Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0023380 (lethargy)
 5,697 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

1. Aqueous extracts of digestive glands of specimens of the dorid nudibranchs Cadlina flavomaculata, Doriopsilla albopunctata, Anisodoris nobilis, Archidoris montereyenis, and A. odhneri were lethal when injected into shore crabs and when injected intraperitoneally into mice. 2. Aqueous extracts of the degestive glands of Doriopsilla albopunctata and of Anisodoris nobilis were shown by bioassay (guinea pig ileum)and by chemical determination to contain histamine. The amount present was far too small to account for the toxicity of the glands. 3. Extracts of the digestive glands of Anisodoris nobilis were fractionated by column chromatography on Biogel P-2 to yield an active fraction designated "dorid toxin". This produces lethargy and bradycardia in mice. In anesthetized rats it produces sustained (60 min or more) bradycardia and hypotension. On isolated hearts, especially spontaneously beating guinea pig atria, it has negative inotropic and chronotropic effects. 4. Dorid toxin has a molecular weight under 8000. It is heat stable and is not destroyed by trypsin, chymotrypsin or Pronase. It is therefore unlikely that it is a polypeptide.
 ...
PMID:Toxicity and pharmacology of extracts from dorid nudibranches. 45

The ornamental tobacco (Nicotiana alata) produces one 6-kDa chymotrypsin inhibitor and four 6-kDa trypsin inhibitors from a single 40.3-kDa precursor protein. Three different approaches have been used to assess the potential of these proteinase inhibitors (PIs) in insect control. The first was an in-vitro approach in which all five inhibitors, the single chymotrypsin inhibitor or three of the four trypsin inhibitors were tested for their ability to inhibit gut protease activity in insects from four orders. The second approach was to incorporate the N. alata PIs in the artificial diet of the native budworm (Helicoverpa punctigera) and the black field cricket (Teleogryllus commodus). H. punctigera larvae and T. commodus nymphs had a significant (P<0.01) reduction in growth after ingestion of the PI and were more lethargic than insects on the control diet. Several of the H. punctigera larvae also failed to complete moulting at the third or fourth instar. The third approach was to express the N. alata PIs in transgenic tobacco under the control of the 35S CaMV promoter. When H. punctigera larvae were fed tobacco leaves expressing the N. alata PIs at 0.2% soluble protein, significant (P<0.01) differences in mortality and/or growth rate were observed.
 ...
PMID:Proteinase inhibitors from Nicotiana alata enhance plant resistance to insect pests. 1277 Apr 95