Biomedical subjects

H H Schmidt

Publications and source records attributed to H H Schmidt.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources

PubMed1992

Induced RAW 264.7 macrophages express soluble and particulate nitric oxide synthase: inhibition by transforming growth factor-beta.

RAW 264.7 macrophages induced with lipopolysaccharide and interferon-gamma expressed nitric oxide (NO) synthase. Approximately two-thirds of the total induced NO synthase activity was found in the cytosolic fraction, whereas one-third was associated with the particulate fraction. Both enzymes formed L-citrulline in addition to NO-like material. NO and L-citrulline formation by both enzymes were calcium-independent and inhibited by NG-nitro-L-arginine and NG-methyl-L-arginine. Transforming growth factor-beta 1 prevented the induction of both enzymes.

Amino Acid Oxidoreductases↗

PubMed1992

Insulin secretion from pancreatic B cells caused by L-arginine-derived nitrogen oxides.

L-arginine causes insulin release from pancreatic B cells. Data from three model systems support the hypothesis that L-arginine-derived nitrogen oxides (NOs) mediate insulin release stimulated by L-arginine in the presence of D-glucose and by the hypoglycemic drug tolbutamide. The formation of NO in pancreatic B cells was detected both chemically and by the NO-induced accumulation of guanosine 3',5'-monophosphate. NG-substituted L-arginine analogs inhibited the release of both insulin and NO. Protein immunoblot and histochemical analysis with antiserum to type I NO synthase suggest that the formation of NO in pancreatic B cells is catalyzed by an NADPH- (reduced form of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate), Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent type I NO synthase of about 150 kilodaltons.

Amino Acid Oxidoreductases↗

PubMed1992

Colocalization of nitric oxide synthase and NADPH-diaphorase in cultured myenteric neurones.

Nitric oxide synthase immunoreactivity and NADPH-diaphorase activity were examined in explant culture preparations of the myenteric plexus from beneath the taenia coli of the guinea-pig caecum. Nitric oxide synthase immunoreactive neurones formed approximately one third of the total neuronal population. NADPH-diaphorase positive neurones, demonstrated histochemically, constituted a similar proportion of the total number of neurones. Immunocytochemistry and NADPH-diaphorase histochemistry performed on the same preparations revealed that all nitric oxide synthase immunoreactive neurones expressed NADPH-diaphorase activity. This histochemical evidence is consistent with the view that nitric oxide may act as a regulatory agent in the guinea-pig caecum.

Amino Acid Oxidoreductases↗

PubMed1992

Human brain contains a metalloprotease that converts big endothelin-1 to endothelin-1 and is inhibited by phosphoramidon and EDTA.

Incubation of big endothelin-1 (bET-1) with protein derived from the detergent-extracted 100,000 g pellet prepared from human brain tissue resulted in the formation of endothelin-1 (ET-1) at a rate of 90 fmol mg-1 protein min-1. This formation was inhibited in a concentration-dependent manner by either phosphoramidon or EDTA, with half-maximal inhibitory concentrations of 2 and 20 microM, respectively. No conversion of big endothelin-3 (bET-3) to endothelin-3 (ET-3) was detected under the same conditions. These results show the presence in the human brain of a metalloprotease-like enzymatic activity which selectively converts bET-1 and ET-1. Together with earlier reports of mRNA for ET-1 this suggests the presence of the entire synthetic pathway for ET-1 in human brain.

Brain↗

PubMed1992

Characterization and localization of nitric oxide synthase in non-adrenergic non-cholinergic nerves from bovine retractor penis muscles.

1. Partially purified soluble nitric oxide (NO) synthase was isolated from the bovine retractor penis muscle (BRP), a tissue in which the inhibitory response to non-adrenergic non-cholinergic nerve (NANC) stimulation appears to be mediated by NO or NO-like material. 2. NO synthase from BRP used L-arginine as a substrate, required NADPH, tetrahydrobiopterin, and FAD as co-factors and was Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent. The activity of NO synthase was inhibited by NG-methyl-L-arginine and NG-nitro-L-arginine, and haemoglobin blocked the effect of NO formed by the enzyme. 3. On reducing SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis the apparent molecular mass of NO synthase from BRP was 160 +/- 2 kDa, which is similar to that of the cerebellar NO synthase. Protein immunoblot and immunoprecipitation showed that NO synthase from BRP cross-reacted with the selective antiserum to neuronal NO synthase from rat cerebellum. 4. Immunohistochemistry using the same antiserum demonstrated that NO synthase in BRP was located exclusively within nerve fibres. Thus, autonomic nerves synthesizing the NANC neurotransmitter seem to contain an isoform of NO synthase which is similar to that from rat cerebellum.

