Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UNIPROT:P01185 (vasopressin)
 23,126 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Endothelin (ET), a peptide originally isolated from the supernatants of cultured endothelial cells, exerts a wide variety of biological effects in different tissues. Endothelial-cell-synthesized ET-1 has been proposed to act in a paracrine manner on adjacent smooth muscle cells (SMC) in vivo, with effects that include both vascular reactivity (vasodilation/vasoconstriction) and mitogenesis. This study, by the use of immunocytochemically characterized SMC (rVSMC) isolated from the aortas of spontaneously hypertensive rats, has investigated a possible autocrine role for ET in regulation of the vasculature. Although quiescent cultures of rVSMC apparently did not constitutively express prepro ET-1mRNA, ET-specific transcripts could be induced by a variety of growth factors (transforming growth factor beta [TGF-beta]; platelet-derived growth factor-AA homodimer [PDGF-A chain]) and vasoactive hormones (angiotensin II [Ang II], arginine-vasopressin, and ET-1 itself). The kinetics for prepro ET-1mRNA induction in rVSMC were characteristically rapid in onset and transient. Down-regulation of protein kinase C by 48 h pretreatment of rVSMC with phorbol ester markedly reduced the subsequent ability of rVSMC to express ET-1 transcripts and secrete ET-1 peptide in response to Ang II. Inducible prepro ET-1mRNA expression was accompanied by a cycloheximide-inhibitable release of ET-1 peptide into the medium of rVSMC. ET-1 peptide was determined by both radioreceptor- and radioimmunoassay. Stimulated rVSMC accumulated ET-1 (approximately 200 pg.10(6) cells-1 x 4 h-1) at levels that attained biological relevance (approximately 10(-10) M). Sep-pak C18 extracts of medium from stimulated rVSMC elicited contraction of isolated endothelium-denuded rat mesenteric resistance vessels, and this response was characteristically protracted and difficult to "wash out." Synthetic (porcine) ET-1 promoted the expression of transcripts for PDGF-A chain, TGF-beta, and thrombospondin in quiescent rVSMC. Such effects of ET-1 on gene expression may be relevant to the mitogenic potential of ET-1 on VSMC. Our findings imply a role for ET-1 in the control of vascular function via both paracrine and autocrine regulatory mechanisms. The expression of prepro ET-1mRNA and peptide biosynthesis by rVSMC may have both short-term (e.g., vasoconstriction) and long-term (e.g., structural remodeling) consequences. A sustained loop of autocrine stimulation by ET-1 in SMC could contribute toward the pathogenesis of vasospasm and/or atherosclerosis.
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PMID:Stimulation of endothelin mRNA and secretion in rat vascular smooth muscle cells: a novel autocrine function. 207 71

Goose VLDV-neurophysin (mesotocin-associated neurophysin) has been purified from posterior pituitary glands through molecular sieving on Sephadex G-75 and high-pressure reverse-phase liquid chromatography on Nucleosil C-18 columns. Despite apparent molecular mass of unreduced VLDV-neurophysin measured by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis with sodium dodecylsulfate appeared near 17 kDa, this value fell to 11 kDa after reduction with mercaptoethanol, suggesting the existence of a homodimer. Complete amino acid sequence (93 residues) of goose VLDV-neurophysin has been determined. N- and C-terminal sequences of the protein have been established by Edman degradation (microsequencing) and use of carboxypeptidase Y, respectively. Peptides derived from oxidized or carboxamidomethylated neurophysin by trypsin or staphylococcal proteinase hydrolyses have been isolated by high-pressure liquid chromatography and microsequenced, allowing determination of the complete sequence. Comparison within the vertebrate VLDV-neurophysin lineage, namely goose VLDV-neurophysin to mammalian VLDV-neurophysins and to deduced toad VLDV-neurophysin, reveals a residue insertion between positions 66 and 67 in the nonmammalian VLDV-neurophysins. When goose MSEL-neurophysin (vasotocin-associated neurophysin) and goose VLDV-neurophysin are compared to their bovine counterparts, identical substitutions are found in positions 17 (Asn in both goose neurophysins instead of Gly in both ox neurophysins), 18 (Arg instead of Lys), 35 (Tyr instead of Phe), and 41 (Thr instead of Ala). Identity of the sequences 10-74 in both ox neurophysins has been explained by partial gene conversion between oxytocin and vasopressin genes, and identical substitutions in both goose neurophysins might reveal a similar gene conversion between mesotocin and vasopressin genes in birds.
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PMID:Complete amino acid sequence of goose VLDV-neurophysin. Traces of a putative gene conversion between promesotocin and provasotocin genes. 227 74

