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G P Hess

Publications and source records attributed to G P Hess.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

On the mechanism of a mammalian neuronal type nicotinic acetylcholine receptor investigated by a rapid chemical kinetic technique. Detection and characterization of a short-lived, previously unobserved, main receptor form in PC12 cells.

The mammalian nicotinic acetylcholine receptor in PC12 cells has many properties characteristic of the neuronal receptors involved in key chemical reactions that are responsible for signal transmission between cells of the nervous system. This report describes initial investigations of the mechanism of this receptor using a rapid chemical kinetic technique with a time resolution of 20 ms, which represents a 250-fold improvement over the best time resolution (5 s) employed in previous studies. Carbamoylcholine, a stable analogue of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, was the activating ligand used, and the concentration of open transmembrane receptor-channels in PC12 cells was measured by recording whole-cell currents at pH 7.4, 21-23 degrees C, and a transmembrane voltage of -60 mV. Two receptor forms that account for 80% and 20% of the receptor-controlled current were detected; the main receptor form, accounting for 80% of the whole-cell current, desensitized completely before the first measurements had been made in previous studies. Only the main receptor form has been investigated so far using the new method. The constants of a mechanism that accounts for the concentration of the open transmembrane receptor-channel over a 100-fold range of carbamoylcholine concentration were evaluated: the dissociation constant of the site controlling channel opening (K1 = 2.0 mM), the channel-opening equilibrium constant (phi -1 = 5.0), and the dissociation constant of an inhibitory site to which carbamoylcholine binds (KR = 6.5 mM). These evaluated constants allow one to calculate Po, the conditional probability that at a given concentration of carbamoylcholine the receptor-channel is open. Po was also determined in the presence of 2 mM carbamoylcholine by an independent method, the single-channel current-recording technique, and the agreement between the Po values obtained in two independent ways is within experimental error. This result indicates that the time resolution of the chemical kinetic technique employed was sufficient to evaluate the constants pertaining to the active state of the receptor, which forms a transmembrane channel, before its conversion to desensitized receptor forms with different properties. Previous kinetic measurements with a time resolution of 5 s showed that many compounds, such as anesthetic-like molecules, nerve growth factor, and substance P, modify the function of the neuronal receptor in PC12 cells or react specifically with the neuronal but not with the muscle receptor, for example, some toxins.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1992

On the mechanism of the gamma-aminobutyric acid receptor in the mammalian (mouse) cerebral cortex. Chemical kinetic investigations with a 10-ms time resolution adapted to measurements of neuronal receptor function in single cells.

The gamma-aminobutyric acidA (GABA) receptor belongs to a superfamily of proteins involved in chemical reactions that regulate signal transmission between cells of the nervous system and is the target of some of the agents most frequently used in medicine to control disorders of the central nervous system. In contrast to the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, which initiates signal transmission and is the best characterized member of the superfamily, the GABA receptor forms anion-specific transmembrane channels and inhibits signal transmission. The chemical kinetic experiments described here, in which fast chemical reaction techniques were used, indicate that both receptor proteins may operate by the same mechanism. Also described is the use of a chemical kinetic technique with a 10-ms time resolution that we have developed for making measurements with single cells isolated from specific areas of the nervous system, in this case the cerebral cortex of embryonic mice. A flow device was used to equilibrate receptors on the cell surface with GABA, and the concentration of open transmembrane channels in the cells was then measured by recording the whole-cell currents at pH 7.2, 21-23 degrees C, and a transmembrane voltage of -70 mV. Two different receptor forms, A alpha and A beta, were detected in cerebral cortical cells. Although the ratio of A alpha to A beta varied from cell to cell, on average 35% and 65% of the receptor-controlled current was associated with receptor forms A alpha and A beta, respectively. At saturating concentrations of GABA, the rate coefficients of desensitization, alpha and beta, associated with these two forms have maximal values of 4.4 and 0.7 s-1, respectively. The constants of a mechanism that accounts for the open transmembrane channels of both receptor forms were evaluated over a 50-fold range of GABA concentration. The dissociation constant of the site controlling channel opening was 40 microM for A alpha and 320 microM for A beta. The channel-opening equilibrium constant, phi-1, was 3.5 for A alpha and 20 for A beta. The evaluated constants allow one to calculate Po, the conditional probability that at a given concentration of GABA the receptor-channel is open. Po could also be determined in the presence of 100 microM GABA by an independent method in which different assumptions are made in the interpretation of the experimental results, the single-channel current-recording technique. The value of Po obtained (0.56) was in good agreement with the Po value (0.61) calculated for receptor form A alpha from chemical kinetic measurements at 100 microM GABA.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Synthesis and photochemistry of photolabile N-glycine derivatives and effects of one on the glycine receptor.

