Colocalization of neurotensin receptors and of the neurotensin-degrading enzyme endopeptidase 24-16 in primary cultures of neurons. (25/58)

This paper compares the localization of neurotensin receptors and of endopeptidase 24-16, a peptidase likely involved in the inactivation of neurotensin in primary cultures of neurons. Neurotensin binding sites were radiolabeled with 125I-Tyr3-neurotensin, whereas endopeptidase 24-16 was stained by immunohistochemical techniques using a monospecific polyclonal antibody. Endopeptidase 24-16 is present in 80-85% of the nondifferentiated neurons. The proportion of immunoreactive neurons decreased during maturation to reach 35-40% after 4-8 d of culture. By contrast, neurotensin receptors were not detectable in nondifferentiated cells and appear during maturation. Specific 125I-Tyr3-neurotensin labeling is maximal after 4 d of culture and is located on about 10% of differentiated neurons. Double-labeling experiments show that about 90% of cortical, hypothalamic, and mesencephalic neurons bearing the neurotensin receptor also contained endopeptidase 24-16, supporting the hypothesis that one of the functions of endopeptidase 24-16 is the physiological inactivation of neurotensin. However, the presence of endopeptidase 24-16 on numerous neurons that do not contain neurotensin receptors also suggests that the enzyme could be involved in the degradation and/or maturation of other neuropeptides.  (+info)

Catecholamines up integrates dopamine synthesis and synaptic trafficking. (26/58)

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Dopamine modulates metabolic rate and temperature sensitivity in Drosophila melanogaster. (27/58)

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Quantitative studies of pinocytosis. II. Kinetics of protein uptake and digestion by rat yolk sac cultured in vitro. (28/58)

Pinocytic uptake of 125I-labeled bovine serum albumin by 17.5-day rat visceral yolk sac cultured in vitro has been examined. Uptake was followed by intracellular digestion and, after an initial period, the content of radioactivity in the tissue itself remained constant during the incubation. Radiolabel was returned to the culture medium predominantly as (125I)iodotyrosine; exocytosis of undigested protein did not occur. The rate of uptake of labeled protein, which was constant within an experiment and reproducible between experiments, was much higher than that of a nondigestible macromolecule, 125I-labeled polyvinylpyrrolidone. The higher rate of uptake was a consequence of the protein entering the cells chiefly by adsorption to the plasma membrane being internalized; 125I-labeled albumin did not stimualte, nor did 125I-labeled polyvinylpyrrolidone inhibit pinocytosis. Different preparations of 125I-labeled albumin had characteristically different rates of uptake, probably reflecting differences in affinity for plasma membrane receptors. The physiological significance of the findings is discussed.  (+info)

Location of dehydroalanine residues in the amino acid sequence of bovine thyroglobulin. Identification of "donor" tyrosine sites for hormonogenesis in thyroglobulin. (29/58)

Thyroid hormonogenesis in thyroglobulin results in the conversion of an "acceptor" iodotyrosine to a hormone residue and a "donor" iodotyrosine to a dehydroalanine residue. Altogether five acceptor sites have been located as hormone residues in thyroglobulin of different animal species. To search for donor sites, we treated bovine thyroglobulin with 4-aminothiophenol to specifically modify dehydroalanine residues to S-(4-aminophenyl)cysteine (APC) residues, according to the principle of dehydroalanine determination developed by us (Kondo, T., Kondo, Y., and Ui, N. (1988) Mol. Cell. Endocr. 57, 101-106). After digesting thyroglobulin with lysyl endopeptidase, APC-containing peptides were separated from other peptides by trapping them on immobilized naphthylethylenediamine and from each other by size-exclusion and reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The HPLC patterns showed about 10 APC-containing peptides. Among them, four different peptides were purified by repeated reverse-phase HPLC. The results of partial sequencing of the four peptides by manual Edman degradation disclosed that Tyr5, Tyr926, Tyr1375, and Tyr986 or Tyr1008 are available for hormonogenesis as donor sites. These results strongly suggest that only specific tyrosine residues behave as donors.  (+info)

Characterization of lysosomal monoiodotyrosine transport in rat thyroid cells. Evidence for transport by system h. (30/58)

