实验仪器使用技术

Target-specific imaging probes represent a promising tool in the molecular imaging of human cancer. Fluorescently-labeled target-specific probes are useful in imaging cancers because of their ability to bind a target receptor with high sensitivity and specificity. The develop ...

Specifically, gene-encoded biological probes serve as stable and high-performance tools to visualize cellular fate in living animals. The rat, as with the mouse, has offered important animal models for biology and medical research, and has provided a wealth of physiological and pharma ...

Receptors, in general, are not highly expressed on endogenous cell surfaces. Adrenergic receptors (ARs) are commonly expressed in the femtomolar range. Correspondingly, their mRNA levels are also present in limited quantities. Northern analysis of the adrenergic receptors has co ...

In the search for novel G-protein-coupled receptor genes, two common approaches have worked fairly well and are relatively easy to perform. One method is homology-based screening approaches, which utilize low-stringency screening of genomic or cDNA libraries with a known cDNA probe. The ...

Adrenergic receptors (ARs) belong to a superfamily of the G-protein-coupled receptors and are categorized by their binding to endogenously occurring catecholamines, i.e., norepinephrine and epinephrine. Adrenergic receptors are classified into three groups (α1-, α2-, and β-ARs ...

Once a cDNA sequence for one of the adrenergic receptors (ARs) is obtained, it is useful to determine the restriction endonuclease sites in the sequence, to translate the nucleotide sequence into the protein sequence, to compare the sequence with known adrenergic receptor sequences in order ...

The advent of transgenic mice has ushered in an explosion of new knowledge regarding key roles of adrenergic receptors (ARs) in central nervous system- (CNS) mediated blood pressure control, states of alertness/sedation, analgesic pathways, and temperature control; these findings h ...

With the advent of recombinant protein systems to manufacture large volumes of cloned receptors, antibodies against the α-adrenergic receptors (α-ARs) have become available (1). These antibodies are useful tools for the immunocytochemical detection of cells containing the adre ...

Modulation of gene expression at the level of mRNA stability has emerged as an important regulatory paradigm. Although several general models of eukaryotic mRNA decay have been described, the details of how mRNA decay occurs for G-protein-coupled receptors is minimally characterize ...

The β-adrenergic receptors (β-ARs) are important modulators in the sympathetic control of various metabolic processes in the central (CNS) and peripheral nervous system (1–4). The β-ARs mediate the physiological effects of the catecholamines epinephrine and norepinephrine. Th ...

Adrenergic receptors (ARs) are G-protein-coupled transmembrane glyco-proteins that play a key role in mediating the sympathoadrenal response to stress. Pharmacological studies have suggested the existence of multiple adrenergic receptor subtypes and sub-subtypes, and to ...

The α1B-adrenergic receptor (α1B-AR) is a G-protein-coupled receptor that plays a key role in the sympathetic regulation of a variety of physiological processes, such as cardiac and smooth muscle contractility, contraction of the spleen, liver glycogenolysis, melatonin secretion ...

Neurotransmitters act on cell-surface receptors to produce a wide range of effects on target cells (1). These effects include modulation of ion channels and changes in cellular electrical properties. Deciphering the intracellular molecular pathways by which receptor activation ...

AA is the precursor for prostaglandins, eicosanoids, and the endogenous cannabinoid ligands, such as anandamide (1). The major pathways that lead to the liberation of free AA from phospholipids are shown in Fig. 1. Phospholipase A2 (PLA2) provides a direct pathway for AA release and is the most comm ...

In order to isolate a single gene, phage or cosmid libraries can be screened by the conventional technique of hybridization as described by Sambrook et al. (1) using end-labeled oligonucleotide probes or gene-specific probes. The probes are labeled either by nick translation, end labeling, or ...

Many drugs and hormones interact with plasma membrane receptors to induce changes in the production of intracellular second messengers. The first such messenger to be identified was adenosine-3′,5′ cyclic monophosphate (cAMP), discovered by Sutherland and Rall in the late 1950s (1). Ch ...

It is believed that binding of agonist to a G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) induces a set of structural changes in the tertiary structure of the receptor that can be recognized by the associated G-protein α-subunit. Many different methodological approaches have been applied over the years ...

The catecholamines epinephrine and norepinephrine produce a wide variety of physiological responses in target cells. Some of these are mediated by β-adrenergic receptors (β-ARs) through the stimulation of adenylyl cyclase and the production of cyclic AMP as first demonstrated by Su ...

Most membrane functions are mediated by enzymes and specific receptors that bind small molecules: substrates, inhibitors, modulators, hormones, and neurotransmitters. At the molecular level, polypeptide chains that contribute to the binding site of a given receptor can be identi ...

The power of polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in resolving individual proteins in complex mixtures permitted the application of follow-up techniques to identify the separated components. A popular follow-up technique is immunoblotting (often referred to as Western blot ...