封面故事

<正>生物体内存在着复杂的一氧化氮合酶(nitric oxide synthase,NOS)活性调节机制以精确调控一氧化氮的生成。在神经系统中,一氧化氮主要由神经型一氧化氮合酶(neuronal nitric oxide synthase,nNOS)催化生成     

一氧化氮的功能及其作用机制(Ⅰ)——性质与功能

一氧化氮(nitric oxide,NO)是第一个被发现的参与细胞信号转导的气体信号分子。NO参与的生命活动非常广泛,在神经、免疫、呼吸等系统中发挥着重要作用。很久以来,一氧化氮合酶(nitric oxide synthase,NOS)被认为是人体内合成NO的主要途径,其活性受到严格的调控。直到最近,人们才发现亚硝酸盐(nitrite,NO2-)也可以参与体内NO的合成。本综述总结NO的相关性质与功能,并简介亚硝酸盐的研究进展。     

磷酸化蛋白质组学的新进展及其在肝脏生理和病理机制中的应用

蛋白质磷酸化是最常见的蛋白质翻译后修饰形式。由于蛋白质的磷酸化形式可以被磷酸酶和磷酸激酶进行可逆的调控,所以在众多的生命活动过程中蛋白质的磷酸化修饰起着重要的调控作用,因此对生物体内蛋白质磷酸化修饰的系统研究对于揭示生命科学的奥秘显得十分重要。近年来,随着质谱技术和生物信息学软件以及磷酸化肽段富集方法的发展,利用质谱对生物体内蛋白质磷酸化修饰研究的技术逐渐成熟。肝脏作为人体最重要的代谢和免疫器官,深入研究肝脏细胞内蛋白质磷酸化修饰形式对于理解其功能具有重要指导意义。目前,迅速发展的磷酸化蛋白质组学技术已经被广泛应用到肝脏功能的生物学研究中。这些研究加深了人们对肝脏的生理及病理状态的分子生物学机制的了解。本文综述了当前磷酸化蛋白质组学的研究进展和磷酸化蛋白质组学在肝脏中的研究。     

一氧化氮合酶的研究进展

一氧化氮是由Ｌ－精氨酸和氧分子在一氧化氮合酶及其辅因子ＮＡＤＰＨ、ＦＡＤ、ＦＭＮ、ＣａＭ和ＢＨ４催化作用生成的;ＮＯＳ分为原生型和诱生型ＮＯＳ,原生型ＮＯＳ活性依赖于胞浆内Ｃａ＾２＋水平,诱生型ＮＯＳ是Ｃａ＾２＋／ＣａＭ非依赖性酶,其活性开关是胞内ｎＮＯＳ ｍＲＮＡ水平,ＮＯＳ可在多个水平被调节;ＮＯＳ可能在心血管疾病的发病中起重要作用。     

一氧化氮与雄性生殖系统

一氧化氮是近年来发现的一种重要的生物信号分子和效应分子 ,在生物体内 ,L 精氨酸在一氧化氮合酶的作用下生成一氧化氮后 ,以自分泌或旁分泌形式作用于自身或邻近的细胞 ,发挥信号传导和细胞毒性等多种生理功能。近年来的研究表明 ,一氧化氮对雄性生殖系统上至下丘脑 ,下到性腺、附性器官都具有十分重要的生理调节作用。     

抗氧化剂芦丁对星形胶质细胞iNOS基因表达的影响

研究抗氧化剂芦丁对星形胶质细胞可诱导型一氧化氮合酶基因表达的抑制作用,并探讨其作用的机制,以脂多糖和γ-干扰素诱导星形胶质细胞表达可诱导型一氧化氮合酶,应用蛋白质印迹分析以及ESR自旋捕集技术研究了芦丁对星形胶质细胞产生内源性一氧化氮的作用,研究结果表明芦丁能够有效地抑制星形胶质细胞可诱导型一氧化氮合酶基因的表达、减少内源性一氧化氮的生成,而这一抑制作用是通过NF-κB信号通路实现的,芦丁对星形胶质细胞的活化具有明显的调控作用。     

一氧化氮及在脑发育中的作用

一氧化氮(NO)是一种小分子气体,是生物体内第一个被证实的气体信息分子。自1988年Carthwaite首次提出在神经系统中的传导作用后,NO在神经系统中的作用越来越受到重视。NO具有脂溶性、在体内易扩散、半衰期短(只有数秒钟)等生物学特征。体内的NO是由一氧化氮合酶(NOS)以左旋精氨酸为底物催化生成。     