Amino Acid Oxidoreductases↗

PubMed1992

Nitric oxide synthase in ferret brain: localization and characterization.

1. In the present study, we have investigated the distribution of nitric oxide synthase in the ferret brain. Nitric oxide synthase was determined biochemically and immunochemically. 2. In the rat brain, the highest nitric oxide synthase activity has been detected in the cerebellum. However, in the ferret brain, the highest activity was found in the striatum and the lowest in the cerebellum and cerebral cortex. The enzymatic activity was localized predominantly in the cytosolic fractions, it was dependent on NADPH and Ca2+, and inhibited by NG-nitro-L-arginine or NG-methyl-L-arginine. 3. Western blot analysis revealed that all regions of the ferret brain contained a 160 kD protein crossreacting with an antibody to nitric oxide synthase purified from the rat cerebellum, and the levels of relative intensity of staining by the antibody correlated with the distribution of nitric oxide synthase activity. 4. These results indicate that the ferret brain contains a nitric oxide synthase similar to the rat brain, but the distribution of enzymatic activity in the ferret brain differs markedly from the rat brain.

Amino Acid Oxidoreductases↗

PubMed1992

Interactions of endothelins and EDRF in bovine native endothelial cells: selective effects of endothelin-3.

The tone of vascular smooth muscle is influenced by factors released from the endothelium, including endothelin (ET)-1 and endothelium-derived relaxing factor (EDRF). To better understand the interactions between these two mediators, we examined the release of both immunoreactive ET-1 (ir-ET-1) and EDRF from bovine aortic intact endothelium. Bovine aortas were opened longitudinally, washed, and clamped with the endothelium uppermost between two plates. The upper plate contained six openings forming identical and independent wells of endothelial cell monolayer. In experiments examining the release of EDRF, measured as accumulated NO2- and NO3- (NO chi -), we found that ET-3, calcium ionophore A23187 (A23187), acetylcholine (ACh), or ADP caused significant increase in NO chi- release, whereas ET-1 did not. These were significantly reduced in the presence of the EDRF/NO synthase inhibitor, NG-methyl-L-arginine (L-NMA). In a parallel series of experiments measuring EDRF release by stimulation of guanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cGMP) accumulation in rat fetal lung (RFL)-6 cells, ET-3 but not ET-1 was also found to be active as a releaser of EDRF. A23187 caused an increase of ir-ET-1 release, whereas ACh, ADP, or the NO-containing compound sodium nitroprusside decreased the release of ir-ET-1. The depression in ir-ET-1 release in the presence of ACh or ADP was not seen when the endothelium was treated with L-NMA. When the cells were pretreated with 8-bromoguanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (8-bromo-cGMP), the release of ir-ET-1 in response to A23187 was significantly depressed.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗

PubMed1992

Mapping of neural nitric oxide synthase in the rat suggests frequent co-localization with NADPH diaphorase but not with soluble guanylyl cyclase, and novel paraneural functions for nitrinergic signal transduction.

Nitric oxide synthases (NOS Types I-III) generate nitric oxide (NO), which in turn activates soluble guanylyl cyclase (GC-S). The distribution of this NO-mediated (nitrinergic) signal transduction pathway in the body is unclear. A polyclonal monospecific antibody to rat cerebellum NOS-I and a monoclonal antibody to rat lung GC-S were employed to localize the protein components of this pathway in different rat organs and tissues. We confirmed the localization of NOS-I in neurons of the central and peripheral nervous system, where NO may regulate cerebral blood flow and mediate long-term potentiation. GC-S was located in NOS-negative neurons, indicating that NO acts as an intercellular signal molecule or neurotransmitter. However, NOS-I was not confined to neurons but was widely distributed over several non-neural cell types and tissues. These included glia cells, macula densa of kidney, epithelial cells of lung, uterus, and stomach, and islets of Langerhans. Our findings suggest that NOS-I is the most widely distributed isoform of NOS and, in addition to its neural functions, regulates secretion and non-vascular smooth muscle function. With the exception of bone tissue, NADPH-diaphorase (NADPH-d) activity was generally co-localized with NOS-I immunoreactivity in both neural and non-neural cells, and is a suitable histochemical marker for NOS-I but not a selective neuronal marker.

Amino Acid Oxidoreductases↗

PubMed1992

Regulation and subcellular location of nitrogen oxide synthases in RAW264.7 macrophages.

