Assay, properties, and regulation of rat ovarian delta-aminolevulinic acid synthetase activity.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to J Tse.
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The influence of urinary pH on the plasma levels and renal elimination of unchanged indomethacin has been studied in seven healthy volunteers with the use of a specific and sensitive gas-liquid chromatographic method assay for indomethacin in plasma and urine. There is a wide variation in the terminal t1/2 (2.5-10.3 h) and the AUC (5264-12693 ng/ml h) of indomethacin after a standard oral dose (50 mg) under 'normal' urinary condition. Such variation is probably, in part, due to an intersubject difference in extrarenal elimination of the drug. The urinary recovery of unchanged indomethacin is highest at alkaline pH (15.7 +/- 5.3%), lowest at acidic pH (3.5 +/- 2.0%) and the 'normal' value is 7.1 +/- 1.6%. These differences are statistically significant. Despite such influence there is no apparent change in plasma levels of the drug under uncontrolled and controlled (acidic and alkaline) conditions of urinary pH. The clinical implication is that possible changes in urinary pH during long-term treatment of arthritic patients may not affect the overall kinetics of indomethacin which is extensively eliminated by the extrarenal route.
In a clinical study of betahistidine, diazepam and mexiletine for the oral chemotherapy of tinnitus, the hospital Pharmacy was requested to devise a double-blind triple cross-over trial including a placebo. As mexiletine is a potent cardiovascular drug and also as a measure of compliance, a rapid and sensitive gas-liquid chromatographic (GLC) method was developed to monitor its plasma concentration in patients who took part in the trial. This assay involved a preliminary ethereal extraction of the drug and internal marker (3-N,N-diethyl carbamyloxy pyridine) in a 1 ml plasma or urine sample under alkaline condition. The concentrated extract was redissolved in distilled methanol (10 microliters) and an aliquot (2 microliters) was analysed by a GLC system (3% OV17 on Gas Chrome Q, 10-100 mesh) linked to a nitrogen sensitive detector. The calibration graphs relating peak height ratios of the drug to the internal marker and concentration were linear and reproducible over the ranges of 5.0 to 100.0 ng/ml and 1.0 to 10.0 micrograms/ml for both plasma and, or urine samples. The steady-state plasma concentrations of mexiletine in 5 patients, from whom blood samples were obtained as a measure of compliance, ranged between 570 to 1911 ng/ml which were similar to those reported from treatment of ventricular arrhythmias with similar dosage regimen of 200 mg mexiletine hydrochloride three times per day.
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Modifications in characteristics and activities of beta-adrenergic receptors and certain parameters of the cyclic nucleotide systems were observed in the hypertrophied heart of the rat chronically treated with T4. These include: 1) an increased number of beta-adrenergic receptors without a change in their affinity, as determined by binding of (-)-[3H]dihydroalprenolol to the membrane; 2) increased sensitivity and magnitude of stimulation of adenylate cyclase in homogenates by isoproterenol, without a change in the basal or NaF-stimulated (total) enzyme activity; 3) decreased formation of cAMP and decreased activation of cAMP-dependent protein kinase in the minced heart stimulated by isoproterenol, probably due to decreased myocardial ATP concentration; 4) decreased activity of cAMP phosphodiesterase in the particulate fraction; 5) decreased activity of cGMP-dependent protein kinase in both the soluble and particulate fractions, accompanied by decreased activity of cAMP-dependent protein kinase in the particulate fraction; 6) decreased activity of the stimulatory modulator of cGMP-dependent protein kinase and, conversely, increased activity of the inhibitory modulator of cAMP-dependent protein kinase; and 7) increased sensitivity accompanied by decreased maximum tension development of the ventricular strip to contract in response to isoproterenol. These alterations largely disappeared upon regression of the hyperthyroid state. It is suggested that the above changes, many of which were the opposite of those reported earlier for the desensitized and hypertrophied rat heart caused by isoproterenol, may in part consitute the molecular basis for the reputed catecholamine supersensitivity of the heart in the hyperthyroid state.
15-Methyl prostaglandin E2, a compound which is not a substrate for 15-hydroxy prostaglandin dehydrogenase, is a more potent pyretic agent than prostaglandin E2 when injected into the third ventricle of conscious cats. This finding raises the possibility that 15-hydroxy prostaglandin dehydrogenase contributes to prostaglandin inactivation in brain, notwithstanding its low activity.
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Initial and transient increases in the basal levels of cyclic GMP in the heart were noted prior to cardiac hypertrophy in rats administered isoproterenol. Increased levels of cyclic AMP-phosphodiesterase (in both the soluble and particulate fractions) and stimulatory modulator of cyclic GMP-dependent protein kinase, however, were associated with the progression, or the state, of cardiomegaly, with their levels returning to the control values upon regression of the hypertrophy. The levels of cyclic GMP phosphodiesterase in the soluble fraction were lower, whereas those in the particulate fraction were higher, in the hypertrophied heart than the control. In cardiac hypertrophy, the maximal activity ratio(--cyclic AMP/+cyclic AMP) of cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase in the incubated minced heart caused by isoproterenol was lower, whereas the concentration of isoproterenol required to increase the activity ratio half-maximally was higher than controls; the reduced responsiveness to the drug, however, was reversed when the hypertrophy regressed. These observations, taken collectively, appear to suggest that the desensitization of the beta-adrenergic mechanism seen in the cardiac hypertrophy produced by repeated administration of isoproterenol is associated with adaptive modifications in certain parameters of the cyclic nucleotide systems.
