Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:4.6.1.2 (guanylate cyclase)
 8,497 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

At extremely low concentrations, in the picomole and the nanomole range, bradykinin produces contraction and relaxation of smooth muscle in the gastrointestinal and the urogenital tract. At the target organ, bradykinin interacts with discriminator proteins of the plasma membranes and triggers, via changes in certain membrane functions, its biological response:--The binding to the discriminator makes specific conformative and constitutional demands on the nonapeptide. The binding results from an angular conformation which exists in the solution. The complete sequence is responsible for this specific conformation. Consequently, the biological activity of partial sequences is low. The conformational analysis of analogues used in studies on the mechanism of action showed but slight differences from bradykinin. The interaction of these analogues with the discriminator protein is disturbed to a varying extent by modifications at positions 1, 5, 8 and 9 in the side chains. The affinity for the discriminator is affected, dependently on the respective configuration, by substitution on the beta-C atom in the two phenylalanine residues.--Bradykinin is not only bound to, but also degraded at, the plasma membranes of the rat uterus and duodenum. The bradykinin-degrading enzyme has been characterized as a kininase II with the aid of various inhibitors. The conformative and configurative prerequisites decisive for enzymatic degradation are others than those decisive for binding to the discriminator.--The changes in the activities of the membrane-bound adenylate and guanylate cyclases (produced by the bradykinin-discriminator complex) that take place at the rat duodenum and uterus in the presence of extracellular calcium ions contrast with each other: At the duodenum, the ratio between these two cyclic nucleotides is changed in favour of adenylate cyclase; and at the uterus, in favour of guanylate cyclase; Substances which increase or decrease the cAMP level may also potentiate or inhibit the relaxation of the duodenum. These bradykinin-induced changes in enzyme activity must be considered in connection with other effectors, e.g. prostaglandins and calcium ions.--The calcium-ion-dependence of the effect of bradykinin on the guinea-pig ileum and the rat uterus indicates the importance of these ions as additional second messengers. Bradykinin stimulates the influx of calcium ions into the ileum; it is ineffective if no extracellular calcium ions into the ileum; it is ineffective if no extracellular calcium ions are available. It seems that intracellular and membranal calcium is mobilized in the uterus, which is evidenced by results from experiments with EGTA on the isolated organ and by the release of calcium from plasma membranes after application of bradykinin. It is assumed that the observed changes in membrane functions are induced by the peptide-discriminator complex simultaneously and not in the form of a causal chain.
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PMID:[On the mode of action of bradykinin on smooth muscle (author's transl)]. 39 90

The squid giant axon has proved a useful model in the study of ionic channel gating, intracellular homeostasis and receptor-mediated signal transduction leading to generation of intracellular second messengers. In the latter category, previous studies on activation of adenylate or guanylate cyclase have used intact and intracellularly perfused axons to investigate the effects of extra- and intracellular agents on the transduction processes. However, the perfusion of the axon interior washes out many factors which may be important in the processes under study. We introduce here the use of porous cellulose dialysis tubing as a means to circumvent these problems. We find that this dialysis technique is a simple procedure to set-up, and the serotonin/G-protein/adenylate cyclase system can readily be studied in the dialysed axon. This approach should allow investigation under conditions which retain asymmetric transmembrane conditions.
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PMID:The use of intracellular dialysis to study signal transduction coupling in the squid giant axon. 132 34

A procedure has been developed for the isolation of cone photoreceptors from the retina of the lizard Anolis carolinensis in order to study the effects of dark- and light-adaptation on the cyclic nucleotide metabolism of these visual cells. Incubation of the retina in N2 medium with hyaluronidase and DNAase allows us to obtain intact photoreceptors with good purity (85-90%), yields (greater than 2 x 10(5) cells per retina), and more than 95% of them excluding Trypan blue. cAMP levels are 20-fold higher than cGMP levels in cells from dark-adapted animals and are decreased by 35% upon exposure to light, whereas cGMP levels show no apparent change. However, both cAMP- and cGMP-phosphodiesterases, as well as adenylate and guanylate cyclase, are activated several-fold by light, but the enzymes involved in cGMP metabolism have higher Vmaxs than the cAMP related enzymes. The apparent constant levels of cGMP found in cone photoreceptors may result from our inability to detect the very fast changes that occur in these cells when they are exposed to light.
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PMID:The effects of light on cyclic nucleotide metabolism of isolated cone photoreceptors. 134 77

Phenotype, growth, and functional characteristics of glomerular mesangial "myofibroblasts" are under the control of multiple hormones, vasoactive agents, autacoids, and cytokines. Several parallel signal transduction pathways couple receptor occupancy with functional changes, including phospholipases C, A2, and D breakdown of membrane phospholipids, and adenylate/guanylate cyclase activation. Changes of cytosolic ion concentrations, cyclic nucleotide accumulation, and eicosanoid biosynthesis are currently interpreted as intracellular signals for protein kinase activation. Phosphorylation of multiple substrates by serine/threonine kinases C, A, and G or by tyrosine kinases directly coupled to receptors, is a final step in cell activation. Cross-talk between signal transduction pathways, along with the release of eicosanoids and cytokines acting as intercellular mediators, provides the potential for interactive regulation of glomerular cell functions.
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PMID:Signal transduction in mesangial cells. 135 Sep 29

