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At least 793 records · Page 44Linked to original sources
PubMed1989

Melanin concentrating hormone. V. Isolation and characterization of alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone from frog pituitary glands.

The structure of alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH) has been determined in the pars intermedia of the frog Rana ridibunda. Pulse-chase labeling of frog neurointermediate lobes with selective amino acids revealed that the composition of frog alpha-MSH is similar to that of alpha-MSH from all mammalian species yet studied. Tryptic mapping of nexly synthetized alpha-MSH generated two fragments with the following amino acid composition: (T1) Trp, Pro, Lys, Gly, Val and (T2) Tyr, Arg, Phe, His, Ser, Glu. Concurrently, alpha-MSH was purified from 100 neurointermediate lobes to apparent homogeneity by reverse-phase HPLC. The sequence of the peptide determined by automated Edman degradation was Ser-Tyr-Ser-Met-Glu-His-Phe-Arg-Trp-Gly-Lys-Pro-Val. The structure of frog alpha-MSH is thus identical to mammalian des-N alpha-acetyl alpha-MSH and differs from the sequence of toad (Xenopus laevis) alpha-MSH only by the first residue (Ser instead of Ala). These results confirm that the sequence of alpha-MSH has been highly preserved during evolution.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1986

Indole-, imidazole- and phenyl-alkylamines in the skin of one hundred and forty American amphibian species other than bufonids.

Extracts prepared from dried or fresh skins of 140 American amphibian species, other than bufonids, were subjected to chemical and biological screening in order to determine the presence and concentrations of aromatic biogenic amines. The most frequent and abundantly occurring amine category was that of indolealkylamines, represented by their prototype 5-hydroxytryptamine and its N-methylated derivatives. Conjugated and cyclized indolealkylamines, typical for the toad skin, were apparently lacking. Phenylalkylamines were represented by two quaternary ammonium bases: leptodactyline and, very rarely, candicine. Leptodactyline was particularly abundant in leptodactylid frogs of the genus Leptodactylus. Histamine occurred in trace amounts in different species, in large amounts only in some Leptodactylus species of the "pachypus" section. On the other hand, N-methylated histamines and cyclized histamines (spinaceamines) were confined to the skin of Leptodactylus pentadactylus labyrinthicus. The possible taxonomical and evolutionary significance of amphibian skin amines is pointed out.

Amphibians↗
PubMed1964

PARATHION ACTIVATION BY LIVERS OF AQUATIC AND TERRESTRIAL VERTEBRATES.

Liver slices from seven terrestrial and six aquatic animals studied "activated" parathion, converting it to paraoxon, a potent anticholinesterase. Although there are similarities between the liver systems which activate parathion and which degrade drugs such as aminopyrine and phenacetin, liver slices of aquatic vertebrates can activate parathion but cannot degrade such drugs.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Glutaraldehyde fixation preserves the permeability properties of the ADH-induced water channels.

Unidirectional and net water movements were determined, in frog urinary bladders, before and after glutaraldehyde fixation. Experiments were performed in three experimental conditions: in nonstimulated preparations, after the action of antidiuretic hormone (ADH) and in nonstimulated preparations to which amphotericin B was incorporated from the luminal bath. As previously observed for net water fluxes, the increase in the unidirectional water movement induced by ADH was well preserved by glutaraldehyde fixation. After correction for the effects of unstirred layers and nonosmotic pathways, the observed correlation between the ADH-induced increases in the osmotic (Pf) and diffusional (Pd) permeability coefficients was not modified by the fixative action (before glutaraldehyde: slope 11.19, r: 0.87 +/- 0.07; n = 12; after glutaraldehyde: slope 10.67, r: 0.86 +/- 0.04, n = 39). In the case of amphotericin B, delta Pf/delta Pd = 3.08 (r: 0.83 +/- 0.08), a value similar to that observed in lipid bilayers or in nonfixed toad urinary bladders. It is concluded that: The experimental approach previously employed to study water channels in artificial lipid membranes and in amphibian urinary bladders, can be applied to the glutaraldehyde-fixed frog urinary bladder. Glutaraldehyde fixation does not modify the permeability properties of the ADH-induced water channels. Any contribution of exo-endocytic processes or cell regulatory mechanisms to the observed permeability parameters can probably be excluded. Glutaraldehyde-fixed preparations are a good model to characterize these water pathways.

