Molecular Mechanisms of Somatostatin Inhibition of Hormone Release from AtT-20 Cells

Somatostatin ◽  
1987 ◽  
pp. 137-145
Author(s):  
Lawrence C. Mahan ◽  
Terry Reisine
2020 ◽  
Vol 118 (1) ◽  
pp. e2020028118
Author(s):  
Ryoma Tsuchiya ◽  
Aino Kaneshima ◽  
Masakazu Kobayashi ◽  
Maki Yamazaki ◽  
Yoko Takasu ◽  
...  

Diapause represents a major developmental switch in insects and is a seasonal adaptation that evolved as a specific subtype of dormancy in most insect species to ensure survival under unfavorable environmental conditions and synchronize populations. However, the hierarchical relationship of the molecular mechanisms involved in the perception of environmental signals to integration in morphological, physiological, behavioral, and reproductive responses remains unclear. In the bivoltine strain of the silkwormBombyx mori, embryonic diapause is induced transgenerationally as a maternal effect. Progeny diapause is determined by the environmental temperature during embryonic development of the mother. Here, we show that the hierarchical pathway consists of a γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)ergic and corazonin signaling system modulating progeny diapause induction via diapause hormone release, which may be finely tuned by the temperature-dependent expression of plasma membrane GABA transporter. Furthermore, this signaling pathway possesses similar features to the gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) signaling system for seasonal reproductive plasticity in vertebrates.


2017 ◽  
Vol 53 (4) ◽  
pp. 251-254
Author(s):  
Dariusz Sitkiewicz ◽  
Grażyna Sygitowicz

This year’s awardees of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine – Michael Rosbash, Michael W. Young and Jeffrey C. Hall discovered genes responsible for controlling the biological clock. Their studies allowed to form the basic mechanism of the Transcription– Transla- tion Feedback Loop, known as TTFL. The transcription of the PERIOD gene and its partner <I>TIM</I> is inhibited by proteins encoded by them which are generated oscillatorily and autonomously. The biological clock controls many physiological processes by generating circadian oscillations in harmony with day and night patterns. The daily rhythm regulates sleep, eating meals, hormone release, blood pressure and body temperature.


2022 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 908
Author(s):  
Zuzana Romanova ◽  
Natasa Hlavacova ◽  
Daniela Jezova

There is no doubt that chronic stress accompanied by adrenocortical stress hormone release affects the development and treatment outcome of several mental disorders. Less attention has been paid to the effects of psychotropic drugs on adrenocortical steroids, particularly in clinical studies. This review focuses on the knowledge related to the possible modulation of cortisol and aldosterone secretion under non-stress and stress conditions by antipsychotic drugs, which are being used in the treatment of several psychotic and affective disorders. The molecular mechanisms by which antipsychotic drugs may influence steroid stress hormones include the modulation of central and/or adrenocortical dopamine and serotonin receptors, modulation of inflammatory cytokines, influence on regulatory mechanisms in the central part of the hypothalamic-pituitary axis, inhibition of corticotropin-releasing hormone gene promoters, influencing glucocorticoid receptor-mediated gene transcription, indirect effects via prolactin release, alteration of signaling pathways of glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid actions. Clinical studies performed in healthy subjects, patients with psychosis, and patients with bipolar disorder suggest that single and repeated antipsychotic treatments either reduce cortisol concentrations or do not affect its secretion. A single and potentially long-term treatment with dopamine receptor antagonists, including antipsychotics, has a stimulatory action on aldosterone release.


