scholarly journals pH dependence of the acetylcholine receptor channel: a species variation.

1981 ◽  
Vol 77 (6) ◽  
pp. 647-666 ◽  
Author(s):  
E M Landau ◽  
B Gavish ◽  
D A Nachshen ◽  
I Lotan

The effects of pH changes on the miniature endplate current (mepc) and on endplate current fluctuations (acetylcholine [ACh] noise) were examined at the neuromuscular junction in vitro in two species of frogs. In Rana pipiens the relationship between the decay time constant of the mepc (tau') and pH had a symmetrical bell shape; the value of tau' being largest at pH 7 and decreasing at more acid or more alkaline pH. In acid pH the mepc amplitude (A) decreased relative to its value at pH 7, and in alkaline pH A increased. In Rana ridibunda a narrower and asymmetric bell-shaped dependence of tau' on pH, having a maximum of pH 5.5, was found. The mepc amplitude was again reduced in acid pH but had a peak at pH 5.5. Also, its value at pH 9 was larger than at pH 7. These results were obtained with a number of different buffers and were not found to be sensitive to the nature of the buffer chosen. By performing ACh-noise analysis we found that in Rana pipiens at acid pH (5.5-5.0), the single channel conductance (gamma) and the single channel open time (tau) were significantly reduced relative to their value at pH 7. However, in Rana ridibunda at acid pH (5.4) gamma was unchanged and tau was markedly increased relative to their values at pH 7. The results can be explained quantitatively by electrostatic interaction between two fixed and titratable ionic groups and a mobile charge in the receptor molecule. The model fits the data for groups having pKs approximately 4.8 and approximately 9.8 for Rana pipiens and approximately 4.6 and approximately 6.3 for Rana ridibunda. The groups can be tentatively identified as amino acid residues; glutamic or aspartic and lysine or tyrosine for Rana pipiens; glutamic or aspartic and histidine for Rana ridibunda. The difference in the fitted values of the other model parameters for these two species can be attributed to differences in the spatial configuration of the charged groups.

2004 ◽  
Vol 123 (5) ◽  
pp. 573-580 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karin L. Németh-Cahalan ◽  
Katalin Kalman ◽  
James E. Hall

Aquaporins facilitate the diffusion of water across cell membranes. We previously showed that acid pH or low Ca2+ increase the water permeability of bovine AQP0 expressed in Xenopus oocytes. We now show that external histidines in loops A and C mediate the pH dependence. Furthermore, the position of histidines in different members of the aquaporin family can “tune” the pH sensitivity toward alkaline or acid pH ranges. In bovine AQP0, replacement of His40 in loop A by Cys, while keeping His122 in loop C, shifted the pH sensitivity from acid to alkaline. In the killifish AQP0 homologue, MIPfun, with His at position 39 in loop A, alkaline rather than acid pH increased water permeability. Moving His39 to His40 in MIPfun, to mimic bovine AQP0 loop A, shifted the pH sensitivity back to the acid range. pH regulation was also found in two other members of the aquaporin family. Alkaline pH increased the water permeability of AQP4 that contains His at position 129 in loop C. Acid and alkaline pH sensitivity was induced in AQP1 by adding histidines 48 (in loop A) and 130 (in loop C). We conclude that external histidines in loops A and C that span the outer vestibule contribute to pH sensitivity. In addition, we show that when AQP0 (bovine or killifish) and a crippled calmodulin mutant were coexpressed, Ca2+ sensitivity was lost but pH sensitivity was maintained. These results demonstrate that Ca2+ and pH modulation are separable and arise from processes on opposite sides of the membrane.


1974 ◽  
Vol 138 (3) ◽  
pp. 349-357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan P. Dawson ◽  
Michael J. Selwyn

1. Inhibition of 2,4-dinitrophenol-stimulated respiration by trialkyltins is dependent on the presence of Cl− in the assay medium and is only apparent at acid pH values. It appears to be a result of the Cl−–OH− exchange mediated by trialkyltins. 2. In a KCl medium at alkaline pH values, the maximum rate of respiration produced by uncouplers is further increased by the presence of trialkyltins. 3. The inhibition of uncoupled succinate oxidation at acid pH values is not reversed by increasing the external substrate concentration, suggesting that depletion of intramitochondrial succinate is not an important factor in the inhibition. 4. It is suggested that the probable explanation for these observations is that in the presence of Cl− trialkyltins alter the internal pH to a more acid value and this directly affects the activity of one or more steps in succinate oxidation. 5. The oligomycin-like action of trialkyltins in a Cl−-free medium shows considerable pH-dependence over the pH range 6.6–7.6 in the presence of 10mm-phosphate, but very much less pH-dependence in the presence of 1mm-phosphate. 6. The binding of triethyltin to mitochondria shows a pK at pH6.3 and does not change greatly over the pH range 6.6–7.6. 7. It is suggested that the pH-dependence of the oligomycin-like action described by Coleman & Palmer (1971) is the result of the pH-dependence of the formation of a hydrophilic complex between trialkyltins and Pi.


