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Biomedical subjects

J Lehmann

Publications and source records attributed to J Lehmann.

At least 235 records · Page 13Linked to original sources

Antagonism of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) evoked increases in cerebellar cGMP and striatal ACh release by phencyclidine (PCP) receptor agonists: evidence for possible allosteric coupling of NMDA and PCP receptors.

A comparison was made of the actions of phencyclidine receptor agonists and N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonists in two well-defined neurochemical test systems. These included (i) [3H]acetylcholine release from striatal cholinergic interneurons in vitro, a system known to be positively modulated by corticostriatal excitatory amino acid inputs in vivo; and (ii) cerebellar cGMP levels in vivo, an indicator of cerebellar Purkinje cell activity, which is also modulated by excitatory amino acid inputs. Using these neuronal systems, we report that phencyclidine receptor agonists demonstrated a noncompetitive antagonism of NMDA receptor agonist actions.

Acetylcholine↗

CPP, a selective N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)-type receptor antagonist: characterization in vitro and in vivo.

3-(2-Carboxypiperazin-4-yl)propyl-1-phosphonic acid (CPP) was synthesized as a rigid analog of 2-amino-7-phosphonoheptanoate, a previously known antagonist at the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) preferring, or NMDA-type, of excitatory amino acid receptor. CPP was found to be a potent, selective and competitive antagonist of NMDA-type receptors. CPP antagonized with an IC50 of 8 muM [3H]ACh release which was evoked from rat striatal brain slices by NMDA (50 muM). In contrast, the release of [3H]ACh evoked by elevated KCI was not inhibited by CPP even at a concentration of 100 muM. The antagonism by CPP of NMDA-evoked [3H]ACh release was competitive, with a pA2 of 5.66 for CPP, compared with a pA2 value of 5.22 for 2-amino-7-phosphonoheptanoate. CPP affected neither the uptake of L-[3H]glutamate nor the inhibition by aconitine of L-[3H]glutamate uptake, suggesting a lack of membrane-stabilizing or local anesthetic effects, and also suggesting that CPP itself may not be taken up through the L-glutamate membrane transporter. Moreover, [3H] CPP was not accumulated by synaptosomes (P2 fraction) which avidly accumulate L-[3H]glutamate, supporting the concept that this NMDA-type receptor antagonist acts at an NMDA-type receptor on the external surface of the plasma membrane. CPP (10 muM) failed to interact with any of 21 other putative neurotransmitter receptors including alpha-[3H]amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionic acid binding (quisqualate-type receptor) and [3H]kainate binding (kainate-type receptor). Audiogenic convulsions in DBA/2 mice were blocked by CPP (ED50 = 1.5 mg/kg i.p.) as were NMDA-induced seizures in CF-1 mice (ED50 = 1.9 mg/kg i.p.). In both strains, CPP impaired the traction reflex at higher doses (ED50 = 6.8 mg/kg and 6.1 mg/kg and 6.1 mg/kg i.p. for DBA/2 and CF-1, respectively). The traction reflex impairment by CPP may be due to muscle relaxant effects of the compound, an explanation supported by the finding that CPP reduced muscle tone as assessed by electromyogram measurement in animals whose muscle tone had been increased by opiate administration. Finally, cerebellar cyclic GMP levels, known to be sensitive to neurotransmission via NMDA-type receptors, were decreased by CPP (ED50 = 4.7 mg/kg i.p.) in mice. In conclusion, based upon the competitive antagonism by CPP of NMDA-evoked [3H] ACh release in vitro and the antagonism of NMDA-induced convulsions in vivo, the data presented are consistent with competitive antagonism of NMDA-type receptors.

Acetylcholine↗

Interaction of L-glutamate and magnesium with phencyclidine recognition sites in rat brain: evidence for multiple affinity states of the phencyclidine/N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor complex.

