Ataxic movement, the common major symptom of spinocerebellar atrophy, has been considered to involve impaired glutamatergic excitatory neurotransmission in the cerebellum. Considering the therapeutic importance of ataxia control, we assessed the effectiveness of increasing the extracellular concentration of glycine by administering it exogenously or via blockade of glycine transporter 1, using ...

GABA-mediated postsynaptic currents (IPSCs) were recorded from dopaminergic (DA) neurons of the ventral tegmental area (VTA) of rats, in acute brain slices, and from enzymatically or mechanically dissociated neurons. In young rats (3-10 d of age), where GABA is excitatory, glycine (1-3 microm) and taurine (10-30 microm) increased the amplitude of evoked IPSCs (eIPSCs) and the frequency of spont...

Background Aberrant glycine metabolism, an emerging hallmark of cancer, contributes to the aggressive proliferation [1] and invasion [2] of tumor cells. Glycine decarboxylase (GLDC) is the rate-limiting enzyme of glycine cleavage system that catabolizes glycine to feed one-carbon metabolism in mitochondria. A recent study suggests it plays a crucial role in tumorigenesis by promoting proliferat...

We studied the effect of administering glycine, a non-essential amino acid, on serum and tissue lipids in experimental hepatotoxic Wistar rats. All the rats were fed standard pellet diet. Hepatotoxicity was induced by administering ethanol (7.9 g kg(-1)) for 30 days by intragastric intubation. Control rats were given isocaloric glucose solution. Glycine was subsequently administered at a dose o...

N-nicotinyl-2-(5-fluorouracil-1-yl)-D,L-glycine (NFG) and N-isonicotinyl-2-(5-fluorouracil-1-yl)-D,L-glycine (INFG) were synthesized as colon-specific prodrugs of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). As N-aromatic acyl amides of glycine, they are expected to be stable in the upper intestine and delivered to the colon as an intact form if they are nonabsorbable. Microbial hydrolysis of amide bond in the colon...

The actions of 2,2,2,-trichloroethanol were studied on agonist-activated Cl- currents in gamma-aminobutyric acid type A (GABAA), glycine and GABA rho 1 receptors by use of the whole-cell patch-clamp technique. Recombinant wild-type and mutant receptor subunits were transiently expressed in human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293 cells. Trichloroethanol enhanced currents elicited by submaximal (EC20) a...

GFR normally increases during glycine infusion. This response is absent in humans and rats with established diabetes mellitus. In diabetic patients, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibition (ACEI) restores the effect of glycine on GFR. To ascertain the glomerular hemodynamic basis for this effect of ACEI, micropuncture studies were performed in male Wistar-Froemter rats after 5 to 6 wk of insul...

Feeding [1-C]-guanidinoacetic acid to shoot primordia, O2 uptake was inhibited and major products were C-glycine, CO2 and C-serine. The direct decarboxylation of [1-C]-guanidinoacetic acid to CO2 and N-methylguanidine, the methylation of [1-C]-guanidinoacetic acid to C-creatine, and the lytic cleavage to urea and C-glycine were all ruled out. Enzymatic transamidinations of [1-C]-guanidinoacetic...

Considerable evidence exists that the carboxyl-carbon atom of glycolic acid is the primary source of the CO(2) produced during photorespiration by leaves of many species of plants, including tobacco. Experiments were conducted to determine whether glyoxylate or glycine, both products of glycolic acid metabolism, is the more immediate precursor of photorespiratory CO(2).Illuminated tobacco leaf ...