Desensitization of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor: Molecular mechanisms and effect of modulators

1. Loss of response after prolonged or repeated application of stimulus is generally termed desensitization. A wide variety of phenomena occurring in living organisms falls under this general definition of desensitization. There are two main types of desensitization processes: specific and non-specific. 2. Desensitization of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor is triggered by prolonged or repeated exposure to agonists and results in inactivation of its ion channel. It is a case of specific desensitization and is an intrinsic molecular property of the receptor. 3. Desensitization of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor at the neuromuscular junction was first reported by Katz and Thesleff in 1957. Desensitization of the receptor has been demonstrated by rapid kinetic techniques and also by the characteristic "burst kinetics" obtained from single-channel recordings of receptor activity in native as well as in reconstituted membranes. In spite of a number of studies, the detailed molecular mechanism of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor desensitization is not known with certainty. The progress of desensitization is accompanied by an increase in affinity of the receptor for its agonist. This change in affinity is attributed to a conformational change of the receptor, as detected by spectroscopic and kinetic studies. A four-state general model is consistent with the major experimental observations. 4. Desensitization of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor can be potentially modulated by exogenous and endogenous substances and by covalent modifications of the receptor structure. Modulators include the noncompetitive blockers, calcium, the thymic hormone peptides (thymopoietin and thymopentin), substance P, the calcitonin gene-related peptide, and receptor phosphorylation. Phosphorylation is an important posttranslational covalent modification that is correlated with the regulation and desensitization of the receptor through various protein kinases. 5. Although the physiological significance of desensitization of the nicotinic receptor is not yet fully understood, desensitization of receptors probably plays a significant role in the operation of the neuronal networks associated in memory and learning processes. Desensitization of the nicotinic receptor could also possibly be related to the neuromuscular disease, myasthenia gravis.     

Immunomodulatory effects of thymopentin under acute and chronic inflammations in mice

The effects of thymopentin, a synthetic analog of the active center of the thymus hormone thymopoietin, on the immune status of mice with two different models of inflammation induced by injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) from Gram-negative bacteria were studied. Acute inflammation was induced by a single injection of LPS in a dose of 250 μg/100 g of body weight, and chronic inflammation (sepsis) was modeled by daily injection of LPS for 11 days with a gradual increase in the dose range from 25 to 250 μg/100 g of body weight. Under acute inflammation, a preliminary injection of thymopentin did not induce any additional stimulation of cytokine production increased by LPS. On the contrary, whereas the chronic introduction of LPS was characterized by a depressed production of several cytokines, thymopentin produced an immunostimulating effect. Thus an increase in the production of nitric oxide, interferon-μ, and Hsp70 was demonstrated. In addition, a more effective restoration of the number of thymus cells, as well as an increase in macrophage tumor necrosis factor-α production were observed after cessation of LPS + hormone injections. The results show that preliminary application of thymopentin promotes the regulation of immune cell activity under acute and chronic inflammation.     

Structural and dynamic properties of thymopoietin mimetics

We propose a hypothesis that the T-cell receptor is a possible target of thymic hormones. We modelled the conformational dynamics of thymopentin and its structural variants in solution, as well as the interactions of these short peptides with the proposed molecular target. Thymopentin is a five-amino-acid fragment of the thymic hormone thymopoietin (residues 32 to 36) that reproduces the immunomodulatory activity of the complete hormone. Using molecular dynamics and flexible docking methods, we demonstrated high-affinity binding of thymopentin and its prospective mimetics with the T-cell receptor. The calculated biological activity spectra of thymopentin and its two promising modifications can be used in immunomodulatory activity screenings with live systems.     

SYNTHESIS OF A PRECURSOR TRIPEPTIDE Z-Asp-Val-Tyr-OH OF THYMOPENTIN BY CHEMO-ENZYMATIC METHOD

The precursor tripeptide of thymopentin was synthesized by a combination of chemical and enzymatic methods. First, Val-Tyr-OH dipeptide was synthesized by a novel chemical method in two steps involving preparation of NCA-Val. Second, the linkage of the third amino acid Z-Asp-OMe to Val-Tyr-OH was completed by an enzymatic method under kinetic control. An industrial alkaline protease alcalase was used in water–organic cosolvent systems. The synthesis reaction conditions were optimized by examining the effects of several factors including organic solvents, water content, temperature, pH, and reaction time on the yield of Z-Asp-Val-Tyr-OH. The optimum condition is of pH 10.0, 35°C, acetonitrile/Na₂CO₃-NaHCO₃ buffer system (85:15, v/v), and reaction time of 2.5 hr, which achieves tripeptide yield of more than 70%.     

