Muscarinic acetylcholine signalling plays major roles in regulation of consciousness, cognitive functioning, pain perception and circulatory homeostasis. Halothane has been shown to inhibit m1 muscarinic signalling. However, no comparative data are available for desflurane, sevoflurane or isoflurane, nor have the anaesthetic effects on the m3 subtype (which is also prominent in the brain) been ...

Diapause hormone (DH) and PBAN (pheromone biosynthesis-activating neuropeptide) are two important insect neuropeptides regulating development and reproduction respectively. In the present study, we report two Bombyx mori transcription factors interacting specifically with the promoter of Bom-DH-PBAN (where Bom-DH stands for B. mori DH); we named them DHMBP-1 and -2 (DH-modulator-binding protein...

The recognition of virus-infected cells by class I MHC-restricted cytotoxic T cells requires endogenous processing of antigen for presentation. It is still unclear whether endogenous processing of antigen can be utilized by class II MHC molecules for presentation. To test this possibility, a human B cell line expressing HLA-A2 and HLA-DR1 was infected with a recombinant vaccinia virus expressin...

In mammalian tissues, the pathway known for the catabolism of G(M1) [Galbeta3GalNAcbeta4(Neu5Acalpha3)Galbeta4GlcCer; where Cer is ceramide] is the conversion of this ganglioside into G(M2) [GalNAcbeta4(Neu5Acalpha3)Galbeta4GlcbetaCer] by beta-galactosidase followed by the conversion of G(M2) into G(M3) (Neu5Acalpha3Galbeta4GlcbetaCer) by beta-N-acetylhexosaminidase A (Hex A). However, the ques...

A newly identified temperature-sensitive mutant whose defect was mapped to the reovirus M1 gene (minor core protein m2) was studied to better understand the functions of this virion protein. Sequence determination of the M1 gene of this mutant (tsH11.2) revealed a predicted methionine-to-threonine alteration at amino acid 399 and a change from proline to histidine at amino acid 414. The mutant ...

The unique fold of scorpion toxins is a natural scaffold for protein engineering, in which multiple disulfide bonds are crucial structural elements. To understand the respective roles of these disulfide bridges, a mutagenesis analysis for the four disulfide bonds, 12-63, 16-36, 22-46 and 26-48, of a representative toxin BmK M1 from the scorpion Buthus martensii Karsch was carried out. All cyste...

To investigate the role of M1 muscarininc acetylcholine receptors (m1 receptors) in metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR)-mediated long-term depression (LTD), we produced mouse lines in which deletion of the m1 gene is restricted to the forebrain (FB-m1KO) or hippocampal CA3 pyramidal neurons (CA3-m1KO). Stimulation in FB-m1KO hippocampal slices resulted in excitatory postsynaptic potentials ...

To determine whether altered cholinergic neurotransmission can modify the long-term secretion of amyloid precursor protein (APP), endogenous levels of APP and nerve growth factor (NGF), we administered a selective M1 muscarinic receptor agonist (RS86) or the muscarinic antagonist, atropine, for 7 days in vivo into young adult mice (C57BL/6j). The levels of NGF and total APP in the hippocampus, ...