Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

H Stark

Publications and source records attributed to H Stark.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
PubMed1997

Arrangement of tRNAs in pre- and posttranslocational ribosomes revealed by electron cryomicroscopy.

The three-dimensional structure of the translating 70S E. coli ribosome is presented in its two main conformations: the pretranslocational and the posttranslocational states. Using electron cryomicroscopy and angular reconstitution, structures at 20 A resolution were obtained, which, when compared with our earlier reconstruction of "empty" ribosomes, showed densities corresponding to tRNA molecules--at the P and E sites for posttranslocational ribosomes and at the A and P sites for pretranslocational ribosomes. The P-site tRNA lies directly above the bridge connecting the two ribosomal subunits, with the A-site tRNA fitted snugly against it at an angle of approximately 50 degrees, toward the L7/L12 side of the ribosome. The E-site tRNA appears to lie between the side lobe of the 30S subunit and the L1 protuberance.

Binding Sites↗
PubMed1997

Quantitation of T2' anisotropic effects on magnetic resonance bone mineral density measurement.

In this paper, the authors quantitate the anisotropy of susceptibility effects in an uniaxial trabecular bone model and show its relevance to clinical MR bone mineral density measurements. A physical model is described that quantitates the anisotropic MR behavior of uniaxial trabecular bone. To test the model; a phantom of parallel polyethylene filaments was scanned every 15 degrees between 0 degrees and 90 degrees with respect to the system's main magnetic field (B0). The distal radial metaphysis of a healthy female volunteer was scanned in orthogonal projections. The signal from each phantom image and each radial image was separated in a pixel-wise fashion into R2 and R2' maps. As predicted, R2' relaxation showed anisotropic behavior and changed according to sin2 (theta), confirming that columnar structures parallel with B0 will cause no MR susceptibility effects. Scans of the distal radius showed that R2' relaxation was twice as great with the forearm perpendicular to B0 as when it was parallel to it, demonstrating different contributions from struts and columns. For both phantom and radial bone scans, R2 relaxation was isotropic and did not change with object orientation.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Urinary tract infections in girls: the cost-effectiveness of currently recommended investigative routines.

Current recommendations for the universal investigation of urinary tract infection (UTI) in children by ultrasonography, voiding cystourethrography, and dimercaptosuccinic acid renal scan (and sometimes intravenous pyelography as well) are not based on any convincing evidence as to the necessity or effectiveness of such a routine. Over 8% of all girls will have a UTI during childhood. About 87 individuals in a million will develop end-stage renal disease (ESRD) by the age of 60 years, caused in about 9% by pyelonephritis (PN) or reflux nephropathy. From these statistics, the maximal risk of a first diagnosed UTI progressing to ESRD is approximately 1:10,000. The risk of developing hypertension following a first UTI in childhood, without eventual evolution to ESRD, appears to be very small. The cost of the widely recommended routine imaging procedures ranges from U.S. $355 in Britain to U.S. $1,090 in the United States. The minimal cost of preventing a single progression to ESRD by early diagnosis of underlying pathology-if this were possible in all cases-would range between U.S. $5 million in Britain and U.S. $15 million in the United States. Since in many instances progressive renal damage can not be prevented, the true cost is considerably higher. Lower UTI in girls is a very common and, in most cases, benign finding in primary-care practice. It is suggested that girls with afebrile UTI, presenting with lower urinary tract symptoms alone, need not undergo any imaging procedures, but should be followed with urine examinations and cultures at the time of febrile illness. The recommended investigative routines should be reserved for UTI in infants and in girls with fever or other symptoms suggesting PN, and for proven recurrent UTI. Such a regimen will allow a marked saving in terms of costs and in terms of unnecessary radiation, psychological stress to children, and stress, inconvenience, and time loss to parents. There is no evidence that this approach will compromise the course or final outcome of this very common condition.

Child↗
PubMed1997

Dopaminergic and serotonergic neurotransmission systems are differentially involved in auditory cortex learning: a long-term microdialysis study of metabolites.

