1 agonist TFLLR-NH2 (TFp-NH2) by 60-80% that was similar to the extent of the inhibition by nifedipine. Lowering of the extracellular Na2+ concentration, but not IAA-94, a Cl− channel inhibitor, reduced both the PAR-1-mediated contraction and relaxation by about 50%. U73122, a phospholipase C (PLC) inhibitor, or wortmannin, a phosphatidyl inositol 3′-kinase (PI3K) inhibitor, significantly reduced the PAR-1-mediated contraction, but not the relaxation, by itself, as the PKC inhibitor GF109203X and the TK inhibitor genistein did. U73122 or wortmannin, like GF109203X, when applied in combination with genistein, significantly reduced the PAR-1-mediated relaxation. The relaxation was resistant to antagonists of PACAP receptors, VIP receptors and P2 purinoceptors. Thus, the PAR-1-mediated contraction is considered to be dependent on intracellular and extracellular Ca2+, the influx of the latter being induced through activation of L-type Ca2+ channels triggered by the enhanced Na+ permeability, and that PLC and PI3K, in addition to PKC and TK, are involved in the PAR-1-mediated dual responses. Furthermore, non-adrenergic, non-cholinergic nerve neurotransmitter candidates that may modulate K+ channels do not appear to contribute to the relaxation by PAR-1 activation.

The protease-activated receptor (PAR) belongs to the large superfamily of G-protein-coupled seven trans-membrane domain receptors. The activation of PARs is achieved by proteolytic unmasking of the cryptic N-terminal receptor-activating sequence that binds to the body of the same receptor molecule. PARs-1, -3 and -4 are activated by thrombin, while PAR-2 is activated by trypsin or mast cell tryptase, but not by thrombin. PARs are widely distributed to a variety of tissues and participate in a number of physiological or pathophysiological phenomena such as platelet aggregation, inflammation and cardiovascular, digestive or respiratory functions. Thus, PARs are of physiological importance and also of pharmacological interest as the novel target for drug development.

Protease-activated receptor-2 (PAR-2) is distributed throughout the gastrointestinal systems. The present study investigated the role for PAR-2 in the rat salivary glands. PAR-2 mRNA was detected in the sublingual, submaxillary, and parotid glands by a reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. In the isolated sublingual gland that exhibited the strongest signal for PAR-2, Ser-Leu-Ile-Gly-Arg-Leu-NH 2 , a PAR-2-activating peptide, and trypsin, a PAR-2-activating enzyme, but not thrombin that can activate PARs 1, 3, and 4, triggered secretion of N -acetylneuraminic acid, an indicator of mucin, that was a unique major sialic acid detectable after hydrolysis of the sublingual mucin with 0.1 N HCl. The PAR-2-mediated secretion of mucin was attenuated by genistein, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, but not by inhibitors of protein kinase C and phosphatidyl inositol 3′-kinase. Thus, PAR-2 is expressed by the three distinct salivary glands in the rat, and sublingual PAR-2 appears to play a role in triggering mucin secretion, at least in part, via activation of tyrosine kinase.

We investigated the penetration of cisplatin into the mouse cerebral cortex-rich region (CCR) induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). With the injection of cisplatin into mice 3 h after the LPS treatment, platinum was detected in the CCR during the 7 days after the injection, while platinum was not detected in the CCR of cisplatin-injected mice without LPS pretreatment and of mice simultaneous treated with cisplatin and LPS. The N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester dose-dependently lowered the platinum level. A dose of 5 mg/kg of aminoguanidine reduced the increase in the platinum level of the LPS-treated mouse, and platinum was no longer detected at doses of 20 mg/kg in the aminoguanidine-injected group. At doses of 500 mg/kg aminoguanidine, however, no effect was seen on the platinum level of the CCR induced by LPS. Regarding indomethacin, the injection of 5 mg/kg resulted in a decrease in the platinum content of the CCR, but not undetectable level. These results suggest that LPS increases the penetration of cisplatin into the mouse brain, and platinum may be accumulated in the CCR. Nitric oxide and prostaglandins contribute to the penetration of platinum into the cerebral cortex.

Mild DIC-like phenomena develop in rodents exposed to environmental stress, induced by prolonged fluctuation in ambient temperature, known as SART (specific alternation of rhythm in temperature) stress, the symptoms being essentially similar to those produced by endotoxin. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether common mechanisms are involved in the stress-induced DIC-like phenomena and endotoxaemia. The mortality in mice after intraperitoneal injection with endotoxin at 8.3, 16.7 and 33.3 mg kg increased in a dose-dependent manner. In the mice exposed to stress for 7 days, the death rate following endotoxin at 8.3 mg kg was markedly lower than that in unstressed mice, although no difference was detected between the two groups following endotoxin at 16.7 and 33.3 mg kg . Conversely, repeated administration of endotoxin at a low dose, 0.5 mg kg , during exposure to stress for 7 days inhibited the stress-induced thrombocytopenia and hypofibrinogenemia. These findings indicate the development of cross tolerance to prolonged environmental stress and endotoxin, implying involvement of a common mechanism.

