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Query: UMLS:C0038187 (starvation)
 24,951 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The regulation of heme oxygenase activity in the developing neonate is essential to the control of bilirubin production as well as intracellular heme and hemoprotein metabolism. The coordinated activity of the microsomal enzymes, heme oxygenase and NADPH-cytochrome c (P450) reductase, and the cytosolic enzyme biliverdin reductase is responsible for the degradation of heme. The complete reaction sequence requires oxygen and NADPH, and produces bilirubin and carbon monoxide in equimolar amounts. Although heme oxygenase expresses a rather broad range of substrate affinities, the oxidative degradation of heme is exclusively alpha-specific. Heme oxygenase is found in several tissues, with significant activity levels in the liver, spleen, and erythropoeitic tissue. Heme oxygenase activity is inducible by heme and other metalloporphyrins, hormones, starvation, stress, toxins, and xenobiotics. Heme oxygenase induction is generally considered to be the result of an increased protein synthesis and gene transcription. This hypothesis is supported by recent studies of the heme oxygenase gene that identified inducer element binding sites responsive to metal administration, heat shock, and nutrient availability. In the developing fetus and neonate, hepatic heme oxygenase activity and mRNA levels are elevated above that of the adult. This suggests that the elevated heme catabolism observed in neonates may be associated with an increased transcription of the heme oxygenase gene. The apparent induction of hepatic heme oxygenase during the neonatal period is probably the result of tissue-specific and time-dependent transcriptional regulating factors including potentially hormones and heme. Several metalloporphyrins, such as the tin and zinc porphyrin complexes, inhibit heme oxygenase activity and thus have therapeutic potential for the treatment of neonatal jaundice. Recent studies suggest that the meso- and bis-glycol derivatives of these metalloporphyrins may be more potent inhibitors of heme oxygenase activity in vitro and in vivo than the protoporphyrin structures. As structural analogues of heme, however, these compounds may also have other less desirable effects on the regulation of heme and hemoprotein metabolism, particularly in the developing neonate.
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PMID:Developmental biology of heme oxygenase. 219 31

The incorporation of [14C]acetate into cholesterol shows that FRTL-5 cells possess an active cholesterol biosynthetic pathway. When these cells were made quiescent, and synchronized by thyrotropin (TSH) starvation, in the presence of low serum (0.2%), addition of this hormone increased acetate conversion into cholesterol up to a maximum of 8-fold. Feedback inhibition of sterol synthesis by exogenous cholesterol occurs in FRTL-5 cells since, in the presence of higher serum concentration (5%), acetate conversion into cholesterol was significantly depressed. Even in high serum TSH increased sterol synthesis, albeit to a lesser extent. The time course of the TSH effect on cholesterol synthesis, strongly suggests that this process is necessary for quiescent FRTL-5 cells to enter the cell cycle. Thus, the rate of cholesterol synthesis was maximal 12-16 h after TSH challenge and declined thereafter, returning to levels slightly above the basal at 48 h. Thymidine incorporation into DNA, measured under identical conditions of TSH starvation/challenge, increased after 20 h, was maximal at 36 h, and returned to pre-TSH level at 70 h. The effect of TSH on cholesterol synthesis is not a general feature of lipid synthesis in FRTL-5 since [14C]acetate incorporation into triglycerides after TSH treatment has a different magnitude and time course. TSH increases cholesterol synthesis through the induction of the enzyme 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase. This is due to an increase in the level of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase messenger RNA up to 8-fold caused by a proportional increase in the rate of gene transcription, as assessed by nuclear "run on" experiments. The effect of TSH on cholesterol synthesis and reductase gene expression is likely to be mediated by cAMP since 8-bromo-cAMP mimicked the effect of the hormone. The data presented suggest that an active cholesterol biosynthetic pathway is required for DNA synthesis to occur.
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PMID:Cell cycle progression and 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase are regulated by thyrotropin in FRTL-5 rat thyroid cells. 222 80

