Search results for "rase"
showing 10 items of 4343 documents
UDP-glucosyltransferase activity toward exogenous substrates in Drosophila melanogaster.
1991
To investigate the capacity of Drosophila extracts to glucosylate exogenous substrates we have developed a fast and sensitive method for the detection of UDP-glucosyltransferase activity using 4-nitrophenol, 1-naphthol, or 2-naphthol as substrates. High-performance liquid chromatography was used to separate and quantitate the reaction products, allowing detection of activities that produced as little as 1 pmol of 2-naphthol glucoside (fluorescence detection) or 16 pmol of 4-nitrophenol glucoside (absorbance detection). Optimal activity was found at 43 degrees C and alkaline pH. The affinity of the Drosophila enzyme was 250-fold higher for 1-naphthol or 2-naphthol (Km approximately 4 microM)…
Minireview: pH and synaptic transmission
2013
AbstractAs a general rule a rise in pH increases neuronal activity, whereas it is dampened by a fall of pH. Neuronal activity per se also challenges pH homeostasis by the increase of metabolic acid equivalents. Moreover, the negative membrane potential of neurons promotes the intracellular accumulation of protons. Synaptic key players such as glutamate receptors or voltage-gated calcium channels show strong pH dependence and effects of pH gradients on synaptic processes are well known. However, the processes and mechanisms that allow controlling the pH in synaptic structures and how these mechanisms contribute to normal synaptic function are only beginning to be resolved.
Following ionic activity by electrochemistry during the polymerase chain reaction
2009
The most commonly used technique for gene detection is the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). PCR is associated with alterations in ionic activity because inorganic pyrophosphate (PPi) and inorganic phosphate (Pi) ions are produced during nucleotide polymerization. To maintain electro-neutrality, magnesium, potassium, and ammonium ions are bound to DNA. Deoxynucleotides are also bound to DNA during PCR. Some authors have described DNA itself as an electrically conducting polymer formed by base stapling with the formation of extensive Pi systems. In the current study, alterations in electrical conductivity determined experimentally during PCR are reported, and a model explaining the observed c…
Invariant NKT cells are expanded in peripheral blood but are undetectable in salivary glands of patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome
2016
OBJECTIVES: Invariant NKT (iNKT) cells play a role in regulating the function of autoreactive B cells before their entry into germinal centres. Absence and/or reduction of iNKT cells have been demonstrated in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) together with an increase of autoreactive B cell activity. Primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) is a systemic autoimmune disease in which lymphocyte infiltration and organisation in lymphoid structures of inflamed salivary glands occurs. The aim of the study was to investigate the percentage and function of iNKT in the salivary glands and peripheral blood of patients with pSS. METHODS: Minor salivary gland biopsies were obtained from patient…
Topoisomerase II regulates yeast genes with singular chromatin architectures
2013
Eukaryotic topoisomerase II (topo II) is the essential decatenase of newly replicated chromosomes and the main relaxase of nucleosomal DNA. Apart from these general tasks, topo II participates in more specialized functions. In mammals, topo IIa interacts with specific RNA polymerases and chromatin-remodeling complexes, whereas topo IIb regulates developmental genes in conjunction with chromatin remodeling and heterochromatin transitions. Here we show that in budding yeast, topo II regulates the expression of specific gene subsets. To uncover this, we carried out a genomic transcription run-on shortly after the thermal inactivation of topo II. We identified a modest number of genes not invol…
Bis(hydroxyphenyl)methane-bisphenol F-metabolism by the HepG2 human hepatoma cell line and cryopreserved human hepatocytes
2011
author cannot archive publisher's version/PDF; International audience; Bisphenol F (BPF) is present in the environment and as a contaminant of food. Humans may, therefore, be exposed to BPF, and an assessment of this risk is required. BPF has been shown to have genotoxic and endocrine-disruptor properties in a human hepatoma cell line (HepG2), which is a model system for studies of xenobiotic toxicity. In this study, we investigated the ability of HepG2 cells to biotransform BPF, because metabolism may affect the observed effects of BPF, and we compared this metabolic capacity with that of human hepatocytes. Cells were incubated for 24 hours with [(3)H]-BPF. The culture medium was then conc…
The effects of alpha-cypermethrin exposure on biochemical and redox parameters in pregnant rats and their newborns
2016
IF 2.388; International audience; Pyrethroid insecticides are extensively used in agriculture and in household activities. During pregnancy, they might affect maternal metabolic status and there after fetal development. In this work, we studied metabolic and redox effects of low dose alpha-cypermethrin exposure in pregnant rats and their offspring. The diet containing alpha cypermethrin at 0.02 mg/kg/day was consumed during the entire gestation. Plasma biochemical parameters as well as liver lipid and oxidative stress markers were determined. Our results showed that alpha-cypermethrin induced an increase in body weight and in plasma glucose and lipid levels, as well as in plasma aspartate a…
Adrenic acid Δ4 desaturation and fatty acid composition in liver microsomes of spontaneously diabetic Wistar BB rats
1994
We examined the delta 4 (n-6) desaturation and the fatty acid composition of liver microsomes in the insulin-dependent spontaneously diabetic Wistar Bio-Breeding (BB) rat. The desaturation of adrenic acid to n-6 docosapentaenoic acid was decreased in the normo- and hyperglycemic diabetic rats. Insulin treatment with 1.0 IU. 100 g body weight-1 twice a day for 2 days restored the reduced activity during the hypoglycemic period. The pattern of responses was similar to that of linoleic acid delta 6 and dihomo-gamma-linolenic acid delta 5 desaturases, with a non-parallel relationship between the desaturation system and the glycemia. The microsomal fatty acid composition of BB rat liver reflecte…
Liver oleic acid biogenesis is impaired during the prehypertensive period in the spontaneously hypertensive rat.
2003
In the present study, we have investigated the liver microsomal stearic acid delta9 desaturation, and the fatty acid composition of liver microsomal total lipids in 10- and 30-day-old spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs), compared to the normotensive Wistar Kyoto (WKY) control rats. So as to avoid any influence related to the diet, the composition of the milk being different in SHR and WKY strains, the pups were suckled by adoptive normotensive female Wistar. After weaning, the 30-day-old rats were fed a standard commercial diet and then killed. Our results show lower liver microsomal delta9 desaturase activities in the 10- and 30-day-old SHR versus the WKY of the same age. The fatty acid…
High pancreatic n-3 fatty acids prevent STZ-induced diabetes in fat-1 mice: inflammatory pathway inhibition.
2011
OBJECTIVE Because of confounding factors, the effects of dietary n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) on type 1 diabetes remain to be clarified. We therefore evaluated whether fat-1 transgenic mice, a well-controlled experimental model endogenously synthesizing n-3 PUFA, were protected against streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetes. We then aimed to elucidate the in vivo response at the pancreatic level. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS β-Cell destruction was produced by multiple low-doses STZ (MLD-STZ). Blood glucose level, plasma insulin level, and plasma lipid analysis were then performed. Pancreatic mRNA expression of cytokines, the monocyte chemoattractant protein, and GLUT2 were evaluate…