Human melanocytes respond to UV irradiation by increasing the synthesis of melanin. While much is now understood of the pathways governing this process and the nature of the melanin synthesized, little is known of melanins produced by lower vertebrates and their capacity to respond to UV. Here we report that a fish, red seabream, can undergo ‘suntanning’. Histological, colorimetric and chemical assays were performed for suntanned red seabream fish bred in net cages to analyse the melanins and compared with shaded or wild red seabream fish. For color evaluation, the L* values of suntanned fish were dramatically lower than those in the other two groups. Pyrrole‐2,3,5‐tricarboxylic acid (PTCA), an indicator of eumelanin, was detected in suntanned fish at five times higher levels than in shaded or wild fish while 4‐amino‐3‐hydroxyphenyl‐alanine (4‐AHP), a marker for pheomelanin, could not be detected in any of the samples. Histological analysis showed that melanocytes in the suntanned skin enlarged and increased in number to form a monolayer at the surface of the skin. Analysis of L* values and PTCA levels showed quite a high correlation coefficient (r = ?0.843). When comparing shaded and wild red seabream fish, the scores were closer but some significant differences were still found in some body areas. These results indicate that eumelanin accumulates in suntanned fish during the increase in skin color, which is induced by sunlight, presumably by ultraviolet radiation. 相似文献
Amlodipine is a racemic mixture composed of S- and R-form and metabolized stereoselectively. Cytochrome P450 3A (CYP3A) including CYP3A5 are involved in the metabolism of amlodipine and it was reported that polymorphic CYP3A5 genotype modulates the plasma levels of amlodipine and thus affect its pharmacokinetics. This study was conducted to find whether stereoselective pharmacokinetics of amlodipine was affected by the polymorphic CYP3A5 genotype. Seventeen healthy subjects were genotyped for CYP3A5*3 variant. After a single dose of 10-mg amlodipine, enantiomers of amlodipine were analyzed using HPLC-MS/MS equipped with an AGP column. Amlodipine showed stereoselective pharmacokinetics. S-amlodipine exhibited higher plasma levels than R-amlodipine in both genotype groups. S-amlodipine showed 15% higher mean peak plasma concentrations (Cmax) in CYP3A5*1/*3 carriers (3.28 ng/ml) than CYP3A5*3/*3 carriers (2.85 ng/ml) (P = 0.194) and R-amlodipine also showed 21% higher Cmax in CYP3A5*1/*3 carriers (3.33 ng/ml) than CYP3A5*3/*3 carriers (2.75 ng/ml) (P = 0.114). CYP3A5*1/*3 carriers also have 23 and 12% higher mean area under the time versus concentration curve of R-amlodipine and S-amlodipine than CYP3A5*3/*3 carriers, respectively (for R-amlodipine, 147.1 ng*h/ml for CYP3A5*1/*3 carriers versus 121.8 ng*h/ml for CYP3A5*3/*3 carriers, P = 0.234; for S-amlodipine, 161.6 ng*h/ml for CYP3A5*1/*3 carriers vs. 144.2 ng*h/ml for CYP3A5*3/*3 carriers, P = 0.353). Other pharmacokinetic parameters also showed no significant difference between them. In conclusion, the present study showed that despite the evidence that amlodipine is stereoselectively metabolized, CYP3A5*3 genotype did not affect stereoselective disposition of amlodipine. It provides the evidence that CYP3A5*3genotype plays a minor role in the interindividual variability of stereoselective disposition of amlodipine in humans. 相似文献
SlyD, the sensitive-to-lysis protein from Escherichia coli, consists of two domains. They are not arranged successively along the protein chain, but one domain, the “insert-in-flap” (IF) domain, is inserted internally as a guest into a surface loop of the host domain, which is a prolyl isomerase of the FK506 binding protein (FKBP) type. We used SlyD as a model to elucidate how such a domain insertion affects the stability and folding mechanism of the host and the guest domain. For these studies, the two-domain protein was compared with a single-domain variant SlyDΔIF, SlyD* without the chaperone domain (residues 1-69 and 130-165) in which the IF domain was removed and replaced by a short loop, as present in human FKBP12. Equilibrium unfolding and folding kinetics followed an apparent two-state mechanism in the absence and in the presence of the IF domain. The inserted domain decreased, however, the stability