Vascular smooth muscle cell phenotypic modulation in culture is associated with reorganisation of contractile and cytoskeletal proteins.

Smooth muscle cells (SMC) exhibit a functional plasticity, modulating from the mature phenotype in which the primary function is contraction, to a less differentiated state with increased capacities for motility, protein synthesis, and proliferation. The present study determined, using Western analysis, double-label immunofluorescence and confocal microscopy, whether changes in phenotypic expression of rabbit aortic SMC in culture could be correlated with alterations in expression and distribution of structural proteins. "Contractile" state SMC (days 1 and 3 of primary culture) showed distinct sorting of proteins into subcellular domains, consistent with the theory that the SMC structural machinery is compartmentalised within the cell. Proteins specialised for contraction (alpha-SM actin, SM-MHC, and calponin) were highly expressed in these cells and concentrated in the upper central region of the cell. Vimentin was confined to the body of the cell, providing support for the contractile apparatus but not co-localising with it. In line with its role in cell attachment and motility, beta-NM actin was localised to the cell periphery and basal cortex. The dense body protein alpha-actinin was concentrated at the cell periphery, possibly stabilising both contractile and motile apparatus. Vinculin-containing focal adhesions were well developed, indicating the cells' strong adhesion to substrate. In "synthetic" state SMC (passages 2-3 of culture), there was decreased expression of contractile and adhesion (vinculin) proteins with a concomitant increase in cytoskeletal proteins (beta-non-muscle [NM] actin and vimentin). These quantitative changes in structural proteins were associated with dramatic changes in their distribution. The distinct compartmentalisation of structural proteins observed in "contractile" state SMC was no longer obvious, with proteins more evenly distributed throughout the cytoplasm to accommodate altered cell function. Thus, SMC phenotypic modulation involves not only quantitative changes in contractile and cytoskeletal proteins, but also reorganisation of these proteins. Since the cytoskeleton acts as a spatial regulator of intracellular signalling, reorganisation of the cytoskeleton may lead to realignment of signalling molecules, which, in turn, may mediate the changes in function associated with SMC phenotypic modulation.     

Chromatographic and immunochemical approaches to the analysis of the HIV protease inhibitor saquinavir in plasma

The development of the HIV protease inhibitor saquinavir (Ro 31-8959) required a range of analytical methods for its measurement in biological fluids. This paper describes the development of isocratic, reverse-phase HPLC/UV methods for the routine measurement of plasma levels of the drug together with a more sensitive radioimmunoassay. The performance of the two assays is compared with that of an HPLC/MS/MS method previously published and has been shown to be satisfactory, with coefficients of variation of calibration standards and quality control samples within the usual outside limits of +/- 15%. The HPLC/UV method can be routinely applied for concentrations down to 10-20 ng/ml and a lower limit of quantification of 1 ng/ml from 1 ml of human plasma is possible. The radioimmunoassay was developed for the specific measurement of saquinavir concentrations in human, HIV-positive plasma samples and has a lower limit of quantification of 0.5-1.0 ng/ml. Some preliminary findings suggested that it might not be specific in rat plasma and no attempts have been made to quantify any nonclinical samples with this technique. If still greater sensitivity is required, recourse can be made to the HPLC/MS/MS assay.     

Drebrin Regulates Neuroblast Migration in the Postnatal Mammalian Brain

After birth, stem cells in the subventricular zone (SVZ) generate neuroblasts that migrate along the rostral migratory stream (RMS) to become interneurons in the olfactory bulb (OB). This migration is crucial for the proper integration of newborn neurons in a pre-existing synaptic network and is believed to play a key role in infant human brain development. Many regulators of neuroblast migration have been identified; however, still very little is known about the intracellular molecular mechanisms controlling this process. Here, we have investigated the function of drebrin, an actin-binding protein highly expressed in the RMS of the postnatal mammalian brain. Neuroblast migration was monitored both in culture and in brain slices obtained from electroporated mice by time-lapse spinning disk confocal microscopy. Depletion of drebrin using distinct RNAi approaches in early postnatal mice affects neuroblast morphology and impairs neuroblast migration and orientation in vitro and in vivo. Overexpression of drebrin also impairs migration along the RMS and affects the distribution of neuroblasts at their final destination, the OB. Drebrin phosphorylation on Ser142 by Cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5) has been recently shown to regulate F-actin-microtubule coupling in neuronal growth cones. We also investigated the functional significance of this phosphorylation in RMS neuroblasts using in vivo postnatal electroporation of phosphomimetic (S142D) or non-phosphorylatable (S142A) drebrin in the SVZ of mouse pups. Preventing or mimicking phosphorylation of S142 in vivo caused similar effects on neuroblast dynamics, leading to aberrant neuroblast branching. We conclude that drebrin is necessary for efficient migration of SVZ-derived neuroblasts and propose that regulated phosphorylation of drebrin on S142 maintains leading process stability for polarized migration along the RMS, thus ensuring proper neurogenesis.     

