Publications

Mammalian zinc ectopeptidases play important roles in turning off neural and hormonal peptide signals at the cell surface, notably those processing sensory information. We report here the discovery of a previously uncharacterized physiological inhibitor of enkephalin-inactivating zinc ectopeptidases in humans, which we have named Opiorphin. It is a QRFSR peptide that inhibits two enkephalin-catabolizing ectoenzymes, human neutral ecto-endopeptidase, hNEP (EC 3.4.24.11), and human ecto-aminopeptidase, hAP-N (EC 3.4.11.2). Opiorphin displays potent analgesic activity in chemical and mechanical pain models by activating

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Reversible inactivation of the hippocampus by lidocaine or tetrodotoxin is used to investigate implications of this structure in memory processes. Crucial points related to such inactivation are the temporal and spatial extents of the blockade. We compared effects of intrahippocampal infusions of commonly-used doses of lidocaine (5 or 10 mug) or tetrodotoxin (5 or 10 ng) in rats at two post-infusion delays (5 or 30 min), using 2-deoxyglucose autoradiography to visualize local cerebral glucose metabolism, and beam-walking performance to assess

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A bovine alpha s1-casein tryptic hydrolysate was previously demonstrated to display an anxiolytic-like activity in the conditioned defensive burying and in the elevated plus-maze models when i.p. injected. The present study assessed the anxiolytic-like effects of this tryptic hydrolysate after an oral administration in rats faced to the same behavioural situations using diazepam as a reference. In a first experiment, the behavioural effects of the hydrolysate in the conditioned defensive burying test were investigated at doses ranging 5-50 mg/kg. The

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The putative effects of a tryptic bovine alphaS1-casein hydrolysate on stress-induced sleep disorders were investigated and their possible link with typical blood stress parameters such as plasma corticosterone concentrations and glycaemia was assessed. Rats were subjected to chronic stress in the form of environmental disturbances, while receiving an oral administration of the alphaS1-casein hydrolysate (CH). Chronic stress significantly reduced sleep duration in control rats during the first 2 days of the stress period, but stress-induced sleep disturbance was prevented in

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Placing a Brewster-angle axicon inside a laser resonator makes it possible to produce a radially-polarized (RP) oscillation pattern distributed on a thin ring or a portion of a ring. Laser-diode end-pumped, Nd:Y(3)Al(5)O(12) and Nd:YVO(4) lasers were studied. Spatially coherent RP beams distributed on circular arcs were obtained with a polarization contrast ratio up to 80:1. Incoherent RP outputs on a full ring were also produced with a polarization contrast ratio of about 5:1. Applications of these beams to increase absorption

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The behavioural and cognitive effects of oligofructose-enriched inulin at the doses of 5 and 10 % in the diet, orally ingested daily during 2 weeks, were investigated using a functional observational battery (FOB) and the light extinction test in male Wistar rats. Control rats received a standard diet and were tested in the same test situations. The behavioural effects were assessed 2 d before and 14 d after the beginning of the treatment period and the cognitive effects were investigated

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BACKGROUND: Preclinical results in rats have demonstrated anxiolytic-like effects of a tryptic bovine alphaS1-casein hydrolysate. AIM OF THE STUDY: We investigated the putative effects of this tryptic hydrolysate on systolic (SBP), diastolic (DBP) blood pressures, heart rate (HR) values and plasma cortisol concentrations (CC) in human healthy volunteers facing successive stress situations. METHODS: The subjects were (double blind) randomly allocated to ingest three times, 12 hours apart, two capsules containing either 200 mg of alphaS1-casein hydrolysate (TS) or bovine skimmed milk powder as a placebo

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In sexually mature male rats, sialorphin is synthesized under androgenic control and its surge endocrine secretion is evoked in response to environmental acute stress. These findings led us to suggest that this signaling mediator might play a role in physiological and behavioral integration, especially reproduction. The present study investigates the effects induced by sialorphin on the male sexual behavior pattern. Intact male rats were treated in acute mode, with sialorphin at the 0.3, 1, and 3 microg/kg doses, before being

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Seeds of beans, lentils and peas were germinated for 2, 4 and 6 days, either under continuous light or continuous dark, and the free amino acids analysed by HPLC. The effects of germination on the free protein amino acids (FPA) and non-protein amino acids (FNPA) depended on the type of legumes and on the processing conditions. After germination of beans, histidine, glutamate, glycine, arginine, tyrosine and tryptophan contents decreased while, in lentils and peas, FPA increased after germination. Light germination

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Seeds of beans, lentils and peas were germinated for 2, 4 and 6 days, either under continuous light or continuous dark, and the free amino acids analysed by HPLC. The effects of germination on the free protein amino acids (FPA) and non-protein amino acids (FNPA) depended on the type of legumes and on the processing conditions. After germination of beans, histidine, glutamate, glycine, arginine, tyrosine and tryptophan contents decreased while, in lentils and peas, FPA increased after germination. Light germination

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