Histamine is an important inflammatory mediator that is released in airways during an asthmatic response. However, current antihistamine drugs are not effective in controlling the disease. The discovery of the histamine H4 receptor (H4R) prompted us to reinvestigate the role of histamine in pulmonary allergic responses. H4R-deficient mice and mice treated with H4R antagonists exhibited decreased allergic lung inflammation, with decreases in infiltrating lung eosinophils and lymphocytes and decreases in Th2 responses. Ex vivo restimulation of T cells showed decreases in IL-4, IL-5, IL-13, IL-6, and IL-17 levels, suggesting that T cell functions were disrupted. In vitro studies indicated that blockade of the H4R on dendritic cells leads to decreases in cytokine and chemokine production and limits their ability to induce Th2 responses in T cells. This work suggests that the H4R can modulate allergic responses via its influence on T cell activation. The study expands the known influences of histamine on the immune system and highlights the therapeutic potential of H4R antagonists in allergic conditions. 相似文献
The role of lipid diversity in biomembranes is one of the major unsolved problems in biochemistry. One parameter of possible importance is the mean cross-sectional area occupied per lipid molecule, which may be related to formation of nonbilayer structures and membrane protein function. We have used 2H NMR spectroscopy to compare the properties of 1,2-diperdeuteriopalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine (DPPE-d62) and 1,2-diperdeuteriopalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DPPC-d62) in the L alpha phase. We find that DPPE has greater segmental order than DPPC, and that this increase in order is related to the smaller area per acyl chain found for DPPE. Values of the mean cross-sectional chain area are calculated using a simple diamond lattice model for the acyl chain configurational statistics, together with dilatometry data. The results obtained for the mean area per molecule are comparable with those from low angle x-ray diffraction studies. 相似文献
25 aromatic carboxylic acids which are analogs of benzoic acid were tested in the rat diaphragm preparation for effects on chloride conductance (G(Cl)). Of the 25, 19 were shown to reduce membrane G(Cl) with little effect on other membrane parameters, although their apparent K(i) varied widely. This inhibition was reversible if exposure times were not prolonged. The most effective analog studied was anthracene-9-COOH (9-AC; K(i) = 1.1 x 10(-5) M). Active analogs produced concentration-dependent inhibition of a type consistent with interaction at a single site or group of sites having similar binding affinities, although a correlation could also be shown between lipophilicity and K(i). Structure-activity analysis indicated that hydrophobic ring substitution usually increased inhibitory activity while para polar substitutions reduced effectiveness.
These compounds do not appear to inhibit G(Cl) by altering membrane surface charge and the inhibition produced is not voltage dependent. Qualitative characteristics of the I-V relationship for Cl(-) current are not altered. Conductance to all anions is not uniformly altered by these acids as would be expected from steric occlusion of a common channel. Concentrations of 9-AC reducing G(Cl) by more than 90 percent resulted in slight augmentation of G(I). The complete conductance sequence obtained at high levels of 9-AC was the reverse of that obtained under control conditions. Permeability sequences underwent progressive changes with increasing 9-AC concentration and ultimately inverted at high levels of the analog. Aromatic carboxylic acids appear to inhibit G(Cl) by binding to a specific intramembrane site and altering the selectivity sequence of the membrane anion channel.
Numerous overexpression studies have recently implicated Syntaxin 4 as an effector of insulin secretion, although its requirement in insulin granule exocytosis is unknown. To address this, islets from Syntaxin 4 heterozygous (-/+) knockout mice were isolated and compared with islets from wild-type mice. Under static incubation conditions, Syntaxin 4 (-/+) islets showed a 60% reduction in glucose-stimulated insulin secretion compared with wild-type islets. Perifusion analyses revealed that Syntaxin 4 (-/+) islets secreted 50% less insulin during the first phase of glucose-stimulated insulin secretion and that this defect could be fully restored by the specific replenishment of recombinant Syntaxin 4. This essential role for Syntaxin 4 in secretion from the islet was localized to the beta-cells because small interfering RNA-mediated depletion of Syntaxin 4 in MIN6 beta-cells abolished glucose-stimulated insulin secretion. Moreover, immunofluorescent confocal microscopy revealed that Syntaxin 4 was principally localized to the beta-cells and not the alpha-cells of the mouse islet. Remarkably, islets isolated from transgenic mice that express 2.4-fold higher levels of Syntaxin 4 relative to wild-type mice secreted approximately 35% more insulin during both phases of insulin secretion, suggesting that increased Syntaxin 4 may be beneficial for enhancing biphasic insulin secretion in a regulated manner. Taken together, these data support the notion that Syntaxin 4-based SNARE complexes are essential for biphasic insulin granule fusion in pancreatic beta-cells. 相似文献
alpha 1-Proteinase inhibitors (alpha 1-PIs) are members of the serpin
superfamily of proteinase inhibitors, and are important in the maintenance
of homeostasis in a wide variety of animal taxa. Previous studies have
shown that in mice (genus Mus), evolution of alpha 1-PIs is characterized
by gene amplification, region-specific concerted evolution, and rapid
accumulation of amino acid substitutions. The latter occurs primarily in
the reactive center, which is the region of the alpha 1-PI molecule that
determines the inhibitor's specificity for target proteinases. The P1
residue within the reactive center, which is methionine in so-called
orthodox alpha 1-PIs and an amino acid other than methionine in unorthodox
alpha 1-PIs, is a primary determinant of inhibitor specificity. In the
present study, we find that the expression of mRNAs encoding unorthodox
alpha 1-PIs is polymorphic within Mus species, i.e., among individuals or
inbred strains. This is in striking contrast to mRNAs that encode orthodox
alpha 1-PIs, whose concentrations are relatively invariant. The
intraspecies variations in mRNA expression represent polymorphisms in the
structure of the alpha 1- PI gene family. The results, taken together with
previously described aspects of alpha 1-PI evolution, indicate that the
dissimilar levels of polymorphism exhibited by orthodox and unorthodox
alpha 1-PIs, which likely have distinct physiological functions, may
reflect different levels of selective constraint. The significance of this
finding to the evolution of gene families is discussed.
