PubMed HealthSearch

SEARCH · PubMed Health

Results for “Chromogranins”

Explore indexed PubMed citations for clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health research. Read source abstracts and follow each citation to its original PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Complexes of chromogranin A and dopamine beta-hydroxylase among the chromogranins of the bovine adrenal medulla.

1. The core proteins of chromaffin granules have been examined by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and crossed immunoelectrophoresis against monospecific antisera. 2. Dopamine beta-hydroxylase (dopamine beta-monooxygenase, EC 1.14.17.1) appeared as the major immunogen of the core proteins and accounted for 4 and 8% by weight of the crude lysate and membrane-containing fractions, respectively. 3. The non-ionic detergent, Berol, solubilized dopamine beta-hydroxylase from the membranes in a form which was immunologically identical but of lower relative mobility by crossed immunoelectrophoresis. In the absence of detergent a difference in relative mobility was also noted between the purified enzyme and that contaminated by chromogranin A. These observations suggest that several molecular forms of dopamine beta-hydroxylase may occur which differ in size and/or charge due to interactions with the contaminants under the experimental conditions. 4. The main chromogranin in the crude lysate was absent from electropherograms of the acidic chromogranins (95--96% of total protein in lysate). These were obtained free of dopamine beta-hydroxylase by concanavalin A adsorption at high ionic strength or by acidification in 2 M acetic acid. The main band reappeared upon recombination with dopamine beta-hydroxylase, indicating the presence of some dopamine beta-hydroxylase, possibly as dimers, in this main, chromogranin A band. A protein concentration-dependent aggregate of dopamine beta-hydroxylase-free chromogranin A was detected, with a relative mobility slightly faster than the main band of the crude lysate.

Adrenal Medulla

Bovine adrenal medullary chromogranin A: studies on the structure and further evidence for identity with dopamine-beta-hydroxylase subunit.

1. Chromogranin A was purified by the use of polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The amino acid composition of chromogranin A appeared to be nearly identical to that reported by other investigators and, moreover, was confirmed to be similar to that of dopamine beta-hydroxylase. 2. Dansyl-end group analysis revealed the presence of leucine as the only amino-terminal residue and quantitative estimations showed the presence of two leucine residues per molecule of 77 000 molecular weight. 3. Tryptic and CNBr patterns were obtained. Data are in good agreement with the concept of two nearly identical polypeptide chains per chromogranin A molecule of mol. wt 77 000. Patterns were compared with those obtained in parallel dopamine beta-hydroxylase and support the idea that chromogranin A and the dopamine beta-hydroxylase subunit are identical. Digestion with leucine amino peptidase gave further additional evidence for this suggestion. 4. Chromogranin A appeared to be free of carbohydrates. No cross-reaction was detected between chromogranin A and rabbit antibody against bovine adrenal dopamine beta-hydroxylase.

Adrenal Medulla

Synthesis of chromogranins and dopamine beta-hydroxylase by perfused bovine adrenal glands.

The incorporation of [3H]leucine into chromogranins and into soluble and membrane-bound dopamine beta-hydroxylase (DBH) was studied in isolated perfused adrenal glands. [3H]chromogranins and [3H]DBH were quantitatively determined by immunoprecipitation. The amounts of soluble [3H]DBH formed were about equal to the amounts of membrane-bound [3H]DBH whereas the amounts of [3H]chromogranin were 5- to 20-fold greater than that of soluble [3H]DBH. On continuous sucrose density gradients, [3H]chromogranin was unimodally distributed after 2- to 20-h chase periods and accumulated in a vesicle having a lower buoyant density than mature chromaffin vesicles. At 2 h both membrane and soluble [3H]DBH were both bimodally distributed whereas after a 20-h chase period the distribution of soluble and membrane [3H]DBH was essentially unimodal and paralleled the distribution of [3H]chromogranin. These studies indicate that [3H]chromogranin, soluble [3H]DBH, and membrane [3H]DBH are synthesized concomitantly, but that each is transported into chromaffin vesicles at different rates.

Adrenal Glands

Catecholamine release-inhibitory peptide catestatin (chromogranin A(352-372)): naturally occurring amino acid variant Gly364Ser causes profound changes in human autonomic activity and alters risk for hypertension.

