Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:3.1.1.8 (cholinesterase)
 12,691 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The action of 1-pyrene-butyrylcholine, a new cholinergic fluorescent probe, has been studied at the cellular level using electrophysiological and fluorescence techniques. The spectroscopic properties of the probe were found to be similar to those pf pyrene-butyric acid, the excited-state lifetime in air-saturated aqueous solutions being 92 nsec. At micromolar concentrations the probe was found to exert a nondepolarizing, reversible blocking action at the neuromuscular junction of the frog. The same cholinolytic effect was observed in hypersensitive denervated muscles. The synaptic localization of the probe could be observed with fluorescence microscopy using sub- and micromolar concentrations. Treatment of the nerve-muscle preparations with proteolytic enzymes, resulting in the separation of the nerve ending from the muscle end-plate, enabled a distinction to be made between the fluorescence arising from these two parts of the synapse. Intense presynaptic fluorescence was observed, and was not altered by micromolar concentrations of alpha-bungarotoxin, d-tubocurarine, hemicholinium, or cholinesterase inhibitors. Faint reversible staining of the end-plate region was observed in enzymically treated muscles and was inhibited by prior treatment with alpha-bungarotoxin. Fluorescent alpha-toxin revealed similar patterns of fluorescence in the end-plate of enzyme-treated muscles. The postsynaptic localization of the fluorescent probe is therefore tentatively identified as the one producing the cholinolytic effect upon binding to acetylcholine receptor sites.
 ...
PMID:1-Pyrene-butyrylcholine: a fluorescent probe for the cholinergic system. 108 Dec 27

A new assay has been developed for detection of butyrylcholinesterase (EC 3.1.1.8) activity based upon the change in absorbance of phenol red, caused by the release of butyric acid from the substrate. Using commercially available enzyme prepared from horse serum, linear, dose-related decreases in absorbance were obtained, generally with correlation values of 0.965 or greater. The assay was modified and used to detect enzyme activity in the supernatants from primary cultures of mouse hepatocytes. The enzyme-mediated response was inhibited by NN'-diisopropylphosphorodiamidic anhydride, a specific inhibitor of butyrylcholinesterase.
 ...
PMID:A micro-method for the detection of butyrylcholinesterase secreted by hepatocytes in vitro. 671 85

Studied were 12 cows with protracted, recurrent acidosis of the rumen, 4 cows with alkalosis, and 2 calves with experimental acidosis, following up the changes in the rumen content and their impact on the liver. The diseased animals were investigated both clinically and by laboratory tests with regard to alkaline phosphatase, plasma cholinesterase, SGOT, SGPT, alkali reserves, bilirubin, blood sugar, protein function of the liver (flocculation tests), biopsy of the liver, urine pH, urobilinogen, sedimentation test and ketone bodies, rumen pH, rumen infusoria, glucose-fermenting and cellulose-digesting activity, breakdown of nitrates, butyric acid, and ammonia gas. It was found that recurrent physiologic deviations of the rumen content play an essential pathogenetic role in liver injury. The more substantial and continuous the deviations the more severe the liver diseases. Studies revealed that along with other factors the recurrent acidosis and alkalosis of the rumen content could be claimed to be an immediate cause of the liver diseases in high producing cows. Histologically, the liver of cows with slightly expressed acidosis of the rumen showed granular degeneration, and of cows with protracted acidosis--fatty degeneration, activation of the reticulo-endothelial system, and leukocytes in the capillar sinusoids. Liver biopsy in the case of experimental acidosis demonstrated also decrease in the glycogen content of the hepatocytes.
 ...
PMID:[Liver diseases and their relationship to forestomach function in highly productive cows]. 734 34

