Pyrimidine starvation induced by adenosine in fibroblasts and lymphoid cells: role of adenosine deaminase

In the presence of 10(-4) to 10(-5) molar adenosine, established cell lines of fibroblastic or lymphoid origin die of pyrimidine starvation. Less than lethal concentrations inhibit cell growth. Over a broad concentration range, the effects of adenosine are prevented by providing a suitable pyrimidine source. We suggest that the recently described immune deficiency disease associated with absence of adenosine deaminase may be the result of pyrimidine starvation induced by adenosine nucleotides in cells of the lymphoid system.     

Brain adenosine triphosphate: decreased concentration precedes convulsions

The concentration of adenosine triphosphate in the brain decreased before the onset of generalized convulsions in unanesthetized rats subjected to acute hypoxia or treated with hydroxylamine or pentylenetetrazole (Metrazol). As the convulsive episode continued, adenosine triphosphate decreased further. Stimulation of adenosine triphosphate production forestalled its disappearance from the brain and delayed the development of seizure activity.     

Cyclic adenosine monophosphate in brain areas: microwave irradiation as a means of tissue fixation

Amounts of cyclic adenosine monophosphate in discrete regions of the brain were estimated after exposure of rats to microwave irradiation. Amounts were highest in the cerebellum and brainstem, intermediate in the hypothalamus and midbrain, and lowest in the hippocampus and cortex. Decapitation increased the concentration of cyclic adenosine monophosphate in all brain areas, although the increase in the cerebellum was three to four times greater than that in other areas. Microwave irradiation may provide a means of rapidly fixing brain tissue in situ while permitting easy dissection of the brain. In this way artifacts produced by decapitation can be eliminated, and concentrations of heat-stable compounds in the brain can be estimated under conditions which more closely approximate those in vivo.     

Cyclic adenosine monophosphate phosphodiesterase in brain: effect on anxiety

Drugs that reduce anxiety may be mediated by cyclic adenosine monophosphate in the brain because (i) potent anxiety-reducing drugs are also potent inhibitors of brain phosphodiesterase activity; (ii) dibutyryl cyclic adenosine monophosphate has the ability to reduce anxiety; (iii) the methylxanthines show significant anxiety-reducing effects; (iv) theophylline and chlordiazepoxide produce additive anxiety-reducing activity; and (v) there is a significant correlation between the anxiety-reducing property of drugs and their ability to inhibit phosphodiesterase activity in the brain.     

Noradrenergic stimulation of cyclic adenosine monophosphate in rat Purkinje neurons: an immunocytochemical study

A specific immunofluorescent histochemical method for cyclic adenosine monophosphate was used to study rat cerebellum. After topical treatment with norepinephrine or stimulation of norepinephrine-containing afferents from locus coeruleus, there was a striking increase in the number of Purkinje cells with strong cyclic adenosine monophosphate reactivity. Other putative inhibitory transmitters had no significant effect on staining of Purkinje cells. The results provide the first histochemical support for the hypothesis that cyclic adenosine monophosphate can be generated postsynaptically in central neurons in response to noradrenergic stimuli.     

Atomic structure of adenosine deaminase complexed with a transition-state analog: understanding catalysis and immunodeficiency mutations

The crystal structure of a murine adenosine deaminase complexed with 6-hydroxyl-1,6-dihydropurine ribonucleoside, a nearly ideal transition-state analog, has been determined and refined at 2.4 angstrom resolution. The structure is folded as an eight-stranded parallel alpha/beta barrel with a deep pocket at the beta-barrel COOH-terminal end wherein the inhibitor and a zinc are bound and completely sequestered. The presence of the zinc cofactor and the precise structure of the bound analog were not previously known. The 6R isomer of the analog is very tightly held in place by the coordination of the 6-hydroxyl to the zinc and the formation of nine hydrogen bonds. On the basis of the structure of the complex a stereoselective addition-elimination or SN2 mechanism of the enzyme is proposed with the zinc atom and the Glu and Asp residues playing key roles. A molecular explanation of a hereditary disease caused by several point mutations of an enzyme is also presented.     

