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Injection of large doses of ammonium salts lead to the rapid death of animals. However, the molecular mechanisms involved in ammonia toxicity remain to be clarified. We have tested the effect of injecting 7 mmol/kg of ammonium acetate on the production of superoxide and on the activities of some antioxidant enzymes in rat liver, brain, erythrocytes and plasma. Glutathione peroxidase, superoxide dismutase and catalase activities were decreased in liver and brain (both in cytosolic and mitochondrial fractions) and also in blood red cells, while glutathione reductase activity remained unchanged. Superoxide production in submitochondrial particles from liver and brain was increased by more than 100% in both tissues. Both diminished activity of antioxidant enzymes and increased superoxide radical production could lead to oxidative stress and cell damage, which could be involved in the mechanism of acute ammonia toxicity.

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Injection of large doses of ammonia into rats leads to depletion of brain ATP. However, the molecular mechanism leading to ATP depletion is not clear. The aim of the present work was to assess whether ammoniuminduced depletion of ATP is mediated by activation of the NMDA receptor . It is shown that injection of MK-801, an antagonist of the NMDA receptor, prevented ammoniainduced ATP depletion but did not prevent changes in glutamine, glutamate, glycogen, glucose, and ketone bodies . Ammonia injection increased Na',K+-ATPase activity by 76%. This increase was also prevented by previous injection of MK-801 . The molecular mechanism leading to activation of the ATPase was further studied. Na+,K+-ATPase activity in samples from ammonia-injected rats was normalized by "in vitro" incubation with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate, an activator of protein kinase C. The results obtained suggest that ammoniainduced ATP depletion is mediated by activation of the NMDA receptor, which results in decreased protein kinase C-mediated phosphorylation of Na+,K+-ATPase and, therefore, increased activity of the ATPase and increased consumption of ATP.

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It has been shown for the first time by transmission electron microscopy that the hydrated fullerene C60 inhibited the fibrillization of amyloid-beta25-35 peptide. The fullerene affected the amyloid-beta25-35 assembly, manifesting its anti-amyloidogenic capacity. Our in vivo investigations demonstrated also that a single intracerebroventricular injection of the C60 hydrated fullerene at a dose of 7.2 nmol/ventricle significantly improved the performance of the cognitive task in control rats. The intracerebroventricular injection of the C60 hydrated fullerene (3.6 nmol/ventricle) prevented the impairment of performance of the cognitive task induced by amyloid-beta25-35 (22.5 nmol/ventricle). The results obtained may be useful in the development of therapy of Alzheimer's disease.

Previous studies indicate that cGMP is involved in long-term potentiation (LTP). However, the effects of application of tetanus to induce LTP on cGMP content and the mechanisms by which cGMP may modulate LTP have not been reported. The aim of this work was to study the time course of the changes in cGMP content and of the activity of soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) (the enzyme that synthesizes cGMP) during LTP. Moreover, we also studied how the changes in cGMP affect cGMP-dependent protein kinase (PKG) and cGMP-degrading phosphodiesterase and the possible role of these changes in LTP. Application of tetanus induced a rise in cGMP, reaching a maximum 10 sec after tetanus. cGMP content decreased below basal levels 5 min after tetanus and remained decreased after 60 min. Activity of sGC increased 5 min after tetanus and returned to basal at 60 min. Tetanus increased the activity of cGMP-degrading phosphodiesterase at 5 and 60 min. GMP, the product of degradation, was increased at 5 and 60 min. Activation of phosphodiesterase and a decrease in cGMP were prevented by inhibiting PKG with Rp-8-bromoguanosine-cGMPS (Rp-8-Br-cGMPS). Inhibition of sGC [with ODQ (oxadiazolo quinoxalin-1-one) or NS 2028 (4H-8-bromo-1,2,4-oxadiazolo(3,4-d)benz(b)(1,4)oxazin-1-one)], of PKG (with Rp-8-Br-cGMPS), or of cGMP-degrading phosphodiesterase [with zaprinast or MBAM (4-[[3',4'-(methylenedioxy)benzyl]amino]-6-methoxyquinazoline) ] impairs LTP. The results indicate that induction of LTP involves transient activation of sGC and an increase in cGMP, followed by activation of cGMP-dependent protein kinase, which, in turn, activates cGMP-degrading phosphodiesterase, resulting in long-lasting reduction of cGMP content.