, 1998 and Vertzoni et al , 2005)

, 1998 and Vertzoni et al., 2005). selleck chemicals Ethanol can act as a cosolvent and increase the Sapp in gastrointestinal fluids. This may therefore affect the absorption of poorly soluble drugs. Common modified release formulations carrying high doses of drugs have been shown to disintegrate prematurely and unload the complete dose in the small intestine

in response to ethanol intake ( Fadda et al., 2008 and Walden et al., 2007). This phenomenon is referred to as dose dumping and can lead to increased and potentially hazardous plasma concentrations and adverse side effects of drugs with narrow therapeutic window ( Lennernäs, 2009). A well-known example of this phenomenon is hydromorphone for which one formulation was withdrawn from the market in 2005 after reports of ethanol-induced, dose-dumping-related, adverse drug reactions (ADR). The withdrawn product was a capsule with an extended release formulation consisting of hotmelt extruded granules of the drug, ammonio methacrylate copolymer type b and ethylcellulose. The latter signaling pathway has been shown to be

sensitive to ethanol in dissolution tests ( Fadda et al., 2008). Following this observation the FDA composed a number of substance specific guidelines (e.g., bupropion hydrochloride, morphine sulfate and trospium chloride) to test for ethanol sensitivity of modified release formulations. In these guidelines dissolution behavior should be assessed for 2 h with 0%, 5%, 20% and 40% v/v ethanol in an acidic medium reflecting the gastric milieu ( Anand et al., 2011). We hypothesized that immediate release formulations of drugs with low solubility in gastrointestinal fluids may, in a similar fashion as extended release formulations during dose-dumping,

show increased absorption in response to alcohol intake. This hypothesis is based on the large drug load of such compounds which is not dissolved during gastrointestinal transit under normal fasted conditions. If the presence of ethanol in gastrointestinal fluids increases the dissolution rate and/or the Sapp of a compound, it may also affect the absorption too profile of that drug ( Fig. 1). Indeed, in a previous study investigating 22 compounds in FaSSIF, we found that non-ionizable compounds and weak acids in particular were at a high risk for obtaining significantly different dissolution profiles when administered with ethanol. However, ethanol is rapidly absorbed in the intestinal tract and the impact on absorption was not revealed in the previous study. For instance, it has been shown that if ethanol is co-administered with water, the ethanol disappears from the gastric compartment within 30 min and half of the dose is emptied into the duodenum within 5 min ( Levitt et al., 1997).

The above research work has been carried out with the aim of cont

The above research work has been carried out with the aim of controlling the release of Cefditoren Pivoxil with sodium carbonate, carbopol, and sodium alginate. With the use of above mentioned excipients in different concentrations the gastro retentive effect was successful. The tablets were formulated by direct compression. All the physical parameters were in acceptable range as per the pharmacopeal specifications. Formulation F5 (20% carbopol, 6%sodium carbonate and 6% of sodium alginate) showed a good controlled release with better gastro retentive effect which was further confirmed by the swelling index.

Stability studies were performed for the formulation F5 as per the ICH guidelines. Alpelisib price % Drug content at the 60th day was slightly reduced which may be further improved by adding suitable stabilizing agent. However further work is needed to establish regarding stability of the

tablets. All authors have none to declare. “
“Plant have known to serve mankind since ancient era with various biological activity among which antimicrobial activities using plant extracts have been well Selleck Dorsomorphin reported.1 and 2 Such properties in plants are expressed due to the presence of active phytocomponents.3 and 4 With the emergence of multi drug resistant bacteria haunt for novel antibiotics has been upsurge in recent decades especially from natural reservoirs among which plants have been constant explored for antimicrobial agents due the fact that most of the plants are underscore toward isolating and characterization of novel natural products. Traditional Parvulin records have been well documented with various plants used as a sole source of herbal medicine against treating various diseases which is being still persist in various developing countries and has been followed by tribal communities in remote areas. Similarly excessive use of synthetic chemicals to improve crop productivity has created huge impact on all forms of life causing bio magnification.5 Hence to address these issues exploitation of plants which are under documented has gained tremendous progress across the globe. Antimicrobial

agents from plant source have given a new ray of hope against multi drug resistant microorganism compared to synthetic drugs which in turn has influenced the industrial funding for natural product-based drug discovery. Keeping these lacunae the present study was designed and executed toward exploiting aromatic herb Callistemon lanceolatus DC. as antibacterial activity. C. lanceolatus DC. belongs to a family Myrtaceae commonly known as crimson bottle brush, an aromatic evergreen shrub. 6 It is a hardy plant grows under a wide range of conditions and cultivated as ornamental plant. It grows to between 1 and 3 m in height and has leaves which are 3–7 cm long and 5–8 mm wide. The leaves are a tea substitute and have a delightfully refreshing flavor and tan dye is obtained.

