Regulation of angiotensinogen by angiotensin II in mouse primary astrocyte cultures

Astrocytes are the major source of angiotensinogen in the brain and play an important role in the brain renin-angiotensin system. Regulating brain angiotensinogen production alters blood pressure and fluid and electrolyte homeostasis. In turn, several physiological and pathological manipulations alter expression of angiotensinogen in brain. Surprisingly, little is known about the factors that regulate astrocytic expression of angiotensinogen. There is evidence that angiotensinogen production in both hepatocytes and cardiac myocytes can be positively regulated via the angiotensin type 1 receptor, but this effect has not yet been studied in astrocytes. Therefore, the aim of this project was to establish whether angiotensin II modulates angiotensinogen production in brain astrocytes. Primary astrocyte cultures, prepared from neonatal C57Bl6 mice, expressed angiotensinogen measured by immunocytochemistry and real-time PCR. Using a variety of approaches we were unable to identify angiotensin receptors on cultured astrocytes. Exposure of cultured astrocytes to angiotensin II also did not affect angiotensinogen expression. When astrocyte cultures were transduced with the angiotensin type 1A receptor, using adenoviral vectors, angiotensin II induced a robust down-regulation (91.4% ± 1.8%, p < 0.01, n = 4) of angiotensinogen gene expression. We conclude that receptors for angiotensin II are present in extremely low levels in astrocytes, and that this concurs with available data in vivo. The signaling pathways activated by the angiotensin type 1A receptor are negatively coupled to angiotensinogen expression and represent a powerful pathway for decreasing expression of this protein, potentially via signaling pathways coupled to Gα(q/11) .     

H_2O_2诱导小鼠肌原细胞系C2C12 UII/UT系统的高表达

目的:观察外源给予H2O2对C2C12细胞中UII/UT系统表达的影响。方法:培养小鼠肌原细胞系C2C12细胞株,应用胎盘蓝染色和测定细胞培养液中LDH的含量检测H2O2对细胞损伤的影响,应用放射免疫的方法检测细胞培养液和裂解液中UII的含量,应用RT-PCR法测定C2C12中UT mRNA的表达,应用Western Blot检测不同浓度H2O2对肌原细胞系C2C12中UT蛋白表达的影响。结果:外源给予不同浓度的H2O2,C2C12细胞裂解液中UII的含量各组间无明显差异,但增加了细胞孵育液中UII的含量,10-4 M和10-3 M时分别增加了83.1%(p0.01)和94.5%(P0.01)。低浓度H2O2(0.5×10-6 M,10-6 M,10-5 M,10-4 M)刺激明显增加了UT m RNA的表达,而高浓度的H2O2(10-3M)刺激反而使UT mRNA的表达降低。高浓度的H2O2(10-6 M,10-5M,10-4 M,10-3M)刺激使UT蛋白表达分别增加了200.1%、255.6%、111.1%和100.1%(均p0.05)。结论:H2O2作为T2DM发病因素之一的活性氧族,可能是T2DM时骨骼肌组织中UII/UT系统表达增加的一个因素。     

The Structural Basis of a Conserved P2 Threonine in Canonical Serine Proteinase Inhibitors

Abstract

Bowman-Birk inhibitors (BBIs) are a well-studied family of canonical inhibitor proteins of serine proteinases. In nature, the active region of BBIs possesses a highly conserved Thr at the P2 position. The importance of this residue has been reemphasized by synthetic BBI reactive site loop proteinomimetics. In particular, this residue was exclusively identified for active chymotrypsin inhibitors selected from a BBI template-assisted combinatorial peptide library. A further kinetic analysis of 26 P2 variant peptides revealed that Thr provides both optimal binding affinity and optimal resistance against enzymatic turnover by chymotrypsin.

Herein, we report the H-NMR spectroscopic study of a 5-membered sub-set of these reactive site loop peptides representing a stepwise elimination of the Thr side-chain functionalities and inversion of its side-chain chirality. The P2 Thr variant adopts a three-dimensional structure that closely mimics the one of the corresponding region of the complete protein. This validates the use of this template for the investigation of structure-function relationships. While the overall backbone geometry is similar in all studied variants, conformational changes induced by the modification of the P2 side chain have now been identified and provide a rational explanation of the kinetically observed functional differences. Eliminating the γ-methyl group has little structural effect, whereas the elimination of the γ-oxygen atom or the inversion of the side-chain chirality results in characteristic changes to the intramolecular hydrogen bond network. We conclude that the transannular hydrogen bond between the P2 Thr side-chain hydroxyl and the P5′ backbone amide is an important conformational constraint and directs the hydrophobic contact of the P2 Thr side chain with the enzyme surface in a functionally optimal geometry, both in the proteinomimetic and the native protein.

In at least four canonical inhibitor protein families similar structural arrangements for a conserved P2 Thr have been observed, which suggests an analogous functional role. Substitutions at P2 of the proteinomimetic also affect the conformational balance between cis and trans isomers at a distant Pro-Pro motif (P3′-P4′). Presented with a mixture of cis/trans isomers chymotrypsin appears to interact preferably with the conformer that retains the cis-P3′ Pro-trans-P4′ Pro geometry found in the parent BBI protein.     

Peptide fragment of the m3 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor activates G(q) but not G(i2).

G(q), a heterotrimeric guanine nucleotide-binding protein, plays important roles such as the regulation of calcium mobilization and cell proliferation. This protein is considered as a promising drug target for the treatment of cardiac hypertrophy. Selective activation of G(q) would be quite useful for analyzing the role of G(q) in signaling pathways. We synthesized m3i3c-a peptide with 16 amino acid residues that corresponds to the junction between the C-terminus of the third intracellular loop and the sixth transmembrane helix (TM-VI) of human m3 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor, which couples to G(q) but not G(i2). At micromolar concentrations, this peptide was found to activate G(q) but not G(i2). This peptide is the first small compound that selectively activates G(q) but not G(i2). Copyright (c) 2008 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.