Three photolabile precursors of glycine containing a photosensitive 2-nitrobenzyl moiety attached to the amino group have been synthesized. When exposed to ultraviolet radiation between 308 and 350 nm, the compounds photolyze to release glycine, an important inhibitory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system. The identification of glycine as a photolysis product was determined by two different methods: separation of the photolyzed sample by thin-layer chromatography followed by a reaction with ninhydrin, and recognition of derivatized glycine using the Waters pico-tag method in conjunction with high-performance liquid chromatography. The photolysis of these compounds at 22 degrees C has been investigated, and the rate of decay of a transient intermediate in the reaction, which is assumed to reflect product release, has been measured. For N-(alpha-carboxy-2-nitrobenzyl)glycine this decay rate was found to be 940 s-1 at pH 6.8 and 600 s-1 at pH 7.5. Additionally, this compound was found to exhibit biological activity upon photolysis; cultured mouse spinal cord cells containing neuronal glycine receptors were used to detect the glycine liberation. The approach adopted here is useful in demonstrating the utility of photolabile precursors of neurotransmitters that have the protecting group linked to the neurotransmitter through the amino group. The rapid photolysis of such compounds to release free neurotransmitter is valuable in gaining access to chemical kinetic studies of neurotransmitter receptors. Previously, such studies have been limited because the available methods for neurotransmitter delivery did not give a sufficiently high time resolution.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

How fast does an acetylcholine receptor channel open? Laser-pulse photolysis of an inactive precursor of carbamoylcholine in the microsecond time region with BC3H1 cells.

The integrated function of the nervous system depends on specific and rapid transmission of signals between its constituent cells. The nicotinic acetylcholine receptor is the best known of a group of membrane-bound proteins responsible for such transmission; for this process to occur, a specific neurotransmitter, in this case acetylcholine, must bind to the receptor, which then forms transmembrane channels through which cations pass. The resulting change in transmembrane voltage determines whether or not a signal is transmitted. The question of how fast this process takes place in any neurotransmitter receptor has remained one of the interesting and most challenging in the field. To answer it, many attempts have been made to evaluate the rate constant for the opening of the acetylcholine receptor channel, but in almost all these studies the rate was measured after the receptor-mediated reaction, which involves the open channel and many intermediate states, had reached a quasi equilibrium. This resulted in a plethora of reported values for the rate constant that differ by a factor of up to 50-fold, even when the measurements were made with the same type of cell. The new approach described here involves the use of single cells of a mammalian cell line (BC3H1), containing muscle-type acetylcholine receptors, and the rapid introduction of neurotransmitter to the cell surface. The rapid delivery was achieved by converting a previously synthesized photolabile precursor of carbamoylcholine to carbamoylcholine, a stable amino-group-containing analogue of acetylcholine, with a single laser pulse and an observed photolysis rate of 7300 s-1.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Imaging acetylcholine-receptor-induced influx of inorganic ions at single-cell resolution with ion microscopy.

Ion microscopy was used to image neurotransmitter-induced tracer ion flux at single-cell resolution. A mammalian muscle cell line (BC3H1) expressing the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor was exposed to 2 mM CsCl, with and without the acetylcholine analog carbamylcholine. 133Cs+, 12C+, 40Ca+, 39K+, and 23Na+ secondary ion images revealing intracellular distribution of these elements were recorded with a CAMECA IMS-3f ion microscope from freeze-fractured freeze-dried BC3H1 cells. The ion images were digitized directly from the microchannel plate/fluorescent screen detector assembly of the ion microscope using a charge-coupled device imager. Submillimolar concentrations of cesium were easily imaged. Cesium images were normalized to carbon images for a direct comparison of carbamylcholine-exposed and control cells. Carbamylcholine-exposed cells showed significantly higher cesium influx than controls. Within the carbamylcholine-exposed cells, cell-to-cell heterogeneity for cesium influx was observed. Injured cells were identified by their potassium, sodium, and calcium signals and omitted from the quantitative analysis of the ion image data. This method should be useful for identifying cells from various regions of the nervous system containing receptors that control the translocation of monovalent cations, including Cs+. Among these neuronal receptors in the central nervous system are those activated by acetylcholine, glutamate, aspartate, or N-methyl-D-aspartate.