Author(s):  
Sören Schulze ◽  
Emily J. King

AbstractWe propose an algorithm for the blind separation of single-channel audio signals. It is based on a parametric model that describes the spectral properties of the sounds of musical instruments independently of pitch. We develop a novel sparse pursuit algorithm that can match the discrete frequency spectra from the recorded signal with the continuous spectra delivered by the model. We first use this algorithm to convert an STFT spectrogram from the recording into a novel form of log-frequency spectrogram whose resolution exceeds that of the mel spectrogram. We then make use of the pitch-invariant properties of that representation in order to identify the sounds of the instruments via the same sparse pursuit method. As the model parameters which characterize the musical instruments are not known beforehand, we train a dictionary that contains them, using a modified version of Adam. Applying the algorithm on various audio samples, we find that it is capable of producing high-quality separation results when the model assumptions are satisfied and the instruments are clearly distinguishable, but combinations of instruments with similar spectral characteristics pose a conceptual difficulty. While a key feature of the model is that it explicitly models inharmonicity, its presence can also still impede performance of the sparse pursuit algorithm. In general, due to its pitch-invariance, our method is especially suitable for dealing with spectra from acoustic instruments, requiring only a minimal number of hyperparameters to be preset. Additionally, we demonstrate that the dictionary that is constructed for one recording can be applied to a different recording with similar instruments without additional training.


2000 ◽  
Vol 203 (8) ◽  
pp. 1373-1381 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Onken ◽  
A. Schobel ◽  
J. Kraft ◽  
M. Putzenlechner

Split lamellae of the posterior gills of freshwater-adapted Chinese crabs (Eriocheir sinensis) were mounted in a modified Ussing-type chamber, and active and electrogenic absorption of Na(+) and Cl(−) were measured as positive (I(Na)) or negative (I(Cl)) short-circuit currents. Haemolymph-side addition of eyestalk extract stimulated I(Cl) by increasing both the transcellular Cl(−) conductance and the electromotive force for Cl(−) absorption. The effect was dose-dependent. Boiling the eyestalk extract did not change its effectiveness. The stimulating factor passed through dialysis tubing, indicating that it has a molecular mass of less than 2 kDa. R(p)cAMPS, a blocker of protein kinase A, reduced the stimulated I(Cl). Eyestalk extract stimulated I(Na) by increasing the transcellular Na(+) conductance at constant electromotive force. Amiloride-induced current-noise analysis revealed that stimulation of I(Na) was accompanied by an increase in the apparent number of open apical Na(+) channels at a slightly reduced single-channel current. In addition to the electrophysiological experiments, whole gills were perfused in the presence and in the absence of putative transport stimulators, and the specific activities of the V-ATPase and the Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase were measured. Eyestalk extract, theophylline or dibutyryl-cyclic AMP stimulated the activity of the V-ATPase, whereas the activity of the Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase was unaffected. The simultaneous presence of R(p)cAMPS prevented the stimulation of V-ATPase by eyestalk extract or theophylline.


Author(s):  
Y Chen ◽  
C Muratov ◽  
V Matveev

ABSTRACTWe consider the stationary solution for the Ca2+ concentration near a point Ca2+ source describing a single-channel Ca2+ nanodomain, in the presence of a single mobile Ca2+ buffer with one-to-one Ca2+ binding. We present computationally efficient approximants that estimate stationary single-channel Ca2+ nanodomains with great accuracy in broad regions of parameter space. The presented approximants have a functional form that combines rational and exponential functions, which is similar to that of the well-known Excess Buffer Approximation and the linear approximation, but with parameters estimated using two novel (to our knowledge) methods. One of the methods involves interpolation between the short-range Taylor series of the buffer concentration and its long-range asymptotic series in inverse powers of distance from the channel. Although this method has already been used to find Padé (rational-function) approximants to single-channel Ca2+ and buffer concentration, extending this method to interpolants combining exponential and rational functions improves accuracy in a significant fraction of the relevant parameter space. A second method is based on the variational approach, and involves a global minimization of an appropriate functional with respect to parameters of the chosen approximations. Extensive parameter sensitivity analysis is presented, comparing these two methods with previously developed approximants. Apart from increased accuracy, the strength of these approximants is that they can be extended to more realistic buffers with multiple binding sites characterized by cooperative Ca2+ binding, such as calmodulin and calretinin.STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCEMathematical and computational modeling plays an important role in the study of local Ca2+ signals underlying vesicle exocysosis, muscle contraction and other fundamental physiological processes. Closed-form approximations describing steady-state distribution of Ca2+ in the vicinity of an open Ca2+ channel have proved particularly useful for the qualitative modeling of local Ca2+ signals. We present simple and efficient approximants for the Ca2+ concentration in the presence of a mobile Ca2+ buffer, which achieve great accuracy over a wide range of model parameters. Such approximations provide an efficient method for estimating Ca2+ and buffer concentrations without resorting to numerical simulations, and allow to study the qualitative dependence of nanodomain Ca2+ distribution on the buffer’s Ca2+ binding properties and its diffusivity.