8-Bromo Cyclic Adenosine Monophosphate↗
PubMed1995

Phylogeny of the Polystomatidae (Platyhelminthes, Monogenea), with particular reference to Polystoma integerrimum.

Polystome phylogeny is examined, with emphasis on the dimorphism of the frog parasite Polystoma integerrimum, which exists in a fully differentiated and a neotenic form, and the evolutionary development of exclusively neotenic genera. Protopolystoma, which infects the aquatic toad Xenopus, has essentially the same morphology as the neotenic (branchial) adult of P. integerrimum and is interpreted as a neotenic genus; however, it inhabits the bladder of its host, the infection site of the normal adult of the dimorphic species. The sphyranurid Sphyranura, ectoparasitic on the external gills of the mud puppy Necturus, resembles the two-sucker larva of P. integerrimum in possessing a single pair of haptorial suckers in place of the 6 suckers of adult polystomes, and is probably a neotenic parasite associated with a neotenic host. The neotenic animals in general are parasites of aquatic hosts, and the uterus is lost or reduced in these genera; by contrast, uterine function is greatly enhanced among polystomes infecting amphibians best adapted to terrestrial life.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Participation of nitric oxide in the nucleus isthmi in CO2-drive to breathing in toads.

The nucleus isthmi (NI) is a mesencephalic structure of the amphibian brain. It has been reported that NI plays an important role in integration of CO2 chemoreceptor information and glutamate is probably involved in this function. However, very little is known about the mechanisms involved. Recently, it has been shown that nitric oxide synthase (NOS) is expressed in the brain of the frog. Thus the gas nitric oxide (NO) may be involved in different functions in the brain of amphibians and may act as a neurotransmitter or neuromodulator. We tested the hypothesis that NO plays a role in CO2-drive to breathing, specifically in the NI comparing pulmonary ventilation, breathing frequency and tidal volume, after microinjecting 100 nmol/0.5 microl of L-NAME (a nonselective NO synthase inhibitor) into the NI of toads (Bufo paracnemis) exposed to normocapnia and hypercapnia. Control animals received microinjections of vehicle of the same volume. Under normocapnia no significant changes were observed between control and L-NAME-treated toads. Hypercapnia caused a significant (P<0.01) increase in ventilation only after intracerebral microinjection of L-NAME. Exposure to hypercapnia caused a significant increase in breathing frequency both in control and L-NAME-treated toads (P<0.01 for the control group and P<0.001 for the L-NAME group). The tidal volume of the L-NAME group tended to be higher than in the control group under hypercapnia, but the increase was not statistically significant. The data indicate that NO in the NI has an inhibitory effect only when the respiratory drive is high (hypercapnia), probably acting on tidal volume. The observations reported in the present investigation, together with other studies on the presence of NOS in amphibians, indicate a considerable degree of phylogenetic conservation of the NO pathway amongst vertebrates.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

The primary structures and myotropic activities of two tachykinins isolated from the African clawed frog, Xenopus laevis.

Two peptides with limited structural similarity to mammalian substance P (SP) and neurokinin A (NKA) have been isolated from extracts of the intestine of the African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis). The primary structure of an SP-like peptide was established as: Lys-Pro-Arg-Pro-Asp-Gln-Phe-Tyr-Gly-Leu-Met.NH(2), which is identical to the previously characterized peptide, bufokinin isolated from the toad Bufo marinus. The primary structure of an NKA-related peptide was established as Thr-Leu-Thr-Thr-Gly-Lys-Asp-Phe-Val-Gly-Leu-Met.NH(2). Only the five amino acids at the C-terminal region of the peptide are identical to mammalian NKA whereas the N-terminal region shows no structural similarity to previously characterized tachykinins. Immunohistochemical investigations of the gut wall revealed a dense network of nerve fibres and nerve cell bodies containing SP/NKA-like substances. The myotropic effects of the Xenopus tachykinins were compared with the contractile effect of mammalian SP and NKA on isolated strips of circular smooth muscle from Xenopus stomach. No significant differences in potencies (-log EC(50)) or in intrinsic activities were observed between the Xenopus and mammalian peptides. The potencies for the Xenopus SP-like (8.49+/-0.15) and the NKA-like peptide (8.12+/-0.06) were similar suggesting that the amino acid sequence at the N-terminal region of the tachykinins is not important in activating the tachykinin receptors in Xenopus gastric smooth muscle. The maximum response to Xenopus SP (alpha=0.59+/-0.06) was significantly lower than to the NKA-like peptide (alpha=1.0) suggesting a more effective interaction of the NKA-like peptide with the tachykinin receptor(s) in Xenopus stomach.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Variation in thyroid hormone action and tissue content underlies species differences in the timing of metamorphosis in desert frogs.

