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Biomedical subjects

A M Snowman

Publications and source records attributed to A M Snowman.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1989

High-affinity cannabinoid binding site: regulation by ions, ascorbic acid, and nucleotides.

The high-affinity cannabinoid site in rat brain is an integral component of brain membranes that recognizes cannabinoids with inhibitory constants (Ki) in the nanomolar range. To clarify its physiological role, we studied the regulation of [3H]5'-trimethylammonium delta 8-tetrahydrocannabinol ([3H]TMA) binding. The site is inhibited by heavy metal ions, such as La3+, at low micromolar concentrations; divalent cations, such as Ca2+ and Mg2+, inhibit [3H]TMA binding, though at somewhat higher concentrations. In contrast, [3H]TMA binding is stimulated by Fe2+, Cu2+, and Hg2+ ions. Ascorbic acid and its analogs are also stimulators of cannabinoid binding at low micromolar concentrations. Stimulation of [3H]TMA binding by ascorbate or ions is dependent upon molecular oxygen, but is not inhibited by metabolic poisons. Metabolically stable nucleoside triphosphate analogs enhance [3H]TMA binding by different mechanisms, with hydrolysis of a high-energy phosphate bond apparently requisite for these influences. These results suggest that the cannabinoid binding site is associated with a nucleotide-utilizing protein possessing multiple regulatory subsites.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMed1989

Alterations in calcium antagonist receptors and sodium-calcium exchange in cardiomyopathic hamster tissues.

The Syrian cardiomyopathic (CM) hamster (BIO 14.6) develops a progressive cardiomyopathy characterized by cellular necrosis, hypertrophy, and, eventually, cardiac dilatation and congestive heart failure. Several lines of evidence implicate cellular calcium overload as an important etiologic factor. We previously reported an increased number of receptors for calcium antagonist drugs, which block voltage-dependent calcium channels, in heart, skeletal muscle, and brain tissue of these hamsters in the early necrotic stage of the disease. To better characterize the pathophysiological significance of this abnormality we evaluated calcium antagonist receptor binding and Na+-Ca2+ exchange in CM and control hamsters at different stages of disease as documented by quantitative histopathologic assessment. In CM hamsters as young as 10 days, an age previously thought to be before the onset of disease, we identified cardiac myocyte hypertrophy, a twofold increase in calcium antagonist receptor binding in heart and brain, and a 50% increase in skeletal muscle. Overt histological lesions were present in skeletal muscle at 25 days and in heart between 28-30 days. The size of cardiac lesions increased over time and changed from necrotic foci with cellular infiltration to fibrotic or calcified lesions by 360 days. Myocardial cellular hypertrophy persisted through the late stages of the disease (360 days), but increased calcium antagonist binding was present in heart only to 6 months of age, in skeletal muscle to 90 days, and in brain to 30 days. Na+-Ca2+ exchange in heart was normal until 15 days and then increased by 400% at 30 days suggesting that this augmentation might be a secondary response to the earlier increase in calcium antagonist receptors. At 360 days cardiac Na+-Ca2+ exchange was decreased by 50%, likely reflecting progressive cardiac damage. The increase in calcium antagonist receptors in CM animals as young as 10 days supports the hypothesis that abnormalities in voltage-dependent calcium channels play a role in the pathophysiology of CM hamsters.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Phenylalkylamine-sensitive calcium channels in osteoblast-like osteosarcoma cells. Characterization by ligand binding and single channel recordings.

(-)-[3H]Desmethoxyverapamil ((-)-DMV) binds saturably to homogenates of the osteoblast-like cell lines UMR 106 and ROS 17/2.8 with KD values of 45 and 61 nM and Bmax values of 6.0 and 5 pmol/mg protein, respectively. Binding is stereoselective with (-)-DMV 8-10 times more potent than (+)-DMV. None of the dihydropyridine or benzothiazepine Ca2+ antagonists examined affect (-)-[3H]DMV binding. Monovalent cations such as Li+, Na+, and K+ inhibit (-)[3H]DMV binding in the 100-400 mM range. Divalent cations such as Ba2+, Sr2+, Ca2+, and Mg2+ are effective binding inhibitors in the 2-5 mM range. ROS 17/2.8 cells express a channel on the apical plasma membrane which conducts Ba2+ and Ca2+. With 110 mM BaCl2 or CaCl2 as charge carriers the single channel conductance is 3-5 picosiemens. In cell-excised patches the channel selects for Ba2+ over Na+ 3.3:1. In the absence of divalent ions the channel conducts Na+ ions with a single channel conductance of 13 picosiemens. This Na+ conductance decreases with physiological levels of Ca2+. The channel appears related to the (-)-[3H]DMV binding site, since its conductance is blocked by verapamil in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, DMV blocks the channel stereoselectively with relative potencies of the isomers corresponding to their affinities for the binding site. The dihydropyridine drugs BAY K 8644 or (+)-202-791 do not affect channel opening. These binding and biophysical data indicate that osteoblast cells have a phenylalkylamine receptor associated with a Ca2+ channel.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Omega-conotoxin GVIA binding to a high-affinity receptor in brain: characterization, calcium sensitivity, and solubilization.

