海马神经元膜片与细胞分离前后nAChR通道特性的改变

目的和方法：在新生大鼠海马神经元上,用膜片钳技术研究了乙酰胆碱受体单通道特性,离子选择性及细胞内物质对通道活动的影响。结果：该通道对单价阳离子通透,对Ｎａ＾＋和Ｋ＾＋的通透性相近,但不通透Ｃｌ＾－。     

NMDA受体与中枢神经系统发育

中枢神经系统兴奋性氨基酸离子型受体－ＮＭＤＡ受体,是由ＮＭＤＡＲ１和ＮＭＤＡＲ２两个亚单位共同构成的受体通道复合体。ＮＭＤＡ受本激活后可引起神经元细胞对Ｎａ＾＋,Ｋ＾＋和Ｃａ＾２＋通透性增强,产生兴奋性突触后电位,在中枢神经发育的过程中,ＮＭＤＡ受体通过不同亚型的选择性表达,改变自身的结构和功能,进而影响ＮＭＤＡ受体介导的Ｃａ＾２＋内流,调节神经元内Ｃａ＾２＋依赖的第二信使系统,最终实现对中枢神经     

NMDA受体通道的结构与功能

近来用分子克隆方法对N-甲基-门冬氨酸受体(NMDA受体)通道的分子结构进行了广泛的研究.这些研究清楚地显示了NMDA受体通道的分子多样性,为NMDA受体通道的在体功能多样性提供了基础.已获得的克隆为研究这些受体通道分布和生理作用提供了有价值的工具.     

阿片受体亚型研究进展

近20年来,人们已成功克隆了μ,δ和κ三种经典阿片受体的基因。最近克隆的孤儿(ｏｒｐｈａｎ)受体,其结构特征与阿片受体基本相同,并有高度的同源性,又被称为阿片受体样受体(ｏｐｉｏｉｄｒｅｃｅｐｔｏｒｌｉｋｅ,ＯＲＬ1)。进一步通过药理学特性的研究,提出每一种受体可能有不同的亚型,并发现了一些新型的ε、λ、ι和ζ阿片受体,而σ受体药理学特性与其它阿片受体明显不同,应不属于阿片受体的范畴。1.阿片受体1.1　μ受体亚型μ(ＭＯＲ1)受体的基因与编码δ、κ受体和ＯＲＬ1受体的基因大约有50%～70%的同源性。μ受体的两种剪接变异体(…     

G蛋白βγ亚单位介导的信号转导途径

跨膜信息传递有关的Ｇ蛋白由α、β和γ亚单位所组成,受体激动后,引起ＧＴＰ与α亚单位结合,导致Ｇα与Ｇβγ分离。近年来发现Ｇα、受体本射和许多效应分子如Ｋ＾＋通道、Ｇａ＾２＋通道、磷脂酶Ｃ－β、腺苷酸环化酶、酷氨酸、ＭＡＰＫ和受体激酶等都受Ｇβγ的调节,Ｇβγ同Ｇα一样均可引起效应蛋白的激活,在细胞信号转导中起同样重要作用,共同介导一系列的生物学效应。     

细胞质膜上的Ca^2＋受体

以前就有过设想；甲状旁腺细胞表面的Ｃａ＾２＋受体可感受细胞外Ｃａ＾２＋浓度变化并起应答反应。最近克隆到的与Ｇ蛋白偶联的Ｃａ＾２＋受体证实了上述观点。Ｃａ＾２＋受体可调节不同细胞活性。Ｃａ＾２＋受体的发现为新药设计提供了新的靶分子物质。     

阿片受体的研究进展

阿片及其衍生物在神经系统中具有很强的镇痛作用,对阿片受体的研究已有20多年的历史。20世纪70年代发现了阿片受体的存在并先后发现了脑啡肽、β-内啡肽和强啡肽等阿片肽,随后发现了孤啡肽。如年代3种阿片受体的基因均已克隆成功,氨基酸序列表明它们均属G蛋白偶联受体,为7螺旋跨膜受体家族的成员,具有很高的同源性,功能包括介导腺苷酸环化酶的抑制作用以及一些离子通道的激活和抑制作用等。阿片受体基因的克隆将有利于新型临床药物的开发以及耐受和药物成瘾性分子基础的研究。目前阿片受体基因敲除、计算机结构模拟分析以及寻找新型阿片受体基因的研究均在深入进行。     

GABA-C受体/通道的最新研究进展

目前已有很多关于GABA-C受体/通道在视网膜中功能的研究报道,但近年来发现它在哺乳动物的视网膜外的组织,如丘脑、海马、垂体、脊髓、小脑和胃肠道等也有表达并参与了相关激素的调控.本文将主要叙述GABA-C受体/通道在分子结构、分布和药理学特性方面较新的研究进展及参与相关激素包括褪黑激素、催乳素、生长激素和促甲状腺激素调控的研究.     

