酪氨酸羟化酶与视网膜疾病

酪氨酸羟化酶（tyrosine hydroxylase,TH）是儿茶酚胺（catech01amines,CAs）合成过程中的限速酶,提高或抑制该酶的活性可大幅度影响CAs的合成。近年来对于TH的关注越来越多,大量的研究表明,TH含量及活性的异常改变能通过影响CAs的含量而导致相应生理功能的异常,从而导致疾病。本文将TH的结构功能、分布、表达变化及其与视网膜疾病关系做一综述。     

淋巴细胞合成的内源性儿茶酚胺对T细胞增殖功能的影响

目的：提供淋巴细胞合成儿茶酚胺（CAs）的证据,并探讨淋巴细胞合成的内源性CAs对淋巴细胞自身功能的影响及其受体介导机制。方法：用RT-PCR技术检测CAs合成的限速酶酪氨酸羟化酶（TH）mRNA在大鼠肠系膜淋巴结细胞内的表达。用单胺氧化酶（CAs降解酶）的抑制剂优降宁及α1、α2、β1和β2肾上腺素受体（AR）的拮抗剂作用于淋巴细胞．然后用四唑蓝比色法测定淋巴细胞对刀豆蛋白A（ConA）刺激的增殖反应。结果：大鼠肠系膜淋巴结细胞具有,TH mRNA的表达,并且淋巴细胞在用ConA刺激活化后,其TH mRNA的表达明显上调。10^-6和10^-5mol／L优降宁能显著抑制ConA诱导的T淋巴细胞增殖,而10^-7mol／L优降宁不能明显降低T淋巴细胞的增殖反应。β2-AR拮抗剂ICI 118551（10^-7和10^-6mol／L）可完全阻断优降宁（10^-5mol／L）对T细胞增殖的抑制作用;α1-AR拮抗剂柯喃因和α2-AR拮抗剂育亨宾部分阻断优降宁抑制T细胞增殖的作用;而β1-AR拮抗剂阿替洛尔不能阻断优降宁的抑制作用。结论：淋巴细胞具有合成CAs的能力,这种合成能力随着淋巴细胞的激活而明显增强。淋巴细胞合成的内源性CAs可能通过自分泌或／和旁分泌路径主要激活淋巴细胞上的β2-AR,从而抑制T细胞的增殖反应。     

免疫细胞内源性儿茶酚胺的免疫调节作用

机体内儿茶酚胺（catecholamines,CAs）包括去甲肾上腺素（norepinephrine,NE）、肾上腺素（epinephrine,E）和多巴胺（dopamine,DA）。CAs由神经元和内分泌细胞合成和分泌,其主要功能是调节心血管、呼吸和消化等内脏活动。近三十年来的研究说明,CAs也参与调控机体的免疫功能,但CAs的这种免疫调节作用一般视为神经和内分泌系统调节的介导作用。然而,近年来的研究发现,免疫细胞也能合成CAs,这是对传统观念的一种补充和提高。免疫细胞内存在经典的CAs代谢途径,既有合成CAs的酪氨酸羟化酶（tyrosine hydroxylase,TH）又有降解CAs的单胺氧化酶（monoamine oxidase,MAO）和儿茶酚氧位甲基移位酶（catechol-O-methyl transferase,COMT）。免疫细胞合成的内源性CAs可以调控细胞的增殖、分化、凋亡和细胞因子生成等多种免疫功能。CAs的这些作用可能主要通过自分泌或旁分泌途径作用于免疫细胞上相应受体和细胞内环磷酸腺苷（cyclicAMP,cAMP）实现。细胞内氧化应激机制可能也参与免疫细胞内源性CAs的免疫调节作用。此外,一些自身免疫性疾病如多发性硬化、风湿性关节炎可能也与免疫细胞内CAs的代谢异常有关。上述发现不仅为免疫系统有可能成为除神经和内分泌系统以外的第三个CA能系统提供了证据,而且为免疫系统内源性CAs的功能意义拓展了认识。     

