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Biomedical subjects

M B Youdim

Publications and source records attributed to M B Youdim.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources

The turnover of growth hormone (GH)-binding protein and GH receptor in rabbit and rat.

The present study was undertaken to further explore the comparative dynamics of growth hormone-binding protein (GH-BP) in relation to the turnover of the GH-receptor (GH-R) in vivo in rabbits and rats. The strategy used was to examine the time course of hepatic GH-R turnover over a 3 h period after cycloheximide treatment, with simultaneous measurements of serum GH-BP level. In the rabbit we sampled multiple liver biopsies and serum samples consecutively from each animal. In the rat, experiments on individual animals were conducted for each time point. In the rat, both liver GH-R and serum GH-BP declined after cycloheximide injection following first-order kinetics. The t 1/2 values for GH-R and GH-BP were 29.7-44.5 and 82.7-119.5 min (95% confidence limits), respectively. A significant positive correlation was found between rat liver GH-R and serum GH-BP (r = 0.85; p < 0.001). In contrast, the decline in rabbit liver GH-R, following cycloheximide treatment was accompanied by simultaneous time-dependent accumulation of serum GH-BP. The t 1/2 for rabbit serum GH-BP accumulation was 30.4-67.6 min. Scatchard analysis of [125I]hGH binding to rabbit GH-BP indicated that the binding capacity increased from 2818 +/- 538 fmol/ml, at time zero, to 5236 +/- 419 fmol/ml following 60 min cycloheximide treatment (p < 0.05). No significant changes in affinity were observed.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗

Uptake and receptor sites for glycine in isolated bovine adrenal medulla chromaffin cells.

[3H]Glycine is actively taken up into bovine isolated adrenal medulla chromaffin cells with the subsequent catecholamine release. [3H]Glycine uptake has two interaction sites based on relative Km measurements. These sites are inherently distinct since the effects of strychnine and temperature on glycine binding are significantly different. The high affinity site (Km = 6 x 10(-7) M) is strychnine-sensitive and its activity is unaltered at 4 degrees C. These results point to a receptor-like function. The low-affinity site (Km = 1.4 x 10(-3) is strychnine-insensitive and is significantly inhibited (75%) by low temperature (4 degrees C), by low Na+ concentration and 50% by ouabain (10(-4) M). Compounds structurally similar to glycine and known to antagonize its uptake to neuronal cells, such as beta-alanine, N-methyl-d,l-alanine and sarcosine, also inhibit the low affinity site which indicate a glycine uptake function for this site. The relative activity of the uptake inhibitors indicate that in the adrenal chromaffin cell, glycine uptake is carried out by a System A amino acid transporter mechanism. GABA does not affect glycine binding or uptake in the chromaffin cells, suggesting that these two inhibitory amino acid neurotransmitters act via different mechanisms in the adrenal medulla. The results for glycine activity in adrenal medulla chromaffin cells are remarkably similar to those seen in CNS neuronal cells, and thus support the use of chromaffin cells as a model system for studying the mechanism of action of glycine in the central nervous system.

Acetamides↗

Sigma receptors modulate nicotinic receptor function in adrenal chromaffin cells.

Neither the physiological function of sigma (sigma) receptors nor the cellular mechanism responsible for the pharmacological effects of sigma receptor ligands is known. We now report that sigma receptor ligands noncompetitively inhibit nicotine-stimulated catecholamine release from bovine adrenal chromaffin cells in a concentration-dependent and reversible manner. The rank order of potency of ligands to inhibit nicotine-stimulated catecholamine release is significantly correlated (P < 0.005) with that observed in radioligand binding assays selective for the sigma 1 receptor subtype. This naltrexone-insensitive effect is paralleled by an inhibition of nicotine-stimulated increases in [Ca2+]i. Sigma ligands were without effect on catecholamine release or [Ca2+]i in the absence of nicotine. In addition, nicotine accelerated the association of the sigma receptor selective radioligand, [3H](+)pentazocine, to adrenal medullary homogenates while having no effect on the rate of ligand dissociation, consistent with a sigma ligand binding site closely associated with and allosterically modulated by the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor. Thus, the actions of agonists at the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor in bovine chromaffin cells are modulated by sigma 1 receptor selective ligands.

Adrenal Medulla↗

Growth hormone-binding protein in partially hepatectomized rats.

