Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:3.4.21.4 (trypsin)
42,187 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Dissociated cells from the areas of the nucleus ambiguus and the nucleus tractus solitarius obtained by tissue punch or block dissection from coronal slices of the medulla at the level of the obex were cultured from fetal rats at 18 to 21 days gestation. The dissociated neurons were plated either directly in vitrogen-coated 35 mm tissue culture dishes or in such dishes which had been seeded with subcultures of cortex- or medulla-derived astrocytes. After the astrocytes reached confluency and were treated with an antimitotic agent, dissociated nucleus ambiguus or nucleus tractus solitarius was plated at 0.5-1.0 x 10(6) cells per dish. Neurons grew well on monolayers of medullary or cortical astrocytes, but survived poorly on vitrogen-coated dishes without a cellular substrate. Rat medulla was preferred as the source of astrocytes. Tissue dissociation with papain rather than trypsin produced less cellular debris, and the neuronal yield from the tissue was higher. The neuronal population was heterogenous in morphology including small and large bipolar, pyramidal, and multipolar cells. Neurons sensitive to CO2 and/or low pH (Rigatto et al., J Neurosci Res 33:590-597, 1992) did not appear to have any definitive morphologic characteristics, but most were multipolar. These neurons stained well with antibodies to neuron-specific enolase and Fragment C of tetanus toxin, but not to choline acetyltransferase (ChAT). These findings suggest that neurons possibly responsible for the central regulation of respiration can be maintained for several weeks in dissociated cell culture, providing a system for neurotransmitter, electrophysiological, and morphological studies.
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PMID:In search of the central respiratory neurons: I. Dissociated cell cultures of respiratory areas from the upper medulla. 148 91

The sympathetic innervation of rat sweat glands undergoes a target-induced switch from a noradrenergic to a cholinergic and peptidergic phenotype during development. Treatment of cultured sympathetic neurons with sweat gland extracts mimics many of the changes seen in vivo. Extracts induce choline acetyltransferase activity and vasoactive intestinal peptide expression in the neurons in a dose-dependent fashion while reducing catecholaminergic properties and neuropeptide Y. The cholinergic differentiation activity appears in developing glands of postnatal day 5 rats and is maintained in adult glands. It is a heat-labile, trypsin-sensitive, acidic protein that does not bind to heparin-agarose. Immunoprecipitation experiments with an antiserum directed against an N-terminal peptide of a cholinergic differentiation factor (CDF/LIF) from heart cells suggest that the sweat gland differentiation factor is not CDF/LIF. The sweat gland activity is a likely candidate for mediating the target-directed change in sympathetic neurotransmitter function observed in vivo.
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PMID:Characterization of a target-derived neuronal cholinergic differentiation factor. 198 70

The binding of iodinated beta-nerve growth factor, [125I]-NGF, to embryonic (E16) rat spinal cord cells, was investigated to characterize the binding properties and cellular distribution of nerve growth factor receptors. Spinal cord cells prepared without trypsin yielded two classes of NGF binding sites with Kd's of 3 x 10(-11) M and 4 x 10(-9) M. Fractionation of the cells by discontinuous gradients composed of 8%, 12%, and 17% metrizamide was used to separate motoneurons from other cell types. The motoneuron enriched fraction (8% metrizamide) contained approximately 10% of the cells and 64% of the choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) activity. In contrast, the 12% metrizamide fraction contained most (51%) of the cells and 36% of the ChAT activity, while the 17% metrizamide fraction contained the remainder of the cells and negligible amounts of ChAT activity. Characterization of [125I]-NGF binding to each metrizamide fraction showed that the motoneuron-enriched fraction exhibited both high and low affinity binding sites, while the other metrizamide fractions exhibited only the low affinity binding sites. These findings indicate that although low affinity NGF receptors appear to be relatively evenly distributed amongst embryonic rat spinal cord cells, high affinity NGF receptors are found primarily on motoneurons.
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PMID:Characterization of nerve growth factor binding to embryonic rat spinal cord neurons. 217 81

