Agatston coronary

artery calcium score (CACS) was obtained using multidetector-row computed tomography (MDCT). Plasma bone-related peptides osteopontin and osteoprotegerin levels were measured. Diabetic patients had higher mean-IMT (p = 0.0002) and log(CACS + 1) (p < 0.0001) and similar bone-related peptides compared to non-diabetic subjects. in diabetic patients classified into tertiles according to their CACS levels, those with the highest scores showed the highest mean-IMT (p = 0.0004) and bone-related peptides (p < 0.05) among the groups. log(CACS + 1) and mean-IMT were associated (p < 0.0001) and were positively correlated with osteopontin (p < 0.01) and osteoprotegerin (p < 0.01) in diabetic patients. Multivariate analyses revealed that the significant selleck products independent determinants of log(CACS + 1) were age, duration of diabetes and osteopontin (p < 0.0001) and those of mean-IMT were age, hypertension, osteopontin and osteoprotegerin (p < 0.0001), respectively. We have demonstrated that vascular calcification in type 2 diabetic patients is frequently accompanied by intimamedia thickening, and osteopontin may

act as a vascular calcification inhibitor by increasing intima-media thickness. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“Jojoba oil-based emulgel formulations were prepared using different concentrations of various gelling agents, such as hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) and Carbopol 934 P and combination LB-100 price of both. The prepared emulgels were physically evaluated for their stability after temperature learn more cycle test, centrifugation and long-term shelf storage for 1 year at room temperature. The in vitro release at 37A degrees C was studied to define the effect of the concentration and type of the gelling agent. A comparison between the formulated emulgels and two commercially available products, CandistanA (R) and CanestenA (R) creams, was carried out to judge

their efficacy and stability. The prepared emulgels exhibited non-Newtonian shear thinning behavior with little or no thixotropy. Four emulgels showed excellent stability as they demonstrated consistent rheological model under different treatment conditions. The in vitro release test showed variation in the extent of percent drug released. The drug release from the commercial preparation was lower than some of the prepared emulgel formulae. One formula containing combination of the two gelling agents (HPMC and Carbopol 934 P), showed excellent stability and high extent of clotrimazole release was microbiologically evaluated against Candida albicans using cylinder and plate method. The selected formula showed superior antimycotic activity compared to the commercially available formulation. Further in vivo animal studies for the obtained stable formula is recommended.

(Stroke. 2012;43:2986-2991.)”
“Ideal vaccines against influenza viruses should elicit not only a humoral response, but also a cellular www.selleckchem.com/products/3-methyladenine.html response. Mycobacterium tuberculosis HSP70 (mHSP70) have been found to promote immunogenic APCs function, elicit a strong cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) response, and prevent the induction of tolerance. Moreover, it showed linkage of antigens to the C-terminus of mHSP70 (mHSP70c) can represent them as vaccines resulted in more potent, protective antigen specific responses in the absence of adjuvants or complex formulations. Hence, recombinant fusion protein

comprising C-terminus of mHSP70 genetically fused to four tandem repeats of the ectodomain of the conserved influenza matrix protein M2 (M2e) was expressed in Escherichia coil, purified under denaturing condition, refolding, and then confirmed by SDS-PAGE, respectively. The recombinant fusion protein, 4xM2e.HSP70c, MLN4924 retained its immunogenicity and displayed the protective epitope of M2e by ELISA and FITC assays. A prime-boost administration of 4xM2e.HSP70c formulated in F105 buffer by intramuscular route in mice (Balb/C)

provided full protection against lethal dose of mouse-adapted H1N1, H3N2, or H9N2 influenza A isolates from Iran compared to 0-33.34% survival rate of challenged unimmunized and immunized mice with the currently in use conventional vaccines designated as control groups. However, protection induced by immunization with 4xM2e.HSP70c failed to prevent weight loss in challenged mice; they experienced significantly lower weight loss, clinical symptoms and higher lung viral clearance in comparison with protective effects of conventional influenza vaccines in challenged mice. These data demonstrate that C-terminal domain of mHSP70 can be a superior candidate to deliver the adjuvant function in M2e-based influenza A vaccine in order to provide significant protection against multiple influenza