Neuronal competition and selection during memory formation

Competition between neurons is necessary for refining neural circuits during development and may be important for selecting the neurons that participate in encoding memories in the adult brain. To examine neuronal competition during memory formation, we conducted experiments with mice in which we manipulated the function of CREB (adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate response element-binding protein) in subsets of neurons. Changes in CREB function influenced the probability that individual lateral amygdala neurons were recruited into a fear memory trace. Our results suggest a competitive model underlying memory formation, in which eligible neurons are selected to participate in amemorytrace as a function of their relative CREB activity at the time of learning.     

Cyclic adenosine monphosphate, metabolites, and phosphorylase in neural tissue: a comparison a methods of fixation

Fixation of rat brain tissue by freeze-blowing, microwave irradiation, immersion of whole rats in liquid nitrogen, and decapitation into liquid nitrogen indicates that postmortem changes in metabolites and enzyme forms are minimal in freeze-blown brains. Cyclic adenosine monophosphate levels are lowest in microwave-irradiated brains, which has been interpreted by some investigators to indicate rapid fixation and minimal anoxia. However, the changes in phosphocreatine, adenosine triphosphate, lactate, and phosphorylase clearly demonstrate that fixation by freeze-blowing or immersion in liquid nitrogen more closely approximate the state in vivo.     

Erythrocytes: 5'' -adenylic acid deaminase requirement for ammonia or monovalent metal ion

5'-Adenylic acid deaminase free from sodium and potassium ion is prepared from erythrocytes by a convenient method. Like adenosine triphosphatase and adenylic kinase from erythrocytes, the deaminase is activated by some monovalent cations, but unlike these enzymes it requires the presence of a monovalent cation. In all three instances the pattern of activation by ions is similar and suggests a common mechanism.     

Purinergic receptors: photoaffinity analog of adenosine triphosphate is a specific adenosine triphosphate antagonist

Arylazido aminopropionyl adenosine triphosphate (ANAPP3), a photoaffinity label, antagonized specifically adenine nucleotide-induced contractions of the guinea pig vas deferens. Irradiation of tissues with visible light in the presence of ANAPP3 resulted in an irreversible antagonism, which was prevented when adenosine triphosphate was present. In the absence of light, the antagonism was reversible and may have resulted from an autoinhibition phenomenon. Responses to acetylcholine, histamine, norepinephrine, and potassium chloride were not affected by ANAPP3.     

Sodium-potassium adenosine triphosphatase: acyl phosphate "intermediate" shown to be L-glutamyl-gamma-phosphate

Peptides obtained from pepsin digestion of the phosphorylated and nonphosphorylated forms of a preparation of brain microsomal sodium-potassium-activated adenosine triphosphatase were treated at pH 5.4 with N-(n-propyl-2,3-(3)H) hydroxylamine of high specific activity, then separated by column chromatography, and further digested with pronase. A compound isolated in higher amounts from the phosphorylated enzyme than from the nonphosphorylated enzyme migrated with authentic L-glutamyl-gamma-propylhydroxamate in four chromatographic systems and on electrophoresis on paper at three different pH's. The acyl phosphate "intermediate" in the phosphorylated form of the adenosine-triphosphatase therefore appears to be an L-glutamyl-gamma-phosphate residue.     

Solubilized adenosine receptors in the brain: regulation of guanine nucleotides

Adenosine receptors associated with a reduction of adenylate cyclase and labeled by tritium-labeled cyclohexyladenosine can be solubilized from brain membranes with sodium cholate. Regulation of receptor binding by guanine nucleotides is retained in the soluble state. Influences of cations observed in membrane preparations of adenosine receptors are no longer detected with the solubilized receptors. The apparent retention of a complex of receptors and guanosine triphosphate binding but not cation binding protein in the soluble state may permit a molecular analysis of receptor regulation.     

Cyclic adenosine monophosphate stimulation of axonal elongation

Elevated concentrations of adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate induce a variety of cell movements. The role of adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate in promoting those movements associated with growth prompted our study of in vitro microtubule-dependent axonal elongation. Ganglia treated with adenosine 5'-monophosphate show no enhancement over controls; treatment with adenosine 3', 5'monophosphate or its dibutyryl derivative significantly enhances elongation, as measured by increases in both axonal numbers and length. Our study suggests that adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate promotes elongation by stimulation of microtubule assembly.     