We describe unique, high-affinity binding sites for omega[125I]conotoxin GVIA in membranes from rat brain and rabbit sympathetic ganglia which appear to be primarily associated with N-type voltage-dependent calcium channels. The dissociation constant (KD) for the toxin in rat brain membranes is 60 pM. Physiologic extracellular concentrations of calcium inhibit toxin binding noncompetitively (IC50 = 0.2 mM). The regional distribution of the binding sites in rat brain differs markedly from that of dihydropyridine calcium antagonist receptors associated with L-type calcium channels. In detergent-solubilized brain membranes, toxin binding retains the same affinity, specificity, and ionic sensitivity as in particulate preparations.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Huntington's disease: increased number and altered regulation of benzodiazepine receptor complexes in frontal cerebral cortex.

The properties of benzodiazepine receptors in samples of six areas of cerebral cortex from patients and controls matched with respect to age, sex, and postmortem delay have been studied by in vitro radioligand binding techniques. A statistically significant 30 to 40% increase in the number of benzodiazepine and allosterically linked GABA-A receptors is observed in the midfrontal cortex (A9/A10), but in no other cortical region examined. The degree of enhancement of [3H]diazepam binding by a given dose of GABA or pentobarbital is significantly reduced in Huntington's disease midfrontal cortex. As in the case of receptor number changes, other cortical regions examined show less prominent changes in regulation of benzodiazepine binding by GABA or pentobarbital. Direct identification of the benzodiazepine binding subunit by photoaffinity labeling with [3H]flunitrazepam reveals a single species of apparent molecular weight 51 kD in patients and controls, suggesting that gross changes in structure of the benzodiazepine binding subunit do not account for the observed alterations in benzodiazepine receptor regulation.

Diazepam↗
PubMed1987

Receptor effects of cetirizine.

First-generation H1-antagonist antihistamines such as hydroxyzine have a significant ability to cross the blood-brain barrier and cause sedation, which limits their usefulness in the treatment of allergic disorders. Cetirizine, a carboxylated metabolite of hydroxyzine, possesses the parent compound's antihistaminic activity but does not cause sedation. This lack of CNS effects may be due to cetirizine's greater selectivity or potency at H1 receptors in the brain, compared with its effects at the receptors involved in sedation, or it may result from the agent's relative exclusion from the CNS compartment. We compared cetirizine's activity at central H1 sites with the activity of hydroxyzine and terfenadine. We also compared the abilities of cetirizine and three other antihistamines to cross the blood-brain barrier. We found the drugs' potency at H1 receptors in the CNS to be similar to their activities in other tissues. However, their selectivity varied widely. Cetirizine, in fact, failed to bind at any of the receptors investigated except H1 sites, even at concentrations as high as 10 micron. Both hydroxyzine and D-chlorpheniramine crossed the blood-brain barrier in significant amounts. Terfenadine did so to a much lesser extent, and cetirizine passed into the CNS only half as readily as terfenadine. We suggest that cetirizine's reduced incidence of sedative side effects may stem partly from its selectivity for H1 receptors over sites involved in sedation, and partly from its relative exclusion from the CNS.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Selective labeling of serotonin uptake sites in rat brain by [3H]citalopram contrasted to labeling of multiple sites by [3H]imipramine.