The 5 alpha-reductase, the enzyme which converts testosterone into its major "active" metabolite (dihydrotestosterone, DHT), has been found to be present in high concentration in brain structures particularly rich of myelin (white matter structures), as well as in myelin membranes. Previous ontogenetic observations seem to indicate that, during the process of myelinogenesis, the enzyme might be synthesized in the oligodendrocytes, and subsequently incorporated into the myelin membranes. It is well established that postnatal malnutrition produces a decreased formation of myelin, when starvation is performed from birth until to the 2nd or 3rd week of life; on the contrary food deprivation does not produce any significant effect on myelin accumulation when performed after the 14th day of life. The present experiments have been performed in the rat in order to study the effects of postnatal undernutrition (from birth to the 19th day of life: long malnutrition; and from the 14th to the 19th day of life: short malnutrition) on the 5 alpha-reductase activity present in the following brain structures: cerebral cortex, hypothalamus, corpus callosum, pyramidal tract, as well as in isolated myelin membranes. Undernourished animals have been killed at 20 days of age. Normally nourished animals served as controls. Long undernutrition induced a statistically significant decrease of the formation of DHT in the corpus callosum and in the pyramidal tract vs controls. On the contrary, the nutritional deficiency did not decrease the 5 alpha-reductase activity in the cerebral cortex and in the hypothalamus.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Effect of postnatal starvation on the 5 alpha-reductase activity of the brain and of the isolated myelin membranes. 263 Mar 7

The fraction of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA (HMG-CoA) reductase in the dephosphorylated (active) form in rat liver in vivo was measured after various experimental treatments of animals. Intraperitoneal injection of glucose (to raise serum insulin concentrations) into rats 4 h into the light phase (L-4) resulted in a transient (30 min) increase in the expressed (E)/total (T) activity ratio of HMG-CoA reductase without any change in total activity (obtained after complete dephosphorylation of the enzyme). Conversely, intravenous injection of guinea-pig anti-insulin serum into rats 4 h into the dark phase (D-4) significantly depressed the E/T ratio within 20 min. Intravenous injection of glucagon into normal rats at this time point did not affect the degree of phosphorylation of the enzyme, in spite of a 10-fold increase in hepatic cyclic AMP concentration induced by the hormone treatment. A 3-fold increase in the concentration of the cyclic nucleotide induced by adrenaline infusion was similarly ineffective in inducing any change in expressed or total activities of hepatic HMG-CoA reductase. However, when insulin secretion was inhibited, either by the induction of streptozotocin-diabetes or by simultaneous infusion of somatostatin, glucagon treatment was able to depress the expressed activity of HMG-CoA reductase (i.e. it increased the phosphorylation of the enzyme). Therefore insulin appears to have a dominant role in the regulation of the phosphorylation state of hepatic HMG-CoA reductase. In apparent corroboration of this suggestion, short-term 4 h food deprivation of animals before D-4 resulted in a marked decrease in the E/T activity ratio of reductase, which was not affected further by an additional 8 h starvation. By contrast, the total activity of the enzyme was not significantly affected by 4 h starvation, but was markedly diminished after 12 or 24 h starvation. Longer-term starvation also produced a chronic increase in the degree of phosphorylation of the enzyme. These results are discussed in relation to the role of reversible phosphorylation in the control of hepatic HMG-CoA reductase activity in vivo.
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PMID:Acute effects of starvation and treatment of rats with anti-insulin serum, glucagon and catecholamines on the state of phosphorylation of hepatic 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase in vivo. 288 48

The conversion of testosterone to estradiol by aromatase and to dihydrotestosterone by 5 alpha-reductase was measured in the medial basal hypothalamus of starved and control male rats. Activities of both enzymes were significantly reduced in starved animals. Aromatase activity was 18.2 +/- 2.3 versus 29.8 +/- 5.7 fmol E2/mg protein/90 min (mean +/- SEM, P less than 0.02) and 5 alpha-reductase was 4.95 +/- 0.35 versus 5.96 +/- 0.30 pmol DHT/mg protein/90 min (P less than 0.02) for starved and control animals respectively. The results indicate that hypothalamic metabolism of testosterone is decreased during starvation. Therefore the increased sensitivity of the T-LH feedback described earlier in starved rats [4] cannot be explained by changes in central testosterone metabolism.
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PMID:Testosterone metabolism in the medial basal hypothalamus of the starved male rat. 358 55

The effect of inhibition of 3-Hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl Coenzyme A reductase (HMG CoA reductase) on cell cycle progression in proliferating 3T3 cells was studied. It was found that short transient exposures to the HMG CoA reductase inhibitor 25-hydroxycholesterol temporarily blocked the cell cycle traverse in the postmitotic half of G1 (G1pm), whereas cells in the subsequent cell cycle phases were unaffected. The kinetics of the cell cycle delay, induced by 25-hydroxycholesterol, resembled the kinetics of the delay induced by serum depletion, which also inhibited the activity of HMG CoA reductase. In contrast to the case of serum depletion, platelet derived growth factor (PDGF), which efficiently prevented the decrease of HMG CoA reductase in serum-free medium, was not capable of preventing the growth inhibitory effect following treatment by 25-hydroxycholesterol. However, cholesterol and two isoprenoids, dolichol and coenzyme Q, were effective in this respect. In addition, dolichol counteracted the cell cycle delay following short periods of serum starvation.
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PMID:Effects of 25-hydroxycholesterol, cholesterol, and isoprenoid derivatives on the G1 progression in Swiss 3T3 cells. 376 35

