Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: EC:3.1.1.7 (acetylcholinesterase)
28,390 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

This study was designed to characterise the muscarinic receptor subtype responsible for acetylcholine-mediated in vitro pulmonary artery relaxation in rats and the importance of the presence of neostigmine (an anti-cholinesterase) during receptor characterisation. Cumulative administration of acetylcholine elicited concentration-dependent relaxation of phenylephrine (1 microM) precontracted preparations. Inclusion of neostigmine (10 microM) caused a parallel leftward shift with an increase of the pD(2) value (7.09 vs. 6.43) of the concentration-response curve of acetylcholine. The magnitude of maximum relaxation, however, was not affected. Using a range of conventional muscarinic receptor antagonists (atropine, pirenzepine, methoctramine, p-FHHSiD and tropicamide) and the highly selective Green Mamba muscarinic toxins (MT-3 and MT-7), it was found that muscarinic M(3) receptors are probably responsible for endothelium-dependent relaxation of the pulmonary artery upon acetylcholine challenge. Preincubation with N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME, 20 microM, a nitric oxide synthase inhibitor), but not N(G)-nitro-D-arginine methyl ester (D-NAME, 20 microM), abolished acetylcholine-elicited relaxation. Moreover, 6-anilino-5,8-quinolinedione (LY 83583, 1 microM) and methylene blue (1 microM) (both are guanylate cyclase inhibitors) markedly attenuated acetylcholine-elicited relaxation. However, the presence of indomethacin (3 microM, a cyclo-oxygenase inhibitor), (-)-perillic acid (30 microM, a p21(ras) blocker), 2-[2'-amino-3'-methoxy-phenyl]-oxana-phthalen-4-one (PD 98059) (10 microM, a p42/p44 mitogen-activated protein kinase inhibitor), 4-(4-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-methylsulfinylphenyl)-5-(4-pyridyl)1H-imidazole (SB 203580) (1 microM, a p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase blocker), wortmannin (500 nM, a phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase inhibitor) and genistein (10 microM, a tyrosine kinase blocker) failed to alter acetylcholine-provoked pulmonary arterial relaxation. These results suggest that acetylcholine caused pulmonary arterial relaxation through the activation of muscarinic M(3) receptors in the endothelium. Moreover, the p21(ras)/mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway seems to play no role in mediating acetylcholine-elicited relaxation.
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PMID:Role of mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway in acetylcholine-mediated in vitro relaxation of rat pulmonary artery. 1175 66

Liver transplantation is the only therapeutic option for patients with end-stage liver disease. Nitric oxide, a free radical produced from L-arginine, a potent vasodilator, also inhibits platelet adhesion and aggregation, reduces adhesion of leukocytes to the endothelium and suppresses proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells. The inducible form of the nitric oxide synthase may generate large quantities of nitric oxide, and may be induced by the action of cytokines and lipopolysaccharides. Nitric oxide can be released from the hepatic vascular endothelium, platelets and Kupffer cells as a response to ischemia-reperfusion injury and circulatory shock. We analyzed the relationships between the levels of nitric oxide, hepatic enzymes and other clinical parameters (glucose, total proteins, total bilirubin, creatinine, albumin) obtained in serum samples before liver transplantation and every 48 h till day 15 in 15 patients aged 40 +/- 13 years. Aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase levels changed from high at the beginning, to almost normal at the end of the study, cholinesterase levels remained decreased throughout the study and nitric oxide remained high, never reaching normal values.
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PMID:Nitric oxide in liver transplantation. 1175 5

Several biochemical and biological activities such as phospholipase A2, arginine esterase, proteolytic, L-amino acid oxidase, 5'nucleotidase, acetylcholinesterase, thrombin-like, anticoagulant, and hemorrhagic activities were determined for whole desiccated venom of Trimeresurus jerdonii. An acidic phospholipase (named TJ-PLA2) was purified by anionic exchange chromatography, gel filtration, and reverse phase HPLC. TJ-PLA2 had a molecular weight of 16,000 and a pI of 4.8. TJ-PLA2 was non-lethal to mice up to an i.p. dose of 15 mg/kg body weight and lacked neurotoxicity and myotoxicity. It induced edema in the footpads of mice. The purified enzyme inhibited ADP- and collagen-induced human platelet aggregation in a manner which was both dose- and time-dependent.
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PMID:Biochemical and biological properties of Trimeresurus jerdonii venom and characterization of a platelet aggregation-inhibiting acidic phospholipase A2. 1182 58