We investigated the involvement of nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandins (PGs) in the damage to the blood-brain barrier (BBB) induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS), using fluorescein as a tracer in mice. Aminoguanidine, a competitive inhibitor of inducible NO synthase (iNOS), when administered s.c. at 5 mg/kg, but not 500 mg/kg, reduced significantly the increase in brain fluorescein level after its i.v. injection in LPS-treated mice. When 1000 mg/kg of l-arginine, a substrate of NOS, were co-administered with 5 mg/kg of aminoguanidine to LPS-treated mice, the inhibitory effect of aminoguanidine on the increased fluorescein level disappeared. N(G)-Nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (l-NAME), a non-isoenzyme-selective NOS inhibitor, when administered s.c. at 5 mg/kg, only slightly reduced the LPS-induced increase in the brain fluorescein level. A pretreatment with dexamethasone, which suppressed the induction of both iNOS and cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2), tended to decrease the brain fluorescein level in LPS-treated mice. Indomethacin, a COX inhibitor, at 5 mg/kg, but not 10 mg/kg, suppressed significantly the LPS-induced increase in the brain fluorescein level. These results involve that both the NO produced by iNOS and the PGs produced by COX contribute to enhance BBB permeability in LPS-administered mice.

1. Protease-activated receptor 2 (PAR2), present in capsaicin-sensitive sensory neurons, induces gastric mucus secretion and mucosal cytoprotection. 2. We studied the possible cross-talk between PAR2 and vanilloid receptor 1 (VR1). The VR1 antagonist capsazepine partially inhibited the PAR2-mediated increase in gastric mucus secretion. 3. Thus, activation of VR1 is responsible, at least in part, for the neurally mediated mucosal cytoprotection following activation of PAR2.

1. Intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) administration of L-arginine (L-Arg), at 10-100 micrograms per mouse, produced antinociception in mice, as assessed by the tail flick test; this antinociception was reversed by pretreatment (s.c.) with naltrindole (NTI), a delta-selective opioid antagonist, and by co-administered L-leucyl-L-arginine (Leu-Arg), a kyotorphin (endogenous Met-enkephalin releaser) receptor antagonist. 2. L-NG-nitroarginine methyl ester (L-NAME), a NO synthase inhibitor, but not D-NG-nitroarginine methyl ester, given i.c.v. at 3-10 micrograms per mouse, exhibited antinociceptive activity that was resistant to naloxone (s.c.), NTI (s.c.) and Leu-Arg (i.c.v.). 3. The L-NAME (i.c.v.)-induced antinociception was not reversed by L-Arg (i.c.v.), which was antinociceptive by itself, but was abolished by combined injection of L-Arg plus Leu-Arg (i.c.v.) or by L-Arg (i.c.v.) after NTI (s.c.). 4. Methylene blue (MB), a soluble guanylate cyclase inhibitor, at 0.1-1 microgram per mouse, produced antinociception by i.c.v. administration. The antinociception induced by MB (i.c.v.) or L-NAME (i.c.v.) was reversed by co-administered dibutyryl cyclic GMP. 5. These findings suggest that L-Arg plays a dual role in nociceptive processing in the brain, being antinociceptive via the kyotorphin-Met-enkephalin pathway and nociceptive via the NO-cyclic GMP pathway.

L-arginine is considered to be a precursor substance of kyotorphin (tyrosyl-arginine), a [Met5]enkephalin releaser with antinociceptive action. We examined the antinociceptive effect of L-arginine in rats. L-Arginine (300-1000 mg/kg) administered subcutaneously (s.c.) elicited antinociception (assessed by the Randall-Selitto method) in rats with a carrageenin-treated hindpaw. Naloxone (2 mg/kg s.c.) but not N-methyl-levallorphan (20 mg/kg s.c.), a peripherally selective opioid antagonist, inhibited L-arginine-induced antinociception. Intracerebroventricular administration of L-arginine (0.2-1.0 mg/rat) produced a dose-related inhibition of the carrageenin-induced hyperalgesia. Intraplantar (i.pl.) injection of L-arginine (0.5-1.0 mg/paw) also induced antinociception, which was resistant to naloxone (2 mg/kg s.c.) but was antagonized by methylene blue (0.5 mg/paw i.pl.), a guanylate cyclase inhibitor. L-Arginine (1000 mg/kg s.c.) did not inhibit edema formation in the carrageenin-treated rat hindpaw. These results suggest that systemically administered L-arginine produces mainly an antinociceptive effect mediated by central opioidergic mechanisms in rats with carrageenin-induced hyperalgesia.

