Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of severe vision loss and blindness in elderly people worldwide. The damage to the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) triggered by oxidative stress plays a central role in the onset and progression of AMD and results from the excessive accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced mainly by mitochondria. Tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated...
The neurodegenerative and inflammatory environment that is prevalent in the diabetic eye is a key player in the development and progression of diabetic retinopathy. The adenosinergic system is widely regarded as a significant modulator of neurotransmission and the inflammatory response, through the actions of the four types of adenosine receptors (A1R, A2AR, A2BR, and A3R), and thus could be revealed as a poten...
Diabetic retinopathy is a leading cause of blindness among adults in the western countries. It has been reported that neurodegeneration may occur in diabetic retinas, but the mechanisms underlying retinal cell death are poorly understood. We found that high glucose increased the number of cells with condensed nuclei and the number of TUNEL-positive cells, and caused an increase in the translocation of phosphati...
Proteolytic cleavage of the Na(+)/Ca(2+) exchanger (NCX) by calpains impairs calcium homeostasis, leading to a delayed calcium overload and excitotoxic cell death. However, it is not known whether reversal of the exchanger contributes to activate calpains and trigger neuronal death. We investigated the role of the reversal of the NCX in Ca(2+) dynamics, calpain activation and cell viability, in alpha-amino-3-hy...
The synthesis and spectroscopic characterisation of some representative N-alkylsubstituted quaternary ammonium salts derived from benzothiazole, benzoxazole, benzoselenazole, indole and quinoline are described. These heterocyclic salts, bearing an activated methyl group in the 2-position in relation to the nitrogen atom and N-methyl, -pentyl, -hexyl and -decyl chains, are typical precursors of cyanine dyes.