Auditory cortex has been shown to be a site of widespread neuronal learning processes even in the context of simple auditory conditioning behavior. In view of their presumed role in determining behavioral and motivational relevance of incoming information we investigated whether the dopaminergic and serotonergic systems are involved in auditory cortex learning. Using a chronic brain microdialysis technique over 4 days, samples from auditory cortex were obtained before, during, and after daily footshock avoidance training simultaneously from trained gerbils and passive control animals or pseudotrained animals. Because of detection limits of dopamine and serotonin in auditory cortex, the response profiles of extracellular homovanillic acid as the metabolite of the dopaminergic system and of 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid as the metabolite of the serotonergic system were determined from consecutive dialysis samples each day. The response of the dopaminergic system appeared to reflect the initial formation of the behaviorally relevant association exclusively during the first training day, whereas the serotonergic response appeared to correlate with the stress level of animals.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Some functions of primary auditory cortex in learning and memory formation.

In the primary auditory field AI of gerbil auditory cortex, aversive tone conditioning paradigms reshaped frequency receptive fields of single units and also changed the spatial representation of tones in fluoro-2-deoxyglucose (FDG) experiments. As another aspect of learning-induced plasticity in gerbil AI, antibodies against the immediate early gene product c-Fos identified an unusual spatial pattern of neurons in terms of a "macrocolumn." The pattern resulted from repeated short exposure of the animals to a tone in a new environment. The search for transmitters that may mediate this gene activation is carried out by microdialysis through chronically implanted probes in auditory cortex. So far, dopamine transmission was found to reflect specific aspects of auditory learning in cortex. The results suggest that spectral features of sounds as well as aspects of learned behavioral meaning of the sounds may be represented in AI.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Bioavailability, antinociceptive and antiinflammatory properties of BP 2-94, a histamine H3 receptor agonist prodrug.

(R)alpha-Methylhistamine [(R)alpha-MeHA], a potent and selective histamine H3 receptor agonist in vitro and in vivo in rodents, was found to display comparatively low plasma level in healthy human volunteers, attributable to an extensive methylation of the drug's imidazole ring by histamine-N-methyltransferase. To limit this inactivation process, BP 2-94, ie., (R)-(-)-2-[[N-[1-(1H-imidazol-4-yl)-2-propyl]imino]phenylmethyl] phenol, was selected as a prodrug. A sensitive radioimmunoassay was developed to study the generation of (R)alpha-MeHA slowly released from BP 2-94 in vitro and in vivo by chemical hydrolysis. In mice after oral administration of BP 2-94 high levels of both prodrug and (R)alpha-MeHA were detected in plasma and various tissues except in the brain. In humans receiving 0.1 mmol BP 2-94 orally, plasma levels of (R)alpha-MeHA-like immunoreactivity decayed with a t(1/2) more than 24 hr, the area under the curve being two orders of magnitude higher than after oral administration of (R)alpha-MeHA. BP 2-94 displayed antiinflammatory and antinociceptive properties in rodents, related to the H3 receptor stimulation. It dose-dependently inhibited capsaicin-induced plasma protein extravasation in many rat tissues with ED50s of 0.6 to 14 micromol/kg p.o., and maximal reductions by 35 to 87%. BP 2-94 also reduced zymosan-induced paw swelling in mice with an ED50 of 1 micromol/kg p.o. and showed marked activity in the phenylbenzoquinone-induced writhing (ED50 = 0.03 micromol/kg, p.o.) or formalin tests in mice, but not in the hot plate jump test. From its pharmacokinetics and pharmacological profile BP 2-94 appears to be a promising novel therapeutic agent in disorders such as asthma, migraine or a variety of inflammatory diseases and pain associated with these disorders.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Search for novel leads for histamine H3-receptor antagonists: amine derivatives.

In search for novel leads for histamine H3-receptor antagonists a number of amine derivatives of different (1 H-imidazol-4-yl)anilines and omega-(1 H-imidazol-4-yl)alkanamines were prepared. Pharmacological in vitro H3-receptor investigations of the prepared urea, amide, inverse amide, thioamide, and thiourea derivatives on synaptosomes of rat cerebral cortex proved that the aniline derivatives are inactive at H3-receptors, whereas derivatives of the omega-(1 H-imidazol-4-yl)-alkanamines showed moderate to good activity. Some compounds are active in the nanomolar concentration range. The most potent compounds in this series are the thioamide derivative 7 and the urea derivatives 11, 12 of 3-(1 H-imidazol-4-yl) propanamine. Therefore, the urea derivatives were tested in vitro on isolated organs of the guinea pig for their activity on the other two histamine receptor subtypes proving their high selectivity. In vivo studies of the effects of the urea derivatives 11 and 12 on brain Nt-methylhistamine levels, a test of central H3-receptor activity after peroral application to mice, showed no detectable activity. Thus, the urea type antagonists are useful potent and selective H3-receptor tools for in vitro studies and for investigations of ligand-receptor interactions.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Search for novel leads for histamine H3-receptor antagonists: oxygen-containing derivatives.