Cell membrane contact induces the de novo expression of choline O-acetyltransferase (CAT; acetyl-CoA: choline O-acetyltransferase, EC 2.3.1.6) activity in cultures of virtually pure neonatal rat dissociated sympathetic neurons. To identify molecular mechanisms underlying membrane-associated CAT induction, the responsible membrane component was characterized and partially purified. Substantial CAT-inducing activity was found in membranes from adult rat spinal cord and sensory and sympathetic ganglia. Whole brain membranes demonstrated significantly less activity. CAT induction in sympathetic neurons in response to spinal cord membranes was linear with respect to time, after an initial 6-hr lag. It was also linear with respect to concentrations of spinal cord protein from 2 to 100 micrograms per ml. CAT-inducing activity was extracted from spinal cord membranes by incubation with 100 mM NaCl and was purified approximately 5000-fold by DEAE ion-exchange and gel filtration chromatography. The active factor appears to be an extrinsic protein with an apparent molecular mass of 27 kDa. It is inactivated by trypsin and chymotrypsin but is moderately thermostable, retaining activity at 60 degrees C but not at 90 degrees C.
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PMID:Partial purification and characterization of a membrane-derived factor regulating neurotransmitter phenotypic expression. 256 90

Cell membrane contact induces marked differential changes in neurotransmitter expression. In cultures of virtually pure dissociated sympathetic neurons, when such contact is provided by either high cell densities or addition of membranes derived from specific tissues, there is a marked increase in cell-specific content of substance P and de novo induction of choline acetyltransferase. To identify molecular mechanisms underlying regulation of transmitter expression by neuronal aggregation and membrane contact, we have begun to isolate and characterize a membrane-associated factor responsible for stimulation of choline acetyltransferase activity. The factor was found in substantial quantities in membranes from adult rat spinal cord as well as from sympathetic and sensory ganglia. Ionic mechanisms were employed to extract transmitter-inducing activity from spinal cord membranes in soluble form. The solubilized factor was then partially purified by ion exchange and gel filtration chromatography. It appears to be an extrinsic (non-integral) protein with an apparent molecular weight of 27. It is inactivated by trypsin and chymotrypsin, but is only moderately sensitive to heat inactivation, retaining activity at 60 degrees C but not at 90 degrees C. Neuronal perikaryal contact via aggregation represents a critical mechanism by which neurons themselves may influence phenotypic expression. Membrane localization of the factor provides a means by which cell contact may regulate transmitter expression.
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PMID:Neuronal aggregation and neurotransmitter regulation: partial purification and characterization of a membrane-derived factor. 281 89

Primary cultures of fetal rat septal neurons were used to identify a membrane-associated cholinergic neurotrophic activity. Under serum-free culture conditions, approximately 98% of the septal cells are neurons, and approximately 6% of the neurons are cholinergic as determined immunocytochemically. Crude membranes prepared from rat hippocampal homogenates stimulate choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) activity in treated septal neurons. The membrane-associated trophic activity is apparent at lower protein concentrations than activity present in the soluble fraction and is unevenly distributed in various brain regions; it is highest in hippocampus and striatum and negligible in cerebellum. Membrane trophic activity is developmentally regulated, is heat and trypsin sensitive, and increases the rate of expression of ChAT in septal neurons. Upon gel filtration chromatography of a high-salt membrane extract, trophic activity elutes as a broad peak in the 500 kilodalton (kD) molecular mass range. Stimulation of septal neuronal ChAT activity by either crude membranes or partially purified preparations is not inhibited by antibodies against nerve growth factor (NGF), and its maximal activity is additive to maximally active doses of NGF. The results indicate that hippocampal membranes contain cholinergic neurotrophic activity which may be important for the development of septal cholinergic neurons.
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PMID:Hippocampal membranes contain a neurotrophic activity that stimulates cholinergic properties of fetal rat septal neurons cultured under serum-free conditions. 291 17

Choline acetyltransferase (Acetyl-CoA:choline O-acetyltransferase, EC 2.3.1.6, abbreviated ChAT), the biosynthetic enzyme for acetylcholine and acetylcholinesterase (EC 3.1.1.7, abbreviated AChE) are expressed in a human cholinergic neuroblastoma cell line, MC-IXC. We have shown that ChAT activity can be regulated in culture by retinoic acid, an active metabolite of vitamin A, and by sodium butyrate, an organic fatty acid. Optimal concentrations of these agents produce 4.3-fold and 1.6-fold increases in ChAT activity, respectively. The effects of retinoic acid are statistically significant after 24 h, whereas for sodium butyrate significant differences are seen only after 48 h. Since retinoic acid stimulation of ChAT activity was reversed only by trypsin treatment and not by removal of retinoic acid from the medium, this suggests that this agent may be acting at the level of the cell surface. Other differentiating conditions, such as culture in serum-free medium or addition of 1-2% dimethylsulfoxide did not increase ChAT activity. Acetylcholinesterase activity was shown to increase only in the presence of sodium butyrate, suggesting that retinoic acid and sodium butyrate may be acting via different pathways. Retinoic acid and sodium butyrate both seem to be permissive rather than instructive in regulating ChAT activity in that they are unable to induce ChAT expression de novo in cell lines which do not already express ChAT activity.
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PMID:Stimulation of choline acetyltransferase activity by retinoic acid and sodium butyrate in a cultured human neuroblastoma. 292 23

