Effect of opioids on delayed neuronal death in the gerbil hippocampus

The effect of opioids on delayed neuronal death was evaluated in the gerbil hippocampus. Male Mongolian gerbils were subjected to transient forebrain ischemia and neuronal density was evaluated in the hippocampus 7 days following ischemia. When hypothermia during and after ischemia was prevented treatment with morphine, U-50488H, or naloxone provided no significant protection. In contrast, a spontaneous drop in rectal temperature to 32°C at the end of ischemia produced near-complete protection of CA₁ pyramidal neurons. No opioids modulate the protective effect of hypothermia.     

Numerical study of ball behavior in side-foot soccer kick based on impact dynamic theory

This study examined the factors affecting the ball velocity and rotation for side-foot soccer kick using a numerical investigation. Five experienced male university soccer players performed side-foot kicks with various attack angles and impact points using a one-step approach. The kicking motions were captured three-dimensionally by two high-speed cameras at 2500 fps. The theoretical equations of the ball velocity and rotation were derived based on impact dynamic theory. Using the theoretical equations, the relationships of the ball velocity and rotation to the attack angle and impact point were obtained. The validity of the theoretical equations was verified by comparing the theoretical relationships with measurement values. Furthermore, simulations of the ball velocity and rotation were conducted using the theoretical equations. The theoretical relationships were in good agreement with the measurement values. The theoretical results confirmed the previously reported experimental results, and indicated that the impact point is more influential on the ball velocity than the attack angle and the attack angle is more influential on the ball rotation than the impact point. The simulation results indicated the following. The ball velocity produced by impact for all impact patterns is largely affected by the foot velocity immediately before impact but barely affected by the degree of slip between the foot and the ball. The ball rotation produced by an impact with a large attack angle is affected by the foot velocity immediately before impact and the degree of slip between the foot and the ball; however, these factors affect the ball rotation less than the attack angle.     

Discovery of new chemical leads for prostaglandin D2 receptor antagonists

A series of Indomethacin analogs were synthesized and biologically evaluated. Among the compounds tested, N-(p-butoxy)benzoyl-2-methylindole-4-acetic acid 2 was discovered as a new chemical lead for a prostaglandin D2 (PGD2) receptor antagonist. Structure-activity relationship data are also presented.     

Synthesis and insulin-mimetic activities of metal complexes with 3-hydroxypyridine-2-carboxylic acid

Metal complexes of 3-hydroxypyridine-2-carboxylic acid (H(2)hpic), [Co(Hhpic)(2)(H(2)O)(2)] (1), [Fe(Hhpic)(2)(H(2)O)(2)] (2), [Zn(Hhpic)(2)(H(2)O)(2)] (3), [Mn(Hhpic)(2)(H(2)O)(2)] (4), and [Cu(Hhpic)(2)] (5) have been synthesized and characterized by mass spectrometry, elemental analysis, magnetic susceptibility, infrared, electronic absorption and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopies. The solid-state structure of 1 has been established by X-ray crystallography. The EPR spectra of 4 and 5 displayed six and four-line hyperfine splitting patterns, respectively, due to coupling of the unpaired electron with the (55)Mn (I=5/2) nucleus and the (63)Cu (I=3/2) nucleus. In the EPR spectrum of 5, an additional five-line super-hyperfine splitting pattern was observed at 77 K, caused by additional interaction of the unpaired electron with ligand nitrogen atoms (I=1), indicating that the structure of 5 was retained in dimethyl sulfoxide solution. The insulin-mimetic activity of these complexes was evaluated by means of in vitro measurements of the inhibition of free fatty acid (FFA) release from epinephrine-treated, isolated rat adipocytes. Complex 5 was found to exhibit the most potent insulin-mimetic activity among the complexes examined in this study.     

A family of insulinomimetic zinc(II) complexes of amino ligands with Zn(Nn) (n=3 and 4) coordination modes

Several metal ions and their complexes have been known to mimic the action of insulin in in vitro and in vivo systems. We prepared a family of Zn(II) complexes derived from amino ligands with Zn(Nn) (n=3 and 4) coordination modes, the insulinomimetic activity being estimated by an inhibitory effect of free fatty acid release from isolated rat adipocytes treated with epinephrine. In comparison with the positive controls VOSO(4) and ZnSO(4), Zn(II)-amine complexes with stability constants (log beta) lower than 11.5 exhibited higher insulinomimetic activities. Among them, a bis(2-aminomethyl pyridinato)Zn(II) (Zn(2-ampy)(2)(2+)) complex with the highest insulinomimetic activity and a higher stability constant but lower than 11.5 was selected, and subjected to in vivo evaluation in KK-A(y) mice with a genetically type 2 diabetes mellitus. The high blood glucose level of the mice was lowered by daily intraperitoneal injections of Zn(2-ampy)(2)(2+) at a dose of 2 mg Zn/kg body weight for 14 days. Based on the results, Zn(2-ampy)(2)(2+) with Zn(N(4)) coordination mode was proposed to have both a high in vitro insulinomimetic activity and an in vivo blood glucose lowering effect.     