1980 ◽  
Vol 26 (12) ◽  
pp. 1403-1407 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolyn M. Sabatino ◽  
Siegfried Maier

The study was prompted by our inability to concentrate phages by a membrane adsorption method effective for polioviruses. Consequently two coliphages, WPK and T4, and F116 of Pseudomonas aeruginosa were tested for their resistance to acid (pH 5.2–3.2) and alkaline (pH 10–11.5) exposures. Only T4 proved acid resistant, allowing for acid adsorption, and only WPK was sufficiently alkaline resistant to allow for alkaline elution. Thus, the differential susceptibility of various phages precludes the use of the acid membrane adsorption–alkaline elution method as a general method for the concentration of phages from large volumes of water.


1997 ◽  
Vol 48 (5) ◽  
pp. 561 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. R. Helyar ◽  
B. R. Cullis ◽  
K. Furniss ◽  
G. D. Kohn ◽  
A. C. Taylor

This paper reports the effects of 6 wheat–annual pasture rotations over 18 years on soil N, organic C, P, and pH in a red earth soil at Wagga Wagga (35° 03′ S, 147° 21′E), in southern NSW. There were 3 cropping intensities (33, 50, 67%) with pastures dominated by subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum L. cv. Bacchus Marsh) and annual ryegrass (Lolium rigidum Gaud. cv. Wimmera). Rotations were long (6-year) or short (2- or 3-year). Initial soil N and organic C concentrations (0–10 cm) were low, 1300–1400 kg N/ha and 0·7–0·9 g organic C/100 g. The rate of increase of total N in the top 20 cm was the same on short and long rotations, and increased with the proportion of pasture in the rotation from 2·0 to 12·1 to 20·7 kg N/ha · year for pasture to crop ratios of 0·33, 0·50, and 0·67. Estimates of the amounts of N fixed and the measured accumulation of N per pasture year varied within the narrow ranges of 95–113 and 45–64 kg N/ha · pasture year. Organic C increased faster as the proportion of pasture in the rotation increased and there was no evidence that steady-state concentrations were achieved by Year 18. Estimates of the average amount of N leached below 30 cm varied in the range 22–29 kg N/ha · year. Analysis of the individual crop and pasture effects on soil N in the surface 10 cm indicated that net nitrate leaching was greatest in the second pasture year or in the first crop year following 1 year of pasture. A significant amount of N leached during the first 2 or 3 pasture years in a rotation was recovered by the first wheat crop or by the third and fourth year pastures. Second to fourth cereal crops depleted soil N by an amount similar to that removed in the grain. Average grain N% for the rotation treatments was closely described (R2 = 0·96) as a function of the length of the pasture phase, the pasture to crop ratio, and the interaction pasture to crop ratio number of preceding wheat crops. In the top 30 cm the pH changed at a rate near –0·04 units/year on all treatments, equivalent to addition of 2·3–2·8 kmol H+/ha · year. The acid addition rate, and hence the long-term lime requirement (50 kg lime/kmol H+), did not vary with pasture to crop ratio or with the length of the rotation. The proportion of the acid added to the top 30 cm of soil that was contributed from the N cycle (nitrification followed by nitrate loss by leaching below 30 cm or by run-off) was 0·65 for rotations with 67% pasture and 0·80 for rotations with 33% pasture. Carbon cycle acids, produced during organic matter accumulation and the synthesis of products that were subsequently removed, accounted for the remainder. Individual crop and pasture effects on soil pH were near the overall mean of –0·04 units except in years preceding and following the transition from pasture to cereal phases of the rotations. In cereal-dominated rotations the last pasture year was strongly acid (pH decrease 0·13–0·17) and the following cereal year was alkaline (pH increase 0·05–0·08). In pasture-dominated rotations the effects were reversed, the last pasture being alkaline (pH increase 0·07–0·12) and the following cereal being acid (pH decrease 0·13–0·19). In the 50% rotations, effects were intermediate. Organic and inorganic forms of soil P in the surface 10 cm increased linearly with time, accounting for 38% of the applied fertiliser P. Of the applied P, 88% was accounted for by the sum of P accumulated in the surface 20 cm of soil and by removal in products and waste products. The remainder may have been lost by erosion or accumulated in forms resistant to extraction by 0·1 M H2SO4 after ignition at 550°C. There was a slightly greater rate of increase of organic P as the proportion of pasture in the rotation increased. The annual addition of 11·8 kg P/ha·year marginally exceeded the amount required to maintain the available P concentration.


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