Thymulin and the neuroendocrine system

Thymulin is a thymic hormone exclusively produced by the thymic epithelial cells. It consists of a nonapeptide component coupled to the ion zinc, which confers biological activity to this molecule. After its discovery in the early 1970, thymulin was characterized as a thymic hormone involved in several aspects of intra- and extrathymic T-cell differentiation. Subsequently, it was demonstrated that thymulin production and secretion is strongly influenced by the neuroendocrine system. Conversely, an emerging core of information points to thymulin as a hypophysotropic peptide. Here we review the evidence supporting the hypothesis that thymulin is an important player in the hypophyso-thymic axis.     

Central and peripheral changes in catecholamine biosynthesis and turnover in rats after a short period of ozone exposure

We investigated in rat the effects of ozone exposure (0.7 ppm) for 5 h on the catecholamine biosynthesis and turnover in sympathetic efferents and various brain areas. For this purpose, the activity of tyrosine hydroxylase, the rate-limiting enzyme in catecholamine biosynthesis, was assessed in superior cervical ganglia and in two major noradrenergic cell groups, A2 and A6 (locus coeruleus). Tyrosine hydroxylase activity was estimated in vivo by measuring the accumulation of l-dihydroxyphenylalanine after pharmacological blockade of L-aromatic acid decarboxylases by NSD-1015 (100 mg/kg i.p.). The catecholamine turnover rate was measured after inhibition of tyrosine hydroxylase by alpha-methyl-para-tyrosine (AMPT, 250 mg/kg, i.p., 2.5 h) in peripheral sympathetic target organ (heart and lungs) as well as in some brain catecholamine terminal areas (cerebral cortex, hypothalamus and striatum). Ozone caused differential effects according to the structure. Catecholamine biosynthesis was stimulated in superior cervical ganglia (+44%, P < 0.05) and caudal A2 subset (+126%, P < 0.01), whereas catecholamine turnover was increased in heart (+183%, P < 0.01) and cortex (+22%, P < 0.05). On the other hand, catecholamine turnover was inhibited in lungs (-53%, P < 0.05) and striatum (-24%, P < 0.05). A brief exposure to ozone, at a concentration chosen to mimic pollution level encountered in urban areas, can modulate catecholamine biosynthesis and utilization rate in the sympathetic and central neurones.     

Predicting the conformational states of cyclic tetrapeptides

Biologically active cyclic tetrapeptides, usually found among fungi metabolites, exhibit phytotoxic or cytostatic activities that are likely to be governed by specific conformations adopted in solution. For conformational studies and drug design, there is a strong interest in using fast and reliable methods to determine correctly the conformational population of cyclotetrapeptides. We show here that standard molecular mechanics computational approach gives satisfactory results. The method was validated step by step by experimental data either obtained after synthesis and NMR analysis, or found in the literature. The cyclo(Gly)(4), cyclo(Ala)(4), cyclo(Sar)(4), and cyclo(SarGly)(2) peptides were used to evaluate the prediction of the peptide backbone conformation, and the detailed conformational analysis of tentoxin, a natural phytotoxic cyclotetrapeptide in which N-alkylated peptide bonds alternate with regular secondary ones, was used to validate the computation of conformers proportions. From the knowledge of an initial cyclic primary structure and of the D or L configuration of the amino acids, we show that it is possible to determine the exact orientation of carbonyl groups and to predict the nature of conformers present in solution. The proportion of each conformer can be inferred from a statistical thermodynamics approach by using the potential energy values of each conformer, computed by molecular mechanics methods with the TRIPOS force field, which allowed us to account for the solvent. The solvent contribution was processed by two different methods according to the nature of the interactions: whether through the dielectric constant introduced in the electrostatic potential, when interaction with solute molecules are weak or negligible, or through the computation of free energy of solvation using the algorithm SILVERWARE for solvents explicitly interacting with the solute. When applied to tentoxin, this conformational analysis yielded results in very good agreement with the experimental data reported by Pinet et al. (Biopolymers, 1995, Vol. 36, pp. 135-152), on both the nature of existing conformers and their relative proportions, whatever the nature of the considered solvent.     