孤啡肽在大鼠脑内对抗吗啡镇痛

脑内全新的阿片受体样受体（１９９４）及其内源性配体孤啡肽（１９９５）的发现形成了中枢神经系统阿片／抗阿片相互关系的研究领域中一个新的推动力。基于它们与阿片家族的高同源性及在脑内痛觉整合相关区域的丰富表达,本实验观察了ＯＦＱ在大鼠脑内对吗啡镇痛作用的影响。结果表明：（１）ＯＦＱ可以对抗脑室注射生理盐水引起的镇痛,后者可能是一种由内源性阿片系统介导的应激镇痛。（２）脑室注射ＯＦＱ在很大的剂量范围（４０     

δ阿片肽受体分子药理学

目前已成功地克隆出δ、μ、κ阿片受体 ,均属Ｇ蛋白偶联受体 ,有 6 5 %同源序列 ,仅 35 %序列决定其特异性。阿片受体最大的同源区是跨膜区 (ｔｒａｎｓｍｅｍｂｒａｎｅ ,ＴＭ)和细胞内环 ,变化最大的区域在细胞外环及其氨基、羧基末端。近年来应用反义核酸技术、基因剔除、构建嵌合受体、基因定位突变、截短或缺失氨基酸突变等方法对阿片受体的结构和功能的研究取得了新进展。1 .内源性与克隆δ阿片受体δ阿片受体广泛分布于脑内 ,但在不同的脑区其分布密度不同。体内药理学实验证明 ,δ阿片受体有两种亚型δ1和δ2 [1] ,但是其亚型没被…     

Influence of TRPV1 on diabetes-induced alterations in thermal pain sensitivity

Animals detect environmental changes through sensory neural mechanisms that enable them to differentiate the quality, intensity and temporal characteristics of stimuli. The 'doctrine of specific nervous energies' postulates that the different sensory modalities experienced by humans result of the activation of specific nervous pathways. Identification of functional classes of sensory receptors provided scientific support to the concept that somatosensory modalities (touch, pain, temperature, kinesthesis) are subserved by separate populations of sensory receptor neurons specialized in detecting innocuous and injurious stimuli of different quality (mechanical forces, temperature, chemical compounds). The identification of receptor proteins activated by different physicochemical stimuli, in particular ion channels of the Transient Receptor Potential (TRP) superfamily, has put forward the concept that specificity of peripheral sensory receptor neurons is determined by their expression of a particular "molecular sensor" that confers to each functional type its selectivity to respond with a discharge of nerve impulses to stimuli of a given quality. Nonetheless, recent experimental data suggest that the various molecular sensors proposed as specific transducer molecules for stimuli of different quality are not as neatly associated with the distinct functional types of sensory receptors as originally proposed. First, many ion channel molecules initially associated to the transduction of only one particular form of energy are also activated by stimuli of different quality, implying a limited degree of specificity in their transducing capacities. Second, molecular sensors associated with a stimulus quality and hence to a sensory receptor type and ultimately to a sensory modality may be concomitantly expressed in sensory receptor neurons functionally defined as specific for another stimulus quality. Finally, activation of voltage gated channels involved primarily in nerve impulse generation can also influence the gating of transducing channels, dramatically modifying their activation profile. Thus, we propose that the capacity exhibited by the different functional types of somatosensory receptor neurons to preferentially detect and encode specific stimuli into a discharge of nerve impulses, appears to result of a characteristic combinatorial expression of different ion channels in each neuronal type that finally determines their transduction and impulse firing properties. Transduction channels don't operate in isolation and their cellular context should also be taken into consideration to fully understand their function. Moreover, the inhomogeneous distribution of transduction and voltage-gated channels at soma, axonal branches and peripheral endings of primary sensory neurons influences the characteristics of the propagated impulse discharge that encodes the properties of the stimulus. Alteration of this concerted operation of ion channels in pathological conditions may underlie the changes in excitability accompanying peripheral sensory neuron injuries.     

