Skip Navigation

Journal of Biochemistry 2005 137(2):199-203; doi:10.1093/jb/mvi019
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Request Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Sekimizu, K.
Right arrow Articles by Matsuki, N.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Sekimizu, K.
Right arrow Articles by Matsuki, N.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© 2005 The Japanese Biochemical Society

BIOCHEMISTRY

d-Glutamic Acid–Induced Muscle Contraction in the Silkworm, Bombyx mori

Kazuhisa Sekimizu1,3, Jorge Larranaga1, Hiroshi Hamamoto1, Masae Sekine2, Takemitsu Furuchi2, Masumi Katane2, Hiroshi Homma2 and Norio Matsuki1

1 Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 3-1 Hongo 7-chome, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033; and 2 School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kitasato University, 5-9-1 Shirokane, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-8641

3 To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel: +81-3-5841-4820, Fax: +81-3-5684-2973, E-mail: sekimizu{at}mol.f.u-tokyo.ac.jp

Agonists for muscle contraction in silkworms were screened by injecting test solutions into the hemolymph of decapitated silkworm larvae. Kainic acid, a glutamate receptor agonist, and d-glutamic acid induced muscle contractions, and d-aspartic acid was partially effective, whereas NMDA and AMPA, representative mammalian glutamate receptor agonists, did not induce contraction. l-Glutamic acid inhibited the kainic acid or d-glutamic acid–induced contraction. Amino acid analysis revealed that 3% of the total glutamic acid in the silkworm hemolymph is d-glutamic acid. These results suggest that d-glutamic acid acts physiologically as an agonist for muscle contraction in silkworms, and that l-glutamic acid functions as an inhibitor.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 J. Biol. Chem.Home page
K. Ishii, H. Hamamoto, M. Kamimura, and K. Sekimizu
Activation of the Silkworm Cytokine by Bacterial and Fungal Cell Wall Components via a Reactive Oxygen Species-triggered Mechanism
J. Biol. Chem., January 25, 2008; 283(4): 2185 - 2191.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.