Search results for "Ornithine Carbamoyltransferase"
showing 4 items of 4 documents
Urea cycle dysregulation in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
2018
Background & Aims: In non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), the function of urea cycle enzymes (UCEs) may be affected, resulting in hyperammonemia and the risk of disease progression. We aimed to determine whether the expression and function of UCEs are altered in an animal model of NASH and in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and whether this process is reversible. Methods: Rats were first fed a high-fat, high-cholesterol diet for 10 months to induce NASH, before being switched onto a normal chow diet to recover. In humans, we obtained liver biopsies from 20 patients with steatosis and 15 with NASH. Primary rat hepatocytes were isolated and cultured with free fatty …
Effect of Thyroid Hormones on Urea Biosynthesis and Related Processes in Rat Liver*
1988
The results of the few studies on the effect of the thyroid status on nitrogen metabolism have been inconclusive and/or contradictory. In an attempt to elucidate this important relationship, we have studied the effect of experimental hypo- and hyperthyroidism on urea biosynthesis and related processes. We have found that the capacity of the liver to synthesize urea was increased in hypothyroid rats, as were the activities of the urea cycle enzymes; there were also changes in the activities of some related enzymes and in the levels of intermediates and amino acids. Isolated hepatocytes from these rats showed an increased capacity for urea synthesis. In hyperthyroid rats the picture was more …
Evolution of arginine deiminase (ADI) pathway genes
2002
We have analyzed the evolution of the three genes encoding structural enzymes of the arginine deiminase (ADI) pathway, arginine deiminase (ADI), ornithine transcarbamoylase (OTC), and carbamate kinase (CK) in a wide range of organisms, including Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukarya. This catabolic route was probably present in the last common ancestor to all the domains of life. The results obtained indicate that these genes have undergone a complex evolutionary history, including horizontal transfer events, duplications, and losses. Therefore, these genes are not adequate to infer organismal relationships at deep branching levels, but they provide an insight into how catabolic genes evolved and …
Molecular analysis of a human liver mitochondrial ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency.
1990
The liver of a young girl which had been successfully transplanted was investigated at the ornithine transcarbamylase (OTC, EC 2.1.3.3) gene expression level. Northern blot hybridization using a human OTC cDNA probe showed a greater than 80% decrease in specific OTC mRNA although having the same molecular size as a normal control. OTC polypeptide was simultaneously synthesized with a normal molecular size but at a low level (20%) as shown by immunoblotting. The OTC enzyme from the deficient liver exhibited very little catalytic activity (7.2% as compared to the normal subject). These results may support several explanations of this disease such as mutation of the OTC gene promoter leading t…