This study was performed in order to develop new leads for antagonists of the histamine H3-receptor subtype. omega-(1 H-Imidazol-4-yl)alkyl derivatives with ester, ketone or alcohol functionality in the side chain were synthesized and tested concerning their H3-receptor antagonist activity on synaptosomes of rat cerebral cortex. The novel compounds, which possess no nitrogen-containing polar group in the side chain of the imidazole moiety, presented moderate to high antagonist potency in vitro. In this series 3-(1 H-imidazol-4-yl)propyl-3-cyclopentylpropanoate (4) was the most potent compound in vitro with -log Ki = 8.5. Unfortunately, no central antagonist H3-receptor activity was detectable for ester derivatives in the in vitro H3-receptor assay based upon measurement of brain N tau-methylhistamine levels after p.o. administration to mice. Some of these novel antagonists are useful tools for investigations on ligand-receptor interaction because of their distinct receptor activities. On the other hand, the ketone derivative 1-(1 H-imidazol-4-yl)-7-phenyl-4-heptanone (9) in vitro presented an ED50-value of 3.5 +/- 1.5 mg/kg p.o. thus proving to be a new lead for further drug investigations. The most potent compounds in vitro and in vivo also showed high H3-receptor selectivity when tested at other histamine receptor subtypes.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

[125I]iodoproxyfan and related compounds: a reversible radioligand and novel classes of antagonists with high affinity and selectivity for the histamine H3 receptor.

The synthesis and biological evaluation of new histamine H3 receptor antagonists with an iodinated aryl partial structure are described as part of an extensive research program to find model compounds for the development of a new radioligand with high H3 receptor affinity and specific activity. All compounds were tested for their H3 receptor antagonist activity in a [3H]-histamine-release assay with synaptosomes from rat cerebral cortex. The new leads with potent H3 receptor antagonist activity belong to a series of derivatives of 3-(1H-imidazol-4-yl)propanol with carbamate (4-7), ester (8-16), and ether (17-22) as functional groups. Structure-activity relationships are discussed. The most active compound in the functional test (-log Ki = 8.3) and in binding studies with [3H]-(R)-alpha-methylhistamine on rat cerebral cortex (-log Ki = 9.0) in vitro was 3-(1H-imidazol-4-yl)propyl (4-iodophenyl)methyl ether (iodoproxyfan, 19) exhibiting no central H3 receptor antagonist activity in vivo. The potency of iodoproxyfan is more than 300 times lower at H1, H2, alpha1, alpha2, beta1, 5-HT2A, 5-HT3, and M3 receptors than at histamine H3 receptors. Because of the high potency and selectivity of 19, this compound has also been prepared in the [125I]-iodinated form by a nucleophilic halogen exchange reaction using the corresponding bromo derivative 22 as a precursor. The newly prepared [125I]iodoproxyfan (23) possesses advantageous pharmacological properties and fulfills all criteria of a useful radioligand.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Novel carbamates as potent histamine H3 receptor antagonists with high in vitro and oral in vivo activity.

The known histamine H3 receptor antagonists burimamide, thioperamide, clobenpropit, and a related homohistamine thioamide derivative were taken as templates in search for new leads. Novel histamine H3 receptor antagonists structurally described as carbamate derivatives of 3-(1H-imidazol-4-yl)propanol were prepared in high yields by treatment of the alcohol with corresponding isocyanates or carbamoyl chlorides and investigated for their H3 receptor antagonist activity. Different chain lengths and various substituents possessing different electronic and steric parameters were introduced and structure-activity relationships established. In different functional tests, the new antagonists showed high H3 receptor antagonist potencies in vitro (-log Ki values of 6.4-8.4) at synaptosomes of rat cerebral cortex and low activities at histamine H1 and H2 receptor subtypes. They were also screened for their central in vivo activity in mice after peroral administration. The most promising compounds (2, 16, 19) showed ED(50) values of about 1-2 mg/kg and thus are potential drugs for the therapy of H3 receptor dependent diseases. Some of the novel carbamate derivatives are H3 receptor selective compounds with high in vitro and in vivo activity.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1996

New potent azomethine prodrugs of the histamine H3-receptor agonist (R)-alpha-methylhistamine containing a heteroarylphenyl partial structure.