The role of the liver in regulating serum growth hormone-binding protein (GH-BP) was studied. We measured rat serum GH-BP and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) 30 min to 96 h after 70% partial hepatectomy (PHP) or sham operation in adult male rats. Serum GH-BP declined sharply from 5.8 +/- 0.1% at baseline to 3.9 +/- 0.5% by 48 h following PHP. By 72 h serum GH-BP at baseline to 3.9 +/- 0.5% by 48 h following PHP. By 72 h serum GH-BP returned to baseline level and remained at that level 96 h postoperatively. In sham-operated female rats, serum GH-BP was about 2-fold higher than in males (10.5 +/- 1.46 versus 5.8 +/- 0.2%), whereas 24 h after hepatectomy a significant drop of about 50% was observed (p < 0.001). Serum IGF-1 decreased within 2-4 h postoperatively in both sham-operated and PHP groups, but thereafter was lower in the PHP rats, up to 48 h after operation, compared to sham-operated rats (p < 0.03). The study shows that the liver has an important role in the determination of serum GH-BP levels. The return to normal GH-BP level, even before the liver regained its full size following hepatectomy, suggests an increase in GH-BP production by the regenerating liver.

Animals↗

Iron modulates neuroleptic-induced effects related to the dopaminergic system.

Long-term neuroleptic medication to schizophrenic patients is often associated with extrapyramidal side effects, of which tardive dyskinesia is the most severe. The mechanism by which neuroleptics induce these side effects is unclear. The dopaminergic system is the main target with which the neuroleptics interact in the brain. Intact dopaminergic function is dependent on normal iron metabolism. Thus, the relationship between iron and the neuroleptics may elucidate some new aspects of their mechanism of action. Indeed, peripheral iron status plays a crucial role in neuroleptic-induced dopamine supersensitivity. Moreover, neuroleptics such as haloperidol and chlorpromazine, alter the blood brain barrier (BBB) of the rat and enhance the normally restricted iron transport into the brain. Increased brain iron levels may be related to the toxic effects of these drugs since clozapine, an atypical neuroleptic with a low incidence of extrapyramidal side effects, prohibits iron uptake into the brain but causes sedimentation of iron in brain blood vessels. The demonstration that peripheral iron concentrations affect neuroleptic-induced dopamine receptor supersensitivity as well as iron transport into the brain may have therapeutic significance. In addition, the different potentials of typical and atypical neuroleptics to increase iron transport into the brain may be related to the severity of the side effects they induce and to the pathophysiology of tardive dyskinesia.

Animals↗

Recent advances in pharmacological therapy of Parkinson's disease.

The discovery of a selective striatal dopamine deficiency in Parkinson's disease has led to dopamine replacement therapies including L-DOPA, dopamine full and partial agonists, and MAO-B inhibitors. The development of new compounds and alternative methods of drug delivery may be able to overcome the long-term side effects of the established therapies. Overactivity of central glutamatergic systems appears to be important in the pathophysiology of the disorder and provides the rationale for the use of glutamate antagonists. Recent studies emphasize the significance of oxidative stress and free radical formation in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease. Future research will focus on improvements in neuroprotective therapy to prevent or slow the rate of progression of the disease. Possible neuroprotective strategies include selective MAO-B inhibitors, iron chelators, and free radical scavengers.

Antiparkinson Agents↗

The role of iron in senescence of dopaminergic neurons in Parkinson's disease.

In Parkinson's disease (PD) an elevation of iron with staging of the disease has been observed in the substantia nigra (SN), especially the zona compacta (ZC). The iron is found to be present in glia, active microglia, macrophages, oligodendrocytes, outside the degenerated dopamine neurons and as a mild halo around Lewy bodies and within melanized dopamine neurons of SNZC. Although in control brains iron is absent in melanized dopamine neurons, in PD it is bound to neuromelanin in a fashion similar to the interaction of iron with synthetic dopamine-melanin. The iron in SNZC is thought to induce oxidative stress and thus be associated with the reported decreases of glutathione peroxidase activity, reduced glutathione (GSH), mitochondrial Complex I activity, calcium binding protein and increase of basal lipid peroxidation. An animal (rat) model of PD has been described in which intranigral iron injection induces a relatively specific lesioning of dopamine neurons resulting in behavioural and biochemical Parkinsonism in rats. Support for the neurotoxicity of iron liberated from an endogenous source has come from the 6-hydroxydopamine model of PD. This neurotoxin is thought to owe its toxicity to the liberation of iron from ferritin, which in turn alters the homeostasis of mitochondrial Ca2+ with the subsequent depletion of tissue GSH, resulting in oxidative stress. Pretreatment of rats with intraventricular injection of a relatively selective prototype iron chelator, desferrioxamine (desferal), attenuates the 6-hydroxydopamine lesion of nigrostriatal dopamine. Thus iron can fulfill the role of a neurotoxin. However it remains to be established whether its role in PD is primary or secondary to some other neurotoxic event.

