In various areas of the bio-medical, pharmacological and psychological research a multitude of behavioural tests have been used to investigate the effects of environmental, genetic and epi-genetic factors as well as pharmacological substances or diseased states on behaviour and thus on the physiological and psycho-social status of experimental subjects. This article is reviewing the most frequently used behavioural tests in animal research (open field, elevated plus maze, zero maze, and black and white box). It provides a summary of common characteristics as well as differences in the methods used in various studies to determine motor activity, anxiety and emotionality. Additionally to methodological aspects, strain, sex and stress-related differences as well as the involvement of nitric oxide in modulation of motor activity and anxiety of rodents were briefly reviewed.

Iron is an essential mineral participating in different functions of the organism under physiological conditions. Numerous biological processes, such as oxygen and lipid metabolism, protein production, cellular respiration, and DNA synthesis, require the presence of iron, and mitochondria play an important role in the processes of iron metabolism. In addition to its physiological role, iron may be also involved in the adaptive processes of myocardial “conditioning”. On the other hand, disorders of iron metabolism are involved in the pathological mechanisms of the most common human diseases and include a wide range of them, such as type 2 diabetes, obesity, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and accelerate the development of atherosclerosis. Furthermore, iron also exerts potentially deleterious effects that may be manifested under conditions of ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury, myocardial infarction, heart failure, coronary artery angioplasty, or heart transplantation, due to its involvement in reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. Moreover, iron has been recently described to participate in the mechanisms of iron-dependent cell death defined as “ferroptosis”. Ferroptosis is a form of regulated cell death that is distinct from apoptosis, necroptosis, and other types of cell death. Ferroptosis has been shown to be associated with I/R injury and several other cardiac diseases as a significant form of cell death in cardiomyocytes. In this review, we will discuss the role of iron in cardiovascular diseases, especially in myocardial I/R injury, and protective mechanisms stimulated by different forms of “conditioning” with a special emphasis on the novel targets for cardioprotection.

The effects of the red wine polyphenolic compounds (Provinol) on hypertension, left ventricular hypertrophy, myocardial fibrosis, and vascular remodeling were investigated after chronic inhibition of nitric oxide (NO) synthase by administration of N^G-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (l-NAME) to rats. Rats were divided into four groups: a control group, a group treated for 4 wk with l-NAME (40 mg · kg⁻¹· day⁻¹), and two groups treated with l-NAME followed by 3 wk of either spontaneous recovery or recovery with Provinol treatment (40 mg · kg⁻¹· day⁻¹). Administration of Provinol produced a greater readiness of the decrease in blood pressure than that in the spontaneous recovery group. Provinol significantly depressed myocardial fibrosis and expedited the decrease in aortic cross-sectional area, the increase in endothelium-dependent relaxation, and the decrease in contraction of the aorta. These effects of Provinol were associated with a greater increase of NO synthase activity in the left ventricle and the aorta. The present study provides evidence that Provinol accelerates the regression of blood pressure and improves structural and functional cardiovascular changes produced by chronic inhibition of NO synthesis.

Objective Red wine polyphenols have been reported to possess beneficial properties for preventing cardiovascular diseases but their effects on hemodynamic and functional cardiovascular changes during inhibition of nitric oxide (NO) synthesis have not been elucidated. Design The effects of the red wine polyphenols, Provinols, on arterial hypertension as well as left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy, myocardial fibrosis and vascular remodeling were investigated in rats during chronic inhibition of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activity. Rats were divided into four groups: a control group, a group treated with N^G-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) (40 mg/kg per day), a group receiving Provinols (40 mg/kg per day) alone or Provinols plus L-NAME. Results Provinols markedly reduced the increase in both blood pressure and protein synthesis in the heart and aorta caused by chronic inhibition of NO synthesis. Provinols reduced myocardial fibrosis even though it did not affect LV hypertrophy. In addition, Provinols prevented aortic thickening and corrected the augmented reactivity of the aorta to norepinephrine and the attenuated endothelium-dependent relaxation to acetylcholine in NO-deficient rats. These alterations were associated with an increase of NOS activity, a moderate enhancement of endothelial NOS expression and a reduction of oxidative stress in the LV and aorta. Conclusion Our results provide evidence that Provinols partially prevents L-NAME-induced hypertension, cardiovascular remodeling and vascular dysfunction via the increase of NO-synthase activity and prevention of oxidative stress. Thus, the beneficial effects of plant polyphenols in prevention of hypertension may result from their complex influence on the NO balance in the cardiovascular system.