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

Inward currents activated by 8-bromc-cGMP and by muscarinic agonist were compared in N1E-115 mouse neuroblastoma cells using perforated-patch voltage clamp and Fura-2 imaging. The cGMP analog activates a voltage-independent inward current that is carried at least in part by Ca2+ because it persists in Na(+)-free saline when Ca2+ is present and is blocked by external Mn2+ and Ba2+. The current is similar to the inward current that develops during stimulation of M1 muscarinic receptors, and the currents activated by agonist and by 8-bromo-cGMP are not additive, indicating that the same pathway is involved. Inhibition of cGMP production with NG-monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA), a competitive inhibitor of nitric oxide (NO)-synthase, prevents activation of Ca2+ current by agonist without affecting the content of intracellular Ca2+ stores or the ability of agonist to mobilize Ca2+. The inhibition is overcome by 8-bromo-cGMP. LY83583, a competitive inhibitor of guanylyl cyclase, reversibly blocks activation of Ca2+ current by agonist, again without affecting the content of Ca2+ stores or Ca2+ release. Rp-8-pCPT-cGMPS, an inhibitory analog of cGMP, also reduces the Ca2+ current and reduces Ca2+ influx during muscarinic activation. It is concluded that cGMP is the necessary and sufficient intermediate in the pathway linking muscarinic receptor occupancy to the activation of voltage-independent Ca2+ current. The pathway involves positive feedback. Calcium entering via voltage-independent channels preferentially stimulates NO-synthase, which leads to enhanced cGMP production and greater Ca2+ influx. Positive feedback may explain the rapid increase in cGMP that occurs during muscarinic receptor activation.
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PMID:The nitric oxide/cGMP pathway couples muscarinic receptors to the activation of Ca2+ influx. 877 38

1. The effects of sodium nitroprusside (SNP) on the non-selective cation current activated in response to intracellular calcium store depletion were studied using the whole-cell patch-clamp technique in single smooth muscle cells isolated from the mouse anococcygeus. Voltage-dependent calcium currents were blocked with extracellular nifedipine, and caesium and tetraethylammonium chloride were used to block voltage-dependent potassium currents. Calcium stores were depleted with caffeine (10 mM), carbachol (50 microM) or cyclopiazonic acid (CPA 10 microM; an inhibitor of the sarcoplasmic reticulum [SR] calcium-ATPase). 2. At a holding potential of -40 mV, both CPA and caffeine activated inward currents which consisted of two clearly distinguishable components; an initial transient current followed by a smaller sustained current. In the case of CPA, the amplitudes of the transient and sustained components were 19.7 +/- 2.1 pA and 3.5 +/- 0.3 pA respectively, whilst the equivalent values for caffeine were 188 +/- 21 and 4.8 +/- 0.3 pA. As described previously, the transient current results from activation of a calcium-dependent chloride conductance whilst the sustained current is a non-selective cation current, activated following intracellular calcium store depletion. 3. The muscarinic receptor agonist, carbachol, also activated a transient followed by a sustained current with amplitudes of 238 +/- 55 and 4.7 +/- 0.5 pA respectively. Superimposed on the sustained current were regular, oscillations of calcium-activated chloride current. 4. Both the transient and the sustained currents activated by CPA were absent in cells pretreated with SNP (10 microM). Application of SNP to a cell following activation of the sustained current by CPA inhibited the current by 88.6 +/- 3.8%. SNP (10 microM) did not inhibit the transient current activated by caffeine but abolished the sustained current. 5. SNP (10 microM) had no effect on the initial transient current activated by carbachol (50 microM). However, it did inhibit the oscillations in the inward current. In recordings from cells bathed in extracellular solution containing the chloride channel blocker, anthracene-9-carboxylic acid (A-9-C; 1 mM), carbachol activated only a sustained current. This current was inhibited by 88.1 +/- 6.5% by a concomitant application of SNP (10 microM) and was absent in cells pretreated with the nitrovasodilator. 6. The effects of SNP on the currents activated by caffeine (10 mM) were mimicked by 8-bromo-cyclic GMP (200 microM); thus the nucleotide had no effect on the transient current activated by caffeine but abolished the sustained current. The effects of SNP, but not those of 8-bromo-cyclic GMP, were inhibited by the nitric oxide-sensitive guanylyl cyclase inhibitor, 1H-[1, 2, 4]oxadiazolo[4, 3-a]quinoxaline-1-one (ODQ; 1 microM). ODQ alone produced a significant increase in the size of the sustained current activated by caffeine (7.8 +/- 0.7 pA). 7. These findings suggest that SNP activates guanylyl cyclase to inhibit the non-selective cation current activated as a result of intracellular calcium store depletion in mouse anococcygeus cells. Since the non-selective cation current appears to underlie the calcium entry process responsible for maintaining the sustained contractions to agonists in this tissue, this action of SNP may represent an important mechanism by which nitrates relax non-vascular smooth muscle.
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PMID:Inhibition by sodium nitroprusside of a calcium store depletion-activated non-selective cation current in smooth muscle cells of the mouse anococcygeus. 886 35