e , African region, American region, European region, Eastern Med

e., African region, American region, European region, Eastern Mediterranean region, South-east Asian region, and Western Pacific region). Crude prevalence data were obtained by dividing the number of individual

strain types listed in a given study by the total number of typed strains. These data were aggregated to obtain estimates for each WHO-defined region and globally. However, this approach could potentially distort the contribution of different strains to overall global rotavirus disease burden, as countries that report data on more strains would be over-represented in calculations. For example, if 20% of all strains typed globally were reported from the United States, the US would contribute one-fifth of the crude strain prevalence data, yet it accounts for <1% of all global deaths from rotavirus.

Therefore, we also calculated weighted estimates of regional and global strain prevalence, by assigning to strain Capmatinib cell line data from each region a weight proportional to the WHO estimate of RV deaths in children <5 years of age in that region. Separate weights were assigned for calculations at the regional level and globally. A total of 2606 original articles published during 1996 and later were identified. After excluding studies that did not provide relevant information 428 articles were screened for eligibility (Fig. 1), and data from 281 articles were included for the final analysis (Supplementary file). The majority (>96%) of studies were cross-sectional in design and most (>99%) used RT-PCR genotyping (alone, or, in combination with MAb-EIA, BIBW2992 hybridization, or sequencing) for strain characterization (Supplementary file). The number of typed strains varied remarkably by study (range, 7–1126 per year per country; mean, 164; median, 87); 78% and 56% of the studies provided information on <200 and <100 strains per year per country, respectively. A total of 110,223 strains were G-typed in these 281 studies (Supplementary new file). Data on 124 strains could not be traced because either information was lacking on the number of mixed and untyped strains

or, less commonly, due to discrepancies between the presented total number of strains and the number of individual strain types after their sum up. Of the 110,099 strains with available information, 42.9% were G1, 11.8% were G2, 11.1% were G3, 8.2% were G4, and 14.1% were G9, which together accounted for 88.2% of all strains (Fig. 2A). G8 and G12 each approached 1% prevalence. Infections with multiple rotavirus strains (based on combined G types) and untypeable strains were found in 3.8% and 6.1% of samples, respectively. In general, both mixed infections and untypeable strains were more commonly seen in developing countries (mean values of mixed infections and untyped strains, respectively: African region, 7.2% and 10.7%, American region, 2.8% and 4.

2 and 3 Among these Cry1 halotype protein toxins form the largest

2 and 3 Among these Cry1 halotype protein toxins form the largest class of insecticidal crystal proteins which are produced as protoxins (ca. 130 kDa). The active toxins are approximately half the sizes of the protoxins. The activation process involves removal of 25–30 amino acids from the N-terminus and approximately half of the remainder of Raf inhibitor the C-terminus 4 (Wabiko

and Yasuda, 1995). Gene cry1Aa from B. thuringiensis spp. kurstaki HD-1 was first cry type gene to be cloned. 5 A total of 306 halotypes of cry1 protein toxins have been reported (http://www.lifesci.Sussex.ac.uk/Home/Neil Crickmore/Bt/last updated 03.01.12; Table 1). Different Cry proteins are toxic to different types of insect orders. Cry1 proteins are toxic to lepidopteron insects and coleopteran insects. 6 Cry1Ie protein has been shown to be toxic to Plutella xylostella, Ostrinia furnacalis, and the soybean pod borer Leguminivora glycinivorella. 7 A novel crystal protein gene cry1K from B. thuringiensis subsp. Morrison BF190 has been cloned and sequenced. It has been reported selectively

toxic to Arfogeia rupae and not active to P xylostella. Structure of Cry1Aa1 crystal protein from check details B. thuringiensis var. kurstaki HD-1 has been solved by X-ray crystallography. The toxin is made of three distinct domains. The N-terminal domain is a bundle of eight alpha-helices. It has a central, relatively hydrophobic helix surrounded by amphipathic helices. Domain II comprises of three antiparallel β sheets, which are folded into loops and domain III is made of a β sandwich of two antiparallel β strands. Comparison with the structure of isothipendyl Cry3A shows that although the fold of these two proteins is similar, there are significant structural differences within

