Search results for "Choline"
showing 10 items of 1138 documents
Clonal heterogeneity of thymic B cells from early-onset myasthenia gravis patients with antibodies against the acetylcholine receptor
2014
Myasthenia gravis (MG) with antibodies against the acetylcholine receptor (AChR-MG) is considered as a prototypic autoimmune disease. The thymus is important in the pathophysiology of the disease since thymus hyperplasia is a characteristic of early-onset AChR-MG and patients often improve after thymectomy. We hypothesized that thymic B cell and antibody repertoires of AChR-MG patients differ intrinsically from those of control individuals. Using immortalization with Epstein Barr Virus and Toll-like receptor 9 activation, we isolated and characterized monoclonal B cell lines from 5 MG patients and 8 controls. Only 2 of 570 immortalized B cell clones from MG patients produced antibodies agai…
Bronchial reactivity and intracellular magnesium: a possible mechanism for the bronchodilating effects of magnesium in asthma
1998
1.Increased bronchial smooth muscle contractility with consequent bronchial hyperreactivity are characteristic physiopathological events of asthma. Since magnesium intervenes in calcium transport mechanisms and intracellular phosphorylation reactions, it constitutes an important determinant of the contraction/relaxation state of bronchial smooth muscle. In the present study we investigated the relationship between bronchial reactivity, assessed by methacholine-provocation test, and magnesium concentrations both at extracellular and intracellular levels measured by spectrophotometry. Twenty-two patients with mild-to-moderate asthma and 38 non-asthmatic subjects with allergic rhinitis (24 all…
Parallel reduction of plasma levels of high and low molecular weight kininogen in patients with cirrhosis
1999
SummaryLittle is known about the regulation of high-molecular-weight-kininogen (HK) and low-molecular-weight-kininogen (LK) or the relationship of each to the degree of liver function impairment in patients with cirrhosis. In this study, we evaluated HK and LK quantitatively by a recently described particle concentration fluorescence immunoassay (PCFIA) and qualitatively by SDS PAGE and immunoblotting analyses in plasma from 33 patients with cirrhosis presenting various degrees of impairment of liver function. Thirty-three healthy subjects served as normal controls. Patients with cirrhosis had significantly lower plasma levels of HK (median 49 μg/ml [range 22-99 μg/ml]) and LK (58 μg/ml [15…
Effects of allergen exposure on methacholine and AMP-induced air trapping in pollen-sensitive subjects
2011
Summary Background The effect of pro-inflammatory stimuli on bronchoconstrictor-induced air trapping has not been studied. Objective To determine the effect of natural allergen exposure, a pro-inflammatory stimulus, on methacholine- and adenosine 5′-monophospate (AMP)-induced air trapping. Methods Airway responsiveness to methacholine and AMP before and during the pollen season was obtained in 25 subjects with pollen allergy and in 10 healthy controls. The response was expressed by the sensitivity (PC 20 value) and by the slope and intercept of the FVC values recorded at each step of the challenge against the corresponding FEV 1 values. Results The slope and intercept FVC versus FEV 1 value…
Association of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunit alpha 4 polymorphisms with nicotine dependence in 5500 Germans.
2009
Polymorphisms in the CHRNA4 gene coding the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunit alpha 4 have recently been suggested to play a role in the determination of smoking-related phenotypes. To examine this hypothesis, we conducted a genetic association study in three large samples from the German general population (N(1)=1412; N(2)=1855; N(3)=2294). Five single-nucleotide polymorphisms in CHRNA4 were genotyped in 5561 participants, including 2707 heavily smoking cases (regularly smoking at least 20 cigarettes per day) and 2399 never-smoking controls (or=100 cigarettes over lifetime). We examined associations of the polymorphisms with smoking case-control status and with the extent of nicotin…
Inhibition of nitric oxide activity by arginine analogs in human renal arteries
2001
Abstract Background: Plasma levels of endogenous guanidine compounds are increased in various pathologic conditions, including chronic renal failure. In the present study we tested the effects of some of these compounds on basal and stimulated nitric oxide activity in human renal arteries. Methods: Rings from human renal arteries were obtained from 22 patients undergoing nephrectomy. The rings were suspended in organ baths for isometric recording of tension. We then studied the effects of N G -monomethyl- l -arginine (L-NMMA), N G , N G -dimethyl- l -arginine (asymmetrical dimethylarginine [ADMA]), aminoguanidine (AG), and methylguanidine (MG) on artery rings under basal and stimulated cond…
Cardiovascular control and time domain granger causality: Insights from selective autonomic blockade
2013
We studied causal relations among heart period (HP), systolic arterial pressure (SAP) and respiration (R) according to the definition of Granger causality in the time domain. Autonomic pharmacological challenges were used to alter the complexity of cardiovascular control. Atropine (AT), propranolol and clonidine (CL) were administered to block muscarinic receptors, β-adrenergic receptors and centrally sympathetic outflow, respectively. We found that: (i) at baseline, HP and SAP interacted in a closed loop with a dominant causal direction from HP to SAP; (ii) pharmacological blockades did not alter the bidirectional closed-loop interactions between HP and SAP, but AT reduced the dominance of…
Cholinesterase variants: rapid characterisation by PCR/SSCP and evidence for molecular homogeneity.
1995
We have applied the technique of PCR-SSCP (polymerase chain reaction-single stranded conformation polymorphism) to characterise the molecular basis of cholinesterase deficiency and variants in a Jordanian family. PCR-SSCP proved to be a quick and sensitive method of screening cholinesterase variants in a clinical setting. An AG insertion at position 351 was found to cause a silent allele, for which the parents were heterozygous and three children homozygous. In addition, the father and two sons were heterozygous for an A to G transition at position 209, known to cause the dibucaine resistant variant. No linkage to the K variant was found, which has been reported previously in white populati…
Cellular distribution of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunit mRNAs in the human cerebral cortex as revealed by non-isotopic in situ hybridizatio…
1994
The pharmacology of telencephalic nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) has become an important issue in recent years. While in the human brain a direct pharmacological assessment is difficult to achieve the visualization of nAChRs has been enabled by histochemical techniques providing an ever increasing and improving resolution. Receptor autoradiography was used to visualize binding sites on the level of cortical layers whereas immunohistochemistry has allowed for the cell type-specific and ultrastructural localization of receptor protein. Further investigations have to elucidate the cellular sites of NAChR biosynthesis by visualizing subunit-specific transcripts. Using autopsy sample…
Determination of acetylcholine, nitrostigmine and acetylcholinesterase activity in four patients with severe nitrostigmine (E 605 forte) intoxication.
1974
Concentrations of acetylcholine and nitrostigmine as well as acetylcholinesterase activity were determined in 4 patients with severe nitrostigmine intoxication. In the acute phase of the intoxication, acetylcholine levels up to 36 and 55 ng/ml were found in blood plasma and cerebrospinal fluid, respectively. At the same time no activity of acetylcholinesterase in plasma and erythrocytes was detected. Acetylcholinesterase activity gradually recovered at the end of the second week. In the first 3 days after the ingestion plasma nitrostigmine concentrations ranged from 409 to 86 ng/ml. At the end of the third week nitrostigmine was still found in a concentration of about 1 ng/ml plasma. Redist…