Nicotinic Autoreceptors Mediating Enhancement of Acetylcholine Release Become Operative in Conditions of "Impaired" Cholinergic Presynaptic Function

Abstract: The existence in the mammalian CNS of release-inhibiting muscarinic autoreceptors is well established. In contrast, few reports have focused on nicotinic autoreceptors mediating enhancement of acetylcholine (ACh) release. Moreover, it is unclear under what conditions the function of one type of autoreceptor prevails over that of the other. Rat cerebrocortex slices, prelabeled with [³H]choline, were stimulated electrically at 3 or 0.1 Hz. The release of [³H]ACh evoked at both frequencies was inhibited by oxotremorine, a muscarinic receptor agonist, and stimulated by atropine, a muscarinic antagonist. Nicotine, ineffective at 3 Hz, enhanced [³H]ACh release at 0.1 Hz; mecamylamine, a nicotinic antagonist, had no effect at 3 Hz but inhibited [³H]ACh release at 0.1 Hz. The cholinesterase inhibitor neostigmine decreased [³H]ACh release at 3 Hz but not at 0.1 Hz; in the presence of atropine, neostigmine potentiated [³H]ACh release, an effect blocked by mecamylamine. In synaptosomes depolarized with 15 mM KCI, ACh inhibited [³H]ACh release; this inhibition was reversed to an enhancement when the external [Ca²⁺] was lowered. The same occurred when, at 1.2 mM Ca²⁺, external [K⁺] was decreased. Oxotremorine still inhibited [³H]ACh release at 0.1 mM Ca²⁺. When muscarinic receptors were inactivated with atropine, the K⁺ (15 mM)-evoked release of [³H]ACh (at 0.1 mM Ca²⁺) was potently enhanced by ACh acting at nicotinic receptors (EC₅₀? 0.6 µM). In conclusion, synaptic ACh concentration does not seem to determine whether muscarinic or nicotinic autoreceptors are activated. Although muscarinic autoreceptors prevail under normal conditions, nicotinic autoreceptors appear to become responsive to endogenous ACh and to exogenous nicotinic agents under conditions mimicking impairment of ACh release. Our data may explain in part the reported efficacy of cholinesterase inhibitors (and nicotinic agonists) in Alzheimer's disease.     

The Role of Ceramide Synthases in the Pathogenicity of Cryptococcus neoformans

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SERPINA1 PiZ and PiS Heterozygotes and Lung Function Decline in the SAPALDIA Cohort

Background

Severe alpha1-antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency is a strong risk factor for COPD. But the impact of gene variants resulting in mild or intermediate AAT deficiency on the longitudinal course of respiratory health remains controversial. There is indication from experimental studies that pro-inflammatory agents like cigarette smoke can interact with these variants and thus increase the risk of adverse respiratory health effects. Therefore, we tested the effect of the presence of a protease inhibitor (Pi) S or Z allele (PiMS and PiMZ) on the change in lung function in different inflammation-exposed subgroups of a large, population-based cohort study.

Methodology and Principal Findings

The SAPALDIA population includes over 4600 subjects from whom SERPINA1 genotypes for S and Z alleles, spirometry and respiratory symptoms at baseline and after 11 years follow-up, as well as proxies for inflammatory conditions, such as detailed smoking history, obesity and high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), were available. All analyses were performed by applying multivariate regression models. There was no overall unfavourable effect of PiMS or PiMZ genotype on lung function change. We found indication that PiZ heterozygosity interacted with inflammatory stimuli leading to an accelerated decline in measures in use as indices for assessing mild airway obstruction. Obese individuals with genotype PiMM had an average annual decline in the forced mid expiratory flow (ΔFEF25-75%) of 58.4 ml whereas in obese individuals with PiMZ it amounted to 92.2 ml (p = 0.03). Corresponding numbers for persistent smokers differed even more strongly (66.8 ml (PiMM) vs. 108.2 ml (PiMZ), p = 0.005). Equivalent, but less strong associations were observed for the change in the FEV1/FVC ratio.

Conclusions

We suggest that, in addition to the well established impact of the rare PiZZ genotype, one Z allele may be sufficient to accelerate lung function decline in population subgroups characterized by elevated levels of low grade inflammation.     