一氧化氮的功能及其作用机制(Ⅱ)——蛋白质巯基亚硝基化修饰

一氧化氮的功能多样,其作用机制也是复杂而相互关联的,是多靶点、多机制同时作用的调控网络。除了经典的cGMP依赖的信号通路外,一氧化氮还能通过对蛋白质的半胱氨酸巯基进行蛋白质翻译后修饰而起作用。蛋白质巯基亚硝基化修饰(protein S-nitrosation)是活性氮对蛋白质半胱氨酸巯基的一种蛋白质翻译后修饰,在一氧化氮的作用机制中占有重要位置。本综述简要总结蛋白质巯基亚硝基化修饰的功能及作用机制。     

诱导型一氧化氮合酶与疾病

炎症是众多疾病如自体免疫紊乱、神经退行性病变、心血管疾病和癌症发展的病理机制,诱导型一氧化氮合酶在炎症过程中被诱导表达,产生过量的一氧化氮,引发炎症级联反应,进而导致以上多种疾病发生。抑制诱导型一氧化氮合酶表达在体内体外实验及临床使用中均体现抗炎效果和症状改善。本文综述了诱导型一氧化氮合酶在炎症过程中诱导表达及与各类重大疾病联系的最新进展,并展望了诱导型一氧化氮合酶抑制剂作为抗炎治疗策略的前景。     

O-GlcNAc修饰对蛋白质泛素化降解途径的影响

O-GlcNAc修饰是一种特殊的糖基化修饰,几乎参与生物体内所有细胞过程的调控。该修饰与泛素化作为两种重要的蛋白质翻译后修饰形式,都与2型糖尿病、神经退行性疾病、癌症等疾病密切相关。O-GlcNAc修饰对蛋白质泛素化降解途径的影响主要体现在4个方面:(1)O-GlcNAc修饰能够抑制26S蛋白酶体的ATPase活性;(2)O-GlcNAc修饰会减少某些底物蛋白的泛素化降解;(3)O-GlcNAc修饰泛素化相关酶并调节其功能;(4)某些蛋白质(包括调控因子)发生O-GlcNAc修饰后间接影响蛋白质泛素化。     

The Effect of a Spinal Cord Hemisection on Changes in Nitric Oxide Synthase Pools in the Site of Injury and in Regions Located Far Away from the Injured Site

1. The present study was designed to examine the nitric oxide synthase activities (constitutive and inducible) in the site of injury in response to Th10-Th11 spinal cord hemisection and, to determine whether unilateral disconnection of the spinal cord influences the NOS pools on the contra- and ipsilateral sides in segments located far away from the epicentre of injury.2. A radioassay detection was used to determine Ca²⁺-dependent and inducible nitric oxide synthase activities. Somal, axonal and neuropil neuronal nitric oxide synthase was assessed by immunocytochemical study. A quantitative assessment of neuronal nitric oxide synthase immunoreactivity was made by an image analyser. The level of neuronal nitric oxide synthase protein was measured by the Western blot analysis.3. Our data show the increase of inducible nitric oxide synthase activity and a decrease of Ca²⁺-dependent nitric oxide synthase activity in the injured site analysed 1 and 7 days after surgery. In segments remote from the epicentre of injury the inducible nitric oxide synthase activity was increased at both time points. Ca²⁺-dependent nitric oxide synthase activity had decreased in L5-S1 segments in a group of animals surviving for 7 days. A hemisection performed at thoracic level did not cause significant difference in the nitric oxide synthase activities and in the level of neuronal nitric oxide synthase protein between the contra- and ipsilateral sides in C6-Th1 and L5-S1 segments taken as a whole. Significant differences were observed, but only when the spinal cord was analysed segment by segment, and/or was divided into dorsal and ventral parts. The cell counts in the cervicothoracic (C7-Th1) and lumbosacral (L5-S1) enlargements revealed changes in neuronal nitric oxide synthase immunoreactivity on the ipsilateral side of the injury. The densitometric area measurements confirmed the reduction of somal, neuropil and axonal neuronal nitric oxide synthase immunoreactive staining in the ventral part of rostrally oriented segments.4. Our findings provide evidence that the changes in nitric oxide synthase pools are limited not only to impact zone, but spread outside the original lesion. The regional distribution of nitric oxide synthase activity and neuronal nitric oxide synthase immunoreactivity, measured segment by segment shows that nitric oxide may play a significant role in the stepping cycle in the quadrupeds.     