Biochemical and electrophysiological studies have provided evidence that a complex comprising the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)-type excitatory amino acid (EAA) receptor and the phencyclidine (PCP) recognition site exists in mammalian brain. This complex, which has been compared to that established for the inhibitory amino acid, gamma-aminobutyric acid, and the benzodiazepine anxiolytic, diazepam, is sensitive to the effects of the divalent cation Mg2+, which has suggested the presence of a third, ion channel component. Using a radioreceptor assay for the PCP receptor, L-glutamate (L-Glu) produced a concentration-dependent increase in the binding of [3H]thienyl cyclohexylpiperazine ([3H]TCP) in well washed membranes from rat forebrain. The EAA produced a maximal increase in specific binding of 400%, with an EC50 value of 340 nM. The ability of L-Glu to enhance [3H]TCP binding was 10-fold more potent in the presence of 30 microM Mg2+, which inhibits NMDA-evoked responses in intact tissue preparations and produces a 50% increase in [3H]TCP binding on its own. Analysis of saturation curves indicated that the effect of both L-Glu and Mg2+ could be attributed to an increase in receptor affinity as well as increases in the proportion of a high affinity state of the PCP-binding site. Assessment of the effect of a number of EAAs on basal [3H]TCP binding (well washed membranes in the absence of either L-Glu or Mg2+) showed that the EAA recognition site involved in the effects of L-Glu was the NMDA subtype. Further studies examined a series of compounds thought to interact with either the NMDA or PCP components of the receptor complex under four binding conditions: basal, +Mg2+; +L-Glu; and +Mg2+/L-Glu. These results showed that dissociative anesthetics, such as dexoxadrol and PCP, as well as the novel anticonvulsant MK-801, selectively interact with the high affinity state of the PCP receptor. NMDA antagonists, such as CPP, were also found to inhibit binding to the high affinity state of the PCP receptor, although not as potently as the dissociative anesthetics. Interestingly, the NMDA antagonists did not inhibit any of the binding to the low affinity state of the receptor. The sigma ligands (+/-)-SKF 10,047 and haloperidol recognized two components of [3H]TCP binding only in the presence of L-Glu. The results of the present study are consistent with the finding that agonists of the NMDA receptor induce a high affinity state of the PCP receptor.

Animals↗

Binding of [3H]3-(2-carboxypiperazin-4-yl)propyl-1-phosphonic acid to rat brain membranes: a selective, high-affinity ligand for N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors.

3-(2-Carboxypiperazin-4-yl)propyl-1-phosphonic acid (CPP), a rigid analog of 2-amino-7-phosphonoheptanoic acid, has been reported as a selective N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) antagonist. [3H]CPP bound with relatively high affinity (Kd = 201 nM) to Triton-treated rat brain crude synaptic membranes using a centrifugation assay. Binding was saturable, reversible, heat sensitive and dependent on protein concentration. Specific binding, which represented 75 to 85% of the total counts bound, was enriched in synaptosomal and microsomal fractions of rat brain, suggesting an involvement in events related to synaptic transmission. On a regional basis, binding was highest in hippocampus, followed by cortex greater than striatum greater than cerebellum = thalamus. No specific binding could be detected in pons medulla or in liver, kidney, heart, lung and adrenal tissue. [3H]CPP binding was stereoselective for the isomers of glutamate, 2-amino-5-phosphonopentanoic acid, homocysteic acid, alpha-aminoadipic acid and N-methyl-aspartate. The most potent compounds tested were L-glutamate and CPP, which were equiactive in displacing [3H]CPP. The order of activity of other excitatory amino acid receptor ligands was D-2-amino-5-phosphonopentanoic acid greater than L-homocysteic acid greater than or equal to DL-2-amino-7-phosphonoheptanoic acid = D-aspartate = L-aspartate greater than L-serine-O-sulfate = D-alpha-aminoadipic acid = ibotenate greater than NMDA greater than DL-2-amino-6-phosphonohexanoic acid greater than quisqualate greater than N-methyl-L-aspartate. The quisqualate- and kainate-type receptor agonists DL-alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionate and kainic acid, respectively, had negligible activity at 100 microM.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗

Tiletamine is a potent inhibitor of N-methyl-aspartate-induced depolarizations in rat hippocampus and striatum.

