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Journal of Medical Genetics Feb 1995We have applied the technique of PCR-SSCP (polymerase chain reaction-single stranded conformation polymorphism) to characterise the molecular basis of cholinesterase...
We have applied the technique of PCR-SSCP (polymerase chain reaction-single stranded conformation polymorphism) to characterise the molecular basis of cholinesterase deficiency and variants in a Jordanian family. PCR-SSCP proved to be a quick and sensitive method of screening cholinesterase variants in a clinical setting. An AG insertion at position 351 was found to cause a silent allele, for which the parents were heterozygous and three children homozygous. In addition, the father and two sons were heterozygous for an A to G transition at position 209, known to cause the dibucaine resistant variant. No linkage to the K variant was found, which has been reported previously in white populations. These findings suggest considerable homogeneity in the molecular basis of CHE variants between different ethnic groups.
Topics: Adult; Alleles; Base Sequence; Cholinesterases; Dibucaine; Female; Frameshift Mutation; Genetic Linkage; Genetic Testing; Genotype; Humans; Jordan; Male; Metabolism, Inborn Errors; Molecular Sequence Data; Pedigree; Point Mutation; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Polymorphism, Single-Stranded Conformational; Sequence Analysis, DNA
PubMed: 7760318
DOI: 10.1136/jmg.32.2.109 -
British Journal of Anaesthesia Feb 1995We report a case of prolonged neuromuscular block after administration of mivacurium 0.2 mg kg-1 to a 16-yr-old patient where the duration of block was 2.5 h. The...
We report a case of prolonged neuromuscular block after administration of mivacurium 0.2 mg kg-1 to a 16-yr-old patient where the duration of block was 2.5 h. The interesting points in this case were that the patient had homozygous atypical plasma cholinesterase deficiency (both parents had a normal phenotype) following liver transplantation. Investigations showed low plasma cholinesterase activity (343 iu litre-1; normal 600-1400) and dibucaine number was 25 (normal 76-83). Despite possessing atypical enzyme normally associated with markedly prolonged duration of suxamethonium, on two occasions the patient received suxamethonium and responded normally. This had not previously been reported. The patient demonstrated prolonged block with mivacurium as a result of atypical enzyme (despite normal metabolism of suxamethonium).
Topics: Adolescent; Anesthesia Recovery Period; Cholinesterases; Female; Humans; Isoquinolines; Liver Transplantation; Mivacurium; Nerve Block; Neuromuscular Junction; Neuromuscular Nondepolarizing Agents; Postoperative Complications; Succinylcholine; Time Factors
PubMed: 7696076
DOI: 10.1093/bja/74.2.234 -
The Journal of Biological Chemistry Jan 1995Lophotoxin and the bipinnatins are members of the lophotoxin family of marine neurotoxins, which covalently react with Tyr190 in the alpha-subunits of the nicotinic...
Lophotoxin and the bipinnatins are members of the lophotoxin family of marine neurotoxins, which covalently react with Tyr190 in the alpha-subunits of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor. Bipinnatin-A, -B, and -C are protoxins that have been shown to spontaneously convert from inactive to active toxins during preincubation in buffer. However, in this report, we show that preincubation of lophotoxin did not result in an increase in the subsequent rate of irreversible inhibition of nicotinic receptors. Thus, unlike the bipinnatins, lophotoxin does not appear to be an inactive protoxin. Lophotoxin preferentially inhibited one of the two acetylcholine-binding sites on the receptor, and this preference resulted from both a higher reversible affinity and a faster rate of irreversible inhibition at this site. Association of 125I-alpha-bungarotoxin in the presence of lophotoxin was analyzed to obtain the apparent reversible association and dissociation rate constants for lophotoxin. The apparent association rate constant of lophotoxin was approximately 10(6)-fold slower than expected for a diffusion-limited interaction, indicating that lophotoxin is a slow binding irreversible inhibitor. The kinetic constants that describe the interaction of lophotoxin with the receptor did not change in the presence of dibucaine, suggesting that, unlike agonists, the slow apparent association of lophotoxin does not result from a slow transition of the receptor to a desensitized conformation.
