Primary neoplasms of the facial nerve

A series of 30 primary facial nerve tumors is reviewed. Most of them were benign (n = 26); there were four malignant tumors. Neoplasms originating within the temporal bone were found to have preoperative facial paralysis in 84 percent of cases; the extracranial tumors had a 35 percent incidence of preoperative facial paralysis. All tumors in this series were treated surgically--by means of a middle fossa or transmastoid approach for the intratemporal group of tumors; the extracranial tumors were removed by the technique of parotid tumor surgery with complete facial nerve dissection. All the patients with preoperative facial weakness required facial nerve transection. Facial paralysis was rehabilitated with nerve grafts, hypoglossal crossover, or muscle transfers. Because "normal" facial expression is still not attainable following repair of complete facial nerve transection, an early diagnosis, hopefully prior to total neurotmesis, is essential. All patients with unexplained facial weakness, especially that which is progressive and persistent, should have the entire course of the facial nerve investigated for the possibility of treatable etiology.     

The structural features of effective antagonists of the luteinizing hormone releasing hormone

Summary The structure-activity data of 6 years on 395 analogs of the luteinizing hormone releasing hormone (LHRH) have been studied to determine effective substituents for the ten positions for maximal antiovulatory activity and minimal histamine release. The numbers of substituents studied in the ten positions are as follows: (41)¹-(12)²-(12)³-(5)⁴-(47)⁵-(52)⁶-(16)⁷-(18)⁸-(4)⁹-(8)¹⁰. In position 1, DNal and DQal were effective with the former being more frequently the better substituent. DpClPhe was uniquely effective in position 2. Positions 3 and 4 are very sensitive to change. D3Pal in position 3 and Ser in position 4 of LHRH were in the best antagonists. PicLys and cPzACAla were the most successful residues in position 5 with cPzACAla being the better substituent. Position 6 was the most flexible and many substituents were effective; particularly DPicLys. Leu⁷ was most often present in the best antagonists. In position 8, Arg was effective for both antiovulatory activity and histamine release; ILys was effective for potency and lesser histamine release. Pro⁹ of LHRH was retained. DAlaNH₂ ¹⁰ was in the best antagonists.Abbreviations AABLys N -(4-acetylaminobenzoyl)lysine - AALys N -anisinoyl-lysine - AAPhe 3-(4-acetylaminophenyl)lysine - Abu 2-aminobutyric acid - ACLys N -(6-aminocaproyl)lysine - ACyh 1-aminocyclohexanecarboxylic acid - ACyp 1-aminocyclopentanecarboxylic acid - Aile alloisoleucine - AnGlu 4-(4-methoxy-phenylcarbamoyl)-2-aminobutyric acid - 2ANic 2-aminonicotinic acid - 6ANic 6-aminonicotinic acid - APic 6-aminopicolinic acid - APh 4-aminobenzoic acid - APhe 4-aminophynylalanine - APz 3-amino-2-pyrazinecarboxylic acid - Aze azetidine-2-carboxylic acid - Bim 5-benzimidazolecarboxylic acid - BzLys N -benzoyllysine - Cit citrulline - Cl₂Phe 3-(3,4-dichlorphenyl)alanine - cPzACAla cis-3-(4-pyrazinylcarbonylaminocyclohexyl)alnine - cPmACAla cis-3-[4-(4-pyrimidylcarbonyl)aminocyclohexyl]alanine - Dbf 3-(2-dibenzofuranyl)alanine - DMGLys N -(N,N-dimethylglycyl)lysine - Dpo N -(4,6-dimethyl-2-pyrimidyl)-ornithine - F₂Ala 3,3-difluoroalanine - hNal 4-(2-naphthyl)-2-aminobutyric acid - HOBLys N -(4-hydroxybenzoyl)lysine - hpClPhe 4-(4-chlorophenyl)-2-amino-butyric acid - Hse homoserine, 2-amino-4-hydroxybutanoic acid - ICapLys N -(6-isopropylaminocaproyl)lysine - ILys N -isopropyllysine - Ind indoline-2-carboxylic acid - INicLys N -isonicotinoyllysine - IOrn N -isopropylornithine - Me₃Arg N^G,N^G,N^G-trimethylarginine - Me₂Lys N ,N -dimethyllysine - MNal 3-[(6-methyl)-2-naphtyl]alanine - MNicLys N -(6-methylpicolinoyl)lysine - MPicLys N -(6-methylpicolinoyl)lysine - MOB 4-methoxybenzoyl - MpClPhe N-methyl-3-(4-chlorphenyl)lysine - MPZGlu glutamic acid,-4-methylpiperazine - Nal 3-(2-naphthyl)alanine - Nap 2-naphthoic acid - NicLys N -nicotinoyllysine - NO₂B 4-nitrobenzoyl - NO₂Phe 3-(4-nitrophenyl)alanine - oClPhe 3-(2-chlorphenyl)alanine - Opt O-phenyl-tyrosine - Pal 3-(3-pyridyl)alanine - 2Pal 3-(2-pyridyl)alanine - 2PALys N -(3-pyridylacetyl)lysine - pCapLys N -(6-picolinoylaminocaproyl)lysine - pClPhe 3-(4-chlorophenyl)alanine - pFPhe 3-(4-fluorophenyl)-alanine - Pic picolinic acid - PicLys N -picolinoyllysine - Pip piperidine-2-car-boxylic acid - PmcLys N -(4-pyrimidylcarbonyl)lysine - Ptf 3-(4-trifluromethyl phenyl)alanine - Pz pyrazinecarboxylic acid - PzAla 3-pyrazinylalanine - PzAPhe 3-(4-pyrazinylcarbonylaminophenyl)alanine - Qal 3-(3-quinolyl)alanine - Qnd-Lys N -quinaldoyllysine - Qui 3-quinolinecarboxylic acid - Qux 2-quinoxalinecarboxylic acid - Tic 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline-3-carboxylic acid - TinGly 2-thienylglycine - tNACAla trans-3-(4-nicotinoylaminocyclohexyl)-alanine - tPACAla trans-3-(4-picolinoylaminocyclohexyl)alanine     