A virus strains. (c) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.”
“Reactive blue 2 (RB-2) had been characterized as a relatively potent ectonucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolase (E-NTPDase) inhibitor with some selectivity for Selleckchem VX-680 NTPDase3. In search for the pharmacophore and to analyze structure-activity relationships we synthesized a series of truncated derivatives and analogs of RB-2, including 1-amino-2-sulfo-4-ar(alk)ylaminoanthraquinones, 1-amino-2-methyl-4-arylaminoanthraquinones, 1-amino-4-bromoanthraquinone 2-sulfonic acid esters and sulfonamides, and bis-(1-amino-4-bromoanthraquinone) sulfonamides, and investigated them in preparations of rat NTPDase1, 2, and 3 using a capillary electrophoresis assay. Several 1-amino-2-sulfo-4-ar(alk)ylaminoanthraquinone derivatives inhibited E-NTPDases in a concentration-dependent manner. The 2-sulfonate group was found to be required for inhibitory activity, since 2-methyl-substituted derivatives were inactive.

Transgenic approaches will likely provide

opportunities for control of some recalcitrant pathogens, though issues of durability for transgenes are likely to be no different than other genes for resistance. The need for high quality phenotypic analysis and screening methodologies is a priority, and field-based studies are likely to remain of signal importance in the foreseeable future. (C) 2014 The Author. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/).”
“Background The current study aimed to investigate the effect of ablation therapy on the quality of life (QOL) in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) by using a questionnaire specific for AF.\n\nMethods and MEK162 Results A total of 86 patients (paroxysmal/chronic, 61/25) with drug-resistant AF undergoing extensive pulmonary vein isolation were recruited for the study. The QOL was quantitatively assessed by the Atrial Fibrillation Quality of Life Questionnaire at baseline, and 1, 3 and 6 months after the ablation. Sinus rhythm was maintained in 48/61 (79%) of the paroxysmal AF group, and 15/25 (60%) of those in the chronic AF group during 6 months after the initial CA3 manufacturer ablation procedure. Among the patients without any AF recurrences, patients with C

chronic AF exhibited a substantial DAPT purchase improvement in the QOL at 1 month after the procedure, and it remained unchanged until the end of the follow-up period. However, in the patients with paroxysmal AF, the

QOL level gradually increased over a 6-month period. The patients with recurrent AF exhibited no improvement in the QOL.\n\nConclusion Although the clinical course of the QOL improvement was different, both paroxysmal and chronic AF patients gained better QOL to maintain sinus rhythm by means of catheter ablation.”
“The RNA-binding protein AUF1 binds AU-rich elements in 3′-untranslated regions to regulate mRNA degradation and/or translation. Many of these mRNAs are predicted microRNA targets as well. An emerging theme in post-transcriptional control of gene expression is that RNA-binding proteins and microRNAs co-regulate mRNAs. Recent experiments and bioinformatic analyses suggest this type of co-regulation may be widespread across the transcriptome. Here, we identified mRNA targets of AUF1 from a complex pool of cellular mRNAs and examined a subset of these mRNAs to explore the links between RNA binding and mRNA degradation for both AUF1 and Argonaute 2 (AGO2), which is an essential effector of microRNA-induced gene silencing. Depending on the specific mRNA examined, AUF1 and AGO2 binding is proportional/cooperative, reciprocal/competitive or independent. For most mRNAs in which AUF1 affects their decay rates, mRNA degradation requires AGO2.

As a proof of concept, we expressed a rat M-3 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor

(mAChR) bearing a mutation ((KE)-E-7.32) recently 3-MA clinical trial identified to confer positive cooperativity between acetylcholine and the allosteric modulator brucine in various strains of S. cerevisiae, each expressing a different human G alpha/yeast Gpa1 protein chimera, and probed for G protein-biased allosteric modulation. Subsequent assays performed in this system revealed that brucine was a partial allosteric agonist and positive modulator of carbachol when coupled to Gpa1/G(q) proteins, a positive modulator (no agonism) when coupled to Gpa1/G(12) proteins, and a neutral modulator when coupled to Gpa1/G(i) proteins. It is noteworthy that these results were validated at the human (M3KE)-E-7.32 mAChR expressed in a mammalian (Chinese

