Search results for "Coupled"
showing 10 items of 742 documents
Rapid cloning of cDNA ends polymerase chain reaction of G-protein-coupled receptor kinase 6: an improved method to determine 5′- and 3′-cDNA ends
1999
Abstract Rapid cloning of 5′- and 3′-cDNA ends polymerase chain reaction (5′-/3′-RACE-PCR) is useful to determine unknown 5′- and 3′-cDNA termini. Even if the method can yield complete cDNA sequences within a couple of days, the RACE procedure bears some characteristic traps and often results in amplification of unspecific PCR-products. Here we used improved 5′- and 3′-RACE-PCR protocols to obtain the complete cDNA sequence of the G-protein-coupled receptor kinase 6 (GRK6) from a rat brain cDNA library. The use of an anchored oligo-(dT) 16 -V-primer in the cDNA synthesis, the addition of single-sided PCR steps prior to the RACE-PCRs and the optimization of the dA-tailing reaction conditions…
Effects of polymorphisms in vitamin E-, vitamin C-, and glutathione peroxidase-related genes on serum biomarkers and associations with glaucoma.
2012
Purpose To study the association of selected polymorphism in genes related to vitamin E, vitamin C, and glutathione peroxidase with these biomarkers and primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) risk. Methods A case-control study matched for age, sex, and bodyweight was undertaken. Two hundred fifty POAG cases and 250 controls were recruited from a Mediterranean population. Plasma concentrations of vitamin C, vitamin E, and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity were measured. We analyzed the polymorphisms rs1279683 in the Na+-dependent L-ascorbic acid transporter 2 (SLC23A2) gene, rs6994076 in the tocopherol alpha transfer protein (TTPA) gene, rs737723 in the tocopherol-associated protein (SEC14L2…
GERMLINE PROKINETICIN RECEPTOR 2 (PROKR2) VARIANTS ASSOCIATED WITH CENTRAL HYPOGONADISM CAUSE DIFFERENTAL MODULATION OF DISTINCT INTRACELLULAR PATHWA…
2013
INTRODUCTION: Defects of prokineticin pathway affect the neuroendocrine control of reproduction, but their role in the pathogenesis of central hypogonadism remains undefined, and the functional impact of the missense PROKR2 variants has been incompletely characterized. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In a series of 246 idiopathic central hypogonadism patients, we found three novel (p.V158I, p.V334M, and p.N15TfsX30) and six already known (p.L173R, p.T260M, p.R268C, p.V274D, p.V331M, and p.H20MfsX23) germline variants in the PROKR2 gene. We evaluated the effects of seven missense alterations on two different prokineticin receptor 2 (PROKR2)-dependent pathways: inositol phosphate-Ca(2+) (Gq coupling) a…
Changing the General Factor of Personality and the c-fos Gene Expression with Methylphenidate and Self-Regulation Therapy
2012
[EN] A deepening in the biological nature of the general factor of personality (GFP) is suggested: the activation level of the stress system is here represented by the gene expression of c-fos. The results of a single case experimental design are reported. A model of four coupled differential equations that explains the human personality dynamics as a consequence of a single stimulant drug intake has been fitted to psychological and biological experimental data. The stimulant-drug conditioning and its adaptation to the considered mathematical model is also studied for both kinds of measures. The dynamics of the cfos expression presents a similar pattern to the dynamics of the psychological …
Ocular Phenotype of Relaxin Gene Knockout (Rln-/-) Mice
2020
Purpose: To test if relaxin deficiency affects ocular structure and function we investigated expression of relaxin (Rln) and RXFP receptors (Rxfp1, Rxfp2), and compared ocular phenotypes in relaxin gene knockout (Rln-/- ) and wild type (Rln+/+ ) mice. Materials and Methods: Rln, Rxfp1 and Rxfp2 mRNA expression was detected in ocular tissues of Rln+/+ mice using RT-PCR. The eyes of 11 Rln-/- and 5 Rln+/+ male mice were investigated. Corneal and retinal thickness was assessed using optical coherence tomography. Intraocular pressure was measured using a rebound tonometer. Retinal, choroidal and sclera morphology and thickness were evaluated histologically. Eyes were collected and fixed for imm…
