Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0033036 (APC)
 10,214 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The present investigation was carried out on 17 male patients, 2 of whom nephrectomized, affected by terminal renal failure on regular 4 h dialysis three times a week. Plasma prolactin (PRL), aldosterone (PA) and renin activity (PRA) were determined by radioimmunoassay before, and after the 1st, 2nd and 3rd h of hemodialysis. High levels of PRL were found in 9 nonnephrectomized patients; during the 1st and 2nd h of dialysis means values of PRL showed a slight tendency to increase, whilst during the 3rd h values decreased to predialysis concentrations. In one case a fall in PRL levels immediately after nephrectomy was observed but in another patient who came to our attention after surgery, PRL was significantly increased with values higher than those usually found in nonnephrectomized patients. PRA was elevated in 10 patients and showed no significant modifications during hemodialysis. PAC was high in 8 patients and decreased significantly during hemodialysis. A drop in sodium and potassium levels and a decrease in body weight during dialysis were also observed. These results suggest that in uremia the high levels of PRL are not consequent to hydroelectrolyte disorders or to a condition of hyperaldosteronism, since these parameters present a different pattern during hemodialysis.
 ...
PMID:Prolactinemia during hemodialysis: lack of correlation with sodium, potassium and renin-aldosterone system. 90 75

Progeny from one intra- and two inter-specific backcrosses between divergent strains of mice were typed to map multiple markers in relation to two pigment mutations on mouse chromosome 13, beige (bg) and pearl (pe). Both recessive mutants on a C57BL/6J background were crossed separately with laboratory strain PAC (M. domesticus) and the partially inbred M. musculus stock PWK. The intra- and inter-specific F1 hybrids were backcrossed to the C57BL/6J parental strain and DNA was prepared from progeny. Restriction fragment length polymorphisms were used to follow the segregation of alleles in the backcross offspring at loci identified with molecular probes. The linkage analysis defines the association between the bg and pe loci and the loci for the T-cell receptor gamma-chain gene (Tcrg), the spermatocyte specific histone gene (Hist1), the prolactin gene (Prl), the Friend murine leukaemia virus integration site 1 (Fim-1), the murine Hanukuh Factor gene (Muhf/Ctla-3) and the dihydrofolate reductase gene (Dhfr). This data confirms results of prior chromosomal mapping studies utilizing bg as an anchor locus, and provides previously unreported information defining the localization of the prolactin gene on mouse chromosome 13. The relationship of multiple loci in relation to pe is similarly defined. These results may help facilitate localization of the genes responsible for two human syndromes homologous with bg and pe, Chediak-Higashi syndrome and Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome.
 ...
PMID:Linkage of loci associated with two pigment mutations on mouse chromosome 13. 168 16

To investigate the effects of dietary sodium on the peripheral dopaminergic mechanism, changes of unconjugated plasma dopamine(DA) and its related humoral factors were studied in 8 patients with essential hypertension(EH) and 8 age-matched normal controls(N) while they were receiving ordinary meals (Na, 130-180 mEq daily) followed by higher sodium (250-300 mEq daily) diets for a week. Plasma and urinary DA, norepinephrine(NE) and epinephrine(E) were measured by the highly sensitive COMT-mediated radioenzymatic procedure, which permits an accurate estimation of plasma DA as low as 5-6 pg/ml. Under high sodium diets, blood pressure and heart rate were not changed significantly in N and EH subjects. Urinary NE and E tended to decrease, while urinary DA increased significantly in both groups of subjects (p less than 0.05). There was a significant correlation between urinary sodium and DA (r = 0.590, p less than 0.001), but plasma DA failed to correlate significantly to urinary sodium or DA in all subjects. Plasma NE and E tended to decrease in both N and EH subjects, while plasma DA increased significantly (p less than 0.05) in EH from 7.2 +/- 0.8 pg/ml [mean +/- SEM] to 9.3 +/- 1.0 and slightly in N from 9.1 +/- 1.8 to 11.2 +/- 1.3. Plasma renin activity(PRA) and plasma aldosterone(PAC) were invariably decreased in all subjects, while plasma prolactin(PRL) remained unchanged. A significant correlation was observed between plasma DA and NE under ordinary meals (r = 0.733, p less than 0.01), but this correlation disappeared under high sodium diets. Plasma DA showed an inverse correlation to PAC (r = 0.351, p less than 0.05) under both dietary conditions. Upright posture induced a significant rise (p less than 0.05) in NE, E, DA, PRA and PAC with ordinary meals, but the responses of NE and PAC were apparently attenuated with high sodium diets. An intravenous injection of metoclopramide (MCP, 10 mg), a DA receptor antagonist, provoked a slight rise in plasma NE and DA with ordinary meals, of which responses were further enhanced with high sodium diets. MCP induced a definite rise in PAC and PRL in all subjects under both dietary conditions (p less than 0.01), while plasma E and PRA remained unchanged after MCP challenge. The results lend support to the view that unconjugated plasma DA could be a useful marker of peripheral dopaminergic activity, which might be a physiological regulator responsible for the suppression of aldosterone secretion and sympathetic nerve activity observed during high sodium intake.
 ...
PMID:[Effects of high sodium diet on dopaminergic mechanism in normal and hypertensive subjects]. 306 95

Pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) plays a role in mediating growth hormone and gonadotropin release in the teleost pituitary. In the present study, we examined the immunohistochemical relationship between PACAP nerve fibers and prolactin (PRL)- and somatolactin (SL)-producing cells in the goldfish pituitary. Nerve fibers with PACAP-like immunoreactivity (PACAP-LI) were identified in the neurohypophysis in close proximity to cells containing PRL-LI or SL-LI. Several cells with PRL-LI or SL-LI showed PACAP receptor (PAC(1)R)-LI. The cell immunoblot assay method was used to examine the effect of PACAP on PRL and SL release from dispersed goldfish pituitary cells. Treatment with PACAP increased the immunoblot area for PRL- and SL-LI from individual pituitary cells in a dose-dependent manner. The effect of PACAP on the expression of mRNAs for PRL and SL in cultured pituitary cells was also tested. Semiquantitative analysis revealed that the expression of SL mRNA, but not PRL mRNA, was increased significantly by the treatment with PACAP. The effect of PACAP on intracellular calcium mobilization in isolated pituitary cells was also investigated using confocal laser-scanning microscopy. The amplitude of Ca(2+) mobilization in individual cells showing PRL- or SL-LI was increased significantly following exposure of cells to PACAP. These results indicate that PACAP can potentially function as a hypophysiotropic factor mediating PRL and SL release in the goldfish pituitary.
 ...
PMID:Effect of pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) on prolactin and somatolactin release from the goldfish pituitary in vitro. 1792 Jul 7

Somatolactin (SL), the latest member of the growth hormone/prolactin family, is a novel pituitary hormone with diverse functions. However, the signal transduction mechanisms responsible for SL expression are still largely unknown. Using grass carp as an animal model, we examined the direct effects of pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) on SL gene expression at the pituitary level. In primary cultures of grass carp pituitary cells, SLalpha and SLbeta mRNA levels could be elevated by PACAP via activation of PAC-I receptors. With the use of a pharmacological approach, the AC/cAMP/PKA and PLC/inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP(3))/PKC pathways and subsequent activation of the Ca(2+)/calmodulin (CaM)/CaMK-II cascades were shown to be involved in PACAP-induced SLalpha mRNA expression. Apparently, the downstream Ca(2+)/CaM-dependent cascades were triggered by extracellular Ca(2+) ([Ca(2+)](e)) entry via L-type voltage-sensitive Ca(2+) channels (VSCC) and Ca(2+) release from IP(3)-sensitive intracellular Ca(2+) stores. In addition, the VSCC component could be activated by cAMP/PKA- and PLC/PKC-dependent mechanisms. Similar postreceptor signaling cascades were also observed for PACAP-induced SLbeta mRNA expression, except that [Ca(2+)](e) entry through VSCC, PKC coupling to PLC, and subsequent activation of CaMK-II were not involved. These findings, taken together, provide evidence for the first time that PACAP can induce SLalpha and SLbeta gene expression in fish model via PAC-I receptors through differential coupling to overlapping and yet distinct signaling pathways.
 ...
PMID:Grass carp somatolactin: II. Pharmacological study on postreceptor signaling mechanisms for PACAP-induced somatolactin-alpha and -beta gene expression. 1852 21

Somatolactin (SL), the latest member of the growth hormone/prolactin family, is a novel pituitary hormone with diverse functions. At present, SL can be identified only in fish but not in tetrapods and its regulation at the pituitary level has not been fully characterized. Using grass carp as a model, we examined the direct effects of pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) on SL secretion and synthesis at the pituitary cell level. As a first step, the structural identity of grass carp SL, SLalpha and SLbeta, was established by 5'/3'-rapid amplification of cDNA ends. These two SL isoforms are single-copy genes and are expressed in two separate populations of pituitary cells located in the pars intermedia. In the carp pituitary, PACAP nerve fibers were detected in the nerve tracts of the neurohypophysis and extended into the vicinity of pituitary cells forming the pars intermedia. In primary cultures of grass carp pituitary cells, PACAP was effective in stimulating SL release, cellular SL content, and total SL production. The increase in SL production also occurred with parallel rises in SLalpha and SLbeta mRNA levels. With the use of a combination of molecular and pharmacological approaches, PACAP-induced SL release and SL gene expression were shown to be mediated by pituitary PAC-I receptors. These findings, as a whole, suggest that PACAP may serve as a hypophysiotropic factor in fish stimulating SL secretion and synthesis at the pituitary level. Apparently, PACAP-induced SL production is mediated by upregulation of SLalpha and SLbeta gene expression through activation of PAC-I receptors.
 ...
PMID:Grass carp somatolactin: I. Evidence for PACAP induction of somatolactin-alpha and -beta gene expression via activation of pituitary PAC-I receptors. 1852 22