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Biomedical subjects

K Toska

Publications and source records attributed to K Toska.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Lactate elimination and glycogen resynthesis after intense bicycling.

OBJECTIVE: Muscles break down glycogen to lactate during intense exercise, and in the recovery period, glycogen reappears while lactate disappears. The purpose of this study was to examine to what extent lactate is resynthesized to glycogen within the formerly active muscles themselves in man. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Fifteen healthy young men cycled for 2 min to exhaustion. Muscle biopsies were taken from the knee extensor muscle before the exercise, just after the ride, and again after 45 min of recovery. In addition, blood samples were taken from the femoral artery and vein, and the leg blood flow was measured using the ultrasound Doppler technique. The muscle biopsies were analysed for glycogen, lactate and other metabolites, and the blood samples were analysed for lactate and glucose. The exchanges of lactate and glucose of the leg were assessed by multiplying the measured arterio-venous (a-v) differences by the blood flow. RESULTS: During the exercise the muscles broke down 20+/-4 mmol glycogen kg(-1) wet muscle mass and produced 26+/-1 mmol lactate kg(-1). In the recovery period after 24+/-1 mmol lactate kg(-1) had disappeared, of which 48 % was released to the blood, 52 % disappeared within the muscle. An R-value of 0.62 across the leg suggests that none of the lactate was oxidized. Altogether, 10+/-3 mmol glycogen kg(-1) reappeared during recovery. Glucose uptake accounted for 2 mmol kg(-1) and glycolytic intermediates (G-6-P and free glucose) accounted for 4 mmol kg(-1); 4 mmol glycogen kg(-1) (42 %) reappeared from unknown sources. CONCLUSIONS: The present data are compatible with the idea that around half of the lactate produced during intense bicycling is resynthesized to glycogen within the working muscles themselves in the recovery period after the bicycling.

Adult↗

Respiratory sinus arrhythmia: opposite effects on systolic and mean arterial pressure in supine humans.

1. Are arterial blood pressure fluctuations buffered or reinforced by respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA)? There is still considerable debate about this simple question. Different results have been obtained, triggering a discussion as to whether or not the baroreflexes are responsible for RSA. We suspected that the measurements of different aspects of arterial pressure (mean arterial pressure (MAP) and systolic pressure (SP)) can explain the conflicting results. 2. Simultaneous recordings of beat-to-beat MAP, SP, left cardiac stroke volume (SV, pulsed ultrasound Doppler), heart rate (HR) and respiration (RE) were obtained in 10 healthy young adults during spontaneous respiration. In order to eliminate HR variations at respiratory frequency we used propranolol and atropine administration in the supine and tilted positions. Respiration-synchronous variation in the recorded variables was quantified by spectral analysis of the recordings of each of these variables, and the phase relations between them were determined by cross-spectral analysis. 3. MAP fluctuations increased after removing heart rate variations in both supine and tilted position, whereas SP fluctuations decreased in the supine position and increased in the head-up tilted position. 4. RSA buffers respiration-synchronous fluctuations in MAP in both positions. However, fluctuations in SP were reinforced by RSA in the supine and buffered in the tilted position.

Adult↗

Interaction of phosphorylated tyrosine hydroxylase with 14-3-3 proteins: evidence for a phosphoserine 40-dependent association.

Tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) has been reported to require binding of 14-3-3 proteins for optimal activation by phosphorylation. We examined the effects of phosphorylation at Ser19, Ser31 and Ser40 of bovine TH and human TH isoforms on their binding to the 14-3-3 proteins BMH1/BMH2, as well as 14-3-3 zeta and a mixture of sheep brain 14-3-3 proteins. Phosphorylation of Ser31 did not result in 14-3-3 binding, however, phosphorylation of TH on Ser40 increased its affinity towards the yeast 14-3-3 isoforms BMH1/BMH2 and sheep brain 14-3-3, but not for 14-3-3 zeta. On phosphorylation of both Ser19 and Ser40, binding to the 14-3-3 zeta isoform also occurred, and the binding affinity to BMH1 and sheep brain 14-3-3 increased. Both phosphoserine-specific antibodies directed against the 10 amino acids surrounding Ser19 or Ser40 of TH, and the phosphorylated peptides themselves, inhibited the association between phosphorylated TH and 14-3-3 proteins. This was also found when heparin was added, or after proteolytic removal of the N-terminal 37 amino acids of Ser40-phosphorylated TH. Binding of BMH1 to phosphorylated TH decreased the rate of dephosphorylation by protein phosphatase 2A, but no significant change in enzymatic activity was observed in the presence of BMH1. These findings further support a role for 14-3-3 proteins in the regulation of catecholamine biosynthesis and demonstrate isoform specificity for both TH and 14-3-3 proteins.