hamster ovary) cell background by determination of calcium mobilization and membrane ruffling as surrogate measures of G(q) and G(12) protein activation, respectively. Furthermore, the combination of this functionally selective allosteric modulator with G protein-biased yeast screens allowed us to ascribe a potential G protein candidate (G(12)) as a key mediator for allosteric modulation of M-3 (KE)-E-7.32 mAChR-mediated ERK1/2 phosphorylation, which was confirmed by small interfering RNA knockdown experiments. These results highlight how the yeast platform can be used to identify functional selectivity of allosteric ligands CAL-101 in vitro and to facilitate dissection www.selleckchem.com/products/VX-680(MK-0457).html of convergent signaling pathways.”
“Pre-mRNA splicing is a critical event in the gene expression pathway of all eukaryotes. The

splicing reaction is catalyzed by the spliceosome, a huge protein-RNA complex that contains five snRNAs and hundreds of different protein factors. Understanding the structure of this large molecular machinery is critical for understanding its function. Although the highly dynamic nature of the spliceosome, in both composition and conformation, posed daunting challenges to structural studies, there has been significant recent progress on structural analyses of the splicing machinery, using electron microscopy, crystallography, and nuclear magnetic resonance. This review discusses key recent findings in the structural analyses of the spliceosome and its components and how these findings advance our understanding of the function of the splicing machinery.”
“Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of various types of exercise for prevention and cure of nonspecific neck pain in office workers.\n\nMethods: Publications between 1980 and April 2010 were systematically searched in various databases (PubMed, CINAHL Plus with full text, The Cochrane Library, Science Direct, PEDro, ProQuest, PsycNet, and Scopus). The following key words were used: neck pain, cervical pain, exercise, strengthening, stretching, endurance, office workers, visual display unit, visual display terminal, and computer users.

The tests also indicated that a number of types of proprietary

plastic vacutainers appeared to contain significant amounts of endotoxin. However, even when appropriate blood collection PF-562271 containers and calculation methods were used, the levels of endotoxin in serum samples detected by LAL assay were unlikely to reflect the total quantities of endotoxin in that sample and more likely to reflect the capacity of a given serum sample to sequester endotoxin. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.”
“DNA-based individual identification and RNA-based tissue identification represent two commonly-used tools in forensic investigation, aiming to identify crime scene sample donors and helping to provide links between DNA-identified sample donors and criminal acts. Currently however, both analyses are typically performed separately. In this proof-of-principle study, we developed an approach for the simultaneous analysis of forensic STRs, amelogenin, and forensic mRNAs based on parallel targeted see more DNA/RNA sequencing using the Ion Torrent Personal Genome Machine (R) (PGM (TM)) System coupled with

the AmpliSeq (TM) targeted amplification. We demonstrated that 9 autosomal STRs commonly used for individual identification (CSF1PO, D16S539, D3S1358, D5S818, D7S820, D8S1179, TH01, TPOX, and vWA), the AMELX/AMELY system widely applied for sex identification, and 12 mRNA markers previously established for forensic tissue identification (ALAS2 and SPTB for peripheral blood, MMP10 and MMP11 for menstrual blood, HTN3 and STATH for saliva, PRM1 and TGM4 for semen, CYP2B7P1 and MUC4 for vaginal secretion, CCL27 and LCE1C for skin) together with two candidate reference mRNA markers (HPRT1 and SDHA) can

all be successfully combined. Unambiguous mRNA-based tissue identification was achieved in all samples from all forensically relevant tissues tested, and STR sequencing analysis of the tissue sample donors was 100% concordant with conventional STR profiling using a commercial kit. Successful STR analysis was obtained from 1 ng of genomic DNA and mRNA analysis from 10 ng total RNA; however, sensitivity limits selleck were not investigated in this proof-of-principle study and are expected to be much lower. Since dried materials with noticeable RNA degradation and small DNA/RNA amplicons with high-coverage sequencing were used, the achieved correct individual and tissue identification demonstrates the suitability of this approach for analyzing degraded materials in future forensic applications. Overall, our study demonstrates the feasibility of simultaneously obtaining multilocus STR, amelogenin, and multilocus mRNA information for combined individual and tissue identification from a small sample of degraded biological material.