Protein synthesis inhibition promotes nitric oxide generation and activation of CGKII-dependent downstream signaling pathways in the retina

Nitric oxide is an important neuromodulator in the CNS, and its production within neurons is modulated by NMDA receptors and requires a fine-tuned availability of L-arginine. We have previously shown that globally inhibiting protein synthesis mobilizes intracellular L-arginine “pools” in retinal neurons, which concomitantly enhances neuronal nitric oxide synthase-mediated nitric oxide production. Activation of NMDA receptors also induces local inhibition of protein synthesis and L-arginine intracellular accumulation through calcium influx and stimulation of eucariotic elongation factor type 2 kinase. We hypothesized that protein synthesis inhibition might also increase intracellular L-arginine availability to induce nitric oxide-dependent activation of downstream signaling pathways. Here we show that nitric oxide produced by inhibiting protein synthesis (using cycloheximide or anisomycin) is readily coupled to AKT activation in a soluble guanylyl cyclase and cGKII-dependent manner. Knockdown of cGKII prevents cycloheximide or anisomycin-induced AKT activation and its nuclear accumulation. Moreover, in retinas from cGKII knockout mice, cycloheximide was unable to enhance AKT phosphorylation. Indeed, cycloheximide also produces an increase of ERK phosphorylation which is abrogated by a nitric oxide synthase inhibitor. In summary, we show that inhibition of protein synthesis is a previously unanticipated driving force for nitric oxide generation and activation of downstream signaling pathways including AKT and ERK in cultured retinal cells. These results may be important for the regulation of synaptic signaling and neuronal development by NMDA receptors as well as for solving conflicting data observed when using protein synthesis inhibitors for studying neuronal survival during development as well in behavior and memory studies.     

Dexamethasone Up-Regulates a Constitutive Nitric Oxide Synthase in Cerebellar Astrocytes but Not in Granule Cells in Culture

Abstract: Treatment of rat cerebellar astrocyte-enriched primary cultures with dexamethasone enhances the nitric oxide-dependent cyclic GMP formation induced by noradrenaline in a time-(>6 h) and concentration-dependent manner (half-maximal effect at 1 n M ). Stimulation of cyclic GMP formation by the calcium ionophore A23187 is similarly enhanced. In contrast, cyclic GMP accumulation in cells treated with lipopolysaccharide is inhibited by dexamethasone. The potentiating effect of dexamethasone is prevented by the protein synthesis inhibitor cycloheximide and is not due to increased soluble guanylate cyclase activity. Agonist stimulation of [³H]arginine to [³H]citrulline conversion is enhanced by dexamethasone in astrocytes but not in cerebellar granule cells. These results indicate that glucocorticoids may up-regulate astroglial calcium-dependent nitric oxide synthase while preventing expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase and are the first report of a differential long-term regulation of the expression of neuronal and astroglial constitutive nitric oxide synthase activities.     

Ultrastructural localization of NADPH-diaphorase and colocalization of nitric oxide synthase in endothelial cells of the rabbit aorta

This is the first report on the ultrastructural pattern of distribution of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate diaphorase (NADPH-d) in endothelial cells, using the rabbit aorta, and its colocalization with the neuronal isoform (type I) of nitric oxide synthase. About 30% of the endothelial cells showed a positive reaction for NADPH-d compared to about 6% for nitric oxide synthase immunoreactivity. Simultaneous double histochemical-immunocytochemical labelling procedures indicate that all of the cells displaying nitric oxide synthase-positive reactivity also contained NADPH-d; the remainder of NADPH-d-positive endothelial cells were negative for this isoform of nitric oxide synthase. Nitric oxide synthase-immunogold labelling was mostly associated with free ribosomes, while NADPH-d activity was distributed largely in patches in the cytoplasm and in association with the cell membrane.     