Blood coagulation and fibrinolytic activity was studied in SART (specific alternation of rhythm in temperature)-stressed animals found to exhibit thrombocytopenia and prolonged bleeding time, and drug effects on the abnormalities were evaluated. 1) SART-stressed rats revealed prolongation of activated partial thromboplastin and thrombin time, no change in prothrombin time, decreased plasma fibrinogen levels, and shortened euglobulin clot lysis time (ELT). Antithrombin III and alpha 2-plasmin inhibitor activity remained constant following stress exposure. 2) During stress, fibrinogen levels declined from day 5 and remained depressed up to day 14. Reduction in ELT developed in a similar manner to fibrinogen. 3) Decreased fibrinogen levels were prevented by consecutive doses of tranexamic acid, an antifibrinolytic, and Neurotropin, a sedative analgesic. Shortened ELT was counteracted by chronic treatment with Neurotropin and alprazolam, an anxiolytic. Single administrations of the above agents failed to affect either change. These results indicate that SART-stressed animals exhibit suppressed intrinsic coagulability and enhanced fibrinolytic activity, but normal extrinsic coagulability. Considering the previous report together with the above results, the hemostatic system under SART stress tends uniformly toward hemorrhage. Moreover, Neurotropin appears to improve and normalize hemostatic imbalance due to SART stress, a chronic form of stress.

Central nervous system levels of serotonin (5-HT) and 5-hydroxy-indoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) in SART (specific alternation of rhythm in temperature)-stressed (repeatedly cold-stressed) rats were examined by HPLC-ECD. In SART-stressed rats, the levels of both 5-HT and 5-HIAA decreased in many brain areas. In the spinal cord, only the 5-HT level decreased. Therefore, the ratio of 5-HIAA to 5-HT increased only in the spinal cord. These results suggest that SART-stressed rats have some form of abnormality in the synthetic system of 5-HT.

Protease-activated receptors (PARs), especially PAR2, are abundantly expressed throughout the gastrointestinal tract, including the stomach. PAR2 plays multiple roles in the modulation of gastric functions. Exogenously applied PAR2 agonists stimulate the secretion of gastric mucus and pepsinogen, suppress gastric acid output, enhance gastric mucosal blood flow and modulate the motility of gastric smooth muscle. Most of these gastric functions of PAR2, except for the stimulation of pepsinogen secretion, are thus protective in the stomach. Indeed, PAR2 agonists protect against gastric mucosal lesions induced by ethanol/HCI or indomethacin in laboratory animals. The PAR2-mediated protective mechanisms appear to primarily involve activation of capsaicin-sensitive sensory nerves in the gastric mucosa, although PAR2 stimulation would also trigger activation of other multiple pathways. PAR2 would thus appear to be a novel target for the development of drugs for the treatment of gastric mucosal diseases.

This study investigated the effect of prolonged inhibition of nitric oxide (NO) synthase on plasma fibrinogen levels and platelet count in the rats. NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), when administered orally twice a day, at 10-100 mg kg-1, for 7 consecutive days, 14 times in all, significantly elevated fibrinogen levels and systolic blood pressure in a dose-dependent manner. The same dose range of L-NAME failed to alter platelet count and plasma protein concentrations. The increase in fibrinogen levels produced by chronic treatment with L-NAME at 30 mg kg-1 was reversed by L-arginine at 500-1500 mg kg-1 in a dose-dependent manner. These findings suggest that endogenous NO tonically acts to reduce plasma fibrinogen levels in rats under physiological conditions.

A vanadium-based solid-solution-type alloy V 4 TiNi 0.65 Co 0.05 Nb 0.047 Ta 0.047 with a large discharge capacity was obtained using a low-cost precursor of V 4 Ni 0.65 Nb 0.047 produced by aluminothermic reduction from V 2 O 5 , Nb 2 O 5 , and Ni, The alloy was deoxidized to a low level by adding mischmetal as a reducing agent when the precursor was alloyed with Ti, Co, and Ta. The alloy showed a hydrogen absorption behavior similar to an alloy prepared from high-purity constituent metals. Moreover, the Mm-Ni-O phase was precipitated as spherical particles along the TiNi network phase in the alloy, remarkably improving the electrode rate capability because of enhanced catalytic ability of the network phase.