BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Ischemia elicits the rapid release of various amino acid neurotransmitters. A glutamate surge activates N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) glutamate receptors, triggering deleterious processes in neurons. Although glycine is a coagonist of the NMDA receptor, the effect of extracellular glycine concentration on ischemic injury remains controversial. To approach this issue, we exa...

Glycine receptors (GlyRs) are inhibitory ligand-gated ion channels. Ethanol potentiates glycine activation of the GlyR, and putative binding sites for alcohol are located in the transmembrane (TM) domains between and within subunits. To alter alcohol sensitivity of GlyR, we introduced two mutations in the GlyR α1 subunit, M287L (TM3) and Q266I (TM2). After expression in Xenopus laevis oocytes, ...

Na- and Cl-dependent glycine transport was investigated in human red blood cells. The effects of the carrier substrates (Na, Cl, and glycine) on the glycine transport kinetics were studied with the goal of learning more about the mechanism of transport. The K1/2-gly was 100 microM and the Vmax-gly was 109 mumol/kg Hb.h. When cis Na was lowered (50 mM) the K1/2-gly increased and the Vmax-gly dec...

PURPOSE To correlate the distribution of glutathione (GSH) and its precursor amino acids (cysteine, glycine, and glutamate) with the expression of their respective amino acid transporters in the rat lens. METHODS Whole rat lenses were fixed, cryoprotected, and cryosectioned in either an equatorial or axial orientation. Sections were double labeled with cystine, glycine, glutamate, GSH, GLYT1,...

Calculations are presented for the glycine-(H(2)O)(n) (-) (n=0-2) anionic clusters with excess electron, with the glycine core in the canonical or zwitterion form. A variety of conformers are predicted, and their relative energy is examined to estimate thermodynamic stability. The dynamic (proton transfer) pathways between the anionic clusters with the canonical and the zwitterion glycine core ...

The study investigated the mechanism by which glycine protects against increased circulating nonesterified fatty acids (NEFA), fat cell size, intra-abdominal fat accumulation, and blood pressure (BP) induced in male Wistar rats by sucrose ingestion. The addition of 1% glycine to the drinking water containing 30% sucrose, for 4 wk, markedly reduced high BP in sucrose-fed rats (SFR) (122.3 +/- 5....

Recently we described a method for the determination of alanine based upon its conversion into acetaldehyde by the action of ninhydrin (1). A method for the measurement of glycine has been devised which involves its conversion by ninhydrin to formaldehyde; the latter is then measured by its reaction with chromotropic acid. Earlier methods for the measurement of glycine are less sensitive and sp...

There is evidence for glycine and GABA(A)-receptor-mediated inhibition of hypoglossal motoneurons in vitro. However, comparable studies have not been performed in vivo, and the interactions of such mechanisms with integrative reflex respiratory control have also not been determined. This study tests the hypotheses that glycine at the hypoglossal motor nucleus (HMN) will suppress genioglossus (G...

Glycine is a primary inhibitory neurotransmitter in the spinal cord and brainstem. It acts at glycine receptor (GlyR)-chloride channels, as well as a co-agonist of NMDA receptors (NMDARs). In the hippocampus, the study of GlyRs has largely been under-appreciated due to the apparent absence of glycinergic synaptic transmission. Emerging evidence has shown the presence of extrasynaptic GlyRs in t...

The interactions between the glycine and glutamate binding sites of the NMDA receptor have been studied in outside-out patches and synapses from hippocampal neurons in culture using rapid drug application techniques. Desensitization of NMDA receptor-mediated currents elicited by glutamate in newly excised outside-out patches was reduced in the presence of saturating concentrations of glycine. T...