N-methyl-D,L-aspartate (NMA) antagonists are of potential value in the treatment of epilepsy and ischemia, but commonly utilized compounds are of low potency and poorly penetrate the brain. Tiletamine hydrochloride is a lipophilic and potent veterinary anesthetic. This study shows tiletamine to be similar to ketamine and to phencyclidine, agents known to interact with the NMA receptor. Effects of tiletamine on synaptic transmission and on direct excitatory responses to exogenous amino acids were examined in rat hippocampal and striatal slices. In striatal slices, tiletamine inhibited the NMA-mediated, but not the spontaneous, release of [3H]acetylcholine, with an IC50 of 70 nM. In hippocampal CA1 cells, 3 microM tiletamine in the perfusate reversibly blocked the intracellularly recorded responses to ionophoretically applied NMA, but not to glutamate, quisqualate and kainate. Tiletamine, 3 to 100 microM, had no effect on the orthodromically elicited excitatory postsynaptic potential, action potential amplitude or duration, resting membrane potential, or input resistance. In Mg++-free perfusate, the excitatory postsynaptic potential was greatly augmented to give a paroxysmal depolarization shift and was reversibly blocked by 10 microM tiletamine. Our results show that tiletamine is a potent and reversible antagonist of NMA-mediated responses without itself having major effects in low concentrations on normal membrane and synaptic pyramidal cell properties.

Acetylcholine↗

Bubble free cell culture aeration with porous moving membranes.

For the cultivation of mammalian cells a new aeration system was developed. Its construction with hydrophobic porous Accurel hollow fiber membranes and the use in reactors with 1 and 20 l reaction volume will be presented and introduced by means of the cultivation of a genetically manipulated mouse cell line. The mass transfer capacity of this system is demonstrated as a function of gas flow rates through the membrane and of the membrane movement.

Animals↗

Purification of proteins from cell culture supernatants.

Desired proteins excreted by animal cells usually reach rather low concentrations in the culture supernatant and have to be purified from an excess of serum proteins which are added to the animal cell culture to maintain its viability and/or productivity. Defined media offer among others the advantage of an easier purification procedure. In addition lysis of cells may contribute also to the complexity of the protein mixture encountered. If fetal calf serum or new born calf serum is used in cultivation, bovine serum albumin and globulins will be the most abundant protein in the supernatant. The interaction of albumin especially with hydrophobic proteins represents significant problems for the effective purification of minor constituent. Isolation of a desired protein follows the general scheme: concentration: by precipitation, ultrafiltration, batch adsorption or partition in aqueous phase system; enrichment: by chromatography or partition; high resolution purification: by chromatography and/or immuno adsorption; final concentration and finishing: pyrogen removal, sterilization, formulation. Biochemical engineering aspects of proteins purification are discussed using human interferon-beta produced in a recombinant mouse cell line as an example. The process developed encloses extraction of interferon-beta from the production medium in aqueous two-phase systems and subsequent recovery of interferon-beta from the top phase by high pressure liquid chromatography.

Albumins↗

Production of human beta-interferon in mouse L-cells.

Mouse L-cells, producing glycosilated human beta-interferon constitutively, were cultivated on microcarriers in bioreactors, equipped with a bubble-free aeration system up to 22 1 scale. Suitable aeration membrane surfaces and medium exchange rates permitted cultivation up to 8 X 10(6) cells/ml with a specific beta-interferon productivity of 2 X 10(4) U/10(6) cells/day. A correlation was found between the number of cell layers on the microcarriers and the specific human beta-interferon productivity.

Amino Acids↗

Synthesis of 2,6-anhydro-S-[ethylmercury(II)]-1-thio-D-glycero-L-manno-heptitol+ ++ and bis(2,6-anhydro-1-thio-D-glycero-L-manno-heptitol)mercury(II), and the study of their interaction with beta-D-galactosidase from E. coli.