1. The role of endothelium-derived relaxing factor (EDRF) in the action of vasodilator (acetylcholine, histamine, nitroprusside) and vasoconstrictor (noradrenaline, vasopressin) drugs on vascular resistance in the isolated perfused kidney and mesentery of the rat was studied. 2. Acetylcholine (EC50 = 0.18 +/- 0.05 nmol and 3.1 +/- 0.06 nmol, n = 8) and histamine (EC50 = 31.2 +/- 4.9 nmol and 46.2 +/- 3.9 nmol, n = 8) produced dose-related vasodilatation in noradrenaline-preconstricted (i.e. 'high tone') rat renal and mesenteric blood vessels. The response to both vasodilators (but not nitroprusside) was abolished by infusion of CHAPS (4.7 mg ml-1, 30 s). By use of an immunocytochemical staining procedure CHAPS was demonstrated to remove vascular endothelial cells lining intrarenal blood vessels. 3. Gossypol (3 microM), metyrapone (10 microM) and nordihydroguaiaretic acid, (NDGA, 30 microM), presumed inhibitors of EDRF biosynthesis, reduced or abolished the response to acetylcholine and histamine in perfused kidney and mesentery of the rat without affecting vasodilatation due to nitroprusside. Mepacrine (10 microM) similarly abolished the response to acetylcholine and histamine but in addition, reduced the response to nitroprusside in both preparations. 4. Methylene blue (100 microM), a presumed antagonist of the effect of EDRF, abolished vasodilatation due to acetylcholine and histamine and reduced the response to nitroprusside in perfused rat kidney and mesentery. Superoxide dismutase, SOD (15 u ml-1), was without effect. 5. While CHAPS treatment significantly augmented the vasoconstrictor response to both noradrenaline and vasopressin in perfused renal and mesenteric vessels this effect was not mimicked by metyrapone or gossypol suggesting that the enhanced effect of vasopressor agents in CHAPSperfused rat organs is due to the removal of a permeability barrier rather than impaired EDRF formation. 6. Responses to vasoconstrictor and vasodilator drugs in the perfused kidney and mesentery were obtained in the presence of indomethacin (8 microM) which produced in excess of 90% inhibition of prostacyclin (PGI2) release as measured by radioimmunoassay of 6-oxo-prostaglandin F1 alpha,. (6-oxo- PGF1 alpha) in the Krebs effluent. 7. We provide evidence that EDRF mediates the vasodilator response to acetylcholine and histamine in resistance blood vessels in perfused rat kidney and mesentery. The possibility that EDRF has a physiological role to play in regulating the calibre of resistance blood vessels is discussed.
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PMID:Endothelium-derived relaxing factor and the effects of acetylcholine and histamine on resistance blood vessels. 326 34

Isolated cell bodies of the locust vasopressin-like immunoreactive (VPLI) neurons, analyzed by HPLC separation and radioimmune assay, contain three arginine vasopressin-like peptides: a previously identified monomer (Fl, Cys-Leu-Ile-Thr-Asn-Cys-Pro-Arg-Gly-NH2) and its antiparallel homodimer (F2), but also the previously unreported parallel homodimer (PDm). VPLI neuron activity significantly reduces the level of cAMP in the CNS. Of the three synthetic peptides, only the monomer (F1, 10(-8) and 10(-6) M) is capable of inhibiting a forskolin-stimulated increase in cAMP in isolated neural membranes. The antiparallel (F2) and parallel dimers (PDm) of this peptide have no effect on this second messenger.
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PMID:Analysis of the peptide content of the locust vasopressin-like immunoreactive (VPLI) neurons. 747 18

Purification of a material immunoreactive to an antiserum against the C-terminal part of the oxytocin (Pro-Leu-Gly-amide) and present in the central nervous system of the Pharyngobdellid leech Erpobdella octoculata was performed by reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography combined with both enzyme-linked immunosorbent and dot immunobinding assays for oxytocin. The amino acid sequence of the purified peptide (Ile-Pro-Glu-Pro-Tyr-Val-Trp-Asp) was established by Edman degradation and confirmed by electrospray mass spectrometry measurement. When injected in leeches, purified or synthetic peptides exert an anti-diuretic effect, the most effective ranged between 10 pmol and 1 nmol. They provoked an uptake of water 1-2 h post-injection. Furthermore, electrophysiological experiments conducted in the leech Hirudo medicinalis revealed an inhibition of the potency of Na+ conductances of leech skin by this peptide. Immunocytochemical studies with an antiserum against synthetic oxytocin-like molecule provided the cytological basis for existence of a neuropeptide, since large amounts of immunoreactive neurons were detected in the central nervous systems of E. octoculata. The purified molecule is both different to peptides of the oxytocin/vasopressin family and is a novel neuropeptide in the animal kingdom. It was named the leech osmoregulator factor (LORF). An identification of the proteins immunoreactive to an antiserum against oxytocin performed at the level of both central nervous systems extracts and in vitro central nervous system-translated RNA products indicated that in the two cases, a single protein was detected. These proteins with a molecular masses of, respectively, approximately 34 kDa (homodimer of 17 kDa) for the central nervous systems extracts and approximately 19 kDa for in vitro central nervous system-translated RNA products were not recognized by the antiserum against MSEL- and VLDV-neurophysin (proteins associated to oxytocin and vasopressin), confirming that LORF did not belong to the oxytocin/vasopressin family.
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PMID:Structural characterization of a novel neuropeptide from the central nervous system of the leech Erpobdella octoculata. The leech osmoregulator factor. 863 63