NIDD, a novel DHHC-containing protein, targets neuronal nitric-oxide synthase (nNOS) to the synaptic membrane through a PDZ-dependent interaction and regulates nNOS activity

Targeting of neuronal nitric-oxide synthase (nNOS) to appropriate sites in a cell is mediated by interactions with its PDZ domain and plays an important role in specifying the sites of reaction of nitric oxide (NO) in the central nervous system. Here we report the identification and characterization of a novel nNOS-interacting DHHC domain-containing protein with dendritic mRNA (NIDD) (GenBank accession number AB098078), which increases nNOS enzyme activity by targeting the nNOS to the synaptic plasma membrane in a PDZ domain-dependent manner. The deduced NIDD protein consisted of 392 amino acid residues and possessed five transmembrane segments, a zinc finger DHHC domain, and a PDZ-binding motif (-EDIV) at its C-terminal tail. In vitro pull-down assays suggested that the C-terminal tail region of NIDD specifically interacted with the PDZ domain of nNOS. The PDZ dependence was confirmed by an experiment using a deletion mutant, and the interaction was further confirmed by co-sedimentation assays using COS-7 cells transfected with NIDD and nNOS. Both NIDD and nNOS were enriched in synaptosome and synaptic plasma membrane fractions and were present in the lipid raft and postsynaptic density fractions in the rat brain. Co-localization of these proteins was also observed by double staining of the proteins in cultured cortical neurons. Thus, NIDD and nNOS were co-localized in the brain, although the colocalizing regions were restricted, as indicated by the distribution of their mRNA expression. Most important, co-transfection of NIDD and nNOS increased NO-producing nNOS activity. These results suggested that NIDD plays an important role in the regulation of the NO signaling pathway at postsynaptic sites through targeting of nNOS to the postsynaptic membrane.     

Inhibition of nitric oxide and soluble guanylyl cyclase signaling affects olfactory neuron activity in the moth, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Manduca sexta</Emphasis>

Nitric oxide is emerging as an important modulator of many physiological processes including olfaction, yet the function of this gas in the processing of olfactory information remains poorly understood. In the antennal lobe of the moth, Manduca sexta, nitric oxide is produced in response to odor stimulation, and many interneurons express soluble guanylyl cyclase, a well-characterized nitric oxide target. We used intracellular recording and staining coupled with pharmacological manipulation of nitric oxide and soluble guanylyl cyclase to test the hypothesis that nitric oxide modulates odor responsiveness in olfactory interneurons through soluble guanylyl cyclase-dependent pathways. Nitric oxide synthase inhibition resulted in pronounced effects on the resting level of firing and the responses to odor stimulation in most interneurons. Effects ranged from bursting to strong attenuation of activity and were often accompanied by membrane depolarization coupled with a change in input resistance. Blocking nitric oxide activation of soluble guanylyl cyclase signaling mimicked the effects of nitric oxide synthase inhibitors in a subset of olfactory neurons, while other cells were differentially affected by this treatment. Together, these results suggest that nitric oxide is required for proper olfactory function, and likely acts through soluble guanylyl cyclase-dependent and -independent mechanisms in different subsets of neurons.     

Developmental changes in the response of murine cerebellar granule cells to nitric oxide

Nitric oxide is a diffusible messenger that plays a multitude of roles within the nervous system including modulation of cell viability. However, its role in regulating neuronal survival during a defined period of neurodevelopment has never been investigated. We discovered that expression of the messenger RNA for both neuronal and endothelial nitric oxide synthase increased in the early postnatal period in the cerebellum in vivo, whilst the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase remained constant throughout this time in development. Whilst scavenging of nitric oxide was deleterious to the survival of early postnatal cerebellar granule neurons in vitro, this effect was lost in cultures derived at increasing postnatal ages. Conversely, sensitivity to exogenous nitric oxide increased with advancing postnatal age. Thus, we have shown that as postnatal development proceeds, cerebellar granule cells alter their in vitro survival responses to both nitric oxide inhibition and donation, revealing that the nitric oxide's effects on developing neurons vary with the stage of development studied. These findings have important consequences for our understanding of the role of nitric oxide during neuronal development.     

The solution structure of frenatin 3, a neuronal nitric oxide synthase inhibitor from the giant tree frog, Litoria infrafrenata

The peptide frenatin 3 is a major component of the skin secretion of the Australian giant tree frog, Litoria infrafrenata. Frenatin 3 is 22 amino acids in length, and shows neither antimicrobial nor anticancer activity. It inhibits the production of nitric oxide by the enzyme neuronal nitric oxide synthase at a micromolar concentration by binding to its regulatory protein, Ca2+ calmodulin, a protein known to recognize and bind amphipathic alpha-helices. The solution structure of frenatin 3 has been investigated using NMR spectroscopy and restrained molecular dynamics calculations. In trifluoroethanol/water mixtures, the peptide forms an amphipathic alpha-helix over residues 1-14 while the C-terminal eight residues are more flexible and less structured. The flexible region may be responsible for the lack of antimicrobial activity. In water, frenatin 3 exhibits some alpha-helical character in its N-terminal region.