Aging↗

The advent of a new generation of monoamine oxidase inhibitor antidepressants: pharmacologic studies with moclobemide and brofaromine.

Severe side effects such as hepatotoxicity and potentiation of the sympathomimetic action of tyramine ("the cheese effect") caused the withdrawal of nonselective irreversible monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors from use in psychiatric therapy. The development of selective irreversible inhibitors for MAO type A did not eliminate cardiovascular side effects such as "the cheese effect" or, conversely, the hypotensive effect of these drugs. To overcome at least "the cheese effect," selective reversible MAO-A inhibitor antidepressants such as moclobemide and brofaromine have been developed. Being reversibly bound to MAO, these drugs may be displaced from their binding site in the intestine by ingested, indirectly sympathomimetic amines such as tyramine, thus avoiding the initiation of the hypertensive crises. Using a rat renal nerve preparation, we have demonstrated that acute administration of either moclobemide or brofaromine (10 mg/kg) does not cause a decrease in blood pressure or a significant reduction in sympathetic renal nerve activity. These data contrast with those obtained with clorgyline or desipramine. The results indicate that moclobemide and brofaromine may be devoid of a hypotensive effect, including orthostatic hypotension.

Animals↗

Preferential release of epinephrine by glycine from adrenal chromaffin cells.

Isolated adrenal chromaffin cells were used as a model for the release of catecholamines from adrenergic nerve endings. In this study we used an HPLC technique to determine the effects of acetylcholine and glycine on norepinephrine and epinephrine release. The amount of catecholamine released in response to glycine was 22% less than that released by acetylcholine. However, while the norepinephrine-to-epinephrine ratio was 1.6 after stimulation with acetylcholine, it was 0.6 after stimulation with glycine. This suggests that glycine preferentially affects epinephrine secretion as compared to acetylcholine, which preferentially releases norepinephrine. This differential effect could be of physiological importance considering our recent demonstration of a functional high-affinity chloride-gated glycine receptor on adrenal chromaffin cells.

Acetylcholine↗

The molecular pharmacology of L-deprenyl.

L-Deprenyl, the selective inhibitor of monoamine oxidase type B (MAO-B), has gained wide acceptance as a useful form of adjunct therapeutic drug in the treatment of Parkinson's disease. This review summarizes the molecular pharmacology of L-deprenyl, and the advances in our understanding of its possible mode of action in Parkinson's disease. L-Deprenyl belongs to the class of enzyme-activated irreversible inhibitors also described as 'suicide' inhibitors, because the compound acts as a substrate for the target enzyme, whose action on the compound results in irreversible inhibition. L-Deprenyl first of all forms a noncovalent complex with MAO as an initial, reversible step. The subsequent interaction of L-deprenyl with MAO leads to a reduction of the enzyme-bound flavin-adenine dinucleotide (FAD), and concomitant oxidation of the inhibitor. This oxidized inhibitor then reacts with FAD at the N-5-position in a covalent manner. The observed in vitro selectivity of L-deprenyl for MAO-B may be accounted for by differences in the affinities of the two MAO subtypes for reversible interaction with L-deprenyl, differences in the rates of reaction within the noncovalent complexes to form the irreversibly inhibited adduct, or a combination of both these factors. However, if selective inhibition is to be maintained in vivo, correct dosage schedules are critically important, since all selective MAO inhibitors described up to now lack selectivity at high doses. In experimental animals L-deprenyl is protective against the damaging effects of several neurotoxins, including the dopaminergic agents 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) and 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) and the noradrenergic neurotoxin N-(2-chloroethyl)-N-ethyl-2-bromobenzylamine (DSP-4). Beside MAO-B inhibition, which above all explains the prevention of neurotoxic action of MPTP by preventing its metabolism, L-deprenyl appears to exhibit other mechanisms of action which are independent of its action on MAO-B.

Animals↗

Role of iron and iron chelation in dopaminergic-induced neurodegeneration: implication for Parkinson's disease.