In circular smooth muscle tissues of the guinea pig gastric fundus, transmural nerve stimulation (TNS) evoked an atropine-sensitive cholinergic excitatory junction potential (e.j.p.) and, after inhibiting the e.j.p. with atropine, an apamin-sensitive nonadrenergic noncholinergic (NANC) inhibitory junction potential (i.j.p.). The amplitude of e.j.p.s was similar when the frequency of TNS was low (<0.5 Hz), but it decreased successively (depression phenomenon) when the frequency was high (>1 Hz). The depression phenomenon was attenuated after inhibiting the production of nitric oxide (NO) with N(omega)-nitro-L-arginine (NOLA), but was not altered by inhibiting the i.j.p. with apamin. The e.j.p.s were increased in amplitude by the inhibition of cholinesterase activity, but they were decreased by NO produced from SNP with no alteration of their depression phenomenon. Isometric twitch contractions were depressed during high-frequency TNS. NOLA caused an increase in the amplitude of twitch contractions and the attenuation of their depression that changed the transient contraction produced by high-frequency TNS (1 Hz) to a tetanic one. SNP reduced the amplitude of twitch contractions, with no alteration of the depression phenomena. Contractions produced by low concentrations of acetylcholine, but not by high concentrations, were attenuated by SNP, with no alteration of the membrane depolarization. The results suggest that NO produced during TNS has inhibitory actions on cholinergic transmission; the depression of e.j.p.s is mainly prejunctional events, and the depression of mechanical responses is mainly postjunctional events.
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PMID:Nitric oxide inhibits smooth muscle responses evoked by cholinergic nerve stimulation in the guinea pig gastric fundus. 1184 60

CHF2819 is a novel orally active acetylcholinesterase inhibitor (AChEI) developed for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD). CHF2819 is a selective inhibitor of AChE, it is 115 times more potent against this enzyme than against butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE). Moreover, CHF2819 is more selective for inhibition of central (brain) AChE than peripheral (heart) AChE. In vivo CHF2819, 0.5, 1.5, and 4.5 mg/kg p.o., significantly and in dose-dependent manner increased acetylcholine (ACh) levels in hippocampus of young adult rats. Moreover, aging animals, with lower basal ACh levels than young adult rats, also exhibit a marked increase in hippocampal levels of this neurotransmitter after administration of CHF2819. At 1.5 mg/kg p.o. CHF2819 attenuated scopolamine-induced amnesia in a passive avoidance task. Furthermore, it decreased dopamine (DA) levels and increased extracellular levels of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) in the hippocampus, without modifying norepinephrine (NE) levels. By oral administration to young adult rats CHF2819 did not affect extracellular hippocampal levels of glutamate (Glu), aspartate (Asp), gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), taurine (Tau), arginine (Arg) or citrulline (Cit). Functional observational battery (FOB) screening demonstrated that CHF2819 (1.5 and 4.5 mg/kg p.o.) does not affect activity, excitability, autonomic, neuromuscular, and sensorimotor domains, as well as physiological endpoints (body weight and temperature). CHF2819 induced, however, involuntary motor movements (ranging from mild tremors to myoclonic jerks) in a dose-dependent manner. The neurochemical and behavioral profiles of CHF2819 suggest that this orally active novel AChEI could be of clinical interest for the treatment of Alzheimer-type dementia associated with multiple neurotransmitter abnormalities in the brain. In particular, CHF2819 might be a useful therapeutic drug for AD patients with cognitive impairment accompanied by depression.
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PMID:CHF2819: pharmacological profile of a novel acetylcholinesterase inhibitor. 1207 May 26

