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Ion Influx (ion + influx)
Selected AbstractsCa2+/H+ antiporter-like activity of human recombinant Bax inhibitor-1 reconstituted into liposomesFEBS JOURNAL, Issue 8 2009Taeho Ahn We investigated the functional activity of recombinant Bax inhibitor-1 reconstituted into liposomes. When proteoliposomes were suspended in acidic solutions, encapsulated Ca2+ was released from the membranes, as previously suggested [Kim HR, Lee GH, Ha KC, Ahn T, Moon JY, Lee BJ, Cho SG, Kim S, Seo YR, Shin YJ et al. (2008) J Biol Chem283, 15946,15955]. Concomitantly, proton ions were internalized when assayed using the time-dependent change in the fluorescence of the pH-sensitive dye oxonol V entrapped in the proteoliposomes. The influx of proton ions was confirmed by observing tritium accumulation in the membranes. However, the external acidity of the membranes per se did not induce proton ion influx without internalized Ca2+. These results suggest that reconstituted Bax inhibitor-1 has a Ca2+/H+ antiporter-like activity. [source] Acetyl- l -carnitine improves aged brain functionGERIATRICS & GERONTOLOGY INTERNATIONAL, Issue 2010Satoru Kobayashi The effects of acetyl- l -carnitine (ALCAR), an acetyl derivative of l -carnitine, on memory and learning capacity and on brain synaptic functions of aged rats were examined. Male Fischer 344 rats were given ALCAR (100 mg/kg bodyweight) per os for 3 months and were subjected to the Hebb,Williams tasks and AKON-1 task to assess their learning capacity. Cholinergic activities were determined with synaptosomes isolated from brain cortices of the rats. Choline parameters, the high-affinity choline uptake, acetylcholine (ACh) synthesis and depolarization-evoked ACh release were all enhanced in the ALCAR group. An increment of depolarization-induced calcium ion influx into synaptosomes was also evident in rats given ALCAR. Electrophysiological studies using hippocampus slices indicated that the excitatory postsynaptic potential slope and population spike size were both increased in ALCAR-treated rats. These results indicate that ALCAR increases synaptic neurotransmission in the brain and consequently improves learning capacity in aging rats. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2010; 10 (Suppl. 1): S99,S106. [source] Polycystins: what polycystic kidney disease tells us about spermMOLECULAR REPRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT, Issue 4 2004Abraham L. Kierszenbaum Abstract Experimental evidence indicates that the membrane-associated proteins polycystin-1 and polycystin-2 operate as a receptor-calcium channel complex that regulates signaling pathways essential for modulation of renal tubulogenesis. Polycystic kidney disease is characterized by defective renal tubular structure and results from mutations in either PKD1 or PKD2 genes. Recent data suggest that polycystin-1 and polycystin-2 might localize to primary cilium in principal cells of renal collecting tubules and are thought to act as mechanosensors of fluid flow and contents. Ciliary bending by fluid flow or mechanical stimulation induce Ca2+ release from intracellular stores, presumably to modulate ion influx in response to tubular fluid flow. Polycystins are also emerging as playing a significant role in sperm development and function. Drosophila polycystin-2 is associated with the head and tail of mature sperm. Targeted disruption of the PKD2 homolog results in nearly complete male sterility without disrupting spermatogenesis. Mutant sperm are motile but are unable to reach the female storage organs (seminal receptacles and spermathecae). The sea urchin polycystin-1-equivalent suPC2 colocalizes with the polycystin-1 homolog REJ3 to the plasma membrane over the acrosomal vesicle. This localization site suggests that the suPC2-REJ3 complex may function as a cation channel mediating acrosome reaction when sperm contact the jelly layer surrounding the egg at fertilization. Future studies leading to the identification of specific ligands for polycystins, including the signaling pathways, might define the puzzling relationship between renal tubular morphogenesis and sperm development and function. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 67: 385,388, 2004. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Mechano-biology of skeletal muscle hypertrophy and regeneration: Possible mechanism of stretch-induced activation of resident myogenic stem cellsANIMAL SCIENCE JOURNAL, Issue 1 2010Ryuichi TATSUMI ABSTRACT In undamaged postnatal muscle fibers with normal contraction and relaxation activities, quiescent satellite cells of resident myogenic stem cells are interposed between the overlying external lamina and the sarcolemma of a subjacent mature muscle fiber. When muscle is injured, exercised, overused or mechanically stretched, these cells are activated to enter the cell proliferation cycle, divide, differentiate, and fuse with the adjacent muscle fiber, and are responsible for regeneration and work-induced hypertrophy of muscle fibers. Therefore, a mechanism must exist to translate mechanical changes in muscle tissue into chemical signals that can activate satellite cells. Recent studies of satellite cells or single muscle fibers in culture and in vivo demonstrated the essential role of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) and nitric oxide (NO) radical in the activation pathway. These experiments have also reported that mechanically stretching satellite cells or living skeletal muscles triggers the activation by rapid release of HGF from its extracellular tethering and the subsequent presentation to the receptor c-met. HGF release has been shown to rely on calcium-calmodulin formation and NO radical production in satellite cells and/or muscle fibers in response to the mechanical perturbation, and depend on the subsequent up-regulation of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activity. These results indicate that the activation mechanism is a cascade of events including calcium ion influx, calcium-calmodulin formation, NO synthase activation, NO radical production, MMP activation, HGF release and binding to c-met. Better understanding of ,mechano-biology' on the satellite cell activation is essential for designing procedures that could enhance muscle growth and repair activities in meat-animal agriculture and also in neuromuscular disease and aging in humans. [source] | ||||||||||