Search results for " Choline"

Dual modulation of striatal acetylcholine release by hyperforin, a constituent of St. John's wort.

2002

Extracts of the medicinal plant St. John's wort (Hypericum perforatum) are widely used for the treatment of mild to moderate depression. Hyperforin, a constituent of St. John's wort, is known to inhibit the sodium-dependent uptake of catecholamines and amino acids into synaptic nerve endings, probably by interference with mechanisms controlling the synaptic sodium concentration. Because de novo synthesis of acetylcholine (ACh) is dependent on sodium-dependent high-affinity choline uptake, we studied the effect of hyperforin on choline (Ch) uptake in vitro and on striatal ACh release in vivo using microdialysis. In rat brain synaptosomes, hyperforin inhibited high-affinity choline uptake wit…

The Molecular Anatomy of Human Hsp60 and its Similarity with that of Bacterial Orthologs and Acetylcholine Receptor Reveal a Potential Pathogenetic R…

2012

Heat-shock protein 60 (Hsp60) is ubiquitous and highly conserved being present in eukaryotes and prokaryotes, including pathogens. This chaperonin, although typically a mitochondrial protein, can also be found in other intracellular sites, extracellularly, and in circulation. Thus, it can signal the immune system and participate in the development of inflammation and immune reactions. Both phenomena can be elicited by human and foreign Hsp60 (e.g., bacterial GroEL), when released into the blood by infectious agents. Consequently, all these Hsp60 proteins become part of a complex autoimmune response characterized by multiple cross reactions because of their structural similarities. In this s…

Detection and quantification of Streptococcus pneumoniae from Iranian patients with pneumonia and individual carriers by real time PCR

2011

The aim of this study was to develop a real time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for quantitative detection of Streptococcus pneumoniae from clinical respiratory specimens. Initially, 184 respiratory specimens from patients with community acquired pneumonia (CAP) (n = 129) and 55 cases with hospital associated pneumonia (HAP) were bacteriologically investigated. To check the colonization status among the healthy individuals, 32 preschool and 31 adults were screened in parallel. All specimens were cultured on selective culture media to isolate S. pneumoniae, Legionella spp. and Mycoplasma spp. A 166 bp fragment corresponding to cbp A gene of S. pneumoniae was amplified from clinical specimen…

Non cholinergic excitatory transmission is enhanced in duodenum from dystrophic (mdx) mice

2004

[11C]choline-PET-guided helical tomotherapy and estramustine in a patient with pelvic-recurrent prostate cancer: local control and toxicity profile a…

2010

[11C]choline positron emission tomograhy can be useful to detect metastatic disease and to localize isolated lymph node relapse after primary treatment in case of prostate-specific antigen failure. In case of lymph node failure in prostate cancer patients, surgery or radiotherapy can be proposed with a curative intent. Some reports have suggested that radiotherapy could have a role in local control of oligometastatic lymph node disease. This is the first reported case of [11C]choline positron emission tomography-guided helical tomotherapy concomitant with estramustine for the treatment of pelvic-recurrent prostate cancer. At 24 months after the end of helical tomotherapy, prostate-specific…

Rituximab in AChR subtype of myasthenia gravis: systematic review

2020

Myasthenia gravis (MG) is a chronic autoimmune disorder of the neuromuscular junction characterised by an autoantibody against acetylcholine receptor (AChR-Ab), autoantibody against muscle-specific kinase (MuSK-Ab), lipoprotein-related protein 4 or agrin in the postsynaptic membrane at the neuromuscular junction. Many patients are resistant to conventional treatment and effective therapies are needed. Rituximab (RTX) is a monoclonal antibody directed against CD20 antigen on B cells which has been successfully employed in anti-MuSK-Ab+MG, but the efficacy in anti-AChR-Ab+MG is still debated. The purpose of this systematic review was to describe the best evidence for RTX in the acetylcholine …

Polymorphic domains in monolayers of isomeric triple-chain phospholipids

1991

Monolayers of two isomeric branched chain phosphatidyl cholines at the air/water interface have been studied by means of fluorescence microscopy. The lipids differ in the position of the branched chain at the glycerol backbone and carry three chains per headgroup of almost equal length. Most qualitative features of the compression isotherms are similar except a difference of 4 A2/molecule in the minimum molecular area at high lateral pressures. This indicates a more condensed solid phase of compound C2 and is also reflected in the shapes of domains observed in the LE/LC phase coexistence range: domains with sharp edges and a mostly hexagonal shape are formed. On the other hand, the compound…

Alternative mechanisms for tiotropium

2009

Tiotropium is commonly used in the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Although largely considered to be a long-acting bronchodilator, its demonstrated efficacy in reducing the frequency of exacerbations and preliminary evidence from early studies indicating that it might slow the rate of decline in lung function suggested mechanisms of action in addition to simple bronchodilation. This hypothesis was examined in the recently published UPLIFT study and, although spirometric and other clinical benefits of tiotropium treatment extended to four years, the rate of decline in lung function did not appear to be reduced by the addition of tiotropium in this study. This article summ…

Species- and Subtype-Specific Recognition by Antibody WF6 of a Sequence Segment Forming an α-Bungarotoxin Binding Site on the Nicotinic Acetylcholine…

1992

The monoclonal antibody WF6 competes with acetylcholine and alpha-bungarotoxin (alpha-BGT) for binding to the Torpedo nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) alpha 1 subunit. Using synthetic peptides corresponding to the complete Torpedo nAChR alpha 1 subunit, we previously mapped a continuous epitope recognized by WF6, and the prototope for alpha-BGT, to the sequence segment alpha 1(181-200). Single amino acid substitution analogs have been used as an initial approach to determine the critical amino acids for WF6 and alpha-BGT binding. In the present study, we continue our analysis of the structural features of the WF6 epitope by comparing its cross-reactivity with synthetic peptides corr…

Mboat7 down-regulation by hyper-insulinemia induces fat accumulation in hepatocytes.

2020

Background: Naturally occurring variation in Membrane-bound O-acyltransferase domain-containing 7 (MBOAT7), encoding for an enzyme involved in phosphatidylinositol acyl-chain remodelling, has been associated with fatty liver and hepatic disorders. Here, we examined the relationship between hepatic Mboat7 down-regulation and fat accumulation. Methods: Hepatic MBOAT7 expression was surveyed in 119 obese individuals and in experimental models. MBOAT7 was acutely silenced by antisense oligonucleotides in C57Bl/6 mice, and by CRISPR/Cas9 in HepG2 hepatocytes. Findings: In obese individuals, hepatic MBOAT7 mRNA decreased from normal liver to steatohepatitis, independently of diabetes, inflammatio…