Nitric oxide (NO) contributes to active cutaneous vasodilation during a heat stress in humans. Given that acetylcholine is released from cholinergic nerves during whole body heating, coupled with evidence that acetylcholine causes vasodilation via NO mechanisms, it is possible that release of acetylcholine in the dermal space contributes to cutaneous vasodilation during a heat stress. To test this hypothesis, in seven subjects skin blood flow (SkBF) and sweat rate were simultaneously monitored over three microdialysis membranes placed in the dermal space of dorsal forearm skin. One membrane was perfused with the acetylcholinesterase inhibitor neostigmine (10 microM), the second membrane was perfused with the NO synthase inhibitor N(G)-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (l-NAME; 10 mM) dissolved in the aforementioned neostigmine solution (l-NAME(Neo)), and the third membrane was perfused with Ringer solution as a control site. Each subject was exposed to approximately 20 min of whole body heating via a water-perfused suit, which increased mean body temperature from 36.4 +/- 0.1 to 37.5 +/- 0.1 degrees C (P < 0.05). After the heat stress, SkBF at each site was normalized to its maximum value, identified by administration of 28 mM sodium nitroprusside. Mean body temperature threshold for cutaneous vasodilation was significantly lower at the neostigmine-treated site relative to the other sites (neostigmine: 36.6 +/- 0.1 degrees C, l-NAME(Neo): 37.1 +/- 0.1 degrees C, control: 36.9 +/- 0.1 degrees C), whereas no significant threshold difference was observed between the l-NAME(Neo)-treated and control sites. At the end of the heat stress, SkBF was not different between the neostigmine-treated and control sites, whereas SkBF at the l-NAME(Neo)-treated site was significantly lower than the other sites. These results suggest that acetylcholine released from cholinergic nerves is capable of modulating cutaneous vasodilation via NO synthase mechanisms early in the heat stress but not after substantial cutaneous vasodilation.
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PMID:Acetylcholine released from cholinergic nerves contributes to cutaneous vasodilation during heat stress. 1239 Nov 10

Hodological, electrophysiological, and ablation studies indicate a role for the basal forebrain in telencephalic vocal control; however, to date the organization of the basal forebrain has not been extensively studied in any nonmammal or nonhuman vocal learning species. To this end the chemical anatomy of the avian basal forebrain was investigated in a vocal learning parrot, the budgerigar (Melopsittacus undulatus). Immunological and histological stains, including choline acetyltransferase, acetylcholinesterase, tyrosine hydroxylase, dopamine and cAMP-regulated phosphoprotein (DARPP)-32, the calcium binding proteins calbindin D-28k and parvalbumin, calcitonin gene-related peptide, iron, substance P, methionine enkephalin, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphotase diaphorase, and arginine vasotocin were used in the present study. We conclude that the ventral paleostriatum (cf. Kitt and Brauth [1981] Neuroscience 6:1551-1566) and adjacent archistriatal regions can be subdivided into several distinct subareas that are chemically comparable to mammalian basal forebrain structures. The nucleus accumbens is histochemically separable into core and shell regions. The nucleus taeniae (TN) is theorized to be homologous to the medial amygdaloid nucleus. The archistriatum pars ventrolateralis (Avl; comparable to the pigeon archistriatum pars dorsalis) is theorized to be a possible homologue of the central amygdaloid nucleus. The TN and Avl are histochemically continuous with the medial aspects of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis and the ventromedial striatum, forming an avian analogue of the extended amygdala. The apparent counterpart in budgerigars of the mammalian nucleus basalis of Meynert consists of a field of cholinergic neurons spanning the basal forebrain. The budgerigar septal region is theorized to be homologous as a field to the mammalian septum. Our results are discussed with regard to both the evolution of the basal forebrain and its role in vocal learning processes.
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PMID:Organization of the avian basal forebrain: chemical anatomy in the parrot (Melopsittacus undulatus). 1245 5

Pesticides, such as parathion, are metabolized by cytochrome p-450 system to paraoxon, which is a potent cholinesterase inhibitor. Paraoxonase (PON) catalyzes the hydrolysis of these toxic metabolites and protects against pesticide toxicity. A glutamine/arginine (Gln/Arg) polymorphism at amino acid position 192 of PON has been described. The Arg/Arg genotype is associated with higher serum paraoxonase activity compared to Gln/Gln. The Arg/Gln genotype is associated with intermediate serum PON activity. The potential association between PON genotype and symptoms of chronic pesticide toxicity was examined among 100 farm workers. As part of a cross-sectional study of pesticide toxicity among mixed-race farm workers in the Western Cape. South Africa, 100 farm workers were genotyped for polymorphism of the paraoxonase gene at amino acid position 192. Subjects with two or more of the following symptoms were considered to have evidence of chronic toxicity: abdominal pain, nausea, rhinorrhea, dizziness, headache, somnolence, fatigue, gait disturbance, limb numbness, paresthesias, limb pain, or limb weakness. In multivariable logistic regression analysis, the independent predictors of chronic toxicity were previous history of head trauma resulting in loss of consciousness (OR 2.8, 95% CI = 1.7-6.7), having worked as a pesticide applicator (OR 5.4, 95% CI = 3.2-8.9), and having one of the two "slow metabolism" (Gln/Gln or Gln/Arg) genotypes (OR 2.9, 95% CI = 1.7-6.9). Furthermore, the prevalence of chronic toxicity increased in a stepwise fashion from 15% among pesticide nonapplicators with a "fast metabolism" (Arg/Arg) genotype, to 42.9% among pesticide nonapplicators with "slow metabolism" (Gln/Gln or Gln/Arg) genotypes, to 58.8% among pesticide applicators with "fast metabolism" genotype, and 75.0% among pesticide applicators with "slow metabolism" genotypes (P = 0.001). Age, number of years on the job, smoking history, alcohol history, education level, plasma or red blood cell cholinesterase level, or previous history of acute organophosphate poisoning were not statistically significant predictors of chronic toxicity. The PON genotype is an important determinant of a farmworker's susceptibility to chronic pesticide poisoning.
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PMID:Association between human paraoxonase gene polymorphism and chronic symptoms in pesticide-exposed workers. 1262 27

