Background and Aims Root observation windows (RW) installed in the field provide a tool for non-destructive monitoring of root development and rhizosphere processes. However, the highly invasive installation process, which requires cutting soil profiles, may affect plant development and, ultimately, the outcome of the experiments. This study systematically compares plant development with and without the installation of RW. Met...

Several gastrointestinal drugs like bromopride, cinitapride, cisapride, clebopride, felcisetrag, metoclopramide, mosapride, naronapride, prucalopride, renzapride, tegaserod, velusetrag, and zacopride are probably agonists at 5-HT 4 -serotonin receptors in the intestine. Some of these drugs do not act selectively only on 5-HT 4 -serotonin receptors. Instead, most of them also stimulate or inhibit other serotonin receptors. In a...

Dulaglutide is a glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor (GLP-1R) agonist. Dulaglutide (LY2189265) is a GLP-1(7–37) analogue fused by a linker to a modified immunoglobulin G. GLP-1R agonists like dulaglutide can be used to treat diabetes type 2 and obesity. We tested the hypothesis that dulaglutide directly increased force of contraction in the human heart via GLP-1R. To this end, we conducted contraction experiments in paced (1 Hz)...

Mirtazapine is an atypical tetracyclic antidepressant drug that binds to several monoamine neurotransmitter receptors. For instance, mirtazapine binds to H 1 -histamine receptors in vitro and in the brain of patients in vivo. Here, we hypothesize that mirtazapine is an antagonist at human cardiac H 1 -histamine receptors. To test this hypothesis, we measured force of contraction in isolated electrically stimulated (1 Hz) left...

Felcisetrag (methyl 4-[[4-[[(2-propan-2-yl-1 H -benzimidazole-4-carbonyl)-amino]-methyl]-piperidin-1-yl]methyl]piperidine-1-carboxylate, TD-8954, TAK-954) has a structural formula with similarity to serotonin. It is one of the most potent compounds to bind to recombinant human 5-HT 4 -serotonin receptors. We noted that felcisetrag raised force of contraction in left atrial preparations (LA) and beating rate in right atrial pre...

(R)-N 6 -Phenylisopropyladenosine (R-PIA), an agonist at A 1 -adenosine receptors, per se leads to so-called “direct” negative inotropic effects (NIE) in mammalian atrium. These NIE in mammalian atrium are often accentuated in the presence of cAMP-increasing agonists acting through GTP-binding stimulatory proteins in the sarcolemma such as isoprenaline (via β-adrenoceptors), histamine (via H 2 -histamine receptors) or serotoni...

Dexmedetomidine is an approved drug that is chemically related to clonidine. Dexmedetomidine is used to induce sedation and anxiolysis. These therapeutic effects of dexmedetomidine are explained by its agonistic action on brain α 2 -adrenoceptors. We tested the hypothesis that dexmedetomidine like clonidine also stimulated human cardiac atrial H 2 -histamine-receptors. We noted that 10 µM dexmedetomidine increased force of con...

Tirzepatide is an approved drug that is used to treat type 2 diabetes. Tirzepatide is a peptide comprised of 39 amino acids and activates glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide receptors (GIPR) and glucagon-like peptide-1 receptors (GLP-1R). Via GIPR and GLP-1R, tirzepatide stimulated in cell culture adenylyl cyclases (AC) and thereby elevated the cellular content of 3′:5′ cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP). We tested...

Clebopride resembles in its structural formula metoclopramide. Clebopride, an approved drug, is used to treat gastrointestinal diseases. Here, we tested the hypothesis that clebopride like metoclopramide acts as a partial agonist at human cardiac 5-HT 4 -serotonin-receptors. Clebopride enhanced the force of contraction (FOC) in isolated, electrically stimulated (1 Hz) left atrial preparations (LA) from transgenic mice with car...

