Biochemical events

Taste-active chemicals react with receptors on the surface of sensory cells in the papillae causing electrical depolarization, ie, drop in the voltage across the sensory cell membrane. The collection of biochemical events that are involved in this process is called transduction (15,16). Not all the chemical steps involved in transduction are known however, it is clear that different transduction mechanisms are involved in different taste quaUties different transduction mechanisms exist for the same chemical in different species (15). Thus the specificity of chemosensory processes, ie, taste and smell, to different chemicals is caused by differences in the sensory cell membrane, the transduction mechanisms, and the central nervous system (14). 

TABLE 5.10 Some Important Biochemical Events in Apoptotic Control ... 

In contrast to the wealth of biogenetic speculation and model experimentation, none of which has direct bearing on actual biochemical events in the synthesis of /3-carbolines in their natural habitat, very few biosynthetic investigations have been carried out. As predicted, radioactivity from 2- C-tryptophan was incorporated into carbon atom-3 of the 1,2,3,4,4a,9a-hexahydro-)3-carboline moiety of ajmaUne and into carbon atom-3 of the jS-carbohnium segment... 

Null method, physiological or pharmacological effects are translations of biochemical events by the cell. The null method assumes that equal responses emanate from equal initial stimulation of the receptor therefore, when comparing equal responses, the complex translation is cancelled and statements about the receptor activity of agonists can be made. Relative potencies of agonists producing equal responses thus are interpreted to be measures of the relative receptor stimuli produced by the agonists at the receptor see Chapter 5.6.2. 

The major biochemical events occurring during one cycle of muscle contraction and relaxation can be represented in the five steps shown in Figure 49-6 ... 

It is clear that no single biochemical event is responsible... 

The exact biochemical signal profile elicited by chemokines is likely to vary according to individual chemokine-receptor interactions as well as cell type and its activation status. In order to fully appreciate the range of signals activated by chemokines, this chapter will focus on the biochemical events that have been identified in T lymphocytes and assess their relative importance and contribution to the ensuing migratory response. 

I Initiates biochemical events T within platelets (See text) Additional GPIIbfllla receptors exposed on adjacent platelets bind and bridge fibrinogen. 

Biochemical events during progesterone-induced maturation in vitro... 

Several biochemical events occur posttranscriptionally that define the response of cells to stimuli. For instance, alternative splicing, posttrans-lational modifications, regulation of enzyme activities, distribution of metabolites between cellular compartments, necessitate analysis at the level of the proteome and the metabolome. 

The neurotransmitters of the ANS and the circulating catecholamines bind to specific receptors on the cell membranes of effector tissue. Each receptor is coupled to a G protein also embedded within the plasma membrane. Receptor stimulation causes activation of the G protein and formation of an intracellular chemical, the second messenger. (The neurotransmitter molecule, which cannot enter the cell, is the first messenger.) The function of intracellular second messenger molecules is to elicit tissue-specific biochemical events within the cell that alter the cell s activity. In this way, a given neurotransmitter may stimulate the same type of receptor on two different types of tissue and cause two different responses due to the presence of different biochemical pathways within each tissue. 

Fluorescence or Forster resonance energy transfer (FRET) is widely accepted as being one of the most useful methods to observe biochemical events in vitro and in living cells. Generally, there are two forms of FRET sensors those based on a pair of genetically encoded fluorophores, usually employing fluorescent proteins from jellyfish or corals, or those based on small molecules that make use of small organic fluorophores. 

Muscarinic receptor activation causes inhibition of adenylyl cyclase, stimulation of phospholipase C and regulation of ion channels. Many types of neuron and effector cell respond to muscarinic receptor stimulation. Despite the diversity of responses that ensue, the initial event that follows ligand binding to the muscarinic receptor is, in all cases, the interaction of the receptor with a G protein. Depending on the nature of the G protein and the available effectors, the receptor-G-protein interaction can initiate any of several early biochemical events. Common responses elicited by muscarinic receptor occupation are inhibition of adenylyl cyclase, stimulation of phos-phoinositide hydrolysis and regulation of potassium or other ion channels [47] (Fig. 11-10). The particular receptor subtypes eliciting those responses are discussed below. (See also Chs 20 and 21.)... 

Normal biochemical events surrounding the maintenance and functions of the nervous system centers around energy metabolism, biosynthesis of macromolecules, and neurotransmitter synthesis, storage, release, uptake, and degradation. Measurement of these events is complicated by the sequenced nature of the components of the nervous system and the transient and labile nature of the moieties involved. Use of measurements of alterations in these functions as indicators of neurotoxicity is further complicated by our lack of a complete understanding of the normal operation of these systems and by the multitude of day-to-day occurrences (such as diurnal cycle, diet, temperature, age, sex, and endocrine status) which are constantly modulating the baseline system. For detailed discussions of these difficulties, the reader is advised to see Damstra and Bondy (1980, 1982). 

Blood is the transport medium of the body. Plasma, which accounts for approximately 60% of the total volume, carries a wide range of small and medium-sized metabolites some are simply dissolved in solution (93% of the plasma is water), others are carried by specific carrier proteins. The chemical composition of the plasma is complex and reflects the chemical composition inside cells, which is why blood tests are so commonly used in diagnosis to see the biochemical events occurring in tissues. The formed cellular elements of the blood perform several functions defence against blood loss from bleeding (platelets, also called thrombocytes), defence against infection and immune surveillance (white cells, leucocytes), and gas transport and pH buffering (red cells, erythrocytes). 

Cell cycle dynamics are closely connected to cell growth and to the mechanism of controlling cell proliferation. The cell cycle can be defined as an ordered set of biochemical events resulting in cell division. The sequence of these events is divided into four phases the Gi phase, followed by the S phase (DNA synthesis), G2 phase and the M phase. For determining percentage of cells at different phases of the cell cycle, cells must be stained for DNA content with propidium iodide (PI) [20, 21], Based on the amount of DNA content by PI, the fraction of cells in a specific phase can be determined [22] from whole population using dedicate software (e.g, Modfit or Flowjo ) or, more precise, by using 2D-dot plot BrdU incorporation [23],... 

Carcinogenesis involves a complex series of genetic and biochemical events that enable transformed cells to proliferate, metastasize, migrate to secondary sites, and, sometimes, acquire resistance to chemotherapy. In Sect. 25.4.1, we will discuss how caveolin-1 expression correlates with cancerous growth, a potential mechanism of chemotherapy drug resistance, and how caveolae may be particularly exploited for cancer therapeutic strategies. 

---