Browsing by Subject "Oocytes"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    The human mu opioid receptor: modulation of functional desensitization by calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase and protein kinase C
    (Society for Neuroscience, 1995-03) Mestek, A.; Hurley, J.H.; Bye, L.S.; Campbell, A.D.; Chen, Y.; Tian, M.; Liu, J.; Schulman, H.; Yu, L.; Medical and Molecular Genetics, School of Medicine
    Opioids are some of the most efficacious analgesics used in humans. Prolonged administration of opioids, however, often causes the development of drug tolerance, thus limiting their effectiveness. To explore the molecular basis of those mechanisms that may contribute to opioid tolerance, we have isolated a cDNA for the human mu opioid receptor, the target of such opioid narcotics as morphine, codeine, methadone, and fentanyl. The receptor encoded by this cDNA is 400 amino acids long with 94% sequence similarity to the rat mu opioid receptor. Transient expression of this cDNA in COS-7 cells produced high-affinity binding sites to mu-selective agonists and antagonists. This receptor displays functional coupling to a recently cloned G-protein-activated K+ channel. When both proteins were expressed in Xenopus oocytes, functional desensitization developed upon repeated stimulation of the mu opioid receptor, as observed by a reduction in K+ current induced by the second mu receptor activation relative to that induced by the first. The extent of desensitization was potentiated by both the multifunctional calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase and protein kinase C. These results demonstrate that kinase modulation is a molecular mechanism by which the desensitization of mu receptor signaling may be regulated at the cellular level, suggesting that this cellular mechanism may contribute to opioid tolerance in humans.
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    Physical parameters, modeling, and methodological details in using IR laser pulses to warm frozen or vitrified cells ultra-rapidly
    (Elsevier, 2015-04) Kleinhans, F. W.; Mazur, Peter; Department of Physics, School of Science
    We report additional details of the thermal modeling, selection of the laser, and construction of the Cryo Jig used for our ultra-rapid warming studies of mouse oocytes (Jin et al., 2014). A Nd:YAG laser operating at 1064 nm was selected to deliver short 1ms pulses of sufficient power to produce a warming rate of 1×10(7)°C/min from -190°C to 0°C. A special Cryo Jig was designed and built to rapidly remove the sample from LN2 and expose it to the laser pulse. India ink carbon black particles were required to increase the laser energy absorption of the sample. The thermal model reported here is more general than that previously reported. The modeling reveals that the maximum warming rate achievable via external warming across the cell membrane is proportional to (1/R(2)) where R is the cell radius.
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    Survivals of mouse oocytes approach 100% after vitrification in 3-fold diluted media and ultra-rapid warming by an IR laser pulse
    (Elsevier, 2014-06) Jin, Bo; Kleinhans, F.W.; Mazur, Peter; Department of Physics, School of Science
    Vitrification is the most sought after route to the cryopreservation of animal embryos and oocytes and other cells of medical, genetic, and agricultural importance. Current thinking is that successful vitrification requires that cells be suspended in and permeated by high concentrations of protective solutes and that they be cooled at very high rates to below − 100°C. We report here that neither of these beliefs holds for mouse oocytes. Rather, we find that if mouse oocytes are suspended in media that produce considerable osmotic dehydration before vitrification and are subsequently warmed at ultra high rates (10,000,000°C/min) achieved by a laser pulse, nearly 100% will survive even when cooled rather slowly and when the concentration of solutes in the medium is only 1/3rd of standard.