The in vitro activity of amphotericin B, caspofungin, itraconazole, fluconazole, voricanozole, and posaconazole were determined using the Etest method. Results: One hundred and thirty-six cases of candidemia were identified and 100 strains were available for antifungal susceptibility testing. The overall incidence of candidemia was 1.87 cases/1.000 admissions and 0.27 cases/1.000 patient-days. Among the patients, 58.1% were male, and the median age was 40 years old. C. albicans was

the most common species (52.2%), AZD5363 purchase followed by C. parapsilosis (22.1%), C. tropicalis (14.8%), and C. glabrata (6.6%). All strains were susceptible to amphotericin B with a MIC(90) of 0.5 mu g/mL. Overall susceptibility for voriconozole, fluconazole, and caspofungin was >= 97% with a MIC(90) of 0.064, 4.0 and 1.0 mu g/mL, respectively. For itraconazole the susceptibility rate was 81% with a MIC(90) of 0.5 mu g/mL. Posaconazole also demonstrated good in vitro activity with a MIC(90) of 0.25 mu g/mL. Conclusion: This is the first antifungal susceptibility report in our institution.”
“Background:

Rabusertib Although more and more new potent antibiotics have been used, the incidence of neurological sequelae of Streptococcus pneumoniae meningitis has not improved in children over the last decade. The expression of TrkB mRNA, a receptor of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, is associated with the incidence of neurological sequelae of Streptococcus pneumoniae meningitis.\n\nMethods: Rats of 3 weeks old were used to construct a model of Streptococcus pneumoniae meningitis and served as normal controls. Blasticidin S inhibitor They were administered with antibiotics or antibiotics plus dexamethasone, respectively. The expression of the TrkB gene was detected in the brain by in situ hybridization.\n\nResults: In the brains of Streptococcus pneumoniae inoculated rats, TrkB mRNA was significantly up-regulated after inoculation for 24 hours, and then down-regulated

in a dose-dependent manner after treatment with antibiotics. This up-regulation was seen after treatment with antibiotics plus dexamethasone. TrkB mRNA expression was also observed in some infiltrating inflammatory cells.\n\nConclusions: The results of the study support the hypothesis that TrkB signal transduction pathways might play an important role in Streptococcus pneumoniae meningitis, probably by protecting the brain from damage. The role of TrkB might be weakened after the treatment with antibiotics. Our findings suggest that targeting TrkB receptors might be a rational strategy for prevention of neurological sequelae caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae meningitis.”
“Premise of the study: Microsatellite primers were characterized in Yucca brevifolia for use in population genetic studies and, particularly, analyses of gene flow between varieties.

Appropriately chosen multimodal monitoring including CBF and management measures can result in reduction in mortality and morbidity.”
“Background: Prostate cancer (PCa) PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor drugs is the leading cause of cancer in men in many developed countries, but no modifiable risk factors have been identified.

A handful of analytical studies have suggested a possible etiological role for sunlight exposure. We report here on the association between leisure-time sunlight exposure during adulthood and PCa risk in the context of a population-based case-control study. Methods: In all, 1,904 PCa cases were ascertained across Montreal French hospitals between 2005 and 2009. Concurrently, 1,962 population controls, frequency matched to cases by age (+/- 5 years), were selected from the electoral list for French-speakers in Greater Montreal. Interviews elicited the frequency of engagement in any leisure activity during adulthood. This was

used to derive cumulative sunlight exposure indices: a cumulative number of leisure activities events entailing sunlight exposure and a cumulative duration of sunlight exposure during leisure activities. Unconditional logistic regression was conducted to yield odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for estimating the association between sunlight exposure indices and PCa risk, adjusting for age, ancestry, family history of PCa, PCa screening, education, solar protection, body mass index and physical activity. Results: Compared with men in the upper BKM120 mw quartile category for the number of sunlight exposure events, men never exposed during leisure time had an HM781-36B OR of 1.32 (95% CI: 0.82-2.14). ORs were 1.11, 0.91 and 1.00 for the first to the third quartiles of exposure, respectively. Similar results were observed for cumulative duration of exposure to sunlight, and by PCa aggressiveness. Conclusion: These findings provide little evidence of an

association between sunlight exposure during leisure-time and PCa risk. Men with no sunlight exposure appeared at somewhat higher risks but none of the estimates achieved statistical significance.”
“Authors have reported conflicting results on the persistence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in patients having sustained virologic response (SVR) to treatment. Therefore, we sought to determine whether chemotherapy leads to viral relapse in 30 HCV-infected patients who had SVR before cancer diagnosis. Half of them had hematologic malignancies. Most (60%) received HCV therapy with interferon and ribavirin. Chemotherapy was started at a median of 72 months after SVR and included rituximab (27%), cyclophosphamide (23%), cisplatin (17%), or corticosteroids (37%). No patient had post-SVR viral relapse. Therapeutically induced resolution of HCV appears to be permanent and not affected by chemotherapy.