L-Carnitine (L-C) is involved in the transport of acyl groups into mitochondria for beta-oxidation, although its role in the adult brain is still uncertain. We have shown before that the uptake of L-carnitine into cultured rat cortical neurones was dependent on temperature as well as the Na gradient and is inhibited by compounds resembling its structure, like gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), but most potently by specific GABA uptake blockers. In this study we have characterised this uptake process further. We have shown that the uptake of L-carnitine may be dependent on Cl ions, in addition to Na ions, but non on Ca ions. The L-C uptake was inhibited by substituent anions in the order gluconate (83%) > isethionate (32%), with propionate being ineffective, whereas GABA uptake was inhibited most potently by propionate substitution (79%) and equally by isethionate and gluconate (67%). This L-C uptake process was not affected by the amino acids, glutamine or lysine, up to 1 mM concentration, although beta-alanine at 500 microM caused a 38% inhibition. The uptake of L-C was also significantly inhibited by structurally-related compounds, with a carbon chain length of three to six atoms, possessing an amine group and/or a carboxyl group. At a concentration of 500 microM, 3-aminopropane sulphonic acid (53%), gamma-butyrobetaine (31%), gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (34%) and 4 methylaminobutyric acid (33%). Other compounds were effective only at the lower concentration of 10 microM, such as butyric acid (25%), nicotinic acid (26%), isonicotinic acid (26%), hexanoic acid (23%) and at 100 microM, like 6-aminocapric acid (22%). Drugs suggested to affect membrane properties, such as chlorpromazine, was without effect at 1 or 10 microM, whereas flunarizine (FLU) at 1 microM inhibited both L-C (24%) and GABA uptake (17%). Other drugs like the cholinesterase inhibitors, tacrine and eserine, also had a small inhibitory effect on L-C uptake, reducing it at 1 microM by 22 and 21% respectively, although higher concentrations were toxic (> 100 microM). Pretreatment of the cells with neuraminidase (50 U ml-1, 10 min) reduced the subsequent uptake of both L-C (18%) and GABA (42%). Hypoxia (3 h) also significantly attenuated L-C uptake (42%), however part of these effects were related to the loss of cell viability. In summary, L-C uptake occurs by a complex mechanism which at least in part may occur by a Na/Cl cotransport mechanism, which could be similar, to that of GABA or may even in part occur via the GABA transporter.
 ...
PMID:Structural, metabolic and ionic requirements for the uptake of L-carnitine by primary rat cortical cells. 881 42

Modes of action of anthelmintic drugs are described. Some anthelmintic drugs act rapidly and selectively on neuromuscular transmission of nematodes. Levamisole, pyrantel and morantel are agonists at nicotinic acetylcholine receptors of nematode muscle and cause spastic paralysis. Dichlorvos and haloxon are organophosphorus cholinesterase antagonists. Piperazine is a GABA (gamma-amino-butyric acid) agonist at receptors on nematode muscles and causes flaccid paralysis. The avermectins increase the opening of glutamate-gated chloride (GluCl) channels and produce paralysis of pharyngeal pumping. Praziquantel has a selective effect on the tegument of trematodes and increases permeability of calcium. Other anthelmintics have a biochemical mode of action. The benzimidazole drugs bind selectively to beta-tubulin of nematodes, cestodes and fluke, and inhibit microtubule formation. The salicylanilides: rafoxanide, oxyclozanide, brotianide and closantel and the substituted phenol, nitroxynil, are proton ionophores. Clorsulon is a selective antagonist of fluke phosphoglycerate kinase and mutase. Diethylcarbamazine blocks host, and possibly parasite, enzymes involved in arachidonic acid metabolism, and enhances the innate, nonspecific immune system.
 ...
PMID:Modes of action of anthelmintic drugs. 926 48

To investigate the mechanism of the deacylation reaction in the active site of human butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE), we carried out quantum mechanical (QM) calculations on cluster models of the active site built from a crystallographic structure. The models consisted of the substrate butyrate moiety, the catalytic triad of residues (Ser198, Glu325, and His438), the "oxy-anion hole" (Gly116, Gly117, and Ala199), the side chain of Glu197, four water molecules, the side chain of Ser225, and the peptide linkage between Val321 and Asn322. Analyses of the equilibrium geometries, electronic properties, and energies of the QM models gave insights into the catalytic mechanism. In addition, the QM calculations provided the data required to build a molecular mechanics representation of the reactive BuChE region that was employed in molecular dynamics simulations followed by molecular-mechanics-Poisson-Boltzmann (MM-PB) calculations. Subsequently, we combined the QM energies with average MM-PB energies to estimate the free energy of the reactive structures in the enzyme. The rate-determining step corresponds to the formation of a tetrahedral intermediate with a free-energy barrier of approximately 14.0 kcal/mol. The modulation of the BuChE activity, exerted by either neutral molecules (glycerol, GOL) or a second butyrylcholine (CHO) molecule bound to the cation-pi site, does not involve any significant allosteric effect. Interestingly, the presence of GOL or CHO stabilizes a product complex formed between a butyric acid molecule and BuChE. These results are in consonance with the crystallographic structure of BuChE, in which the catalytic Ser198 interacts with a butyric fragment, while the cation-pi site is occupied by one GOL molecule.
 ...
PMID:A computational study of the deacylation mechanism of human butyrylcholinesterase. 1676 49