BACKGROUND: Chromogranin A, coreleased with catecholamines by exocytosis, is cleaved to the catecholamine release-inhibitory fragment catestatin. We identified a natural nonsynonymous variant of catestatin, Gly364Ser, that alters human autonomic function and blood pressure. METHODS AND RESULTS: Gly364Ser heterozygotes and controls underwent physiological and biochemical phenotyping, including catecholamine production, chromogranin A precursor, and its catestatin product. Case-control studies replicated effects of the gene on blood pressure in the population. Gly364Ser displayed diminished inhibition of catecholamine secretion from cultured neurons. Gly/Ser heterozygotes displayed increased baroreceptor slope during upward deflections (by approximately 47%) and downward deflections (by approximately 44%), increased cardiac parasympathetic index (by approximately 2.4-fold), and decreased cardiac sympathetic index (by approximately 26%). Renal norepinephrine excretion was diminished by approximately 26% and epinephrine excretion by approximately 34% in Gly/Ser heterozygotes. The coalescent dated emergence of the variant to approximately 70,000 years ago. Gly364Ser was in linkage disequilibrium with 1 major Chromogranin A promoter haplotype, although promoter haplotypes did not predict autonomic phenotypes. The 364Ser variant was associated with lower diastolic blood pressure in 2 independent/confirmatory groups of patients with hypertension; genotype groups differed by approximately 5 to 6 mm Hg, and the polymorphism accounted for approximately 1.8% of population diastolic blood pressure variance, although a significant gene-by-sex interaction existed, with an enhanced effect in men. CONCLUSIONS: The catestatin Gly364Ser variant causes profound changes in human autonomic activity, both parasympathetic and sympathetic, and seems to reduce risk of developing hypertension, especially in men. A model for catestatin action in the baroreceptor center of the nucleus of the tractus solitarius accounts for these actions.

Amino Acid Sequence

Acute pre-exercise oral intake of cacao polyphenols attenuates central fatigue development during sustained low-intensity ankle dorsiflexion exercise in healthy young male adults.

This double-blind, randomized, crossover study investigated whether acute cacao polyphenol (CP) ingestion attenuates neuromuscular fatigue in 19 healthy young male adults. After consuming CP or placebo, participants performed sustained isometric ankle dorsiflexion at 25% of maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) torque until task failure. Neuromuscular function (MVIC torque, voluntary activation [VA%], doublet torque) and electromyographic activity were assessed before, immediately after, and during recovery (1 and 5&#x2009;min). Salivary chromogranin A and &#x3b1;-amylase were measured at baseline and 1&#x2009;min post-task. Only VA% and chromogranin A showed significant condition &#xd7; time interactions (p&#x2009;=&#x2009;0.027-0.039). VA% significantly decreased from before to immediately after the task and 1&#x2009;min post-task in both conditions (p&#x2009;&#x2264;&#x2009;0.002), with significantly higher values in the CP condition than in placebo immediately after and 1&#x2009;min post-task (p&#x2009;&#x2264;&#x2009;0.037). Chromogranin A significantly increased from baseline to 1&#x2009;min post-task in the placebo condition (p&#x2009;<&#x2009;0.001) but not in the CP condition (p&#x2009;=&#x2009;0.083). These findings suggest that acute CP ingestion attenuates the decline in central motor drive and autonomic stress responses following strenuous exercise, without altering performance or peripheral recovery, supporting its potential as a nutritional strategy for modulating central fatigue.

Humans

Molecular mobilities of soluble components in the aqueous phase of chromaffin granules.

NMR relaxation times have been used to characterize molecular motion and intermolecular complexes in the aqueous phase of bovine chromaffin granules. Partially relaxed 13C and proton spectra have been obtained at 3 and 25 degrees C. T1 measurements of five protonated carbons on epinephrine (C2, C5, C6, CHOH and NCH3) give a correlation time of 0.15 (10(-9)) s at 25 degrees C for the catechol ring and methine carbon, while the effective correlation time for the NCH3 group is somewhat shorter due to its internal degree of rotational freedom. Resonances of protonated carbons on the soluble protein chromogranin give very similar correlation times: 0.20 (10(-9)) s for the peptide alpha-carbon and 0.2 (10(-9)) s for the methylene sidechain carbons of glutamic acid. The correlation time (tauR) of ATP was not measured directly using 13C T1 data due to the weakness of its spectrum, but its reorientation appears to be substantially slower than that of epinephrine or chromogranin. This conclusion is based on three observations: (1) the qualitative temperature dependence of T1 for H2 and H8 on the adenine ring places tauR for ATP to the right of the T1 minimum, or tauR greater than or equal to 1.0 (10(-9)) s; (2) 13C-resonances of ATP have anomalously low amplitudes compared with epinephrine resonances, a fact that is readily explained only if ATP undergoes substantially slower reorientation; and (3) a comparison of the T1 data of H8 in chromaffin granules and in a dilute aqueous solution, where tauR for ATP can be measured directly indicates that tauR approximately 1.0 (10(-9)) s at 25 degrees C in the granules. The relaxation data are consistent with the concept of a storage complex based on electrostatic interactions between a polyion (chromogranin) and its counterions (ATP and epinephrine), in which ATP cross-links cationic sidechains of the protein.

