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)

Furoxans (1,2,5-oxadiazole-2-oxides) are widely used in organic chemistry as intermediate compounds for the synthesis of various heterocycles. Despite the fact that some furoxans have been found to possess remarkable biological activities, up to now no systematic study on their mode of action has been reported. The aim of the present study was to investigate the molecular mode of the vasodilator action of furoxans. Furoxans, but not the corresponding furazans, concentration-dependently increased coronary flow in an isolated working rat heart preparation. This effect was blunted upon coinfusion with methylene blue. All tested furoxans were demonstrated to increase potently the activity of soluble guanylate cyclase. Enzyme stimulation was found to be mediated by the generation of nitric oxide (NO) following chemical reaction of the furoxans with sulfhydryl groups of low molecular weight thiols and proteins. Furoxans are thus prodrugs which increase the level of cyclic GMP via formation of NO and may therefore be classified as nitrovasodilators. Along with the generation of NO, nitrite and nitrate ions and S-nitrosothiols were formed. The rates of formation of these metabolites, however, did not appear to be related to enzyme stimulation. A tentative reaction scheme that fits the obtained experimental data is proposed. Recently reported cytotoxic, mutagenic, immunosuppressive and anticancer effects of furoxans are discussed in the light of their ability to release NO upon reaction with thiols.
Biochem Pharmacol 1992 Sep 25
PMID:Thiol-mediated generation of nitric oxide accounts for the vasodilator action of furoxans. 135 72

1. The mechanism of the vasorelaxant effect of platelet activating factor (PAF) on rat thoracic aorta and the effect of aging on the PAF-induced relaxation were investigated. 2. PAF at concentrations causing relaxation induced marked increases in guanosine 3':5'-cyclic monophosphate (cyclic GMP) production, but did not induce an increase in adenosine 3':5'-cyclic monophosphate (cyclic AMP). 3. Removal of the endothelium by mechanical rubbing, and treatment with the PAF antagonists CV-3988, CV-6209 and FR-900452, the nitric oxide biosynthesis inhibitor, NG-nitro L-arginine, the radical scavenger, haemoglobin, and the soluble guanylate cyclase inhibitor, methylene blue, inhibited PAF-induced relaxation and abolished or attenuated PAF-stimulated cyclic GMP production. 4. The relaxation was greatest in arteries from rats aged 4 weeks. With an increase in age, the response of the arteries to PAF was attenuated. 5. Endothelium-dependent cyclic GMP production also decreased with increase in age of the rats. 6. These results suggest that PAF stimulates production of nitric oxide from L-arginine by acting on the PAF receptors in the endothelium, which in turn stimulates soluble guanylate cyclase in the smooth muscle cells, and so increases production of cyclic GMP, thus relaxing the arteries. Age-associated decrease in PAF-induced relaxation may result from a reduction of cyclic GMP formation.
Br J Pharmacol 1992 Sep
PMID:Involvement of nitric oxide pathway in the PAF-induced relaxation of rat thoracic aorta. 135 82

Using a selective cloning approach we previously isolated a number of cDNAs of transcripts that are newly expressed during terminal differentiation of the chicken optic tectum. Here, we have characterized one of these cDNAs (OZ1) by Northern analysis and in situ hybridization. The OZ1 cDNA hybridizes to two transcripts of 1.6 kb and 2.9 kb which are widely expressed in the brain but not detectable in liver, heart or skeletal muscle. Cloning of overlapping cDNAs revealed that both transcripts encode the same open reading frame for a polypeptide of 191 amino acids. The deduced protein contains 4 EF-hand consensus motifs characteristic of calmodulin-like Ca(2+)-binding proteins. It displays 40% and 46% sequence identity with the retinal photoreceptor-specific Ca(2+)-binding proteins visinin and recoverin, respectively, and was termed VILIP (visinin-like protein). VILIP transcripts are also expressed in the retina. However, the expression pattern does not overlap with that of visinin or recoverin. The possible functional implications of the similarity to recoverin, which regulates guanylate cyclase activity of retinal rod cells in a Ca(2+)-dependent manner, are discussed.
Brain Res Mol Brain Res 1992 Sep
PMID:VILIP, a cognate protein of the retinal calcium binding proteins visinin and recoverin, is expressed in the developing chicken brain. 135 72