1. To investigate the participation of guanylyl cyclase in the muscarinic regulation of the cardiac L-type calcium current (ICa), we examined the effects of three guanylyl cyclase inhibitors, 1H-[1,2,4]oxidiazo-lo[4,3-a]quinoxaline-1-one (ODQ), 6-anilino-5,8-quinolinedione (LY 83583), and methylene blue (MBlue), on the beta-adrenoceptor; muscarinic receptor and nitric oxide (NO) regulation of ICa and on the muscarinic activated potassium current I(K,ACh), in frog atrial and ventricular myocytes. 2. ODQ (10 microM) and LY 83583 (30 microM) antagonized the inhibitory effect of an NO-donor (S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine, SNAP, 1 microM) on the isoprenaline (Iso)-stimulated ICa which was consistent with their inhibitory action on guanylyl cyclase. However, MBlue (30 microM) had no effect under similar conditions. 3. In the absence of SNAP, LY 83583 (30 microM) potentiated the stimulations of ICa by either Iso (20 nM), forskolin (0.2 microM) or intracellular cyclic AMP (5-10 microM). ODQ (10 microM) had no effect under these conditions, while MBlue (30 microM) inhibited the Iso-stimulated ICa. 4. LY 83583 and MBlue, but not ODQ, reduced the inhibitory effect of up to 10 microM acetylcholine (ACh) on ICa. 5. MBlue, but not LY 83583 and ODQ, antagonized the activation of I(K,ACh) by ACh in the presence of intracellular GTP, and this inhibition was weakened when I(K,ACh) was activated by intracellular GTPgammaS. 6. The potentiating effect of LY 83583 on Iso-stimulated ICa was absent in the presence of either DL-dithiothreitol (DTT, 100 microM) or a combination of superoxide dismutase (150 u ml(-1)) and catalase (100 u ml(-1)). 7. All together, our data demonstrate that, among the three compounds tested, only ODQ acts in a manner which is consistent with its inhibitory action on the NO-sensitive guanylyl cyclase. The two other compounds produced severe side effects which may involve superoxide anion generation in the case of LY 83583 and alteration of beta-adrenoceptor and muscarinic receptor-coupling mechanisms in the case of M Blue.
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PMID:A comparative study of the effects of three guanylyl cyclase inhibitors on the L-type Ca2+ and muscarinic K+ currents in frog cardiac myocytes. 925 16

Intimal thickening in arteries is considered as a site of predilection for atherosclerosis. We investigated whether oral application of the nitric oxide (NO) donors SPM-5185 (N-nitratopivaloyl-S-(N'-acetylalanyl)-cysteine ethylester, 10 mg/kg body weight/b.i.d.) and molsidomine (pro-drug of 3-morpholino-sydnonimine (SIN-1), 10 mg/kg body weight/day) can retard intimal thickening and changes in vascular reactivity induced by a silicone collar positioned around the carotid artery of rabbits. Intimal thickening was significantly inhibited by SPM-5185 (cross-sectional area 18 +/- 6 vs. 44 +/- 10 x 10(-3) mm2; P < 0.05), but not by molsidomine (28 +/- 6 vs. 35 +/- 9 x 10(-3) mm2), which is a donor of both NO and superoxide anions. In organ chamber studies collaring was associated with a decreased sensitivity to acetylcholine (ACh). SPM-5185 evoked a tendency towards normalization of the pD2 of ACh in collared arteries. We also investigated whether chronic nitric oxide (NO) treatment affected vascular reactivity and fatty streak development in the rabbit aorta. During 16 weeks rabbits received 150 g/day of a standard diet, or diets with 0.3% cholesterol, with 0.02% molsidomine (10 mg/kg body weight/day) or with the combination. The NO donor enhanced the area of fatty streaks, without affecting hypercholesterolemia. Moreover, it desensitized the smooth muscle cells of the rabbit aorta to vasodilators acting via the cytoplasmic guanylate cyclase and suppressed the capacity of the endothelial cells to release NO in response to muscarinic receptor stimulation. This suggested that chronic exposure to large quantities of NO caused a negative feedback, with selective decreases of both the endothelial capacity to generate NO and the responsiveness to vasodilators operating via cyclic GMP. In conclusion, we demonstrated that exogenous NO can decrease intimal hyperplasia in vivo. However, prolonged in vivo treatment with a donor of NO enhanced atherosclerosis in hypercholesterolemic rabbits.
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PMID:The effect of chronic treatment with NO donors during intimal thickening and fatty streak formation. 926 3