Adenosine Triphosphate

Ultrastructural radioautography of the incorporation of tritiated leucine by the rat adrenal medulla in vivo.

Sections of tissues from the adrenal medullae of young rats were subjected to radioautography after a single intravenous injection of L-leucine 4, 5(3)H to identify the sites of synthesis and follow the migration of newly-formed proteins in both adrenaline-storing (A) and noradrenaline-storing (N) cells. As early as 2 min after injection of leucine 3H, the label was highest in the rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER) of A and N cells, suggesting that cisternal ribosomes are sites of protein synthesis. By 5 and 10 min, much of the label had migrated from the RER into the Golgi complex of both cell types. Some label was already present over the secretory granule matrix (chromogranins) by 2 min but the peak was reached at 1 h in both A and N cells. By 4 h, the label over the secretory granules had diminished, indicating a release of newly-synthetized chromogranins outside the cells. The label over the hyaloplasm was relatively high at 2 min but it decreased rapidly to low levels. In contrast, the label over the cell surface continually increased to reach the highest levels among all organelles at 4 h in both cell types. The pattern of increment of the label over the cell surface suggests that the newly-formed proteins of these sites are also synthetized in the RER, pass through the Golgi complex and are transported in the hyaloplasm, before reaching the surface of A and N cells.

Adrenal Medulla

The adrenal medulla: a model for studies of hormonal and neuronal storage and release mechanisms.

We have observed that phospholipids and protein of the catecholamine (CA) storage granules, i.e. the chromaffin granules, interact in an in vitro system to form liposomal particles, which in many respects resemble the intact matrix of the bovine chromaffin granule. A model has been suggested which consists of an aqueous phase, containing the acidic chromogranins and intact dopamine-beta-hydroxylase (DBH) ATP and CA, embedded in a liquid crystal of the matrix phospholipids. Ca2+ may play a significant role in the sequence of functional transitions of such an organelle, not only in the accumulation of Ca2+, as during the secretory phase of the intact cell, but also as the agent inducing a separation of the outer membrane bilayer from the matrix phase to be released, as during exocytosis. Furthermore, a liposome model of the matrix may also tentatively explain the occurrence of intact matrices in the interstitium of stimulated glands. Recent evidence for the identity between chromogranin A and DBH subunits have been summarized and a possible role for the inactive subunits in the ionic binding of ATP and CA in the aqueous phase of the matrix is discussed. A role of Ca2+ and cyclic AMP in the mediation of beta-adrenergic modulation is postulated on the basis of our recent work on acetylcholine-induced release of CA from perfused and stimulated bovine adrenals. We conclude that such a beta-adrenergic modulation is secondary to that of the cholinergic response. Hence, this activation is able to enhance the output induced by mild cholinergic stimulation although insufficient to evoke a CA release by itself.

Adrenal Medulla

Renal albumin excretion: twin studies identify influences of heredity, environment, and adrenergic pathway polymorphism.

Albumin excretion marks early glomerular injury in hypertension. This study investigated heritability of albumin excretion in twin pairs and its genetic determination by adrenergic pathway polymorphism. Genetic associations used single nucleotide polymorphisms at adrenergic pathway loci spanning catecholamine biosynthesis, storage, catabolism, receptor action, and postreceptor signal transduction. We studied 134 single nucleotide polymorphisms at 46 loci for a total of >51,000 genotypes. Albumin excretion heritability was 45.2+/-7.4% (P=2x10(-7)), and the phenotype aggregated significantly with adrenergic, renal, metabolic, and hemodynamic traits. In the adrenergic system, excretions of both norepinephrine and epinephrine correlated with albumin. In the kidney, albumin excretion correlated with glomerular and tubular traits (Na(+) and K(+) excretion; fractional excretion of Na(+) and Li(+)). Albumin excretion shared genetic determination (genetic covariance) with epinephrine excretion, and environmental determination with glomerular filtration rate and electrolyte intake/excretion. Albumin excretion associated with polymorphisms at multiple points in the adrenergic pathway: catecholamine biosynthesis (tyrosine hydroxylase), catabolism (monoamine oxidase A), storage/release (chromogranin A), receptor target (dopamine D1 receptor), and postreceptor signal transduction (sorting nexin 13 and rho kinase). Epistasis (gene-by-gene interaction) occurred between alleles at rho kinase, tyrosine hydroxylase, chromogranin A, and sorting nexin 13. Dopamine D1 receptor polymorphism showed pleiotropic effects on both albumin and dopamine excretion. These studies establish new roles for heredity and environment in albumin excretion. Urinary excretions of albumin and catecholamines are highly heritable, and their parallel suggests adrenergic mediation of early glomerular permeability alterations. Albumin excretion is influenced by multiple adrenergic pathway genes and is, thus, polygenic. Such functional links between adrenergic activity and glomerular injury suggest novel approaches to its prediction, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.

