We report an extensive study of the formation of normal-state domains in type-I superconductors. Domain patterns are first considered theoretically. The magnetic interaction between domains is described in the framework of the "current-loop" model: the intermediate state is modeled by a set of loops of screening current encircling the domains and interacting as in the free space. This system is shown to be formally equivalent to a set of uniformly magnetized domains. An extension of the current-loop model is proposed to take into account the constraint of the magnetic shielding by the superconducting regions. We determine the free energy of a hexagonal array of cylindrical domains ͑bubbles͒ and of a lattice of infinitely long and parallel stripes. The equilibrium values of both the volume fraction of the normal phase and the domain size are calculated as functions of the magnetic field. A bubble-to-stripe transition is predicted to occur for a volume fraction of the normal phase about 0.3. Experimentally, normal-state domains are studied with the high-resolution magnetooptical imaging technique. The observed patterns consist in coexisting bubbles and disordered labyrinthine lamellae structures. We show evidence of the contribution of pinning on the position of domain interfaces. The average width of the lamellae is then analyzed as a function of the applied magnetic field and found to increase in good agreement with the predictions. In contrast, the average diameter of bubbles remains constant: it is almost independent of the magnetic interaction between domains. A very good agreement, over three decades of the magnetic Bond number, is found with the equilibrium diameter of an isolated bubble. The proposed constrained current-loop model is shown to provide significantly more accurate predictions than the currentloop model, in particular for small magnetic Bond numbers. Additionally, increasing the volume fraction of the normal phase results in a bubble-to-lamella transition, as predicted theoretically.

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Prostaglandin (PG)E2 promotes the wakeful state when administered into the posterior hypothalamus, in which the histaminergic tuberomammillary nucleus (TMN) is located. To explore the neurotransmitter mechanisms responsible for PGE2-induced wakefulness in rats, we examined the effect of PGE2 on the activity of the histaminergic system and the involvement of PGE2 receptor subtypes in the response. PGE2 perfusion in the TMN at doses of 100, 200, and 400 pmol/min for 2 hr significantly increased histamine release from the medial preoptic area and frontal cortex in a dose-dependent manner, as measured by in vivo microdialysis. Among the agonists of the four distinct subtypes of PGE2 receptors (EP1-4) tested, only the EP4 receptor agonist (ONO-AE1-329) mimicked the excitatory effect of PGE2 on histamine release from both the medial preoptic area and frontal cortex. Perfusion of either PGE2 or the EP4 agonist into the TMN at a dose of 200 pmol/min for 1 hr increased histidine decarboxylase activity, histidine decarboxylase mRNA level, and histamine content in the hypothalamus. In situ hybridization revealed that EP4 receptor mRNA was expressed in histidine decarboxylase-immunoreactive neurons of the TMN region. Furthermore, EP4 agonist perfusion into the TMN induced wakefulness. These findings indicate that PGE2 induces wakefulness through activation of the histaminergic system via EP4 receptors.

Lysates of Leishmania promastigotes can metabolise arachidonic acid to prostaglandins. Prostaglandin production was heat sensitive and not inhibited by aspirin or indomethacin. We cloned and sequenced the cDNA of Leishmania major, Leishmania donovani, and Leishmania tropica prostaglandin F(2alpha) synthase, and overexpressed their respective 34-kDa recombinant proteins that catalyse the reduction of 9,11-endoperoxide PGH(2) to PGF(2alpha). Database search and sequence alignment showed that L. major prostaglandin F(2alpha) synthase exhibits 61, 99.3, and 99.3% identity with Trypanosoma brucei, L. donovani, and L. tropica prostaglandin F(2alpha) synthase, respectively. Using polymerase chain reaction amplification, Western blotting, and immunofluorescence, we have demonstrated that prostaglandin F(2alpha) synthase protein and gene are present in Old World and absent in New World Leishmania, and that this protein is localised to the promastigote cytosol.

These data demonstrate the existence of functional NK-1 receptors on freshly isolated PMCs in at least some strains of rats.

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The metabolic pathway of purine nucleotides in parasitic protozoa is a potent drug target for treatment of parasitemia. Guanosine 5’-monophosphate reductase (GMPR), which catalyzes the deamination of guanosine 5’-monophosphate (GMP) to inosine 5’-monophosphate (IMP), plays an important role in the interconversion of purine nucleotides to maintain the intracellular balance of their concentration. However, only a few studies on protozoan GMPR have been reported at present. Herein, we identified the GMPR in Trypanosoma brucei, a causative protozoan parasite of African trypanosomiasis, and found that the GMPR proteins were consistently localized to glycosomes in T. brucei bloodstream forms. We characterized its recombinant protein to investigate the enzymatic differences between GMPRs of T. brucei and its host animals. T. brucei GMPR was distinct in having an insertion of a tandem repeat of the cystathionine β-synthase (CBS) domain, which was absent in mammalian and bacterial GMPRs. The recombinant protein of T. brucei GMPR catalyzed the conversion of GMP to IMP in the presence of NADPH, and showed apparent affinities for both GMP and NADPH different from those of its mammalian counterparts. Interestingly, the addition of monovalent cations such as K+ and NH4+ to the enzymatic reaction increased the GMPR activity of T. brucei, whereas none of the mammalian GMPR’s was affected by these cations. The monophosphate form of the purine nucleoside analog ribavirin inhibited T. brucei GMPR activity, though mammalian GMPRs showed no or only a little inhibition by it. These results suggest that the mechanism of the GMPR reaction in T. brucei is distinct from that in the host organisms. Finally, we demonstrated the inhibitory effect of ribavirin on the proliferation of trypanosomes in a dose-dependent manner, suggesting the availability of ribavirin to develop a new therapeutic agent against African trypanosomiasis.

Guanosine 5′-monophosphate reductase (GMPR) is involved in the purine salvage pathway and is conserved throughout evolution. Nonetheless, the GMPR of Trypanosoma brucei (TbGMPR) includes a unique structure known as the cystathionine-β-synthase (CBS) domain, though the role of this domain is not fully understood. Here, we show that guanine and adenine nucleotides exert positive and negative effects, respectively, on TbGMPR activity by binding allosterically to the CBS domain. The present structural analyses revealed that TbGMPR forms an octamer that shows a transition between relaxed and twisted conformations in the absence and presence of guanine nucleotides, respectively, whereas the TbGMPR octamer dissociates into two tetramers when ATP is available instead of guanine nucleotides. These findings demonstrate that the CBS domain plays a key role in the allosteric regulation of TbGMPR by facilitating the transition of its oligomeric state depending on ligand nucleotide availability.