14-3-3 Proteins↗

Recording of short-term finger blood pressure changes induced by an arterial occlusive thigh cuff: comparison between the modified oscillometric and Finapres techniques.

Blood pressure recordings obtained by the volume clamp method (Finapres monitor, Ohmeda, USA) were compared with measurements by using a novel modification of the oscillometric method (UT9201 beat-to-beat monitor, University of Tartu, Estonia). Step changes in total peripheral resistance were introduced in 11 healthy volunteers by rapid inflation to the suprasystolic pressure of bilateral thigh cuffs during a rhythmical exercise with the quadriceps muscles and simultaneously performed handgrip compression. The provoked short-term changes in mean arterial pressure (MAP) were similarly tracked by both devices. The agreement between the methods was better for MAP rise than drop. The group-averaged difference UT9201 minus Finapres did not exceed 1.2 mmHg (NS, p = 0.46) after cuff successive inflation but yielded 3.8 mmHg (significant, p < 0.05) after cuff successive deflation.

Blood Pressure↗

In vivo measurement of haloperidol affinity to dopamine D2/D3 receptors by [123I]IBZM and single photon emission computed tomography.

This study examines the feasibility of a steady-state bolus-integration method with the dopamine D2/D3 receptor single photon emission computer tomography (SPECT) tracer, [123I]IBZM, for determination of in vivo affinity of haloperidol. The nonspecific binding of [123I]IBZM was examined in the rat brain by infusion of haloperidol to plasma levels approximately 100 times the Kd level in man. In humans, Kd for haloperidol binding was measured in four healthy volunteers that were examined twice: once with partial dopamine D2/D3 receptor blockade obtained by a scheduled infusion of unlabeled haloperidol (0.7 mg total dosage), and once in an unblocked state. Blood sampling and SPECT were performed intermittently during 6 hours after intravenous [123I]IBZM bolus injection. Plasma [123I]IBZM was determined by octane extraction. Plasma haloperidol was determined by a radioimmunoassay, and plasma protein binding was determined by equilibrium dialysis. In humans, the striatal D2/D3 receptor occupancy was 0.27+/-0.085 and the in vivo Kd for haloperidol was 0.25+/-0.1 nmol/L, which is comparable to Kd values as obtained from in vitro studies. The authors conclude that steady-state [123I]IBZM SPECT studies allow for determination of dopamine D2/D3 receptor occupancy in striatum and in vivo measurement of drug affinity to striatal dopamine D2 and D3 receptors.

Adult↗

Beat-to-beat cardiovascular responses to rapid, low-level LBNP in humans.

The hypothesis tested was that there are significant transient changes in the cardiovascular variables after rapid onset and release of mild lower body negative pressure (LBNP, -20 mmHg), even in experimental situations where there is no detectable change in steady-state values. Twelve subjects participated in the study. Heart rate, stroke volume (SV), cardiac output, mean arterial pressure (MAP), total peripheral resistance (TPR), acral and nonacral skin blood flow, and blood flow velocity in the brachial artery were continuously recorded during the pre-LBNP period (0-120 s), during LBNP (120-420 s), and during the post-LBNP period (420-600 s). The main finding was that MAP is transiently but strongly affected by rapid changes in LBNP as small as -20 mmHg. There was also a characteristic asymmetry in cardiovascular responses to the onset and release of LBNP, particularly in the responses in SV. The transient changes in MAP indicate that the neural responses that affect TPR are not fast enough to compensate for the rapid changes in LBNP. In this case, the arterial baroreceptors will be activated as well as the low-pressure baroreceptors that sense central venous pressure. This must be taken into consideration in future discussions of the results of LBNP protocols.