低频脉冲电场对PC12细胞酪氨酸羟化酶和多巴胺合成的影响

运用Western印迹和HPLC分别测定不同时间电场刺激和刺激后不同培养时间条件下,PC12细胞内酪氨酸羟化酶(TH)和细胞培养液中多巴胺(DA)含量的变化。结果显示,受到短时间(5、10min)脉冲电场刺激的PC12细胞,经较短时间(2天)的培养后,细胞内TH的含量和培养液中DA的含量均比对照组有所提高,但随着培养时间的延长(3~5天),TH和DA的含量均明显下降。然而,长时间(15、20、30min)脉冲电场刺激组则先表现为TH和DA的合成受到抑制,但随着培养时间的延长,其合成则被逐渐激活。采用蛋白激酶A(PKA)特异性抑制剂H-89和有丝分裂原活化蛋白激酶的激酶(MEK1/2)特异性抑制剂U0126,研究脉冲电场刺激所激活的与TH和DA合成相关的信号通路。结果表明,在没有神经生长因子(NGF)存在的情况下,PC12细胞主要通过PKA通路来激活TH的合成,低频脉冲电场刺激也主要激活PKA通路,因为抑制这条信号通路能显著抑制电场刺激所诱导的TH合成。     

亚甲基四氢叶酸还原酶(C677/T)基因的单核苷酸多态性

亚甲基四氢叶酸还原酶(methylene tetrahydrofolatucte redase,MTHFR)是叶酸代谢过程中的关键酶,对叶酸和同型半胱氨酸的代谢以及DNA的合成、修复与甲基化均有重要作用。MTHFR基因变异导致酶热稳定性及活性降低,引起相关代谢及DNA甲基化异常,进而发生相关疾病。MTHFR具有多种变异型,本文对其中常见的一种C677T的多态性及其与疾病的相关性的研究进展做一综述。     

神经内分泌和免疫系统之间的相互作用(二)——神经免疫调节

(上接 2 0 0 0年第 3期第 3页 )1 .6.2　某些前激素 (prohormone)的作用　血液循环中的硫酸表甾酮 (dehydroepiandrosteronesulphate,DHEAS)受到 DHEA硫酸酶的作用变成 DHEA可增强 TH1的活性 ,此时 TH1/TH2 的比值趋向于 TH1占优势。随着年龄的增加 DHEA的水平也随之下降。这可能是机体随着年龄的增长免疫功能下降的重要原因之一。动物实验中也发现 ,老年鼠体内的 DHEA含量明显低于对照组。如果补充 DHEA后老年鼠的免疫缺损状态可以得到明显改善。此外 ,衰老时的免疫功能下降也与某些细胞因子分泌异常增高有关。例如 IL -6的…     

脂多糖对大鼠多巴胺能神经元毒性作用的研究

目的　建立新的帕金森病 (Parkinson’sdisease ,PD)动物模型 ,探讨其发病机制。方法　在大鼠脑黑质(substantianigra ,SN)内注射脂多糖 (Lipopolysaccharide ,LPS)后 ,按大鼠不同存活期用高效液相色谱 (HPLC)来测定脑内多巴胺 (Dopamine,DA)及其代谢产物的含量 ;用免疫组化法观察酪氨酸羟化酶 (Tyrosinehydroxylase ,TH)阳性神经细胞、小胶质细胞的形态及数量变化。结果　DA及其代谢产物的含量在LPS注射侧随时间不同有不同程度下降 ,于第 14天达到最低 (P <0 0 1) ;注射侧黑质TH阳性神经元可以达到全部消失 ,该处可见大量被激活并有形态改变的小胶质细胞。结论　LPS可导致大鼠黑质多巴胺能神经元的损害     

不同浓度茉莉酸甲酯对悬浮培养的胀果甘草细胞合成甘草总黄酮的影响

研究了不同浓度的茉莉酸甲酯对胀果甘草悬浮培养细胞的生长和黄酮合成的影响,初步探讨了其影响甘草黄酮合成的机制.研究结果表明,一定浓度(10-200lanol/L)的茉莉酸甲酯对胀果甘草细胞的生长有抑制作用,但是能够促进甘草总黄酮产量的增加.此外,茉莉酸甲酯的添加导致细胞中过氧化氢含量升高,引起细胞中苯丙氨酸裂解酶、过氧化氢酶、过氧化物酶活性的增强和丙二醛含量升高,说明茉莉酸甲酯能够引起细胞产生防御反应,并提高防御反应的关键酶的活性,同时细胞膜在一定程度上仍发生过氧化,但最终促进了甘草总黄酮的合成,其最大产量达到对照的3.39倍.     