In nitrinergic signal transduction, nitrogen oxide (NO) synthases (NOS) (EC 1.14.23) catalyze the conversion of L-arginine to L-citrulline and NO, which in turn activates soluble guanylyl cyclase. Macrophages were reported to contain a single isoform of NOS (type II, soluble, Ca(2+)-independent, 130-kDa) and only upon activation of the cells by interferon-gamma (INF) and lipopolysaccharides (LPS). By a mechanism involving L-type Ca2+ channels, calmodulin, and serine proteases, INF/LPS also induce a cytotoxic activation of macrophages. In RAW264.7 macrophages, NO release was detected upon activation of the cells by INF/LPS but also, although at a 20-fold lower level, in control cells. The latter constitutive NOS activity and NO release were Ca2+ dependent and were decreased in INF/LPS-activated RAW264.7 cells or with increasing passage number. RAW264.7 cells did not express soluble guanylyl cyclase, suggesting other target molecules for NO. In INF/LPS-activated cells, NOS activities and NO release were Ca2+ independent (type II) and coinduced with NADPH-diaphorase activities both in the soluble and in the particulate fractions. The NOS-II activities corresponded to a 130-kDa protein, by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, which was not recognized in a protein immunoblot with anti-NOS-I antibody. The serine protease inhibitor tosyl-lysyl chloromethyl ketone abolished the induction of NOS-II by INF/LPS, by depleting intracellular thiol pools and interfering with protein synthesis. Induction of NOS-II by INF/LPS was transcriptionally based and, for maximal enzyme activity, required increased intracellular tetrahydrobiopterin levels, intracellular Ca2+ mobilization, and activation of non-L-type Ca2+ channels but, unlike the induction of macrophage-mediated cytotoxicity, neither L-type-Ca2+ channels nor calmodulin.

Amino Acid Oxidoreductases↗

PubMed1992

Induction of NADPH-dependent diaphorase and nitric oxide synthase activity in aortic smooth muscle and cultured macrophages.

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS), either alone or in combination with cytokines, induces nitric oxide (NO) synthase activity in cells that normally release little or no NO. In arterial smooth muscle cells and various macrophage cell lines, NO synthase activity is induced after several hours of incubation with LPS. In brain, NADPH-dependent diaphorase activity has been associated with constitutive NO synthase. Here we show that incubation of rat aorta or cultured macrophages with LPS causes a time-dependent induction of NO synthase. The NO synthase activity in both rat aorta and macrophages was calcium independent and inhibited by NG-monomethyl-L-arginine and NG-nitro-L-arginine. We also found that LPS caused a time-dependent induction in NADPH-dependent diaphorase activity in both rat aorta and cultured macrophages. The diaphorase activity was mainly NADPH dependent and NADH independent. NO synthase activity and NADPH-diaphorase activity in crude cytosol from LPS-treated macrophages were found to co-purify, using 2',5'-ADP-Sepharose followed by Superose-6 gel permeation chromatography.

Amino Acid Oxidoreductases↗

PubMed1991

Purification and characterization of a human NO synthase.

A NO synthase (NOS, EC 1.14.23) was isolated from human cerebellum by two sequential chromatography steps, that is affinity chromatography on 2'5'ADP sepharose and size exclusion chromatography on Superose 6. Human NOS migrated as a single band of 160 kDa on SDS/PAGE. The enzyme was Ca2+/calmodulin-regulated and NADPH/tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4)-dependent, which are characteristics of a type I NOS previously isolated from rat cerebellum. Antisera raised against purified rat cerebellar NOS crossreacted specifically with a 160 kDa protein in crude supernatant fraction of human cerebellum and purified human NOS but not in crude supernatant fraction of the temporal lobe. These findings provide evidence that nitrinergic signal transduction through conversion of L-arginine to L-citrulline and NO does also occur in humans and NO may function as a neurotransmitter in the human central nervous system.

Amino Acid Oxidoreductases↗

PubMed1991

Purification and characterization of particulate endothelium-derived relaxing factor synthase from cultured and native bovine aortic endothelial cells.

