Search results for "RECEPTORS"
showing 10 items of 3254 documents
Functional relevance of presynaptic muscarinic autoreceptors.
1993
Pre- and postsynaptic muscarinic receptors have been characterized in the isolated trachea and ileal circular muscle of the guinea pig. The muscarinic autoreceptors mediating inhibition of acetylcholine release in the circular muscle belong to the M1 subtype, whereas those inhibiting acetylcholine release in the trachea are M2 or M4 receptors. In both tissues the postsynaptic muscarinic receptors are M3 receptors. Blockade of the autoreceptors by selective M1 and M2/M4 receptor antagonists leads to facilitation of cholinergic neurotransmission.
FokI Polymorphism of the Vitamin D Receptor Gene Correlates with Parameters of Bone Mass and Turnover in a Female Population of the Italian Island of…
2005
One of the most promising genetic approaches to dissecting a multifactorial disease is represented by genetically isolated population studies. We studied a genetic marker in a cohort of women living on the Mediterranean island of Lampedusa, a geographically isolated population. Lampedusa, located between the African coast and Sicily, consists of a young genetic isolate (<20 generations) with an exponential growth in the last generations. We analyzed the association between the FokI vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene polymorphism, previously proposed as a predictor of bone mass, with parameters of bone mass and turnover in a cohort of pre- and postmenopausal women living on Lampedusa. In 424 wome…
Microarray-based mutation analysis of 183 Spanish families with Usher syndrome.
2010
PURPOSE. The purpose of this study was to test the ability of the genotyping microarray for Usher syndrome (USH) to identify the mutations responsible for the disease in a cohort of 183 patients with USH. METHODS. DNA from 183 patients with Usher syndrome from the Spanish population was analyzed using a genotyping microarray containing 429 previously identified disease-associated variants in eight USH genes. Mutations detected by the array were confirmed by direct sequencing. Haplotype analysis was also performed in families carrying common Spanish mutations. RESULTS. The genotyping microarray identified 43 different variants, divided into 32 disease causative and 11 probably non-pathologic…
Characterization of prejunctional muscarinic autoreceptors in the guinea-pig trachea
1991
1. The effects of ten muscarinic antagonists on electrically evoked [3H]-acetylcholine release and muscle contraction were compared in an epithelium-free preparation of the guinea-pig trachea that had been preincubated with [3H]-choline. 2. The M3-selective antagonists UH-AH 37, 4-diphenyl-acetoxy-N-piperidine methobromide and para-fluorohexahydrosiladiphenidol were more potent in reducing the contractile response than in facilitating the evoked [3H]-acetylcholine release. Hexahydrosiladiphenidol did not discriminate between pre- and postjunctional effects. The rank order of the postjunctional potencies of the ten antagonists as well as the postjunctional pA2 values obtained for hexahydrosi…
Choline inhibits acetylcholine release via presynaptic muscarine receptors
1981
The effect of exogenous choline on the outflow of 3H-acetylcholine evoked by field stimulation was studied on the myenteric plexus-longitudinal muscle preparation of the guinea pig. Choline at concentrations of 100 microM and higher depressed the evoked outflow of 3H-acetylcholine in a concentration-dependent manner. The EC50 for the inhibitory action was 300 microM. Scopolamine (10 nM) antagonized the effect of choline which indicates that the inhibition of 3H-acetylcholine outflow is mediated by muscarine receptors. The findings imply that choline at high concentrations does not improve cholinergic synaptic neurotransmission in tissues that are endowed with presynaptic muscarine receptors…
Two types of neuronal muscarine receptors modulating acetylcholine release from guinea-pig myenteric plexus
1985
Longitudinal muscle strips of the guinea-pig ileum were incubated with [3H]choline and the effects of muscarinic agonists on smooth muscle contraction and on spontaneous and electrically-evoked outflow of tritium were studied. Muscarine and pilocarpine concentration-dependently increased both muscle contraction and spontaneous outflow of [3H]ACh, and inhibited the electrically-evoked outflow of [3H]ACh. The increase in spontaneous outflow was prevented by tetrodotoxin and scopolamine, but not by hexamethonium. Oxotremorine (1-100 microM) did not increase the spontaneous outflow of tritium. Pirenzepine in concentrations of 10 and 100 nM hardly affected the muscle contractions induced by pilo…
Preeclampsia, a pregnancy-specific disease, is associated with fetal monocyte activation.
2001
The maternal syndrome of preeclampsia is an exclusively pregnancy-related illness involving multiple organs and severe forms may be complicated by HELLP (hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, low platelets) syndrome. Recently, it has been proposed that both normal pregnancy and preeclampsia are associated with a systemic activation of the nonspecific maternal immune system and that, in particular, monocytes have a central role in the adjustment of maternal immune functions in pregnancy. Here we have investigated the role of the fetal nonadaptive immune system in normal term delivery, uncontrollable preterm labor, and preeclampsia. We demonstrate that spontaneous delivery at term as well as pre…
Fibrosis markers and CRIM1 increase in chronic heart failure of increasing severity.
2014
AbstractBackground: Fibrosis suppressors/activators in chronic heart failure (CHF) is a topic of investigation.Aim: To quantify serum levels of fibrosis regulators in CHF.Methods: ELISA tests were used to quantify fibrosis regulators, procollagen type-(PIP)I, (PIP)III, collagen-I, III, BMP1,2,3,7, SDF1α, CXCR4, fibulin 1,2,3, BMPER, CRIM1 and BAMBI in 66 CHF (NYHA class I, n = 9; II, n = 34; III n = 23), and in 14 controls.Results: In CHF, TGFβR2, PIPIII, SDF1α and CRIM1 were increased. PIPIII correlated with CRIM1.Conclusions: The BMPs inhibitor CRIM1 is increased and correlates with higher levels of serum PIPIII showing an imbalance in favor of pro-fibrotic mechanisms in CHF.
Immunochemical characterization of anti-acetylcholine receptor antibodies in primary biliary cirrhosis
1988
Although the presence of anti-mitochondrial antibodies is the main characteristic of primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC), other autoantibodies have been described in this disease. This study employs immunoblot methods to test whether the sera of PBC patients also contain antibodies directed against nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (AChR). We show that the majority of patients' sera indeed react with AChR just as sera of myasthenic patients do. In contrast, however, these anti-AChR antibodies do not lead to significant clinical symptoms of myasthenia. In all cases studied, PBC sera recognized a protein with the molecular weight of the alpha-chain of acetylcholine receptor (40 kDa). In addition,…
Pharmacological characterization and autoradiographic localization of histamine H2 receptors in human brain identified with [125I]iodoaminopotentidin…
1992
125I-Aminopotentidine (125I-APT), a reversible probe of high specific radioactivity and high affinity and selectivity for the H2 receptor, was used to characterize and localize this histamine receptor subtype in human brain samples obtained at autopsy. On membranes of human caudate nucleus, specific 125I-APT binding at equilibrium revealed a single component, with a dissociation constant of 0.3 nM and maximal capacity of about 100 fmol/mg of protein. At 0.2 nM, 125I-APT specific binding, as defined with tiotidine, an H2-receptor antagonist chemically unrelated to iodoaminopotentidine, represented 40-50% of the total. Specific 125I-APT binding was inhibited by a series of typical H2-receptor…