Topics: Bungarotoxins; Cells, Cultured; Iodine Radioisotopes; Kinetics; Nicotinic Antagonists; Receptors, Nicotinic; Terpenes
PubMed: 7814387
DOI: 10.1074/jbc.270.1.281 -
Anesthesiology Jun 1994Local anesthetics are known to inhibit the voltage-gated sodium current (INa) of the nerve membrane, but it has not been fully studied whether anesthetic concentrations...
BACKGROUND
Local anesthetics are known to inhibit the voltage-gated sodium current (INa) of the nerve membrane, but it has not been fully studied whether anesthetic concentrations of local anesthetics depress the voltage-gated calcium current (ICa) of mammalian neurons. The effects of local anesthetics on ICa evoked in cultured rat dorsal root ganglion cells were studied.
METHODS
Whole cell patch clamp recordings were made from rat dorsal root ganglion cells cultured for 1-3 weeks. ICa was recorded using patch electrodes filled with Cs-aspartate in Na(+)-free external solution containing 5 mM-Ba2+. All drugs, including local anesthetics, were applied by miniperfusion from micropipettes by pressure ejection.
RESULTS
Tetracaine (300 microM) depressed the peak amplitudes of high voltage-activated (HVA)-ICa to 22.6 +/- 8.8% of control values (n = 14) without affecting the current-voltage relation. A tetracaine dose-response curve for HVA-ICa indicated an apparent dissociation constant of 79.5 microM. Tetracaine (30 microM) depressed nicardipine-sensitive HVA-I(Ca) (L-type) to 14.3 +/- 6.7% (n = 6), omega-conotoxin-sensitive HVA-ICa (N-type) to 81.6 +/- 9.6% (n = 7), and low voltage-activated (LVA)-ICa (T-type) to 65.1 +/- 11.1% (n = 6) of their respective controls. Local anesthetics other than tetracaine also depressed HVA-ICa but were of different potency; the rank sequence was dibucaine > tetracaine > bupivacaine >> procaine = lidocaine.
CONCLUSIONS
These results suggest that both HVA-ICa and LVA-ICa are depressed by tetracaine used at the concentrations required for spinal anesthesia and that the L-type Ca2+ channel among Ca2+ channel subtypes is the most susceptible to tetracaine. A good correlation between local anesthetic potencies to inhibit HVA-ICa and their anesthetic potencies implies that the inhibition of calcium influx through voltage-gated channels may contribute to spinal anesthetic mechanisms.
Topics: Animals; Bupivacaine; Calcium; Dibucaine; Ganglia, Spinal; Lidocaine; Membrane Potentials; Procaine; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Tetracaine
PubMed: 8010481
DOI: 10.1097/00000542-199406000-00025 -
FEBS Letters Aug 1993The effects of various local anaesthetics (LAs) on ryanodine binding of the sheep brain ryanodine receptor were tested. Tetracaine and dibucaine inhibit the binding with...
The effects of various local anaesthetics (LAs) on ryanodine binding of the sheep brain ryanodine receptor were tested. Tetracaine and dibucaine inhibit the binding with half-maximal inhibition (CI50) of 0.12 mM and 0.7 mM, respectively. Lidocaine and its analog QX-314, on the other hand, stimulate the binding up to 3-fold with half-maximal stimulation occurring with about 2 mM of the drugs. Lidocaine increases both the receptor affinity for ryanodine by about 5-fold and the rate of ryanodine association with its binding site by about 6-fold. Tetracaine and lidocaine also interact with the purified brain ryanodine receptor and produce inhibitory and stimulatory effects similar to those obtained with the membrane-bound receptor. The interaction of the LAs with the brain ryanodine receptor, as well as with the skeletal muscle receptor [J. Memb. Biol. 133 (1993) 171-182], suggest that ryanodine receptor possesses intrinsic binding site(s) for LAs.
Topics: Anesthetics, Local; Animals; Binding Sites; Brain; Calcium; Calcium Channels; Cell Membrane; Microsomes; Muscle Proteins; Ryanodine; Ryanodine Receptor Calcium Release Channel; Sheep
PubMed: 8393810
DOI: 10.1016/0014-5793(93)80969-2 -
Anesthesiology Aug 1993Prolonged nerve blockade is potentially useful in the management of many acute and chronic pain problems. Aside from infusions via an indwelling catheter, most currently...