of the host domain in the transition region and decelerated its refolding reaction by about 10-fold. This originates from the interruption of the chain connectivity by the IF domain and its inherent instability. To monitor folding processes in this domain selectively, a Trp residue was introduced as fluorescent probe. Kinetic double-mixing experiments revealed that, in intact SlyD, the IF domain folds and unfolds about 1000-fold more rapidly than the FKBP domain, and that it is strongly stabilized when linked with the folded FKBP domain. The unfolding limbs of the kinetic chevrons of SlyD show a strong downward curvature. This deviation from linearity is not caused by a transition-state movement, as often assumed, but by the accumulation of a silent unfolding intermediate at high denaturant concentrations. In this kinetic intermediate, the FKBP domain is still folded, whereas the IF domain is already unfolded. 相似文献
Cholinergic neurons in the CNS are involved in synaptic plasticity and cognition. Both muscarinic and nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) influence plasticity and cognitive function. The mechanism underlying nAChR‐induced plasticity, however, has remained elusive. Here, we demonstrate morphological changes in dendritic spines following activation of α4β2* nAChRs, which are expressed on glutamatergic pre‐synaptic termini of cultured hippocampal neurons. Exposure of the neurons to nicotine resulted in a lateral enlargement of spine heads. This was abolished by dihydro‐β‐erythroidine, an antagonist of α4β2* nAChRs, but not by α‐bungarotoxin, an antagonist of α7 nAChRs. Tetanus toxin or a mixture of 2‐amino‐5‐phosphonovaleric acid and 6‐cyano‐7‐nitroquinoxaline‐2,3‐dione, antagonists of NMDA‐ and AMPA‐type glutamate receptors, blocked the nicotine‐induced spine remodeling. In addition, nicotine exerted full spine‐enlarging response in the post‐synaptic neuron whose β2 nAChR expression was knocked down. Finally, pre‐treatment with nicotine enhanced the Ca2+‐response of the neurons to glutamate. These data suggest that nicotine influences the activity of glutamatergic neurotransmission through the activation of pre‐synaptic α4β2 nAChRs, resulting in the modulation of spinal architecture and responsiveness. The present findings may represent one of the cellular mechanisms underlying cholinergic tuning of brain function.
We report on a simple approach to enhance solid-phase hybridization-based single base mismatch discrimination at high ionic strength based on the deliberate insertion of a natural DNA base mismatch in the surface-tethered probe. A large drop in hybridization signal of single base mismatched alleles using the designed probe as compared with the conventional probe, from 80% to less than 25% of the signal obtained with the fully complementary, non-mutation-containing sequence, when using colorimetric detection was further improved to 20% when using electrochemical detection, attributable to a difference of spacing of immobilized probes. Finally, the designed probe was used for the electrochemical detection of the DQA1*05:05 allele amplified from real human blood samples. 相似文献
Doxorubicin (Dox) is a highly effective antitumor antibiotic, however myocardial toxicity severely limits its use clinically. The pathogenesis of doxorubicin‐induced cardiomyopathy is unclear. In Dox cardiomyopathy mice, there is a decline in cardiac function, a change in myocardial pathology and a reduction in miR378* expression. Expression changes in calumenin, an endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) chaperone protein and pathway factor, as well as apoptosis, were observed in cardiomyocytes after doxorubicin‐induced injury. However, miR378* increased calumenin expression, eased ERS, and reduced cardiomyocyte apoptosis, while, silencing miR378* reduced calumenin expression, aggravated ERS, and increased cardiomyocyte apoptosis. The above results indicate that miR378* alleviates ERS and inhibits the activation of the ERS‐mediated apoptosis signaling pathway in cardiomyocytes via regulating calumenin expression, thereby reducing cardiomyocyte apoptosis after doxorubicin‐induced injury. Increasing miR378* expression may be a new way to improve cardiac function and quality of life in patients with Dox cardiomyopathy. 相似文献