Adolescent

Composition of the aqueous phase of chromaffin granules.

Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy has been used to determine the composition of the aqueous phase of bovine chromaffin granules. Relative concentrations of catecholamines (epinephrine plus norepinephrine), ATP and chromogranins have been measured from integrated intensities in the proton spectra using computer simulation techniques. Most or all of the catecholamines (97 +/- 8%) are present in the aqueous phase and contribute to the high resolution spectrum. The catecholamine:ATP molar ratio (4.41 +/- 0.45) determined by NMR is close to the value (4.45) derived from biochemical assay indicating that most or all of the ATP is present with catecholamine in the aqueous phase. Catecholamine:protein ratios show that approximately 45% of the soluble protein freed by lysis is not NMR visible. Intensity from this fraction does not appear under highly denaturing conditions (8 M urea) but reappears after hydrolysis. This behavior is similar to that of recently isolated soluble lipoprotein complexes. Variations in the NMR spectra associated with (1) different preparative procedures; (2) different suspension media, and (3) increasing osmolality are described. The fact that high concentrations of epinephrine and ATP (approximately 700 mM total) are dissolved in the aqueous phase implies that solution phase interactions at least partially ionic in nature are responsible for the low internal osmolality of chromaffin granules in vivo. Ordered phases containing a substantial fraction of the total catecholamine in an osmotically inactive form are not present.

Adenosine Triphosphate

Dual Mechanisms Underlie the Repression of Repressor Element 1-Silencing Transcription Factor Expression in Lung Neuroendocrine Carcinoma Cells.

Recent advances in genetic analysis have led to further subtyping of small-cell lung carcinoma (SCLC). The major subtypes of SCLC are the achaete-scute family bHLH transcription factor 1 (ASCL1)-predominant (SCLC-A), neuronal differentiation 1 (NEUROD1)-predominant (SCLC-N), and POU class 2 homeobox 3 (POU2F3) (SCLC-P) subtypes. SCLC-A and SCLC-N tumors express chromogranin A (CHGA) and synaptophysin (SYP), but SCLC-P tumors do not. Large-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma, another type of neuroendocrine carcinoma (NEC), also frequently expresses CHGA and SYP. Because CHGA and SYP expression is controlled by a transrepressor, repressor element 1-silencing transcription factor (REST), the mechanisms underlying REST suppression in NEC were investigated, with a focus on miRNAs and epigenetics, to determine the causes of the differences in the expression of CHGA and SYP between SCLC-A/N and SCLC-P cells. The results showed that miR-375-3p, which was induced by ASCL1 and NEUROD1, repressed REST expression by binding to the 3'-untranslated region of REST mRNA. Bisulfite sequencing and experiments using a DNA methyltransferase inhibitor, a histone deacetylase inhibitor, and chromatin immunoprecipitation-based quantitative PCR revealed that promoter/enhancer hypermethylation and histone deacetylation causes REST gene inactivation in SCLC-A/N. These phenomena were also observed in a large-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma cell line that expressed high levels of ASCL1 and NEUROD1. Taken together, these findings suggest that NEC has dual repressive effects on REST expression, resulting in strict regulation of the expression of CHGA, SYP, and other REST-controlled neuronal/neuroendocrine-specific genes.

Humans

Correlated release of acetylcholine and protein from the neuromuscular junction.

Transmitter release at adrenergic synapses is accompanied by release of chromogranin proteins, which are contained in synaptic vesicles. To determine if a similar phenomenon occurs at the neuromuscular junction, correlated release of acetylcholine (ACh) and protein was investigated using in vitro neuromuscular preparations (phrenic nerve-diaphragm muscle of the rat and mouse, sciatic nerve-sartorius muscle of Rana pipiens and R. catesbeiana). Nerve stimulation of curare-paralyzed preparations increased the rate of efflux of Lowry-reactive material relative to control values. Stimulus-specific responses outlasted the period of neural stimulation. Stimulus-induced release of Lowry-reactive material was correlated with ACh release since it was Ca2+ dependent and Mg2+ antagonized. Conditions that potentiate spontaneous ACh release also significantly increased the rate of efflux of Lowry-reactive material. Most of the Lowry-reactive material released with ACh is not a secretory product of synaptic vesicles because the amount released exceeds the contents of synaptic vesicles that undergo exocytosis. It is concluded that ACh release from the neuromuscular junction is accompanied by release of proteinaceous material that is not entirely derived from synaptic vesicles.