Adenylate and guanylate cyclases, having different but related substrates, are a paradigm for the study of substrate discrimination. A prokaryotic adenylate cyclase gene, phylogenetically related to eukaryotic counterparts, was screened for mutants remodelling the enzyme's specificity. In a first step, a mutant was selected displaying a significant level of guanylate cyclase activity. This was due to a point mutation destroying most of the adenylate cyclase activity. A second selection step restored most of the original activity. This resulted from an additional mutation in the same region, thus permitting the first identification of a functional domain in adenylate and guanylate cyclases.
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PMID:From adenylate cyclase to guanylate cyclase. Mutational analysis of a change in substrate specificity. 135 50

Two phenomena may lead to an increase in intracellular calcium concentration of vascular smooth muscle cells: an increase in the permeability of the cell membrane to Ca2+ ions; liberation of Ca2+ ions from the intracellular reservoirs. The calcium channels of smooth muscle are varied. There are two types of voltage operated calcium channels: the fast (T) and the slow (L) channels. The calcium channels activated by extracellular membrane receptors are not voltage dependent. Only the L calcium channels are sensitive to dihydropyridines. The liberation of Ca2+ from the sarcoplasmic reticulum which is the intracellular reservoir of calcium can be controlled by two different mechanisms: a direct mechanism by the influx of Ca2+ into the cell through the voltage-operated channels; by the intermediary of a second intracellular messenger. High conductance calcium channels controlled by cytosolic Ca2+ and by IP2 have been demonstrated on the membrane of the sarcoplasmic reticulum. The contraction of smooth muscle may therefore be regulated directly through control of the phosphorylation of the contractile proteins by the intermediary of the systems of adenylate and guanylate cyclase.
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PMID:[The excitation-contraction coupling of the vascular smooth muscle cells]. 164 54

The purine metabolites inosine and adenosine selectively increase the catecholamine, but not the acetylcholine production in cultured chick superior cervical ganglion neurons via an as yet unknown intracellular pathway. In order to elucidate some of the molecular events involved in this differential regulation of neurotransmitter production by purines, the SCG neurons were cultured in the presence of cyclic nucleotide analogs and activators of adenylate and guanylate cyclase. Neither 8-bromo-cyclic AMP (8-Br-cAMP), 8-bromo-cyclic GMP (8-Br-cGMP), or forskolin, an activator of adenylate cyclase, could mimic the effect of inosine, i.e. differentially increase catecholamine production. Sodium nitroprusside, an activator of guanylate cyclase, however, has a strong potentiating action on the effect of inosine. The noradrenergic properties of chick sympathetic neurons may thus be differentially modulated by a cGMP-dependent pathway.
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PMID:Catecholaminergic traits of chick sympathetic neurons may be differentially regulated by a cGMP-dependent pathway. 167 90

The pyruvate-stimulated adenylate cyclase from Brevibacterium liquefaciens produces up to 450 microM cyclic AMP in the culture medium when the bacterium is grown on glucose and alanine. In this paper we report the cloning, expression and sequencing of the gene for this enzyme. Residues were identified, within the C-terminal domain, which are conserved in adenylate and guanylate cyclase sequences from eukaryotes and in the adenylate cyclase of the prokaryote Rhizobium meliloti. We have also identified a sequence of 30 residues near the N-terminus of the protein which is homologous to part of the regulatory domain of the cellular homologues of the oncogenes fes and fps; this sequence is also present in the avian Fujinami sarcoma virus fps gene.
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PMID:A pyruvate-stimulated adenylate cyclase has a sequence related to the fes/fps oncogenes and to eukaryotic cyclases. 168 68

Adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) is believed to be an important mediator of myometrial relaxation, and there is evidence to suggest that guanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cGMP) is a mediator of smooth muscle relaxation in vascular and probably nonvascular tissues. To investigate the biochemical mechanisms involved in regulation of human myometrial contractility, we studied the effects of analogues of cAMP and cGMP, as well as activators of adenylate and guanylate cyclases, on uterine smooth muscle contractile activity. We found that myometrial smooth muscle cells in culture respond to analogues of cGMP and cAMP, as well as activators of guanylate cyclase, with a significant decrease in the resting and endothelin-induced increase in [Ca2+]i. Treatment of human uterine smooth muscle strips with sodium nitroprusside or isoproterenol results in diminished force and frequency of contraction as well as a decrease in the rate and extent of myosin light chain phosphorylation in spontaneous contractions of human myometrium. cGMP did not effect relaxation of endothelin-stimulated contractions of human myometrium, but the relaxation effects of cGMP were dramatic in precontracted bovine tracheal and human fetal aortic smooth muscles. Whereas cGMP and cAMP act to promote a decrease in the force and frequency of spontaneous contractions in human myometrium, this tissue is not as responsive to the actions of cyclic nucleotides as are other types of smooth muscle.
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PMID:Effects of cGMP on [Ca2+]i, myosin light chain phosphorylation, and contraction in human myometrium. 185 Jan 99

The enterotoxins are macro-proteins, produced by enterotoxic bacterial strains acting in the human or animal intestine during digestive infections. In most cases, they induce diarrhoea (associated or not with tissue damage). These molecules differ in their structure and mechanism of action. Some of them (cholera toxin, Escherichia coli LT) activate a cyclase system (adenylate or guanylate cyclase), inducing water and electrolyte flux in the gut. Conversely, others (toxins A and B, Clostridium difficile; Clostridium perfringens enterotoxin; verotoxin), provoke diarrhoea, intestinal damage associated with inflammatory response acting on cellular functions (protein synthesis, permeability to small molecules). Most enterotoxins act via membrane receptors which they specifically recognize on the surface of the enterocyte.
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PMID:[Bacterial enterotoxins: structure, mode of action]. 189 66


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