The liver is a metabolism and transfer center of amino acids as well as the prime target organ of insulin. In this report, we characterized the regulation of system N/A transporter 3 (SNAT3) in the liver of dietary-restricted mice and in hepatocytes treated with serum starvation and insulin. The expression of SNAT3 was up-regulated in dietary-restricted mice. The expression of SNAT3 protein was...

The presence of different potassium-dependent amino acid transport systems in the luminal membrane of the larval midgut of Philosamia cynthia Drury (Saturnidae, Lepidoptera) was investigated by means of countertransport experiments performed with brush-border membrane vesicles. The vesicles were preloaded with 14 different unlabelled amino acids, whose ability to elicit an intravesicular accumu...

The binding of cupric or zinc ion by sperm whale metmyoglobin appears to involve imidazole groups of histidyl residues (4, 5) that occur well removed from the NH2 terminus (6). The binding of each cupric ion by metmyoglobin is accompanied on the average by the displacement of one or more protons beyond that that may be borne by the imidazole group, presumably from peptide amide nitrogen atoms (...

Regulating gene expression directly at the mRNA level represents a novel approach in the control of cellular processes in all organisms. In this respect, RNA-binding proteins, while in the presence of their cognate ligands, play a key role by targeting the mRNA to regulate its expression through attenuation or anti-termination mechanisms. Although many proteins are known to use these mechanisms...

Serum concentrations of beta-alanine and l-histidine are compared in five normal adults after ingestion of the dipeptide carnosine (beta-alanyl-l-histidine) and after equivalent amounts of the constituent free amino acids. The results indicate that absorption is significantly more rapid after the ingestion of the amino acids than after the dipeptide. The use of the test in a case of Hartnup dis...

In this study, the effects of separate and combined intraperitoneal (IP) injections of histidine and dexamethasone were investigated on local inflammation in rats. Local inflammation was induced by subcutaneous (SC) injection of histamine (100 μl, 0.1%) in ventral surface of right hind paw. The thickness of paw was measured at 30 min before and 30, 60, 90, 120, 150 and 180 min after injection o...