Acetylcholine

Analysis of the carbon-13 and proton NMR spectra of bovine chromaffin granules.

Natural abundance carbon-13 and proton NMR spectra of bovine chromaffin granules have been obtained and analyzed using computer simulation techniques. High resolution spectra show the presence of a fluid aqueous phase containing epinephrine, ATP and a random coil protein. The protein spectrum contains unusually intense resonances due to glutamic acid and proline and has been simulated satisfactorily using the known amino acid composition of chromogranin A. The lipid phase of chromaffin granules gives rise to intense, but very broad, resonances in the carbon-13 spectrum. Protons in the lipid phase are also observable as a very rapid component of the proton-free induction decay (T2 approximately equal to 15 microns). Linewidths of the carbon-13 spectra have been used to set upper limits on rotational correlation times and on the motional anisotropy in the aqueous phase. These limits show that the aqueous phase is a simple solution (not a gel) that is isotropic over regions much larger than solute dimensions. No gel transition is observed between -3 and 25 degrees C. The carbon-13 spectra are definitely inconsistent with a lipoprotein matrix model and chromaffin granules previously proposed by Helle and Serck-Hanssen ((1975) Mol. Cell, Biochem. 6, 127-146). Relative carbon-13 intensities of ATP and epinephrine are not consistent with the known 1 : 4 mol ratio of these components. This fact suggests that epinephrine and ATP are not directly complexed in intact chromaffin granules.

Adenosine Triphosphate

Deciphering Pseudoendocrine Sarcoma: A Clinicopathological, Molecular, and Epigenetic Study Suggesting Biological Links With Solid Pseudopapillary Neoplasm of the Pancreas.

Pseudoendocrine sarcoma (PS) is a recently described neoplasm of uncertain differentiation, characterized by recurrent CTNNB1 mutations, frequent paravertebral location, and a neuroendocrine-like histomorphology. In this study, we report the clinicopathologic, immunohistochemical, transcriptomic, and epigenetic findings of 12 PS cases. The tumors affected 7 men and 5 women with a median age of 66 years and were located in the paraspinal/paravertebral region (n = 11) and the thigh (n = 1). Median tumor size was 82 mm (range, 32-170 mm). Histologically, the tumors comprised sheets and nests of epithelioid-to-ovoid cells with uniform nuclei and speckled chromatin, frequently associated with extracellular hyaline globules and fibrovascular cords/septa. Uncommon findings included microcalcifications, myxoid stroma, pseudopapillary, pseudoglandular, microcystic or corded architecture, and lumen and rosette-like structures. Necrosis was absent, and mitotic activity was low. On immunohistochemistry, the tumors showed aberrant nuclear staining for beta-catenin (8/8) and expression of CD56 (7/7), S100 (8/8), desmin (2/6), and androgen receptor (1/4). Pankeratin (AE1/AE3), progesterone receptor, synaptophysin, chromogranin, and INSM1 were negative. All tested cases harbored CTNNB1 mutations. Using a customized cohort, methylation profiling revealed that PS formed a common cluster with solid pseudopapillary neoplasm of the pancreas (SPNP), distinct from all methylation classes from the Heidelberg sarcoma classifier and a subset of paragangliomas. Transcriptomic analysis showed that PS formed an independent cluster from a control group of tumors (including SPNP). Differential gene expression analysis showed enrichment in genes of the Wnt signaling pathway (HALLMARK gene sets) and biological processes related to sensory perception, among others (gene ontology - biological process [GO-BP]). Additionally, upregulated genes were related to various fetal cell types from the cell type signature data set (MSigDB), particularly of neuronal and epithelial lineage. Immunohistochemical assessment of potential markers identified through gene expression analysis revealed focal-to-diffuse expression of GLUT1 (6/6) and focal/multifocal expression of Brachyury (4/9) and HuD (3/7). Follow-up information, available for 10 cases (median duration of 18 months; range, 7-69 months), showed local recurrences and metastatic spread in 2 patients each. Evidence of response to radiotherapy was documented in one tumor. Altogether, this study expands knowledge on PS and suggests biological links with SPNP, including a potential shared cell of origin.

Humans