Citalopram is a potent and selective inhibitor of neuronal serotonin uptake. In rat brain membranes [3H]citalopram demonstrates saturable and reversible binding with a KD of 0.8 nM and a maximal number of binding sites (Bmax) of 570 fmol/mg of protein. The drug specificity for [3H]citalopram binding and synaptosomal serotonin uptake are closely correlated. Inhibition of [3H]citalopram binding by both serotonin and imipramine is consistent with a competitive interaction in both equilibrium and kinetic analyses. The autoradiographic pattern of [3H]citalopram binding sites closely resembles the distribution of serotonin. By contrast, detailed equilibrium-saturation analysis of [3H]imipramine binding reveals two binding components, i.e., high affinity (KD = 9 nM, Bmax = 420 fmol/mg of protein) and low affinity (KD = 553 nM, Bmax = 8560 fmol/mg of protein) sites. Specific [3H]imipramine binding, defined as the binding inhibited by 100 microM desipramine, is displaced only partially by serotonin. Various studies reveal that the serotonin-sensitive portion of binding corresponds to the high affinity sites of [3H]imipramine binding whereas the serotonin-insensitive binding corresponds to the low affinity sites. Lesioning of serotonin neurons with p-chloroamphetamine causes a large decrease in [3H]citalopram and serotonin-sensitive [3H]imipramine binding with only a small effect on serotonin-insensitive [3H]imipramine binding. The dissociation rate of [3H]imipramine or [3H]citalopram is not altered by citalopram, imipramine or serotonin up to concentrations of 10 microM. The regional distribution of serotonin sensitive [3H]imipramine high affinity binding sites closely resembles that of [3H]citalopram binding.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1986

(-)-[3H] desmethoxyverapamil labels multiple calcium channel modulator receptors in brain and skeletal muscle membranes: differentiation by temperature and dihydropyridines.

The verapamil-like calcium channel modulator, (-)-[3H]desmethoxyverapamil binds to multiple sites in microsomal membrane preparations from brain and skeletal muscle. In brain the Kd values of the sites are 0.55 +/- 0.1 and 61.8 +/- 18 nM for the high and low affinity sites and the maximum binding values are 0.22 +/- 0.04 and 4.6 +/- 1.0 pmol/mg of protein, respectively. Equilibrium analysis of saturation data in skeletal muscle membranes shows only one site with an affinity of 7.2 +/- 0.8 nM and a maximum binding of 2.96 +/- 0.32 pmol/mg of protein. However, a low affinity site with an estimated Kd of 152 nM is indicated in dissociation kinetic studies. Dihydropyridine calcium channel modulators regulate the binding of desmethoxyverapamil in a temperature-dependent fashion with (+)-PN 200110 decreasing (-)-[3H]desmethoxyverapamil binding more at 0 degrees C than at higher temperatures and, at 37 degrees C, enhancing binding in skeletal muscle. The influence of (+)-desmethoxyverapamil on (+)-[3H]PN 200110 binding is unchanged by temperature variations, whereas interactions of the (-)-enantiomer are altered markedly with more inhibition at 0 degrees C than at higher temperatures and, in skeletal muscle, stimulation of binding at 37 degrees C. Dissociation studies indicate that the two sites labeled by (-)-[3H]-desmethoxyverapamil in skeletal muscle interact in a negative heterotropic cooperative fashion. Dihydropyridines appear to slow the dissociation of ligand from the low affinity site, whereas diltiazem accelerates the dissociation of (-)-[3H]desmethoxyverapamil from the high affinity site. These results suggest that the high and low affinity sites labeled by (-)-[3H]desmethoxyverapamil, respectively, represent the verapamil and diltiazem receptors in brain and skeletal muscle.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Avermectin B1a modulation of gamma-aminobutyric acid/benzodiazepine receptor binding in mammalian brain.

The anthelminthic natural product avermectin B1a (AVM) modulates the binding of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and benzodiazepine (BZ) receptor ligands to membrane homogenates of mammalian brain. The potent (EC50 = 40 nM) enhancement by AVM of [3H]diazepam binding to rat or bovine brain membranes resembled that of barbiturates and pyrazolopyridines in being inhibited (partially) by the convulsants picrotoxin, bicuculline, and strychnine, and by the anticonvulsants phenobarbital and chlormethiazole. The maximal effect of AVM was not increased by pentobarbital or etazolate. However, AVM affected BZ receptor subpopulations or conformational states in a manner different from pentobarbital. Further, unlike pentobarbital and etazolate, AVM did not inhibit allosterically the binding of the BZ receptor inverse agonist [3H]beta-carboline-3-carboxylate methyl ester, nor did it inhibit, but rather enhanced, the binding of the cage convulsant [35S]t-butyl bicyclophosphorothionate to picrotoxin receptor sites. AVM at submicromolar concentrations had the opposite effect of pentobarbital and etazolate on GABA receptor binding, decreasing by half the high-affinity binding of [3H]GABA and related agonist ligands, and increasing by over twofold the binding of the antagonist [3H]bicuculline methochloride, an effect that was potentiated by picrotoxin. AVM also reversed the enhancement of GABA agonists and inhibition of GABA antagonist binding by barbiturates and pyrazolopyridines. These overall effects of AVM are unique and require the presence of another separate drug receptor site on the GABA/BZ receptor complex.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Barbiturate recognition site on the GABA/benzodiazepine receptor complex is distinct from the picrotoxinin/TBPS recognition site.

