Glycosyl phosphoinositol (GPI) anchors on proteins can be modified by palmitoylation of their inositol residue, which makes such anchors resistant to cleavage by phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C (PI-PLC) (Roberts, W. L., Myher, J. J., Kuksis, A., Low, M. G., and Rosenberry, T.L. (1988) J. Biol. Chem. 263, 18766-18775). Mannosylated GPI lipids made in trypanosomal and mammalian cell...

Many species of caterpillar possess taste cells that respond exceptionally vigorously to the sugar alcohol myo-inositol. We examined the functional significance of these inositol-sensitive taste cells in Manduca sexta caterpillars through an integrated series of electrophysiological and behavioral studies. Neural recordings from all the gustatory chemosensilla revealed that M. sexta have only t...

Myoinositol and D-chiro inositol, which are inositol isomers, have been shown to possess insulin-mimetic properties and to improve insulin resistance, especially in women with polycystic ovary syndrome. However, it has not been determined if this relationship exists also in children. Based on these previous findings, we hypothesized that inositol could be effective in improving insulin sensitiv...

Incorporation of [3H]inositol into phosphatidylinositol (Pl) in isolated rat retinas is enhanced by light and by the addition of cytidine to the incubation media. In retinas preincubated with [3H]inositol in dark, [3H]inositol was chased into Pl in light by addition of unlabeled cytidine and was chased out of Pl in light by addition of unlabeled cytidine plus inositol. Autoradiograms of retinas...

Diabetes, with only mild ketosis, was induced in male rats by a single injection of streptozotocin. After 12 weeks the specific activities of enzymes concerned with the metabolism of inositol and of inositol lipids were measured in various tissues. Inositol 1-phosphate synthase (EC 5.5.1.4) was most active in testis and the activity was significantly less in diabetic rats than in controls on a ...

The crystal structures of various ternary complexes of phosphoinositide-specific phospholipase C-delta 1 from rat with calcium and inositol phosphates have been determined at 2.30-2.95 A resolution. The inositol phosphates used in this study mimic the binding of substrates and the reaction intermediate and include D-myo-inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate, D-myo-inositol-2,4, 5-trisphosphate. D-myo-in...

Inositol pyrophosphates, such as diphosphoinositol pentakisphosphate (IP(7)), are water-soluble inositol phosphates that contain high energy diphosphate moieties on the inositol ring. Inositol hexakisphosphate kinase 1 (IP6K1) participates in inositol pyrophosphate synthesis, converting inositol hexakisphosphate (IP(6)) to IP(7). In the present study, we show that mouse embryonic fibroblasts (M...

Type 2 diabetes is a complex disease characterized by a state of insulin resistance in peripheral tissues such as skeletal muscle, adipose tissue or liver. Some inositol isomers have been reported to possess insulin-mimetic activity and to be efficient in lowering blood glucose level. The aim of the present study was to assess in mice the metabolic effects of a chronic treatment with myo-inosit...

In 1942, Folch and Woolley (1) reported that inositol is a constituent of brain phospholipids. Folch (2) later isolated from brain a lipid fraction containing 2 atoms of phosphorus per mole of inositol. This material, which was incompletely characterized, was termed brain diphosphoinositide. More recent work by Ballou and his co-workers (3, 4) and by Dawson and Dittmer (5) has shown that there ...

A potential extracellular target for inositol phosphates and analogues with anticancer properties is identified. Proteins from detergent-solubilised HeLa cell lysates bound to a novel affinity column of myo-inositol 1,3,4,5,6-pentakisphosphate (InsP5) coupled to Affigel-10. One high-affinity ligand was fibrinogen Bβ. Inositol phosphates and analogues were able to elute purified fibrinogen from ...