The study of ethanol effects on intracellular transport and membrane biogenesis in rat hepatocytes revealed that, during synthesis of transport vesicles, the cytosolic phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase incorporated into the membrane of Golgi transport vesicles and a portion of the vesicular phosphatidylinositol was phosphorylated to phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate. Association of the enzyme with Golgi transport vesicles and the transport to the apical portion of the cell membrane was not affected by 0 to 120 mM ethanol, but was dependent on the presence of the p85 subunit of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase. In the presence of ATP-enriched cytosol and calcium ions, association of Golgi transport vesicles with the apical membrane was followed by phospholipase A2-specific hydrolysis of phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate and incorporation of the transport vesicle membrane into the apical membrane. Association of Golgi transport vesicles with apical membranes was not affected by preincubation of the cell membrane or Golgi transport vesicles with 0 to 120 mM ethanol, but was inhibited when the p85 phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase was incorporated into the membrane before incubation with Golgi transport vesicles. The fusion of Golgi transport vesicles with the apical membrane and generation of lysophosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate and arachidonate was inhibited with EGTA or after depletion of ATP from cytosol. Results of these studies provide evidence that phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase and phospholipase A2 activities are crucial for the final step of exocytotic transport. The process consists of two stages. First, the p85 subunit of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase is involved in the specific association of the vesicle with membrane receptor, and that is followed by phospholipase A2-specific lysophospholipid generation, perturbation of the membranes, and fusion of the transport vesicle membrane with the apical membrane. Addition of ethanol to the in vitro transport system decreased production of Golgi transport vesicles, but had no effect on their association with apical membrane or fusion with the membrane.

Flower extracts of Prunus spinosa L. (blackthorn)—a traditional medicinal plant of Central and Eastern Europe indicated for the treatment of urinary tract disorders, inflammation, and adjunctive therapy of cardiovascular diseases—were evaluated in terms of chemical composition, antioxidant activity, potential anti-inflammatory effects, and cellular safety in function of fractionated extraction. The UHPLC-PDA-ESI-MS3 fingerprinting led to full or partial identification of 57 marker constituents (36 new for the flowers), mostly flavonoids, A-type proanthocyanidins, and phenolic acids, and provided the basis for authentication and standardization of the flower extracts. With the contents up to 584.07 mg/g dry weight (dw), 490.63, 109.43, and 66.77 mg/g dw of total phenolics (TPC), flavonoids, proanthocyanidins, and phenolic acids, respectively, the extracts were proven to be rich sources of polyphenols. In chemical in vitro tests of antioxidant (DPPH, FRAP, TBARS) and enzyme (lipoxygenase and hyaluronidase) inhibitory activity, the extracts effects were profound, dose-, phenolic-, and extraction solvent-dependent. Moreover, at in vivo-relevant levels (1–5 μg/mL) the extracts effectively protected the human plasma components against peroxynitrite-induced damage (reduced the levels of oxidative stress biomarkers: 3-nitrotyrosine, lipid hydroperoxides, and thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances) and enhanced the total antioxidant status of plasma. The effects observed in biological models were in general dose- and TPC-dependent; only for protein nitration the relationships were not significant. Furthermore, in cytotoxicity tests, the extracts did not affect the viability of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), and might be regarded as safe. Among extracts, the defatted methanol-water (7:3, v/v) extract and its diethyl ether and ethyl acetate fractions appear to be the most advantageous for biological applications. As compared to the positive controls, activity of the extracts was favorable, which might be attributed to some synergic effects of their constituents. In conclusion, this research proves that the antioxidant and enzyme inhibitory capacity of phenolic fractions should be counted as one of the mechanisms behind the activity of the flowers reported by traditional medicine and demonstrates the potential of the extracts as alternative ingredients for functional products supporting the treatment of oxidative stress-related pathologies cross-linked with inflammatory changes, especially in cardiovascular protection.

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Summary Recent advances in bioelectronics and neural engineering allowed the development of brain machine interfaces and neuroprostheses, capable of facilitating or recovering functionality in people with neurological disability. To realize energy-efficient and real-time capable devices, neuromorphic computing systems are envisaged as the core of next-generation systems for brain repair. We demonstrate here a real-time hardware neuromorphic prosthesis to restore bidirectional interactions between two neuronal populations, even when one is damaged or missing. We used in vitro modular cell cultures to mimic the mutual interaction between neuronal assemblies and created a focal lesion to functionally disconnect the two populations. Then, we employed our neuromorphic prosthesis for bidirectional bridging to artificially reconnect two disconnected neuronal modules and for hybrid bidirectional bridging to replace the activity of one module with a real-time hardware neuromorphic Spiking Neural Network. Our neuroprosthetic system opens avenues for the exploitation of neuromorphic-based devices in bioelectrical therapeutics for health care.

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The present study investigated the phenolic profile and biological activity of dry extracts from leaves of C. bullatus, C. zabelii and C. integerrimus—traditional medicinal and dietary plants—and evaluated their potential in adjunctive therapy of cardiovascular diseases. Complementary UHPLC-PDA-ESI-MS3, HPLC-PDA-fingerprint, Folin-Ciocalteu, and n-butanol/HCl assays of the extracts derived by fractionated extraction confirmed that they are rich in structurally diverse polyphenols (47 analytes, content up to 650.8 mg GAE/g dw) with proanthocyanidins (83.3–358.2 mg CYE/g) dominating in C. bullatus and C. zabelii, and flavonoids (53.4–147.8 mg/g) in C. integerrimus. In chemical in vitro tests of pro-inflammatory enzymes (lipoxygenase, hyaluronidase) inhibition and antioxidant activity (DPPH, FRAP), the extracts effects were dose-, phenolic- and extraction solvent-dependent. The most promising polyphenolic extracts were demonstrated to be effective antioxidants in a biological model of human blood plasma—at in vivo-relevant levels (1–5 µg/mL) they normalized/enhanced the non-enzymatic antioxidant capacity of plasma and effectively prevented peroxynitrite-induced oxidative/nitrative damage of plasma proteins and lipids. As demonstrated in cytotoxicity tests, the extracts were safe—they did not affect viability of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells. In conclusion, Cotoneaster leaves may be useful in development of natural-based products, supporting the treatment of oxidative stress/inflammation-related chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disorders.