三唑酮提高水稻幼苗抗旱性的研究

在-0.5MPa渗透胁迫下三唑酮提高水稻(Oryza sativa L.)幼苗相对含水量,降低丙二醛(MDA)含量,提高了抗旱性。三唑酮(75mg/L)可提高渗透胁迫下水稻幼苗过氧化物酶(POD)和过氧化氢酶(CAT)活性,对超氧物歧化酶(SOD)活性影响不大。加入蛋白质合成抑制剂环己亚胺试验证明,三唑酮对POD的效应是促进酶蛋白的合成。     

Role of ovarian steroids on the catecholamine synthesis and release in female rat adrenal: in vivo and in vitro studies

In a previous report, we describe the existence of an effect of ovarian steroids on the adrenal medulla activities of the enzymes involved in catecholamine (CA) catabolism. To complete that study, we have now examined the adrenal medulla activity of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), the rate limiting enzyme of the CA synthesis, as well as the in vitro release of CAs from incubated adrenal medullas. The study has been performed with adrenal medullas from female rats with physiological (estrous cycle) or pharmacological (steroid treatment) alterations in their circulating levels of estrogens and progesterone. The in vitro release of CAs from incubated adrenal medullas of estradiol-treated rats was lower than that obtained in vehicle-treated animals. In consequence, the preovulatory increase of estradiol would be the responsible of the low in vitro release of CAs observed during the estrous phase of ovarian cycle. However, this steroid does not seem to affect the CA synthesis, since the adrenal medulla activity of TH was not altered after the estradiol treatment nor during the estrous cycle. On the contrary, progesterone treatment increased TH activity 24 h after the steroid injection. This effect was independent of estradiol. However, an estrogen-dependent increase in TH activity occurred short-time after the steroid administration. Although progesterone by itself failed to modify the in vitro release of both CAs, it was able to reverse the estradiol-induced decrease in epinephrine release. In summary, estradiol seems to decrease the ability of the adrenal medulla to release CAs to the peripheral blood, without affecting the CA synthesis, whereas progesterone mostly affects TH activity, being its effects temporary and partially depending on estrogens.     

Acidic Fibroblast Growth Factor and Catecholamines Synergistically Up-Regulate Tyrosine Hydroxylase Activity in Developing and Damaged Dopamine Neurons in Culture

Abstract: Our previous studies indicate that, in certain non-catecholamine (CA) neurons, expression of the gene for the CA biosynthetic enzyme tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) can be initiated by the obligatory interaction of acidic fibroblast growth factor (aFGF) and a CA activator. In this study, we sought to determine whether these same differentiation factors also play a role in regulating existing TH expression in CA neurons. Thus, the effects of exogenous aFGF and CAs on TH were studied in developing or toxin-damaged dopamine (DA) neurons from the embryonic day 15 rat ventral midbrain, where it was likely to be at physiologically low levels. Cultures were incubated with various concentrations of aFGF, DA, or aFGF and DA. Some cultures were first damaged with 2.5 µ M 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium. In developing DA neurons, an 80% increase in TH activity was found only after cotreatment with aFGF (100 ng/ml) and DA (1 µ M ) or other monoamines. Likewise, in damaged DA neurons, aFGF and DA reversed the 50% loss in TH activity caused by toxin. This was observed within 4 h of treatment and was not associated with changes in the number or appearance of DA neurons, suggesting a biochemical rather than a trophic effect. Pretreatment with protein or RNA synthesis inhibitors eliminated the increase. In PC12 cells, where TH is highly expressed, activity was unaltered by treatment. We conclude that the aFGF and CAs may be involved in not only the initiation but also the regulation of TH.     

Tyrosine hydroxylase activity in the endocrine pancreas: changes induced by short-term dietary manipulation

BACKGROUND: Tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) activity and its possible participation in the control of insulin secretion were studied in pancreatic islets of adult Wistar rats fed a standard commercial diet (SD) or carbohydrates alone (CHD) for one week. TH activity, norepinephrine (NE) content, and glucose-induced insulin secretion were assessed. Blood glucose and insulin levels were measured at the time of sacrifice. RESULTS: CHD rats had significantly higher blood glucose and lower insulin levels than SD rats (114.5 PlusMinus; 6.7 vs 80.7 PlusMinus; 7.25 mg/dl, p < 0.001; 20.25 PlusMinus; 2.45 vs 42.5 PlusMinus; 4.99 &mgr;U/ml, p < 0.01, respectively). Whereas TH activity was significantly higher in CHD isolated islets (600 PlusMinus; 60 vs 330 PlusMinus; 40 pmol/mg protein/h; p < 0.001), NE content was significantly lower (18 PlusMinus; 1 vs 31 PlusMinus; 5 pmol/mg protein), suggesting that TH activity would be inhibited by the end-products of catecholamines (CAs) biosynthetic pathway. A similar TH activity was found in control and solarectomized rats (330 PlusMinus; 40 vs 300 PlusMinus; 80 pmol/mg protein/h), suggesting an endogenous rather than a neural origin of TH activity. CHD islets released significantly less insulin in response to glucose than SD islets (7.4 PlusMinus; 0.9 vs 11.4 PlusMinus; 1.1 ng/islet/h; p < 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: TH activity is present in islet cells; dietary manipulation simultaneously induces an increase in this activity together with a decrease in glucose-induced insulin secretion in rat islets. TH activity - and the consequent endogenous CAs turnover - would participate in the paracrine control of insulin secretion.     