The particulate enzyme responsible for the synthesis of endothelium-derived relaxing factor has been purified from cultured and native (noncultured) bovine aortic endothelial cells. Purification of the solubilized particulate enzyme preparation by affinity chromatography on adenosine 2',5'-bisphosphate coupled to Sepharose followed by Superose 6 gel filtration chromatography resulted in a single protein band after denaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis that corresponded to approximately 135 kDa. The enzyme activity in the various fractions was assayed by its stimulatory effect on soluble guanylyl cyclase of rat fetal lung fibroblasts (RFL-6 cells), by the formation of L-citrulline from L-arginine, by measuring nitrite/nitrate formation, and by bioassay on endothelium-denuded vascular strips. Endothelium-derived relaxing factor synthase was purified 3419-fold from the crude particulate fraction of cultured bovine aortic endothelial cells with a 12% recovery (RFL-6 assay). Purified endothelium-derived relaxing factor synthase required L-arginine, NADPH, Ca2+, calmodulin, and 5,6,7,8-tetrahydrobiopterin for full activity.

Amino Acid Oxidoreductases↗

PubMed1991

Isoforms of nitric oxide synthase. Characterization and purification from different cell types.

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Amino Acid Oxidoreductases↗

PubMed1991

Endothelial cells have a particulate enzyme system responsible for EDRF formation: measurement by vascular relaxation.

Endothelium-derived relaxing factor (EDRF) released from endothelial cells (EC) has been shown to be nitric oxide (NO) or a closely related molecule. In cultured EC, the enzyme responsible for the formation of EDRF, EDRF-synthase, was initially described as being cytosolic, but more recently we have found it to be predominantly particulate. In view of this discrepancy we have investigated the EDRF synthesizing activity of cytosolic and particulate fractions isolated from native bovine aortic EC. EDRF was measured by cGMP formation in rat fetal lung cultured fibroblasts (RFL-6) and by the ability of cell fractions to relax endothelium-denuded, preconstricted rabbit aortic strips. Cytosolic fractions from native EC (100 micrograms) had no effect on the tone of rabbit aortic strips and little effect on cGMP levels in RFL-6 cells in the presence of L-arginine and NADPH (100 microM). However, under the same conditions the 100,000 x g pellet fractions relaxed rabbit aortic strips and increased cGMP levels in RFL-6 cells. Thus EDRF synthase from native EC, like those grown in culture, is located mainly in the particulate fraction.

Amino Acid Oxidoreductases↗

PubMed1991

Calmodulin-dependent endothelium-derived relaxing factor/nitric oxide synthase activity is present in the particulate and cytosolic fractions of bovine aortic endothelial cells.

Endothelium-derived relaxing factor/nitric oxide (EDRF/NO) synthesized by bovine aortic endothelial cells and subcellular fractions thereof was assayed by its stimulating effect on soluble guanylyl cyclase of rat fetal lung fibroblasts (RFL-6 cells). The release of EDRF/NO by intact endothelial cells could be stimulated with bradykinin, thrombin, or ADP and was abolished in Ca2(+)-free medium. When subcellular fractions were analyzed, some EDRF/NO-synthesizing activity was found in the cytosolic fraction, but most of the activity was associated with the particulate fraction. Both enzyme activities required L-arginine and NADPH for EDRF/NO synthesis, both were inhibited by NG-nitro-L-arginine and NG-methyl-L-arginine, and hemoglobin or methylene blue abolished the effect of the EDRF/NO produced by both enzymes. Both enzymes were highly sensitive to Ca2+; the major increase in activity occurred between 100 and 500 nM free Ca2+. Exposure of the particulate enzyme activity to 1 M KCl removed 39% of the protein and reduced total activity by 46%, but the activity was restored when exogenous calmodulin (CaM) was added. Further KCl washes caused little further loss of protein or EDRF/NO synthase activity. The KCl-washed particulate enzyme could be solubilized with the detergent 3-[(3-cholamidopropyl)dimethylammonio]-1-propanesulfonate. The CaM antagonists calmidazolium and trifluoperazine as well as the CaM-binding protein calcineurin inhibited the EDRF/NO synthesis by both the cytosolic and the particulate enzyme. These effects were partially reversed with exogenous CaM. Partial purification of the cytosolic and solubilized particulate enzymes by affinity chromatography on adenosine 2',5'-bisphosphate-Sepharose resulted in EDRF/NO synthase activities dependent on exogenous CaM. We conclude that endothelial cells contain both cytosolic and particulate enzymes that synthesize EDRF/NO. Both enzymes are regulated by free Ca2+ and, at least in part, by CaM.

Amino Acid Oxidoreductases↗

PubMed1991

Purification of a soluble isoform of guanylyl cyclase-activating-factor synthase.

