Search results for "acetyltransferase"
showing 10 items of 170 documents
Behavioural parameters in aged rats are related to LTP and gene expression of ChAT and NMDA-NR2 subunits in the striatum.
2004
Striatal parameters were assessed for their relevance to age-related behavioural decline. Forty aged rats (28-30 months) were tested in the water maze and open field. Of these, seven superior and seven inferior learners were compared with each other in terms of levels of in vitro short- and long-term potentiation (STP and LTP), and gene expression of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) as well as of the NMDA-NR2A-C subunits assessed by quantitative RT-PCR. Results revealed that the superior as compared with the inferior learners had higher levels of ChAT mRNA in the striatum. For the superior group, ChAT mRNA was correlated with escape on to the cued platform in the water maze, whereas level o…
Glucocorticoids mediate reduction of epithelial acetylcholine content in the airways of rats and humans
1998
The cholinergic system in rat and human airways and the effects of glucocorticoids were investigated by assay of choline acetyltransferase activity, by high-pressure liquid chromatography measurement of acetylcholine, and by anti-choline acetyltransferase immunocyto-/histochemistry. Human bronchi were obtained at surgery from patients with lung cancer. Group 1 patients did not suffer from additional lung diseases and had not been treated with glucocorticoids. Group 2 patients, who suffered in addition to lung cancer from chronic obstructive bronchitis, had been treated for at least 6 weeks before surgery with four puffs of flusinolid daily. Isolated bronchial epithelial cells as well as int…
Administration of keratinocyte growth factor down-regulates the pulmonary capacity of acetylcholine production.
2007
Abstract Keratinocyte growth factor protects the lung against various injurious stimuli. The protective mechanisms, however, are not yet fully understood. The aim of this study is to determine the influence of keratinocyte growth factor on the pulmonary capacity to synthesize acetylcholine, a potent regulator of pulmonary functions which is potentially involved in lung damage. Rats were treated twice (days 1 and 2) intratracheally with keratinocyte growth factor and analyzed at day 4. The mRNA expression of choline acetyltransferase – the acetylcholine synthesizing enzyme – was analyzed by real-time RT-PCR in the lung and in isolated alveolar epithelial type II cells. Choline acetyltransfer…
Day-night rhythm of acetylcholine in the rat pineal gland
1997
Abstract Using high-performance-liquid-chromatography (HPLC) measurement of acetylcholine, choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) enzyme assay and anti-ChAT immunohistochemistry, we have investigated the expression of the cholinergic system in pineal glands of male rats. Glands procured during the day period (1200 h) contained significant amounts of acetylcholine (0.5 pmol/gland). A similar content was found in pineal glands after a 48 h culture period, i.e. when the intrapineal nerve fibres have degenerated. This strongly indicates that the pinealocytes are the cells which contain acetylcholine. To confirm this conclusion we demonstrate substantial ChAT-like immunoreactivity in pinealocytes. ChA…
Expression of Muscarinic Receptor Types in the Primate Ovary and Evidence for Nonneuronal Acetylcholine Synthesis1
2001
The presence of muscarinic receptors (MR) in the ovary of different species has been recognized, but the identity of these receptors as well as ovarian sources of their natural ligand, acetylcholine (ACh), have not been determined. Because luteinized human granulosa cells (GC) in culture express functional MR, we have determined whether the group of the related MR subtypes, M1R, M3R, and M5R, are present in vivo in human and rhesus monkey ovaries. To this end, ribonucleic acids (RNAs) of different human and monkey ovaries as well as RNAs from human GC and monkey oocytes were reverse transcribed and subjected to PCR amplification, followed by sequencing of the amplified complementary DNAs. R…
Crystal structure of vinorine synthase, the first representative of the BAHD superfamily.
2005
Vinorine synthase is an acetyltransferase that occupies a central role in the biosynthesis of the antiarrhythmic monoterpenoid indole alkaloid ajmaline in the plant Rauvolfia. Vinorine synthase belongs to the benzylalcohol acetyl-, anthocyanin-O-hydroxy-cinnamoyl-, anthranilate-N-hydroxy-cinnamoyl/benzoyl-, deacetylvindoline acetyltransferase (BAHD) enzyme superfamily, members of which are involved in the biosynthesis of several important drugs, such as morphine, Taxol, or vindoline, a precursor of the anti-cancer drugs vincaleucoblastine and vincristine. The x-ray structure of vinorine synthase is described at 2.6-angstrom resolution. Despite low sequence identity, the two-domain structure…
MOZ/TIF2-induced acute myeloid leukaemia in transgenic fish.
2008
The inv(8)(p11q13) chromosomal abnormality, described in acute myeloid leukaemias (AML), fuses the histone acetyl-transferase (HAT) MYST3 (MOZ) gene with another HAT gene, NCOA2 (TIF2). We generated a transgenic zebrafish in which the MYST3/NCOA2 fusion gene was expressed under control of the spi1 promoter. An AML developed in 2 of 180 MYST3/NCOA2-EGFP-expressing embryos, 14 and 26 months after injection of the fusion gene in a one-cell embryo, respectively. This leukaemia was characterised by an extensive invasion of kidneys by myeloid blast cells. This model, which is the first zebrafish model of AML, demonstrates the oncogenic potency of MYST3/NCOA2 fusion gene.
Redox signaling in acute pancreatitis
2015
Acute pancreatitis is an inflammatory process of the pancreatic gland that eventually may lead to a severe systemic inflammatory response. A key event in pancreatic damage is the intracellular activation of NF-κB and zymogens, involving also calcium, cathepsins, pH disorders, autophagy, and cell death, particularly necrosis. This review focuses on the new role of redox signaling in acute pancreatitis. Oxidative stress and redox status are involved in the onset of acute pancreatitis and also in the development of the systemic inflammatory response, being glutathione depletion, xanthine oxidase activation, and thiol oxidation in proteins critical features of the disease in the pancreas. On th…
Distribution of the vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT) in the central and peripheral nervous systems of the rat.
1994
Expression of the acetylcholine biosynthetic enzyme choline acetyltransferase (ChAT), the vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT), and the high-affinity plasma membrane choline transporter uniquely defines the cholinergic phenotype in the mammalian central (CNS) and peripheral (PNS) nervous systems. The distribution of cells expressing the messenger RNA encoding the recently cloned VAChT in the rat CNS and PNS is described here. The pattern of expression of VAChT mRNA is consistent with anatomical, pharmacological, and histochemical information on the distribution of functional cholinergic neurons in the brain and peripheral tissues of the rat. VAChT mRNA-containing cells are present in…
Differentiation of Y79 cells induced by prolonged exposure to insulin
1997
Y79 human retinoblastoma cells are known to contain receptors for both insulin and insulin-like growth factors (IGFs), to produce these cytokines and release them in the culture medium. Previously we have demonstrated that IGFs and insulin stimulate Y79 cell proliferation through the involvement of type I IGF receptor and Insulin Receptor Substrate 1 (IRS-1). This paper studies the effect of prolonged exposure to insulin on Y79 cells. Cells grown for 10 days in the presence of insulin were reseeded and incubated once more with insulin. In the reseeded cells proliferation lowered and morphological changes appeared. After 10 days of reseeding, cells stopped proliferating and showed long ramif…