The cage convulsant [35S]tert-butylbicyclophosphorothionate [( 35S]TBPS) labels a presumed sedative-convulsant receptor complex. The relative potencies of barbiturates in competing for [35S]TBPS binding parallels their potencies in enhancing benzodiazepine receptor binding. Barbiturates inhibit [35S]TBPS binding in a complex, mixed competitive fashion, leading to a decrease in both the apparent affinity of TBPS for its sites and the apparent number of TBPS sites. All of the barbiturates examined markedly accelerate the dissociation of [35S]TBPS from its recognition sites, while picrotoxinin does not affect the dissociation. These results suggest that the barbiturate and picrotoxinin/TBPS recognition sites are distinct but allosterically linked.

Allosteric Site↗
PubMed1984

Barbiturates allosterically inhibit GABA antagonist and benzodiazepine inverse agonist binding.

Barbiturates and the related depressant drugs, etazolate and etomidate, inhibited both the binding of [3H]bicuculline methochloride (BMC) to gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor sites and the binding of [3H] beta-carboline-3-carboxylic acid methyl ester (beta CCM) to benzodiazepine receptor sites in mammalian brain. These concentration-dependent effects were chemically specific and stereospecific in a manner correlating with the activity of barbiturates to enhance GABA responses in neurons and to enhance GABA and benzodiazepine receptor agonist binding in vitro. The barbiturate inhibition of [3H]BMC binding involved a decrease in affinity which at high concentrations of barbiturates results in an effective complete loss of detectable binding. The maximal inhibition of [3H] beta CCM binding involved a more modest decrease in affinity (increase in KD from 1.35 to 1.85 nM). The barbiturate inhibitions of both ligands could be reversed by picrotoxin, suggesting an indirect action at previously defined picrotoxin/barbiturate modulatory sites on the GABA-benzodiazepine receptor/chloride ion channel complex.

Allosteric Regulation↗
PubMed1984

Solubilization and anionic regulation of cerebral sedative/convulsant receptors labeled with [35S] tert-butylbicyclophosphorothionate (TBPS).

Binding activity for the cage convulsant [35S]-tert- butylbicyclophosphorothionate , which appears to label a site closely associated with the chloride ionophore of the GABAA /benzodiazepine receptor complex has been solubilized from rat cerebral cortex using the zwitterionic detergent CHAPS . Of several detergents screened, only CHAPS and CHAPSO were capable of solubilizing the binding activity with good recovery. The pharmacologic specificity of soluble [35S]-tert- butylbicyclophosphorothionate binding is very similar to the membrane state. In both the membrane and soluble state, [35S]-tert- butylbicyclophosphorothionate binding is enhanced by anions which support inhibitory post-synaptic potentials (" Eccles anions"), suggesting that [35S]-t- butylbicyclophosphorothionate may label chloride channels though to be involved in these potentials. Since this solubilization procedure also preserves GABA and benzodiazepine binding and their regulation by drugs such as barbiturates, purification and isolation of the macromolecular complex including chloride channel and GABA-benzodiazepine sites may be feasible.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Role of the gamma-aminobutyric acid receptor-ionophore complex in seizure disorders.

The possibility of a role for the inhibitory neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in seizure disorders has been strengthened by biochemical studies showing that various nervous system depressant drugs can modulate GABA receptor binding in vitro. In particular, two classes of anticonvulsant agents, the benzodiazepines and the barbiturates, have modulatory receptor sites on the GABA receptor-ionophore protein complex of the postsynaptic membrane. Furthermore, it is well established that direct block of GABA function causes seizures and that augmentation of GABA function can protect against seizure activity. Direct evidence for altered GABA synaptic markers has been obtained in some animal models of epilepsy, as well as in human focal epilepsy. We present preliminary evidence for a deficit in benzodiazepine receptor binding in the midbrain of seizure-susceptible Mongolian gerbils. These data would be consistent with an impairment of GABA-mediated inhibitory synaptic transmission that contributes to susceptibility to the genesis or spread of seizures in some kinds of epilepsy.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Anxiolytic cyclopyrrolone drugs allosterically modulate the binding of [35S]t-butylbicyclophosphorothionate to the benzodiazepine/gamma-aminobutyric acid-A receptor/chloride anionophore complex.