The soluble form of guanylyl cyclase-activating-factor (GAF) synthase from rat cerebellum was purified to homogeneity by sequential affinity chromatographic steps on adenosine 2',5'-bisphosphate (2',5'-ADP)-Sepharose and calmodulin-agarose. Enzyme activity during purification was bioassayed by the L-arginine-, NADPH-, and Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent formation of a plasma membrane-permeable nitric oxide-like factor that stimulated soluble guanylyl cyclase in RFL-6 cells. With calmodulin and NADPH as cofactors, purified soluble GAF synthase induced an increase of 1.05 mumol of cGMP per 10(6) RFL-6 cells per 3 min per mg of protein. The coproduct of this signal-transduction pathway appeared to be L-citrulline. GAF synthase catalyzed the conversion of 107 nmol of L-arginine into L-citrulline per min per mg of protein. Based on these assays, this represents a purification of GAF synthase of approximately 10,076- and 8925-fold with recoveries of 16% and 19%, respectively. Rechromatography of the purified enzyme on Mono P (isoelectric point = 6.1 +/- 0.3), Mono Q, and Superose 12 or 6 resulted in no further purification or increase in specific activity. A Stokes radius of 7.9 +/- 0.3 nm and a sedimentation coefficient s20,w of 7.8 +/- 0.2 S were used to calculate a molecular mass of about 279 +/- 25 kDa for the native enzyme. SDS/PAGE revealed a single protein band with a molecular mass of about 155 +/- 3 kDa. These data suggest that soluble GAF synthase purified from rat cerebellum is a homodimer of 155-kDa subunits and that enzyme activity is dependent upon the presence of calmodulin.

Amino Acid Oxidoreductases↗

PubMed1990

Regional distribution of EDRF/NO-synthesizing enzyme(s) in rat brain.

Stimulation of soluble guanylyl cyclase and increase in cyclic GMP in rat fetal lung fibroblasts (RFL-6 cells) was used as a bioassay to detect EDRF/NO formation. The cytosolic fraction of whole rat brain synthesized an EDRF/NO-like material in a process dependent on L-arginine and NADPH. The enzymatic activity was destroyed by boiling and inhibited by N omega-nitro-L-arginine. Hemoglobin and methylene blue blocked the effect of EDRF/NO. When different brain regions were analyzed in the presence of L-arginine and NADPH, the cytosolic fraction from cerebellum showed the highest EDRF/NO-forming activity (2-3 times higher than whole brain). Activity similar to whole brain was found in hypothalamus and midbrain. Enzymatic activities in striatum, hippocampus and cerebral cortex were about two thirds of whole brain. The lowest activity (less than half of whole brain) was found in the medulla oblongata.

Amino Acid Oxidoreductases↗

PubMed1990

L-arginine and arginine analogues: effects on isolated blood vessels and cultured endothelial cells.

1. The present study examined effects of arginine (Arg) and various Arg analogues on the vascular tone of rabbit and rat aortic rings, the release of nitrite from cultured bovine aortic endothelial cells and the metabolism of L-Arg in bovine and porcine endothelial cell homogenates. The respective D-enantiomers or N-alpha-benzoyl-L-arginine ethyl ester did not substitute for L-Arg. 2. In bovine aortic endothelial cells, the release of nitrite was only observed in the presence of L-Arg or L-Arg methyl ester in the cell culture medium. 3. In dialyzed homogenates of porcine and bovine aortic endothelial cells, L-Arg was metabolized independently of NADPH and Ca2+ to yield L-ornithine (L-Orn) and L-citrulline (L-Cit). No concomitant nitrite formation was detected. 4. Pretreatment of rabbit and rat aortic rings with L-canavanine (L-Can) or NG-monomethyl-L-Arg (L-NMMA) inhibited ATP- and acetylcholine-induced relaxations (endothelium-dependent) but not glyceryltrinitrate-induced relaxations (endothelium-independent). 5. In rabbit aortic rings, Arg and monomeric Arg analogues induced endothelium-independent relaxations. L-Arg methyl ester induced an endothelium-independent contraction, and L-NMMA induced a relaxation in the absence of endothelium and a contraction in the presence of endothelium. Polymeric basic amino acids such as poly L-Arg induced endothelium-dependent relaxations (inhibited by L-Can), a subsequent refractoriness to endothelium-dependent vasodilators (not prevented by L-Can) and endothelial cell death. 6. We suggest that extracellular L-Arg is essential for the formation of endothelium-derived nitrogen oxides (EDNO). However, Arg and Arg analogues do not exert endothelium-dependent relaxation. L-Can and L-NMMA inhibit endothelium-dependent relaxation, consistent with an inhibition of EDNO formation from L-Arg, but also exert endothelium-independent effects on vascular tone.

Animals↗