Alterations in endogenous free radical-scavenging defense mechanisms of rat tissues after body weight loss (induced by starvation for 72 h) associated with hypoinsulinemia were investigated. The activities of catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX), and glutathione (GSSG) reductase as well as levels of reduced glutathione (GSH) were examined in several tissues and in erythrocytes. A complex pattern of changes was observed. CAT activities were increased in the heart and pancreas and decreased in the liver. SOD levels were decreased in the heart and increased in the kidney and pancreas. GSH-PX activities were increased only in the kidney, and levels of GSH were decreased only in the liver of starved animals. Erythrocytes from starved animals showed no alterations in the levels of major free radical-scavenging enzymes. However, GSSG reductase levels were lower in erythrocytes from starved animals, and this was associated with an increased susceptibility to H2O2-induced GSH depletion. Paradoxically, H2O2-induced malondialdehyde (MDA) production in erythrocytes from starved animals was lower than that in control erythrocytes. Our results suggest that, in studies of experimental diabetes, attention must be given to the influence of body weight loss per se on the biochemical alterations associated with this disease.
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PMID:Starvation-related alterations in free radical tissue defense mechanisms in rats. 380 31

Serum cholesterol concentrations, lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT), and hepatic 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase activities of lean and obese Zucker rats were compared. The excess serum cholesterol of the female obese rat is found to be mainly free cholesterol associated with very low-density lipoproteins, whereas that of the male obese rat is carried as cholesterol esters associated with high-density lipoproteins. The high level of serum free cholesterol in the female obese rat is not due to a deficiency in lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase activity. This enzyme activity is found to be elevated in the male obese rat. Hepatic HMG-CoA reductase activity declines as rats mature; this observation is most apparent in obese male rats. Lean rats exhibit the normal diurnal rhythm, but mature obese rats show little diurnal variation in HMG-CoA reductase activity. Obese female rats maintain high reductase activities, but the activities of obese male rats remain low at all times. Starvation suppresses liver HMG-CoA reductase and serum cholesterol in both lean and obese female rats. Thus, an increase in hepatic cholesterol synthesis may contribute to hypercholesterolemia in the obese female Zucker rat. On the other hand, factors such as nonhepatic synthesis or a decreased cholesterol catabolism may play more important roles in maintaining high serum cholesterol in the obese male Zucker rat.
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PMID:Serum cholesterol, lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase, and hepatic hydroxymethylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase activities of lean and obese Zucker rats. 396 58

Ribonucleoside diphosphate (RDP) reductase activity can be readily assayed in ether-treated Escherichia coli cells. The rate of cytidine 5'-diphosphate (CDP) reduction observed in ether-treated cells by using saturating substrate concentrations is about 25% of the rate of de novo deoxyribonucleotide synthesis required to account for in vivo deoxyribonucleic acid synthesis. Optimal activity is observed in the presence of magnesium ions and a positive effector. Adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP), deoxy ATP (dATP), and deoxythimidine triphosphate serve as positive effectors, and dATP also serves as a negative effector. These effects on the activity in ether-treated cells resemble those observed in vitro with highly purified enzyme. When the RDP reductase activity in these cells is assayed by using high specific activity (3)H-CDP as substrate, even at nonsaturating substrate concentrations, the sensitivity of the assay is sufficient to make it useful for the assay of the low levels of reductase activity in cells not derepressed by thymine starvation or in cells containing mutationally altered RDP reductase. This assay is much easier to perform than the usual in vitro assay, since thioredoxin, thioredoxin reductase, and enzyme subunits B1 or B2 need not be first purified and added to the reaction mixtures.
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PMID:Properties of ribonucleoside diphosphate reductase in nucleotide-permeable cells. 414 81

1. Starvation for 3 days produces a decrease in methaemoglobin-reductase and glutathione-reductase activities, but it does not alter the glucose 6-phosphate-dehydrogenase activity of the rat erythrocyte. 2. The feeding of a protein-free diet for 11 days causes greater changes in the first two enzymes and also a diminution of the third. Under this experimental condition slight decreases in protein and haemoglobin contents were noted. 3. The experimental animals did not show methaemoglobinaemia, probably because the activity of methaemoglobin diaphorase is preserved. 4. The GSH content was not affected but the stability of the tripeptide in the presence of an oxidizing agent was diminished.
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PMID:Studies on the oxidation-reduction systems of the erythrocyte. 437 99


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