Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C1832526 (PCC)
 5,967 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Recent evidence indicates that endothelin-1 (ET-1) might be a principal vasoconstrictor in the penis. We report that ET-1 injection into the cavernous sinuses before erection sharply reduced the magnitude of subsequent erections. Corpus cavernosum pressure-to-mean arterial pressure ratios (CCP/MAP), with maximal ganglionic stimulation, were 0.62 +/- 0.05 before ET-1 injection and 0.31 +/- 0.05 after, indicating that ET-1 acted as a vasoconstrictor. When ET-1 was injected during a maximal neurally induced erection, the ability of ET-1 to attenuate subsequent erections was diminished (CCP/MAP 0.75 +/- 0.02 before ET-1, 0.61 +/- 0.03 after). At submaximal stimulation voltages, injection of ET-1 during erection also attenuated its vasoconstrictive effect. Similarly, when ET-1 was injected during erection induced by intracavernosal injection of the nitric oxide (NO) donor NOR-1, subsequent erections were not significantly suppressed (CCP/MAP 0.53 +/- 0.04 before ET-1, 0.45 +/- 0.04 after). These findings that ET-1-induced vasoconstriction is attenuated during erection are consistent with the hypothesis that NO mediates erection both by initiating pathways that cause smooth muscle relaxation and by inhibiting the vasoconstrictive actions of ET-1.
 ...
PMID:Endothelin-1-induced vasoconstriction is inhibited during erection in rats. 1144 50

Androgens are reported to act as strong modulators of erectile function influencing both nitric oxide and vasoconstrictor signaling. Castration results in a depressed erectile response that is associated with a loss of nitric oxide production and increased responsiveness to constrictive agents. The increased vasoconstrictor response may be a result of an active RhoA/Rho-kinase signaling pathway. We report here results of studies designed to test the hypothesis that inhibition of the Rho-kinase pathway restores erectile function in a castrate model by relaxing the smooth muscle. Mean arterial (MAP) and corpus cavernosal (CCP) pressures were monitored during intracavernosal injection of the Rho-kinase inhibitor Y-27632. Castration reduced the maximal erectile response (CCP/MAP) by 33%, and testosterone replacement restored the response (intact, 0.736 +/- 0.040; castrate, 0.492 +/- 0.022; testosterone, 0.681 +/- 0.073). Injection of Y-27632 increased CCP in all experimental groups; it also left shifted the voltage response curve and increased the maximal CCP/MAP response (intact, 0.753 +/- 0.091; castrate, 0.782 +/- 0.081; testosterone treated, 0.894 +/- 0.033). Y-27632 dose dependently relaxed phenylephrine-stimulated cavernosal tissues. Cavernosal tissues showed increased RhoA and Rho-kinase protein levels after castration. Our data support the hypothesis that an active Rho/Rho-kinase pathway contributes to the reduced erectile response after castration due to an upregulation of RhoA/Rho-kinase protein levels and that inhibition of this pathway may serve as an effective treatment for erectile dysfunction.
 ...
PMID:Improved erectile function after Rho-kinase inhibition in a rat castrate model of erectile dysfunction. 1257 76

Methionine aminopeptidases (MetAPs or MAPs, encoded by map genes) are ubiquitous and pivotal enzymes for protein maturation in all living organisms. Whereas most bacteria harbour only one map gene, many cyanobacterial genomes contain two map paralogues, the genome of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 even three. The physiological function of multiple map paralogues remains elusive so far. This communication reports for the first time differential MetAP function in a cyanobacterium. In Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803, the universally conserved mapC gene (sll0555) is predominantly expressed in exponentially growing cells and appears to be a housekeeping gene. By contrast, expression of mapA (slr0918) and mapB (slr0786) genes increases during stress conditions. The mapB paralogue is only transiently expressed, whereas the widely distributed mapA gene appears to be the major MetAP during stress conditions. A mapA-deficient Synechocystis mutant shows a subtle impairment of photosystem II properties even under non-stressed conditions. In particular, the binding site for the quinone Q(B) is affected, indicating specific N-terminal methionine processing requirements of photosystem II components. MAP-A-specific processing becomes essential under certain stress conditions, since the mapA-deficient mutant is severely impaired in surviving conditions of prolonged nitrogen starvation and high light exposure.
 ...
PMID:An alternative methionine aminopeptidase, MAP-A, is required for nitrogen starvation and high-light acclimation in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. 1935 20