Acute lung injury (ALI) is characterized by pulmonary hypertension. Although the pathophysiology of ALI is complex, cytokine production, especially tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), is known to mediate histologic lung injury. Pentoxifylline (PTX) is known to inhibit the expression of many cytokines, including TNF-alpha. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of PTX treatment on endotoxin-induced impairment of endothelium-dependent mechanisms of pulmonary vasorelaxation. Mechanisms of endothelium-dependent relaxation were studied with the muscarinic receptor agonist, acetylcholine (ACh), and the receptor-independent calcium ionophore, A23187. Endothelium-independent pulmonary vasorelaxation was examined by direct stimulation of smooth muscle guanylate cyclase with the nitric oxide donor, sodium nitroprusside (SNP). Five rats received PTX (50 mg/kg) and endotoxin (20 mg/kg), endotoxin alone, or saline ip. After 6 hr, dose-response curves to ACh, A23187, and SNP were determined in isolated pulmonary artery rings preconstricted with phenylephrine (PE). PTX attenuated but did not eliminate endotoxin-induced impairment of endothelium-dependent and -independent pulmonary vasorelaxation. These data suggest that PTX may offer a therapeutic modality for the treatment of pulmonary hypertension in ALI.
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PMID:Pentoxifylline treatment attenuates pulmonary vasomotor dysfunction in acute lung injury. 929 83

We studied the developmental mechanism of low myopia and the possibility of its drug treatment. I. Prevalence of myopia. According to surveys by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture, the frequency of myopia in school children has gradually increased. We examined office workers from 20 to 60 years of age over a 3-year period. Myopia progression was observed in the thirties and fourties. Late-onset myopia is an important problem around the world. II. Developmental mechanism of low myopia. 1. Reduction of refraction after cycloplegia was statistically significant in adults after their twenties. We measured accommodative hysteresis after a close visual task. Accommodative hysteresis persisted for a long time in late-onset and adult-onset myopia. Continuous ciliary contraction seems to be related to late-onset myopia. 2. Bovine ciliary muscle strips were suspended in a Magnus double tube. The changes in isometric tension of the strips, when chemicals were added, were measured with a force-displacement transducer. After the addition of the cholinergic agonist carbachol, the strips of ciliary muscle produced a tonic contraction. When the muscarinic receptor antagonist cyclopentolate was added, relaxation was produced. After the addition of ET-1, a dual response occurred which consisted of a moderate relaxation and a long-lasting contraction. The mean contraction caused by ET-1 was weak but continuous compared to carbachol. The contractile response was inhibited by an ETA receptor antagonist. Also, when takusha, one component of gorei-san, a Chinese drug, was added to the ciliary muscle strips, contraction with ET-1 was attenuated. Contraction of the ciliary muscle with ET-1 was attenuated after addition of sodium nitroprusside (SNP), an NO donor. This reaction suggests that NO causes relaxation of the bovine ciliary muscle through the activation of guanylyl cyclase and an increase in cyclic GMP. Currently, at least 5 muscarinic receptor subtypes are recognized; they are named M1 to M5. The effects of M1, M2, and M3 on the contractile response to transmural electrical stimulation of the bovine ciliary muscle were studied. The contractions produced by transmural electrical stimulation were greatly attenuated by 4-DAMP as an M3 antagonist. 3. We measured autofluorescence of the lens by fluorophotometry. A statistically significant relation was found between autofluorescence of the lens and refraction. 4. Possibility of axial elongation: The anterior and posterior suprachoroidal spaces are different anatomically and physiologically. When the choroid is stretched forward by accommodation, the intraocular pressure may exert more influence on the posterior part of the sclera, than on the anterior part. Using a fluorophotometer, fluorescence leakage at a site 3 mm in front of the retina was examined. Intensity of fluorescence 3 mm in front of the retina was strong in late-onset myopia. This may indicate disturbance of the barrier of the retinal pigment epithelium. When cultured fibroblasts of the sclera of the chick embryo was stretched by a stretching apparatus, proliferation of the cultured cells was inhibited. Therefore, some influence may involve the posterior part of the eyeball. III. Possibility of drug treatment of low myopia: From these results, muscarinic receptor antagonists (especially M3), ET receptor agtagonists, and NO donors are possible drugs for low myopia treatment. As there are many causative factors of low myopia, there are several treatment methods to be evaluated.
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PMID:[Developmental mechanism of low myopia and therapeutic possibilities. A review]. 1002 13