domain II. This finding supports the conclusions from genetic studies that domain II is involved in recognition and binding to cell surface receptors. The distribution of the electrostatic potential on the surface of the molecule is non-uniform and identifies one side of the alpha-helical domain as negatively charged. The predominance of arginine residues as basic residues ensures that the observed positive charge distribution is also maintained in the highly alkaline environment found in the lepidopteran midgut. 8 The studies on Cry1Ac toxin revealed that residue 544 of domain III plays an important role in maintaining structural stability. Substitution of a polar group at this position is unfavorable to its stability.

These studies included elderly patients (Donoghue et al 2009), el

These studies included elderly patients (Donoghue et al 2009), elderly residents of an aged care facility (Berg et al 1995), and patients with stroke (Liaw et al 2008, emsp Mao et al 2002, emsp Stevenson 2001), multiple sclerosis (Cattaneo et al 2007, emsp Paltamaa et al 2005), spinal cord injury (Wirz et al 2010), and Parkinson’s disease (Lim et al 2005, emsp Steffen and Seney 2008). The intra-rater 3-deazaneplanocin A supplier relative reliability of the Berg Balance

Scale was estimated by meta-analysing data from three studies with a total of 101 subjects. The pooled estimate of the intra-rater relative reliability of the Berg Balance Scale was 0.98 (95% CI 0.97 to 0.99), as presented in Figure 2. A further analysis was conducted to examine the interrater relative reliability of the Berg Balance Scale by metaanalysing data from five studies with a total of 345 subjects. The pooled estimate of the inter-rater reliability was 0.97 (95% CI 0.96 to 0.98), as presented in Figure 3. These studies included participants from a variety of clinical populations with balance abilities across the full spectrum of the Berg Balance Scale, although only one mTOR signaling pathway study had a sizeable number of subjects

with very low Berg Balance Scale scores (Berg et al 1995). Sensitivity analyses did not find evidence that translations of the Berg Balance Scale into languages other than English have different reliability to the English version. In all cases repeating the analysis omitting translations of the Berg Balance Scale changed the relative reliability by less than 1%. All papers used Shrout and Fleiss

Type 2 calculation to calculate ICC Fossariinae except Berg et al (1995), which used Type 1. Studies investigating the absolute intra-rater reliability of the Berg Balance Scale show that the MDC95 varies in relation to the mean Berg Balance Scale scores of the sample, as presented in Figure 4. The review did not identify data about the absolute reliability of the Berg Balance Scale within its lower range of 0 to 20. Only one study examined the absolute inter-rater reliability of the Berg Balance Scale (Cattaneo et al 2007). This found very similar results for absolute intra- and inter-rater reliability. Sensitivity analysis was conducted individually on all papers studying the absolute reliability of the Berg Balance Scale using translations. A Swedish translation studying the reliability of the Berg Balance Scale in residential aged care facilities with substantially cognitively impaired residents found a significantly lower absolute reliability with a MDC95 of 7.7 (mean Berg Balance Scale 30.1) (Conradsson et al 2007). These study findings were not included in our analysis of the absolute reliability of Berg Balance Scale. In all other cases the line of best fit with the individual study excluded was almost identical to the analysis presented.

Samples and survey data were collected during the dry months of J

Samples and survey data were collected during the dry months of June–August of 2004, coinciding with learn more the period of increased malaria transmission in Rondonia State. Written informed consent was obtained from all adult donors or from parents of donors in the case of minors. The study was reviewed and approved by

the Fundação Oswaldo Cruz Ethical Committee and the National Ethical Committee of Brazil. To evaluate epidemiological factors that may influence the cellular immune response against PvMSP9, all donors were interviewed upon informed consent. Questions in the survey related to demographics, time of residence in the endemic area, personal and family histories of

