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Author Bigiani, A.; Mucignat-Caretta, C.; Montani, G.; Tirindelli, R.
Title Pheromone reception in mammals Type Journal Article
Year 2005 Publication Reviews of Physiology, Biochemistry and Pharmacology Abbreviated Journal
Volume 154 Issue Pages 1-35
Keywords
Abstract (up) Pheromonal communication is the most convenient way to transfer information regarding gender and social status in animals of the same species with the holistic goal of sustaining reproduction. This type of information exchange is based on pheromones, molecules often chemically unrelated, that are contained in body fluids like urine, sweat, specialized exocrine glands, and mucous secretions of genitals. So profound is the relevance of pheromones over the evolutionary process that a specific peripheral organ devoted to their recognition, namely the vomeronasal organ of Jacobson, and a related central pathway arose in most vertebrate species. Although the vomeronasal system is well developed in reptiles and amphibians, most mammals strongly rely on pheromonal communication. Humans use pheromones too; evidence on the existence of a specialized organ for their detection, however, is very elusive indeed. In the present review, we will focus our attention on the behavioral, physiological, and molecular aspects of pheromone detection in mammals. We will discuss the responses to pheromonal stimulation in different animal species, emphasizing the complicacy of this type of communication. In the light of the most recent results, we will also discuss the complex organization of the transduction molecules that underlie pheromone detection and signal transmission from vomeronasal neurons to the higher centers of the brain. Communication is a primary feature of living organisms, allowing the coordination of different behavioral paradigms among individuals. Communication has evolved through a variety of different strategies, and each species refined its own preferred communication medium. From a phylogenetic point of view, the most widespread and ancient way of communication is through chemical signals named pheromones: it occurs in all taxa, from prokaryotes to eukaryotes. The release of specific pheromones into the environment is a sensitive and definite way to send messages to other members of the same species. Therefore, the action of an organism can alter the behavior of another organism, thereby increasing the fitness of either or both. Albeit slow in transmission and not easily modulated, pheromones can travel around objects in the dark and over long distances. In addition, they are emitted when necessary and their biosynthesis is usually economic. In essence, they represent the most efficient tool to refine the pattern of social behaviors and reproductive strategies. © Springer-Verlag 2005.
Address Università di Parma, Dipartimento di Neuroscienze, Sezione di Fisiologia, Via Volturno 39, 43100 Parma, Italy
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Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4570
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Author Czerlinski, G.H.; Wagner, M.; Erickson, J.O.; Theorell, H.
Title Chemical relaxation studies on the system liver alcohol dehydrogenase, NADH and imidazole Type Journal Article
Year 1975 Publication Acta Chemica Scandinavica. Series B: Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry Abbreviated Journal Acta Chem Scand B
Volume 29 Issue 8 Pages 797-810
Keywords Alcohol Oxidoreductases/*metabolism; Animals; Computers; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Imidazoles/*metabolism; Kinetics; Liver/enzymology/*metabolism; Mathematics; Models, Chemical; NAD/*metabolism; Time Factors
Abstract (up) Several years ago, Theorell and Czerlinski conducted experiments on the system of horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase, reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide and imidazole, using the first version of the temperature jump apparatus with detection of changes in fluorescence. These early experiments were repeated with improved instrumentation and confirmed the early experiments in general terms. However, the improved detection system allowed to measure a slight concentration dependence of the relaxation time of around 3 ms. Furthermore, the chemical relaxation time was smaller than the one determined earlier (by factor 2). The data were evaluated much more rigorously than before, allowing an appropriate interpretation of the results. The observed relaxation time is largely due to rate constants in an interconversion of ternary complexes, which are faster than three (of the four) dissociation rate constants, determined previously by Theorell and McKinley-McKee.1,2 This fact contributed to earlier difficulties of finding any concentration dependence. However, the binding of imidazole to the binary enzyme-coenzyme complex can be made to couple kinetically into the interconversion rate of the two ternary complexes. The observed signal derives largely from the ternary complex(es). A substantial fluorescence signal change is associated with the observed relaxation process, suggesting a relocation of the imidazole in reference to the nicotinamide moiety of the bound coenzyme. Nine models are considered with two types of coupling of pre-equilibria (none-all). Quantitative evaluations favor the model with two ternary complexes connected by an interconversion outside the four-step (bimolecular) cycle. The ternary complex outside the cycle has much higher fluorescence yield than the one inside. The interconversion equilibrium is near unity for imidazole. If it would be shifted very much to the side of the “dead-end” complex (as in isobutyramide?!), stimulating action could not take place.
