Inflammatory cytokines promote growth of intestinal smooth muscle cells by induced expression of PDGF‐Rβ

Thickening of the inflamed intestinal wall involves growth of smooth muscle cells (SMC), which contributes to stricture formation. Earlier, the growth factor platelet‐derived growth factor (PDGF)‐BB was identified as a key mitogen for SMC from the rat colon (CSMC), and CSMC growth in colitis was associated with both appearance of its receptor, PDGF‐Rβ and modulation of phenotype. Here, we examined the role of inflammatory cytokines in inducing and modulating the growth response to PDGF‐BB. CSMC were enzymatically isolated from Sprague–Dawley rats, and the effect of tumour necrosis factor (TNF)‐α, interleukin (IL)‐1β, transforming growth factor (TGF), IL‐17A and IL‐2 on CSMC growth and responsiveness to PDGF‐BB were assessed using proliferation assays, PCR and western blotting. Conditioned medium (CM) was obtained at 48 hrs of trinitrobenzene sulphonic acid‐induced colitis. Neither CM alone nor cytokines caused proliferation of early‐passage CSMC. However, CM from inflamed, but not control colon significantly promoted the effect of PDGF‐BB. IL‐1β, TNF‐α and IL‐17A, but not other cytokines, increased the effect of PDGF‐BB because of up‐regulation of mRNA and protein for PDGF‐Rβ without change in receptor phosphorylation. PDGF‐BB was identified in adult rat serum (RS) and RS‐induced CSMC proliferation was inhibited by imatinib, suggesting that blood‐derived PDGF‐BB is a local mitogen in vivo. In freshly isolated CSMC, CM from the inflamed colon as well as IL‐1β and TNF‐α induced the early expression of PDGF‐Rβ, while imatinib blocked subsequent RS‐induced cell proliferation. Thus, pro‐inflammatory cytokines both initiate and maintain a growth response in CSMC via PDGF‐Rβ and serum‐derived PDGF‐BB, and control of PDGF‐Rβ expression may be beneficial in chronic intestinal inflammation.     

Cytotoxicity evaluation of silica nanoparticles using fish cell lines

Nanoparticles (NPs) have extensive industrial, biotechnological, and biomedical/pharmaceutical applications, leading to concerns over health risks to humans and biota. Among various types of nanoparticles, silica nanoparticles (SiO₂ NPs) have become popular as nanostructuring, drug delivery, and optical imaging agents. SiO₂ NPs are highly stable and could bioaccumulate in the environment. Although toxicity studies of SiO₂ NPs to human and mammalian cells have been reported, their effects on aquatic biota, especially fish, have not been significantly studied. Twelve adherent fish cell lines derived from six species (rainbow trout, fathead minnow, zebrafish, goldfish, haddock, and American eel) were used to comparatively evaluate viability of cells by measuring metabolic impairment using Alamar Blue. Toxicity of SiO₂ NPs appeared to be size-, time-, temperature-, and dose-dependent as well as tissue-specific. However, dosages greater than 100 μg/mL were needed to achieve 24 h EC₅₀ values (effective concentrations needed to reduce cell viability by 50%). Smaller SiO₂ NPs (16 nm) were relatively more toxic than larger sized ones (24 and 44 nm) and external lining epithelial tissue (skin, gills)-derived cells were more sensitive than cells derived from internal tissues (liver, brain, intestine, gonads) or embryos. Higher EC₅₀ values were achieved when toxicity assessment was performed at higher incubation temperatures. These findings are in overall agreement with similar human and mouse cell studies reported to date. Thus, fish cell lines could be valuable for screening emerging contaminants in aquatic environments including NPs through rapid high-throughput cytotoxicity bioassays.     

Design and synthesis of orally active pyrrolidin-2-one-based factor Xa inhibitors

A series of novel, non-basic 3-(6-chloronaphth-2-ylsulfonyl)aminopyrrolidin-2-one-based factor Xa (fXa) inhibitors, incorporating an alanylamide P4 group, was designed and synthesised. Within this series, the N-2-(morpholin-4-yl)-2-oxoethyl derivative 24 was shown to be a potent, selective fXa inhibitor with good anticoagulant activity. Moreover, 24 possessed highly encouraging rat and dog pharmacokinetic profiles with excellent oral bioavailabilities in both species.     