The therapeutic value of histamine H3-receptor ligands is under current investigation. On the basis of recently described diary limine prodrugs of the histamine H3-receptor agonist (R)-alpha-methylhistamine (1) as a series of new azomethine prodrugs containing five- and six-membered heterocycles were synthesized and tested for their in vitro hydrolysis rates and in vivo activity after oral application. It was found that electron-deficient six-membered heterocycles drastically destabilized the imine double bond so that these prodrugs decomposed unsuitably fast. On the contrary, prodrugs containing five-membered heterocycles appeared to be highly effective for the CNS delivery of 1, and a remarkable correlation between chemical structure and pharmacokinetic profile was observed. Particularly (R)-4-fluoro-2-[[N-[1-(1H-imidazol-4-yl)-2-propyl]imino] (1H-pyrrol-2-yl)methyl]phenol (8c), the 2-furanyl analogue 8d, and its 3-furanyl isomer 8e proved to be equipotent to the most potent of recently described halogenated diaryl imine prodrugs of 1. However, in contrast to any other azomethine prodrug, 8c exhibited an incomparably long lasting delivery of 1 in the CNS and can thus be regarded as a 'retard' prodrug. Assuming that a therapeutic indication of histamine H3-receptor agonists will soon be established, these highly potent heteroarylphenyl azomethine prodrugs, which already serve as valuable pharmacological tools, may also become potential drugs in clinical use.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Potencies of antagonists chemically related to iodoproxyfan at histamine H3 receptors in mouse brain cortex and guinea-pig ileum: evidence for H3 receptor heterogeneity?

We determined the affinities of 16 newly synthesized H3 receptor antagonists in an H3 receptor binding assay and the potencies of 12 of these compounds at functional H3 receptors in the mouse brain cortex and guinea-pig ileum. The compounds differ from histamine in that the C-C-N side chain is replaced by a chain of the structure C-C-C-O. The two major aims of the study were (1) to investigate whether the two functional H3 receptors are pharmacologically different and (2) to derive structure-activity relationships. The specific binding of 3H-Na-methylhistamine to rat brain cortex membranes was monophasically displaced by each of the 16 compounds at pKi values ranging from 7.30 to 9.48. In superfused mouse brain cortex slices preincubated with 3H-noradrenaline, the electrically evoked tritium overflow was slightly decreased by iodoproxyfan and its deiodo analogue; this effect was counteracted by the H3 receptor antagonist clobenpropit. The other compounds did not affect the evoked tritium overflow by themselves. The concentration-response curve of histamine for its inhibitory effect on the electrically evoked tritium overflow was shifted to the right by the 12 compounds with apparent pA2 values ranging from 7.02 to 9.00. The 12 compounds also shifted to the right the concentration-response curve of R-a-methylhistamine for its inhibitory effect on the electrically induced contraction in guinea-pig ileum strips; the apparent pA2 values ranged from 5.97 to 9.00. Iodoproxyfan decreased the electrically induced contraction by itself and this effect was counteracted by the H3 receptor antagonist thioperamide. The apparent pA2 values in the two functional H3 receptor models showed a highly significant correlation (r = 0.882; P < 0.001). Highly significant correlations were also obtained when the pKi values of the compounds in the binding assay were compared to their apparent pA2 values in the mouse brain (r = 0.799; P < 0.004) and in the guinea-pig ileum (r = 0.851; P < 0.001). In each of the three experimental models, iodoproxyfan was the most potent compound; its deiodo analogue was less potent by more than 1.1 log units. The present results show that the compounds under study possess moderate to high affinity and/or (partial) H3 receptor antagonist potency. The two functional H3 receptors in the mouse brain cortex and the guinea-pig ileum may be slightly different; further studies are necessary to clarify whether this difference is due to H3 receptor heterogeneity, species variants or differences in the efficiency of receptor coupling. The marked difference in the affinity/potency between iodoproxyfan and its deiodo analogue may suggest that a highly lipophilic residue in that part of the molecule favours a high affinity/antagonistic potency at H3 receptors.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Structure-activity relationships of novel azomethine prodrugs of the histamine H3-receptor agonist (R)-alpha-methylhistamine: from alkylaryl to substituted diaryl derivatives.