malaria, use of malaria prophylaxis, presence of malaria symptoms, and personal knowledge of malaria. Survey data was recorded and entered into a database created with Epi Info 2002 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA). Venous peripheral blood was collected into heparinized tubes, and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were isolated by Ficoll/Hypaque (Pharmacia, Piscataway, NJ) density gradient centrifugation and used in the ELISPOT http://www.selleckchem.com/products/Adriamycin.html assays within the first 12 h after collection. Plasma was stored at −20 °C and thin and thick blood smears of all donors were examined for malaria parasites. Parasitological evaluation by examination of 200 fields at 1000×

magnification under oil-immersion, all slides were examined by a researcher expertise Tryptophan synthase in malaria diagnosis. Donors positive for P. vivax and/or P. falciparum at the time of blood collection were subsequently treated per the chemotherapeutic regimen recommended by the Brazilian Ministry of Health. HLA-DR binding frames along the primary structure of PvMSP9 were detected by ProPred analysis. The amino acid sequence of PvMSP9 was scanned to identify promiscuous MHC binding peptides using virtual matrices designed for 51 HLA-DR alleles [15]. Eleven sequences were identified within the N-terminal region of PvMSP9 which were predicted to bind at least 40% HLA-DR alleles included in the ProPed algorithm at a 3% threshold. Synthetic peptides representing such putative T-cell epitopes were synthesized at the Laboratory of Biochemistry of Proteins and Peptides, Institute Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz. The complete amino acid sequences of five out of 11 synthetic peptides (including 3 overlapping regions) that induced the highest cellular response and the relative amino acid position were: (1) peptide pE (V147–K159), VVHKLNKKMKSLK; (2) peptide pH (V438–D449), VSLMASIDSMID; (3) peptide pJ (K325–I339), KLKDILLRVLYKTYI; (4) peptide pK (P434–I448), PAEDVSLMASIDSMI and (5) peptide pL (A443–K456), ASIDSMIDEIDFYEK.

4) After pre-incubation (10 min,

4). After pre-incubation (10 min, Fulvestrant research buy 37 °C), reactions were initiated by adding DNDI-VL-2098 (0.5 μM). Samples (100 μL) were taken at 0, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, and 60 min and quenched with 100 μL acetonitrile. NADPH-free incubations were made similarly with samples at 0, 30 and 60 min. 7-ethoxyresorufin, diclofenac, omeprazole, dextromethorphan and midazolam were concomitantly used as positive control substrates for CYP1A2, 2C9, 2C19, 2D6 and 3A4, respectively. Fresh blood (1 mL) was spiked with DNDI-VL-2098 to produce 0.3, 3, 30 μg/mL (0.08% DMSO). After gentle inversion, for the t0 time point, a 50 μL aliquot was hemolyzed by adding 50 μL 1% formic acid and snap-frozen. A second 200 μL aliquot was taken

to generate plasma, 50 μL of which was mixed with 50 μL 1% formic acid and snap-frozen. The remaining blood sample was incubated at 37 °C and blood and plasma samples were similarly taken at 30 and 60 min. Plasma was spiked with DNDI-VL-2098 to produce 0.3, 3, 30 μg/mL (0.08% DMSO). After gentle inversion, six replicates

of 50 μL each were collected at t0 to determine spiking accuracy, and another 500 μL sample was incubated in a microfuge tube (4 h, 37 °C, 5% CO2) to assess stability. Binding was determined by adding 120 μL of DNDI-VL-2098 spiked plasma to one half-cell (donor, n = 6) of equilibrium dialyser and 120 μL buffer to the receiver compartment. The assembled dialyzer was selleck chemical incubated (37 °C, 5% CO2, 120 rpm) for 4 h, after which plasma and buffer samples were recovered from each half-cell and samples were analyzed. Diclofenac was concomitantly used as a positive control compound. Buffer, CYP substrates and microsomes (0.15 mg/mL except 0.25 mg/mL the for CYP2C19 and 0.10 mg/mL for CYP3A-midazolam) were mixed and aliquots were

