Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: EC:3.4.21.1 (chymotrypsin)
 10,938 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Immunoreactive PRL (IR-PRL) has been identified in many areas of the rat brain. Using sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and Western blot analyses we have recently shown that the primary IR-PRL protein in the rat brain has an apparent mol wt (Mr) of 24,000, which was identical to that of pituitary PRL. In these studies, brain and pituitary 24,000 Mr PRL were compared by peptide mapping and lectin chromatography. PRL-enriched fractions were prepared from the pituitary, hypothalamus, hippocampus, and pons-medulla and labeled with 125I. This material was further purified by immunoprecipitation, and immunopurified 24,000 Mr PRL was isolated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-gel electrophoresis. Cleavage of 125I-labeled 24,000 Mr IR-PRL prepared from the pituitary and the three brain regions with chymotrypsin resulted in identical peptide maps with two primary labeled peptide fragments (5,500 and 6,000 Mr), and approximately five less intense fragments. Similarly, trypsin cleavage of brain and pituitary 24,000 Mr IR-PRL resulted in the production of two major fragments (6,200, and 5,200 Mr), and three less intense fragments. Cleavage of the 24,000 Mr IR-PRL with Staphylococcus V8 protease resulted in identical fragment patterns with two primary peptide fragments (14,000 and 6,200 Mr). When the pituitary and brain 24,000 Mr PRL were applied to Concanavalin-A-Sepharose columns no 24,000 Mr PRL was absorbed. The similarity of the peptide fragments obtained from the cleavage of the 24,000 Mr IR-PRL from the brain and pituitary clearly indicate that the IR-PRL found in the brain has an amino acid sequence that shares a high degree of structural homology with pituitary PRL.
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PMID:Comparison of brain and pituitary immunoreactive prolactin by peptide mapping and lectin affinity chromatography. 279 95

We previously reported that the rat posterior pituitary contains a potent PRL-releasing factor (PRF) which is distinct from oxytocin (OT), TRH, and angiotensin II (AII). The objectives of this study were 1) to examine whether posterior pituitary extracts stimulate PRL release in the presence of dopamine (DA), 2) to determine the chemical nature of PRF, and 3) to estimate its mol wt. Perifused anterior pituitary cells were used to assess PRF activity. Posterior pituitaries and medial basal hypothalamus (MBH) fragments were extracted with perchloric acid and lyophilized. Subsequent to various treatments, samples were reconstituted in the perifusion medium and introduced to the cells in short pulses. Fractions were collected and analyzed for hormone content by RIA. During a constant infusion of DA (50 nM), PRL secretion was inhibited by 75%, yet the posterior pituitary extract retained its ability to rapidly stimulate PRL release. Studies using proteolytic enzymes showed that posterior pituitary PRF was resistant to inactivation by trypsin, whereas the PRF activity of AII was abolished. Both chymotrypsin and proline-specific endopeptidase significantly reduced the PRF activity in the posterior pituitary. The PRL-releasing activity of TRH was not affected by chymotrypsin. Immunoreactive vasoactive intestinal polypeptide was undetectable in posterior pituitary extracts. Oxidation of posterior pituitary extracts with performic acid caused only a modest reduction of their PRF activity, while the ability of OT to stimulate PRL release as well as immunoreactive OT was abolished. Studies using ultrafiltration membranes showed that the PRF activity in the posterior pituitary was less than 5,000 mol wt. Furthermore, posterior pituitary PRF partitioned in nearly equal amounts across 1K membranes, as did AII and OT. In contrast, about 80% of the PRF activity in the MBH and all of the synthetic TRH passed through the 1K membranes. We conclude that 1) posterior pituitary PRF can stimulate PRL secretion from perifused anterior pituitary cells in the presence of physiological concentrations of DA; 2) PRF is a small peptide(s) of less than 5,000, and perhaps closer to 1,000, mol wt; 3) PRF is resistant to inactivation by trypsin and to oxidation by performic acid, but is hydrolyzed by both chymotrypsin and proline-specific endopeptidase; and 4) these data further distinguish posterior pituitary PRF from known PRL secretagogues.
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PMID:Characterization of prolactin-releasing factor in the rat posterior pituitary. 313 Nov 18

We previously reported that a factor(s) from rat choriocarcinoma (Rcho-1) cells suppresses circulating PRL levels and increases tyrosine hydroxylase activity in tuberoinfundibular dopaminergic neurons in vivo. The purposes of this study were to determine whether this factor(s) increases tyrosine hydroxylase activity in fetal hypothalamic cells in vitro and to evaluate its chemical nature. The Rcho-1 cells are of placental origin and have the capacity to differentiate into giant cells and produce members of the placental PRL family. MMQ cells, a pituitary cell line that secretes PRL, and HRP-1, a placental cell line that does not produce any known members of the PRL family, were used as control cells. Tyrosine hydroxylase activity was assessed by incubation of hypothalamic cells for 1 h with 100 microM brocresine, an inhibitor of aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase. Tyrosine hydroxylase activity was increased in a density-dependent manner when Rcho-1, but not HRP-1 or MMQ, cells were cocultured with hypothalamic cells for 24 h. Control and Rcho-1-stimulated tyrosine hydroxylase activities were markedly reduced with 1 mM alpha-methyl-p-tyrosine, a specific inhibitor of tyrosine hydroxylase. Tyrosine hydroxylase activity was not altered when hypothalamic cells were incubated for 24 h with rat PRL or recombinant rat placental lactogen-I, whereas a 24-h stimulation with 100,000 Rcho-1 cells and a 1-h stimulation with 5 mM (Bu)2cAMP increased tyrosine hydroxylase activity 3.7- and 3-fold, respectively. The magnitudes of the increase in tyrosine hydroxylase activity were similar when hypothalamic cells were cocultured with Rcho-1 cells for 1 and 24 h. Acetic acid extracts of Rcho-1, but not HRP-1 or MMQ, cells increased tyrosine hydroxylase activity within 1 h in a concentration-dependent manner. The 3-fold increase in tyrosine hydroxylase activity observed with 500,000 Rcho-1 cell equivalents was markedly reduced with 1 mM alpha-methyl-p-tyrosine. The mol wt range of the tyrosine hydroxylase-activating factor(s) (THAF) was estimated using ultrafiltration membranes. The majority of activity was found in the eluate from a 1,000 mol wt cut-off membrane. THAF activity in Rcho-1 cell extracts was decreased by preincubation with pronase, a nonspecific proteolytic enzyme, suggesting that the factor(s) is a peptide. THAF was resistant to inactivation by trypsin or chymotrypsin pretreatment. However, both enzymes destroyed the ability of pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating peptide, either alone or with Rcho-1 cell extracts, to increase tyrosine hydroxylase activity. Oxidation of Rcho-1 cell extracts with performic acid abolished THAF activity.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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PMID:A factor(s) from a trophoblast cell line increases tyrosine hydroxylase activity in fetal hypothalamic cell cultures. 810 May 18