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ISSN 0302-4369 ISBN Medium
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Notes PMID:882 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 3887
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Author Choleris, E.; Kavaliers, M.
Title Social Learning in Animals: Sex Differences and Neurobiological Analysis Type Journal Article
Year 1999 Publication Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior Abbreviated Journal Pharmacol. Biochem. Behav.
Volume 64 Issue 4 Pages 767-776
Keywords Observational learning; Social learning; Individual learning; Imitation; Social constraints; Social facilitation; male-female differences; Gender differences
Abstract (up) Social learning where an “individual's behavior is influenced by observation of, or interaction with, another animal or its products” has been extensively documented in a broad variety of species, including humans. Social learning occurs within the complex framework of an animal's social interactions that are markedly affected by factors such as dominance hierarchies, family bonds, age, and sex of the interacting individuals. Moreover, it is clear that social learning is influenced not only by important sexually dimorphic social constraints but also that it involves attention, motivational, and perceptual mechanisms, all of which exhibit substantial male-female differences. Although sex differences have been demonstrated in a wide range of cognitive and behavioral processes, investigations of male-female differences in social learning and its neurobiological substrates have been largely neglected. As such, sex differences in social learning and its neurobiological substrates merit increased attention. This review briefly considers various aspects of the study of social learning in mammals, and indicates where male-female differences have either been described, neglected and, or could have a potential impact. It also describes the results of neurobiological investigations of social learning and considers the relevance of these findings to other sexually dimorphic cognitive processes.
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Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 575
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Author Haruta, N.; Kitagawa, T.
Title Time-resolved UV resonance Raman investigation of protein folding using a rapid mixer: characterization of kinetic folding intermediates of apomyoglobin Type Journal Article
Year 2002 Publication Biochemistry Abbreviated Journal Biochemistry
Volume 41 Issue 21 Pages 6595-6604
Keywords Animals; Apoproteins/*chemistry; Circular Dichroism; Holoenzymes/chemistry; Horses; Hydrochloric Acid/chemistry; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Imidazoles/chemistry; Kinetics; Models, Molecular; Myoglobin/*chemistry; Peptide Fragments/chemistry; *Protein Folding; Protein Structure, Secondary; Spectrum Analysis, Raman/*methods; Tryptophan/*chemistry; Ultraviolet Rays; Whales
Abstract (up) The 244-nm excited transient UV resonance Raman spectra are observed for the refolding intermediates of horse apomyoglobin (h-apoMb) with a newly constructed mixed flow cell system, and the results are interpreted on the basis of the spectra observed for the equilibrium acid unfolding of the same protein. The dead time of mixing, which was determined with the appearance of UV Raman bands of imidazolium upon mixing of imidazole with acid, was 150 micros under the flow rate that was adopted. The pH-jump experiments of h-apoMb from pH 2.2 to 5.6 conducted with this device demonstrated the presence of three folding intermediates. On the basis of the analysis of W3 and W7 bands of Trp7 and Trp14, the first intermediate, formed before 250 micros, involved incorporation of Trp14 into the alpha-helix from a random coil. The frequency shift of the W3 band of Trp14 observed for this process was reproduced with a model peptide of the A helix when it forms the alpha-helix. In the second intermediate, formed around 1 ms after the start of refolding, the surroundings of both Trp7 and Trp14 were significantly hydrophobic, suggesting the formation of the hydrophobic core. In the third intermediate appearing around 3 ms, the hydrophobicity was relaxed to the same level as that of the pH 4 equilibrium intermediate, which was investigated in detail with the stationary state technique. The change from the third intermediate to the native state needs more time than 40 ms, while the appearance of the native spectrum after the mixing of the same solutions was confirmed separately.