The influence of a number of anxiolytic cyclopyrrolone drugs, which include zopiclone and suriclone, on the binding of [35S]t-butylbicyclophosphorothionate (TBPS), to benzodiazepine/gamma-aminobutyric acid-A receptor/chloride anionophore complexes has been characterized in rat brain. Suriclone and its metabolites RP35,489 and RP46,166 are the most potent (IC50 approximately 3nM) inhibitors of [35S]TBPS binding thus far described, about an order of magnitude more potent than TBPS itself. The pattern of inhibition of [35S] TBPS binding by suriclone is distinctive; at approximately 10 nM there is approximately 50% inhibition of [35S]TBPS binding and inhibition "plateaus" at this level until suriclone concentrations exceed 1 microM. RP35,489 and RP46,166 display patterns of inhibition similar to suriclone. In saturation studies of [35S]TBPS binding, suriclone reduces the Bmax of [35S]TBPS-binding sites, with little or no effect on KD. Muscimol also displays a noncompetitive pattern of inhibition of [35S]TBPS binding, whereas inhibition by picrotoxinin appears competitive. [35S]TBPS dissociation is multiphasic and similar whether initiated by 10 microM TBPS or 10 microM picrotoxinin. By contrast, dissociation of [35S]TBPS is much faster (and nearly monophasic) when initiated by 10 microM TBPS/100 nM suriclone, 10 microM TBPS/1 microM muscimol, or 10 microM TBPS/1 mM pentobarbital. These results suggest that suriclone influences [35S]TBPS binding allosterically, at sites distinct from the TBPS/picrotoxinin recognition site. Inhibition of [35S]TBPS binding by suriclone varies regionally with a "plateau" at approximately 20% inhibition in the cerebellum, approximately 50% in the cerebral cortex, hippocampus and brain stem, and approximately 65% in the striatum and midbrain; by contrast, inhibition of [35S] TBPS by picrotoxinin, muscimol, and pentobarbital shows little regional variation. The inhibition of [35S]TBPS binding by suriclone is reversed by bicuculline [ED50 approximately 1 microM] in several brain regions examined. Bicuculline alone has little or no influence on [35S]TBPS binding in the cerebral cortex, hippocampus, and cerebellum, but produces a dose-dependent enhancement of [35S]TBPS binding in the striatum, midbrain, and hypothalamus. Regional differences in the effects of suriclone and bicuculline on [35S]TBPS recognition sites suggest possible heterogeneity in the coupling of cyclopyrrolone and bicuculline recognition sites to [35S]TBPS recognition sites in rat brain.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

[3H]bicuculline methochloride binding to low-affinity gamma-aminobutyric acid receptor sites.

The binding of [3H]bicuculline methochloride (BMC) to mammalian brain membranes was characterized and compared with that of [3H] gamma-aminobutyric acid ([3H]GABA). The radiolabeled GABA receptor antagonist showed significant displaceable binding in Tris-citrate buffer that was improved by high concentrations of chloride, iodide, or thiocyanate, reaching greater than 50% displacement in the presence of 0.1 M SCN-. An apparent single class of binding sites for [3H]BMC (KD = 30 nM) was observed in 0.1 M SCN- for fresh or frozen rat cortex or several regions of frozen and thawed bovine brain. The Bmax was about 2 pmol bound/mg of crude mitochondrial plus microsomal membranes from unfrozen washed and osmotically shocked rat cortex, similar to that for [3H]GABA. Frozen membranes, however, showed decreased levels of [3H]BMC binding with no decrease or an actual increase in [3H]GABA binding sites. [3H]BMC binding was inhibited by GABA receptor specific ligands, but showed a higher affinity for antagonists and lower affinity for agonists than did [3H]GABA binding. Kinetics experiments with [3H]GABA binding revealed that low- and high-affinity sites showed a similar pharmacological specificity for a series of GABA receptor ligands, but that whereas all agonists had a higher affinity for slowly dissociating high-affinity [3H]GABA sites, bicuculline had a higher affinity for rapidly dissociating low-affinity [3H]GABA sites. This reverse potency between agonists and antagonists during assay of radioactive antagonists or agonists supports the existence of agonist- and antagonist-preferring conformational states or subpopulations of GABA receptors. The differential affinities, as well as opposite effects on agonist and antagonist binding by anions, membrane freezing, and other treatments, suggest that [3H]BMC may relatively selectively label low-affinity GABA receptor agonist sites. This study, using a new commercially available preparation of [3H]bicuculline methochloride, confirms the report of bicuculline methiodide binding by Möhler and Okada (1978), and suggests that this radioactive GABA antagonist will be a valuable probe in analyzing various aspects of GABA receptors.

Animals↗