PAF antagonism modifies neuroprotective action of histone deacetylase and calcineurin phosphatase inhibitors in mice.

To evaluate the hypothesis that platelet activating factor (PAF) antagonism may affect the functional recovery following the nerve injuries and also to evaluate the effect of PAF receptor antagonism on the neuroprotective effect of tacrolimus and sodium valproate, effect of PAF receptor antagonist, WEB2086 was evaluated in animal models of sciatic nerve crush and endothelin-1 induced focal cerebral ischemia. WEB2086, per se, while attenuating spontaneous sensory motor recovery after sciatic nerve crush, enhanced functional recovery after focal cerebral ischemia. WEB2086 also attenuated the neuroprotective effect of tacrolimus and sodium valproate subsequent to peripheral nerve injury, while it significantly improved the neuroprotective action of tacrolimus and sodium valproate following cerebral ischemia reperfusion injury. These results suggest that PAF receptor antagonists alone and in combination with tacrolimus/sodium valproate could be used in the treatment of cerebral ischemia reperfusion injuries however, their use following peripheral nerve injuries could be detrimental.

Calcium-transporters in myocardial cells.

This is a concise review of important calcium-transporters on the sarcolemma and organellar membranes of myocardial cells, and their functional roles in cell physiology. It briefly addresses L and T type calcium channels, store-operated calcium channel (SOC), sodium-calcium exchanger (NCX), and the plasma membrane calcium ATPase (PMCA) on the sarcolemma, ryanodine receptor (RyR), IP3 receptor (IP3R) and the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) calcium ATPase (SAERCA) on the SR membrane and their contributions to contraction and rhythm-generation. Several agonists and blockers for every transporter that are commonly used in research, and those with therapeutic applications have also been discussed.