Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0432222 (SEM)
 47,337 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

cAMP is commonly measured using either immunoassay or high-performance liquid chromatography. The current methods are sensitive but may lack versatility and be expensive; also, radioactivity is potentially harmful to the operator and environment. Given these concerns, we developed a highly sensitive enzymatic fluorometric assay for cAMP. The method consists of five steps: (1) destruction of interfering compounds with apyrase, 5' nucleotidase, adenosine deaminase, and alkaline phosphatase; (2) conversion of cAMP to AMP; (3) conversion of AMP to ATP; (4) amplification of ATP by ATP-ADP cycling; and (5) fluorometric measurement of resultant NADPH. cAMP was measured in male Sprague Dawley rats anesthetized with pentobarbital. Stimulated rats (n = 4) received isoproterenol (16 micrograms/kg, s.q.) and aminophylline (20 mg/kg, s.q.), whereas controls (n = 4) received no additional drug. With the enzymatic fluorometric assay, cAMP content in heart, liver, and kidney (pmol/mg wet wt, mean +/- SEM) was 0.34 +/- 0.03, 0.33 +/- 0.03, and 0.92 +/- 0.11 in the control group and 0.77 +/- 0.10, 0.66 +/- 0.04, and 1.53 +/- 0.12 in the stimulated group, respectively. The total assay duration including sample reading procedure varied at 4.5-9.5 hr, depending on its sensitivity. cAMP from the same samples was measured using a commercially available enzyme immunoassay kit and was found to be very similar to the enzymatic fluorometric assay. We conclude that this new assay is sensitive, safe, versatile, and inexpensive and can be used to measure cAMP in multiple types of tissue, including biopsy samples weighing < 200 micrograms.
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PMID:Enzymatic fluorometric assay for tissue cAMP. 786 85

Activated platelets release potent vasoactive factors. Previous studies have focused on mechanisms by which vascular abnormalities lead to altered responses of atherosclerotic arteries. We tested the hypothesis that the activation of platelets from hypercholesterolemic humans produces abnormal vascular responses. Responses to intraluminal and abluminal activation of platelets from normal subjects and type II hypercholesterolemic patients (total cholesterol, 274 +/- 16 [mean +/- SEM] mg/dl) were examined in carotid arteries from normal rabbits perfused in vitro. Intraluminal activation of normal platelets produced pronounced dilatation of arteries preconstricted with phenylephrine. Vasodilator responses to intraluminal activation of platelets from hypercholesterolemic patients were greatly impaired. Vasodilator responses to platelets from hypercholesterolemic patients were not restored to normal by LY53,857 (10(-5) M), a 5-hydroxytryptamine2-serotonergic antagonist, by SQ29,548 (10(-5) M), a thromboxane A2/prostaglandin H2 receptor antagonist, or by apyrase (1.5 units/ml), an enzyme with ADPase activity. Abluminal activation of normal platelets produced modest constriction in quiescent arteries, and abluminal activation of platelets from hypercholesterolemic patients produced augmented vasoconstrictor responses. The major finding is that vasodilator responses to platelets from hypercholesterolemic patients are profoundly impaired, and vasoconstrictor responses to platelets from hypercholesterolemic patients are augmented. Mechanisms in addition to increased release of serotonin, thromboxane, and ADP appear to contribute to impaired vasodilator responses to hypercholesterolemic platelets. Thus, alteration of platelets by hypercholesterolemia, as well as altered vascular reactivity, may contribute to abnormal vascular responses in atherosclerosis.
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PMID:Altered vascular responses to platelets from hypercholesterolemic humans. 844 65

Enteric glia are important participants in information processing in the enteric nervous system. However, intercellular signaling mechanisms in enteric glia remain largely unknown. We postulated that intercellular calcium waves exist in enteric glia. Primary cultures of enteric glia were isolated from neonatal guinea pig taenia coli. Intracellular calcium in individual cells was quantified with fura-2 AM microfluorimetry. Single-cell stimulation was performed with a micromanipulator-driven glass pipette. Data were expressed as mean +/- SEM and analyzed by Student's t-test. Mechanical stimulation of a single enteric glial cell resulted in an increase in intracellular calcium, followed by concentric propagation to 36% +/- 3% of neighboring cells. Intercellular calcium waves were blocked by depletion of intracellular calcium stores with thapsigargin (1 microM). Pretreatment of enteric glia with the phospholipase C inhibitor U73122 (1 microM) significantly decreased the percentage of cells responding to mechanical stimulation (6% +/- 4%), but had no effect on waves induced by microinjection of the inositol trisphosphate (67% +/- 13% vs. 60% +/- 4% for control). Antagonism of inositol trisphosphate receptor attenuated intercellular calcium waves induced by both mechanical stimulation and microinjection of inositol trisphosphate. Uncoupling of gap junctions with octanol or heptanol significantly inhibited intercellular calcium wave propagation. Pretreatment of enteric glia with apyrase partially attenuated intercellular calcium waves. Our data demonstrate that enteric glial cells are capable of transmitting increases in intracellular calcium to surrounding cells, and that intercellular calcium waves involve a sequence of intracellular and extracellular steps in which phospholipase C, inositol trisphosphate, and ATP play roles.
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PMID:Intercellular calcium waves in cultured enteric glia from neonatal guinea pig. 1267 31