Low molecular weight peptides restore the procoagulant activity of factor VIII in the presence of the potent inhibitor antibody ESH8

Following repeated administration of factor VIII (FVIII), a significant number of hemophilia A patients develop antibodies (Abs), inhibiting the procoagulant activity of infused FVIII. We have designed an approach based on the blocking of the deleterious activity of these Abs by peptide decoys mimicking the anti-FVIII Ab epitopes. Here, the well characterized inhibitory monoclonal Ab ESH8 served as a model. Several phage peptide libraries were screened for specific binding to ESH8. Seven constrained dodecapeptide sequences were obtained. Six sequences carried the consensus motif, hydrophobic-(Y/F)GKTXL. This motif showed a certain similarity with the (2231)QVDFQKTMKV(2240) sequence of the C(2) domain. In the seventh sequence, YCNPSIGDKNCR, the residues GDKN are similar to the sequence (2267)DGHQ(2270). Upon inspection of the C(2) domain crystallographic structure, the two stretches QVDFQKTMKV and DGHQ appeared close together in space and might constitute a discontinuous epitope. Corresponding synthetic peptides were able to inhibit the binding of ESH8 to FVIII in a specific and dose-dependent manner. Moreover, the ability of the selected peptides to neutralize the inhibitory activity of ESH8 was demonstrated in functional tests as well as in vivo in a murine model of hemophilia A. This study demonstrates the potential of this approach to neutralize the activity of potent inhibitory Abs.     

The serotonin binding site of human and murine 5-HT2B receptors: molecular modeling and site-directed mutagenesis

Bacteriorhodopsin and rhodopsin crystal structures were used as templates to build structural models of the mouse and human serotonin (5-HT)-2B receptors (5-HT(2B)Rs). Serotonin was docked to the receptors, and the amino acids predicted to participate to its binding were subjected to mutagenesis. 5-HT binding affinity and 5-HT-induced inositol triphosphate production were measured in LMTK(-) cells transfected with either wild-type or mutated receptor genes. According to these measurements, the bacteriorhodopsin-based models of the 5-HT(2B)Rs appear more confident than the rhodopsin-based ones. Residues belonging to the transmembrane domains 3 and 6, i.e. Asp(3.32), Ser(3.36), Phe(6.52), and Asn(6.55), make direct contacts with 5-HT. In addition, Trp(3.28), Phe(3.35), Phe(6.52), and Phe(7.38) form an aromatic box surrounding 5-HT. The specificity of human and mouse 5-HT(2B)Rs may be reflected by different rearrangements of the aromatic network upon 5-HT binding. Two amino acids close to Pro(5.50) in the human transmembrane domain 5 sequence were permuted to introduce a "mouse-like" sequence. This change was enough to confer the human 5-HT(2B)R properties similar to those of the mouse. Taken together, the computed models and the site-directed mutagenesis experiments give a structural explanation to (i) the different 5-HT pK(D) values measured with the human and mouse 5-HT(2B)Rs (7.9 and 5.8, respectively) and (ii) the specificity of 5-HT binding to 5-HT(2B)Rs as compared with other serotonergic G-protein coupled receptors.     

OligoArray: genome-scale oligonucleotide design for microarrays

SUMMARY: OligoArray is a program that computes gene specific and secondary structure free oligonucleotides for genome-scale oligonucleotide microarray construction or other applications. AVAILABILITY: The program code is distributed under the GNU General Public License and is freely available for non-profit use via request from the authors.     

Interstitial cells of Cajal in the striated musculature of the mouse esophagus

A key feature of signal processing in the mammalian retina is parallel processing, where the segregation of visual information, e.g., brightness, darkness, and color, starts at the first synapse in the retina, the photoreceptor synapse. These various aspects are transmitted in parallel from the input neurons of the retina, the photoreceptor cells, through the interconnecting bipolar cells, to the output neurons, the ganglion cells. The photoreceptors and bipolar cells release a single excitatory neurotransmitter, glutamate, at their synapses. This parsimony is contrasted by the expression of a plethora of glutamate receptors, receptor subunits, and isoforms. The detailed knowledge of the synaptic distribution of glutamate receptors thus is of major importance in understanding the mechanisms of retinal signal processing. This review intends to highlight recent studies on the distribution of glutamate receptors at the photoreceptor synapses of the mammalian retina.