Culture medium conditioned over C6 glioma cells (GCM) contains factors which induce neurite outgrowth from clonal rat pheochromocytoma (PC12) cells. The effects of GCM on the cell-substratum adhesion of PC12 cells, which is an early event required for the neurite outgrowth, were investigated. The results obtained are as follows. Addition of GCM promoted the adhesion of PC12 cells specifically to collagen-coated tissue culture dish. The GCM-promoted adhesion of PC12 cells was prevented by the treatment of the cells with cytochalasin B, concanavalin A and glycosidase mixture suggesting the contribution of microfilaments and cell surface carbohydrates in the cell adhesion. GCM did not increase significantly the intracellular content of cAMP and the extent of cell adhesion promoted by cAMP or dibutyryl-cAMP was much less than that by GCM. Two active factors contained in GCM were separated by either gel filtration or chromatofocusing using the cell adhesion assay as an index. The first factor with an apparent mol. wt. around 40,000 had the abilities to induce the neurite outgrowth and to enhance the choline acetyltransferase activity in addition to the ability to promote the adhesion of PC12 cells. The second factor with an apparent mol. wt. around 10,000 was devoid of the ability to induce the neurite outgrowth, but had the abilities to enhance the choline acetyltransferase activity and to promote the adhesion of PC12 cells. Both factors were sensitive to trypsin digestion and relatively heat stable. The significance of these factors in the neuronal differentiation was discussed.
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PMID:Promotion of cell-substratum adhesion of clonal rat pheochromocytoma cells (PC12) by factors contained in glioma-conditioned medium (GCM): separation of two active factors contained in GCM. 394 4

The effect of muscle extract on cell survival and choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) activity in cultures of enriched cholinergic neurones from 7-day chick embryo spinal cord was examined. When neurones were grown on hydrated collagen gels, considerable cell survival and ChAT activity were obtained even in the absence of tissue extract. These parameters were stimulated twofold in the presence of skeletal muscle extract but not liver or skin extracts. The cholinergic neurotrophic activity was found to be heat- and trypsin-sensitive, nondialysable, and to act in the virtual absence of glial cells. These data are consistent with a retrogradely acting motor neurone trophic activity.
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PMID:Cell survival characteristics and choline acetyltransferase activity in motor neurone-enriched cultures from chick embryo spinal cord. 403 94

Single cell suspensions prepared from embryonic chick or rat spinal cords were separated into morphologically and functionally distinct subpopulation based on their buoyant densities The lightest fraction (F-1) was highly enriched for cells containing the enzyme choline acetyltransferase (CAT), a marker for developing motoneurons. The morphology biochemistry, and in vitro development of this and other spinal cord cell fractions isolated by the outlined procedure were investigated. Spinal cords, dissected from 6-day chick or 12-day rat embryos, were dissociated with trypsin and applied to iso-osmotic metrizamide density gradients. After brief centrifugation, biochemical analysis revealed that cholinergic cells migrated to lower densities than other spinal cord cells. The use of discontinuous density gradients allowed rapid and simple isolation of three fractions of viable cells (designated F-1 to F-3, lowest to highest density). Characterization of chicken and rat embryo cell fractions gave similar results. The cells in Fraction 1 were large with prominent nuclei and nucleoli, while those in F-2 and F-3 were distinctly smaller. Fraction 1 was highly enriched for cholinergic cells. The CAT specific activity (CAT/cell) was increased 400% in Fraction 1 compared to unfractionated cells, while CAT specific activity in F-2 and F-3 was reduced to 25% and less than 4% that of unfractionated cells, respectively. The recovery of cholinergic cells using this procedure was much better than with other published procedures; greater than half the spinal cord CAT activity was routinely recovered in the enriched fraction. The cholinergic-enriched cells (F-1) were unique in their in vitro growth characteristics. All fractions had neuronal cells, while non-neuronal cells were distributed primarily in F-3, fewer in F-2, and were essentially absent from F-1. Neurons in F-2 and F-3 remained viable under a variety of conditions, most of which were not supportive of F-1 cell survival. The cholinergic-enriched F-1 cells survived and developed only in the presence of muscle cells or in muscle-conditioned medium on highly adhesive substrata. Large, multipolar neurons predominated under these conditions. The method described provides a means of characterizing the factors involved in the development of distinct populations of cells from the embryonic spinal cord.
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PMID:Separation of cell types from embryonic chicken and rat spinal cord: characterization of motoneuron-enriched fractions. 726 17


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