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Biomedical subjects

A J Garber

Publications and source records attributed to A J Garber.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Diabetes and heart disease: a new strategy for managing lipid disorders.

Dyslipidemias represent an underdiagnosed and undertreated clinical problem in the management of diabetic patients. Glycemic control by itself is not sufficient to correct elevated triglycerides and low HDL levels, which greatly increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. Careful monitoring and aggressive intervention can dramatically reduce the risk that these dyslipidemias pose in diabetic and prediabetic patients. Weight loss by obese patients, low-fat diets, and gradually increased aerobic exercise should be tried for 6 months. If lipid levels are still outside the acceptable range, consider adding lipid-lowering drug therapy. Age should be no barrier to intervention, as coronary risk factors continue to contribute to the incidence of events into advanced age.

Aged↗

Effective treatment of hypertension in patients with diabetes mellitus.

Atherosclerosis, presenting as macrovascular complications of diabetes mellitus, produces approximately 80% of all diabetic mortality, whether the patient has Type I insulin-dependent diabetes (IDDM) or Type II non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). Specifically, 75% of this atherosclerotic macrovascular mortality flows as the outcome of coronary atherosclerosis, which is increased approximately two-fold in men and four-fold in women with diabetes as compared with otherwise matched populations with entirely normal carbohydrate tolerance. The remaining 25% of this atherosclerotic mortality in patients with diabetes mellitus is the result either of accelerated cerebrovascular or of peripheral vascular complications of diabetes, both of which are increased four-fold and five-fold, respectively, in patients with diabetes mellitus, regardless of type. Furthermore, atherosclerosis is the principal cause of hospitalizations for patients with diabetes mellitus. Admissions for this complication account for approximately 77% of total hospitalizations for diabetes owing to complications. Aside from mortality data alone, atherosclerosis is obviously a leading cause of diabetic disability, since it produces patients who are chronic cardiovascular, peripheral or cerebrovascular cripples, perhaps for many years before their ultimate demise. Small blood vessel or microvascular complications of diabetes mellitus, while formerly thought to be the end-stage in the unfolding of the diabetic process, do not appear to have the potential for mortality as do the atherosclerotic large blood vessel complications.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adrenergic beta-Antagonists↗

Clinical, biochemical, and neuropathologic findings following transplantation of adrenal medulla to the caudate nucleus for treatment of Parkinson's disease.

We transplanted autologous adrenal medullary tissue into the caudate nucleus of 3 patients with advanced Parkinson's disease. The 1st patient, a 59-year-old man with parkinsonian symptoms for 15 years, had mild improvement in his motor functioning after the operation. However, his postoperative course was characterized by prolonged drowsiness and complex visual hallucinations. The patient died suddenly 8 months after the transplant, and an autopsy revealed coronary atherosclerosis. Examination of the graft site showed necrotic adrenal medullary tissue surrounded by inflammatory cells. The 2nd patient, a 50-year-old man with a 21-year history of parkinsonian symptoms, improved the most after the procedure. The 3rd patient, a 43-year-old man with 12 years of parkinsonian symptoms, had mild improvement in his motor functioning. CSF homovanillic acid increased postoperatively in the 3 patients, but then returned to preoperative levels in all except the 2nd patient. The anatomic, neurochemical, and physiologic basis for the modest clinical improvement shown in these patients is not yet understood.

Activities of Daily Living↗

Adrenergic and serotonergic regulation of skeletal muscle metabolism in the rat: specificity of the serotonin- and isoproterenol-stimulable adenylyl cyclase in sarcolemma.

The specificity and kinetics of rat sarcolemmal serotonin- and isoproterenol-stimulable adenylyl cyclases were studied. The stimulation of adenylyl cyclase by serotonin was less than that by isoproterenol and required low concentrations of ATP (0.1 mM), 10 microM GTP, and free Mg ion concentrations of 10-20 microM. The isoproterenol-stimulated activity was readily detectable over a much wider range of MgCl2 (1.0-5.0 mM) and ATP (0.1-3.0 mM). (+/-)-Oxprenolol and l(-)-propranolol inhibited isoproterenol stimulation with KB values of 6.3 X 10(-9) M and 1.9 X 10(-9) M, respectively. Interference by (+/-)-cyproheptadine, (+/-)-methysergide and d(+)-propranolol was not strictly competitive. However, these were much more potent inhibitors of serotonin stimulation than were oxprenolol and l-propranolol. The concentrations of antagonists producing 50% inhibition (IC50) of the maximal adenylyl cyclase stimulation by serotonin were compared to the IC50 obtained with isoproterenol; the ratios were 0.02 for oxprenolol, 0.50 for l-propranolol, 295 for d-propranolol, 2438 for cyproheptadine, 578 for methysergide and greater than 125,000 for lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). These data indicate that rat skeletal muscle adenylyl is stimulated by discrete serotonergic and adrenergic receptors, and that there may be distinct conditions for optional stimulation.