Induction of RAGE Shedding by Activation of G Protein-Coupled Receptors
2011
The multiligand Receptor for Advanced Glycation End products (RAGE) is involved in various pathophysiological processes, including diabetic inflammatory conditions and Alzheimers disease. Full-length RAGE, a cell surface-located type I membrane protein, can proteolytically be converted by metalloproteinases ADAM10 and MMP9 into a soluble RAGE form. Moreover, administration of recombinant soluble RAGE suppresses activation of cell surface-located RAGE by trapping RAGE ligands. Therefore stimulation of RAGE shedding might have a therapeutic value regarding inflammatory diseases. We aimed to investigate whether RAGE shedding is inducible via ligand-induced activation of G protein-coupled recep…
Partial Sleep Restriction Activates Immune Response-Related Gene Expression Pathways: Experimental and Epidemiological Studies in Humans
2013
Epidemiological studies have shown that short or insufficient sleep is associated with increased risk for metabolic diseases and mortality. To elucidate mechanisms behind this connection, we aimed to identify genes and pathways affected by experimentally induced, partial sleep restriction and to verify their connection to insufficient sleep at population level. The experimental design simulated sleep restriction during a working week: sleep of healthy men (N = 9) was restricted to 4 h/night for five nights. The control subjects (N = 4) spent 8 h/night in bed. Leukocyte RNA expression was analyzed at baseline, after sleep restriction, and after recovery using whole genome microarrays complem…
Olfactory discrimination ability and brain expression of c-fos, Gir and Glut1 mRNA are altered in n-3 fatty acid-depleted rats
2007
Abstract The long-chain polyunsaturated n − 3 fatty acids ( n − 3 PUFA), particularly docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), are abundantly present in the central nervous system and play an important role in cognitive functions such as learning and memory. We, therefore, investigated the effects of n − 3 PUFA-depletion in rats (F2 generation) on the learning of an olfactory discrimination task, progressively acquired within a four-arm maze, and on the mRNA expression of some candidate genes, i.e., c-fos, Gir and glucose transporter (Glut1), which could reflect the level of cerebral activity. We observed that DHA contents were dramatically decreased in the olfactory bulb, the piriform cortex and the…
Retinoic acid inhibits nitric oxide synthase-2 expression through the retinoic acid receptor-alpha.
2000
Retinoids are multipotent modulators of cellular functions and suppress cytokine-induced production of nitric oxide (NO) in several cell types. We have explored the mechanisms by which retinoic acid (RA) regulates NO production in rat aortic smooth muscle cells (VSMC), which express NOS2 in response to proinflammatory cytokines. RA inhibited interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta)-induced NOS2 mRNA expression and NO production. These effects were attenuated by the retinoic acid receptor (RAR) antagonist CD3106, indicating that they were mediated through retinoic acid receptors (RARs). The synthetic retinoid agonists CD336 (which specifically binds RARalpha) and CD367 (which binds all RARs) but not ago…
Is metal accumulation in Pomphorhynchus laevis dependent on parasite sex or infrapopulation size?
2010
SUMMARYConcentrations of the elements As, Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sn, V, Zn were analysed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) in the acanthocephalan Pomphorhynchus laevis and its fish host Barbus barbus. A total of 27 barbels were collected from the Danube River in autumn 2006 close to the town Kozloduy (685 river kilometer) on the Bulgarian river bank. Fish were divided into 3 groups. According to their P. laevis infrapopulation size hosts were considered as heavily infected (>100 worms per fish) and lightly infected (<20 worms per fish). The third group was used to compare heavy metal concentrations between male and female P. laevis. The 5 elements As, C…