Functional analysis of cloned opioid receptors in transfected cell lines

Opioids modulate numerous central and peripheral processes including pain perception, neuroendocrine secretion and the immune response. The opioid signal is transduced from receptors through G proteins to various different effectors. Heterogeneity exists at all levels of the transduction process. There are numerous endogenous ligands with differing selectivities for at least three distinct opioid receptors (μ, δ, κ). G proteins activated by opioid receptors are generally of the pertussis toxin-sensitive Gi/Go class, but there are also opioid actions that are thought to involve Gq and cholera toxin-sensitive G proteins. To further complicate the issue, the actions of opioid receptors may be mediated by G-protein α subunits and/or βγ subunits. Subsequent to G protein activation several effectors are known to orchestrate the opioid signal. For example activation of opioid receptors increases phosphatidyl inositol turnover, activates K⁺ channels and reduces adenylyl cyclase and Ca²⁺ channel activities. Each of these effectors shows considerable heterogeneity. In this review we examine the opioid signal transduction mechanism. Several important questions arise: Why do opioid ligands with similar binding affinities have different potencies in functional assays? To which Ca²⁺ channel subtypes do opioid receptors couple? Do opioid receptors couple to Ca²⁺ channels through direct G protein interactions? Does the opioid-induced inhibition of vesicular release occur through modulation of multiple effectors? We are attempting to answer these questions by expressing cloned opioid receptors in GH₃ cells. Using this well characterized system we can study the entire opioid signal transduction process from ligand-receptor interaction to G protein-effector coupling and subsequent inhibition of vesicular release.     

Sigma receptor photolabeling and sigma receptor-mediated modulation of potassium channels in tumor cells.

Recent work has indicated that sigma receptor ligands can modulate potassium channels. However, the only sigma receptor characterized at the molecular level has a novel structure unlike any other receptor known to modulate ion channels. This 26-kDa protein has a hydropathy profile suggestive of a single membrane-spanning domain, with no apparent regions capable of G-protein activation or protein phosphorylation. In the present study patch clamp techniques and photoaffinity labeling were used in DMS-114 cells (a tumor cell line known to express sigma receptors) to investigate the role of the 26-kDa protein in ion channel modulation and probe the mechanism of signal transduction. The sigma receptor ligands N-allylnormetazocine (SKF10047), ditolylguanidine, and (+/-)-2-(N-phenylethyl-N-propyl)-amino-5-hydroxytetralin all inhibited voltage-activated potassium current (IK). Iodoazidococaine (IAC), a high affinity sigma receptor photoprobe, produced a similar inhibition in IK, and when cell homogenates were illuminated in the presence of IAC, a protein with a molecular mass of 26 kDa was covalently labeled. Photolabeling of this protein by IAC was inhibited by SKF10047 with half-maximal effect at 7 microM. SKF10047 also inhibited IK with a similar EC50 (14 microM). Thus, physiological responses to sigma receptor ligands are mediated by a protein with the same molecular weight as the cloned sigma receptor. This indicates that ion channel modulation is indeed mediated by this novel protein. Physiological responses were the same when cells were perfused internally with either guanosine 5'-O-(2-thiodiphosphate) or GTP, indicating that signal transduction is independent of G-proteins. These results demonstrate that ion channels can be modulated by a receptor that does not have seven membrane-spanning domains and does not employ G-proteins. Sigma receptors thus modulate ion channels by a novel transduction mechanism.     

TRPs in our senses

In the last decade, studies of transient receptor potential (TRP) channels, a superfamily of cation-conducting membrane proteins, have significantly extended our knowledge about the molecular basis of sensory perception in animals. Due to their distinct activation mechanisms and biophysical properties, TRP channels are highly suited to function in receptor cells, either as receptors for environmental or endogenous stimuli or as molecular players in signal transduction cascades downstream of metabotropic receptors. As such, TRP channels play a crucial role in many mammalian senses, including touch, taste and smell. Starting with a brief survey of sensory TRP channels in invertebrate model systems, this review covers the current state of research on TRP channel function in the classical mammalian senses and summarizes how modulation of TRP channels can tune our sensations.     

Calmodulin contributes to gating control in olfactory calcium-activated chloride channels

In sensory neurons of the peripheral nervous system, receptor potentials can be amplified by depolarizing Cl currents. In mammalian olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs), this anion-based signal amplification results from the sequential activation of two distinct types of transduction channels: cAMP-gated Ca channels and Ca-activated Cl channels. The Cl current increases the initial receptor current about 10-fold and leads to the excitation of the neuron. Here we examine the activation mechanism of the Ca-dependent Cl channel. We focus on calmodulin, which is known to mediate Ca effects on various ion channels. We show that the cell line Odora, which is derived from OSN precursor cells in the rat olfactory epithelium, expresses Ca-activated Cl channels. Single-channel conductance, ion selectivity, voltage dependence, sensitivity to niflumic acid, and Ca sensitivity match between Odora channels and OSN channels. Transfection of Odora cells with CaM mutants reduces the Ca sensitivity of the Cl channels. This result points to the participation of calmodulin in the gating process of Ca-ativated Cl channels, and helps to understand how signal amplification works in the olfactory sensory cilia. Calmodulin was previously shown to mediate feedback inhibition of cAMP-synthesis and of the cAMP-gated Ca channels in OSNs. Our results suggest that calmodulin may also be instrumental in the generation of the excitatory Cl current. It appears to play a pivotal role in the peripheral signal processing of olfactory sensory information. Moreover, recent results from other peripheral neurons, as well as from smooth muscle cells, indicate that the calmodulin-controlled, anion-based signal amplification operates in various cell types where it converts Ca signals into membrane depolarization.     