Adult↗

Midodrine prevents orthostatic intolerance associated with simulated spaceflight.

Many astronauts after being weightless in space become hypotensive and presyncopal when they assume an upright position. This phenomenon, known as orthostatic intolerance, may interfere with astronaut function during reentry and after spaceflight and may limit the ability of an astronaut to exit a landed spacecraft unaided during an emergency. Orthostatic intolerance is more pronounced after long-term spaceflight and is a major concern with respect to the extended flights expected aboard the International Space Station and for interplanetary exploration class missions, such as a human mission to Mars. Fully effective countermeasures to this problem have not yet been developed. To test the hypothesis that alpha-adrenergic stimulation might provide an effective countermeasure, we conducted a 16-day head-down-tilt bed-rest study (an analog of weightlessness) using normal human volunteers and administered the alpha(1)-agonist drug midodrine at the end of the bed-rest period. Midodrine was found to significantly ameliorate excessive decreases in blood pressure and presyncope during a provocative tilt test. We conclude that midodrine may be an effective countermeasure for the prevention of orthostatic intolerance following spaceflight.

Adrenergic alpha-Agonists↗

Lactate release, concentration in blood, and apparent distribution volume after intense bicycling.

To study the release of lactate from muscle and its relationship to the blood lactate concentration during and after intense bicycling, young men cycled at 5.5 W kg(-1) body mass for 2 min to exhaustion or stopped after 1 min (nonexhaustive ride). The leg's release of lactate during and after each ride was taken from the measured blood flow and lactate concentrations in arterial and femoral-venous blood. Muscle biopsies were taken in separate experiments and analyzed for lactate. During the bicycling, 6 to 10% of the lactate produced was released to the blood. During exercise and for the first few minutes after, the rate of lactate release did not differ between 2 min exhaustive and 1 min nonexhaustive bicycling. The integrated release (exercise plus recovery) for the 1 min bicycling was 60 to 80% of the corresponding value of the 2 min exhaustive bicycling. In the late recovery, the blood lactate concentration was 3 to 5 times higher after 2 min exhaustive bicycling than after the 1 min nonexhaustive bicycling. There was thus a mismatch between the amount of lactate released and measured concentration in blood, reflecting a smaller distribution volume after the exhaustive bicycling. The blood lactate concentration may therefore not be a good measure of the lactate production and anaerobic energy release during bicycling.

Adult↗

SPECT tracer [(123)I]IBZM has similar affinity to dopamine D2 and D3 receptors.

Emission tomography investigations of the pathophysiological involvement of the cerebral dopaminergic transmitter system in the living human brain relies heavily on a careful selection of the most suitable radioligand. In recent years, many clinical studies have employed [(123)I]IBZM in SPECT studies. The aim of the present study was to characterize the binding of IBZM to dopaminergic receptor subtypes as a means of elucidating which receptor subtypes are visualized and examined by [(123)I]IBZM. The affinity of IBZM for each of the major human dopamine receptors (D1, D2(short), D3, D4(4. 2), and D5 receptor) was determined by competitive radioligand binding assay using membranes prepared from clonal cell lines expressing the different subtypes. Radioligands with high affinity for the D1(A) and D5 receptors ([(3)H]SCH-23390), dopamine D2(short) and D4(4.2) receptors ([(3)H]Spiroperidol), and dopamine D3 receptor ([(3)H]7-OH-DPAT) were used to measure specific binding. Corresponding unlabeled displacing ligands for determination of nonspecific binding were employed. Assays were performed at 25 degrees C. These experiments show that for IBZM K(i) values were 1.6 nM for dopamine D2(s) receptors and 2.2 nM for dopamine D3 receptors. There was no binding of IBZM to D1(A), D5, or D4(4.2) receptors. In conclusion, when [(123)I]IBZM is used as SPECT tracer, the studies reflect dopaminergic D2 as well as D3 receptor binding.

Animals↗

A kinetic and conformational study on the interaction of tetrahydropteridines with tyrosine hydroxylase.