Nitric oxide (NO) is an ubiquitous signaling molecule produced from L-arginine by NO synthase (NOS). In the vasculature, NO mediates parasympathetic endothelium-dependent vasodilation. NO may also mediate the parasympathetic control of myocardial function. This is supported by the observations that NOS3, the endothelial constitutive NOS, is expressed in normal cardiac myocytes from rodents and human, and NOS and/or guanylyl cyclase inhibitors antagonize the effect of muscarinic agonists on heart rate, atrio-ventricular conduction, contractility and L-type calcium current. Here we examine the autonomic regulation of the heart in genetically engineered mice deficient in NOS3 (NOS3-KO). We show that the chronotropic and inotropic responses to both beta-adrenergic and muscarinic agonists were unaltered in isolated cardiac tissue preparations from NOS3-KO mice, although these mice have a defective parasympathetic regulation of vascular tone. Similarly, beta-adrenergic stimulation and muscarinic inhibition of the calcium current did not differ in cardiac myocytes from NOS3-KO mice and those from wild-type mice. RT-PCR did not demonstrate upregulation of other NOS isoforms. Similarly, Gi/Go proteins and muscarinic receptor density were unaltered. These data refute the idea that NOS3 is obligatory for the normal autonomic control of cardiac muscle function.
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PMID:Muscarinic and beta-adrenergic regulation of heart rate, force of contraction and calcium current is preserved in mice lacking endothelial nitric oxide synthase. 1008 91

In this study, we have investigated the relaxing effects of both Androctonus australis venom (AAV) and Buthotus judaicus venom (BJV) on the rabbit corpus cavernosum (RbCC) smooth muscle strips. The RbCC strips were mounted in a cascade system and superfused with warmed and gassed Krebs solution. The nitric oxide (NO) synthesis inhibitor N(omega)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME, 10microM), but not D-NAME (10microM), significantly inhibited the RbCC relaxations induced by acetylcholine (ACh, 0.6nmol), AAV (30microg) and BJV (30microg). Subsequent infusion of L-arginine (300microM), but not of D-arginine (300microM), partially restored the relaxations evoked by these agents. The brain NO synthase inhibitor 7-nitroindazole (7-NI, 10microM) also inhibited the relaxant responses elicited by the scorpion venoms. The guanylyl cyclase inhibitors methylene blue (MB, 30microM) and 1H-[1,2,4] oxadiazolo [4,3,-alquinoxalin-1-one] (ODQ, 10microM) virtually abolished the relaxations induced by either AAV or BJV. The infusion of muscarinic receptor antagonists such as scopolamine and atropine (1microM, each) completely abolished the ACh-induced relaxations but had no effect on those evoked by the scorpion venoms. The Na(+) channel blocker tetrodotoxin (1microM) prevented the relaxations evoked by both AAV and BJV. Thus, NO released from nitrergic nerve fibres mediates the relaxations elicited by AAV and BJV in the rabbit cavernosal tissue.
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PMID:The role of nitric oxide on the relaxations of rabbit corpus cavernosum induced by Androctonus australis and Buthotus judaicus scorpion venoms. 1107 41