Role of C-terminal region in the functional regulation of rat serotonin transporter (SERT)

Previously, we revealed that the state of the actin cytoskeleton affects the uptake activity of the serotonin transporter (SERT). Recently, it was reported that the C-terminus of SERT interacts with MacMARCKS, a substrate of PKC that can bind to the actin cytoskeleton. To elucidate the importance of the C-terminal region in the regulation of SERT activity and the interaction with the actin cytoskeleton, we examined whether the overexpression of the C-terminus affects the transport activity of SERT. To this end, we overexpressed a GFP-fused 30-amino acid construct of the SERT C-terminus (GFP-SERT-CT) in HEK293 cells stably expressing FLAG-tagged SERT (FL-SERT-HEK293 cells). The SERT uptake activity and transporter current were attenuated in GFP-SERT-CT-expressing FL-SERT-HEK293 cells, as compared with GFP-expressing FL-SERT-HEK293 cells. Eadie-Hofstee analysis revealed that GFP-SERT-CT overexpression attenuated the SERT uptake activity by reducing the Vmax, but not changing the Km, which was consistent with the results of experiments on the cell-surface expression of SET using biotinylation/immunoblot analysis. Immunocytochemical analysis demonstrated that GFP-SERT-CT was co-localized with FLAG-SERT and cortical actin at the plasma membrane. In addition, the SERT C-terminus did not affect dopamine transporter activity. These findings showed the significance of the C-terminal region to the functional regulation of SERT, suggesting that GFP-SERT-CT acts as a molecular decoy to disrupt the interaction between SERT and the actin cytoskeleton.     

Disturbance of sphingolipid biosynthesis abrogates the signaling of Mss4, phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate 5-kinase, in yeast

The functional relationships between phosphoinositides and sphingolipids have not been well characterized to date. ISP-1/myriocin is a potent inhibitor of sphingolipid biosynthesis and induces severe growth defects in eukaryotic cells because of the sphingolipid deprivation. We characterized a novel multicopy suppressor gene of ISP-1-mediated cell death in yeast, MSS4. MSS4 encodes a phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate 5-kinase that synthesizes phosphatidylinositol (4,5)-bisphosphate (PI4,5P(2)). We demonstrate here that ISP-1 treatment of yeast causes defects both in the activity and subcellular localization of Mss4. The effect of the Mss4 defect on the downstream signaling was examined, because interaction between the Mss4 product, PI4,5P(2), and the pleckstrin-homology domain of Rom2 mediates recruitment of Rom2 to the membrane, which is the crucial step for subsequent Rho1/2 activation. Indeed, failure of Rom2 recruitment was observed in ISP-1-treated cells as well as in csg2-deleted cells, which have reduced mannosylated inositolphosphorylceramide. These data suggested that proper sphingolipids are required for the signaling pathway involving Mss4.     

Transgenic mouse lines expressing synaptopHluorin in hippocampus and cerebellar cortex

We generated six transgenic mouse lines in which synaptopHluorin (SpH), one of green fluorescent protein-based sensors of vesicular exocytosis, was expressed under the control of neuron-specific Thy-1.2 promoter. In situ hybridization study revealed that SpH mRNA was expressed in a broad spectrum of brain regions in four of them, whereas in others it was expressed in the specific regions of the hippocampus. In one particular line, SpH immunoreactivity was specifically observed in the mossy fiber presynaptic terminals of both hippocampus and cerebellar cortex. The fluorescence intensity of these presynaptic terminals was somewhat decreased by acidic buffer superfusion and greatly increased by vesicular neutralization of pH, indicating that the SpH molecules are mainly distributed in the synaptic vesicles. The exocytosis-dependent fluorescence increment was measured upon activation of a single presynaptic terminal. These transgenic lines are expected to facilitate morphological and physiological studies of presynaptic terminals in a variety of regions of the brain.