0000000000594700

AUTHOR

Marek Zelenka

Colocalization but differential regulation of neuronal NO synthase and nicotinic acetylcholine receptor in C2C12 myotubes.

In mammalian skeletal muscle, neuronal-type nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) is found to be enriched at neuromuscular endplates. Here we demonstrate the colocalization of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR, stained with α-bungarotoxin) and nNOS (stained with a specific antibody) in murine C2C12myotubes. However, coimmunoprecipitation experiments demonstrated no evidence for a direct protein-protein association between the nAChR and nNOS in C2C12myotubes. An antibody to the α1-subunit of the nAChR did not coprecipitate nNOS, and an nNOS-specific antibody did not precipitate the α1-subunit of the nAChR. Treatment of mice with bacterial LPS downregulated the expression of nNOS in skeletal…

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Transcription of different exons 1 of the human neuronal nitric oxide synthase gene is dynamically regulated in a cell- and stimulus-specific manner.

An extensive screening of the human neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) mRNAs in various human tissues and cell lines unraveled an extreme complexity in the transcription of this gene. Using 5'rapid amplification of cDNA ends (5'-RACE), ten different exons 1 (named 1a-1l) were identified. They were spliced in a cell-specific manner to a common exon 2, which bears the translational start site. Three first exons (1 d, 1g and 1f) were used predominantly for the transcription of the nNOS gene (146 out of 197 5'-RACE clones contained these exons). Exon 1 k was found alone, but in many instances was interposed between exons 1 b, 1d, 1g, 1 i or 1j and the common exon 2. In addition to the cell-s…

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