The TRPM group of cation channels plays diverse roles ranging from sensory signaling to Mg2+ homeostasis. In most metazoan organisms the TRPM subfamily is comprised of multiple members, including eight in humans. However, the Drosophila TRPM subfamily is unusual in that it consists of a single member. Currently, the functional requirements for this channel have not been reported. Here, we found...

Male Sprague-Dawley rats rendered diabetic by streptozotocin injection presented 10 and 20% decreases in total hepatic Mg2+ content at 4 and 8 wk, respectively, following diabetes onset. This decrease was associated with a parallel decrease in K+ and ATP content and an increase in Na+ level. In diabetic liver cells, the Mg2+ extrusion elicited by alpha1-adrenoceptor stimulation was markedly red...

The binding of plasmid DNA to norfloxacin, a quinolone antibacterial agent, was investigated by fluorescence, electrophoretic DNA unwinding, and affinity chromatography techniques. The amount of quinolone bound to DNA was modulated by the concentration of Mg2+. No interaction was evident in the absence of Mg2+ or in the presence of an excess of Mg2+, whereas maximum binding was observed at a Mg...

Mg2+ ion stimulates the DNA strand exchange reaction catalyzed by RecA, a key step in homologous recombination. To elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying the role of Mg2+ and the strand exchange reaction itself, we investigated the interaction of RecA with Mg2+ and sought to determine which step of the reaction is affected. Thermal stability, intrinsic fluorescence, and native mass spect...

A detailed investigation of the Mg2+ activation of sheep kidney pyruvate carboxylase has been carried out. An analysis of the initial velocity kinetic data using two independent methods shows that the enzyme has an absolute requirement for Mg2+. Mg2+ and MgATP2combine with the enzyme (E) in a random manner to form the final activated complex consisting of Mg2+-E-MgATP2-. Excess ATP4is inhibitor...

Dietary calorie restriction is a broadly acting intervention that extends the lifespan of various organisms from yeast to mammals. On another front, magnesium (Mg2+) is an essential biological metal critical to fundamental cellular processes and is commonly used as both a dietary supplement and treatment for some clinical conditions. If connections exist between calorie restriction and Mg2+ is ...

Limb vascular responses to magnesium (Mg2+) and potassium (K+) ions were studied in 19 young patients with borderline hypertension (BHT) and compared with those of 22 age-matched normotensive subjects (NT) by measuring the forearm blood flow response to intra-arterial infusion of magnesium sulfate and potassium chloride using venous occlusion plethysmography. Percent decrements of forearm vascu...

Over the past decades, the clinical relevance and biological significance of Mg2+ have been thoroughly documented. Although multiple Mg2+-transport pathways have been biophysically characterized, the molecular identity of the postulated components of Mg2+-homeostasis regulation in vertebrates remain undefined. Recent advances in the fields of genetics, genomics and proteomics, and novel technol...

The abundance of magnesium (Mg2+) within mammalian cells is consistent with its relevant role in regulating tissue and cell functions. At the last count, more than three hundred and fifty enzymes, aside from metabolic cycles, appear to require and be regulated by concentrations of Mg2+ that are well within the physiological range observed in tissues and cells. The absence of detectable major ch...

The dehydrogenase activity of the mitochondrial isozyme (E2) of human liver aldehyde dehydrogenase was stimulated about 2-fold by the presence of low concentrations (about 120-140 microM) of Mg2+ in the assay at pH 7.0 using propionaldehyde as substrate. The stimulation was totally reversible by treatment with EDTA. Maximum stimulation was dependent on the concentration of NAD+ used in the assa...