Two competitive inhibitors of beta-D-galactosidase activity, namely, 2,6-anhydro-S-[ethylmercury(II)]-1-thio-D-glycero-L-manno-heptitol (4) and bis(2,6-anhydro-1-thio-D-glycero-L-manno-heptitol)mercury(II) (6), with inhibition constants of 8.0 X 10(-4) M and 1.9 X 10(-4) M, were synthesized. Compound 6 was incorporated into the crystalline enzyme by cocrystallization. The stoichiometry of the enzyme-inhibitor complex was 1:4, corresponding to one molecule of inhibitor per active site of the enzyme. Compound 4 was found to be unstable against X-ray irradiation, whereas compound 6 was submitted to X-rays for several days without any radiation damage.

Alkylmercury Compounds↗

3-Azi-1-methoxybutyl D-maltooligosaccharides specifically bind to the maltose/maltooligosaccharide-binding protein of Escherichia coli and can be used as photoaffinity labels.

Maltooligosaccharides with two to six (alpha 1-4)-linked glucose residues, carrying at their reducing end a 3-azi-1-methoxybutyl group in either alpha or in beta glycosidic linkage, were synthesized. These maltooligosaccharide analogues inhibit maltose uptake via the maltose-binding-protein-dependent transport system in Escherichia coli. The concentration of half-maximal inhibition of maltose transport, at 15 nM concentration, decreases with increasing chain length of the analogue, levelling off at 40 microM after a chain length of four glucose residues in the alpha series and at 350 microM after a chain length of three glucose residues in the beta series. The inhibition of maltose transport occurs at the level of the periplasmic maltose-binding protein. 3-Azi-1-methoxybutyl alpha-D-[3H]maltotrioside was bound by the maltose-binding protein with a Kd of 0.18 mM. Irradiation at 350 nm of purified maltose-binding protein in the presence of 4 microM of this substrate labeled the protein covalently; labeling was prevented by 1 mM maltose. Using a crude preparation of periplasmic proteins two proteins were labeled, the maltose-binding protein and alpha-amylase. Thus, 3-azi-1-methoxybutyl alpha-D-maltooligosaccharides are potent photoaffinity labels for proteins with maltooligosaccharides-binding sites.

ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters↗

Basal forebrain neurons provide major cholinergic innervation of primate neocortex.

In 3 monkeys, lesions were made in the basal forebrain by microinjections of ibotenic acid into the nucleus basalis. Bilateral samples of multiple neocortical gyri were assayed for the activity of choline acetyltransferase. Compared to control hemispheres, enzyme activity was reduced up to 69% in the neocortex ipsilateral to the lesion; in addition, acetylcholinesterase staining was decreased at the lesioned site and in the ipsilateral cortex. These results support the concept that the principal cholinergic innervation of the primate neocortex is derived from axons and nerve terminals of neurons whose perikarya are located in the basal forebrain, particularly the nucleus basalis.

Animals↗

Efficient HPLC separation of N-p-nitrophenylglycosylamines derived from complex oligosaccharide mixtures. Human orosomucoid as a model.

With human orosomucoid as model compound, a new method was developed to separate neutral oligosaccharides as N-p-nitro-phenylglycosylamines. Asialo orosomucoid was prepared by treatment with neuraminidase and purified by size exclusion HPLC on TSK 2000 SW. Oligosaccharides were isolated by reversed phase HPLC on Hamilton PRP-1 after hydrazinolysis and re-N-acetylation. Glycosylamination was performed with p-nitroaniline in DMSO-formic acid-water, where the whole mixture of oligosaccharide derivatives was isolated by reversed phase HPLC on Hamilton PRP-1 and separated into single glycosylamines on Shandon Hypersil ODS. The purified glycosylamines could be methylated by a new rapid method with sodium hydroxide and methyl iodide in DMSO, isolation and purification were carried out on Hamilton PRP-1 and Spherisorb ODS 2, respectively, as described for the glycosylamines. Preparative scale HPLC separations were performed on analytical columns using repetitive collection mode and automatic sample loading by means of a peristaltic pump operated by the HPLC controller. The purified glycosylamines can be used for sugar analyses or, after permethylation, for methylation analyses or related procedures.

Amino Sugars↗

Myopathy with mitochondrial abnormalities and rimmed vacuoles.

