OCAT 2 PAST CLUES

ACETYLCHOLINE

Botox your face and see your wrinkles go—but I stay stuck in my bubble.

ACHE

In the world of spies, this target of Soviet newcomer agents could make your ganglia stay at full speed.

ACHE

Without the right capital letters, this can be a long-lasting pain; with them, this is ruthless in recovering the acetate.

ADRENALINE

Stop that pounding heart with propranolol and reduce effects of this hormone.

AEA

N-arachidonoyl-ethanolamine may be a mouthful, but it sure feels heavenly.

AMPLEXUS

Caught in this act, stress or corticosterone is an immediate buzz kill.

ANANDAMIDE

Ethanolamine is one of the end products when this endogenous mediator is metabolized by a hydrolase.

ANANDAMIDE

Guzzling chocolates to get high on this? Cross check your facts, could be a mere hoax.

ANANDAMIDE

Reduces the twitching of your vas deferens; could it truly be the way to paradise?

ANDROSTENEDIONE

First stop on the route from progesterone to estrone.

ARACHIDONIC

The beginning and the end of an endocannabinoid 'trip'.

AROMATASE

Inhibited to slow down some kinds of breast cancer, this is also called CYP19A1.

ATROPINE

The world seems brighter with those eye drops, though the words on the page are blurred

ATROPINE

From a weed that can make you blind as a bat, red as a beet, and mad as a hatter; might even cause a lecture.

BELLADONNA

Juice from these berries widened eyes of pretty Renaissance women—but could be deadly for them too.

BETA

Antagonists to this receptor in different formulations can be useful for both ocular and cardiac diseases, though they may be lethal to those who rely on specific inhalants to ward off asthmatic attacks.

BIMATOPROST

With these eye drops, you get a double deal – lower intraocular pressure AND longer eyelashes.

BITE

Perhaps a natural way to get those wrinkles out, but there are far safer ways to get those shots.

BOTOX

A shot may eliminate that worried look (the concerns may remain though)

BOTOX

A bacterial product that prevents fusion of vesicles at the terminal end of somatic nerves

BOTOX

A shot may eliminate that worried look (the concerns may remain though).

BUNGAROTOXIN

A paralyzing elapid venom, acts much like tubocurarine

BUNGAROTOXIN

A radio-labelled derivative of this molecule was used to isolate a specific variety of cholinergic receptors

BUNGAROTOXIN

A paralyzing elapid venom, acts much like tubocurarine.

CALCIUM

A critical cation for cellular signalling—enters through voltage gated channels at synaptic ends

CHLORIDE

Including this ion in the Nernst Equation allowed Goldman to give a more realistic account of the resting membrane potential.

CHOLERA

A bacterial disease, where a toxin limits the GTPase activity of the activated alpha subunit of a G-protein.

CHOLESTEROL

Where it all begins, steroidally of course.

CHOLESTEROL

Can be made inside and out – although some think I am bad for you, I have many uses in distant places.

CHOLINE

Considered a nutrient, this can be made into something useful for your autonomic ganglia—after a ChAT, that is.

CHOLINE

After a ChAT with me, you could twitch a lot.

CHOLINESTERASE

An enzyme that limits the stimulant action of an endogenous neurotransmitter on the neuromuscular junction; favourite spot for global terrorists

CHOLINESTERASE

An enzyme that rapidly inactivates a potent neurotransmitter released at all autonomic ganglia

CHOLINESTERASE

Enzyme that limits stimulant action of endogenous neurotransmitter on neuromuscular junction; favourite spot for terrorist.

COBRA

Caution – the milk this creature injects is not too full of human kindness (Lady Macbeth would approve).

COCAINE

Shut the NET down, get that high—just a quick snort of this.

COCAINE

Need a rush; take a sniff; not while crossing borders though

COMT

An enzyme that inactivates catecholamines much in the same fashion as HMT does to histamine (acronym)

CONSTITUTIVE

Isolated cells that show baseline activity in the absence of any added agonist may have activity of this sort

CONSTITUTIVE

When the basal activity of an isolated cell is high even in the absence of an added agonist, you can think that the receptors have this sort of activity

CONSTITUTIVE

Isolated cells that show baseline activity in the absence of any added agonist may have activity of this sort.

CORTISOL

The ultimate stressor, but not in rats; I need that aldehyde group to be effective.

CORTISONE

A stressful injection into your joints; if you are a rat, you may feel it was an inclusive choice.

COX

A critical enzyme helps a released fatty acid, generates several powerful mediators—can be inhibited by easily obtained over-the-counter drugs.

CYP

They make some useful things, but they also mop-up most of the drugs you take.

CYP

Captivated by blue, these pharmaceutical exterminators also make some very useful things.

DATURA

An extract of this plant gave señoritas that wide- eyed look; but their admirers became feverish if they took too much of it

DECARBOXYLASE

An Un-fizzer of sorts. Maybe a Fizzer—depends how you look at it. A cytoplasmic amine generator.

DECARBOXYLASE

Maybe just an anti-fizzer, I convert amino acids to amines

DEGRADATION

A significant termination style.

DEPOLARIZATION

This has occurred to a nerve when the membrane potential is approaching the Na equilibrium potential

DEPOLARIZATION

When a stimulus to a nerve reaches a threshold, this process is set in motion

DESENSITIZATION

The agonist keeps calling, the receptor does not listen anymore—what has happened?