Tetrahydropterins are obligatory cofactors for tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), the rate-limiting enzyme of catecholamine biosynthesis. A series of synthetic analogues of 6(R)-L-erythro-5,6,7, 8-tetrahydrobiopterin (BH(4)) with different substituents in positions C2, N3, C4, N5, C6, C7, and N8 on the ring were used as active site probes for recombinant human TH. The enzyme tolerates rather bulky substituents at C6, as seen by the catalytic efficiency (V(max)/K(m)) and the coupling efficiency (mol of L-DOPA produced/mol of tetrahydropterin oxidized) of the cofactors. Substitutions at C2, C4, N5, and N8 abolish the cofactor activity of the pterin analogues. Molecular docking of BH(4) into the crystal structure of the catalytic domain of ligand-free rat TH results in complexes in which the pteridine ring pi-stacks with Phe300 and the N3 and the amino group at C2 hydrogen bonds with Glu332. The pteridine ring also establishes interactions with Leu294 and Gln310. The distance between C4a in the pteridines and the active site iron was 4.2 +/- 0.5 A for the ensemble of docked conformers. Docking of BH(4) analogues into TH also shows that the most bulky substituents at C6 can be well-accommodated within the large hydrophobic pocket surrounded by Ala297, Ser368, Tyr371, and Trp372, without altering the positioning of the ring. The pterin ring of 7-BH(4) shows proper stacking with Phe300, but the distance between the C4a and the active site iron is 0.6 A longer than for bound BH(4), a finding that may be related to the high degree of uncoupling observed for 7-BH(4).

Animals↗

[Digestive system's large and changing needs of blood supply].

Doppler utrasonography has made it possible to record blood flow to the digestive tract (the superior mesenteric artery) directly and continuously in unanaesthetized, healthy humans. Several research groups have demonstrated how blood flow to the tract increases gradually and markedly after a meal, and more so after a big meal than after a small one. The increase in blood flow reaches its maximum after 20-40 minutes and lasts for 1.5-2 hours. In the postprandial period there is a parallel and similar increase in cardiac output; the meal thus imposes an increased work load on the heart. Carbohydrate meals, as well as meals of protein or fat all release increases in local blood flow as well as in cardiac output. Surprisingly, during physical exercise of relatively high intensity, there is no reduction in blood flow to the digestive tract in humans. This is in contrast to the exercise-caused flow reduction observed in several animal species. In the postprandial state the large increase in cardiac output caused by muscular exercise is actually added to the increase already established by the meal. This course of events helps to explain why patients with angina pectoris are more prone to chest pains after a meal.

Cardiac Output↗

Iron coordination geometry in full-length, truncated, and dehydrated forms of human tyrosine hydroxylase studied by Mössbauer and X-ray absorption spectroscopy.

Full-length human tyrosine hydroxylase 1 (hTH1) and a truncated enzyme lacking the 150 N-terminal amino acids were expressed in Escherichia coli and purified either with or without (6 x histidine) N-terminal tags. After reconstitution with 57Fe(II), the Mössbauer and X-ray absorption spectra of the enzymes were compared before and after dehydration by lyophilization. Before dehydration, > 90% of the iron in hTH1 had Mössbauer parameters typical for high-spin Fe(II) in a six-coordinate environment [isomer shift delta (1.8-77 K) = 1.26-1.24 mm s-1 and quadrupole splitting delta EQ = 2.68 mm s-1]. After dehydration, the Mössbauer spectrum changed and 63% of the area could be attributed to five-coordinate high-spin Fe(II) (delta = 1.07 mm s-1 and delta EQ = 2.89 mm s-1 at 77 K), whereas 28% of the iron remained as six-coordinate high-spin Fe(II) (delta = 1.24 mm s-1 and delta EQ = 2.87 mm s-1 at 77 K). Similar changes upon dehydration were observed for truncated TH either with or without the histidine tag. After rehydration of hTH1 the spectroscopic changes were completely reversed. The X-ray absorption spectra of hTH1 in solution and in lyophilized form, and for the truncated protein in solution, corroborate the findings derived from the Mössbauer spectra. The pre-edge peak intensity of the protein in solution indicates six-coordination of the iron, while that of the dehydrated protein is typical for a five-coordinate iron center. Thus, the active-site iron can exist in different coordination states, which can be interconverted depending on the hydration state of the protein, indicating the presence or absence of a water molecule as a coordinating ligand to the iron. The present study explains the difference in iron coordination determined by X-ray crystallography, which has shown a five-coordinate iron center in rat TH, and by our recent spectroscopic study of human TH in solution, which showed a six-coordinated iron center.