Hormonal control of post-embryonic morphogenesis is well established, but it is not clear how differences in developmental endocrinology between species may underlie animal diversity. We studied this issue by comparing metamorphic thyroid hormone (TH) physiology and gonad development across spadefoot toad species divergent in metamorphic rate. Tissue TH content, in vitro tail tip sensitivity to TH, and rates of TH-induced tail tip shrinkage correlated with species differences in larval period duration. Gonad differentiation occurred before metamorphosis in species with long larval periods and after metamorphosis in the species with short larval periods. These differences in TH physiology and gonad development, informed by phylogeny and ecology of spadefoot metamorphosis, provide evidence that selection for the short larval periods in spadefoot toads acted via TH physiology and led to dramatic heterochronic shifts in metamorphic climax relative to gonad development.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Islet hormones from the African bullfrog Pyxicephalus adspersus (Anura:Ranidae): structural characterization and phylogenetic implications.

The African bullfrog Pyxicephalus adspersus is generally classified along with frogs of the genus Rana in the subfamily Raninae of the family Ranidae but precise phylogenetic relationships between species are unclear. Pancreatic polypeptide (PP), insulin, and glucagon-like peptide (GLP-1) were isolated from an extract of P. adspersus pancreas and characterized structurally. A comparison of the amino acid sequence of Pyxicephalus PP (APSEPQHPGG(10)QATPEQLAQY(20)YSDLYQYITF(30)ITRPRF++ +. NH(2)) with those of the known amphibian PP molecules in a maximum parsimony analysis generates a single phylogenetic tree in which Pyxicephalus is the sister to the clade comprising the members of the genus Rana. The three orders of living amphibians form discrete clades with the representative of the Gymnophiona appearing as sister to the Caudata-Anura. In contrast, Pyxicephalus insulin (A chain, GIVEQCCHSA(10)CSLYDLENYC(20)N; B-chain, LANQHLCGSH(10)LVEALYMVCG(20)ERGFFYYPKS(30)) and and GLP-1 (HAEGTFTSDM(10)TSYLEEKAAK(20)EFVDWLIKGR(30)PK) resemble more closely the corresponding peptides from the cane toad Bufo marinus than the peptides from any species of Rana. Cladistic analysis based upon the amino acid sequences of insulin produced a polyphyletic assemblage with the Gymnophiona nesting within an unresolved clade containing the non-ranid frogs. The data support the assertion that the amino acid sequence of PP, but not those of the other islet hormones, is of value as a molecular marker for inferring phylogenetic relationships between early tetrapod species.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1986

Further characterisation of the inotropic effect of a bufodienolide glycoside--an endogenous ouabain like compound.

A ouabain like compound obtained from toad skin and plasma and identified to be a steroidal bufodienolide glycoside was found to displace ouabain from its binding site and to inhibit Na+-K+ ATPase, and have positive inotropic effects on cardiac muscle. The ionic and rate dependence of this positive inotropy was studied in the frog atrium. The effect was dependent on extracellular potassium, sodium, and calcium concentrations and on the rate of stimulation, which is similar to the properties of cardiac glycosides. Occasionally, the compound gave transient or even negative inotropic responses, as do the glycosides. The action potential configuration was also affected by the compound in the same complex pattern as is that of cardiac glycosides. It is concluded that the endogenous bufodienolide compound has the same physiological effects as cardiac glycosides. Since the same compound is present in toad plasma it may serve as an intrinsic humoral regulator of cardiac contractility. This study is the first detailed characterisation of the cardioactive properties of this compound.

Action Potentials↗