A man of 44 years suffering from an exercise-induced neuromuscular disease with mitochondrial abnormalities and rimmed vacuoles is reported. The mitochondrial abnormalities and rimmed vacuoles (autophagic vacuoles) are interpreted as sequential changes of the same pathogenetic process depending on the degree of energy deficiency.

Extremities↗

Primary degenerative dementia without Alzheimer pathology.

To define the pathology in cases of non-Alzheimer primary degenerative dementia (non-AD PDD), we have studied autopsies from four medical centres accessioned in consecutive years since 1976. Neurochemical studies of the basal forebrain-cortical (BF-C) cholinergic system have been conducted in cases from which frozen tissue was available. Twenty-two cases (mean age 70 years, range 47-86) in which the history was consistent with PDD, but which did not meet anatomic criteria for AD, were selected. Approximately 70 cases of PDD, which were accessioned in the same years and met the anatomic criteria for AD, were excluded. The pathologic findings permitted a classification into six groups: Lewy body disease (LBD), 4 cases; Pick's disease, 6 cases: cortical degeneration with motor neuron disease (CDmnd), 2 cases; hippocampal and temporal lobe sclerosis, 3 cases; few or nonspecific abnormalities, 5 cases; other disorders, 2 cases. Our findings suggest that LBD and Pick's disease account for a large proportion of cases of non-AD PDD in the presenile age group, but that a large number of other disorders occasionally present as PDD. Careful examination of the motor systems, as well as cerebral structures relate to cognitive function, is important in the neuropathologic evaluation. Lesions of the BF-C cholinergic system have been most consistent and severe in LBD, and have not been identified in CDmnd.

Aged↗

Cortical degeneration with swollen chromatolytic neurons: its relationship to Pick's disease.

We report two cases of dementia in which cortical degeneration with widespread swollen chromatolytic neurons (SCN) was the dominant pathologic feature. Each patient had received the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease on the basis of clinical findings. There was no deficit of cortical choline acetyltransferase activity, assayed in one case, or lesions of the nucleus basalis of Meynert. The brains had moderate to marked frontal atrophy. Comparison of SCN with several other cerebral degenerative disorders indicates a similarity with certain features of the transmissible spongiform encephalopathies and with corticodentatonigral degeneration. The pathologic features of our cases are those of a number of other cases reported as "Pick's disease," and may represent an earlier stage in the pathogenetic process than the severe, sharply circumscribed atrophy with "nonspecific" cell loss and gliosis as the only microscopic residuals. Our findings re-emphasize the need to search for pathogenetically distinct subgroups which have been wholly or partially subsumed into the concept of Pick's disease.

Acetylcholine↗

[Importance of immunohistochemistry for neuro-oncology. IV. Distribution model of beta human chorionic gonadotropins in intracranial germ cell tumors].

beta-Human choriogonadotropic hormone (beta-HCG) is considered a good marker for trophoblastic differentiation of germ cell tumors. 34 primary intracranial germ cell tumors (15 germinomas, 6 mature teratomas, 1 embryonal carcinoma, 2 endodermal sinus tumors and 10 mixed germ cell tumors) were immunohistochemically evaluated for the presence of beta-HCG positive cells. In 8 of 15 germinomas and 6 of 10 mixed germ cell tumors beta-HCG cells were demonstrable. In the germinomas such cells included both syncytiotrophoblastic and mononuclear cells which histologically did not correspond to the cytotrophoblast. In one case the patient had exhibited a precocious puberty. Of the 6 beta-HCG positive mixed germ cell tumors, two contained elements of choriocarcinoma. In the cytotrophoblasts of the choriocarcinoma regions, beta-HCG was only sparsely demonstrable. Both of these patients had manifest precocious puberty clinically. The advantage of immunohistochemical demonstration of the beta-HCG compared to conventional histology is in the definite identification of trophoblastic differentiation, in particular the exact recognition of the choriocarcinoma segments, which can be critical for the prognosis. Demonstration of isolated syncytiotrophoblasts and beta-HCG positive mononuclear cells in the seminomas is of no prognostic significance and is primarily of theoretical interest.

Adolescent↗