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A phosphodiesterase activity that preferentially hydrolyzed cytidine 3':5'-monophosphate was partially purified from rat liver extract. The enzyme was best activated by Fe2+ (5 to 10 mM). Mn2+ and Mg2+ were less effective, whereas Zn2+, Co2+, and Ca2+ were ineffective. It exhibited kinetics typical of a high Km phosphodiesterase, with a Km for cycli CMP of 2.4 mM. The enzyme, inhibited by theophylline and 1-methyl-3-isobutyl xanthine to much less extents than cyclic AMP and cyclic GMP phosphodiesterases, was found in all rat tissues examined, with highest levels seen in the liver, kidney, and intestine, and lowest levels found in the skeletal muscle, cerebellum, aorta, and blood cells. The enzyme levels in the regenerating liver were found to be about 40% lower than the control liver of rats; they were also 3 to 10 times lower in the fetal liver, lung, and heart than the corresponding adult tissues of guinea pigs. These findings suggest that depressed cyclic CMP phosphodiesterase may be in part related to cell proliferation, in line with reports that the regenerating liver has higher levels of cyclic CMP (Bloch, A. (1975) Adv. Cycli Nucleotide Res. 5, 331-338) and cytidylate cyclase (Cech, S. Y., and Ignarro, L.J. (1977) Science 198, 1063-1065).
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This study examined the hypothesis that chemical denervation with 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) would increase myocardial responsiveness to isoproterenol. Five days previously, 15 New Zealand white rabbits were given 60 mg/kg 6-OHDA intravenously. Fifteen control rabbits received vehicle. Hemodynamic, coronary blood flow (CBF), and cardiac output measurements were obtained before and during isoproterenol infusion (0.5 microgram/kg/min for 15 min). Norepinephrine tissue content, beta-adrenoceptor number (Bmax) and affinity (Kd), cyclic AMP content and cyclic AMP-phosphodiesterase (PDE) activity were measured in the subepicardium (EPI) and subendocardium (ENDO). Myocardial norepinephrine content was significantly decreased from 1263 +/- 292 (EPI) and 874 +/- 221 ng/g tissue (ENDO) in the control to 148 +/- 33 (EPI) and 90 +/- 45 ng/g tissue (ENDO) in the denervated group. There were no significant changes in cyclic AMP-PDE activity or Bmax and Kd of beta-adrenoceptors. Cyclic AMP content was similar at baseline, but controls had a significantly larger increase (123-155%) during isoproterenol infusion when compared to the denervated group (27-37%). The denervated animals showed a smaller increase in cardiac output during isoproterenol infusion (from 203 +/- 30 to 235 +/- 26 ml/min), when compared to the control animals (from 135 +/- 18 to 216 +/- 42 ml/min). Baseline CBF was significantly higher in the EPI but not ENDO of the denervated group (185 +/- 20 ml/100 g/min in EPI and 150 +/- 8 in ENDO) compared to the control group (108 +/- 13 in EPI and 133 +/- 17 in ENDO). The relative increase in CBF during isoproterenol infusion was smaller in the denervated group (44-45%) than the control group (107-109%). Isoproterenol infusions of 0.1 and 2.5 micrograms/kg/min showed similarly depressed coronary blood flow responses in denervated animals. Thus, the chemically denervated animals did not have beta-adrenoceptor upregulation, exhibited a lesser increase in cyclic AMP with isoproterenol, and had a reduced functional and coronary blood flow response to isoproterenol. This occurred without any significant change in beta-adrenoceptor number or affinity, or in cyclic AMP-phosphodiesterase activity, indicating there may be receptor uncoupling or other changes in the signal transduction pathway.
En route to a circular bis-PNA molecule, we have synthesized and characterized the DNA binding of several "clamp"-type bis-PNAs. In order to incorporate charge into a circular PNA, a new linker based on the achiral 2-aminoethylglycine has been used.
The Pd0/Cu1 catalyzed cross-coupling of terminal alkynes onto peptide nucleic acid monomers or submonomers bearing iodinated nucleobases has been utilized as a route to base-modified oligomers. Both 5-iodouracil and 5-iodocytosine derivatives undergo the cross-coupling to give the expected products in moderate to good yields. However, depending on the particular substrates and reaction conditions, the cross-coupling may be followed by a ring closing reaction to give the fluorescent furano- and pyrrolo-fused uracil and cytosine derivatives, respectively.
Bowen's disease has been viewed as a skin marker for internal malignancy by dermatologists for decades. If substantiated, it certainly would help in early detection of an occult malignancy. We conducted a matched case-control study to evaluate the significance of this link. Ninety patients with Bowen's disease diagnosed between 1972 and 1986 were selected for study. These patients were matched by age, sex, race, and date of biopsy for diagnosis (or treatment) to 90 other patients chosen as controls. Six patients in the Bowen's disease group and three patients in the control group had internal malignancy during the period after the date of biopsy or treatment (P greater than 0.4). The present study cannot substantiate the claim that Bowen's disease is a skin marker for internal malignancy.