Three distinct roles of aquaporin-4 in brain function revealed by knockout mice

Aquaporin-4 (AQP4) is expressed in astrocytes throughout the central nervous system, particularly at the blood-brain and brain-cerebrospinal fluid barriers. Phenotype analysis of transgenic mice lacking AQP4 has provided compelling evidence for involvement of AQP4 in cerebral water balance, astrocyte migration, and neural signal transduction. AQP4-null mice have reduced brain swelling and improved neurological outcome in models of (cellular) cytotoxic cerebral edema including water intoxication, focal cerebral ischemia, and bacterial meningitis. However, brain swelling and clinical outcome are worse in AQP4-null mice in models of vasogenic (fluid leak) edema including cortical freeze-injury, brain tumor, brain abscess and hydrocephalus, probably due to impaired AQP4-dependent brain water clearance. AQP4 deficiency or knock-down slows astrocyte migration in response to a chemotactic stimulus in vitro, and AQP4 deletion impairs glial scar progression following injury in vivo. AQP4-null mice also manifest reduced sound- and light-evoked potentials, and increased threshold and prolonged duration of induced seizures. Impaired K+ reuptake by astrocytes in AQP4 deficiency may account for the neural signal transduction phenotype. Based on these findings, we propose modulation of AQP4 expression or function as a novel therapeutic strategy for a variety of cerebral disorders including stroke, tumor, infection, hydrocephalus, epilepsy, and traumatic brain injury.     

Multifunctional G-Rich and RRM-Containing Domains of TbRGG2 Perform Separate yet Essential Functions in Trypanosome RNA Editing

Efficient editing of Trypanosoma brucei mitochondrial RNAs involves the actions of multiple accessory factors. T. brucei RGG2 (TbRGG2) is an essential protein crucial for initiation and 3'-to-5' progression of editing. TbRGG2 comprises an N-terminal G-rich region containing GWG and RG repeats and a C-terminal RNA recognition motif (RRM)-containing domain. Here, we perform in vitro and in vivo separation-of-function studies to interrogate the mechanism of TbRGG2 action in RNA editing. TbRGG2 preferentially binds preedited mRNA in vitro with high affinity attributable to its G-rich region. RNA-annealing and -melting activities are separable, carried out primarily by the G-rich and RRM domains, respectively. In vivo, the G-rich domain partially complements TbRGG2 knockdown, but the RRM domain is also required. Notably, TbRGG2's RNA-melting activity is dispensable for RNA editing in vivo. Interactions between TbRGG2 and MRB1 complex proteins are mediated by both G-rich and RRM-containing domains, depending on the binding partner. Overall, our results are consistent with a model in which the high-affinity RNA binding and RNA-annealing activities of the G-rich domain are essential for RNA editing in vivo. The RRM domain may have key functions involving interactions with the MRB1 complex and/or regulation of the activities of the G-rich domain.     

Enrichment and genotypic diversity of phlD-containing fluorescent Pseudomonas spp. in two soils after a century of wheat and flax monoculture

Fluorescent Pseudomonas spp. producing the antibiotic 2,4-diacetylphloroglucinol (2,4-DAPG) play a key role in the suppressiveness of some soils to take-all of wheat and other diseases caused by soilborne pathogens. Soils from side-by-side fields on the campus of North Dakota State University, Fargo, USA, which have undergone continuous wheat, continuous flax or crop rotation for over 100 years, were assayed for the presence of 2,4-DAPG producers. Flax and wheat monoculture, but not crop rotation, enriched for 2,4-DAPG producers, and population sizes of log 5.0 CFU g root(-1) or higher were detected in the rhizospheres of wheat and flax grown in the two monoculture soils. The composition of the genotypes enriched by the two crops differed. Four BOX-PCR genotypes (D, F, G, and J) and a new genotype (T) were detected among the 2,4-DAPG producers in the continuous flax soil, with F- and J-genotype isolates dominating (41 and 39% of the total, respectively). In contrast, two genotypes (D and I) were detected in the soil with continuous wheat, with D-genotype isolates comprising 77% of the total. In the crop-rotation soil, populations of 2,4-DAPG producers generally were below the detection limit, and only one genotype (J) was detected. Under growth-chamber and field conditions, D and I genotypes (enriched by wheat monoculture) colonized the wheat rhizosphere significantly better than isolates of other genotypes, while a J-genotype isolate colonized wheat and flax rhizospheres to the same extent. This study suggests that, over many years of monoculture, the crop species grown in a field enriches for genotypes of 2,4-DAPG producers from the reservoir of genotypes naturally present in the soil that are especially adapted to colonizing the rhizosphere of the crop grown.