Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts: Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound   Target Concepts: Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound

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Query: EC:3.1.1.8 (cholinesterase)
12,691 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The cercariae of Eurytrema pancreaticum (Janson, 1889) possess four types of gland cells - proper cystogenic, penetration, ventral and dorsal gland cells. The secretion of ventral and dorsal gland cells is released into the tegument. The proper cystogenic gland cells are the largest and their contents serve for the formation of the cyst wall of metacercariae in the second intermediate host. The secretion of proper cystogenic gland cells contains besides neutral mucosubstances also acid mucosubstances with both carboxyl- and sulphogroups digestible with beta-glucuronidase. The secretion of penetration gland cells contains neutral mucosubstances and proteins with tyrosine, tryptophan and SS groups. The ventral gland cells contain mostly acid mucosubstances with sulphogroups, which are digested with beta-glucuronidase, and proteins with tyrosine, tryptophan and SH groups. The rudimentary dorsal gland cells contain a small amount of acid mucosubstances. The whole tegument of cercariae and the two main collecting canals of the excretory system exhibit a high alkaline phosphatase activity. The nerve ring and the main nerve truncs contain proteins with SH groups and hydrophilic lipids and exhibit a cholinesterase activity. The suckers contain a larger amount of glycogen.
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PMID:Histochemistry of gland cells of Eurytrema pancreaticum cercariae. 16 44

Light and electron microscopic histochemical reactions were studied in the cells of pars intermedia of the rat. The possible correlations between enzymatic reactions and endocrine functions of these cells were discussed. By combined formaldehyde and chloral vapour treatment the cells of the pars intermedia exhibited a strong yellow fluorescence suggesting the presence of a peptide or peptides with NH2-terminal tryptophan. Masked metachromasia after acid hydrolysis was probably due to these peptides. Only a weak or no alpha-glycerophosphate dehydrogenase and nonspecific esterase activity was observed in the cells of pars intermedia compared to the cells of pars distalis suggesting low production rate of hormone synthesis. Specific and non-specific cholinesterases were demonstrated light and electron microscopically constantly in the cells bordering the lobules. These cells probably represent a certain type of glial cells. In the other cells the enzymatic activities varied markedly in intensity and distribution showing different ultrastructural localizations. Thus cholinesterase activities in the cells of pars intermedia reflect possibly different functional stages of the cells in their hormone production, storage and secretion processes.
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PMID:Observations on the functional cytochemistry of pars intermedia of the rat hypophysis. 124 48

The distribution of amino acids between plasma, liver and brain was studied in adult male rats, fed a diet containing 8.7, 17 (control animals), 32 and 51% of protein during 15 days. The caloric intake was nearly equal in all groups. The highest food intake was observed in the animals on the low protein diet. Changes in plasma amino acids were variable. In contrast to the behavior of most amino acids in plasma, the branched chain amino acids were highest in the animals fed the 51% protein diet. Despite the low protein intake in the animals fed a 8.7% protein diet, the concentration of serine, glutamic acid, glutamine, glycine, alanine, methionine, isoleucine, leucine, phenylalanine and ornithine were significantly higher compared to control animals, whereas in those receiving a high protein diet, valine, leucine, tyrosine, tryptophan and histidine increased in relation to the increased protein and amino acid intake. The plasma amino acid patterns are not greatly influenced by the amino acid distribution in the food and the amount ingested. Alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, glutamate dehydrogenase and cholinesterase showed a two- to fivefold increased activity in the liver of animals consuming a high protein diet. In the brain, the concentration of valine, leucine, isoleucine, phenylalanine and tyrosine in animals receiving the low protein diet was higher than in controls and increased further with increasing protein content of the diet. Glutamine was increased in all dietary groups. The predicted influx of amino acids showed increasing influx rates in dependence of the plasma amino acid concentration. The entry of tyrosine and tryptophan and their brain concentration was inversely proportional to the protein content of the diet. In the present study which considers long-term adaptation to an increasing protein and amino acid intake in comparison to a balanced control protein diet, the levels of the indispensable amino acids were maintained within narrow limits in the brain and liver. The results indicate that inspite of a variable protein intake, the body tends to keep organ amino acids in relatively narrow limits favoring in this way amino acid homeostasis.
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PMID:Effect of different protein diets on the distribution of amino acids in plasma, liver and brain in the rat. 159 Jun 69