Superiority of an antagonist of the luteinizing hormone releasing hormone with emphasis on arginine in position 8, named Argtide.

In the research for more potent antagonists of the luteinizing hormone releasing hormone (LHRH), 13 new peptides with emphasis on arginine in position 8 were designed, synthesized and tested for anti-ovulatory activity (AOA). Two very potent analogs were achieved. N-Ac-D-3-Qal, D-pClPhe, D-3-Pal, Ser, cis-PzACA1a, D-PicLys, Leu, Arg, Pro, D-AlaNH2 showed 63% AOA at 0.125 microgram and 89% at 0.25 microgram, and an ED50 of 30.8 +/- 0.59 and presently may be the most promising antagonist reported. It is named Argtide. N-Ac-D-3-Qal, D-pClPhe, D-3-Pal, Ser, cis-PzACA1a, D-PicLys, Val, Arg, Pro, D-AlaNH2 showed 18% AOA at 0.125 microgram. Arg8 in antagonists may be significant for receptor binding.     

Effect of cerebral ventricles perfusion with naloxone on trigemino-hypoglossal reflex in rats

The goal of this study was to determine whether opioid receptor antagonist naloxone abolishes the influence of periaqueductal central gray (PAG) on nociceptive evoked tongue jerks (ETJ) -- a trigemino-hypoglossal reflex induced by tooth pulp stimulation. In rats under chloralose anesthesia three series of experiments were performed. In the first two groups perfusions of lateral ventricles-cerebellomedullary cistern with McIlwain-Rodnight's solution and naloxone were carried out. In group 3 naloxone was infused through a catheter through the jugular vein. The amplitudes of tongue jerks induced by tooth pulp stimulation were recorded during subsequent 10 min perfusions. Mean amplitude of tongue movements induced by tooth pulp stimulation was regarded as the indicator of the magnitude of trigemino-hypoglossal reflex. We observed that perfusion of the cerebral ventricles with naloxone (100 nmol/ml) increased the trigemino-hypoglossal reflex up to 143%. The amplitude of ETJ was significantly reduced during PAG stimulation with a train of electrical impulses. After obtaining a significant -- 93% -- inhibition of ETJ (7% of the control), naloxone (100 nmol/ml) was added to the perfusion fluid. This led to a significant increase of the reflex up to 68%. Infusion of naloxone through the jugular vein did not affect the reflex. The above results suggest that the inhibition of ETJ due to PAG stimulation is partially reversed by naloxone and mediated via interactions with endogenous opioid systems involved in modulation of nociception.     

Effect of galanin on substance P- and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide-induced nociceptive trigemino-hypoglossal reflex in rats.

