Search results for " glutamic acid"
showing 3 items of 3 documents
The Role of Vitamin K in Bone Remodeling and Osteoporosis
2012
Vitamin K is an essential fat soluble vitamin involved in the regulation of normal coagulation. However, growing evidence highlights that this molecule appears to be also implicated in the regulation of other important biological functions such as bone mineralization, calcium homeostasis, apoptosis, cell growth and signal transduction. In particular, many studies have focused their attention on the protective effects of vitamin K on bone tissue in the outlook of its use in the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis in post-menopausal women. The objective of the present paper is to review data of the literature regarding the metabolic effects of Vitamin K in bone tissue and its clinical ro…
Understanding Cannabinoid Psychoactivity with Mouse Genetic Models
2007
Marijuana and its main psychotropic ingredient Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) exert a plethora of psychoactive effects through the activation of the neuronal cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB1), which is expressed by different neuronal subpopulations in the central nervous system. The exact neuroanatomical substrates underlying each effect of THC are, however, not known. We tested locomotor, hypothermic, analgesic, and cataleptic effects of THC in conditional knockout mouse lines, which lack the expression of CB1 in different neuronal subpopulations, including principal brain neurons, GABAergic neurons (those that release γ aminobutyric acid), cortical glutamatergic neurons, and neurons expres…
Electrostatic Tuning of the Ligand Binding Mechanism by Glu27 in Nitrophorin 7
2018
AbstractNitrophorins (NP) 1–7 are NO-carrying heme proteins found in the saliva of the blood-sucking insect Rhodnius prolixus. The isoform NP7 displays peculiar properties, such as an abnormally high isoelectric point, the ability to bind negatively charged membranes, and a strong pH sensitivity of NO affinity. A unique trait of NP7 is the presence of Glu in position 27, which is occupied by Val in other NPs. Glu27 appears to be important for tuning the heme properties, but its influence on the pH-dependent NO release mechanism, which is assisted by a conformational change in the AB loop, remains unexplored. Here, in order to gain insight into the functional role of Glu27, we examine the ef…