This study was performed on the basis of recently developed prodrugs of the histamine H3-receptor agonist (R)-alpha-methylhistamine (1) to determine structure-activity relationships of azomethine prodrugs of 1, in which the primary amine functionality is bioreversibly linked to aromatic ketones. Therefore, the pro-moiety was systematically altered from alkylaryl over benzylaryl to diaryl substitution. Those compounds that emerged to be stable enough during preparation were tested for their in vitro hydrolysis rates. Apparently, bulky alkyl residues were capable of preventing previously observed intramolecular cyclization, but the obtained azomethines 12a-c were far too unstable to serve as prodrugs. However, the benzylaryl imines 12d, e were stable compounds, but 12d decomposed too rapidly under in vitro conditions. Distinctly greater stability was provided by diaryl pro-moieties, even if strongly electron-withdrawing functionalities were introduced. Selected compounds were also tested in vivo following p.o. application to mice. Particularly the trifluoromethyl substituted imine 12i proved to be highly effective as stability and rate of conversion were well-balanced, so that brain penetration of 1 was strikingly facilitated. Thus 12i, a highly potent azomethine prodrug, may serve as an important pharmacological tool and, possibly, a therapeutic agent.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Synthesis, X-ray crystallography, and pharmacokinetics of novel azomethine prodrugs of (R)-alpha-methylhistamine: highly potent and selective histamine H3 receptor agonists.

Since various neuroregulatory functions of the histamine H3 receptor have been proved during the last few years, the H3 receptor is of current interest. Azomethine derivatives of the highly potent histamine H3 receptor agonist (R)-alpha-methylhistamine (1) were prepared as lipophilic prodrugs to improve the bioavailability of the hydrophilic drug, particularly its entry into the brain. Additionally, azomethine derivatization provides protection against histamine methyltransferase, the major metabolizing enzyme in man, and thus efficiently enhances the bioavailability of 1. The molecular conformations of (R)-2(-)[[N(-)[1-(1H-imidazol-4-yl)-2-propyl]- imino]phenylmethyl]phenol (9a) and (R)-4-fluoro-2(-)[[N(-)[1-(1H-imidazol-4-yl)-2-propyl[imino]- (4-chlorophenyl)methyl]phenol (9p) were determined by X-ray structure analysis. An intramolecular hydrogen bond which is essential for the stability of these azomethines was thereby confirmed. Moreover, the pharmacokinetic parameters of the prodrugs were investigated in vitro as well as in vivo. The halogenated azomethines have an effect following peroral administration in mice, and some of them seem to be highly potent for the central nervous system (CNS) delivery of 1. At present the most potent prodrug of 1 is (R)-4-chloro-2(-)[[N(-)[1-(1H-imidazol-4-yl)-2-propyl]imino](4- chlorophenyl)methyl]phenol (9q), reaching by far the highest CNS level of 1 (Cmax = 71 ng/g). Prodrugs of this type are not only valuable pharmacological tools but may also become H3 histaminergic drugs for therapeutic use.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

The 70S Escherichia coli ribosome at 23 A resolution: fitting the ribosomal RNA.

BACKGROUND: The ribosome--essential for protein synthesis in all organisms--has been an evasive target for structural studies. The best available structures for the 70S Escherichia coli ribosome or its 30S and 50S subunits are based on electron microscopical tilt experiments and are limited in resolution to 28-55 A. The angular reconstitution approach, which exploits the random orientations of particles within a vitreous ice matrix, can be used in conjunction with cryo-electron microscopy to yield a higher-resolution structure. RESULTS: Our 23 A resolution map of the 70S ribosome elucidates many structural details, such as an extensive system of channels within the 50S subunit and an intersubunit gap ideally shaped to accommodate two transfer RNA molecules. The resolution achieved is sufficient to allow the preliminary fitting of double-helical regions of an earlier three-dimensional ribosomal RNA model. CONCLUSIONS: Although we are still a long way from attaining an atomic-resolution structure of the ribosome, cryo-electron microscopy, in combination with angular reconstitution, is likely to yield three-dimensional maps with gradually increasing resolution. As exemplified by our current 23 A reconstruction, these maps will lead to progressive refinement of models of the ribosomal RNA.

Escherichia coli↗