Adenylyl Cyclases↗

Hyporeninemic hypoaldosteronism. New associations.

Hyporeninemic hypoaldosteronism occurred in a 49-year-old man with chronic endocrine and exocrine pancreatic insufficiency secondary to pancreatectomy and in a 64-year-old man with recurrent pancreatitis, exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, and prolonged magnesium deficiency. Hyporeninemic hypoaldosteronism has never, to our knowledge, been reported in these clinical settings before and may be masked by the malabsorption of pancreatic insufficiency.

Aldosterone↗

Glucagon-stimulable adenylyl cyclase in rat liver. Effects of chronic uremia and intermittent glucagon administration.

The effects of chronic uremia and glucagon administration on glucagon-stimulable adenylyl cyclase in rat liver were assessed by determinations of adenylyl cyclase activities, specific iodoglucagon binding, and the activity of the stimulatory regulatory component of adenylyl cyclase. Glucagon-stimulated adenylyl cyclase was reduced in uremia to 75-80% of control levels (P less than 0.05), in the presence or absence of saturating levels of guanosine triphosphate (GTP) and 5'-guanylylimidodiphosphate [GMP-P(NH)P]. Although these changes were accompanied by a concomitant 20% reduction in sodium fluoride-stimulated activity, basal, GTP-, GMP-P(NH)P-, and manganese-dependent adenylyl cyclase activities were unchanged. Using [125I-Tyr10]monoiodoglucagon as a receptor probe, the number of high affinity glucagon-binding sites was reduced 28% (P less than 0.01) in uremic as compared with control liver membranes. However, the affinity of these binding sites was unaltered. The S49 cyc- -reconstituting activity with respect to both GMP-P(NH)P- and isoproterenol plus GTP-stimulable adenylyl cyclase was unaltered in membranes from uremic as compared with control rats. Intermittent glucagon (80-100 micrograms) injections administered at 8-h intervals to normal rats reproduced all of the above described effects of chronic experimental uremia on the adenylyl cyclase system. It is concluded that changes in the hormone-stimulable adenylyl cyclase complex in uremia and with glucagon treatment result primarily from a decrease in the number of hormone-specific receptor sites in hepatic plasma membranes. Since the changes in liver adenylyl cyclase are qualitatively and quantitatively the same in glucagon-treated and uremic rats, it is suggested that these may be the result of the hyperglucagonemia of uremia. Further, the data reveal an unexpected dissociation between guanine nucleotide and sodium fluoride stimulation of adenylyl cyclase. Possible causes for this dissociation based on the known subunit composition of cyclase coupling proteins are discussed.

Adenylyl Cyclases↗

Glucagon-stimulable adenylyl cyclase in rat liver. The impact of streptozotocin-induced diabetes mellitus.

Glucagon receptor levels, glucagon-stimulated and other forms of adenylyl cyclase activity, and regulatory component activity of adenylyl cyclase were determined in hepatic plasma membranes of rats administered streptozotocin without and with insulin to produce varying degrees of hyperglycemia. Receptor levels were assayed by direct binding of the specific probe [125I-Tyr10]-iodoglucagon; regulatory component activity was assayed by the capacity to reconstitute stimulatory regulation in deficient membranes from cyc- S49 murine lymphoma cells. In rats given 150 mg streptozotocin, glucagon stimulation of adenylyl cyclase as well as basal, sodium fluoride, 5' guanylylimidodiphosphate [GMP-P(NH)P] and Mn-dependent activities were reduced 50%, glucagon receptor levels but not affinity were reduced 67%, and regulatory component activity was decreased 50%. In addition, alpha 1-adrenergic receptors and 5'-nucleotidase were similarly reduced in diabetes. However, specific ouabain-inhibitable Na+, K+, ATPase activity was not altered by streptozotocin treatment. The streptozotocin-induced changes were noted within 24 h and became maximal by 120 h after its administration. All of these decreases were partially reversed by in vivo insulin treatment. DNA, cytochrome c oxidase, glucose-6-phosphatase, and N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase content in hepatic plasma membrane preparations were not substantially different in diabetic as compared with control animals. The data demonstrate that glucagon-mediated regulation of cyclic AMP formation is deranged in insulin deficiency owing to a combined decrease in receptors, derangement of the coupling mechanism intervening between receptor and adenylyl cyclase, and possibly, an altered basal effector system. Some of these changes appear to reflect a "desensitization-like" phenomenon which may or may not be attributable to the hyperglucagonemia of diabetes mellitus. There also appears to be a concurrent generalized decrease in several but not all plasma membrane receptor and enzymatic proteins. This may be the result of a number of processes among which is the accelerated proteolysis of uncontrolled diabetes.