Effect of exercise on mRNA expression of select adrenal medullary catecholamine biosynthetic enzymes.

The effect of submaximal endurance training (SET) on sympathoadrenal activity is not clear. We tested the hypothesis that SET (90 min/day, 5 days/wk, for 12 wk) elevates mRNA expression of catecholamine (CA) biosynthetic enzymes, tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and dopamine-beta-hydroxylase (DbetaH) in the adrenal medullae of adult, female Sprague-Dawley rats. SET increased TH protein level by 35%, TH activity by 62%, TH mRNA expression by 40%, and DbetaH mRNA expression by 67%. In addition, we examined the effect of SET on Fos-related antigens (FRAs), FRA-2 immunoreactivity, and activator protein (AP)-1 binding activity. SET increased AP-1 binding activity by 78%; however, it did not affect late FRAs and FRA-2 immunoreactivity. Because the regulation of neuropeptide Y (NPY) often parallels that of CAs, we also examined the effect of SET on NPY mRNA expression. Indeed, SET elevated NPY mRNA expression as well. We conclude that 1) SET elicits a pretranslational stimulatory effect on adrenomedullary CA biosynthetic enzymes, 2) another immediate early mRNA product, rather than FRA-2, may contribute to the increase in AP-1 binding activity in response to SET, and 3) SET increases NPY mRNA expression.     

Ciliary neurotrophic factor stimulates tyrosine hydroxylase activity

Tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) is the rate-limiting enzyme in norepinephrine synthesis, and its expression and activity are regulated by many factors in sympathetic neurons. Cytokines that act through gp130, such as ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) decrease norepinephrine production in sympathetic neurons by suppressing TH mRNA and stimulating degradation of TH protein, leading to the loss of enzyme. Their effect on the activity of TH is unclear, but recent in vivo observations suggest that cytokines may stimulate TH activity. We investigated this issue by quantifying TH protein levels and activity in cultured sympathetic neurons. We also examined the state of TH phosphorylation on serine 31 and 40, sites known to affect TH activity and degradation. We found that CNTF, acting through gp130, stimulated the rate of l-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine production while at the same time decreasing TH enzyme levels, thereby increasing the specific activity of the enzyme. We also found that phosphorylation of TH on Ser31 was increased, and phosphorylation on Ser40 was decreased, after four days of CNTF exposure. Our data are consistent with previous findings that Ser31 phosphorylation stimulates TH activity, whereas Ser40 phosphorylation can target TH for proteasomal degradation.     

Enhancement of tyrosine hydroxylase phosphorylation and activity by glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor

Although glial cell-line derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) acts as a potent survival factor for dopaminergic neurons, it is not known whether GDNF can directly alter dopamine synthesis. Tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) is the rate-limiting enzyme for dopamine biosynthesis, and its activity is regulated by phosphorylation on three seryl residues: Ser-19, Ser-31, and Ser-40. Using a TH-expressing human neuroblastoma cell line and rat primary mesencephalic neuron cultures, the present study examined whether GDNF alters the phosphorylation of TH and whether these changes are accompanied by increased enzymatic activity. Exposure to GDNF did not alter the TH protein level in either neuroblastoma cells or in primary neurons. However, significant increases in the phosphorylation of Ser-31 and Ser-40 were detected within minutes of GDNF application in both cell types. Enhanced Ser-31 and Ser-40 phosphorylation was associated with increased TH activity but not dopamine synthesis in neuroblastoma cells, possibly because of the absence of l-aromatic amino acid decarboxylase activity in these cells. In contrast, increased phosphorylation of Ser-31 and Ser-40 was found to enhance dopamine synthesis in primary neurons. Pharmacological experiments show that Erk and protein kinase A phosphorylate Ser-31 and Ser-40, respectively, and that their inhibition blocked both TH phosphorylation and activity. Our results indicate that, in addition to its role as a survival factor for dopaminergic neurons, GDNF can directly increase dopamine synthesis.