Address School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, Myodaiji, Okazaki 444-8585, Japan
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ISSN 0006-2960 ISBN Medium
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Notes PMID:12022863 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 3785
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Author Rodier, F.
Title [Spectral properties of porcine plasminogen: study of the acidic transition (author's transl)] Type Journal Article
Year 1976 Publication European journal of biochemistry / FEBS Abbreviated Journal Eur J Biochem
Volume 63 Issue 2 Pages 553-562
Keywords Animals; Binding Sites; Guanidines; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; *Plasminogen; Protein Binding; Protein Conformation; Spectrometry, Fluorescence; Spectrophotometry; Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet; Swine; Temperature
Abstract (up) The acidic transition of porcine plasminogen, prepared by affinity chromatography, was studied by non-destructive methods. These methods are based on the analysis of the behaviour of the tryptophyls under various conditions. The perturbation of the absorption and emission spectra by pH or temperature and the dynamic quenching of the intrinsic fluorescence are used to obtain information on structural changes which affect the environment of these residues. It is shown that by decreasing pH the fluorescence emission spectra are shifted toward the long wavelengths, with a broadening of the fluorescence band. The same effect can be obtained at constant pH by heating the protein solution. In order to analyze these phenomena, it is assumed that the fluorescence intensities at 355 nm and 328 nm reflect the proportion of the tryptophans which are exposed to the solvent, and buried, respectively. The plot of the ratio of the fluorescence intensities at these wavelengths versus pH or temperature leads to a titration curve showing an unmasking of tryptophans. The proportion of exposed tryptophans is measured by the dynamic fluorescence quenching technique and the data analyzed according to Lehrer. The plot of the fraction of exposed tryptophyls versus pH also shows the unmasking of these chromophores. Thermal perturbation of a solution of plaminogen at neutral pH induces a difference absorption spectrum whose amplitudes at the maxima are proportional to the number of exposed aromatic residues. The comparison with a solution of fully denatured plasminogen in 6 M guanidium chloride, where all the tryptophyls are exposed, shows that the percentage of exposure is equal to 59%. This number is significantly higher than the percentage found by the fluorescence quenching technique (20%), indicating that some tryptophyls are located in crevices, exposed to the solvent but not to the iodide. At acidic pH the absorption difference spectra induced by thermal perturbation are not classical, since they show an inversion and a new band between 300 nm and 305 nm. This band is mentioned in the literature as a minor band of tryptophan which appears when this chromophore is located in an asymmetric environment. On plotting the maximum amplitude of these spectra obtained at acidic pH versus temperature, we obtain a curve indicating that two types of antagonistic interactions are involved in the perturbation of the chromophores spectra. The spectrophotometric titration of plasminogen gives classical absorption difference spectra. By plotting the maximum amplitude at 292 nm versus pH, we obtain a titration curve with an apparent pK of 2.9 units. This pK is acidic which respect to the pK value of a normal carboxyl. This low value can be due to a positively charged group in the neighbourhood of a carboxyl, which interacts with one or more chromophores. When the carboxyl becomes protonated, this positively charged group is free and available to perturb the environment of some chromophores...
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Language French Summary Language Original Title Proprietes spectrales du plasminogene porcin. Etude de la transition acide
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
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ISSN 0014-2956 ISBN Medium
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Notes PMID:4326 Approved no
Call Number Admin @ knut @ Serial 22
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Author Wilson, M.T.; Silvestrini, M.C.; Morpurgo, L.; Brunori, M.