On the 13C/12C isotopic signal of day and night respiration at the mesocosm level

While there is currently intense effort to examine the ¹³C signal of CO₂ evolved in the dark, less is known on the isotope composition of day‐respired CO₂. This lack of knowledge stems from technical difficulties to measure the pure respiratory isotopic signal: day respiration is mixed up with photorespiration, and there is no obvious way to separate photosynthetic fractionation (pure c_i/c_a effect) from respiratory effect (production of CO₂ with a different δ¹³C value from that of net‐fixed CO₂) at the ecosystem level. Here, we took advantage of new simple equations, and applied them to sunflower canopies grown under low and high [CO₂]. We show that whole mesocosm‐respired CO₂ is slightly ¹³C depleted in the light at the mesocosm level (by 0.2–0.8‰), while it is slightly ¹³C enriched in darkness (by 1.5–3.2‰). The turnover of the respiratory carbon pool after labelling appears similar in the light and in the dark, and accordingly, a hierarchical clustering analysis shows a close correlation between the ¹³C abundance in day‐ and night‐evolved CO₂. We conclude that the carbon source for respiration is similar in the dark and in the light, but the metabolic pathways associated with CO₂ production may change, thereby explaining the different ¹²C/¹³C respiratory fractionations in the light and in the dark.     

The ECVAM international validation study on in vitro tests for acute skin irritation: selection of test chemicals

The ECVAM-funded skin irritation validation study (SIVS) was initiated in 2003, with the aim to evaluate whether the EpiDerm, EPISKIN and the SIFT alternative methods were able to reliably identify skin irritant and non-irritant chemicals, and could therefore be candidates for replacing the rabbit Draize test for skin irritation. The primary goal of the study was to evaluate the predictive capacity of the assays with regard to the EU classification system, which employs the risk phrases, "R38", for skin irritants, and "no label" for non-irritants. A secondary objective was the retrospective analysis of the data, to assess whether the in vitro tests would be able to discriminate between strong irritants (category 2), mild irritants (category 3) and non-irritants (no category), as defined by the OECD and United Nations proposal for a Globally Harmonised System (GHS) for the classification and labelling of dermal irritancy. A Chemicals Selection Sub-Committee (CSSC) was appointed to identify test chemicals to be used in the SIVS, for which existing, high quality in vivo data were available, with which to correlate the in vitro measurements. Since chemicals from the European Centre for the Ecotoxicology and Toxicology of Chemicals (ECETOC) database of reference chemicals for skin irritation/skin corrosion had been extensively used in preceding studies, the CSSC made use of novel sources for potential test chemicals. The first source of chemicals screened was the New Chemicals Database (NCD), which is the central archive within the EU notification scheme for 'new' commercial chemicals. Data registered in the NCD originate from standard assays, submitted in compliance with the legislation which regulates the marketing of industrial chemicals, and are subject to quality assurance by the competent authorities of the EU Member States. In addition, to obtain 'existing' chemicals which were readily available from major manufacturing and/or distribution sources, additional databases were surveyed, such as the Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA) database maintained by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the ECETOC database, with the exclusion of the chemicals used in the previous optimisation and prevalidation phases. A total of approximately 3500 chemicals from the NCD and 1600 from the additional databases were screened. Pre-determined selection criteria were applied, primarily to ensure the quality of the in vivo data and the practicability of their use in testing. Overall, the number of chemicals fulfilling the CSSC selection criteria was found to be limited, particularly in the case of GHS category 2 chemicals. However, a total set of 60 chemicals were selected and proposed to the Management Team of the SIVS for independent coding and supply to the participating laboratories. The selected chemicals: i) represented statistically justified sample sizes for distinguishing R38 from no-label chemicals; ii) provided a balanced representation of the three GHS categories, to allow for the post hoc evaluation of the performance of the assays for that classification system; and iii) acknowledged, to a certain degree, the large prevalence known to exist for chemicals which have oedema and erythema scores of 0. The selected chemicals represented a variety of molecular structures, functional chemical groups, and effect and use categories, as well as a wide range of physico-chemical properties. They represented a challenging set of chemicals, relevant to current industrial commerce, with which to validate the alternative methods.