2017 ◽  
Vol 149 (3) ◽  
pp. 301-322 ◽  
Author(s):  
Che-Wei Chang ◽  
Chung-Wei Chiang ◽  
Meyer B. Jackson

Ca2+-triggered exocytosis functions broadly in the secretion of chemical signals, enabling neurons to release neurotransmitters and endocrine cells to release hormones. The biological demands on this process can vary enormously. Although synapses often release neurotransmitter in a small fraction of a millisecond, hormone release can be orders of magnitude slower. Vesicles usually contain multiple signaling molecules that can be released selectively and conditionally. Cells are able to control the speed, concentration profile, and content selectivity of release by tuning and tailoring exocytosis to meet different biological demands. Much of this regulation depends on the fusion pore—the aqueous pathway by which molecules leave a vesicle and move out into the surrounding extracellular space. Studies of fusion pores have illuminated how cells regulate secretion. Furthermore, the formation and growth of fusion pores serve as a readout for the progress of exocytosis, thus revealing key kinetic stages that provide clues about the underlying mechanisms. Herein, we review the structure, composition, and dynamics of fusion pores and discuss the implications for molecular mechanisms as well as for the cellular regulation of neurotransmitter and hormone release.


Author(s):  
David P. Bazett-Jones ◽  
Mark L. Brown

A multisubunit RNA polymerase enzyme is ultimately responsible for transcription initiation and elongation of RNA, but recognition of the proper start site by the enzyme is regulated by general, temporal and gene-specific trans-factors interacting at promoter and enhancer DNA sequences. To understand the molecular mechanisms which precisely regulate the transcription initiation event, it is crucial to elucidate the structure of the transcription factor/DNA complexes involved. Electron spectroscopic imaging (ESI) provides the opportunity to visualize individual DNA molecules. Enhancement of DNA contrast with ESI is accomplished by imaging with electrons that have interacted with inner shell electrons of phosphorus in the DNA backbone. Phosphorus detection at this intermediately high level of resolution (≈lnm) permits selective imaging of the DNA, to determine whether the protein factors compact, bend or wrap the DNA. Simultaneously, mass analysis and phosphorus content can be measured quantitatively, using adjacent DNA or tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) as mass and phosphorus standards. These two parameters provide stoichiometric information relating the ratios of protein:DNA content.


Author(s):  
G-A. Keller ◽  
S. J. Gould ◽  
S. Subramani ◽  
S. Krisans

Subcellular compartments within eukaryotic cells must each be supplied with unique sets of proteins that must be directed to, and translocated across one or more membranes of the target organelles. This transport is mediated by cis- acting targeting signals present within the imported proteins. The following is a chronological account of a series of experiments designed and carried out in an effort to understand how proteins are targeted to the peroxisomal compartment.-We demonstrated by immunocryoelectron microscopy that the enzyme luciferase is a peroxisomal enzyme in the firefly lantern. -We expressed the cDNA encoding firefly luciferase in mammalian cells and demonstrated by immunofluorescence that the enzyme was transported into the peroxisomes of the transfected cells. -Using deletions, linker insertions, and gene fusion to identify regions of luciferase involved in its transport to the peroxisomes, we demonstrated that luciferase contains a peroxisomal targeting signal (PTS) within its COOH-terminal twelve amino acid.


Author(s):  
D. P. Bazett-Jones ◽  
M. J. Hendzel

Structural analysis of combinations of nucleosomes and transcription factors on promoter and enhancer elements is necessary in order to understand the molecular mechanisms responsible for the regulation of transcription initiation. Such complexes are often not amenable to study by high resolution crystallographic techniques. We have been applying electron spectroscopic imaging (ESI) to specific problems in molecular biology related to transcription regulation. There are several advantages that this technique offers in studies of nucleoprotein complexes. First, an intermediate level of spatial resolution can be achieved because heavy atom contrast agents are not necessary. Second, mass and stoichiometric relationships of protein and nucleic acid can be estimated by phosphorus detection, an element in much higher proportions in nucleic acid than protein. Third, wrapping or bending of the DNA by the protein constituents can be observed by phosphorus mapping of the complexes. Even when ESI is used with high exposure of electrons to the specimen, important macromolecular information may be provided. For example, an image of the TATA binding protein (TBP) bound to DNA is shown in the Figure (top panel). It can be seen that the protein distorts the DNA away from itself and much of its mass sits off the DNA helix axis. Moreover, phosphorus and mass estimates demonstrate whether one or two TBP molecules interact with this particular promoter TATA sequence.