Adenylyl Cyclases↗

Adrenergic and serotonergic regulation of skeletal muscle metabolism in rat. I. The effects of adrenergic and serotonergic antagonists on the regulation of muscle amino acid release, glycogenolysis, and cyclic nucleotide levels.

The biochemical mechanisms of serotonergic and adrenergic action on skeletal muscle cyclic nucleotide, glycogen, and amino acid metabolism have been investigated in intact rat epitrochlaris skeletal muscle preparations. Endogenous catecholamine levels in these preparations were 28.6 +/- 2.1 pg/mg of muscle. Release of these catecholamines by tyramine produced a 25% inhibition of alanine and glutamine release. Pretreatment of animals in vivo with 6-hydroxydopamine depleted catecholamine content by 85%. On incubation, preparations from these pretreated animals showed no effect of tyramine on amino acid metabolism. Serotonin (10(-5) M) and epinephrine (10(-5) M) inhibited alanine and glutamine release equally in preparations from 6-hydroxydopamine-pretreated as compared to control rats. Adrenergic antagonists such as dl-propranolol (10(-8)-10(-6) M), oxprenolol (10(-8)-10(-6) M), and practolol (10(-6)-10(-4) M) blocked equally the inhibition of alanine and glutamine release, prevented the stimulations of muscle cAMP levels, phosphosphorylase a formation, and the depletion of muscle glycogen produced by either epinephrine or serotonin. In contrast, serotonergic antagonists such as methysergide (10(-8)-10(-6) M) and cyproheptadine (10(-8)-10(-6) M) blocked the inhibition of alanine and glutamine release, the stimulations of muscle cAMP levels and phosphorylase a formation, and the decreased muscle glycogen content effected by serotonin but not by epinephrine. Incubation of muscles with both epinephrine and serotonin together produced additive stimulation of muscle cAMP levels, but not of the inhibition of alanine and glutamine release. These data indicate that the action of these agonists on skeletal muscle protein and amino acid, glycogen, and cyclic nucleotide metabolism proceeds directly via separate and discrete serotonergic and adrenergic receptor-adenylyl cyclase mechanisms in skeletal muscle.

Alanine↗

Serotonergic and adrenergic regulation of skeletal muscle metabolism in the rat. II. The use of [125I]iodolysergic acid diethylamide and [125I]iodopindolol as probes of sarcolemmal receptor function and specificity.

To evaluate serotonin receptor kinetics in skeletal muscle, we synthesized and developed 2-[125I]iodolysergic acid diethylamide [( 125I]iodoLSD) as a high affinity, high specific activity probe of serotonergic receptor function. The kinetics of binding of this probe and the profile of agonist and antagonist displacement have been compared to results obtained using [125I] iodopindolol as a probe for beta-adrenergic receptor binding. [125I]IodoLSD was prepared by chloramine-T iodination and purified by high pressure liquid chromatography. Fluorescence, ultraviolet, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectra as well as mass spectroscopy demonstrate that the iodinated compound is 2-iodoLSD. This probe bound in a concentration-dependent fashion to sarcolemma in a manner consistent with existence of a single population of specific receptors having a Kd of 1.46 nM and an abundancy of 47 fmol/mg of protein. Half-maximal binding of the probe occurred within 1.0 min and equilibrium binding was observed at 8.0 min. The apparent t 1/2 for the probe-receptor complex was 40 s; the Kd calculated from kinetic data was 1.69 nM. The IC50 for displacement of iodoLSD was 330 +/- 185 nM for methysergide, 757 +/- 309 nM for cyproheptadine, and 2,570 +/- 1,390 nM for serotonin. Adrenergic antagonists such as l-propranolol and oxprenolol also displaced [125I]iodoLSD, but did so with IC50 values of 17,800 +/- 5,100 and 23,300 +/- 5,500 nM, respectively. Using [125I]iodopindolol as a receptor probe, we found the order of potency for adrenergic antagonists to be l-propranolol greater than oxprenolol much much greater than practolol. Serotonergic antagonists, although effective in displacing [125I]iodopindolol, did so only at very high concentrations. These results are consistent with the existence of separate and discrete D-serotonergic and beta 2-adrenergic receptors in skeletal muscle and the finding that adrenergic agonists and antagonists may interact with low affinities with the serotonergic receptor, but that serotonergic agonists and antagonists interact poorly, if at all, with the beta 2-adrenergic receptor.

