Publicaties

Purpose: The anticonvulsant activity of neuropeptide Y (NPY) in the hippocampus is generally attributed to an inhibition of glutamate release
from presynaptic terminals. This hypothesis, which was advanced on the basis of in vitro observations, has not been verified in vivo. In the
present study, we used intracerebral microdialysis to determine the effect of NPY on hippocampal extracellular glutamate concentration in
vivo, and to ...

Neuropeptide Y's (NPY) anticonvulsant effect is generally attributed to its inhibitory effect on glutamate release from presynaptic nerve terminals, which is nicely demonstrated in in vitro settings. To date no study has attempted to investigate the effect of NPY in vivo on extracellular (EC) glutamate levels thus, via intracerebral microdialysis, we determined NPY's effect on hippocampal glutamate concentrations in vivo, and consequently the ...

Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is expressed in mammalian retina but the location and potential modulatory effects of NPY receptor activation remain largely unknown. Retinal ganglion cell (RGC) death is a hallmark of several retinal degenerative diseases, particularly glaucoma. Using purified RGCs and ex vivo rat retinal preparations, we have measured RGC intracellular free calcium concentration ([Ca2þ]i) and RGC spiking activity, respectively. We found ...

The mechanisms by which valproate, one of the most widely prescribed anti-epileptic drugs, suppresses seizures have not been fully elucidated but may involve up-regulation of neuropeptide Y (NPY). We investigated the effects of valproate treatment in Genetic Absence Epilepsy Rats from Strasbourg (GAERS) on brain NPY mRNA expression and seizure control. GAERS were administered either valproate (42 mg.kg(-1) hr(-1)) or saline continuously for 5 ...

It has been claimed that glutamate excitotoxicity might have a role in the pathogenesis of several retinal degenerative diseases, including glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy. Neuropeptide Y (NPY) has neuroprotective properties against excitotoxicity in the hippocampus, through the activation of Y1, Y2 and/or Y5 receptors. The principal objective of this study is to investigate the potential protective role of NPY against glutamate-induced ...

Purpose.: Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is one of the most abundant peptides in the central nervous system (CNS), including the retina. This peptide activates various different G-coupled receptors (NPY Y1, Y2, Y4, and Y5) that are also present in the retina. However, the localization of NPY receptors in the several types of retinal cells is not completely known. In this study, we have looked at the distribution of NPY Y1 and Y2 receptors in rat retinal ...

There is little information on how neuropeptide Y (NPY) proteolysis by peptidases occurs in serum, in part because reliable techniques are lacking to distinguish different NPY immunoreactive forms and also because the factors affecting the expression of these enzymes have been poorly studied. In the present study, LC-MS/MS was used to identify and quantify NPY fragments resulting from peptidolytic cleavage of NPY136 upon incubation with human ...

BACKGROUND: Sympathetic nervous system (SNS) signalling regulates murine hepatic fibrogenesis through effects on hepatic stellate cells (HSC), and obesity-related hypertension with SNS activation accelerates progression of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), the commonest cause of chronic liver disease. NAFLD may lead to cirrhosis. The effects of the SNS neurotransmitters norepinephrine (NE), epinephrine (EPI) and neuropeptide Y (NPY) on ...