Satellite glial cell P2Y12 receptor in the trigeminal ganglion is involved in lingual neuropathic pain mechanisms in rats

Background

Interstitial cystitis/painful bladder syndrome (IC/PBS), is a severely debilitating chronic condition that is frequently unresponsive to conventional pain medications. The etiology is unknown, however evidence suggests that nervous system sensitization contributes to enhanced pain in IC/PBS. In particular, central nervous system plasticity of glutamatergic signaling involving NMDA and metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) has been implicated in a variety of chronic pain conditions. Here, we test the hypothesis that mGluR5 mediates both non-inflammatory and inflammatory bladder pain or nociception in a mouse model by monitoring the visceromotor response (VMR) during graded bladder distention.

Results

Using a combination of genetic and pharmacologic approaches, we provide evidence indicating that mGluR5 is necessary for the full expression of VMR in response to bladder distention in the absence of inflammation. Furthermore, we observed that mice infected with a uropathogenic strain of Escherichia coli (UPEC) develop inflammatory hyperalgesia to bladder distention, and that the selective mGluR5 antagonist fenobam [N-(3-chlorophenyl)-N'-(4,5-dihydro-1-methyl-4-oxo-1H-imidazole-2-yl) urea], reduces the VMR to bladder distention in UPEC-infected mice.

Conclusions

Taken together, these data suggest that mGluR5 modulates both inflammatory and non-inflammatory bladder nociception, and highlight the therapeutic potential for mGluR5 antagonists in the alleviation of bladder pain.     

Involvement of AMPA Receptor GluR2 and GluR3 Trafficking in Trigeminal Spinal Subnucleus Caudalis and C1/C2 Neurons in Acute-Facial Inflammatory Pain

To evaluate the involvement of trafficking of alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid receptor (AMPAR) GluR2 and GluR3 subunits in an acute inflammatory orofacial pain, we analyzed nocifensive behavior, phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated kinase (pERK) and Fos expression in Vi/Vc, Vc and C1/C2 in GluR2 delta7 knock-in (KI), GluR3 delta7 KI mice and wild-type mice. We also studied Vc neuronal activity to address the hypothesis that trafficking of GluR2 and GluR3 subunits plays an important role in Vi/Vc, Vc and C1/C2 neuronal activity associated with orofacial inflammation in these mice. Late nocifensive behavior was significantly depressed in GluR2 delta7 KI and GluR3 delta7 KI mice. In addition, the number of pERK-immunoreactive (IR) cells was significantly decreased bilaterally in the Vi/Vc, Vc and C1/C2 in GluR2 delta7 KI and GluR3 delta7 KI mice compared to wild-type mice at 40 min after formalin injection, and was also significantly smaller in GluR3 delta7 KI compared to GluR2 delta7 KI mice. The number of Fos protein-IR cells in the ipsilateral Vi/Vc, Vc and C1/C2 was also significantly smaller in GluR2 delta7 KI and GluR3 delta7 KI mice compared to wild-type mice 40 min after formalin injection. Nociceptive neurons functionally identified as wide dynamic range neurons in the Vc, where pERK- and Fos protein-IR cell expression was prominent, showed significantly lower spontaneous activity in GluR2 delta7 KI and GluR3 delta7 KI mice than wild-type mice following formalin injection. These findings suggest that GluR2 and GluR3 trafficking is involved in the enhancement of Vi/Vc, Vc and C1/C2 nociceptive neuronal excitabilities at 16-60 min following formalin injection, resulting in orofacial inflammatory pain.     

Diverging Understandings of Forest Management in Matsutake Science

Diverging Understandings of Forest Management in Matsutake Science. As high-value gourmet mushrooms, the matsutake complex of the genus Tricholoma has been the subject of extensive research. This article reviews two trajectories of matsutake research, showing how distinctive regional nodes may develop within a cosmopolitan modern science. The global center of matsutake research is in Japan, where problems of artificial cultivation and the “orchard-style” enhancement of production under forest conditions stimulate basic research. U.S. Pacific Northwest research forms a contrasting regional node, with a focus on sustainable yields in the context of timber production. Regional differences in research design and results point to the importance of distinctive scientific legacies, in this case formed in relation to divergent histories of forest management. Attention to regional distinctions in the framing of scientific problems is particularly important as scientific frameworks are exported to new places; for example, both Japanese and American forms of matsutake science have been extended to China. 高価なグルメきのこであるマツタケとその近縁種群のTricholoma属は広範囲に渡る科学的研究の対象となってきた。本論では二つの地域特徴的なマツタケ研究の軌跡を概観し、文化的差異を超えて世界的に通用する近代科学においても地域固有の関心に応じて特徴のある知識が結節し発展することを示す。マツタケ研究の世界的な中心地である日本では人工増殖やマツタケを殖やすための「果樹園的」な山林作りへの関心が基礎研究の方向性に刺激を与えてきた。一方日本とは対照的に、米国北西岸州では木材の持続的産出に主眼をおいた山林管理の流れの中で研究が進んできた。こうした研究計画や結果的に得られる知識の違いは、地域ごとに特徴のある科学的遺産 - 本件の場合は森林管理の歴史が多様に枝分かれしていること - に注目することが重要であることを知らせてくれる。近年日本や米国で発展したマツタケ研究の方法や成果が中国での研究にも影響を与えているが、特に新しい研究の場を広げる場合には科学的な関心、問題がどのような枠組で組み立てられるか地域によって多様であることを考慮することが重要である。     

