The principle of normothermic machine perfusion preservation is the maintenance of cellular metabolism in a physiological environment throughout the preservation period. Normothermic preservation, at least in theory, thereby overcomes the 3 major weaknesses inherent in traditional static cold storage by (1) avoiding ischemia/reperfusion injury, (2) avoiding cold injury, and (3) allowing viability assessment. Furthermore, normothermic machine perfusion might transpire to be the ideal vehicle

to deliver other therapeutic interventions during preservation to modulate and optimize the graft before transplantation. By restoring function in marginal donor organs and enabling the clinician to appraise its viability, the donor pool might be greatly expanded. (C) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.”
“We have previously shown that the yeast Cathepsin D (CatD) Pep4p Repotrectinib purchase translocates from the vacuole to the cytosol during acetic acid-induced apoptosis and is required for efficient mitochondrial degradation, though its specific role in this process is still elusive. Here, we show that the protective role of Pep4p in acetic acid-induced apoptosis depends on its catalytic activity and is independent of the yeast voltage-dependent anion channel Por1p

(which has no role on mitochondrial degradation) but dependent on AAC proteins, the yeast adenine nucleotide translocator. Our results demonstrate a differential

HSP inhibitor interplay between yeast vacuolar CatD and mitochondrial Selleck Etomoxir proteins involved in apoptosis regulation. (C) 2012 Federation of European Biochemical Societies. Published by Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.”
“BACKGROUND: Previous studies have demonstrated that scorpion venom in the scorpion can inhibit epilepsy and apoptosis. However, it remains unclear whether ethanol extracts of scorpion (EES) exhibit similar effects.\n\nOBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of EES on hippocampal apoptosis and caspase-3 expression, and to compare the effects on sodium valproate (positive control drug) in a rat model of status epilepticus induced by lithium chloride-pilocarpine.\n\nDESIGN, TIME AND SETTING: This randomized, controlled study was conducted at the Drug Research and Development Center, Kanghong Pharmaceuticals Group, and the Department of Pathology, Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences & Sichuan Provincial People’s Hospital, China from May 2007 to April 2008.\n\nMATERIALS: EES were prepared by Huashen Pharmaceutical, China. Sodium valproate (Hunan Xiangzhong Pharmaceutical, China) and lithium chloride-pilocarpine (Sigma, USA) were also used in the present study.\n\nMETHODS: From a total of 156 rats, six served as normal controls.