Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:1.6.99.3 (diaphorase)
 5,903 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

A fluorometric flow-injection method for determining carnitine with use of immobilized enzymes carnitine dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.108) and diaphorase (EC 1.8.1.4) was developed and applied to the assay of carnitine in serum of patients treated with valproic acid. After fractionation and hydrolysis of carnitines in serum samples by perchloric acid and potassium hydroxide, liberated carnitine was converted to resorufin by immobilized carnitine dehydrogenase and diaphorase in the presence of beta-NAD+ (1.0 mmol/L), resazurin (12.5 mumol/L), and Tris acetate (0.6 mol/L, pH 9.0) at 37 degrees C. The fluorescence intensity of resorufin was monitored at lambda Ex 560 nm and lambda Em 580 nm. The calibration curve was linear for carnitine amounts from 0.1 to 1.0 nmol. Quantitative analytical recovery and satisfactory within- and between-run imprecision of carnitine in each carnitine fraction were obtained. Interference by bilirubin, serum albumin, and hemoglobin was negligible. Carnitine deficiencies were detected in about 20% of the valproic acid-treated patients (n = 198). The present method should be useful for monitoring carnitine deficiencies in clinical laboratories.
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PMID:Fluorometric determination of carnitine in serum with immobilized carnitine dehydrogenase and diaphorase. 225 48

Carnitine was administered to a group of patients in shock, and the activities of cytochrome oxidase and succinate cytochrome c reductase in muscle needle biopsies from these patients were compared to those activities present in a non-carnitine treated control group of patients. Carnitine seemingly exerted a significant protective action on cytochrome oxidase activity during the initial phases of shock, but not to such an extent on succinate cytochrome c reductase activities.
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PMID:Effects of L-carnitine administration on mitochondrial electron transport activity present in human muscle during circulatory shock. 299 47

A boy presented suffering from generalised weakness, exercise intolerance and lactic acidosis. The weakness became evident at 2 years. A cerebral CT-scan showed cerebellar atrophy and central and peripheral atrophy of both hemispheres. With trichrome staining about 20% of the muscle fibres showed large areas containing red-staining granular material. Electron microscopic examination showed that this material consisted of areas of mitochondrial proliferation, most of the mitochondria having abnormal ultrastructural characteristics. Pyruvate dehydrogenase complex and citric acid cycle activities were determined by measuring 14CO2 production from various labelled substrates. Diminished oxidation rates were found with the patient's muscle homogenate for all substrates tested, indicating a defect in the respiratory chain. The cytochromes were present in normal quantities. Succinate cytochrome c reductase activity was very decreased. Carnitine concentration was decreased in serum and in muscle as well.
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PMID:A mitochondrial myopathy with a defective respiratory chain and carnitine deficiency. 631 74

3,4-Methylenedioximethamphetamine (MDMA, ecstasy) is a worldwide abused stimulant drug, with persistent neurotoxic effects and high prevalence among adolescents. The massive release of 5-HT from pre-synaptic storage vesicles induced by MDMA followed by monoamine oxidase B (MAO-B) metabolism, significantly increases oxidative stress at the mitochondrial level. l-Carnitine and its ester, acetyl-l-carnitine (ALC), facilitate the transport of long chain free fatty acids across the mitochondrial membrane enhancing neuronal anti-oxidative defense. Here, we show the potential of ALC against the neurotoxic effects of MDMA exposure. Adolescent male Wistar rats were assigned to four groups: control saline solution, isovolumetric to the MDMA solution, administered i.p.; MDMA (4x10 mg/kg MDMA, i.p.); ALC/MDMA (100 mg/kg 30 min of ALC prior to MDMA, i.p.) and ALC (100 mg/kg, i.p.). Rats were killed 2 weeks after exposure and brains were analyzed for lipid peroxidation, carbonyl formation, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) deletion and altered expression of the DNA-encoded subunits of the mitochondrial complexes I (NADH dehydrogenase, NDII) and IV (cytochrome c oxidase, COXI) from the respiratory chain. Levels of 5-HT and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) were also assessed. The present work is the first to successfully demonstrate that pretreatment with ALC exerts effective neuroprotection against the MDMA-induced neurotoxicity at the mitochondrial level, reducing carbonyl formation, decreasing mtDNA deletion, improving the expression of the respiratory chain components and preventing the decrease of 5-HT levels in several regions of the rat brain. These results indicate potential benefits of ALC application in the prevention and treatment of neurodegenerative disorders.
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PMID:Acetyl-L-carnitine provides effective in vivo neuroprotection over 3,4-methylenedioximethamphetamine-induced mitochondrial neurotoxicity in the adolescent rat brain. 1901 3