RNASEH1 Mutations Impair mtDNA Replication and Cause Adult-Onset Mitochondrial Encephalomyopathy

Chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia (CPEO) is common in mitochondrial disorders and is frequently associated with multiple mtDNA deletions. The onset is typically in adulthood, and affected subjects can also present with general muscle weakness. The underlying genetic defects comprise autosomal-dominant or recessive mutations in several nuclear genes, most of which play a role in mtDNA replication. Next-generation sequencing led to the identification of compound-heterozygous RNASEH1 mutations in two singleton subjects and a homozygous mutation in four siblings. RNASEH1, encoding ribonuclease H1 (RNase H1), is an endonuclease that is present in both the nucleus and mitochondria and digests the RNA component of RNA-DNA hybrids. Unlike mitochondria, the nucleus harbors a second ribonuclease (RNase H2). All affected individuals first presented with CPEO and exercise intolerance in their twenties, and these were followed by muscle weakness, dysphagia, and spino-cerebellar signs with impaired gait coordination, dysmetria, and dysarthria. Ragged-red and cytochrome c oxidase (COX)-negative fibers, together with impaired activity of various mitochondrial respiratory chain complexes, were observed in muscle biopsies of affected subjects. Western blot analysis showed the virtual absence of RNase H1 in total lysate from mutant fibroblasts. By an in vitro assay, we demonstrated that altered RNase H1 has a reduced capability to remove the RNA from RNA-DNA hybrids, confirming their pathogenic role. Given that an increasing amount of evidence indicates the presence of RNA primers during mtDNA replication, this result might also explain the accumulation of mtDNA deletions and underscores the importance of RNase H1 for mtDNA maintenance.     

The plant invertase inhibitor shares structural properties and disulfide bridges arrangement with the pectin methylesterase inhibitor

Attempts to purify the inhibitor of pectin methylesterase (PMEI) from the soluble extract of ripe apricot (Prunus armeniaca) fruit led to isolation of a protein (Pa-INH) similar to PMEI, but having invertase inhibitory activity against vacuolar invertase from tomato. The molecular charge, the native and SDS-PAGE molecular weights were similar to those of PMEI. Partial amino acid sequence indicated a high level of identity with invertase inhibitors and a significant identity with PMEI. Circular dichroism analysis showed a mainly -helix secondary structure for both the inhibitors and a higher thermostability of Pa-INH. Four Cys residues forming disulfide bridges in PMEI were conserved in Pa-INH. Similarly to PMEI, these residues were linked by disulfide bridges (first to second and third to fourth). The free Cys139 of PMEI is substituted by Ala in Pa-INH. The results reported in this study suggest a common structural arrangement of the two inhibitors.     

Circular dichroism of ketoprofen complexed to serum albumins: Conformational selection by the protein: A novel optical purity determination technique

Complexation of 2-(3′-benzoylphenyl)propionic acid (ketoprofen), 1 , to bovine serum albumin (BSA) results in an intense negative circular dichroism in the ketonic n → π* band of the benzoylphenyl moiety. This high CD contrasts with the weak CD of 1 -enantiomers dissolved in common solvents. Furthermore, a number of chiral and achiral molecules containing the benzophenone moiety are easily complexed to BSA: all these complexes show an intense CD at the same transition. To account for the observed CD intensities of the above molecules, it appears that BSA complexation markedly shifts the equilibrium between strongly asymmetric, antipodic conformers. Dissymmetry of these conformers is connected to the instability of a structure with phenyl rings coplanar to the carbonyl chromophore, as also indicated by molecular mechanics calculations. The magnification of the Cotton effects of the 1 -antipodes, due to the protein, can be used to measure the optical purity of 1 -samples with excellent precision. In contrast with BSA, human SA is unable to recognize the chirality of 1 -antipodes; oleic acid cocomplexation modifies this fact as well as other features of the binding. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Telomere elongation (Tel), a new mutation in Drosophila melanogaster that produces long telomeres.