BACKGROUND
Prolonged nerve blockade is potentially useful in the management of many acute and chronic pain problems. Aside from infusions via an indwelling catheter, most currently available nondestructive techniques for prolonging local anesthetic action cannot provide more than 1-2 days of blockade. Bioerodible polymer matrixes have been used to deliver a variety of drugs in patients and animals for periods lasting weeks to years. Previously, dibucaine and bupivacaine were incorporated into copolymers of 1,3 bis(p-carboxyphenoxy) propane-sebacic acid anhydride (1:4), and demonstrated sustained release in vitro following incubation of the drug-polymer matrixes in phosphate-buffered solution (pH 7.4, 37 degrees C).
METHODS
In the present study, cylindrical pellets made from polymer matrixes incorporated with bupivacaine-HCl were implanted surgically along the sciatic nerves of rats. Neural block was assessed by direct observation of motor skills and by leg-withdrawal latency to a hot surface. Biochemical and histologic examinations were performed 2 weeks after implantation.
RESULTS
Sensory and motor blockade was produced for periods ranging from 2 to 6 days. Contralateral control legs receiving polymer implants without drug showed no block. Blockade was reversible, and animals appeared to recover sensory and motor function normally. Biochemical indexes of nerve and muscle function were indistinguishable from contralateral controls.
CONCLUSIONS
This biodegradable polymer system provides a promising new alternative for the delivery of local anesthetics to peripheral nerves to produce prolonged blockade for the management of acute and chronic pain.
Topics: Anesthetics, Local; Animals; Blood Proteins; Bupivacaine; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Delayed-Action Preparations; Drug Implants; Male; Nerve Block; Polymers; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley
PubMed: 8342843
DOI: 10.1097/00000542-199308000-00020 -
The Journal of Biological Chemistry Jul 1993Kinetics of recombinant fluoride-2 variant of human butyrylcholinesterase (Gly390 Val) secreted by Chinese hamster ovary cells were compared to recombinant usual and to... (Comparative Study)
Comparative Study
Kinetics of recombinant fluoride-2 variant of human butyrylcholinesterase (Gly390 Val) secreted by Chinese hamster ovary cells were compared to recombinant usual and to usual butyrylcholinesterase purified from human plasma. The usual and fluoride-2 variant were indistinguishable with regard to hydrolysis of benzoylcholine (Km = 5 microM), neutral esters, and at high concentrations of acetylthiocholine, propionylthiocholine, and butyrylthiocholine. However, at low substrate concentrations Km values for acetylthiocholine and succinyldithiocholine were 2-6-fold higher for the fluoride-2 variant. pH rate profiles revealed small differences in pKa that could be attributed to changes in the active site histidine environment. On the other hand, Arrhenius plot analysis of o-nitrophenylbutyrate hydrolysis at pH 7.5 showed no difference in activation energy between fluoride-2 and usual butyrylcholinesterases. Both exhibited an anomalous temperature dependence with a wavelike change in activation energy around 18 degrees C. Affinity of the fluoride-2 variant for sodium fluoride, tacrine, dibucaine, amodiaquin, and succinyldicholine was lower than for usual enzyme. Apparent Ki for succinyldicholine was 125 microM for the fluoride-2 variant and 20 microM for the usual enzyme. Organophosphate inhibition showed equivalent reactivity, indicating that the point mutation altered only the binding properties of the variant. Thus, Km and Ki changes explain the succinyldicholine sensitivity of people carrying the fluoride-2 variant.
Topics: Amino Acid Sequence; Animals; Base Sequence; Binding Sites; Butyrylcholinesterase; CHO Cells; Cloning, Molecular; Codon; Cricetinae; Fluorides; Genetic Variation; Glycine; Humans; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Kinetics; Models, Molecular; Models, Theoretical; Molecular Sequence Data; Protein Conformation; Recombinant Proteins; Sodium Fluoride; Substrate Specificity; Tetraisopropylpyrophosphamide; Transfection; Valine
PubMed: 8314794
DOI: No ID Found -
The Journal of Cell Biology Jul 1993Adhesion between Chlamydomonas reinhardtii gametes generates a rapid rise in cAMP levels which stimulates mating responses and zygotic cell fusion (Pasquale and...