C-terminal fragments of thymopoietin favor formation of F-actin bundles: Electron microscopic data

Electron microscopy showed that PEP₃₃, a synthetic peptide corresponding to the C-terminal part of the thymic hormone thymopoietin, favors bundling of F-actin filaments in the presence of 0.1 M KCl. The structure of PEP₃₃ aggregates located within bundles between actin filaments is very similar to the structure of aggregates visible in preparations of pure PEP₃₃. No changes were observed in the structure of G-actin in the presence of PEP₃₃. A similar though weaker bundling effect was also detected for PEP₅, or thymopentin, a fragment of PEP₃₃. This peptide favors the formation of bundles of actin filaments of small size. The possible role of aggregation of actin filaments under the action of thymopoietin peptides is discussed in the light of the fact that the systematic release of thymopoietin from thymus leads to a phenomenon characteristic of the serious neuromuscular disease myasthenia gravis.     

Cooperativity of thymopoietin 32-36 (the active site) and thymopoietin 38-45 in receptor binding

Thymopoietin is a 49 amino acid polypeptide hormone of the thymus whose biological activity is reproduced by the synthetic pentapeptide thymopentin, corresponding to amino acids 32-36. Thymopentin requires the addition of an octapeptide corresponding to thymopoietin 38-45 for full competition with native thymopoietin in a radioreceptor assay with receptor derived from the human T-cell line CEM. Thus thymopoietin appears to bind to its receptor on T-cells by two regions (32-36 and 38-45). Thymopentin alone is biologically active and induces elevations of intracellular cyclic GMP. Whilst occupancy of the adjacent site by thymopoietin 37-45 does not of itself cause an elevation of intracellular cyclic GMP this peptide is not biologically silent as it does enhance the potency of thymopentin.     

胸腺五肽纳滤浓缩过程研究

采用间歇浓缩方式,研究了纳滤对胸腺五肽离子交换洗脱液的浓缩特性。采用纳滤浓缩模型预测胸腺五肽离子交换洗脱液纳滤过程,系统考察透过通量和胸腺五肽浓度等随过程时间的变化。实验结果表明：截留相对分子质量为150的纳滤膜对胸腺五肽的截留率达到98．66％;胸腺五肽洗脱液透过通量随操作压力变化的结果表明,其纳滤过程为两机理控制;纳滤浓缩模型较好地模拟了胸腺五肽的纳滤浓缩过程,说明该模型适用于小分子多肽的纳滤浓缩过程。     

胸腺五肽和法氏囊活性五肽的融合表达及其对禽流感灭活疫苗的佐剂效应

胸腺五肽(Thymopentin,TP5)和法氏囊活性五肽(Bursopentin,BP5)均具有重要的免疫学功能,但二者在基因水平上的联合应用尚未见报道。为研究TP5和BP5形成的重组融合肽TP5-BP5(TBP5)是否具有免疫佐剂活性,根据大肠杆菌偏嗜密码子设计并合成重组融合肽TBP5编码序列,将其克隆至p ET-32a表达载体中,重组表达载体在大肠杆菌BL21中诱导表达,并采用MTT法检测其表达产物的体外活性。同时以TBP5联合H9N2型禽流感病毒(Avian influenza virus,AIV)灭活疫苗免疫小鼠,检测免疫后小鼠的HI抗体、HA抗体效价和细胞因子(IL-4和IFN-γ)的分泌水平,并通过动物免疫保护试验来评价其对小鼠的免疫保护作用。结果显示,TBP5在大肠杆菌中获得表达;TBP5能显著促进小鼠胸腺T淋巴细胞和脾脏B淋巴细胞的增殖,并能增强机体免疫后HI抗体和HA抗体效价、提高细胞因子IL-4和IFN-γ的分泌水平,表明TBP5既能增强机体体液免疫应答,又能增强细胞免疫应答。动物免疫保护试验结果显示TBP5有助于小鼠肺脏中H9N2型AIV病毒的清除。结果表明,重组融合肽TBP5具有良好的免疫佐剂的潜能,为进一步研究开发新型疫苗佐剂奠定了基础。