The effect of carnosine on activation of human platelet soluble guanylate cyclase has been studied in 105,000 g supernatants and partially purified haem-deficient enzyme preparations. In the 105,000 g supernatant carnosine (1 mM) inhibited (by about 70%) the enzyme activation caused by sodium nitroprusside. In partially purified haem-deficient guanylate cyclase preparations the inhibition of enzyme activation by sodium nitroprusside was 86%; further addition of carnosine had no effect on the enzyme activity. The strength of the activating effect of protoporphyrin IX on partially purified haem-deficient guanylate cyclase did not differ from that for the 105,000 g supernatant; this stimulating effect did not change after carnosine addition. A conclusion is drawn that the inhibiting effect of carnosine on the ability of guanylate cyclase to be activated by sodium nitroprusside is due to the dipeptide interaction with the guanylate cyclase haem.
Biokhimiia 1992 Sep
PMID:[The role of carnosine in the function of soluble of guanylate cyclase]. 136 62

We examined the effect of the cytochrome P-450 substrate, 7-ethoxyresorufin (7-ER), and its corresponding product, resorufin, on nitrovasodilator- and endothelium-dependent relaxation of isolated rat aorta. The EC50 value for glyceryl trinitrate (GTN) induced relaxation was increased over 100-fold by 7-ER and less than 3-fold by resorufin. The EC50 value for sodium nitroprusside (SNP) induced relaxation was increased approximately 12-fold by 7-ER, acetylcholine (ACh) induced relaxation was abolished, and relaxation induced by isopropylnorepinephrine was not significantly affected. GTN-, SNP-, and ACh-induced increases in cyclic GMP accumulation were inhibited by 7-ER, as were basal cyclic GMP levels in endothelium-intact, but not endothelium-denuded tissues. 7-ER decreased GTN biotransformation in intact aorta and decreased the regioselective formation of glyceryl-1,2-dinitrate. The activation by GTN and SNP of aortic guanylyl cyclase in broken cell preparations was not affected by 7-ER, indicating that the inhibitory effect of 7-ER is probably not due to a direct interaction with guanylyl cyclase. The inhibitory effect of 7-ER on GTN-induced relaxation was not altered by the addition of superoxide dismutase, suggesting that 7-ER does not act by increasing superoxide anion concentration (which would serve to increase the degradation of nitric oxide (NO) formed during vascular GTN biotransformation). Our data provide further evidence for the role of the cytochrome P-450--cytochrome P-450 reductase system in the biotransformation of GTN to an activator (presumably nitric oxide) of guanylyl cyclase. The data are consistent with a mode of action of 7-ER involving either competitive inhibition of vascular cytochrome P-450 or uncoupling of vascular cytochrome P-450 reductase from cytochrome P-450. The data also suggest that the cytochrome P-450 system facilitates NO release from SNP and that 7-ER has an inhibitory effect on endothelial nitric oxide synthase.
Can J Physiol Pharmacol 1992 Sep
PMID:Inhibition of nitrovasodilator- and acetylcholine-induced relaxation and cyclic GMP accumulation by the cytochrome P-450 substrate, 7-ethoxyresorufin. 136 24

In response to NMDA receptor activation, hippocampal, striatal and cerebellar neurons synthesize nitric oxide (NO), which in turn elevates cGMP levels via guanylate cyclase. NO is increasingly being considered as a transsynaptic retrograde messenger, involved in neuronal plasticity. The effect of an inhibitor of NO synthase, L-NG-nitroarginine (NOArg), was studied on amygdala kindling and on kindled seizures in rats. NOArg increased kindling rate, particularly in its initial period, but did not modify seizure severity in previously kindled rats, although we have no definitive explanation for this effect. However, an enhanced post-synaptic excitability could be attributed to the blockade of the negative feed-back exerted by NO on the NMDA receptor.
Neuroreport 1992 Sep
PMID:A nitric oxide (NO) synthase inhibitor accelerates amygdala kindling. 138 71

The development of vasodilator drugs that open the K+ channels in blood vessels has been of great academic and practical interest. The discoveries of the ATP-sensitive K+ channel and the glibenclamide-sensitive K+ channel have promoted these interests. In relation to this channel, the cardioprotective effectiveness of a K+ channel opener (Aprikalim) in doses that did not change haemodynamics or collateral blood flow were demonstrated in infarct dog heart. The effects were antagonized by glibenclamide. Thus, ATP-sensitive K+ channels seem to play an important role in this effect. Clinical evaluations of the K+ channel openers are reviewed. The hypotensive effects of the drugs are well-recognized. At present, however, the clinical usefulness of K+ channel openers has not been accepted widely, because of their side-effects including reflex tachycardia, edema, flushing and headache. An approach to reduce these side-effects is critical if these K+ channel openers are to be used as good hypotensive drugs. The K+ channel opener nicorandil has been evaluated as a highly effective antianginal drug. It seems likely that the clinical benefits of nicorandil result from both its K+ channel opening properties and its ability to stimulate smooth muscle guanylate cyclase. Clinical data on the pure-selective K+ channel opener cromakalim (lemakalim) as an antianginal drug is limited. However, on the basis of the vasodilator profile of this drug, it is expected to be useful for this purpose. The application of K+ channel openers to treat other disorders such as bladder instability is limited because of its hypotensive action.
Nihon Yakurigaku Zasshi 1992 Sep
PMID:[The recent development and the present status of K+ channel opener]. 139 33