transferred into a 96-well plate. CYP isozyme-specific probe substrates used were CYP1A2 (phenacetin, 45 μM), CYP2C9 (Diclofenac, 10 μM), CYP2C19 (S-mephenytoin, 55 μM), CYP2D6 (dextromethorphan, 10 μM), and CYP3A (midazolam, 5 μM). DNDI-VL-2098 stock solutions were spiked (1 μL) to achieve the final target inhibitor concentrations (0.012, 0.024, 0.049, 0.098, 0.195, 0.39, 0.78, 1.56, 3.125, 6.25, and 12.5 μM). Following pre-incubation (5 min, 37 °C), reactions were initiated by adding 20 μL of 20 mM NADPH and the plate was incubated at 37 °C. At preset time points (5 min for CYP3A-midazolam, 7 min for CYP2C9 & CYP2D6, 10 min for CYP1A2, and 40 min for CYP2C19), the reactions were quenched with acetonitrile, or 1% formic acid:acetonitrile 70:30 for CYP1A2. All experiments were run in triplicate (n = 3). Deuterated metabolite internal standards were added and in situ production of the corresponding CYP isozyme-specific metabolite (CYP1A2-acetaminophen, CYP2C9-4-hydroxydiclofenac, CYP2C19-4-hydroxymephenytoin, CYP2D6-dextrorphan, CYP3A-1-hydroxymidazolam) was determined.

RAW 264 7 cells were incubated for 24 h with LPS (1 μg/ml) in pre

RAW 264.7 cells were incubated for 24 h with LPS (1 μg/ml) in presence or absence of different tested compounds (10 μg/ml). Fifty microliter of cell culture supernatant were mixed with 50 μl of freshly prepared Griess reagent and incubated for 10 min. The absorbance was measured spectrophotometrically at 540 nm. A standard curve was plotted using serial concentrations of sodium nitrite. The nitrite content was normalized to the cellular protein content as measured by bicinchoninic acid assay.13 and 14

The NO inhibition percentage was calculated by submitting the nitrite contents of cell supernatant of cultures treated with DMSO (control), LPS, or LPS/tested compounds according to the following equation: (Nitritescompound−Nitritescontrol)/(NitritesLPS−Nitritescontrol)×100(Nitritescompound−Nitritescontrol)/(NitritesLPS−Nitritescontrol)×100 Alectinib nmr TNF-α, an indicator of inflammation, was measured by ELISA kit of the supernatant of RAW 264.7 incubated for 24 h with LPS in presence and

absence of tested compounds (10 μg/ml), where the concentration of TNF-α in samples was calculated from a plotted standard curve using the recombinant TNF-α, measured by the supplied ELISA kit, and then normalized to the protein concentration in each sample (data was expressed as ng/mg protein). The inhibition percentages of LPS-induced TNF-α generation are an indicator for anti-inflammatory activity of the tested samples.15 Histone Methyltransferase inhibitor Cytotoxicity of tested extract PAK6 was measured against Hep-G2, MCF-7 and HCT-116 cells using MTT cell viability assay,11 which is based on the ability of active mitochondrial dehydrogenase enzyme of living cells to

cleave the tetrazolium rings of the yellow MTT and form a dark blue insoluble formazan crystals which is largely impermeable to cell membranes, resulting in its accumulation within healthy cells. The number of viable cells is directly proportional to the level of soluble formazan dark blue color. The extent of the reduction of MTT was quantified by measuring the absorbance at 570 nm using microplate ELISA reader. Data were expressed as the percentage of relative viability compared with the untreated cells compared with the vehicle control, with cytotoxicity indicated by <100% relative viability. Then the half maximal growth inhibitory concentration (IC50) was calculated from the equation of the dose-dependent response curve and percentage of relative viability was calculated using the following equation: [Absorbanceoftreatedcells/Absorbanceofcontrolcells]×100 Tested samples were evaluated for antibacterial activity against six different bacterial strains using the agar diffusion method.16 A loopful of the test organisms was inoculated into 5.0 ml of nutrient broth and incubated at 37 °C for 24 h, and then 0.

Scanning electron microscopy has been used to characterize solid-

Scanning electron microscopy has been used to characterize solid-state changes on the surfaces of dosage forms after dissolution [10] and [17]. X-ray powder diffraction has been used to depth profile phase changes on samples undergoing dissolution related solid-state changes [17]. However, both SEM and XRPD are unsuitable for in situ analysis of dissolution due to sample preparation

requirements. Spontaneous Raman spectroscopy has been shown to be suitable for in situ analysis of solid-state transformations during dissolution [9] and [10]. Spontaneous Raman spectroscopy has the advantage that it can generate full BLZ945 cost vibrational spectra in a relatively short period of time. Coupled with a flow through cell and UV flow through absorption spectroscopy, it has been used in situ to monitor various solid-state conversions and their effects on dissolution, including transformation from TPa to TPm, and the crystallization of amorphous IMC and CBZ. However, spontaneous Raman spectroscopy gives no spatial information, meaning that it is not capable of identifying where solid-state conversions are occurring during dissolution and techniques developed to map Raman intensity are slow www.selleckchem.com/products/chir-99021-ct99021-hcl.html (minutes to hours), precluding in

