Search results for "arginine"
showing 10 items of 389 documents
Structural requirements for V2 vasopressin receptor proteolytic cleavage.
1999
The ligand-induced proteolytic cleavage of the V2 vasopressin receptor transiently expressed in COS cells was investigated. After incubation of the cell membranes with a photoreactive ligand possessing full agonistic properties for V2 receptors, approximately 90% of the porcine and bovine V2 vasopressin receptors were cleaved in the upper part of transmembrane helix 2 at a heptapeptide sequence conserved in both vasopressin and oxytocin receptors. The oxytocin receptor was completely resistant to proteolysis after binding the same photoreactive ligand, which is only a partial agonist for this receptor. Chimeric V2/oxytocin receptors obtained by transfer of extracellular domains of the oxyto…
A new approach to inhibit human β-tryptase by protein surface binding of four-armed peptide ligands with two different sets of arms
2013
A series of six new tetravalent ligands (1-6) with two different sets of arms bind to the surface of β-tryptase, a tetrameric enzyme with an A(2)B(2) arrangement of its four monomers and two different binding sites on its protein surface (as suggested by a docking study). Besides proteinogenic amino acids also the guanidiniocarbonyl pyrrole cation (abbreviated as GCP), as an artificial arginine analog, was introduced into the arms of the ligands to investigate its influence on protein surface binding and enzyme inhibition. Furthermore, four ligands (7-10) with four identical arms also containing the GCP group were additionally synthesized to study the influence of the GCP moiety on the inhi…
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 …
Nitric oxide synthase inhibition and oxidative stress in cardiovascular diseases: Possible therapeutic targets?
2013
International audience; Nitric oxide (• NO) is synthetized enzymatically from L-arginine (L-Arg) by three NO synthase isoforms, iNOS, eNOS and nNOS. The synthesis of NO is selectively inhibited by guanidino-substituted analogs of L-Arg or methylarginines such as asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), which results from protein degradation in cells. Many disease states, including cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, are associated with increased plasma levels of ADMA. The N-terminal catalytic domain of these NOS isoforms binds the heme prosthetic group as well as the redox cofactor, tetrahydrobiopterin (BH 4) associated with a regulatory protein, calmodulin (CaM). The enzymatic activity of NOS…
Endogenous and exogenous nitric oxide inhibits norepinephrine release from rat heart sympathetic nerves.
1995
Abstract This study was designed to elucidate whether nitric oxide (NO) controls norepinephrine (NE) release from sympathetic nerves of the rat heart. Hearts were perfused in the Langendorff mode with Tyrode’s solution. The right sympathetic nerve was stimulated with trains of 1 or 3 Hz and NE release was measured. The NO synthase (NOS) inhibitor N G -nitro- l -arginine (L-NNA) enhanced the evoked NE release in a concentration-dependent manner. This facilitation was independent of the increase in perfusion pressure and was stereospecifically reversed by l -arginine but not d -arginine. Another NOS inhibitor, N G -methyl- l -arginine, produced a similar increase in NE release. The NO-donor …
Characterization of neutrophil subsets in healthy human pregnancies
2014
We have previously shown that in successful pregnancies increased arginase activity is a mechanism that contributes to the suppression of the maternal immune system. We identified the main type of arginase-expressing cells as a population of activated low-density granulocytes (LDGs) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells and in term placentae. In the present study, we analyzed the phenotype of LDGs and compared it to the phenotype of normal density granulocytes (NDGs) in maternal peripheral blood, placental biopsies and cord blood. Our data reveal that only LDGs but no NDGs could be detected in placental biopsies. Phenotypically, NDGs and LDGs from both maternal and cord blood expressed diff…
Reciprocal regulation of endothelial nitric-oxide synthase and NADPH oxidase by betulinic acid in human endothelial cells.
2007
Nitric oxide (NO) produced by endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) is a protective principle in the vasculature. Many cardiovascular diseases are associated with reduced NO bioactivity and eNOS uncoupling due to oxidative stress. Compounds that reverse eNOS uncoupling and increase eNOS expression are of therapeutic interest. Zizyphi Spinosi semen (ZSS) is one of the most widely used traditional Chinese herbs with protective effects on the cardiovascular system. In human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) and HUVEC-derived EA.hy 926 cells, an extract of ZSS increased eNOS promoter activity, eNOS mRNA and protein expression, and NO production in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. Maj…
Aging-related endothelial dysfunction in the aorta from female senescence-accelerated mice is associated with decreased nitric oxide synthase express…
2013
The present study investigated the time-course for aging-associated effects on contractile and relaxing vascular responses and nitric oxide (NO) production in the aorta from female senescence-accelerated resistant (SAMR1) and prone (SAMP8) mice. Both SAMR1 and SAMP8 were studied at three different ages: 3 (young), 6 (middle age) and 10 (old) months. Concentration-response curves to phenylephrine (10(-8) to 10(-5) M) or acetylcholine (10(-9) to 10(-5) M) were performed in the aortic rings in the absence or in the presence of NO synthase (NOS) inhibitor L-NAME (10(-4) M). Protein and gene expression for endothelial NOS (eNOS) was determined by immunofluorescence, Western blot and real-time PC…
NANC inhibitory neurotransmission in mouse isolated stomach: Involvement of nitric oxide, ATP and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide
2003
1. The neurotransmitters involved in NANC relaxation and their possible interactions were investigated in mouse isolated stomach, recording the motor responses as changes of endoluminal pressure from whole organ. 2. Field stimulation produced tetrodotoxin-sensitive, frequency-dependent, biphasic responses: rapid transient relaxation followed by a delayed inhibitory component. 3. The inhibitor of the synthesis of nitric oxide (NO), L-NAME, abolished the rapid relaxation and significantly reduced the slow relaxation. Apamin, blocker of Ca 2+-dependent K + channels, or ADPβS, which desensitises P 2y purinoceptors, reduced the slow relaxation to 2-8 Hz, without affecting that to 16-32 Hz or the…
Halothane inhibits endothelium-dependent relaxation elicited by acetylcholine in human isolated pulmonary arteries.
1997
This study examined whether a clinically relevant concentration of the volatile anaesthetic halothane modifies the endothelium-dependent relaxation produced by acetylcholine (3 nM-10 microM), histamine (1 pM-0.1 microM) and anti-human immunoglobulin E (1:1000) in human isolated pulmonary arteries submaximally precontracted with noradrenaline. An inhibitor of nitric oxide formation, N(G)-nitro-L-arginine (100 microM), attenuated acetylcholine-induced relaxation but failed to inhibit histamine- and anti-human immunoglobulin E-induced relaxation. Indomethacin (2.8 microM, a cyclooxygenase inhibitor) preferentially reduced the relaxation to histamine and anti-human IgE. Halothane (2%) significa…