Heritable neurodegenerative diseases may be associated with one or more endogenous neurotoxins whose actions on neurons lead to the degenerative changes. One metabolite of tryptophan, the amino acid L-kynurenic acid (L-KYN), was chronically injected into the striatum of the male rat to test its potential as an endogenous neurotoxin. L-KYN, at concentrations of approximately five times its normal brain levels, produced a large lesion with relative selective neuron sparing. The L-KYN-induced lesion presented three concentric regions: a central necrotic zone, a thin pyknotic zone, and an outermost spongiose zone. The number of GABA-ergic neurons were markedly reduced (approximately 76%), while cholinesterase-positive neurons were also lost. The NADPH diaphorase-positive neurons were the most resistant to L-KYN neurotoxicity and were spread throughout the spongiose zone. The brain levels of L-KYN are abnormal in patients with the neurodegenerative disorder Huntington's disease and as a neurotoxin L-KYN may play a role in the etiology of this disease. Of further significance, the fact that L-KYN is neurotoxic contraindicates the use of this excitatory amino acid receptor antagonist as a therapeutic agent in the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders.
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PMID:Chronic intrastriatal injection of the excitatory amino acid receptor antagonist L-kynurenic acid in rat produces selective neuron sparing lesions. 173 68

We report Raman spectra of various cholinesterases: lytic tetrameric forms (G4) obtained by tryptic digestion of asymmetric acetylcholinesterase (AChE) from Torpedo californica and Electrophorus electricus, a PI-PLC-treated dimeric form (G2) of AChE from T marmorata, and the soluble tetrameric form (G4) of butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) from human plasma. The contribution of different types of secondary structure was estimated by analyzing the amide I band, using the method of Williams. The spectra of cholinesterases in 10 mM Tris-HCl (pH 7.0) indicate the presence of both alpha-helices (about 50%) and beta-sheets (about 25%), together with 15% turns and 10% undefined structures. In 20 mM phosphate buffer (pH 7.0), the spectra indicated a smaller contribution of alpha-helical structure (about 35%) and an increased beta-sheet content (from 25 to 35%). This shows that the ionic milieu profoundly affects either the conformation of the protein (AChE activity is known to be sensitive to ionic strength), or the evaluation of secondary structure, or both. In addition, we analyzed vibrations corresponding to the side chains of aromatic and aliphatic amino acids. In particular, the analyses of the tyrosine doublet (830-850 cm-1) and of the tryptophan vibration at 880 cm-1 indicated that these residues are predominantly 'exposed' on the surface of the molecules.
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PMID:A comparative Raman spectroscopic study of cholinesterases. 179 30

The effect of chemical modification on the pseudocholinesterase and aryl acylamidase activities of purified human serum pseudocholinesterase was examined in the absence and presence of butyrylcholine iodide, the substrate of pseudocholinesterase. Modification by 2-hydroxy-5-nitrobenzyl bromide, N-bromosuccinimide, diethylpyrocarbonate and trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid caused a parallel inactivation of both pseudocholinesterase and aryl acylamidase activities that could be prevented by butyrylcholine iodide. With phenylglyoxal and 2,4-pentanedione as modifiers there was a selective activation of pseudocholinesterase alone with no effect on aryl acylamidase. This activation could be prevented by butyrylcholine iodide. N-Ethylmaleimide and p-hydroxy-mercuribenzoate when used for modification did not have any effect on the enzyme activities. The results suggested essential tryptophan, lysine and histidine residues at a common catalytic site for pseudocholinesterase and aryl acylamidase and an arginine residue (or residues) exclusively for pseudocholinesterase. The use of N-acetylimidazole, tetranitromethane and acetic anhydride as modifiers indicated a biphasic change in both pseudocholinesterase and aryl acylamidase activities. At low concentrations of the modifiers a stimulation in activities and at high concentrations an inactivation was observed. Butyrylcholine iodide or propionylcholine chloride selectively protected the inactivation phase without affecting the activation phase. Protection by the substrates at the inactivation phase resulted in not only a reversal of the enzyme inactivation but also an activation. Spectral studies and hydroxylamine treatment showed that tyrosine residues were modified during the activation phase. The results suggested that the modified tyrosine residues responsible for the activation were not involved in the active site of pseudocholinesterase or aryl acylamidase and that they were more amenable for modification in comparison to the residues responsible for inactivation. Two reversible inhibitors of pseudocholinesterase, namely ethopropazine and imipramine, were used as protectors during modification. Unlike the substrate butyrylcholine iodide, these inhibitors could not protect against the inactivation resulting from modification by 2-hydroxy-5-nitrobenzyl bromide, N-bromosuccinimide and trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid. But they could protect against the activation of pseudocholinesterase and aryl acylamidase by low concentrations of N-acetylimidazole and acetic anhydride thereby suggesting that the binding site of these inhibitors involves the non-active-site tyrosine residues.
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PMID:Chemical modification of the bifunctional human serum pseudocholinesterase. Effect on the pseudocholinesterase and aryl acylamidase activities. 286 42