Animals↗

Effects of parathyroid hormone on skeletal muscle protein and amino acid metabolism in the rat.

Because prominent skeletal muscle dysfunction and muscle wasting are seen in both chronic uremia and in primary hyperparathyroidism, and because markedly elevated parathyroid hormone levels occur in both disorders, potential effects of parathyroid hormone on skeletal muscle protein, amino acid, and cyclic nucleotide metabolism were studied in vitro using isolated intact rat epitrochlearis skeletal muscle preparations. Intact bovine parathyroid hormone and the synthetic 1-34 fragment of this hormone stimulated the release of alanine and glutamine from muscle of control but not from chronically uremic animals. This stimulation was dependent upon the concentration of parathyroid hormone added: At 10(5) ng/ml parathyroid hormone increased alanine release 84% and glutamine release 75%. Intracellular levels of alanine and glutamine were not altered by parathyroid hormone. Increasing concentrations of the 1-34 polypeptide decreased [(3)H]leucine incorporation into protein of muscles from both control and uremic animals. Using muscles from animals given a pulse-chase label of [guanido-(14)C]arginine in vivo, parathyroid hormone increased the rate of loss of (14)C label from acid-precipitable protein during incubation and correspondingly increased the rate of appearance of this label in the incubation media. Parathyroid hormone increased muscle cAMP levels by 140% and cGMP levels by 185%, but had no effect on skeletal muscle cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase activities as assayed in vitro. Adenylyl cyclase activity in membrane preparations from control but not uremic rats was stimulated by parathyroid hormone in a concentration-dependent fashion. However, no stimulation of guanylyl cyclase activity was noted by parathyroid hormone, although stimulation by sodium azide was present. Incubation of muscles with added parathyroid hormone produced a diminished responsiveness towards epinephrine or serotonin regulation of amino acid release and cAMP formation in the presence compared to the absence of parathyroid hormone. In the absence of parathyroid hormone, detectable inhibition of alanine and glutamine release was produced by 10(-9) M epinephrine, whereas in the presence of parathyroid hormone (1,000 ng/ml) inhibition of alanine and glutamine release required 10(-6) M or greater epinephrine. Resistance to cyclic AMP action as well as inhibition of cyclic AMP formation by parathyroid hormone was found. Preincubation of rat sarcolemma with 1-34 parathyroid hormone produced a decreased activity of the isoproterenol-stimulable adenylyl cyclase activity but there was no apparent change in the concentration of isoproterenol required for one-half maximal and maximal stimulation of the enzyme. These findings suggest that high levels of parathyroid hormone have direct effects on skeletal muscle protein, amino acid, and cyclic nucleotide metabolism in muscle of normal but not uremic animals. Treatment with these high levels of parathyroid hormone in vitro appears to reproduce in normal muscle, the metabolic deficits and loss of hormone responsiveness observed in muscle of chronically uremic animals. It is therefore possible that direct effects of parathyroid hormone on skeletal muscle may account in part for the muscle dysfunction and wasting of primary hyperparathyroidism and chronic uremia.

Adenylyl Cyclases↗

Monoiodoglucagon: synthesis, purification by high pressure liquid chromatography, and characteristics as a receptor probe.

The synthesis of [125I-Tyr10]monoiodoglucagon from glucagon and carrier-free 125I using 1,3,4,6-tetrachloro-3-6-diphenylglycouril (Iodogen) and its separation in pure form by reverse phase high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) over C18-muBondapak columns using two consecutive linear gradients between solvent A [40:60 mixture of methanol and 10 mM H3PO4 in H2O (pH adjusted to 3.0 with triethylamine)] and solvent B (50:50 mixture of acetonitrile and 0.1 M Tris-HCl, pH 9.0) is reported. The newly synthesized [125I]monoiodoglucagon is shown to activate adenylyl cyclase in liver membranes with an EC50 between 5- and 8-fold lower than that of native glucagon. Further, it binds specifically to sites on liver plasma membranes that have the characteristics of glucagon receptors in terms of guanine nucleotide sensitivity and rates of reaction. It is suggested that [125I-Tyr10]monoiodoglucagon is a suitable probe for studying structural and functional properties of glucagon receptors.

