S-Adenosylhomocysteine hydrolase of mammalian hearts from different species is exclusively a cytosolic enzyme. The apparent Km for the guinea-pig enzyme was 2.9 microM (synthesis) and 0.39 microM (hydrolysis). Perfusion of isolated guinea-pig hearts for 120 min with L-homocysteine thiolactone (0.23 mM) and adenosine (0.1 mM), in the presence of erythro-9-(2-hydroxynon-3-yl)adenine to inhibit ad...

Elevated blood concentrations of homocysteine have been well established as a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and neuropsychiatric diseases, yet the etiologic relationship of homocysteine to these disorders remains poorly understood. Protein N-homocysteinylation has been hypothesized as a contributing factor; however, it has not been examined globally owing to the lack of suitable detec...

BACKGROUND A metabolite of homocysteine (Hcy), the thioester Hcy-thiolactone, has been implicated in coronary heart disease in humans. Because inadvertent reactions of Hcy-thiolactone with proteins can lead to cell and tissue damage, the ability to detoxify or eliminate Hcy-thiolactone is essential for biological integrity. We examined the hypothesis that the human body eliminates Hcy-thiolacto...

The effects of ethanol on epilepsy are very complex. Ethanol can have depressant as well as excitatory effect on different animal models of epilepsy. Systemic administration of homocysteine can trigger seizures. The aim of the present study was to examine the changes of total spectral power density after ethanol alone and together with homocysteine thiolactone in adult rats. Adult male Wistar r...

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to determine the effects of acute, single boost of physical activity on seizures induced by homocysteine thiolactone in rats, using treadmill for small experimental animals as a paradigm of physical activity. MATERIAL AND METHODS: After adaptation to the treadmill, Wistar albino rats were randomly divided into acute physical activity and sedentary group. An...

We showed previously that the induction of neural crest (NC) and neural tube (NT) defects is a general property of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antagonists. Since homocysteine induces NC and NT defects and can also act as an NMDAR antagonist, we hypothesized that the mechanism of homocysteine-induced developmental defects is mediated by competitive inhibition of the NMDAR by homocystei...

Homocysteine is a sulphur-containing amino acid, which structurally is closely related to the essential amino acids methionine and cysteine. The cellular methylation cycle performs the metabolism of methionine and since homocysteine is an intermediate within this cycle, the body in this way is provided with all organic homocysteine. The term homocysteine is used to define the combined pool of h...

Hyperhomocysteinemia was first associated with degenerative disease by observation of accelerated arteriosclerosis in children with inherited disorders of cystathionine synthase, methionine synthase, and methylene tetrohydrofolate reductase. The metabolic blockade of sulfate synthesis from homocysteine thiolactone in malignant cells is ascribed to a deficiency of a chemopreventive derivative of...