The roles of carbonic anhydrases IX and XII in cancer cell adhesion,migration, invasion and metastasis

The main function of carbonic anhydrases (CAs) in cancer cells is the pH regulation through a conversion of H₂O and CO₂ to H⁺ and HCO₃⁻. However, the data of in vitro and in vivo studies have demonstrated that transmembrane isoforms of CA IX and CA XII are involved in various steps of cancer cell migration, invasion and metastasis. According to literature, inhibition of these CAs can affect the expression of multiple proteins. Some scientific groups have reported the possible interactions between CA IX and E-cadherin–catenin system, CA IX and integrins, CA IX, CA XII and ion transporters, which all are highly involved in cell-to-cell adhesion, the formation of membrane protrusions and focal adhesions. Nevertheless, CA IX and CA XII have a high impact on tumour growth and metastases formation. The data discussed in this review are quite recent. It highly support the role of CA IX and CA XII in various cancer metastasis processes through their interactions to other invasion proteins. Nevertheless, all findings show the great potential of these CAs in the context of research and application in clinical use.     

DISC1-related signaling pathways in adult neurogenesis of the hippocampus

Disrupted-in-schizophrenia 1 (DISC1) is a multifunctional scaffold protein which plays an important role in neurogenesis and neural development in the adult brain, especially in the dentate gyrus (DG) of the hippocampus. Accumulated research has unveiled the role of DISC1 in several aspects of neural development and neurogenesis, such as neuronal maturation, proliferation, migration, positioning, differentiation, dendritic growth, axonal outgrowth, and synaptic plasticity. Studies on the function of this protein have explored multiple facets, including variants and missense mutants in genetics, proteins interactivity and signaling pathways in molecular biology, and pathogenesis and treatment targets of major mental illness, and more. In this review, we present several signaling pathways discussed in recent research, such as the AKT signaling pathway, GABA signaling pathway, GSK3β signaling pathway, Wnt signaling pathway, and NMDA-R signaling pathway. DISC1 interacts, directly or indirectly, with these signaling pathways and they co-regulate the process of adult neurogenesis in the hippocampus.     

Sex differences in oxytocin receptor binding in forebrain regions: Correlations with social interest in brain region- and sex- specific ways

Social interest reflects the motivation to approach a conspecific for the assessment of social cues and is measured in rats by the amount of time spent investigating conspecifics. Virgin female rats show lower social interest towards unfamiliar juvenile conspecifics than virgin male rats. We hypothesized that the neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) may modulate sex differences in social interest because of the involvement of OT in pro-social behaviors. We determined whether there are sex differences in OT system parameters in the brain and whether these parameters would correlate with social interest. We also determined whether estrus phase or maternal experience would alter low social interest and whether this would correlate with changes in OT system parameters. Our results show that regardless of estrus phase, females have significantly lower OT receptor (OTR) binding densities than males in the majority of forebrain regions analyzed, including the nucleus accumbens, caudate putamen, lateral septum, bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, medial amygdala, and ventromedial hypothalamus. Interestingly, male social interest correlated positively with OTR binding densities in the medial amygdala, while female social interest correlated negatively with OTR binding densities in the central amygdala. Proestrus/estrus females showed similar social interest to non-estrus females despite increased OTR binding densities in several forebrain areas. Maternal experience had no immediate or long-lasting effects on social interest or OT brain parameters except for higher OTR binding in the medial amygdala in primiparous females. Together, these findings demonstrate that there are robust sex differences in OTR binding densities in multiple forebrain regions of rats and that OTR binding densities correlate with social interest in brain region- and sex-specific ways.     