2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 1019-1034 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel M. Woodhouse ◽  
Alyson Ashe

Gene regulatory information can be inherited between generations in a phenomenon termed transgenerational epigenetic inheritance (TEI). While examples of TEI in many animals accumulate, the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans has proven particularly useful in investigating the underlying molecular mechanisms of this phenomenon. In C. elegans and other animals, the modification of histone proteins has emerged as a potential carrier and effector of transgenerational epigenetic information. In this review, we explore the contribution of histone modifications to TEI in C. elegans. We describe the role of repressive histone marks, histone methyltransferases, and associated chromatin factors in heritable gene silencing, and discuss recent developments and unanswered questions in how these factors integrate with other known TEI mechanisms. We also review the transgenerational effects of the manipulation of histone modifications on germline health and longevity.


2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 429-439 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorge Gago ◽  
Danilo M. Daloso ◽  
Marc Carriquí ◽  
Miquel Nadal ◽  
Melanie Morales ◽  
...  

Besides stomata, the photosynthetic CO2 pathway also involves the transport of CO2 from the sub-stomatal air spaces inside to the carboxylation sites in the chloroplast stroma, where Rubisco is located. This pathway is far to be a simple and direct way, formed by series of consecutive barriers that the CO2 should cross to be finally assimilated in photosynthesis, known as the mesophyll conductance (gm). Therefore, the gm reflects the pathway through different air, water and biophysical barriers within the leaf tissues and cell structures. Currently, it is known that gm can impose the same level of limitation (or even higher depending of the conditions) to photosynthesis than the wider known stomata or biochemistry. In this mini-review, we are focused on each of the gm determinants to summarize the current knowledge on the mechanisms driving gm from anatomical to metabolic and biochemical perspectives. Special attention deserve the latest studies demonstrating the importance of the molecular mechanisms driving anatomical traits as cell wall and the chloroplast surface exposed to the mesophyll airspaces (Sc/S) that significantly constrain gm. However, even considering these recent discoveries, still is poorly understood the mechanisms about signaling pathways linking the environment a/biotic stressors with gm responses. Thus, considering the main role of gm as a major driver of the CO2 availability at the carboxylation sites, future studies into these aspects will help us to understand photosynthesis responses in a global change framework.


2020 ◽  
Vol 134 (17) ◽  
pp. 2243-2262
Author(s):  
Danlin Liu ◽  
Gavin Richardson ◽  
Fehmi M. Benli ◽  
Catherine Park ◽  
João V. de Souza ◽  
...  

Abstract In the elderly population, pathological inflammation has been associated with ageing-associated diseases. The term ‘inflammageing’, which was used for the first time by Franceschi and co-workers in 2000, is associated with the chronic, low-grade, subclinical inflammatory processes coupled to biological ageing. The source of these inflammatory processes is debated. The senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) has been proposed as the main origin of inflammageing. The SASP is characterised by the release of inflammatory cytokines, elevated activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome, altered regulation of acetylcholine (ACh) nicotinic receptors, and abnormal NAD+ metabolism. Therefore, SASP may be ‘druggable’ by small molecule therapeutics targeting those emerging molecular targets. It has been shown that inflammageing is a hallmark of various cardiovascular diseases, including atherosclerosis, hypertension, and adverse cardiac remodelling. Therefore, the pathomechanism involving SASP activation via the NLRP3 inflammasome; modulation of NLRP3 via α7 nicotinic ACh receptors; and modulation by senolytics targeting other proteins have gained a lot of interest within cardiovascular research and drug development communities. In this review, which offers a unique view from both clinical and preclinical target-based drug discovery perspectives, we have focused on cardiovascular inflammageing and its molecular mechanisms. We have outlined the mechanistic links between inflammageing, SASP, interleukin (IL)-1β, NLRP3 inflammasome, nicotinic ACh receptors, and molecular targets of senolytic drugs in the context of cardiovascular diseases. We have addressed the ‘druggability’ of NLRP3 and nicotinic α7 receptors by small molecules, as these proteins represent novel and exciting targets for therapeutic interventions targeting inflammageing in the cardiovascular system and beyond.


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