Recent evidence has shown that activation of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor mediates the thermal hyperalgesia produced in a model of neuropathic pain. As the acute nociceptive effects of N-methyl-D-aspartate have been reported to be mediated through production of nitric oxide and activation of soluble guanylate cyclase, these experiments were designed to determine whether the thermal hyperalgesia produced in a rat model of neuropathic pain is also mediated through the production of nitric oxide and activation of soluble guanylate cyclase. Loose ligation of the sciatic nerve with chromic gut sutures, but not bilateral sham rats, demonstrated evidence of a marked thermal hyperalgesia on day 3 post-surgery. In bilateral sham rats, intrathecal administration of either an alternate substrate for nitric oxide synthase, NW-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester, or the soluble guanylate cyclase inhibitor, Methylene Blue, did not produce any change in thermal nociceptive withdrawal latencies. These same treatments blocked the thermal hyperalgesia in rats with chromic gut ligatures for a period of 2 and 4 h, respectively. These results suggest that a sustained production of nitric oxide and subsequent activation of soluble guanylate cyclase in the lumbar spinal cord mediate the thermal hyperalgesia produced in a model of neuropathic pain in the rat.
Neuroscience 1992 Sep
PMID:Nitric oxide mediates the thermal hyperalgesia produced in a model of neuropathic pain in the rat. 140 61

Recently we demonstrated that the vascular response to angiotensin II (A-II) was attenuated in an endothelium-dependent manner by using the isolated ring specimen iliac arteries of pregnant rabbits. In this paper we investigated the possibility that three vasoactive substances, thromboxane A2(TXA2), prostacyclin (PGI2), and endothelium-derived nitric oxide (EDNO), might be involved in this refractoriness to A-II during pregnancy, by measuring the changes in the vascular response to A-II (pA2, intrinsic activity) of the isolated arterial rings of rabbits before and after the addition of an inhibitor specific for each of these three substances. Sodium ozagrel, TXA2 synthetase inhibitor, decreased the vascular response to A-II more in the blood vessels of pregnant rabbits, regardless of whether the endothelium was intact or denuded, than in the blood vessels of non pregnant rabbits. Tranylcypromine, a PGI2 synthetase inhibitor, significantly increased contractility in the blood vessels with intact endothelium of pregnant rabbits (i.a. = 1.39 +/- 0.099, n = 11, mean +/- SEM), compared to that in the blood vessels with intact endothelium of non pregnant rabbits (i.a. = 1.08 +/- 0.090, n = 7). Methylene blue, a guanylate cyclase inhibitor which blocks the effect of EDNO, amplified the vascular response in blood vessels with intact endothelium of both groups, and more intensely in the blood vessels of pregnant rabbits.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Nihon Sanka Fujinka Gakkai Zasshi 1992 Sep
PMID:[Effect of endothelium-derived nitric oxide and prostaglandins on the endothelium-dependent vascular refractoriness to angiotensin II in pregnant rabbits]. 145 44

Organic nitrates are believed to provide relief from angina principally by dilating the coronary vasculature. Substantial evidence exists, however, to support a potent antiplatelet effect for these agents as well. Each of these compounds ultimately is metabolized to nitric oxide (or an S-nitrosothiol congener thereof), and this metabolite, in turn, is a potent activator of platelet guanylate cyclase. Activation of guanylate cyclase increases platelet cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP), and is accompanied by inhibition of agonist-mediated calcium flux, and, in turn, reduction of fibrinogen binding to the glycoprotein IIb/IIIa receptor. Since fibrinogen binding is essential for platelet aggregation regardless of the agonist involved, its inhibition appears to be the critical mechanism by which platelet function is impaired by these agents. The recently recognized role that platelet-dependent thrombotic processes play in acute coronary syndromes suggests that the inhibition of platelets by nitrates may offer an additional mechanism by which these compounds improve perfusion to ischemic myocardium.
Am J Cardiol 1992 Sep 24
PMID:Antiplatelet and antithrombotic effects of organic nitrates. 152 22


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