Title Electron transfer kinetics between Rhus vernicifera stellacyanin and cytochrome c (horse heart cytochrome c and Pseudomonas cytochrome c551) Type Journal Article
Year 1979 Publication Journal of Inorganic Biochemistry Abbreviated Journal J Inorg Biochem
Volume 11 Issue 2 Pages 95-100
Keywords Animals; Copper; Cytochrome c Group/*metabolism; Electron Transport; Kinetics; Metalloproteins/*metabolism; Plant Proteins/*metabolism; *Plants, Toxic; Pseudomonas aeruginosa/*metabolism; Toxicodendron/*metabolism
Abstract (up) The electron transfer reactions between Rhus vernicifera stellacyanin and either horse heart cytochrome c or Pseudomonas aeruginosa cytochrome c551 were investigated by rapid reaction techniques. The time course of electron transfer is monophasic under all conditions, and thus consistent with a simple formulation of the reaction. Both stopped-flow and temperature-jump experiments yield equilibrium constants in reasonable agreement with values calculated from the redox potentials. The differences in reaction rate between the two cytochromes and stellacyanin are discussed in terms of the Marcus theory.
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ISSN 0162-0134 ISBN Medium
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Notes PMID:228006 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 3879
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Author Ridge, J.A.; Baldwin, R.L.; Labhardt, A.M.
Title Nature of the fast and slow refolding reactions of iron(III) cytochrome c Type Journal Article
Year 1981 Publication Biochemistry Abbreviated Journal Biochemistry
Volume 20 Issue 6 Pages 1622-1630
Keywords Animals; Ascorbic Acid; *Cytochrome c Group; Guanidines; Horses; Kinetics; Oxidation-Reduction; Protein Conformation; Spectrum Analysis
Abstract (up) The fast and slow refolding reactions of iron(III) cytochrome c (Fe(III) cyt c), previously studied by Ikai et al. (Ikai, A., Fish, W. W., & Tanford, C. (1973) J. Mol. Biol. 73, 165--184), have been reinvestigated. The fast reaction has the major amplitude (78%) and is 100-fold faster than the slow reaction in these conditions (pH 7.2, 25 degrees C, 1.75 M guanidine hydrochloride). We show here that native cyt c is the product formed in the fast reaction as well as in the slow reaction. Two probes have been used to test for formation of native cyt c. absorbance in the 695-nm band and rate of reduction of by L-ascorbate. Different unfolded species (UF, US) give rise to the fast and slow refolding reactions, as shown both by refolding assays at different times after unfolding (“double-jump” experiments) and by the formation of native cyt c in each of the fast and slow refolding reactions. Thus the fast refolding reaction is UF leads to N and the slow refolding reaction is Us leads to N, where N is native cyt c, and there is a US in equilibrium UF equilibrium in unfolded cyt c. The results are consistent with the UF in equilibrium US reaction being proline isomerization, but this has not yet been tested in detail. Folding intermediates have been detected in both reactions. In the UF leads to N reaction, the Soret absorbance change precedes the recovery of the native 695-nm band spectrum, showing that Soret absorbance monitors the formation of a folding intermediate. In the US leads to N reaction an ascorbate-reducible intermediate has been found at an early stage in folding and the Soret absorbance change occurs together with the change at 695 nm as N is formed in the final stage of folding.
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ISSN 0006-2960 ISBN Medium
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Notes PMID:6261802 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 3809
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Author Wilson, M.T.; Ranson, R.J.; Masiakowski, P.; Czarnecka, E.; Brunori, M.
Title A kinetic study of the pH-dependent properties of the ferric undecapeptide of cytochrome c (microperoxidase) Type Journal Article
Year 1977 Publication European Journal of Biochemistry / FEBS Abbreviated Journal Eur J Biochem
Volume 77 Issue 1 Pages 193-199
Keywords Animals; Cyanides; *Cytochrome c Group/metabolism; Ferric Compounds; Horses; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Imidazoles; Kinetics; Mathematics; Myocardium/enzymology; *Oligopeptides/metabolism; *Peptide Fragments/metabolism; Protein Binding; Spectrophotometry; Temperature
Abstract (up) The ferric form of the haem undecapeptide, derived from horse cytochrome c by peptic digestion, undergoes at least three pH-induced transitions with pK values of 3.4, 5.8 and 7.6. Temperature-jump experiments suggest that the first of these is due to the binding of a deprotonated imidazole group to the feric iron while the second and third arise from the binding of the two available amino groups present (the alpha-NH2 of valine and the epsilon-NH2 of lysine). Molecular models indicate that steric retraints on the peptide dictate that these amino groups may only coordinate to iron atoms via intermolecular bonds, thus leading to the polymerization of the peptide. Cyanide binding studies are in agreement with these conclusions and also yield a value of 3.6 X 10(6) M-1 s-1 for the intrinsic combination constant of CN- anion with the haem. A model is proposed which describes the pH-dependent properties of the ferric undecapeptide.
