Gordana Stankovic

The Third Branch of the Main Trunk of the Left Coronary Artery in Cercopithecus aethiops sabaeus. Is the Nonhuman Primate Model Appropriate

The aim of this study was to investigate the morphometry of branching patterns of the main trunk of the left coronary artery (MT of LCA) in nonhuman primates, and comment on the current nomenclature. The biometric study was performed using stereomicroscopic dissection of hearts of healthy and fertile nonhuman primates (Cercopithecus aethiops sabaeus) of both sexes. Our results reveal that the MT of LCA terminates in a bifurcation into the anterior interventricular branch (AIB) and the circumflex branch (CB) (74.6%), trifurcation into the AIB, CB, and diagonal branch (DB) (23.6%), or occasionally quadrifurcation into the AIB, CB, and two DBs (1.8%). This is similar to the case in humans. Furthermore, two morphological aspects of the DB spatial distribution, in addition to its branching pattern, resemble the DB in humans. Myocardial bridges observed over the DB in the Cercopithecus aethiops heart further contribute to the similarity with humans. The resemblance of the DB and its branches to their human counterparts make them a suitable model for experimental study on coronary circulation. Anat Rec, 2011.

Effects of Tetra hydro cannabinol to the dendritc tree and synapses of the accumbens nucleus of Wistar rats.

Cannabis is one of the most widely used intoxicants; almost half of all 18 year olds in the USA and in most European countries admit to having tried it at least once, and ~10% of that age group are regular users. Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the principal psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, produces euphoria and relaxation and impairs motor coordination, time sense, and short term memory. In the hippocampus, CBs inhibit GABA release from a subset of interneurons and inhibit glutamate release from principal neurons. Cannabinoids are reported to produce both rapid and long-term changes in synaptic transmission. Our study was carried out on ten male rats out of which brains of six of them were used as the representative sample for electron microscope analysis, while 4 were used for light microspcopy performed by Golgi method. Three were exposed to THC and 3 were controls. Axodendric synapses in the core and shell of the accumbens nucleus (AN) were studied under electron microscope. The results have shown widening of the synaptic cleft in the shell of AN. This result is a leading point to our further investigations which are going to involve a behavioral component, and different aspects of morphological studies. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. III 41020]