Effect of adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate on neuronal pacemaker activity: a voltage clamp analysis

Bursting pacemaker activity in nerve cells can be modified for long periods by synaptic input of short duration. There is evidence that cyclic nucleotides may play a role in these modifications. The predominant effect of elevated levels of adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate in Aplysia neurons was an increased slope conductance to hyperpolarizing pulses, evident in voltage clamp records. A similar increase in slope conductance was seen as one component of maximum strength synaptic stimulation, which is consistent with the idea that cyclic nucleotides are important in the expression of synaptic alteration of bursting pacemaker activity.     

Sodium and potassium effects on skeletal muscle microsomal adenosine triphosphatase and calcium uptake

The relationship between the (Na(+) and K(+))-activated adenosine triphosphatase enzyme system implicated in sodium-transport by cell membranes and the calcium-activated adenosine triphosphatase, which is generally associated with calcium uptake, was examined in microsomes from skeletal muscle. Whereas sodium and potassium did not modify the relatively low adenosine triphosphatase activity seen in the absence of calcium, a pattern similar to that of the sodium-transport enzyme system was seen afer the addition of CaCl(2). The calcium-activated adenosine triphosphatase was stimulated equally by sodium or potassium alone, but both the rate and extent of calcium uptake were enhanced more by potassium than by sodium at concentrations below 0.12 mole per liter. In the absence of either of these ions addition of calcium failed to activate adenosine triphosphatase although significant amounts of calcium were taken up by the microsomes.     

3H]adenosine triphosphate: release during stimulation of enteric nerves

The isolated taenia coli of the guinea pig takes up tritiated adenosine, adenosine monophosphate, adenosine diphosphate, and adenosine triphosphate, in preference to tritiated inosine and adenine. After uptake, [(3)H]adenosine is converted and retained primarily as [(3)H]adenosine triphosphate. Tritium is released from taenia coli treated with [(3)H]adenosine upon activation of the nonadrenergic inhibitory nerves. These results are consistent with the previous evidence that adenosine triphosphate may be the transmitter from the nerves.     

Aspirin: its effect on platelet glycolysis and release of adenosine diphosphate

Incubation of human platelets with aspirin inhibited glycolysis and produced a fall in the concentration of adenosine triphosphate. When platelets were exposed to collagen there was an increase in glycolysis and release of adenosine diphosphate. Prior incubation of the platelets with aspirin for 5 minutes did not totally suppress the increase in glycolysis after exposure to collagen but completely inhibited the collagen-induced reaction of the release of adenosine diphosphate. It is suggested that aspirin acts on human platelets by inhibiting both release of adenosine diphosphate and the transport of glucose across the platelet membrane.     

不同剂量腺苷对肺炎大鼠肺动脉高压的调节作用

目的观察金黄色葡菌球菌（金葡菌）感染大鼠肺炎对肺动脉压力的影响,以及不同剂量腺苷对其调节作用。方法50只SD大鼠被随机分为对照组、肺炎组和腺苷处理A、B、C组。金葡菌经气管插管注入复制肺炎大鼠模型,实验第5天各腺苷处理组于心内肺动脉测压管内持续注射不同剂量的腺苷（50、100、150μg.kg-1.min-1）,各腺苷处理组动态测定心率（HR）和平均肺动脉压（mPAP）。对照组、肺炎组同法注射等量的生理盐水,测定指标同前。处死大鼠取心肌组织作病理检测。结果（1）心肌病理组织检查示肺炎组病变明显,与对照组比较P＜0.01;（2）肺炎组肺动脉压力较对照组增高[（2.67±0.38）vs（2.03±0.41）,P＜0.01）];（3）腺苷处理B、C组用药后平均肺动脉压均低于肺炎组（均P＜0.05）,而与对照组比较差异无统计学意义（P＞0.05）。结论金葡菌感染大鼠肺炎可致肺动脉压力增高以及心肌损害,由肺动脉给以外源性腺苷可降低肺动脉压力。     

Requirement of the RNA editing deaminase ADAR1 gene for embryonic erythropoiesis

The members of the ADAR (adenosine deaminase acting on RNA) gene family are involved in site-selective RNA editing that changes adenosine residues of target substrate RNAs to inosine. Analysis of staged chimeric mouse embryos with a high contribution from embryonic stem cells with a functional null allele for ADAR1 revealed a heterozygous embryonic-lethal phenotype. Most ADAR1+/- chimeric embryos died before embryonic day 14 with defects in the hematopoietic system. Our results suggest the importance of regulated levels of ADAR1 expression, which is critical for embryonic erythropoiesis in the liver.