There is a controversy whether histamine H 1 -receptor activation raises or lowers or does not affect contractility in the human heart. Therefore, we studied stimulation of H 1 -receptors in isolated electrically stimulated (one beat per second) human atrial preparations (HAP). For comparison, we measured force of contraction in left atrial preparations (LA) from mice with overexpression of the histamine H 1 -receptor in the h...

Clozapine is an atypical antipsychotic (neuroleptic) drug. Clozapine binds to H 2 -histamine receptors in vitro. We wanted to test the hypothesis that clozapine might be a functional antagonist at human cardiac H 2 -histamine receptors. To that end, we studied isolated electrically stimulated left atrial preparations and spontaneously beating right atrial preparations from transgenic mice with cardiomyocyte-specific overexpres...

Central stimulatory and hallucinogenic drugs of abuse like amphetamine and most congeners of amphetamine can have cardiac harmful effects. These cardiac side effects can lead to morbidities and death. In this paper, we review current knowledge on the direct and indirect effects of these amphetamine congeners on the mammalian heart—more specifically, the isolated human heart muscle preparation. In detail, we address the questio...

Clonidine has various clinical effects mediated by agonism of α 1 - or α 2 -adrenoceptors and the blocking of hyperpolarization-activated-nucleotide-gated pacemaker channels (HCN). It is unknown whether clonidine can also stimulate human cardiac histamine H 2 receptors (hH 2 Rs). We used isolated electrically stimulated left and spontaneously beating right atrial preparations from mice overexpressing the hH 2 R specifically in...

Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) is an artificial hallucinogenic drug. Thus, we hypothesized that LSD might act 5-HT 4 serotonin receptors and/or H 2 histamine receptors. We studied isolated electrically stimulated left atrial preparations, spontaneously beating right atrial preparations, and spontaneously beating Langendorff-perfused hearts from transgenic mice with cardiomyocyte-specific overexpression of the human 5-HT 4 re...

Ergometrine (6a R ,9 R )- N -(( S )-1-hydroxypropan-2-yl)-7-methyl-4,6,6a,7,8,9-hexa-hydro-indolo-[4,3- fg ]chinolin-9-carboxamide or lysergide acid β-ethanolamide or ergonovine) activates several types of serotonin and histamine receptors in the animal heart. We thus examined whether ergometrine can activate human serotonin 5-HT 4 receptors (h5-HT 4 R) and/or human histamine H 2 receptors (hH 2 R) in the heart of transgenic m...

We investigated whether hypothermia and hyperthermia can alter the efficacy and potency of histamine at increasing the force of cardiac contractions in mice that overexpress the human H 2 receptor only in their cardiac myocytes (labelled H 2 -TG). Contractile studies were performed in an organ bath on isolated, electrically driven (1 Hz) left atrial preparations and spontaneously beating right atrial preparations from H 2 -TG...

In the past, we generated transgenic mice that overexpress the human histamine 2 (H 2 )-receptor (H 2 -TG) or that overexpress the human serotonin 4 (5-HT 4 )-receptor (5-HT 4 -TG) in the heart. Here, we crossbred these lines of mice to generate double transgenic mice that overexpress both receptors (DT). This was done to study a conceivable interaction between these receptors in the mouse heart as a model for the human heart....

We have previously shown that histamine (2-(1 H -imidazol-4-yl)ethanamine) exerted concentration-dependent positive inotropic effects (PIE) or positive chronotropic effects (PCE) on isolated left and right atria, respectively, of transgenic (H 2 R-TG) mice that overexpress the human H 2 histamine receptor (H 2 R) in the heart; however, the effects were not seen in their wild-type (WT) littermates. Amitriptyline, which is still...

Summary Plasmid carriage is associated with energetic costs, and thus only those plasmids providing fitness benefits are stably maintained in the host lineage. Marine bacteria of the Roseobacter clade harbor up to 11 extrachromosomal replicons, adding lifestyle‐relevant and possibly habitat success‐promoting functions to their genomic repertoire. Phaeobacter inhibens DSM 17395 is a nutritionally versatile representative, carry...