Carbon↗
PubMed1979

Fluorescence studies on the interaction of dansyl-L-arginine with trypsin and trypsinogen.

The enhancement of fluorescence intensity of the dansyl group due to the formation of trypsin- or trypsinogen-dansyl-L-arginine complex was measured. Dansyl-L-arginine (L-DA) is a product in the trypsin-catalyzed hydrolysis of dansyl-L-arginine methylester. Trypsinogen was found to have only one binding site for L-DA with the dissociation constant of 6.9 x 10(-3)M, which is identical with the Michaelis constant for the trypsin-catalyzed hydrolysis of dansyl-L-arginine amide (Goto, S. and Hess, G.P., unpublished results). This finding and the results of X-ray diffraction studies (1,2) suggest that this binding site is located in the active site of the enzyme. On the other hand, the active enzyme, trypsin, was found to have at least two binding sites for L-DA. One is located in the active site. The dissociation constant for L-DA bound to this site is 6.7 x 10(-3)M. The other site is probably located in the allosteric site of trypsin. The dissociation constant for L-DA bound to this site is 4.8 x 10(-4)M.

Arginine↗
PubMed1979

Presteady state kinetics of trypsin-catalyzed hydrolyses of dansyl-arginine derivatives.

Interactions between trypsin and each of five dansyl-arginine derivatives, dansyl-L-arginine methyl ester (L-DAME), dansyl-D-arginine methyl ester (D-DAME), dansyl-L-arginine amide (L-DAA), dansyl-L-arginine (L-DA), and dansyl-D-arginine (D-DA), are accompanied by a fluorescence intensity change which can be followed by the stopped-flow method. These compounds are substrates or products in trypsin-catalyzed hydrolysis reactions. All of these compounds, except L-DAA, show a considerable fluorescence intensity increase in the reaction with trypsin. The observed rate constant, tau obsd -1, for the initial fluorescence intensity enhancement in the reaction between trypsin and D-DAME yields a typical hyperbolic curve when the rate is plotted as a function of the ligand concentration. This result is consistent with a two-step mechanism (1) in which a fast bimolecular association process is followed by a slower unimolecular isomerization process. The isomerization process may be considered to be associated with a conformational change of the enzyme molecule, induced by the formation of the enzyme-substrate complex (1). The rate of the isomerization process depends on pH. The rates obtained for L-DAME and D-DAME increase linearly with decrease of the hydrogen ion concentration in the pH range below neutral.

Arginine↗
PubMed1979

Comparison of Bungarus caeruleus venom with the venom from which a putative cholinergic ionophore marker was isolated.

Comparisons are described between Bungarus caeruleus venom and the actual venom from which a putative marker for the cholinergic ionophore, called ceruleotoxin, was isolated. The venoms are shown to be different by two procedures for ion exchange chromatography and by isoelectric focusing on polyacrylamide gel. The activities of the purified "ceruleotoxin" as an inhibitor of acetylcholine receptor-mediated ion flux and as a phospholipase have been reported (Bon & Changeux, 1977b). The results reported herein suggest that this toxin is from an unknown origin.

Bungarotoxins↗
PubMed1978

Acetylcholine-receptor-mediated ion flux in electroplax membrane microsacs (vesicles): change in mechanism produced by asymmetrical distribution of sodium and potassium ions.

The kinetics of acetylcholine-receptor-mediated efflux of inorganic ions from electroplax microsacs of Electrophorus electricus in the presence of varying alkali metal ion concentrations on both sides of the membrane have been investigated. The efflux, a monophasic process when the ion distribution is symmetrical (the same concentrations and types of ions on both sides of the membrane), becomes a biphasic process, consisting of a very rapid initial release of ions followed by a slower first-order process, under conditions that resemble the physiological state of the neural membrane (potassium ions inside the microsacs and sodium ions on the outside). The initial phase of the efflux discriminates between calcium and sodium ions and is inhibited by potassium ions in the external solution. The rate constant associated with this phase is at least 40 times larger than the rate constant associated with the slower efflux. Both phases depend on the concentration of acetylcholine or carbamoylcholine, and are inhibited by receptor inhibitors (d-tubocurarine and alpha-bungarotoxin).A simple model is proposed which relates the kinetics of the flux to ligand-induced conformational changes in the receptor. We also indicate the relationship between the biphasic kinetics of the flux observed in microsacs to "desensitization," the phenomenon in which, on addition of acetylcholine, the transmembrane voltage of muscle and nerve cells first increases and then decreases to its resting value within a few seconds.

