Torpedo maculopathy was discovered in 2 children as a pointed-oval retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) defect in the temporal macula. This congenital finding could be related to the fetal temporal macular “bulge” that normally occurs at 4 to 6 months’ gestation at the same site. There are several congenital anomalies of the RPE, including congenital hypertrophy of the RPE (CHRPE), combined hamarto...

The nicotinic acetylcholine (AcCho) receptor (AcChoR) is a multisubunit protein complex of stoichiometry alpha 2 beta gamma delta. The several subunits show homology with each other within a given species; in addition, homology is found between analogous subunits between species. We have used the phage SP6 RNA polymerase transcription system to produce single-species RNA in vitro for various Ac...

BACKGROUND The torpedo ray is a fish with powerful electric organs, which can serve either as predatory tool or defensive weapon. The name comes from the Latin 'torpere', to be stiffened or paralysed, referring to the effect on someone who handles or steps on a living electric ray. AIM To present an unusual case of atrial fibrillation due to electric shocks by the torpedo ray (electric ray). ...

The nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (AChR) of striated muscle is an integral membrane protein consisting of five subunits of stoichiometry a:, p, E and 6, in which the E replaces the embryonic y form. T h e genes for Torpedo and human subunits have been cloned ([ 1-31; D. Beeson, unpublished work) and the a-subunit shows > 80% sequence similarity with its Torpedo counterpart. Nevertheless, som...

A recent tryptophan scanning of the alpha-TM3 domain of the Torpedo californica AChR demonstrated that this domain can modulate ion-channel gating [Guzman, G., Santiago, J., Ricardo, A., Martí-Arbona, R., Rojas, L., Lasalde-Dominicci, J. (2003) Biochemistry 42, 12243-12250]. Here we extend the study of the alpha-TM3 domain to the muscle-type AChR by examining functional consequences of single t...

A mouse cDNA clone has been isolated that contains the complete coding region of a protein highly homologous to the delta subunit of the Torpedo acetylcholine receptor (AcChoR). The cDNA library was constructed in the vector lambda 10 from membrane-associated poly(A)+ RNA from BC3H-1 mouse cells. Surprisingly, the delta clone was selected by hybridization with cDNA encoding the gamma subunit of...

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by neurofibrillary tangles and neuritic plaques and by the degeneration of central cholinergic neurons. Recent studies indicated the presence of antibodies in the sera and cerebrospinal fluid of AD patients which react with neuronal tissue and which recognize cholinergic neurons. In order to identify the cholinergic antigens against which the AD antibod...