Substance P (SP), vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) and galanin (GAL), present in primary sensory neurons, are involved in transmission of nociceptive signaling from the peripheral to central nervous system. In this study we investigated the effect of GAL on SP-induced or VIP-induced evoked tongue jerks (ETJ) in response to noxious tooth pulp stimulation during perfusion of the cerebral ventricles with SP or VIP solutions. The experiments were carried out on rats under chloralose anesthesia. It was shown that both, SP and VIP, perfused through the cerebral ventricles enhanced the ETJ amplitude as compared with control, but the effect produced by SP was stronger. The intracerebroventricular perfusion of GAL 5 minutes before SP caused a dose-dependent inhibition of SP-induced ETJ, whereas GAL perfused through the cerebral ventricles 5 minutes before VIP did not reduce the excitatory effect of VIP on ETJ. These results indicate that the antinociceptive effect of GAL perfused through the cerebral ventricles, tested on the trigemino-hypoglossal reflex in rats, is specifically mediated by the SP-ergic system.     

The historical biogeography of Mammalia

Palaeobiogeographic reconstructions are underpinned by phylogenies, divergence times and ancestral area reconstructions, which together yield ancestral area chronograms that provide a basis for proposing and testing hypotheses of dispersal and vicariance. Methods for area coding include multi-state coding with a single character, binary coding with multiple characters and string coding. Ancestral reconstruction methods are divided into parsimony versus Bayesian/likelihood approaches. We compared nine methods for reconstructing ancestral areas for placental mammals. Ambiguous reconstructions were a problem for all methods. Important differences resulted from coding areas based on the geographical ranges of extant species versus the geographical provenance of the oldest fossil for each lineage. Africa and South America were reconstructed as the ancestral areas for Afrotheria and Xenarthra, respectively. Most methods reconstructed Eurasia as the ancestral area for Boreoeutheria, Euarchontoglires and Laurasiatheria. The coincidence of molecular dates for the separation of Afrotheria and Xenarthra at approximately 100 Ma with the plate tectonic sundering of Africa and South America hints at the importance of vicariance in the early history of Placentalia. Dispersal has also been important including the origins of Madagascar's endemic mammal fauna. Further studies will benefit from increased taxon sampling and the application of new ancestral area reconstruction methods.     

Synthesis and biological activity of N-methylated analogs of endomorphin-2

In this paper, we describe the synthesis of a series of endomorphin-2 analogs containing N-methylated amino acids, consecutively in each position. The μ-opioid receptor binding affinities of the new analogs were determined in the displacement experiments. Their in vivo antinociceptive activity was assessed in the hot-plate test in mice after central (icv) and peripheral (ip) administration. [Sar²]endomorphin-2, which had the highest μ-receptor affinity, also showed the strongest analgesic effect when administered centrally and was the only analog that retained activity after peripheral injection.     

Synthesis and opioid activity of novel 6-substituted-6-demethoxy-ethenomorphinans

A set of novel 6-substituted orvinols was synthesized and pharmacologically characterized in order to explore the effect of the polarity and steric effects of these new moieties on the opioid activity. It was revealed that longer 6-O-alkyl chains led to increased agonistic activities, while the lack of C6-etheral oxygen gave rise to an antagonistic profile at the opioid receptors in the mouse ileum.     

The influence of opioid peptides on matrix metalloproteinase-9 and urokinase plasminogen activator expression in three cancer cell lines

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) regulate proteolysis of the extracellular matrix (ECM) and as a consequence are involved in a number of physiological and pathological states, including cancer. A crucial feature of cancer progression and metastasis is the disruption of the ECM and spreading of proliferating cancer cells. Over-expression of MMPs and uPA is common for most types of cancers and correlates well with the adverse prognosis. Compounds able to modulate the activity of these proteolytic enzymes may become important agents in cancer therapy. In the present study, we examined the effect of the ??-opioid receptor selective peptide, morphiceptin, and its two synthetic analogs on mRNA and protein levels of MMP-9 and uPA in three human cancer cell lines: MCF-7, HT-29, and SHSY5Y. Our findings indicate that in all three cell lines morphiceptin and its analogs attenuated MMP-9 expression and secretion and that this effect is not mediated by opioid receptors but is under control of the nitric oxide system. On the other hand, tested opioids up-regulated uPA levels through a mechanism that involved opioid-receptors. Different pathways by which opioid peptides exert their action in cancer cells can explain their contradictory influence on the level of cancer markers.