相似文献
Basic lipophilic substituents dramatically improved the cellular potency of a previously disclosed series of pyrazole-based arylalkyne cathepsin S inhibitors. The incorporation of substituted benzylamines in the para position of the arylalkyne maintained enzymatic activity (hCatS IC50 = 80–420 nM) and imparted cellular potency (IC50 = 0.8–4.0 μM). Further refinement of the morpholine portion of the pharmacophore enabled the identification of bicyclic piperidines with enhanced affinity for CatS (IC50 = 10–30 nM) and sub-micromolar cellular potency (JY Ii IC50 = 200–720 nM). 相似文献
Internal eliminated sequences (IESs) often interrupt ciliate genes in the
silent germline nucleus but are exactly excised and eliminated from the
developing somatic nucleus from which genes are then expressed. Some long
IESs are transposons, supporting the hypothesis that short IESs are ancient
transposon relics. In light of that hypothesis and to explore the
evolutionary history of a collection of IESs, we have compared various
alleles of a particular locus (the 81 locus) of the ciliated protozoa
Oxytricha trifallax and O. fallax. Three short IESs that interrupt two
genes of the locus are found in alleles from both species, and thus must be
relatively ancient, consistent with the hypothesis that short IESs are
transposon relics. In contrast, TBE1 transposon interruptions of the locus
are allele-specific and probably the results of recent transpositions.
These IESs (and the TBE1s) are precisely excised from the DNA of the
developing somatic macronucleus. Each IES interrupts a highly conserved
sequence. A few nucleotides at the ends of each IES are also conserved,
suggesting that they interact critically with IES excision machinery.
However, most IES nucleotide positions have evolved at high rates, showing
little or no selective constraint for function. Nonetheless, the length of
each IES has been maintained (+/- 3 bp). While one IES is approximately 33
bp long, three other IESs have very similar sizes, approximately 70 bp
long. Two IESs are surrounded by direct repeats of the sequence TTCTT. No
other sequence similarities were found between any of the four IESs.
However, the ends of one IES do match the inverted terminal repeat
consensus sequence of the "TA" IESs of Paramecium. Three O. trifallax
alleles appear to have been recipients in recent conversion events that
could have been provoked by double-strand breaks associated with IES ends
subsequent to IES transposition. Our findings support the hypothesis that
short IESs evolved from ancient transposons that have lost most of their
sequences, except those necessary for precise excision during macronuclear
development.
相似文献
Second-phase insulin release requires the sustained mobilization of insulin granules from internal storage pools to the cell surface for fusion with the plasma membrane. However, the detailed mechanisms underlying this process remain largely unknown. GTP-loading of the small GTPase Cdc42 is the first glucose-specific activation step in the process, although how glucose triggers Cdc42 activation is entirely unknown. In a directed candidate screen for guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs), which directly activate small GTPases, Cool-1/βPix was identified in pancreatic islet beta cells. In support of its role as the beta cell Cdc42 GEF, βPix coimmunoprecipitated with Cdc42 in human islets and MIN6 beta cells in a glucose-dependent manner, peaking just prior to Cdc42 activation. Furthermore, RNAi-mediated βPix reduction by 50% corresponded to full ablation of glucose-induced Cdc42 activation and significant attenuation of basal and glucose-stimulated insulin secretion. Of the two Cdc42 guanine nucleotide dissociation inhibitor (GDI) proteins identified in beta cells, βPix competed selectively with caveolin-1 (Cav-1) but not RhoGDI in coimmunoprecipitation and GST-Cdc42-GDP interaction assays. However, a phospho-deficient Cav-1-Y14F mutant failed to compete with βPix; Cav-1(Tyr14) is an established phosphorylation site for Src kinase. Taken together, these data support a new model, wherein glucose stimulates Cav-1 and induces its dissociation from Cdc42, possibly via Src kinase activation to phosphorylate Cav-1(Tyr14), to promote Cdc42-βPix binding and Cdc42 activation, and to trigger downstream signaling and ultimately sustain insulin release. 相似文献
Two series of triamino pyrimidines and a series of triamino pyridines have been synthesized and their structure-activity relationships evaluated for activity at the H4 receptor in competitive binding and functional assays. Small structural changes in these three hetereoaromatic cores influenced the functional activity of these compounds. 相似文献