Glutaredoxin (GRX) is a small dithiol protein involved in various cellular

The results suggest that epidural steroid injection has no beneficial effect on the pseudoclaudication associated with spinal canal stenosis as compared with epidural block with a local anesthetic alone.

Abstract. Interactions between μ-opioid receptor (μOR) and cannabinoid CB 1 receptor (CB 1 R) were examined by morphological and electrophysiological methods. In baby hamster kidney (BHK) cells coexpressing μOR fused to the yellow fluorescent protein Venus and CB 1 R fused to the cyan fluorescent protein Cerulean, both colors were detected on the cell surface; and fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) analysis revealed that μOR and CB 1 R formed a heterodimer. Coimmunoprecipitation and Western blotting analyses also confirmed the heterodimers of μOR and CB 1 R. [D-Ala 2 ,N-Me-Phe 4 ,Gly 5 -ol]enkephalin (DAMGO) or CP55,940 elicited K + currents in Xenopus oocytes expressing μOR or CB 1 R together with G protein activated-inwardly rectifying K + channels (GIRKs), respectively. In oocytes coexpressing both receptors, either of which was fused to the chimeric Gα protein G qi5 that activates the phospholipase C pathway, both DAMGO and CP55,940 elicited Ca 2+ -activated Cl − currents, indicating that each agonist can induce responses through G qi5 fused to either its own receptor or the other. Experiments with endogenous G i/o protein inactivation by pertussis toxin (PTX) supported the functional heterodimerization of μOR/ CB 1 R through PTX-insensitive G qi5(m) fused to each receptor. Thus, μOR and CB 1 R form a heterodimer and transmit a signal through a common G protein. Our electrophysiological method could be useful for determination of signals mediated through heterodimerized G protein-coupled receptors.

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