In most eukaryotes telomeres are extended by telomerase. Drosophila melanogaster, however, lacks telomerase, and telomere-specific non-LTR retrotransposons, HeT-A and TART, transpose specifically to chromosome ends. A Drosophila strain, Gaiano, that has long telomeres has been identified. We extracted the major Gaiano chromosomes into an Oregon-R genetic background and examined the resulting stocks after 60 generations. In situ hybridization using HeT-A and TART sequences showed that, in stocks carrying either the X or the second chromosome from Gaiano, only the Gaiano-derived chromosomes display long telomeres. However, in stocks carrying the Gaiano third chromosome, all telomeres are substantially elongated, indicating that the Gaiano chromosome 3 carries a factor that increases HeT-A and TART addition to the telomeres. We show that this factor, termed Telomere elongation (Tel), is dominant and localizes as a single unit to 69 on the genetic map. The long telomeres tend to associate with each other in both polytene and mitotic cells. These associations depend on telomere length rather than the presence of Tel. Associations between metaphase chromosomes are resolved during anaphase, suggesting that they are mediated by either proteinaceous links or DNA hydrogen bonding, rather than covalent DNA-DNA bonds.     

A hemagglutinin specific for sialic acids in a rat brain synaptic vesicle-enriched fraction

A hemagglutinating activity was detected in a synaptic vesicle-enriched fraction prepared from adult rat brain, using trypsinized glutaraldehyde-fixed rabbit erythrocytes. The specific activity of the fraction, in two series of experiments, was 7.5 and 16-fold higher than in the other subcellular fractions. The activity was absent from the synaptosome cytosol. In a study using twenty-five different carbohydrates and glycoproteins, best inhibitors were N-acetylneuraminic acid and N-glycolylneuraminic acid, together with bovine submaxillary mucin and a glycopeptide fraction prepared from rabbit erythrocyte membranes. The activity was thermolabile and very sensitive to proteolytic enzymes (but insensitive to neuraminidase) indicating that a protein (agglutinin) is responsible for the activity. Experiments using detergents and high ionic strength showed that the agglutinin is tightly bound to membranes, inactivated by the so-called non denaturing detergents, and stable in diluted sodium dodecyl sulphate. Hypotheses are discussed on the possible function of the agglutinin.     

Agriculturalists and pastoralists: Bronze Age economy of the Murghab alluvial fan,southern Central Asia

Archaeological investigations of pastoral economies often emphasize exchange relations with agricultural populations, though for Bronze Age Eurasia the notion of a ubiquitous ‘pastoral realm’ has masked various forms of mixed subsistence economies. In Central Asia, there are few attempts to specifically identify the domestic crops utilized by mobile pastoralists or what they may suggest about the role of agriculture in mobile pastoral production or subsistence strategies. This study reports the macrobotanical remains from two Late/Final Bronze Age (ca. 1950–1300 bc) mobile pastoralist habitation sites in the Murghab alluvial fan region of southern Turkmenistan. We compare our results with published macrobotanical data from contemporary agricultural settlements in the Murghab region, as well as with other sites in broader prehistoric Eurasia. We find that mobile pastoralists in the Murghab utilized some of the same domestic crops as their sedentary neighbors. While the data presented here do not preclude the possibility that mobile pastoralists may have practiced some low-investment cultivation (particularly of millet), we hypothesize an economic model that places mobile pastoralists in direct contact with nearby sedentary farming communities through exchange for pre-processed grains. These results highlight one of the possible strategies of mobile pastoral subsistence in Central Asia, and are a further step toward identifying the various degrees of agricultural involvement in the conceptually outdated pastoral realm of Eurasia.     

Toward a resolution of a taxonomic enigma: first genetic analyses of Paradoxornis webbianus and Paradoxornis alphonsianus (Aves: Paradoxornithidae) from China and Italy

Paradoxornis webbianus and Paradoxornis alphonsianus naturally occur in South-East Asia. Due to a recent introduction, a mixed population currently occurs in northern Italy. A preliminary phylogeographic analysis using samples from Italy and China found little genetic differentiation between the two taxa and revealed the existence of two molecular lineages, sympatric in some part of China, that do not correspond to the morphological classification. Possible taxonomic changes and preliminary inferences on the relationships between Chinese and the Italian populations and on the likely provenance of the founders introduced in Italy are also discussed.