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ISSN 0014-2956 ISBN Medium
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Notes PMID:20304 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 3814
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Author Polverini, E.; Cugini, G.; Annoni, F.; Abbruzzetti, S.; Viappiani, C.; Gensch, T.
Title Molten globule formation in apomyoglobin monitored by the fluorescent probe Nile Red Type Journal Article
Year 2006 Publication Biochemistry Abbreviated Journal Biochemistry
Volume 45 Issue 16 Pages 5111-5121
Keywords Animals; Apoproteins/*chemistry/*metabolism; Binding Sites; Computer Simulation; Fluorescent Dyes/analysis; Horses; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Models, Molecular; Myoglobin/*chemistry/*metabolism; Oxazines/*analysis/chemistry; Protein Binding; Protein Folding; Protein Structure, Tertiary
Abstract (up) The interaction of nile red (NR) with apomyoglobin (ApoMb) in the native (pH 7) and molten globule (pH 4) states was investigated using experimental and computational methods. NR binds to hydrophobic locations in ApoMb with higher affinity (K(d) = 25 +/- 5 microM) in the native state than in the molten globule state (K(d) = 52 +/- 5 microM). In the molten globule state, NR is located in a more hydrophobic environment. The dye does not bind to the holoprotein, suggesting that the binding site is located at the heme pocket. In addition to monitoring steady-state properties, the fluorescence emission of NR is capable of tracking submillisecond, time-resolved structural rearrangements of the protein, induced by a nanosecond pH jump. Molecular dynamics simulations were run on ApoMb at neutral pH and at pH 4. The structure obtained for the molten globule state is consistent with the experimentally available structural data. The docking of NR with the crystal structure shows that the ligand binds into the binding pocket of the heme group, with an orientation bringing the planar ring system of NR to overlap with the position of two of the heme porphyrin rings in Mb. The docking of NR with the ApoMb structure at pH 4 shows that the dye binds to the heme pocket with a slightly less favorable binding energy, in keeping with the experimental K(d) value. Under these conditions, NR is positioned in a different orientation, reaching a more hydrophobic environment in agreement with the spectroscopic data.
Address Dipartimento di Fisica, Universita degli Studi di Parma, Viale G. P. Usberti 7/A, 43100 Parma, Italy
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ISSN 0006-2960 ISBN Medium
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Notes PMID:16618100 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 3763
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Author Wood, F.E.; Cusanovich, M.A.
Title The reaction of Euglena gracilis cytochrome c-552 with nonphysiological oxidants and reductants Type Journal Article
Year 1975 Publication Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics Abbreviated Journal
Volume 168 Issue 2 Pages 333-342
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Abstract (up) The reaction of Euglena gracilis cytochrome c-552 (cytochrome f) with the nonphysiological reactants potassium ferrocyanide, potassium ferricyanide, sodium ascorbate, sodium dithionite, and Chromatium vinosum high potential nonheme iron protein was studied by stopped-flow and temperature-jump kinetic methods. The reaction of the purified, water-soluble protein with the reactants was investigated as a function of ionic strength, pH, and temperature. The results demonstrated that reduction and oxidation takes place at a negatively charged site on the cytochrome c-552 surface. Participation of specific amino acid residues in electron transfer is implicated from the pH results. The results obtained for the nonphysiological reactions of cytochrome c-552 are compared with available data for horse heart cytochrome c and Rhodospirillum rubrum cytochrome c2. The results strongly suggest that Euglena gracilis cytochrome c-552 undergoes nonphysiological oxidation and reduction by a mechanism different from that found for cytochrome c or cytochrome c2.
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Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 3987
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