Because of its specific hepatic degradation tryptophan was orally administered (50 mg/kg) to patients with various chronic liver diseases (n = 30) and to healthy volunteers (n = 8) as a test for hepatic function. The plasma half life of tryptophan was determined between 4 and 8 h after the amino acid load. It was found that in patients with cirrhosis (n = 25) the half life of tryptophan was prolonged to 4.7 +/- 0.4 h (means +/- SD), compared to 2.0 +/- 0.1 h in the controls. The tryptophan half life also correlated with the plasma concentration of albumin, bilirubin, cholinesterase and prothrombin time in these patients. In addition a significant correlation was observed with the galactose elimination capacity and the 45 min retention of BSP. Thus, the oral tryptophan loading test may be suitable for a more specific determination of functional impairment of the liver in chronic liver disease. In decompensated cirrhotic patients alterations of the tryptophan metabolism seen to be related to indicators of hepatic encephalopathy. The test may therefore be used to assess the degree and risk of hepatic encephalopathy in such patients.
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PMID:[Tryptophan loading test as a function parameter in liver diseases]. 686 62

3-Alkylpyridinium polymers (poly-APS), composed of 29 or 99 N-butyl-3-butyl pyridinium units, were isolated from the marine sponge Reniera sarai. They act as potent cholinesterase inhibitors. The inhibition kinetics pattern reveals several successive phases ending in irreversible inhibition of the enzyme. To provide more information on mechanism of inhibition, interaction of poly-APS and N-butyl-3-butyl pyridinium iodide (NBPI) with soluble dimeric and monomeric insect acetylcholinesterase (AChE) was studied by using enzyme intrinsic fluorescence and light scattering, conformational probes ANS and trypsin, and SDS-PAGE. Poly-APS quenched tryptophan fluorescence emission of AChE more extensively than NBPI. Both inhibitors exhibited a pseudo-Lehrer type of quenching. Interaction of poly-APS with dimeric AChE did not induce significant changes of the enzyme conformation as assayed by using the hydrophobic probe ANS and trypsin digestion. In contrast to NBPI, titration of both monomeric and dimeric AChE with poly-APS resulted in the appearance of large complexes detected by measuring light scattering. An excess of poly-APS produced AChE precipitation as proved on SDS-PAGE. None of the effects were observed with trypsin as a control. It was concluded that AChE aggregation and precipitation rather than the enzyme conformational changes accounted for the observed irreversible component of poly-APS inhibition.
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PMID:Interaction of 3-alkylpyridinium polymers from the sea sponge Reniera sarai with insect acetylcholinesterase. 1039 43

Substrate inhibition is considered a defining property of acetylcholinesterase (AChE), whereas substrate activation is characteristic of butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE). To understand the mechanism of substrate inhibition, the pH dependence of acetylthiocholine hydrolysis by AChE was studied between pH 5 and 8. Wild-type human AChE and its mutants Y337G and Y337W, as well as wild-type Bungarus fasciatus AChE and its mutants Y333G, Y333A and Y333W were studied. The pH profile results were unexpected. Instead of substrate inhibition, wild-type AChE and all mutants showed substrate activation at low pH. At high pH, there was substrate inhibition for wild-type AChE and for the mutant with tryptophan in the pi-cation subsite, but substrate activation for mutants containing small residues, glycine or alanine. This is particularly apparent in the B. fasciatus AChE. Thus a single amino acid substitution in the pi-cation site, from the aromatic tyrosine of B. fasciatus AChE to the alanine of BuChE, caused AChE to behave like BuChE. Excess substrate binds to the peripheral anionic site (PAS) of AChE. The finding that AChE is activated by excess substrate supports the idea that binding of a second substrate molecule to the PAS induces a conformational change that reorganizes the active site.
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PMID:Substrate activation in acetylcholinesterase induced by low pH or mutation in the pi-cation subsite. 1190 27

Ideally we would like to treat people exposed to nerve agents with an enzyme that rapidly destroys nerve agents. The enzymes considered for such a role include human butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), acetylcholinesterase (AChE), carboxylesterase and paraoxonase (PON1). Success has been achieved in endowing BChE with the ability to hydrolyze organophosphates. The G117H mutant of BCHE hydrolyzes sarin and VX, whereas the double mutant G117H/E197Q hydrolyzes soman (Millard et al. Biochemistry 1995; 34: 15925-15933; 1998; 37: 237-247). However, the rates of organophosphate hydrolysis are slow and a faster organophosphate hydrolase is being sought. Native PON1 hydrolyzes paraoxon with a catalytic efficiency, of 2.4 x 10(6) M(-1) x min(-1), and our goal is to improve the organophosphate hydrolase activity of PON1. To achieve this we need to identify the amino acids in the active site of PON1. Using site-directed mutagenesis and expression in human 293T cells, we have identified the following eight amino acids as being essential to PON1 activity: W280, H114, H133, H154, H242, H284, E52 and D53. Fluorescence of PON1 complexed to terbium ion shows that at least one tryptophan is close to the calcium binding site.
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PMID:The active site of human paraoxonase (PON1). 1192 Sep 13


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