Absorptiometry, Photon↗

Involvement of the human splanchnic circulation in pressor response induced by handgrip contraction.

We have analysed the adjustment of blood flow and vascular conductance in the abundantly supplied splanchnic circulation to a generally released pressor reaction. Pressor responses were induced by 2-min periods of standardized, sustained handgrip in seven healthy students. The effects of handgrip tests were followed both in the fasting state and after the consumption of a substantial, mixed meal. In the first of the two sessions, changes in superior mesenteric artery blood flow were recorded and concomitant changes in local vascular conductance derived. In the other session, pressor released cardiac output changes were recorded and changes in total peripheral vascular conductance derived. Both types of flow changes were recorded using ultrasound Doppler technique. Typically, blood flow in the superior mesenteric artery increased two- to threefold after a meal. Handgrip contractions induced an initial rapid increase in heart rate, cardiac output and total peripheral conductance, followed by a gradual decline in total peripheral conductance and stroke volume and a gradual increase in heart rate and mean arterial pressure for the rest of the period. At the end of 2-min pressor periods, total peripheral conductance was only about 10% below the pre-handgrip level, whereas vascular conductance locally in the area of the superior mesenteric artery decreased by some 30%. Thus, it appears that the splanchnic vascular bed contributes markedly to the compound pressor response. Handgrips caused significantly less reduction in local vascular conductance in the post-prandial than in the pre-prandial state, indicating that blood flow to the digesting gastrointestinal tract retains a relatively high priority also in a pressor situation.

Adult↗

Tyrosine hydroxylase and Parkinson's disease.

A consistent neurochemical abnormality in Parkinson's disease (PD) is degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in substantia nigra, leading to a reduction of striatal dopamine (DA) levels. As tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) catalyses the formation of L-DOPA, the rate-limiting step in the biosynthesis of DA, the disease can be considered as a TH-deficiency syndrome of the striatum. Similarly, some patients with hereditary L-DOPA-responsive dystonia, a neurological disorder with clinical similarities to PD, have mutations in the TH gene and decreased TH activity and/or stability. Thus, a logical and efficient treatment strategy for PD is based on correcting or bypassing the enzyme deficiency by treatment with L-DOPA, DA agonists, inhibitors of DA metabolism, or brain grafts with cells expressing TH. A direct pathogenetic role of TH has also been suggested, as the enzyme is a source of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in vitro and a target for radical-mediated oxidative injury. Recently, it has been demonstrated that L-DOPA is effectively oxidized by mammalian TH in vitro, possibly contributing to the cytotoxic effects of DOPA. This enzyme may therefore be involved in the pathogenesis of PD at several different levels, in addition to being a promising candidate for developing new treatments of this disease.

Alternative Splicing↗

Short-term control of cardiovascular function: estimation of control parameters in healthy humans.

In a previous study, we recorded short-term cardiovascular responses after a steep increase in arterial pressure in healthy humans [Am. J. Physiol. 266 (Heart Circ. Physiol. 35): H199-H211, 1994]. The aim of the present study was to develop a mathematical model of the baroreflex control of arterial pressure, to use this model with the previously recorded data to estimate unknown parameters in the reflex control loop, and then to analyze the overall open- and closed-loop performance of the system by model simulations with use of individual sets of optimal parameters. The mathematical model consists of a heart, a linear elastic arterial reservoir, and two parallel resistive vascular beds. The arterial baroreflex loop is modeled by two separate time domain processing objects, each with its own gain, time constant, and delay, to simulate the action of a sympathetic signal to the peripheral vascular bed and a parasympathetic signal to the heart. In repeated model simulations, the control parameters in the model were systematically adjusted by an automated algorithm that minimized the deviations between the time courses of the cardiovascular variables simulated by the model and the previously recorded responses in each individual. In all 10 subjects, the short-term cardiovascular responses were adequately simulated by using individual sets of parameters in the model. Open-loop transfer functions for arterial pressure control were obtained by using the individual sets of optimal model parameters in new simulation runs. Open-loop gain for arterial pressure control at nearly zero frequency (steady state) was between 0.9 and 4. Model simulations also indicated an underdampened response at 0.05-0.07 Hz in the closed-loop situation in four subjects, corresponding to peaks in the mean arterial pressor power spectra obtained from separate recordings of spontaneous variations in the resting situation.