DESENSITIZED

No further response to an agonist. Maybe the receptors are in this state now.

DIHYDROTESTOSTERONE

More potent, you say? It is only a 5-alpha-reductase away.

DOPAMINE

A VMAT ferries me from the cytoplasm to the vesicle.

DP

When this receptor binds its preferred molecule, sleep results—but its isomer binding to its own preferred one can wake you up.

EDRF

Arginine's unstable child; never strays far from home.

EPINEPHRINE

Methylate a neurotransmitter to get this hormone (watch what you call it though—if you are in New York rather than Oxford!).

EPINEPHRINE

Keep a pen with this in hand, especially when you stray into a garden of earthly delights in full bloom or drink reds of dubious vintage in fishy joints.

ESTRADIOL

Overdose on testosterone and this may increase; aromatase makes me too.

FORGIVENESS

Beg not for this but for a longer half-life for your drug.

FORGIVING

Off on a trip, forgot your drugs? Hope they are considerate towards your trespasses as you would towards others!

GLOBULIN

The best Uber driver ever, gets you there every time - if you're a steroid, that is.

GLYCEROL

The backbone of a class of membrane molecules that are the target of 2 enzymes that release different messengers.

GOLDMAN

He included anion contributions to the membrane potential in his equation

GOLDMAN

He provided a more realistic account of the resting membrane potential

GOLDMAN

He included anion contributions to the membrane potential in his equation.

GTPASE

Screaming guts, wetting pants? Perhaps a toxin has shut off this activity of one of the trimeric subunits of a trimeric protein (Gs).

HEXAMETHONIUM

The pink complexioned gentleman behind you at the check-in counters suddenly faints; you grab his hand to lift him up and find it warm and dry. You get excited, you are looking into the eyes of THE man!

HYDROXYLASE

A vesicular-located enzyme that converts a feel-good transmitter to one that prepares you for fight or flight.

HYDROXYLASE

This type of enzyme present in the granular membrane converts dopamine to norepinephrine

HYDROXYLASE

This type of enzyme present in the granular membrane converts dopamine to norepinephrine.

HYDROXYLASE

A rate-limiting enzyme that starts the process of making a feel-saintly molecule.

HYDROXYLASE

OH no! This kind of enzyme converts tyrosine to DOPA.

HYPERPOLARIZATION

A state where the membrane potential has decreased below the resting membrane potential

ISOPROSTANES

Arachidonic acid derived mediators where the side chains attached to the 5 membered ring are in the cis position relative to each other rather than trans.

LIPOPHILIC

A greasy sort of messenger, slips through cells with ease to get its message across.

MAO

An enzyme that limits the actions of norepinephrine, serotonin and dopamine (acronym)

MAO

An enzyme that limits the actions of norepinephrine, serotonin and dopamine.

MISOPROSTOL

Am just a simple molecule that protects 2 hollow organs from diverse intruders in very different ways. Sadly, Society cheerfully accepted one protection but vilified the other, at least until recently.

MISOPROSTOL

An EP agonist protects the stomach lining from acid and the lining of the womb from another invader (in a very different way maybe)

MULES

If you are seated next to one of these powder-loaded pack animals on a flight, change your seat quickly. They could spell trouble.

MUSCARINIC

A type of receptor named after an alkaloid present in mushrooms; multiple subtypes present on a variety of cells, particularly exocrine glands, smooth muscles, heart

MUSCARINIC

Antagonism of this type of receptor dries your mouth

NERNST

His equation sought to define the resting membrane potential in terms of the major cations involved; rather limited though

NERNST

His equation to define the resting membrane potential was limited and had to be modified to provide a more realistic account

NERNST

His equation sought to define the resting membrane potential in terms of the major cations involved.

NEUROTRANSMITTER

It is touch and go for each one of us since so many of us are close by and all of us in our clan need to spread the word too.

NICOTINIC

An elapid venom helped isolate this receptor from electroplax membranes.

NICOTINIC

A receptor present in the neuromuscular junction that is stimulated by acetylcholine released from somatic nerves

NICOTINIC

A receptor present in the neuromuscular junction that can be readily antagonised by krait venom

NICOTINIC

A receptor present in the neuromuscular junction that is stimulated by acetylcholine released from somatic nerves.

NICOTINIC

The slithering milk of inhuman unkindness targets these receptors, leaves you limp and perhaps breathless.

NO

What’s in an L-NAME? Nothing much really- NMMA can do much the same, so can metronidazole—shut the production line for this mediator.

NO

The ED50 for cholinergic responses on an isolated granulated cell increased five-fold in the presence of atropine. Can this receptor be labelled as nicotinic?

NO

Sadly, what a persistent lad did not want to hear from a young lass (could in other circumstances send exciting messages though).

NOCAT

A flexible assessment used in this course that allows you to transfer information to a novel setting (acronym)

NORADRENALINE

Simply add a hydroxyl to dopamine to make that neurotransmitter that helps you flee from cobra fangs.

NOVICHOK

New boys we may be—but old in mischief. We are a deadly bunch—send us around and watch the world scream, puke, jerk, choke as guts churn.