Lysosomal transport of monoiodotyrosine was characterized in countertransport experiments using rat FRTL-5 thyroid cell lysosomes. Monoiodotyrosine carrier activity was temperature-dependent (Ea = 11.65 kcal/mol) and had a pH optimum of 7.5. Carrier activity was minimally inhibited by KCl and NaCl, but unaffected by the presence of other ions or ATP. Monoiodotyrosine transport was unaffected by the presence of carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone, nigericin, or ammonium chloride, indicating that a proton or K+ gradient is not necessary for monoiodotyrosine transport across the lysosomal membrane. Monoiodotyrosine countertransport showed a 6-fold increase in lysosomes from FRTL-5 cells grown in medium containing thyrotropin by comparison to cells grown without this hormone. Thyrotropin responsiveness raised the possibility that monoiodotyrosine was transported by system h, the only known lysosomal carrier whose activity is enhanced by thyrotropin. Consistent with this, monoiodotyrosine-loaded lysosomes exhibited countertransport of [3H]tyrosine, [3H]phenylalanine, and [3H]leucine, three system h ligands, but not [3H]cystine, a nonsystem h ligand. Unlabeled tyrosine, phenylalanine, and leucine, but not cystine or proline, inhibited [125I]monoiodotyrosine countertransport, and leucine inhibition of [3H]tyrosine countertransport and [125I]monoiodotyrosine countertransport yielded virtually identical KI values, 3.5 and 3.2 microM, respectively. Competition studies with monoiodotyrosine analogues showed that system h recognizes a broad range of ligands with an alpha-amino acid configuration at one end and a hydrophobic region at the other. Ring-substituted halogens, regardless of mass or ring position, but not amino, nitro, hydroxy, or methoxy groups, enhanced carrier recognition of system h analogues. It appears that a single system effects the transport of iodinated (e.g. monoiodotyrosine) and noniodinated (e.g. tyrosine) thyroglobulin catabolites into the cytosol for salvage and reutilization by FRTL-5 thyroid cells.  (+info)

Acetylcholine receptor turnover in membranes of developing muscle fibers. (31/58)

[125I mono-iodo-alpha-bungarotoxin is used as a specific marker in a description of acetylcholine receptor metabolism. It is concluded that acetylcholine receptors in the surface membranes of chick and rat myotubes developing in cell cultures have a half-life of 22-24 h. Alpha-bungarotoxin (bound to a receptor which is removed from the membrane) is degraded to monoiodotyrosine which appears in the medium. Several observations are consistent with a model in which receptors or alpha-bungarotoxin-receptor complexes are internalized and then degraded: (a) the rate of appearance of iodotyrosine does not reach its maximal rate until 90 min after alpha-bungarotoxin is bound to the surface receptors; (b) 2,4-dinitrophenol, reduced temperature, and cell disruption all inhibit the degradation process. The degradation of surface receptors is not coupled to the process by which receptors are incorporated into the membrane. Evidence suggest that receptors are incorporated into the surface membrane from a presynthesized set of receptors containing about 10% as many alpha-bungarotoxin binding sites as does the surface. Additionally, a third set of acetylcholine receptors is described containing about 30% as amny binding sites as does the surface. These "hidden" recptors are not precursors yet are not readily accessible for binding of extracellular alpha-bungarotoxin. These findings are discussed in relation to both plasma membrane biosynthesis and control of chemosensitivity in developing and denervated skeletal muscle.  (+info)

Improved assay method for activity of thyroid peroxidase-catalysed coupling of iodotyrosine residues of thyroglobulin utilizing h.p.l.c. for analysis of iodothyronines. (32/58)

The coupling of iodotyrosine residues of thyroglobulin (Tg) catalysed by thyroid peroxidase (TPO) has scarcely been studied with respect to the TPO of abnormal human thyroid glands. The present paper proposes a rapid and convenient assay method applicable for determining the coupling activity of a sample of less than 500 mg from each patient's thyroid. The main characteristics of the method are as follows: (i) mitochondrial/microsomal fractions of thyroid glands were treated with sodium cholate plus trypsin, and the supernatants obtained by ultracentrifugation were directly used for the assay of coupling and peroxidase activity of TPO; (ii) the formation of iodotyrosine residues catalysed by TPO was performed by using chemically iodinated Graves'-disease Tg containing 41 iodine atoms per molecule and with a high iodotyrosine and a low iodothyronine content; (iii) newly synthesized iodothyronine residues (thyroxine, 3,5,3'-tri-iodothyronine, and 3,3',5'-tri-iodothyronine) were analysed by h.p.l.c. after hydrolysis of Tg with proteinases and extraction of iodothyronines with ethyl acetate.  (+info)