Recent studies in Parkinson's disease suggest that the degeneration of the nigrostriatal melanin-containing dopaminergic neurons results from toxic effects of free radicals, which are generated during dopamine metabolism in the substantia nigra (SN). This has been linked to the selective accumulation of iron, a known catalyst of radical formation, in the zona compacta of the SN. We have shown that interaction of iron with melanin may result in a high affinity binding of iron to melanin (KD = 13.0 +/- 0.15 nM). Indeed, x-ray analysis of melanized dopamine neurons of parkinsonian SN has shown an interaction of iron with melanin that is absent in control brains. In the presence of excess Fe3+, melanin potentiates iron-induced lipid peroxidation. Since iron chelators prevent lipid peroxidation, we have ascertained the ability of the iron chelator deferoxamine to prevent the lesion of the nigrostriatal dopamine neuron induced by 6-hydroxy dopamine (6-OHDA). Our results demonstrated that intraventricular injection of 130 ng deferoxamine to rats prior to 250 micrograms of 6-OHDA partially prevented the decrease in striatal dopamine content caused by 6-OHDA (56% reduction vs 90%, respectively). This protection was sufficient to produce normal dopamine-related behavioral responses. These results suggest that iron and iron chelators play a crucial role in the process of dopaminergic neurodegeneration and neuroprotection. The latter is further supported by our recent findings that intranigral injection of iron (50 micrograms) resulted in a substantial selective decrease of striatal dopamine (95%) and impaired dopamine-related responses.

Animals↗

The distal axis of growth hormone (GH) in nutritional disorders: GH-binding protein, insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), and IGF-I receptors in obesity and anorexia nervosa.

The endocrine abnormalities along the growth hormone (GH) axis in anorexia nervosa (AN) and in obesity include hypothalamic, pituitary, and peripheral elements. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the effects of these nutritional extremes on GH-binding protein (BP) levels and on Insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) receptors on red blood cells (RBC). Nine patients with AN and 20 obese subjects were compared with normal control children, adolescents, and adults. GH-BP was measured by a binding assay with dextran-coated charcoal separation. IGF-I binding was measured on enriched RBC. Serum GH-BP levels were markedly reduced in the AN patients, and highly increased in the obese. Scatchard analyses showed linear plots with unaltered binding affinities (Ka). The binding capacity (Bmax) was significantly lower than normal control in the AN patients and higher in the obese. GH-BP levels correlated positively with the body mass index (BMI). RBC [125I]IGF-I binding was significantly elevated in the AN patients and low in the obese. Scatchard analyses showed curvilinear plots. The high-affinity constants (Ka1) were slightly, but significantly, higher in the AN patients and in the obese compared with control. The binding capacity of the first binder (Bmax1) was lower in obesity than in AN or control. The low-affinity constants (Ka2) were similar in the three groups, and its binding capacity (Bmax2) was similar in the AN patients and the controls, but significantly lower in the obese. [125I]IGF-I binding correlated negatively and significantly with the BMI and with the GH-BP.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗

Effect of human growth hormone (GH)-binding protein in human serum on GH binding to rabbit liver membranes.

The sequence identity of growth hormone-binding protein (GH-BP) with the extracellular domain of GH receptors raised the possibility that circulating GH-BP might affect the binding of human GH (hGH) to its receptors, and thus, its biological effects. To test this hypothesis, we tested the effects of sera with low GH-BP levels (obtained from prepubertal children, girls with anorexia nervosa [AN], and patients with hepatic cirrhosis), normal control sera, and sera with high GH-BP levels (obtained from obese patients) on hGH binding to its receptors. GH-BP activity in patients' sera was measured by incubation with [125I]hGH and the separation of bound hGH from free hGH with dextran-coated charcoal. The effect of GH-BP was studied by preincubation of patients' sera with increasing concentrations of hGH, followed by incubation with [125I]hGH and a rabbit liver membrane preparation known to be rich in GH receptors, and finally by measuring hGH bound to the receptors. In this study, we report on the ability of GH-BP to reduce the inhibitory capacity (IC50) of hGH on [125I]hGH binding to GH receptors. The concentration of GH-BP in serum is positively correlated with the IC50 of hGH incubated with different sera on [125I]hGH binding to its receptors (n = 21; r = .886, P less than .001). In the presence of high serum GH-BP levels, such as those observed in obesity (20.13% +/- 0.71%/0.05 mL serum), the IC50 values were significantly higher than those obtained with sera containing GH-BP levels lower than those measured in human control subjects, such as from prepubertal children, AN patients, and cirrhotic patients.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