Synthesis and evaluation of a 125I-labeled iminodihydroquinoline-derived tracer for imaging of voltage-gated sodium channels

In vivo imaging of voltage-gated sodium channels (VGSCs) can potentially provide insights into the activation of neuronal pathways and aid the diagnosis of a number of neurological diseases. The iminodihydroquinoline WIN17317-3 is one of the most potent sodium channel blockers reported to date and binds with high affinity to VGSCs throughout the rat brain. We have synthesized a ¹²⁵I-labeled analogue of WIN17317-3 and evaluated the potential of the tracer for imaging of VGSCs with SPECT. Automated patch clamp studies with CHO cells expressing the Na_v1.2 isoform and displacement studies with [³H]BTX yielded comparable results for the non-radioactive iodinated iminodihydroquinoline and WIN17317-3. However, the ¹²⁵I-labeled tracer was rapidly metabolized in vivo, and suffered from low brain uptake and high accumulation of radioactivity in the intestines. The results suggest that iminodihydroquinolines are poorly suited for tracer development.     

Synthesis of novel acridine and bis acridine sulfonamides with effective inhibitory activity against the cytosolic carbonic anhydrase isoforms II and VII

4-Amino-N-(4-sulfamoylphenyl)benzamide was synthesized by reduction of 4-nitro-N-(4-sulfamoylphenyl)benzamide and used to synthesize novel acridine sulfonamide compounds, by a coupling reaction with cyclic-1,3-diketones and aromatic aldehydes. The new compounds were investigated as inhibitors of the metalloenzyme carbonic anhydrase (CA, EC 4.2.1.1), and more precisely the cytosolic isoforms hCA I, II and VII. hCA I was inhibited in the micromolar range by the new compounds (K_Is of 0.16–9.64 μM) whereas hCA II and VII showed higher affinity for these compounds, with K_Is in the range of 15–96 nM for hCA II, and of 4–498 nM for hCA VII. The structure–activity relationships for the inhibition of these isoforms with the acridine–sulfonamides reported here were also elucidated.     

Nucleostemin基因在卵巢上皮性肿瘤的表达及与病理分型的关系

目的：研究核干细胞因子Nucleostemin（NS）基因在卵巢上皮性肿瘤中的表达,探讨其与肿瘤病理分型的关系。方法：采用RT-PCR及Western blot检测36例卵巢癌组织手术标本,32例卵巢良性上皮肿瘤组织手术标本,12例正常卵巢组织标本中Nu-cleostemin基因及相应蛋白的表达,采用分组对照的方法对比3组样本中NS基因及蛋白的表达情况,并进行相对定量研究。采用统计学方法检测NS基因的表达是否与临床病理分级及血清CA125存在关联。结果：①卵巢癌组织中NS的阳性表达率显著高于良性肿瘤组织及正常卵巢组织;②卵巢癌组织中,淋巴结转移组NS的表达水平高于未转移组;③临床分期Ⅲ期组的表达水平高于ⅠB期组;④中、低分化组的表达水平高于高分化组。结论：卵巢癌组织中存在NS基因的高表达,其表达量与组织类型无关,而与临床TNM分期及组织分级正相关。     

地高辛对老年慢性心衰患者血清CA125，BNP及MMP-9 水平的影响

目的:探讨地高辛片对老年慢性心力衰竭患者血清血清糖类抗原(CA125)、心钠肽(ANP)、脑钠肽(BNP)、基质金属蛋白酶9(MMP-9)及金属蛋白酶组织抑制剂(TIMP-1)水平的影响。方法:收集我院老年慢性心力衰竭患者100例,随机分为对照组和实验组,每组各50例,对照组患者给予常规治疗,实验组患者在对照组的基础上给予地高辛片。比较治疗前后两组患者血清糖类抗原(CA125)、心钠肽(ANP)、脑钠肽(BNP)、基质金属蛋白酶9(MMP-9)及金属蛋白酶组织抑制剂(TIMP-1)水平。结果:与治疗前相比,两组患者血清CA125、ANP、BNP及MMP-9水平降低,TIMP-1水平升高(P0.05);治疗后与对照组相比,实验组CA125水平(34.05±4.63)较低,ANP水平较低(216.98±27.65),BNP水平较低(437.62±45.26),MMP-9水平较低(550.17±65.15),TIMP-1水平较高(182.32±21.78)(P0.05)。结论:地高辛片能够改善老年慢性心力衰竭患者心肌功能,推测其机制可能与降低血清CA125、ANP、BNP、MMP-9水平,升高TIMP-1水平有关。