Therefore, we concluded that

the accumulation of p53 caused by L2 was mainly because of the decrease of the protein degradation rather than the elevation of p53 gene expression. Furthermore, no phosphor-p53 formed after L2 treatments, indicating that a genetoxic mechanism was unlikely to contribute to the activation of p53 by L2. In conclusion, the data acquired from A549 cells indicated that L2 exhibited high anti proliferation activity by disrupting MDM2-p53 interaction, and that the mechanism was derived from the activation of p53 and the p53 pathway. It was also surprising that L2 showed high anti proliferation effect against p53 null H L60 cells, which was quite different from nutlin-1. G(2)/M phase arrest might have contributed to the high anti proliferation activity of L2 on HL60 cells. The changes of p53 and MDM2 protein levels 4SC-202 in L2-treated HL60 cells indicated that the mechanisms involved in the cell cycle arrest in A549 and HL60 cells were probably https://www.selleckchem.com/products/smoothened-agonist-sag-hcl.html different, to which our future research

would be devoted. Anti-Cancer Drugs 20:416-424 (C) 2009 Wolters Kluwer Health vertical bar Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.”
“In prion diseases the normal cellular isoform of prion protein (PrP), denoted PrP(C), is converted into an abnormal, pathogenic isoform of PrP (PrP(Sc)). Diagnostic tools for prion diseases are conventionally based on the detection of protease-resistant PrP (PrP(res)) after proteinase K digestion. However, recent studies have revealed that protease-sensitive abnormal PrP (sPrP(Sc)) also exists in significant amounts in brains suffering from prion diseases. Here, we designed a simplified size-exclusion gel chromatography assay, using disposable spin columns to examine PrP aggregates in the course of the disease, without

proteinase K digestion. Brain homogenates of NZW mice, inoculated intracranially ACY-738 ic50 with Fukuoka-1 strain, and which died at around 120 days post-inoculation, were assayed by this gel-fractionation method and eluted PrP molecules in each fraction were detected by western blot analysis. Oligomeric PrP molecules were well separated from monomers, as predicted. A conventional protease-digestion assay was also performed to detect PrP(res) and revealed that the ratio of PrP(res) to total PrP increased drastically from 105 days. However, the increase of PrP oligomers became significant from 90 days. These PrP oligomers in the early disease stage would, therefore, be sPrP(Sc) molecules that might affect the disease pathology, such as spongiform change and abnormal PrP deposition. We also observed that the resistance of PrP oligomers to proteinase K and insolubility in phosphotungstic acid precipitation increased with disease progression, which suggests that PrP oligomers are not clearly distinguished from cellular PrP or PrP(res) but may overlap in a continuous spectrum.

Design: Laboratory investigation. Setting: Academic medical center. Patient(s): Placental tissues discarded after first-trimester terminations were obtained from patients with informed consent. Intervention(s): A cell line, HTR-8/SVneo, established from first-trimester cytotrophoblast,

and villous explants, was treated with or without sildenafil, guanosine 3′,5′-cyclic monophosphate (cGMP) analog, cGMP inhibitor, or L-NAME (N-G-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester hydrochloride) and cultured on fibronectin or Matrigel. Integrins alpha 6 beta 4 and alpha 1 beta 1 were detected by immunocytochemistry. Selleckchem STA-9090 Main Outcome Measure(s): Trophoblast outgrowth from villous tips, cytotrophoblast cell invasion, and integrin immunostaining were assessed in cytotrophoblast LY3023414 order and explant cultures. Result(s): Integrin expression in trophoblast cells ex vivo switched from alpha 6 to alpha 1, and invasiveness increased, when exposed to sildenafil or cGMP agonist. Either cGMP antagonist or L-NAME blocked integrin switching and invasion induced by sildenafil. Elevation of nitric oxide pharmacologically induced invasion, but not when cGMP antagonist was present. Conclusion(s): Sildenafil altered