Animals↗
PubMed1977

Allosteric interactions between the membrane-bound acetylcholine receptor and chemical mediators: equilibrium measurements.

An approach to equilibrium dialysis measurements has been developed which enables one to study the interaction of chemical mediators with the membrane-bound acetylcholine receptor and to gain information of a type previously obtainable only with soluble proteins. Equilibrium dialysis experiments conducted at pH 7.0,4 degrees C, and mu = 0.18 M, with electroplax membrane preparations from Electrophorus electricus revealed apparently homogeneous binding isotherms for decamethonium with dissociation constants in the range of 0.2-0.4 muM. The following new information has been obtained. (1) The activators of neural transmission, decamethonium and carbamylcholine, occupy overlapping binding sites. (2) These activators and the inhibitors, alpha-bungarotoxin and d-tubocurarine, compete for only one-half of the sites available to them even through the stoichiometry of these is 1:1 as measured with decamethonium (a reversibly binding activator) and alpha-bungarotoxin (an irreversible specific inhibitor). Different receptor molecules, preexisting nonequivalent binding sites, or an allosteric mechanism involving ligand-induced conformational changes are often considered to account for such observations.

Acetylcholine↗
PubMed1977

Allosteric interactions between the membrane-bound acetylcholine receptor and chemical mediators. Kinetic studies.

The kinetics of the specific irreversible reaction of a snake neurotoxin, alpha-bungarotoxin, with the acetylcholine receptor of electroplax membrane preparations have been investigated. The effects of activators (decamethonium, carbamylcholine) and inhibitors (alpha-bungarotoxin, d-tubocurarine) of neural transmission on this reaction have been measured and the following new information obtained. (1) The irreversible reaction is preceded by the reversible formation of toxin-receptor complexes. (2) Two types of receptor binding site exist. d-Tubocurarine directly competes with the toxin for one type of binding site. Decamethonium and carbamylcholine are noncompetitive inhibitors of the toxin reaction. (3) The data are inconsistent with binding sites on separate and distinct molecules or with preexisting nonequivalent binding sites. A simple model is proposed to explain both the kinetic data and equilibrium measurements which indicated that activators and inhibitors of neural transmission compete for only one-half of the receptor sites available to them. The model proposes that for the compounds investigated the binding sites of activators do not overlap with those of inhibitors and the ligand-induced conformational changes of the receptor result in changes in the affinities of the binding sites. The model is simple and is based on mechanisms which have been found to be valid for many well-characterized regulatory enzymes.

Acetylcholine↗
PubMed1977

Functional acetylcholine receptor--electroplax membrane microsacs (vesicles): purification and characterization.

Kinetic analysis of the flux of sodium ions in a heterogeneous population of acetylcholine receptor-rich microsacs (vesicles) formed by membrane fragments of electroplax indicated that functional microsacs, which on average comprise only 15% of the preparation, can be filled with 190 mM sodium chloride while nonfunctional microsacs are filled by 190 mM cesium chloride. The functional microsacs have then been successfully separated from nonfunctional microsacs on the basis of their density differences with a continuous sucrose-190 mM cesium chloride density gradient. In the presence of acetylcholine analogs all the internal sodium ions in these microsacs rapidly exchange with external ions. The efflux of sodium ions follows a single exponential decay. The isolation of functional microsacs opens up at least two new avenues of investigation of the molecular mechanism of receptor-mediated processes. The first deals with the efficiency of the process, and the second with the characterization of membrane components important in this process. The conclusions reached so far are: (i) The efficiency of the receptor-mediated process that allows inorganic ions to equilibrate across the membranes of the microsacs can adequately account for electrophysiological results obtained with muscle and nerve cells. (ii) In the receptor-rich heterogeneous population of microsacs the concentration of receptor sites in functional and nonfunctional microsacs is about the same and is therefore not the only factor determining functionality. Significant differences between functional and nonfunctional microsacs have been found so far in the concentrations of acetylcholinesterase and Na+-K+ ATPase.

Acetylcholine↗