The present study was designed to investigate the effect of fluid percussion brain injury (FPI) on vasopressin-induced pial artery vasodilation and the role of superoxide anion generation in those observed effects. In the piglet, it was observed previously the FPI produces pial artery constriction associated with free radical generation. Anesthetized piglets equipped with a closed cranial window were connected to a percussion device consisting of a saline-filled cylindrical reservoir with a metal pendulum. FPI of moderate severity (1.9-2.3 atm) was produced by allowing the pendulum to strike a piston on the cylinder. Vasopressin in physiological and pharmacological concentrations (10 and 1,000 microU/ml) produced vasodilation that was reversed to constriction after FPI (15 +/- 1 vs. -8 +/- 1 and 25 +/- 1 vs. 13 +/- 1% for 10 and 1,000 microU/ml before and after injury, respectively). Vasopressin-induced dilation was associated with increased cerebrospinal fluid guanosine 3', 5'-cyclic monophosphate, and these biochemical changes were blunted by FPI (407 +/- 12 and 720 +/- 28 vs. 4 and 272 +/- 5 fmol/ml for control and 10 microU/ml before and after injury, respectively). In contrast, polyethylene glycol superoxide dismutase (PEG-SOD) and catalase pretreatment 30 min before FPI partially restored vasopressin-induced pial artery dilation (14 +/- 1 vs. 3 +/- 1 and 22 +/- 1 vs. 2 +/- 4% for 10 and 1,000 microU/ml before and after FPI, respectively). Similarly, biochemical changes associated with vasopressin dilation were also partially restored by PEG-SOD and catalase after FPI. These data show that vasopressin is reversed from a dilator to a vasoconstrictor after FPI and suggests the superoxide anion generation contributes to the alteration of vasopressin cerebrovascular effects after injury and that such altered vasopressin cerebrovascular effects contribute to pial vasoconstriction after FPI.
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PMID:Influence of brain injury on vasopressin-induced pial artery vasodilation: role of superoxide anion. 896 66

The role of superoxide in sepsis-altered hepatocyte Ca2+i regulation was studied by examining the effect of treatment of septic rats with superoxide dismutase-polyethylene glycol (SOD-PEG) on hepatocyte Ca2+ influx and efflux, and cytosolic [Ca2+]. Rats were implanted with sterile or bacteria-laden (Escherichia coli and Bacteroides fragilis) fecal pellets into the abdominal cavity. Eight hours after the implantation, rats were treated with SOD-PEG or its vehicle PEG. Septic and sterile implanted rats were killed 24 h postimplantation, and their livers were removed to isolate viable hepatocytes. Isolated hepatocytes were incubated with traces of 45Ca to assess Ca2+ influx and efflux. The 45Ca exchange assessments also allowed calculation of the intracellular exchangeable Ca2+ contents. [Ca2+]i was quantified by the use of fluorescent dye indo-1 and microfluorometric techniques. There were no differences in the Ca2+ influx, Ca2+ efflux, intracellular exchangeable Ca2+, or [Ca2+]i between the treated or untreated sterile and unoperated controls. However, compared with the nonseptic groups, the septic rats with or without administration of the vehicle (PEG) showed marked increases in Ca2+ influx, intracellular exchangeable Ca2+ and [Ca2+]i but not Ca2+ efflux. When challenged with vasopressin, the hepatocytes from septic rats, administered with PEG alone, did not elevate their [Ca2+]i as was characteristic of the hepatocytes from the nonseptic rats. The treatment of septic rats with SOD-PEG was effective in restoring Ca2+ influx, cellular exchangeable Ca2+, [Ca2+]i, and the [Ca2+]i response to vasopressin to levels found in the control and sterile groups. These findings support the concept that the generation of the superoxide free radical leads to Ca2+i-related derangements and related cell/organ dysfunction in sepsis.
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PMID:Superoxide radical scavenging prevents cellular calcium dysregulation during intraabdominal sepsis. 911 Apr 11