Adhesion between Chlamydomonas reinhardtii gametes generates a rapid rise in cAMP levels which stimulates mating responses and zygotic cell fusion (Pasquale and Goodenough, 1987). We show here that sexual adhesion in vivo results in a twofold stimulation of flagellar adenylyl cyclase activity when the enzyme is subsequently assayed in vitro, a stimulation that is specifically blocked by Cd2+. A twofold stimulation is also elicited by the in vitro presentation of soluble cross-linking reagents (antisera and concanavalin A). In contrast, the 10-30-fold stimulation of the flagellar cyclase by in vitro exposure to 40 degrees C, first described by Zhang et al. (1991), is insensitive to Cd2+ but sensitive to such drugs as trifluoperizine and dibucaine. The capacity for twofold stimulation is displayed by the vegetative and gametic enzymes but is lost when gametes fuse to form zygotes; in contrast, the 10-fold stimulation is displayed by the gametic and zygotic enzymes but not the vegetative enzyme. The signal-defective mutant imp-3 fails to generate the normal mating-triggered cAMP production and can be rescued by exogenous dibutyryl cAMP. It displays normal basal rates of flagellar cyclase activity and a normal twofold stimulation by sexual adhesion and by soluble cross-linkers, but it is defective in 40 degrees C activation. The gametic cell-body adenylyl cyclase is stimulated when wild-type flagella, but not imp-3 flagella, undergo adhesive interactions in vivo, and it can be directly stimulated in vitro by cAMP presentation. We propose that the two levels of flagellar cyclase stimulation reflect either sequential steps in the activation of a single cyclase enzyme, with imp-3 blocked in the second step, or else the sequential activation of two different flagellar enzymes, with imp-3 defective in the second enzyme. We further propose that the cell-body enzyme is activated by the cAMP that is generated when flagellar cyclase activity is fully stimulated.
Topics: Adenylyl Cyclases; Animals; Calcium; Cell Adhesion; Chlamydomonas reinhardtii; Cyclic AMP; Enzyme Activation; Flagella; Hot Temperature; Kinetics; Magnesium; Recombination, Genetic; Thermodynamics; Time Factors
PubMed: 8390999
DOI: 10.1083/jcb.122.1.137 -
The Journal of Biological Chemistry Jun 1993Calpain is distributed ubiquitously in virtually every tissue (Croall, D. E., and DeMartino, G. N. (1991) Physiol. Rev. 71, 813-846), but its physiological role remains...
Calpain is distributed ubiquitously in virtually every tissue (Croall, D. E., and DeMartino, G. N. (1991) Physiol. Rev. 71, 813-846), but its physiological role remains to be determined. The identification of its natural endogenous substrates would be of great interest. Since pp60src, a major tyrosine kinase in platelets, is known to be easily cleaved during purification from cells (Feder, D., and Bishop, J. M. (1990) J. Biol. Chem. 265, 8205-8211), we examined the possibility that it is an endogenous substrate of calpain. In the whole cell lysate from resting platelets, which was analyzed by Western blotting with monoclonal antibody 327, we found pp60src almost exclusively in a 60-kDa form, with a trace of 52-kDa form. Addition of A23187 (a calcium ionophore) or dibucaine, which are known to be activators of platelet calpain (Croall and DeMartino, 1991; Fox, J. E., Reynolds, C., Morrow, J. S., and Phillips, D. R. (1987) Blood 76, 2510-2519; Fox, J. E., Austin, C. D., Boyles, J. K., and Steffen, P. K. (1990b) J. Cell Biol. 111, 483-493), caused dose- and time-dependent cleavage of actin-binding protein and p235 protein (talin). At the same time, loss of the 60-kDa species of pp60src and generation of the 52-kDa (occasionally seen as doublets) and 47-kDa species were detected by the Western blotting. In platelets aggregated by 1 unit/ml thrombin, apparently identical cleavage products were found. The cleavage of pp60src was inhibited by calpeptin (20 