Atrial natriuretic peptide(ANP), a peptide hormone synthesized mainly in the cardiac atrium, has an important physiological role on the regulation of body fluid and electrolyte balance. Extraatrial ANP system has been reported. The presence of ANP in eye has also been reported. ANP in the eye has claimed to control the intraocular pressure. However, the presence of ANP and its receptors in the intraocular tissues are controversial. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to determine the characteristics of molecular nature of ANP and its receptors in variable intraocular tissues of cow. Immunoreactive ANP was detected in aqueous humor(10+/-1 pg/ml), cornea (3.6+/-0.5 pg/mg), ciliary body(2.62+/-0.6 pg/mg), choroid(2.1+/-0.5 pg/mg), retina (1.7+/-0.2 pg/mg)and iris(1.4+/-0.5 pg/mg). Chromatographic characterization of molecular profile of ANP showed major peak corresponding to small molecular weight forms of ANP and minor peak corresponding to proANP. ANP mRNA was detected in the cornea, retina and ciliary body using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. The production of cGMP by the activation of guanylyl cyclase was stimulated by ANP, BNP and CNP in tissue membranes of cornea, ciliary body and iris. Autoradiographic study showed that the corneal endothelium had A, B, and C subtypes of natriuretic peptide receptor. Longitudinal fibers of ciliary muscle and retina had A subtype of natriuretic receptor. These results suggest that the bovine eye has its own ANP system and ANP may have an important paracrine or autocrine function in the eye.
Aqueous Humor ; Atrial Natriuretic Factor ; Autoradiography ; Body Fluids ; Ciliary Body ; Cornea ; Endothelium, Corneal ; Guanylate Cyclase ; Intraocular Pressure ; Iris ; Membranes ; Molecular Weight ; Receptors, Peptide ; Retina ; RNA, Messenger ; Water-Electrolyte Balance

Naegleria fowleri invades the brain and causes a fatal primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM). Despite its high mortality rate of approximately 97%, an effective therapeutic drug for PAM has not been developed. Approaches with miltefosine, amphotericin B, and other antimicrobials have been clinically attempted to treat PAM, but their therapeutic efficacy remains unclear. The development of an effective and safe therapeutic drug for PAM is urgently needed. In this study, we investigated the anti-amoebic activity of Pinus densiflora leaf extract (PLE) against N. fowleri. PLE induced significant morphological changes in N. fowleri trophozoites, resulting in the death of the amoeba. The IC50 of PLE on N. fowleri was 62.3±0.95 μg/ml. Alternatively, PLE did not significantly affect the viability of the rat glial cell line C6. Transcriptome analysis revealed differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between PLE-treated and non-treated amoebae. A total of 5,846 DEGs were identified, of which 2,189 were upregulated, and 3,657 were downregulated in the PLE-treated amoebae. The DEGs were categorized into biological process (1,742 genes), cellular component (1,237 genes), and molecular function (846 genes) based on the gene ontology analysis, indicating that PLE may have dramatically altered the biological and cellular functions of the amoeba and contributed to their death. These results suggest that PLE has anti-N. fowleri activity and may be considered as a potential candidate for the development of therapeutic drugs for PAM. It may also be used as a supplement compound to enhance the therapeutic efficacy of drugs currently used to treat PAM.

Naegleria fowleri invades the brain and causes a fatal primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM). Despite its high mortality rate of approximately 97%, an effective therapeutic drug for PAM has not been developed. Approaches with miltefosine, amphotericin B, and other antimicrobials have been clinically attempted to treat PAM, but their therapeutic efficacy remains unclear. The development of an effective and safe therapeutic drug for PAM is urgently needed. In this study, we investigated the anti-amoebic activity of Pinus densiflora leaf extract (PLE) against N. fowleri. PLE induced significant morphological changes in N. fowleri trophozoites, resulting in the death of the amoeba. The IC50 of PLE on N. fowleri was 62.3±0.95 μg/ml. Alternatively, PLE did not significantly affect the viability of the rat glial cell line C6. Transcriptome analysis revealed differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between PLE-treated and non-treated amoebae. A total of 5,846 DEGs were identified, of which 2,189 were upregulated, and 3,657 were downregulated in the PLE-treated amoebae. The DEGs were categorized into biological process (1,742 genes), cellular component (1,237 genes), and molecular function (846 genes) based on the gene ontology analysis, indicating that PLE may have dramatically altered the biological and cellular functions of the amoeba and contributed to their death. These results suggest that PLE has anti-N. fowleri activity and may be considered as a potential candidate for the development of therapeutic drugs for PAM. It may also be used as a supplement compound to enhance the therapeutic efficacy of drugs currently used to treat PAM.

Naegleria fowleri invades the brain and causes a fatal primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM). Despite its high mortality rate of approximately 97%, an effective therapeutic drug for PAM has not been developed. Approaches with miltefosine, amphotericin B, and other antimicrobials have been clinically attempted to treat PAM, but their therapeutic efficacy remains unclear. The development of an effective and safe therapeutic drug for PAM is urgently needed. In this study, we investigated the anti-amoebic activity of Pinus densiflora leaf extract (PLE) against N. fowleri. PLE induced significant morphological changes in N. fowleri trophozoites, resulting in the death of the amoeba. The IC50 of PLE on N. fowleri was 62.3±0.95 μg/ml. Alternatively, PLE did not significantly affect the viability of the rat glial cell line C6. Transcriptome analysis revealed differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between PLE-treated and non-treated amoebae. A total of 5,846 DEGs were identified, of which 2,189 were upregulated, and 3,657 were downregulated in the PLE-treated amoebae. The DEGs were categorized into biological process (1,742 genes), cellular component (1,237 genes), and molecular function (846 genes) based on the gene ontology analysis, indicating that PLE may have dramatically altered the biological and cellular functions of the amoeba and contributed to their death. These results suggest that PLE has anti-N. fowleri activity and may be considered as a potential candidate for the development of therapeutic drugs for PAM. It may also be used as a supplement compound to enhance the therapeutic efficacy of drugs currently used to treat PAM.

Naegleria fowleri invades the brain and causes a fatal primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM). Despite its high mortality rate of approximately 97%, an effective therapeutic drug for PAM has not been developed. Approaches with miltefosine, amphotericin B, and other antimicrobials have been clinically attempted to treat PAM, but their therapeutic efficacy remains unclear. The development of an effective and safe therapeutic drug for PAM is urgently needed. In this study, we investigated the anti-amoebic activity of Pinus densiflora leaf extract (PLE) against N. fowleri. PLE induced significant morphological changes in N. fowleri trophozoites, resulting in the death of the amoeba. The IC50 of PLE on N. fowleri was 62.3±0.95 μg/ml. Alternatively, PLE did not significantly affect the viability of the rat glial cell line C6. Transcriptome analysis revealed differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between PLE-treated and non-treated amoebae. A total of 5,846 DEGs were identified, of which 2,189 were upregulated, and 3,657 were downregulated in the PLE-treated amoebae. The DEGs were categorized into biological process (1,742 genes), cellular component (1,237 genes), and molecular function (846 genes) based on the gene ontology analysis, indicating that PLE may have dramatically altered the biological and cellular functions of the amoeba and contributed to their death. These results suggest that PLE has anti-N. fowleri activity and may be considered as a potential candidate for the development of therapeutic drugs for PAM. It may also be used as a supplement compound to enhance the therapeutic efficacy of drugs currently used to treat PAM.