Neurophysins I and II (NPI and NPII) act in the neurosecretory granules as carrier proteins for the neurophyseal hormones oxytocin (OT) and vasopressin (VP), respectively. The NPI/OT functional unit, believed to be an (NPI/OT)2 heterotetramer, was modeled using low-resolution structure information, viz. the C alpha carbon atom coordinates of the homologous NPII/dipeptide complex (file 1BN2 in the Brookhaven Protein Databank) as a template. Its all-atom representation was obtained using standard modeling tools available within the INSIGHT/Biopolymer modules supplied by Biosym Technologies Inc. A conformation of the NPI-bound OT, similar to that recently proposed in a transfer NOE experiment, was docked into the ligand-binding site by a superposition of its Cys1-Tyr2 fragment onto the equivalent portion of the dipeptide in the template. The starting complex for the initial refinements was prepared by two alternative strategies, termed Model I and Model II, each ending with a approximately 100 ps molecular dynamics (MD) simulation in water using the AMBER 4.1 force field. The free homodimer NPI2 was obtained by removal of the two OT subunits from their sites, followed by a similar structure refinement. The use of Model I, consisting of a constrained simulated annealing, resulted in a structure remarkably similar to both the NPII/dipeptide complex and a recently published solid-state structure of the NPII/OT complex. Thus, Model I is recommended as the method of choice for the preparation of the starting all-atom data for MD. The MD simulations indicate that, both in the homodimer and in the heterotetramer, the 3(10)-helices demonstrate an increased mobility relative to the remaining body of the protein. Also, the C-terminal domains in the NPI2 homodimer are more mobile than the N-terminal ones. Finally, a distinct intermonomer interaction is identified, concentrated around its most prominent, although not unique, contribution provided by an H-bond from Ser25 O gamma in one NPI unit to Glu81 O epsilon in the other unit. This interaction is present in the heterotetramer (NPI/OT)2 and absent or weak in the NPI2 homodimer. We speculate that this interaction, along with the increased mobility of the 3(10)-helices and the carboxy domains, may contribute to the allosteric communication between ligand binding and NPI dimerization.
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PMID:Molecular modeling of the neurophysin I/oxytocin complex. 913 16

To investigate the role of nitric oxide (NO) and its interaction with oxygen radicals in fever, we injected conscious rabbits intravenously (i.v.) with 1 microgram/kg bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and measured body temperatures, and circulatory and respiratory parameters. We estimated plasma levels of antidiuretic hormone (ADH); nitrate as a measure of NO metabolism under aerobic conditions; prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and prostaglandin PGF2 alpha (PGF2 alpha); and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha). We studied the effects of LPS before and after treatment with oxygen radical scavengers superoxide dismutase and catalase (SOD/CAT), before and after treatment with NG-monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA), a specific blocker of nitric oxide synthase (NOS), before and after treatment with methylene blue (MB). N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors were blocked with ketamine. LPS increased core temperature by 1.1 +/- 0.1 degree C within 3 h, associated with a rapid increase of plasma TNF alpha, PGE2 and PGF2 alpha, and a fall of nitrate. The decrease of nitrate following LPS was augmented in rabbits pretreated with SOD/CAT, associated with a rise of core temperature of 1.6 +/- 0.1 degree C within 3 h. The lowest levels of nitrate were observed in rabbits pretreated with L-NMMA, associated with a rise of core temperature of 3.0 +/- 0.1 degree C within 3 h. Treating the same rabbits with a continuous i.v. infusion of 5 mg/kg/h MB, starting 30 min before injection of LPS, caused an immediate increase in nitrate and completely prevented fever. The rise of TNF alpha and ADH after LPS, however, was not significantly different from the control fever, and plasma PGE2 levels were nearly twice as elevated. MB also prevented fever in NMMA-treated rabbits, but only as long as nitrate levels remained elevated. MB induced an immediate rise of core temperature in ketamine-treated rabbits. We conclude that an undisturbed or elevated synthesis of NO in the central nervous system prevents fever, possibly via positive feedback action of NO on presynaptic glutaminergic neurons.
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PMID:Antipyretic role of nitric oxide during endotoxin-induced fever in rabbits. 950 19

Cyclosporin A (CsA) generates superoxide in smooth muscle cells. Our earlier studies have demonstrated that the increase in the vasopressin type 1 receptor induced in vascular smooth muscle cells in the presence of CsA is probably due to superoxide (Krauskopf et al., J Biol Chem 278, 41685-41690, 2003). This increase in vasopressin receptor is likely at the base of increased vascular responsiveness to vasoconstrictor hormones and hypertension induced by CsA. Here, we demonstrate that CsA produces superoxide. In addition, our data show that superoxide generation does not originate from the major cellular superoxide generating systems NAD(P)H oxidase or xanthine oxidase. Our results suggest that the side effects of CsA could be diminished with the help of SOD mimetic drugs.
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PMID:Cyclosporin A generates superoxide in smooth muscle cells. 1608 72


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