BH3 (Bcl-2 homology 3)-only proteins of the Bcl-2 family activate Bax or Bak during apoptosis to promote the release of pro-death factors sequestered in the mitochondrial intermembrane space. Previous results demonstrated that a synthetic BH3 peptide mimics the ability of the BH3-only protein Bid to promote Bax insertion and cytochrome c (cyt c) release from neural cell mitochondria. However, t...

The effect of the local anesthetic dibucaine on the membrane ultrastructure of sterol-manipulated Tetrahymena pyriformis (NT-1 strain) was studied by freeze-fracture electron microscopy. Dibucaine-treated, ergosterol-replaced Tetrahymena cells had marked alterations in their plasma membranes. IMP-free small depressions (exoplasmic fracture face) and protrusions (protoplasmic fracture face) were...

The effect of temperature on the inhibition of serum cholinesterase by dibucaine, fluoride and chloride has been studied. It is found that the dibucaine and chloride numbers together are capable of differentiating the inherited enzyme variants at 30° and 37°C. Fluoride numbers contribute little information at these temperatures; indeed fluoride inhibition is so sensitive to temperature change t...

We examined the effect of a local anesthetic, dibucaine, on the plasma membrane of Tetrahymena pyriformis strain NT-1 using freeze-fracture electron microscopy. Intramembranous particles (IMPs) were distributed homogeneously on the plasma membrane of untreated cells. But, when Tetrahymena cells had been treated with 1.3 mM dibucaine for 5 min at growth temperature, freeze-fracture micrographs o...

Procaine (1 X 10(-5)-1 X 10(-4) M), dibucaine (1 X 10(-5)-1 X 10(-4) M) and tetracaine (1 X 10(-6)-1 X 10(-5) M) caused an increase followed by a decrease in the rate of spontaneous afferent (A) discharges (D) accompanied with a decrease in the flow rate of perfusion solution from the pulmonary vein in the isolated lung of the bullfrog, but these local anesthetics only decreased the rate of A.D...

BACKGROUND An elevation of the intracellular calcium level, which is mediated by N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors and L-type Ca2+ channels both, activates the mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase signaling pathway involved in synaptic modification. It has recently been suggested that MAP kinase plays a role in coupling the synaptic excitation to gene expression in the nucleus of postsynaptic ne...

Interactions between local anesthetics and a sodium channel inactivation gate peptide (Ac-GGQDIFMTEEQK-NH2, MP-1A), which was dissected from the cytoplasmic linker between domains III and IV of the sodium channel alpha-subunit (G1484-K1495 in rat brain type IIA), have been studied by 1H-NMR spectroscopy. Changes in 1H-NMR chemical shifts of the aromatic proton resonances of dibucaine (pH 7.0) a...

A rapid micro technique for the estimation of serum cholinesterase is described. Acetylcholine bromide is incubated with serum within the capillary of the Astrup electrode. The enzyme hydrolyses the substrate with the liberation of acetic acid. This causes a fall of pH which is seen on the galvanometer of the instrument and the rate of this fall is shown to be proportional to enzyme concentrati...

Background: Pseudocholinesterase (PChE) polymorphism has been a subject of several pharmacogenetic studies worldwide. The patients with atypical homozygous genotype do not only have reduced serum cholinesterase activities but also their elimination rate for some pharmacologically potent drugs decrease drastically. This study was designed to evaluate the PChE polymorphism in Mazandaran province ...