trophoblast phenotype through a process dependent on nitric oxide availability and cGMP accumulation. In addition to its vasoactivity, sildenafil directly stimulates trophoblast extravillous differentiation, which would be favorable for implantation and reduce risk for adverse pregnancy outcomes. (C) 2015 by American Society for Reproductive Medicine.”
“The Ca2+/calcineurin-dependent transcription factor NFAT (nuclear factor of activated T-cells) is implicated in regulating dendritic and axonal development, synaptogenesis, and neuronal survival. Despite the increasing appreciation for the importance

of NFAT-dependent transcription in the nervous system, the regulation and function of specific NFAT SB202190 isoforms in neurons are poorly understood. Here, we compare the activation of NFATc3 and NFATc4 in hippocampal and dorsal root ganglion neurons following electrically evoked elevations of intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+](i)). We find that NFATc3 undergoes rapid dephosphorylation and nuclear translocation that are essentially complete within 20 min, although NFATc4 remains phosphorylated and localized to the cytosol, only exhibiting nuclear localization following prolonged (1-3 h) depolarization. Knocking down NFATc3, but not NFATc4, strongly diminished NFAT-mediated transcription induced by mild depolarization in neurons. By analyzing NFATc3/NFATc4 chimeras, we find that the region containing the serine-rich region-1 (SRR1) mildly affects initial NFAT translocation, although the region containing the serine-proline repeats is critical for determining the magnitude of NFAT activation and nuclear localization upon depolarization.

Further analysis reveals a trade-off between sensitivity, magnification, and the number of pinholes. Based on this new theory, we develop a strategy for multipinhole SPECT design, from which a number of example systems are computed. Penetration in the pinhole knife edge is accounted

for by using the resolution and sensitivity equivalent apertures.”
“The existence of cancer stem cells (CSCs) is central to the pathogenesis and therapeutic target of human hepatocellular carcinoma. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of casticin on epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of liver cancer stem cells (LCSCs) derived from the SMMC-7721 selleck kinase inhibitor cell line. Our results demonstrated that CD133(+) sphere-forming cells (SFCs) sorted from the SMMC-7721 cell line not only possessed a higher capacity to form tumor spheroids in vitro, but also had a greater potential to form tumors when implanted in Balb/c-nu mice, indicating that CD133(+) SFCs possessed similar traits to LCSCs. Casticin increased the expression levels of E-cadherin and decreased those of N-cadherin in LCSCs. Treatment of LCSCs with casticin for 48 h also decreased the levels of the EMT-associated transcription factor, Twist. Overexpression https://www.selleckchem.com/products/dmh1.html of Twist attenuated the casticin-induced regulation of

E-cadherin and N-cadherin protein expression, as well as the EMT capacity of LCSCs. In conclusion, CD133(+) SFCs of the SMMC-7721 cell line may represent a subpopulation of LCSCs with the characteristics

of EMT. Furthermore, casticin targeted LCSCs through the inhibition of EMT by downregulating Twist.”
“Antioxidants have been demonstrated to exert beneficial see more effects as pharmacotherapies for cardiovascular diseases. The in vitro systems generally employed to evaluate antioxidants, however, are limited by having no appreciable in vivo redox status of the antioxidants. Therefore, we used our developing chicken egg model to evaluate the in vivo antioxidative activity of a redox nanoparticle possessing 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine1- oxyl (RNPO). The 2,2′-azobis(2-methylpropionamidine) dihydrochloride (AAPH) elicited strong oxidative stress and its LD50 value for chick embryos was 3.5 +/- 0.9 mg/egg. The lowmolecular weight nitroxide compound, 4-hydroxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl (TEMPOL), which is known to have the highest level of antioxidant activity, showed no significant protective effect against AAPH-induced embryo lethality. On the contrary, RNPO had potent protective effects against AAPH-induced embryo lethality. Moreover, RNPO could significantly suppress the production of lipid peroxides in chick serum induced by hydrocortisone. Since RNPO has a longer retention time in blood than TEMPOL, RNPO may protect the embryo against lethal oxidative stress by suppressing lipid peroxidation.