Compensatory caspase activation in MPP+-induced cell death in dopaminergic neurons

Many have hypothesized that cell death in Parkinsons disease is via apoptosis and, specifically, by the mitochondrial-mediated apoptotic pathway. We tested this hypothesis using a mouse dopaminergic cell line of mesencephalic origin, MN9D, challenged with the Parkinsonism-causing neurotoxin MPP⁺ (1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium ion). Apoptosis was the main mode of cell death when the cells were subjected to MPP⁺ treatment under serum-free conditions for 24 h. Caspase-3 and caspase-9, however, were not activated, thus indicating the existence of alternate or compensatory cell death pathway(s) in dopaminergic neuronal cells. Using caspase inhibitors, we demonstrated that these pathways involve caspase-2, –8, –6 and –7. A time-course study indicated that activation of caspase-2 and –8 occurred upstream of caspase-6 and caspase-7. Upon MPP⁺ challenge, the apoptosis-inducing factor was translocated from the mitochondria into the MN9D cytosol and nucleus. These results suggest the existence of alternative apoptotic pathways in dopaminergic neurons.Received 20 September 2004; received after revision 5 November 2004; accepted 22 November 2004     

Nodal quasiparticle in pseudogapped colossal magnetoresistive manganites

A characteristic feature of the copper oxide high-temperature superconductors is the dichotomy between the electronic excitations along the nodal (diagonal) and antinodal (parallel to the Cu-O bonds) directions in momentum space, generally assumed to be linked to the 'd-wave' symmetry of the superconducting state. Angle-resolved photoemission measurements in the superconducting state have revealed a quasiparticle spectrum with a d-wave gap structure that exhibits a maximum along the antinodal direction and vanishes along the nodal direction. Subsequent measurements have shown that, at low doping levels, this gap structure persists even in the high-temperature metallic state, although the nodal points of the superconducting state spread out in finite 'Fermi arcs'. This is the so-called pseudogap phase, and it has been assumed that it is closely linked to the superconducting state, either by assigning it to fluctuating superconductivity or by invoking orders which are natural competitors of d-wave superconductors. Here we report experimental evidence that a very similar pseudogap state with a nodal-antinodal dichotomous character exists in a system that is markedly different from a superconductor: the ferromagnetic metallic groundstate of the colossal magnetoresistive bilayer manganite La1.2Sr1.8Mn2O7. Our findings therefore cast doubt on the assumption that the pseudogap state in the copper oxides and the nodal-antinodal dichotomy are hallmarks of the superconductivity state.     

Alkaloids ofBerberis laurina Billb. II. Two new phenolic biscoclaurine alkaloids

Zusammenfassung Die Isolierung von zwei neuen dauricinartigen AlkaloÏden, Espinin and Espinidin, ausBerberis laurina, und deren Strukturaufklärung durch Spektroskopie und Degradation werden beschrieben.     

Continuous deep sea salt layer along North Atlantic margins related to early phase of rifting

Deep seismic reflexion surveys have revealed diapiric structures in deep water off Labrador, Newfoundland, Mauritania, Morocco, Portugal, Spain and Ireland as well as in the Mediterranean. Many of these diapirs are similar to the Gulf of Mexico salt domes, and it is suggested that there is a continuous deep sea salt layer, off the continental margin, which is related to the early phase of rifting.     

Characterization of the estrogen receptors in the uterine and blood eosinophil leukocytes

Summary Estrogen receptors are found in the rat uterine and in the eosinophil-rich human blood leukocyte 24,000g fractions, but not in the low-eosinophil count human blood leukocyte 24,000g fraction. The total number of binding sites per blood eosinophil leukocyte is 7,400 sites per cell, and theK _d =5.6×10^–10 M.Acknowledgments. This work was supported in part by funds from the Unité de Recherches sur le Métabolisme Moléculaire et la Physio-Pathologie des Stéroïdes de l'INSERM, Hôpital de Bicetre, France, and by grant No. 2015 from the Oficina Técnica de Desarrollo Científico y Creación Artística of the University of Chile.