Glutamate, previously demonstrated to participate in regulation of the resting membrane potential in skeletal muscles, also regulates non-quantal acetylcholine (ACh) secretion from rat motor nerve endings. Non-quantal ACh secretion was estimated by the amplitude of endplate hyperpolarization (H-effect) following blockade of skeletal muscle post-synaptic nicotinic receptors by (+)-tubocurarine and cholinesterase by armin (diethoxy-p-nitrophenyl phosphate). Glutamate was shown to inhibit non-quantal release but not spontaneous and evoked quantal secretion of ACh. Glutamate-induced decrease of the H-effect was enhanced by glycine. Glycine alone also lowered the H-effect, probably due to potentiation of the effect of endogenous glutamate present in the synaptic cleft. Inhibition of N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptors with (+)-5-methyl-10,11-dihydro-5H-dibenzocyclohepten-5,10-imine (MK801), dl-2-amino-5-phosphopentanoic acid (AP5) and 7-chlorokynurenic acid or the elimination of Ca2+ from the bathing solution prevented the glutamate-induced decrease of the H-effect with or without glycine. Inhibition of muscle nitric oxide synthase by NG-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (l-NAME), soluble guanylyl cyclase by 1H[1,2,4]oxadiazolo[4,3-a]quinoxalin-1-one (ODQ) and binding and inactivation of extracellular nitric oxide (NO) by haemoglobin removed the action of glutamate and glycine on the H-effect. The results suggest that glutamate, acting on post-synaptic NMDA receptors to induce sarcoplasmic synthesis and release of NO, selectively inhibits non-quantal secretion of ACh from motor nerve terminals. Non-quantal ACh is known to modulate the resting membrane potential of muscle membrane via control of activity of chloride transport and a decrease in secretion of non-quantal transmitter following muscle denervation triggers the early post-denervation depolarization of muscle fibres.
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PMID:Glutamate regulation of non-quantal release of acetylcholine in the rat neuromuscular junction. 1264 42

Three 26 kDa proteins, named as TJ-CRVP, NA-CRVP1 and NA-CRVP2, were isolated from the venoms of Trimeresurus jerdonii and Naja atra, respectively. The N-terminal sequences of TJ-CRVP and NA-CRVPs were determined. These components were devoid of the enzymatic activities tested, such as phospholipase A(2), arginine esterase, proteolysis, L-amino acid oxidase, 5'nucleotidase, acetylcholinesterase. Furthermore, these three components did not have the following biological activities: coagulant and anticoagulant activities, lethal activity, myotoxicity, hemorrhagic activity, platelet aggregation and platelet aggregation-inhibiting activities. These proteins are named as cysteine-rich venom protein (CRVP) because their sequences showed high level of similarity with mammalian cysteine-rich secretory protein (CRISP) family. Recently, some CRISP-like proteins were also isolated from several different snake venoms, including Agkistrodon blomhoffi, Trimeresurus flavoviridis, Lanticauda semifascita and king cobra. We presumed that CRVP might be a common component in snake venoms. Of particular interest, phylogenetic analysis and sequence alignment showed that NA-CRVP1 and ophanin, both from elapid snakes, share higher similarity with CRVPs from Viperidae snakes.
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PMID:Purification and cloning of cysteine-rich proteins from Trimeresurus jerdonii and Naja atra venoms. 1452 36


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