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- Bhandage, Amol K., 1988-, et al.
(author)
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GABA-A and NMDA receptor subunit mRNA expression is altered in the caudate but not the putamen of the postmortem brains of alcoholics
- 2014
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In: Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience. - : Frontiers. - 1662-5102. ; 8
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Chronic consumption of alcohol by humans has been shown to lead to impairment of executive and cognitive functions. Here, we have studied the mRNA expression of ion channel receptors for glutamate and GABA in the dorsal striatum of post-mortem brains from alcoholics (n = 29) and normal controls (n = 29), with the focus on the caudate nucleus that is associated with the frontal cortex executive functions and automatic thinking and on the putamen area that is linked to motor cortices and automatic movements. The results obtained by qPCR assay revealed significant changes in the expression of specific excitatory ionotropic glutamate and inhibitory GABA-A receptor subunit genes in the caudate but not the putamen. Thus, in the caudate we found reduced levels of mRNAs encoding the GluN2A glutamate receptor and the δ, ε, and ρ2 GABA-A receptor subunits, and increased levels of the mRNAs encoding GluD1, GluD2, and GABA-A γ1 subunits in the alcoholics as compared to controls. Interestingly in the controls, 11 glutamate and 5 GABA-A receptor genes were more prominently expressed in the caudate than the putamen (fold-increase varied from 1.24 to 2.91). Differences in gene expression patterns between the striatal regions may underlie differences in associated behavioral outputs. Our results suggest an altered balance between caudate-mediated voluntarily controlled and automatic behaviors in alcoholics, including diminished executive control on goal-directed alcohol-seeking behavior.
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- Ademark, Pia, et al.
(author)
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Multiple alpha-galactosidases from Aspergillus niger: purification, characterization, and substrate specificities
- 2001
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In: Enzyme and Microbial Technology. - 0141-0229. ; 29:6-7, s. 441-448
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Enzymes with α-galactosidase activity are produced by many organisms, often in multiple forms. Here we compare the biochemical and hydrolytic properties of four major α-galactosidase forms (α-gal I-IV) that were purified from the culture filtrate of Aspergillus niger. α-Gal II, III and IV appear to be isoforms of the same enzyme, and N-terminal amino acid sequence data suggest that they are closely related or identical to A. niger AglB in family 27 of the glycosyl hydrolases. α-Gal I is a completely different enzyme that belongs to family 36. α-Gal I had an isoelectric point of 4.15 and appears to be a tetramer composed of four 94-kDa subunits. α-Gal II, III and IV were dimers with monomeric molecular masses of 64 kDa and isoelectric points of 4.5, 4.7 and 4.8, respectively. α-Gal II-IV were stable when incubated for 17 h at 50°C and pH 2–5, whereas α-gal I was most stable at pH 5–6. All enzymes had maximal catalytic activity at pH 4.5 and 60°C, and hydrolyzed melibiose, raffinose and stachyose. α-Gal II-IV also degraded galactomanno-oligosaccharides and released 66% of the galactose side groups from polymeric locust bean gum galactomannan. α-Gal I released galactose from locust bean gum only in combination with A. niger β-mannosidase. Kinetic experiments showed that α-gal I hydrolyzed p-nitrophenyl-α-Image-galactopyranoside and melibiose more efficiently than α-gal II-IV. The distinct hydrolytic and biochemical properties of α-gal I and α-gal II-IV further signifies the difference between α-galactosidases of family 27 and 36.
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