Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: EC:1.6.5.2 (NQO1)
 6,196 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The morphology and distribution of perikarya positive for choline acetyltransferase, somatostatin, calcium binding protein (calbindin D28K) and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate diaphorase were surveyed in the human striatum. Choline acetyltransferase and somatostatin antibodies labeled separate populations of large striatal interneurons. Somatostatin immunoreactivity and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate diaphorase (nitric oxide synthase) activity were completely co-localized. Calbindin antibody identified two distinct groups of striatal neurons: (1) numerous medium-sized, lightly stained neurons, probably analogous to striatopallidal projection neurons in the rat, and (2) much less numerous, large, darkly stained neurons. Half of the latter group, but none of the former, were also nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate diaphorase-positive. Somatostatin-positive and medium-sized, calbindin-positive neurons were more numerous in the caudate nucleus than in the putamen or ventral striatum. By contrast, large calbindin-immunoreactive neurons were more frequently encountered in the putamen. Choline acetyltransferase-positive neurons were evenly distributed across striatal components. In aged control subjects, the size of large, darkly stained calbindin-positive neurons was reduced relative to young subjects. Aging had no effect on somatostatin-, medium-sized calbindin-, or choline acetyltransferase-positive neurons. However, in histologically confirmed cases of Alzheimer's disease, there was a selective, 75% loss of choline acetyltransferase-immunoreactive perikarya from the ventral striatum, but not from the dorsal striatum, compared to aged controls. Furthermore, the remaining cholinergic neurons in the ventral striatum of Alzheimer's disease cases were significantly smaller than similar neurons in controls. These results indicate that various striatal components which have been shown to differ in their anatomical connectivity and functional specialization, also differ in their neurochemical signatures. The specific and marked loss of choline acetyltransferase-positive neurons from the ventral striatum in Alzheimer's disease is consistent with the characteristic cholinergic and 'limbic' pathology in this disease.
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PMID:Human striatum: chemoarchitecture of the caudate nucleus, putamen and ventral striatum in health and Alzheimer's disease. 752 83

Choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) as a rate-limiting enzyme in the biosynthetic pathway of acetylcholine is thought to be present in all cholinergic neurons. However, its immunoreactivity has not been successfully applied to the study of cholinergic neurons in the pancreas. In a previous study in the pancreas of newborn guinea pig we reported the colocalization of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide hydrogen phosphate-diaphorase (NADPH-d), a marker for nitric oxide synthase (NOS) with various neuropeptides as well as dopamine-beta-hydroxylase (DbetaH), the enzyme responsible for converting dopamine to noradrenaline. Whether NADPH-d is colocalized with ChAT in the pancreatic neurons is not known. Also it would be interesting to find out whether noradrenaline and acetylcholine could be colocalized in the same pancreatic neurons. In the present study, a method for triple labelling of ChAT, DbetaH and NADPH-d was used to answer the above questions. Colocalization of ChAT, DbetaH and NADPH-d was constantly demonstrated in the same neurons in the same sections. It is concluded that some of the pancreatic neurons may utilize more than one neurotransmitter such as nitric oxide (NO), acetylcholine and noradrenaline to achieve their function. The possible cotransmission of acetylcholine and noradrenaline was extremely intriguing, and its mechanism and significance needs to be further investigated.
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PMID:Colocalization of ChAT, DbetaH and NADPH-d in the pancreatic neurons of the newborn guinea pig. 979 38

Nitric oxide and acetylcholine are important neuromodulators implicated in brain plasticity and disease. We have examined the cellular and fiber localization of nitric oxide in the cat superior colliculus (SC) and its degree of co-localization with ACh using nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate diaphorase (NADPHd) histochemistry and an antibody to neuronal nitric oxide synthase. ACh was localized using an antibody against choline acetyltransferase. We also made injections of biocytin into the region of the parabrachial brainstem to confirm that this region is a source of nitric oxide containing fibers in SC. NADPHd labeled neurons within the superficial layers of the superior colliculus included pyriform, vertical fusiform, and horizontal morphologies. Labeled neurons in the intermediate gray layer were small to medium in size, and mostly of stellate morphology. Neurons in the deepest layers had mostly vertical or stellate morphologies. NADPHd labeled fibers formed dense patches of terminal boutons within the intermediate gray layer and streams of fibers within the deepest layers of SC. Choline acetyltransferase antibody labeling in adjacent sections indicated that many fibers must contain both labels. Over 94% of neurons in the pedunculopontine tegmental and lateral dorsal tegmental nuclei were also labeled by both NADPHd and choline acetyltransferase. In addition, biocytin labeled fibers from this region were localized in the NADPHd labeled patches. We conclude that nitric oxide is contained in a variety of cell types in SC and that both nitric oxide and ACh likely serve as co-modulators in this midbrain structure.
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PMID:Nitric oxide synthase distribution in the cat superior colliculus and co-localization with choline acetyltransferase. 1078 33

The implications of cholinergic and nitrergic transmissions in ascending and descending reflex motor pathways of recto-anal region in rat model were evaluated using: (i) electrical stimulation; (ii) triple organ bath; and (iii) morphological techniques. Electrical stimulation to anal canal induced simultaneous ascending contractile responses of longitudinal and circular muscles of proximal rectum, local contraction of anal canal or contraction followed by relaxation of internal anal sphincter when external sphincter was dissected off. The stimulation of proximal rectum elicited local contractions of both rectal layers and descending contractions of internal sphincter or anal canal. Tetrodotoxin (0.1 microM) prevented the electrically elicited events. The ascending excitatory responses and the local and ascending contractions of longitudinal muscle were more pronounced than those of circular muscle suggesting dominant role of ascending reflex pathways and of longitudinal muscle in rectal motor activity. Choline acetyltransferase (ChAT)-containing fibres and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH)-diaphorase-positive neurons were observed in myenteric ganglia of rectum and anal canal. NG-nitro-l-arginine (0.5mM) increased the contractile ascending and descending responses. During atropine (0.3 microM) treatment the ascending and descending contractions were suppressed but not abolished and a relaxation revealed in ascending response of circular muscle and in descending responses of internal anal sphincter and anal canal. The relaxation was decreased by NG-nitro-l-arginine and increased by l-arginine (0.5mM). The results suggest that cholinergic excitatory ascending and descending pathways and nitric oxide-dependent inhibitory ascending neurotransmission(s) to rectal circular muscle and inhibitory descending to internal anal sphincter and anal canal are involved in reflex circuitry controlling motor activity of recto-anal region.
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PMID:Ascending and descending reflex motor activity of recto-anal region-cholinergic and nitrergic implications in a rat model. 1919 94