Baroreflex↗

Short-term cardiovascular responses to a step decrease in peripheral conductance in humans.

A step decrease in total peripheral conductance (TPC) was introduced in 10 healthy volunteers by rapid inflation to suprasystolic pressure of bilateral thigh cuffs. This provoked a sudden statistically significant increase in mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) of 5 mmHg during supine rest and of 8 mmHg during moderate supine exercise by the quadriceps muscles. Central venous pressure was not changed by cuff inflation. The increase in MAP was blunted by a rapid but transient decrease in both heart rate (HR) and cardiac stroke volume. At rest, a gradual increase in TPC, starting after 4 s, nearly fully restored MAP to its original value at 10 s. During exercise, MAP was halfway corrected at 10 s but then started to increase again, probably as a result of an ischaemic muscle pressor response. After cholinergic blockade by atropine, the immediate HR response was eliminated, but HR decreased gradually after a delay of 3 s. The time development of the slow increase in TPC was not changed by atropine. In conclusion, the regulatory correction of a sudden increase in arterial pressure in supine unanesthetized healthy humans is achieved through an immediate transient parasympathetic bradycardia during the first few seconds and a more gradual sympathetic peripheral vasodilation after 4 s. After cholinergic blockade, a slow presumably sympathetic HR response was observed.

Adult↗

Peripheral vasoconstriction shortly after onset of moderate exercise in humans.

The immediate cardiovascular responses at the onset of supine dynamic leg exercise were studied by noninvasive methods in healthy humans. Total peripheral conductance (TPC), heart rate, and cardiac output increased very rapidly at the onset of exercise. Mean arterial pressure (MAP) showed a moderate anticipatory increase during a 10-s countdown to exercise and then decreased (but not below resting level) during the first 10 s of exercise. The TPC response was biphasic, and TPC started to fall from its peak value approximately 12 s after onset of exercise. This peripheral vasoconstriction increased MAP. After 25 s, the cardiovascular variables were stable for the rest of the 2-min exercise period. In the same subjects, cholinergic blockade was induced by atropine sulfate (0.035 mg/kg) and resting cardiac output, MAP, and TPC increased considerably. The exercise protocol was repeated after atropine, and the increase in heart rate at onset of exercise was slower and smaller. MAP decreased and remained depressed throughout the exercise period. A monophasic increase in TPC was seen. We suggest that, in the normal situation, the biphasic response in TPC reflects a baroreflex sympathetic vasoconstriction very shortly after onset of exercise and that this response is due to a rapid increase in set point for arterial pressure control at the onset of exercise. After cholinergic blockade, MAP was probably continuously well above the set point for arterial pressure control both before and during exercise and no reflex vasoconstriction was observed in this situation.

Adult↗

Respiration-synchronous fluctuations in stroke volume, heart rate and arterial pressure in humans.

1. Simultaneous recordings of beat-to-beat left cardiac stroke volume (SV, pulsed ultrasound Doppler), mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR) were obtained in ten healthy young adults during spontaneous respiration at supine rest, before and after cholinergic blockade by atropine (0.035 mg kg-1). 2. Respiration-synchronous fluctuations in SV, HR, cardiac output (CO) and MAP were quantified by spectral analysis of the recordings of each of these variables. 3. Before atropine administration, respiration-synchronous fluctuations in HR and SV were prominent. The changes in HR and SV were inversely related and variation in SV was the main source of respiratory variability in CO. Respiration-synchronous fluctuations in MAP were mainly caused by variations in CO. 4. After cholinergic blockade, respiratory HR variations were eliminated, whereas the respiratory fluctuations in SV persisted. The fluctuations in CO and MAP increased. In this situation, mechanically induced variations in SV were not counteracted by inverse HR fluctuations and the influence on CO thus increased. 5. The main source of respiratory fluctuations in MAP in supine humans is thus variation in SV, while inverse, vagally mediated HR variations tend to reduce the fluctuations in CO and MAP.

Adult↗