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Biomedical subjects

R C Arora

Publications and source records attributed to R C Arora.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources
PubMed1975

Formation of aberrant neurotransmitters and its implication for alcohol addiction and intoxication.

The possible involvement of false neurotransmitters in the biological aspects of addiction to alcohol has been reviewed and discussed. Current evidence is somewhat ambiguous, although suggestive, of a cause-effect relationship between possible metabolic products of biogenic amines (i.e., tetrahydroisoquinoline derivatives etc.) and addiction. A novel hypothesis of the mode of action of these derivatives developed on the basis of experiments in the reviewer's laboratory is also discussed. According to the latter hypothesis, alkaloid formation may occur in vivo at the membranous level in situ, by interaction of indoleamines and (or) catecholamines with the products of polypeptide chains and thereby modifying the properties of plasmalemmal membranes.

Alcoholic Intoxication↗
PubMed1972

Ceramide-like synthetic amides that inhibit cerebroside galactosidase.

Amides resembling ceramide (fatty acyl sphingosine) were synthesized and tested for their effects on rat brain cerebrosidase (galactosyl ceramide beta-galactosidase). The best inhibitor was N-decanoyl dl-erythro-3-phenyl-2-aminopro-panediol, which exhibited a K(i) of 0.4 mm. A Lineweaver-Burk plot indicated that the amide acted as a noncompetitive inhibitor, presumably by attachment to a site other than the substrate-active site. Preincubation did not affect the degree of inhibition, and inhibition was independent of incubation duration; these observations suggest that the inhibitor does not combine with the enzyme irreversibly. Structural variations produced decreased inhibitory activity: loss of one of the hydroxyl groups, replacement of the aromatic side chain with an aliphatic or substituted phenyl group, or isomeric inversion of the 3-hydroxyl group. It appears that the best activity is obtained with a substance most closely resembling natural ceramide. The cerebrosidases of rat spleen, kidney, and liver are also inhibited by the same amide.

Acylation↗
PubMed1971

A simplified assay method for galactosyl ceramide beta-galactosidase.

In a previously described method for determining the activity of cerebroside galactosidase, the enzyme preparation was incubated with an emulsion of cerebroside which had been labeled in the galactose moiety. The liberated galactose was separated from the emulsion by liquid-liquid partitioning, but the presence of detergent necessitated the use of careful agitation and a backwash in order to reduce the contamination of the aqueous layer with excess emulsified substrate. This problem is eliminated by adding a large amount of lipid to reduce the emulsifying power of the detergent. It may be that other lipid hydrolase assays, based on the same principle, would benefit by this approach. Some additional improvements in the assay system are described.

Bile Acids and Salts↗