situ analysis during dissolution testing. Instead, we use coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) microscopy as a tool for in situ analysis during dissolution. A summary of CARS microscopy is provided in [18]. Briefly, CARS microscopy is capable of rapid spectrally- and spatially-resolved imaging

allowing the visualization of different solid-state forms of drugs based on their Raman vibrational spectra. A narrowband CARS setup typically utilizes two synchronized pulsed lasers, one of which is tuneable in wavelength. The two laser beams are Methisazone temporally and spatially overlapped before being focused on the sample. If the frequency difference between the two laser beams matches a Raman active vibrational mode, an anti-Stokes (blueshifted with respect to input beams) signal is produced. Raman vibrational modes are specific for compounds or groups of compounds providing chemically specific images. As the CARS signal is produced only within the focal volume of the lasers, the process is inherently confocal, allowing resolution down to the diffraction limit in three dimensions. CARS is a third order non-linear optical technique that probes the same molecular vibrational frequencies as spontaneous Raman techniques. This means that CARS spectra are comparable to but not the same as Raman spectra. Coherent Raman techniques such as CARS have about 100 times faster imaging speed when compared to spontaneous Raman mapping techniques [19]. Spontaneous Raman techniques collect information over a wide spectral range, while narrowband coherent Raman techniques collect information from only a single Raman shift.

, 2005) or NMDA receptor stimulation (Reigada et al , 2006) Rece

, 2005) or NMDA receptor stimulation (Reigada et al., 2006). Recently, the release of ATP in the retina or in cultures of retinal cells was observed in pathological conditions such as high glucose (Costa et al., 2009) or elevated intraocular Erastin supplier pressure (Resta et al., 2007). The expression of several nucleotide receptor subtypes was described in the retina. Besides mRNAs for several P2X and P2Y receptors (Fries et al., 2004a, Fries

et al., 2004b, Greenwood et al., 1997, Jabs et al., 2000, Wheeler-Schilling et al., 2000 and Wheeler-Schilling et al., 2001), several receptor proteins, including both P2Y and P2X sub-types of receptors, were characterized in this tissue (for review, see Housley et al., 2009). During development, nucleotide-mediated responses were primarily associated with the induction of cell proliferation in the retina (Milenkovic et al., 2003, Moll et al., 2002, Pearson et al., 2002, Sanches et al., 2002 and Sugioka et al., 1999). In the chick retina, while activation of P2Y2/4 receptors by ATP or UTP induces the proliferation of early developing Selleckchem MAPK inhibitor progenitors that will generate ganglion, amacrine, horizontal cells and photoreceptors (Pearson et al., 2002 and Pearson et al., 2005), activation of P2Y1 receptors by ATP or ADP induces the proliferation of late developing glial/bipolar progenitors (França et al., 2007 and Sanches et al., 2002)

by a mechanism involving PKC, MAPK and PI3K/AKT pathways (Nunes et al., 2007, Ornelas and Ventura, 2010 and Sholl-Franco et al., 2010). In the developing rat retina, ATP signaling was also associated with the induction of cell death through the activation of P2X7 receptors (Resta et al., 2005). The Müller cell is the predominant glial cell type that interacts with the majority of neurons in the retina (for review, Sarthy and Ripps, 2001). Dichloromethane dehalogenase Müller cells have a supportive function for retinal neurons,

responding to and releasing a variety of signaling molecules during development as well as in the adult tissue (Reis et al., 2008, for review). Müller cells, for example, are involved in the control of the extracellular levels of K+, H+ and neurotransmitters, in the release of vasoactive agents and d-serine, in light conduction to photoreceptors, in inhibition of cell swelling under hypotonic conditions, among other functions (Bringmann et al., 2006). Some of the above functions of the retinal glia involve activation of nucleotide receptors primarily associated with the mobilization of intracellular calcium levels (Li et al., 2001). It was demonstrated, for example, that light or mechanical stimulation of the retina induces Ca2+ waves that propagate from Müller cell to Müller cell by the release of ATP and activation of P2 receptors (Newman, 2001 and Newman, 2003).