ABSTRACT
Background: Increasing evidence has shown that diabetes induces cognitive dysfunction and impairs learning and memory. Berberine, which is an isoquinoline alkaloid with multiple pharmacological effects including anti-diabetic and antioxidant activity, could improve learning and spatial memory impairment in STZ-induced diabetes in rats
Material and methods: Male Wistar rats [n = 40] were randomly allocated and similarly grouped into control, berberine-treated non-diabetic [100 mg/kg], diabetic, and berberine-treated diabetic [50, 100 mg/kg] groups. Diabetes was induced by STZ administration at the dose of 55 mg/kg through i.p. route. Berberine hydrochloride was administered p.o. at doses of 50 and 100 mg/kg/day 1 week after STZ injection for a period of 6 weeks. Blood samples were taken from the tail vein 1, 3, 5, and 7 weeks after STZ injection to measure blood glucose levels. Behavioral tests, including spatial recognition and objective recognition, were performed at the end of the study as described below
Results: Berberine-treated diabetic groups [50, 100 mg/kg/day] showed dose-dependent significant differences with diabetic group in spatial recognition and objective recognition tests, including the number of entries into the new arms and also the number of rearings into the new arms of Y maze. Moreover, compared with the diabetic group, objective recognition test score increased in berberine-treated diabetic group [50, 100 mg/kg], but not significantly
Conclusion: Berberine hydrochloride administration for 6 weeks improves cognitive dysfunction in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats
ABSTRACT
Acid phosphatase [ACP] is suggested to be one of the virulence factors in leishmania and a correlation has been reported between Leishmanial acid phosphatase [ACP] activity and the severity of the disease in all types of leishmaniasis including zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis [ZCL], which is a polymorphic disease. Characterization of leishmania and its correlation with the severity of the skin lesions in zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis. Promastigotes were isolated from 30 patients with scaly flat ulcers [LP1], volcano-shaped lesions [LP2] and papular forms [LP3] of ZCL. The Km and Vmax values of ACP in the supernatant of lysed promastigotes were calculated in presence and absence of the enzyme inhibitors, fluoride, tartarate, phosphate and salicylate. The Michaelis-Menten substrate saturation kinetics exhibited Km values of 12.5, 16.0, 26.6 M and Vmax values of 8.78, 5.26 and 1.51 M/min/mg protein for LP1, LP2 and LP3, respectively. In all isolates, the ACP was inhibited by all four inhibitors but the percentage inhibition was different and each inhibitor showed a particular inhibition pattern for each promastigote preparation. ACP content of LP1 was more sensitive to all four inhibitors and fluoride was more potent inhibitor of the enzyme in three isolates. The differences in ACP kinetics may be interpreted as being consistent with the severity of the skin lesions in Leishmania major infection
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Leishmania major/parasitology , Acid Phosphatase , Leishmaniasis , Leishmaniasis, CutaneousABSTRACT
Zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis [ZCL] is reported to cause a spectrum of clinical manifestations. To unravel some of the mechanisms associated with different disease manifestations, enzyme activities were compared among the promastigotes of leishmania isolated from three clinically different forms of ZCL from Isfahan, central Iran. Specific activities of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, hexokinase, lactate dehydrogenase and acid phosphatase in the promastigotes isolated from a scaly flat ulcer were 5.5, 2.2, 1.6 and 2.6 folds greater respective to those isolated from a small papular lesion. The activity of these enzymes in the promastigotes isolated from a volcano-shaped lesion was notably higher than those isolated from a papular lesion, but lower than those isolated from a scaly flat ulcer. Significant differences were not observed in alkaline phosphatase activity of different isolates. These results may indicate that differences in the clinical manifestation of the lesions in ZCL might be related to certain metabolic pathways of the parasites, growth kinetics in NNN medium and the course of infection in BALB/C mice
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Animals, Laboratory , Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous , Zoonoses , Mice , Leishmania major/isolation & purification , Glucosephosphate Dehydrogenase/analysis , Hexokinase/analysis , Lactate Dehydrogenases/analysis , Acid Phosphatase/analysisABSTRACT
A comparison was made between the enzyme activity in the promastigotes of Leishmania tropica and Leishmania major. Specific activities of hexokinase and lactate dehydrogenase in L. major were about 3 folds and glucose 6 phosphate dehydrogenase 8 folds those of in L. tropica. Acid phosphatase activity was 30% higher in L. major. No significant differences were, however, observed in alkaline phosphatase activity in the two species. The results of this study imply that the activity of acid phosphatase in a local acid environment, which results from hexokinase and lactate dehydrogenase activities, may be directly associated with the degree of virulence of leishmania