microM), an inhibitor of calpain (Tsujinaka, T., Kajiwara, Y., Kambayashi, J., Sakon, M., Higuchi, N., Tanaka, T., and Mori, T. (1988) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 153, 1201-1208; Tsujinaka, T., Ariyoshi, H., Uemura, Y., Sakon, M., Kambayashi, J., and Mori, T. (1990) Life Sci. 46, 1059-1066; Fox, J. E., Clifford, C. C., and Austin, C. D. (1990) Blood 76, 2510-2519; Fox, J. E., Austin, C. D., Boyles, J. K., and Steffen, P. K. (1990) J. Cell. Biol. 111, 483-493; Fox, J. E., Austin, C. D., Clifford, C. C., and Steffen, P. K. (1991) J. Biol. Chem. 266, 13289-13295). Addition of EGTA (3 mM) to the extracellular media completely inhibited the cleavage of actin-binding protein, talin, and pp60src in response to A23187 (1 microM). Intact pp60src was distributed in both cytosolic and particulate (membrane) fractions. Cleaved species were found exclusively in the cytosolic fraction. pp60src-associated enolase kinase activity was reduced. Thus, pp60src is an endogenous substrate for calpain, the cleavage of which may have regulatory effects on the kinase.
Topics: Antibodies, Monoclonal; Blood Platelets; Blotting, Western; Calcimycin; Calcium; Calpain; Dimethyl Sulfoxide; Dipeptides; Egtazic Acid; Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; Humans; Microfilament Proteins; Molecular Weight; Platelet Aggregation; Proto-Oncogene Proteins pp60(c-src); Substrate Specificity; Talin
PubMed: 7685344
DOI: No ID Found -
The Journal of Biological Chemistry Jan 1993This paper reports an investigation on the regulation of the mitochondrial cyclosporin A-sensitive permeability transition pore (MTP). Energized, coupled rat liver...
Modulation of the mitochondrial cyclosporin A-sensitive permeability transition pore. I. Evidence for two separate Me2+ binding sites with opposing effects on the pore open probability.
This paper reports an investigation on the regulation of the mitochondrial cyclosporin A-sensitive permeability transition pore (MTP). Energized, coupled rat liver mitochondria incubated in sucrose medium in the presence of phosphate maintain a high proton electrochemical gradient (delta microH) and a low permeability to solutes. Addition of a small (10-20 microM) Ca2+ pulse leads to a transient membrane depolarization. After Ca2+ accumulation, a high delta microH is recovered, and mitochondria remain coupled indefinitely. Yet, addition of fully uncoupling concentrations of carbonyl cyanide-p-trifluoromethoxyphenyl hydrazone (FCCP) brings about MTP opening within seconds. This finding confirms that MTP opening is the consequence rather than the cause of membrane depolarization, and allowed us to study the operation of the MTP in a synchronized population of mitochondria, since pore opening can be triggered by the addition of uncoupler under a series of experimental conditions. We find that three regulatory sites can be defined: (i) an internal Me2+ binding site: when this site is occupied by Ca2+, the pore "open" probability increases, while other Me2+ ions (Sr2+, Mn2+) have an inhibitory effect; (ii) an external Me2+ binding site: when this site is occupied by Me2+ ions, including Ca2+, the pore open probability decreases; (iii) an independent cyclosporin A binding site: when this site is occupied by cyclosporin A the pore open probability decreases. We show that at variance from the case of cyclosporin A, MTP inhibition by the phospholipase A2 inhibitors nupercaine and trifluoperazine is Ca(2+)-competitive and is presumably related to interference by these drugs with Ca2+ binding to the internal regulatory site.
Topics: Animals; Binding Sites; Calcium; Carbonyl Cyanide p-Trifluoromethoxyphenylhydrazone; Cyclosporine; Dibucaine; Egtazic Acid; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Intracellular Membranes; Kinetics; Magnesium; Membrane Potentials; Mitochondria, Liver; Permeability; Probability; Rats; Trifluoperazine
PubMed: 8419309
DOI: No ID Found