Signaling by sensory receptors

Sensory systems detect small molecules, mechanical perturbations, or radiation via the activation of receptor proteins and downstream signaling cascades in specialized sensory cells. In vertebrates, the two principal categories of sensory receptors are ion channels, which mediate mechanosensation, thermosensation, and acid and salt taste; and G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), which mediate vision, olfaction, and sweet, bitter, and umami tastes. GPCR-based signaling in rods and cones illustrates the fundamental principles of rapid activation and inactivation, signal amplification, and gain control. Channel-based sensory systems illustrate the integration of diverse modulatory signals at the receptor, as seen in the thermosensory/pain system, and the rapid response kinetics that are possible with direct mechanical gating of a channel. Comparisons of sensory receptor gene sequences reveal numerous examples in which gene duplication and sequence divergence have created novel sensory specificities. This is the evolutionary basis for the observed diversity in temperature- and ligand-dependent gating among thermosensory channels, spectral tuning among visual pigments, and odorant binding among olfactory receptors. The coding of complex external stimuli by a limited number of sensory receptor types has led to the evolution of modality-specific and species-specific patterns of retention or loss of sensory information, a filtering operation that selectively emphasizes features in the stimulus that enhance survival in a particular ecological niche. The many specialized anatomic structures, such as the eye and ear, that house primary sensory neurons further enhance the detection of relevant stimuli.     

Signal-transduction pathways that regulate smooth muscle function. II. Receptor-ion channel coupling mechanisms in gastrointestinal smooth muscle

Regulation of membrane ion channels by second messengers is an important mechanism by which gastrointestinal smooth muscle excitability is controlled. Receptor-mediated phosphorylation of Ca(2+) channels has been known for some time; however, recent findings indicate that these channels may also modulate intracellular signaling. The plasmalemma ion channels may also function as a point of convergence between different receptor types. In this review, the molecular mechanisms that link channel function and signal transduction are discussed. Emerging evidence also indicates altered second-messenger modulation of the Ca(2+) channel in the pathophysiology of smooth muscle dysmotility.     

Activation of Mu Opioid Receptors Sensitizes Transient Receptor Potential Vanilloid Type 1 (TRPV1) via β-Arrestin-2-Mediated Cross-Talk

The transient receptor potential family V1 channel (TRPV1) is activated by multiple stimuli, including capsaicin, acid, endovanilloids, and heat (>42C). Post-translational modifications to TRPV1 result in dynamic changes to the sensitivity of receptor activation. We have previously demonstrated that β-arrestin2 actively participates in a scaffolding mechanism to inhibit TRPV1 phosphorylation, thereby reducing TRPV1 sensitivity. In this study, we evaluated the effect of β-arrestin2 sequestration by G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) on thermal and chemical activation of TRPV1. Here we report that activation of mu opioid receptor by either morphine or DAMGO results in β-arrestin2 recruitment to mu opioid receptor in sensory neurons, while activation by herkinorin does not. Furthermore, treatment of sensory neurons with morphine or DAMGO stimulates β-arrestin2 dissociation from TRPV1 and increased sensitivity of the receptor. Conversely, herkinorin treatment has no effect on TRPV1 sensitivity. Additional behavioral studies indicate that GPCR-driven β-arrestin2 sequestration plays an important peripheral role in the development of thermal sensitivity. Taken together, the reported data identify a novel cross-talk mechanism between GPCRs and TRPV1 that may contribute to multiple clinical conditions.     

Activating and inactivating hormone receptor mutations

The unravelling of gene structures of hormones, their receptors and the various components of their signal transduction apparatus has enabled diagnosis of the aetiology of hormone resistance at the molecular level. Inactivating mutations can be found in hormone receptor genes or those encoding components of the post-receptor signal transduction cascade. Another category of receptor mutation is that causing constitutive receptor activation, which results in ligand-independent, inappropriate or supraphysiological hormone action and in some cases malignant growth. The purpose of this contribution is to review the different types of inactivation and activation mechanisms that are induced by receptor mutations, using some of the best characterised mutations as examples. In addition, the currently known mutations of hormone receptors are briefly summarised.     

The hair cell's transduction channel

The elusive transduction channel is the key player in mechanical transduction by the sensory hair cells of the inner ear. Multiple factors have thwarted molecular identification of this channel, including the lack of a definitive pharmacological signature, the paucity of hair cells, and the uniqueness of their transduction mechanism. At present, we are forced to speculate as to the transduction channel's identity; functional characteristics suggest, however, that it may well belong to transient receptor potential superfamily of ion channels.