Animals↗

Sulfonamide-induced hypoglycemia in chronic renal failure.

Severe hypoglycemia with an inappropriately elevated insulin level occurred in a patient with chronic renal failure who was taking two tablets of sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim twice a day for a urinary tract infection. Hypoglycemia was readily corrected with intravenous glucose and did not recur after discontinuation of the sulfonamide. Insulin and glucose determinations during a 48-hour fast while the patient was rechallenged with this compound, as compared with those obtained during a 72-hour fast performed 12 days after discontinuation of the therapy, suggest that the hypoglycemic episode was related to hyperinsulinemia probably induced by the sulfonamide. Other factors, including congestive heart failure, growth hormone deficiency, and hypoalaninemia might have contributed to the development of hypoglycemia in this patient.

Aged↗

[125I]iodopindolol: a new beta adrenergic receptor probe.

When utilizing iodohydroxybenzylpindolol (IHYP) as an adrenergic receptor probe in muscle membrane systems, the data demonstrated an unacceptably high nonspecific binding component. Bearer et al. have reported that chloramine-T induced iodination of hydroxybenzylpindolol (HYP) results in the incorporation of iodine into the indole ring rather than into the phenolic moiety as noted previously by others. These results suggest that pindolol itself can also be iodinated. Therefore, the usefulness of carrier free 125I-labeled iodopindolol (IPIN) as an adrenergic receptor probe was investigated. Using between 0.01 nM and 0.1 nM [125I]IPIN in two different muscle membrane systems, we found the nonspecific binding component to be 10% or less of total binding. When [125I]IPIN was used with membranes prepared from rat skeletal muscle, we found it to interact with a single set of high affinity binding sites (KD = 0.13 +/- 0.01 nM) with the characteristics of beta adrenergic receptors and a density of 48.5 fmoles/mg protein. IPIN binding was also studied with purified dog cardiac sarcolemma. A single set of binding sites was detected having a KD of 1.64 +/- 0.5 nM; the density of these sites was 289 fmoles/mg membrane protein. [125I]IPIN may be a useful probe for the beta adrenergic receptor of tissues in which [125I]IHYP and other beta adrenergic receptor probes have a non-specific binding component which approaches that of the specific binding component.

Animals↗

Skeletal muscle protein and amino acid metabolism in hereditary mouse muscular dystrophy. Accelerated protein turnover and increased alanine and glutamine formation and release.

Interactins between skeletal muscle protein and amino acid metabolism were investigated using C57BL and 129ReJ mice with hereditary muscular dystrophy. On incubation, hind limb muscle preparations from dystrophic mice released large quantities of amino acids, particularly alanine and glutamine which were increased 70% and 40% compared to muscles from carrier or control mice. The increased alanine release did not result from altered alanine oxidation to CO2 or reincorporation into protein. Alanine and glutamine formation from added amino acids were equal with dystrophic and control muscles. Incorporation in vitro of leucine, alanine, and glutamate into proteins of dystrophic muscle was 3- to 7-fold greater than control muscle, and the incorporation in vivo of [3H]- or [14C]arginine into muscle proteins was greater in extent and earlier in time with dystrophic as compared to control muscle. Proteins were also labeled in vivo using [guanido-14C]arginine. On incubation of these muscles in vitro, a 100% greater loss of label from protein was observed with dystrophic as compared to control preparations, and the appearance of label in the media was correspondingly increased. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-gel electrophoresis of dystrophic skeletal muscle showed numerous protein bands to be reduced in density, but autoradiographic studies demonstrated that these same bands were more highly labeled in vitro by [35S]methionine in dystrophic than in control muscle. Although insulin stimulation of glucose uptake was markedly blunted in dystrophic muscle, insulin inhibited alanine and glutamine release equally from both control and dystrophic muscle. These data indicate that alanine and glutamine formation and release are increased in hereditary mouse muscular dystrophy. An accelerated degradation and an increased resynthesis of many muscle proteins were also observed in dystrophic compared to control animals. This increased proteolysis may account for the increased alanine and glutamine formation in dystrophic muscle.

Actins↗