A strategy for screening an inhibitor of viral silencing suppressors, which attenuates symptom development of plant viruses

To find out whether we can control plant virus diseases by blocking viral RNA silencing suppressors (RSSs), we developed a strategy to screen inhibitors that block the association of RSSs with siRNAs using a surface plasmon resonance assay. The screened chemicals were tested in competition with RSSs for binding to siRNAs using a mobility shift assay. We then confirmed that tested chemicals actually inhibited the RSS activity in vivo using a protoplast assay which was developed for this purpose. This entire system can be adapted to screening inhibitors of not only plant viruses but also some animal viruses possessing RSSs.     

A PDZ-binding motif controls basolateral targeting of syndecan-1 along the biosynthetic pathway in polarized epithelial cells

The cell surface proteoglycan, syndecan-1, is essential for normal epithelial morphology and function. Syndecan-1 is selectively localized to the basolateral domain of polarized epithelial cells and interacts with cytosolic PDZ (PSD-95, discs large, ZO-1) domain-containing proteins. Here, we show that the polarity of syndecan-1 is determined by its type II PDZ-binding motif. Mutations within the PDZ-binding motif lead to the mislocalization of syndecan-1 to the apical surface. In contrast to previous examples, however, PDZ-binding motif-dependent polarity is not determined by retention at the basolateral surface but rather by polarized sorting prior to syndecan-1's arrival at the plasma membrane. Although none of the four known PDZ-binding partners of syndecan-1 appears to control basolateral localization, our results show that the PDZ-binding motif of syndecan-1 is decoded along the biosynthetic pathway establishing a potential role for PDZ-mediated interactions in polarized sorting.     

SOSUI-GramN: high performance prediction for sub-cellular localization of proteins in gram-negative bacteria

A predictive software system, SOSUI-GramN, was developed for assessing the subcellular localization of proteins in Gram-negative bacteria. The system does not require the sequence homology data of any known sequences; instead, it uses only physicochemical parameters of the N- and C-terminal signal sequences, and the total sequence. The precision of the prediction system for subcellular localization to extracellular, outer membrane, periplasm, inner membrane and cytoplasmic medium was 92.3%, 89.4%, 86.4%, 97.5% and 93.5%, respectively, with corresponding recall rates of 70.3%, 87.5%, 76.0%, 97.5% and 88.4%, respectively. The overall performance for precision and recall obtained using this method was 92.9% and 86.7%, respectively. The comparison of performance of SOSUI-GramN with that of other methods showed the performance of prediction for extracellular proteins, as well as inner and outer membrane proteins, was either superior or equivalent to that obtained with other systems. SOSUI-GramN particularly improved the accuracy for predictions of extracellular proteins which is an area of weakness common to the other methods.     

Mouse brains deficient in neuronal PDGF receptor-beta develop normally but are vulnerable to injury

Platelet-derived growth factors (PDGFs) and PDGF receptors (PDGFRs) are widely expressed in the mammalian CNS, though their functional significance remains unclear. The corresponding null-knockout mutations are lethal. Here, we developed novel mutant mice in which the gene encoding the beta subunit of PDGFR (PDGFR-beta) was genetically deleted in CNS neurons to elucidate the role of PDGFR-beta, particularly in the post-natal stage. Our mutant mice reached adulthood without apparent anatomical defects. In the mutant brain, immunohistochemical analyses showed that PDGFR-beta detected in neurons and in the cells in the subventricular zone of the lateral ventricle in wild-type mice was depleted, but PDGFR-beta detected in blood vessels remained unaffected. The cerebral damage after cryogenic injury was severely exacerbated in the mutants compared with controls. Furthermore, TdT-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end labeling (TUNEL)-positive neuronal cell death and lesion formation in the cerebral hemisphere were extensively exacerbated in our mutant mice after direct injection of NMDA without altered NMDA receptor expression. Our results clearly demonstrate that PDGFR-beta expressed in neurons protects them from cryogenic injury and NMDA-induced excitotoxicity.     

Mice with defects in HB-EGF ectodomain shedding show severe developmental abnormalities

Heparin-binding EGF-like growth factor (HB-EGF) is first synthesized as a membrane-anchored form (proHB-EGF), and its soluble form (sHB-EGF) is released by ectodomain shedding from proHB-EGF. To examine the significance of proHB-EGF processing in vivo, we generated mutant mice by targeted gene replacement, expressing either an uncleavable form (HBuc) or a transmembrane domain-truncated form (HBdeltatm) of the molecule. HB(uc/uc) mice developed severe heart failure and enlarged heart valves, phenotypes similar to those in proHB-EGF null mice. On the other hand, mice carrying HBdeltatm exhibited severe hyperplasia in both skin and heart. These results indicate that ectodomain shedding of proHB-EGF is essential for HB-EGF function in vivo, and that this process requires strict control.