Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: EC:2.7.7.48 (transcriptase)
 9,479 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The endogenous cannabinoid receptor agonist anandamide is present in central and peripheral tissues. As the kidney contains both the amidase that degrades anandamide and transcripts for anandamide receptors, we characterized the molecular components of the anandamide signaling system and the vascular effects of exogenous anandamide in the kidney. We show that anandamide is present in kidney homogenates, cultured renal endothelial cells (EC), and mesangial cells; these cells also contain anandamide amidase. Reverse-transcriptase PCR shows that EC contain transcripts for cannabinoid type 1 (CB1) receptors, while mesangial cells have mRNA for both CB1 and CB2 receptors. EC exhibit specific, high-affinity binding of anandamide (Kd = 27.4 nM). Anandamide (1 microM) vasodilates juxtamedullary afferent arterioles perfused in vitro; the vasodilation can be blocked by nitric oxide (NO) synthase inhibition with L-NAME (0.1 mM) or CB1 receptor antagonism with SR 141716A (1 microM), but not by indomethacin (10 microM). Anandamide (10 nM) stimulates CB1-receptor-mediated NO release from perfused renal arterial segments; a similar effect was seen in EC. Finally, anandamide (1 microM) produces a NO-mediated inhibition of KCl-stimulated [3H]norepinephrine release from sympathetic nerves on isolated renal arterial segments. Hence, an anandamide signaling system is present in the kidney, where it exerts significant vasorelaxant and neuromodulatory effects.
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PMID:Production and physiological actions of anandamide in the vasculature of the rat kidney. 929 22

In this study, a putative N-acetylmuramyl-l-alanine amidase gene (bb0666) was identified in the genome of the Lyme disease spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi. This protein shares c. 30% identity with its counterparts from other bacteria. Reverse transcriptase-PCR analysis showed that bb0666 along with two other genes (bb0665 and bb0667) are cotranscribed with the motility and chemotaxis genes. This newly identified operon is termed as pami. Sequence and primer extension analyses showed that pami was regulated by a sigma(70)-like promoter, which is designated as P(ami). Transcriptional analysis using a gene encoding green fluorescence protein as a reporter demonstrated that P(ami) functions in both Escherichia coli and B. burgdorferi. Genetic studies showed that the Deltabb0666 mutant grows in long chains of unseparated cells, whose phenotype is similar to its counterparts in E. coli. Taken together, these results demonstrate that bb0666 is a homolog of MurNac-LAAs that contributes to the cell division of B. burgdorferi.
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PMID:Transcription and genetic analyses of a putative N-acetylmuramyl-L-alanine amidase in Borrelia burgdorferi. 1902 70