Arylalkylamine N-acetyltransferase controls daily changes in melatonin production by the pineal gland and thereby plays a unique role in biological timing in vertebrates. Arylalkylamine N-acetyltransferase is also expressed in the retina, where it may play other roles in addition to signaling, including neurotransmission and detoxification. Large changes in activity reflect cyclic 3',5'-adenosi...

In commemoration of Aaron Lerner’s isolation and chemical identification of the indoleamine hormone N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine (better known as melatonin) the Institute for Hormone and Fertility Research at the University of Hamburg called together melatonin researchers, both established and newcomers, to discuss this interesting molecule and its impact on basic and clinical research. In addi...

The characteristic features of a brain with Alzheimer disease (AD) include the presence of neuritic plaques composed of amyloid beta-protein (Abeta) and reductions in the levels of cholinergic markers. Neurotoxic responses to Abeta have been reported in vivo and in vitro, suggesting that the cholinergic deficit in AD brain may be secondary to the degeneration of cholinergic neurons caused by Ab...

Choline acetyltransferase (EC 2.3.1.6) is the biosynthetic enzyme for the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. To isolate choline acetyltransferase cDNA clones, a cDNA library was constructed from poly(A)+ RNA of Drosophila melanogaster heads, these being one of the richest known sources of the enzyme. By screening the cDNA library with a mixture of three different monoclonal antibodies to Drosophil...

Constructions starting at each of the three in-frame ATG codons of the Acremonium chrysogenum cefG gene (Met1, Met46 and Met60) were expressed in Escherichia coli, obtaining proteins of 49, 44 and 43 kDa, respectively. All three proteins showed deacetylcephalosporin C (DAC) acetyltransferase activity. The native A. chrysogenum DAC acetyltransferase was purified to electrophoretic homogeneity by...

An enzyme which N-acetylates beta-endorphin has been identified and characterized in the rat brain and pituitary gland. The beta-endorphin acetyltransferase activity was localized almost exclusively in the intermediate lobe of the pituitary gland. beta-endorphin acetyltransferase activity was also present in the hypothalamus, a brain region which synthesizes beta-endorphin, but not the cerebell...

Fifty human livers obtained at autopsy were analyzed for N-acetyltransferase and classified into six genotypes. Determination of N-acetyltransferase activity and proteins from supernatants of liver homogenates indicate that genotype I corresponds to rapid acetylator, genotypes II and III to intermediate acetylator, and genotypes IV, V, and VI to slow acetylator phenotypes. Northern blot analysi...