The monoamine serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT), a well-known neurotransmitter,
also has important functions outside the central nervous system. The objective of
this study was to investigate the role of 5-HT in the proliferation, differentiation,
and function of osteoblasts in vitro. We treated rat primary
calvarial osteoblasts with various concentrations of 5-HT (1 nM to 10 µM) and
assessed the rate of osteoblast proliferation, expression levels of
osteoblast-specific proteins and genes, and the ability to form mineralized nodules.
Next, we detected which 5-HT receptor subtypes were expressed in rat osteoblasts at
different stages of osteoblast differentiation. We found that 5-HT could inhibit
osteoblast proliferation, differentiation, and mineralization at low concentrations,
but this inhibitory effect was mitigated at relatively high concentrations. Six of
the 5-HT receptor subtypes (5-HT1A, 5-HT1B, 5-HT1D,
5-HT2A, 5-HT2B, and 5-HT2C) were found to exist
in rat osteoblasts. Of these, 5-HT2A and 5-HT1B receptors had
the highest expression levels, at both early and late stages of differentiation. Our
results indicated that 5-HT can regulate osteoblast proliferation and function
in vitro.
When administered after crush injury to peripheral nerves, flunarizine may protect neurons with lesions from further damage and improve neural function by downregulating c-fos expression.
Objectives:To study the effect of Buflomedil on the morphological repair on crush injury of sciatic nerve and also the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF).Materials and Methods:Rat sciatic nerves were crushed by pincers. All of the 400 Sprague Dawley rats were randomly divided into: Sham-operated; saline; saline + VEGF-antibody; Buflomedil; and Buflomedil + VEGF antibody groups. The expression of VEGF in dorsal root ganglia (DRGs), following crush injury to sciatic nerves, was studied by RT-PCR, immunohistochemistry. The effects of Buflomedil on expression of VEGF and repair of neural pathology were also evaluated.Results:VEGF mRNA was significantly increased in Buflomedil and Buflomedil + VEGF-antibody groups, compared with other groups. The number of VEGF-positive neurons was significantly increased in the Buflomedil and the saline groups. Besides, Buflomedil also caused less pathological changes in DRGs.Conclusions:The vasoactive agent Buflomedil may decrease the pathological lesion and improve the functional rehabilitation of peripheral nerves, which may correlate to upregulation of the expression of VEGF, following crush injury to the peripheral nerves.
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