Search results for " small"
showing 10 items of 806 documents
Isolation of Cholinergic Synaptic Vesicles from the Myenteric Plexus of Guinea-Pig Small Intestine
1980
The acetylcholine-rich myenteric plexus-longitudinal muscle preparation of the guinea-pig small intestine has been subjected to subcellular fractionation using modifications of both classical methods and that originally devised for bulk isolation of cholinergic synaptic vesicles from the electromotor nerve terminals of Torpedo marmorata by means of density gradient centrifugation in a zonal rotor. The latter method gave a vesicle fraction with the highest acetylcholine content so far recorded for a mammalian particulate fraction, 30.9 +/- S.E.M. 1.8 (5) nmol of acetylcholine . mg of protein-1. Electron-microscopical examination showed that it consisted of a homogeneous preparation of vesicl…
Nucleation and Growth of CaCO3 Mediated by the Egg-White Protein Ovalbumin: A Time-Resolved in situ Study Using Small-Angle Neutron Scattering
2008
Mineralization of calcium carbonate in aqueous solutions starting from its initiation was studied by time-resolved small-angle neutron scattering (SANS). SANS revealed that homogeneous crystallization of CaCO 3 involves an initial formation of thin plate-shaped nuclei which subsequently reassemble to 3-dimensional particles, first of fractal and finally of compact structure. The presence of the egg-white protein ovalbumin leads to a different progression of mineralization through several stages; the first step represents amorphous CaCO 3, whereas the other phases are crystalline. The formation and dissolution of the amorphous phase is accompanied by Ca (2+)-mediated unfolding and cross-link…
Giant hepatic hydatid cyst as a cause of small bowel obstruction.
2006
Today, giant hydatid cysts are fairly rare even in endemic areas. We describe a case of an extremely large hydatid cyst of the liver that was causing massive compression of the neighboring organs, giving rise to a subocclusive syndrome of the intestine. After considering the various approaches available for the treatment of this disease, it was decided that radical surgery was still the best therapeutic choice, especially when extremely large cysts are involved. In particular, in clinical situations where it is difficult to perform radical surgical procedures, less aggressive surgery followed by drug treatment should be the treatment of choice.
Accuracy of magnetic resonance enterography in the preoperative assessment of patients with Crohn's disease of the small bowel
2016
Aim to assess the accuracy of magnetic resonance-enterography in predicting the extension, location and characteristics of the small bowel segments affected by Crohn's disease. Method This is a prospective study including a consecutive series of 38 patients with small bowel Crohn's disease who underwent surgery at a specialized colorectal unit of a tertiary hospital. Preoperative magnetic resonance enterography was performed in all patients, following a homogeneous protocol, within the three months prior to surgery. A thorough exploration of the small bowel was performed during the surgical procedure, using calibration spheres, according to the discretion of the surgeon. The accuracy of mag…
PCARE and WASF3 regulate ciliary F-actin assembly that is required for the initiation of photoreceptor outer segment disk formation
2020
Significance The photoreceptor outer segments are primary cilia, modified for phototransduction by incorporation of stacked opsin-loaded membrane disks that are continuously regenerated. This process is disrupted in several types of inherited retinal dystrophy, but the driving force remained unclear. We show that C2orf71/PCARE (photoreceptor cilium actin regulator), associated with inherited retinal dystrophy subtype RP54, efficiently recruits the Arp2/3 complex activator WASF3 to the cilium. This activates an actin dynamics-driven expansion of the ciliary tip, resembling membrane evagination in lamellipodia formation. Colocalization of this actin dynamics module to the base of the outer se…
Role of reactive oxygen species in the regulation of HIF-1 by prolyl hydroxylase 2 under mild hypoxia
2012
The function and survival of eukaryotic cells depends on a constant and sufficient oxygen supply. Cells recognize and respond to hypoxia by accumulation of the transcription factor hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1), composed of an oxygen-sensitive HIF-1α and a constitutive HIF-1β subunit. Besides physiology, HIF-1 induction is involved in major pathological processes such as cardiovascular disease, inflammation and cancer, which are associated with the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). ROS have been reported to affect HIF-1 activity but the role for ROS in regulating HIF-1 has not been definitely settled. In order to shed light on the redox-regulation of HIF-1 by ROS, we studied …
Histamine inhibits 5-hydroxytryptamine release from the porcine small intestine: Involvement of H3 receptors
1992
Abstract Strips of the porcine small intestine were incubated in vitro, and the release of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) was determined by high-pressure liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection. Removal of the mucosa resulted in a large reduction (95%) of tissue 5-HT, suggesting that enterochromaffin cells are the main source of 5-HT. The release of 5-HT was reduced by 70% after omission of calcium. Tetrodotoxin and hexamethonium reduced the release of 5-HT by 30%–40% in a nonadditive manner, indicating a spontaneous neuronal (nicotinic) excitatory input to the enterochromaffin cells. Histamine inhibited the release of 5-HT by about 50%. This effect was not affected by mepyramine o…
I vari modi del DNA di “parlare” ai viventi fra ciò che già è noto e nuove scoperte
2018
A sessant’anni da quando Francis Crick enunciò il “dogma centrale della biologia molecolare” molte scoperte e nuove frontiere si sono avvicendate sulla questione “funzionale” di un genoma, cioè di come un DNA “parla” ai viventi. Oggi è abbastanza noto come un genoma “è”, ed occuparsi solo di questa questione strutturale ormai è sicuramente molto riduttivo, almeno sicuramente per quello umano. È invece il goal standard di questi anni scoprire come e quando un genoma si esprime, come funzio-nalmente traduce il suo messaggio rendendo questo visibile nei fe-notipi dei viventi, a prescindere dalla sua sequenza primaria di basi azotate. Ne consegue che il codice genetico, ancora valido e quasi un…
All-atom simulations disentangle the functional dynamics underlying gene maturation in the intron lariat spliceosome
2018
The spliceosome (SPL) is a majestic macromolecular machinery composed of five small nuclear RNAs and hundreds of proteins. SPL removes noncoding introns from precursor messenger RNAs (pre-mRNAs) and ligates coding exons, giving rise to functional mRNAs. Building on the first SPL structure solved at near–atomic-level resolution, here we elucidate the functional dynamics of the intron lariat spliceosome (ILS) complex through multi-microsecond-long molecular-dynamics simulations of ∼1,000,000 atoms models. The ILS essential dynamics unveils (i) the leading role of the Spp42 protein, which heads the gene maturation by tuning the motions of distinct SPL components, and (ii) the critical particip…
Effects of nicotine receptor agonists on acetylcholine release from the isolated motor nerve, small intestine and trachea of rats and guinea-pigs
1992
The effects of nicotine receptor agonists on the release of [3H]acetylcholine from the phrenic nerve, the small intestine and the trachea were investigated to characterize neuronal nicotine receptors within the peripheral nervous system. Contraction of the indirectly-stimulated hemidiaphragm was recorded to investigate desensitization of the postsynaptic muscular nicotine receptors. Nicotine, cytisine, 1,1-dimethyl-4-phenylpiperazinium and 2-(4-aminophenyl)-ethyl-trimethyl-ammoniumiodide caused a concentration-dependent (0.1-30 microM) increase in evoked [3H]acetylcholine release from the phrenic nerve, whereby bell-shaped concentration-response curves were obtained. The rank order of decre…