1. Muscarinic cholinoceptor stimulation leads to an increase in guanylyl cyclase activity and to a decrease in adenylyl cyclase activity. This study examined the effects of cocaine and methylecgonidine (MEG) on muscarinic receptors by measurement of cyclic GMP and cyclic AMP content in cultured human embryonic lung (HEL299) cells which specifically express M(2) muscarinic receptors. 2. A concentration-dependent increase in cyclic GMP production was observed in HEL299 cells incubated with carbachol, cocaine, or MEG for 24 h. The increase in cyclic GMP content was 3.6 fold for 1 microM carbachol (P < 0.01), 3.1 fold for 1 microM cocaine (P < 0.01), and 7.8 fold for 1 microM MEG (P < 0.001), respectively. This increase in cyclic GMP content was significantly attenuated or abolished by the muscarinic receptor antagonist atropine or the M(2) blocker methoctramine. 3. In contrast, cocaine, MEG, and carbachol produced a significant inhibition of cyclic AMP production in HEL299 cells. Compared to the control, HEL299 cells treated with 1 microM cocaine decreased cyclic AMP production by 30%. MEG and carbachol at 1 microM decreased cyclic AMP production by 37 and 38%, respectively. Atropine or methoctramine at 1 or 10 microM significantly attenuated or abolished the cocaine-induced decrease in cyclic AMP production. However, the antagonists alone had neither an effect on cyclic GMP nor cyclic AMP production. Pretreatment of HEL299 cells with pertussis toxin prevented the cocaine-induced reduction of cyclic AMP production. 4. Western blot analysis showed that HEL299 cells specifically express M(2) muscarinic receptors without detectable M(1) and M(3). Incubation of HEL299 cells with cocaine, carbachol, and atropine did not alter the expression of M(2) protein levels. However, the inducible isoform of nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) was induced in the presence of cocaine or carbachol and this induction was significantly attenuated after addition of atropine or methoctramine. 5. The present data show that cocaine and MEG significantly affect cyclic GMP and cyclic AMP production in cultured HEL299 cells. Our results also show that these effects result from the drug-induced stimulation of M(2) muscarinic receptors accompanied with no alterations of receptor expression. However, the induction of iNOS by cocaine may result in the increase in cyclic GMP production.
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PMID:Evidence for cocaine and methylecgonidine stimulation of M(2) muscarinic receptors in cultured human embryonic lung cells. 1115 94

The effects of the Brazilian herbal medicine Catuama and each of its plant constituents (Paullinia cupana, Trichilia catigua, Zingiber officinalis and Ptychopetalum olacoides) were investigated on rabbit corpus cavernosum (RbCC) using a bioassay cascade. Catuama caused short-lived and dose-dependent relaxations (11% +/- 7%, 26% +/- 5% and 82% +/- 9%, at doses of 1, 3 and 10 mg, respectively). Neither the nitric oxide synthesis inhibitor N(omega)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME; 10 microM) nor the soluble guanylate cyclase inhibitor ODQ (10 microM) significantly affected the Catuama-induced relaxations. Similarly, the selective ATP-dependent K(+) channel (K(ATP)) blocker glibenclamide (10 microM), the muscarinic receptor antagonist atropine (1 microM) and the voltage-dependent Na(+) channel blocker tetrodotoxin (1 microM) all failed to affect significantly the Catuama-induced relaxations. These results indicate that the relaxations induced by Catuama involve neither nitric oxide release nor K(ATP) channel activation. The extracts of P. cupana, Z. officinalis and P. olacoides caused short-lived and dose-dependent RbCC relaxations, whereas T. catigua evoked long-lasting relaxations which were occasionally preceded by a brief contractile effect. The extract of P. cupana was the most active in relaxing RbCC strips. The relaxations induced by all extracts were not significantly affected by L-NAME (10 microM). The infusion of ODQ (10 microM) had no significant effect on the P. cupana- and Z. officinalis-induced relaxations but reduced by >50% (p < 0.05) those evoked by P. olacoides and T. catigua. Incubations of RbCC with Catuama(10 mg/mL for 0.25 to 5 min) caused increases of cAMP levels (143% increase at 5 min of incubation). Incubations of RbCC with P. cupana extract (1 mg/mL) increased the cAMP levels by 200% whereas higher doses (10 and 100 mg/mL) caused smaller increases in the nucleotide levels (150% and 89%, respectively). The extracts of Z. officinalis and P. olacoides (same doses) caused smaller increases of the cAMP levels compared with the P. cupana extract, whereas T. catigua (1-100 mg) did not increase the levels of this nucleotide above the basal values. Our results show that of the four extracts assayed, P. cupana was the most effective, indicating that it is the main extract responsible for the relaxing effect of Catuama on rabbit cavernosal tissue.
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PMID:The relaxation of isolated rabbit corpus cavernosum by the herbal medicine Catuama and its constituents. 1150 34


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