Increased baroreceptor response in mice deficient in monoamine oxidase A and B

The recent development of mice doubly deficient for monoamine oxidase A and B (MAO-A/B, respectively) has raised questions about the impact of these mutations on cardiovascular function, in so far as these animals demonstrate increased tissue levels of the vasoactive amines serotonin, norepinephrine, dopamine, and phenylethylamine. We recorded femoral arterial pressures and electrocardiograms in adult MAO-A/B-deficient mice during halothane-nitrous oxide anesthesia as well as 30 min postoperatively. During both anesthesia and recovery, systolic, diastolic, and mean arterial pressures were 10-15 mmHg lower in MAO-A/B-deficient mice compared with normal controls (P < 0.01). Mutants also showed a greater baroreceptor-mediated reduction in heart rate in response to hypertension after intravenous pulses of phenylephrine or angiotensin II. Tachycardia elicited in response to hypotension after nitroprusside was greater in mutants than in controls. Heart rate responsiveness to changes in arterial pressure was abolished after administration of glycopyrrolate, with no differences in this phenomenon noted between genotypes. These data suggest that prevention of hypertension may occur in chronic states of catecholaminergic/indoleaminergic excess by increased gain of the baroreflex.     

A sample size adjustment procedure for clinical trials based on conditional power

When designing clinical trials, researchers often encounter the uncertainty in the treatment effect or variability assumptions. Hence the sample size calculation at the planning stage of a clinical trial may also be questionable. Adjustment of the sample size during the mid-course of a clinical trial has become a popular strategy lately. In this paper we propose a procedure for calculating additional sample size needed based on conditional power, and adjusting the final-stage critical value to protect the overall type-I error rate. Compared to other previous procedures, the proposed procedure uses the definition of the conditional type-I error directly without appealing to an extra special function for it. It has better flexibility in setting up interim decision rules and the final-stage test is a likelihood ratio test.     

Essential role of cAMP-response element-binding protein activation by A2A adenosine receptors in rescuing the nerve growth factor-induced neurite outgrowth impaired by blockage of the MAPK cascade

We found in the present study that stimulation of the A(2A) adenosine receptor (A(2A)-R) using an A(2A)-selective agonist (CGS21680) rescued the blockage of nerve growth factor (NGF)-induced neurite outgrowth when the NGF-evoked MAPK cascade was suppressed by an MEK inhibitor (PD98059) or by a dominant-negative MAPK mutant (dnMAPK). This action of A(2A)-R (designated as the A(2A)-rescue effect) can be blocked by two inhibitors of protein kinase A (PKA) and was absent in a PKA-deficient PC12 variant. Activation of the cAMP/PKA pathway by forskolin exerted the same effect as that by A(2A)-R stimulation. PKA, thus, appears to mediate the A(2A)-rescue effect. Results from cAMP-response element-binding protein (CREB) phosphorylation at serine 133, trans-reporting assays, and overexpression of two dominant-negative CREB mutants revealed that A(2A)-R stimulation led to activation of CREB in a PKA-dependent manner and subsequently reversed the damage of NGF-evoked neurite outgrowth by PD98059 or dnMAPK. Expression of an active mutant of CREB readily rescued the NGF-induced neurite outgrowth impaired by dnMAPK, further strengthening the importance of CREB in the NGF-mediated neurite outgrowth process. Moreover, simultaneous activation of the A(2A)-R/PKA/CREB-mediated and the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase pathways caused neurite outgrowth that was not suppressed by a selective inhibitor of TrkA, indicating that transactivation of TrkA was not involved. Collectively, CREB functions in conjunction with the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase pathway to mediate the neurite outgrowth process in PC12 cells.     

Analysis of survival data from case-control family studies

In case-control family studies with survival endpoint, age of onset of diseases can be used to assess the familial aggregation of the disease and the relationship between the disease and genetic or environmental risk factors. Because of the retrospective nature of the case--control study, methods for analyzing prospectively collected correlated failure time data do not apply directly. In this article, we propose a semiparametric quasi-partial-likelihood approach to simultaneously estimate the effect of covariates on the age of onset and the association of ages of onset among family members that does not require specification of the baseline marginal distribution. We conducted a simulation study to evaluate the performance of the proposed approach and compare it with the existing semiparametric ones. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed approach has better performance in terms of consistency and efficiency. We illustrate the methodology using a subset of data from the Washington Ashkenazi Study.     

High-throughput screening of soluble recombinant proteins

The aims of high-throughput (HTP) protein production systems are to obtain well-expressed and highly soluble proteins, which are preferred candidates for use in structure-function studies. Here, we describe the development of an efficient and inexpensive method for parallel cloning, induction, and cell lysis to produce multiple fusion proteins in Escherichia coli using a 96-well format. Molecular cloning procedures, used in this HTP system, require no restriction digestion of the PCR products. All target genes can be directionally cloned into eight different fusion protein expression vectors using two universal restriction sites and with high efficiency (>95%). To screen for well-expressed soluble fusion protein, total cell lysates of bacteria culture ( approximately 1.5 mL) were subjected to high-speed centrifugation in a 96-tube format and analyzed by multiwell denaturing SDS-PAGE. Our results thus far show that 80% of the genes screened show high levels of expression of soluble products in at least one of the eight fusion protein constructs. The method is well suited for automation and is applicable for the production of large numbers of proteins for genome-wide analysis.     

Syntheses and evaluation of antioxidant activity of sydnonyl substituted thiazolidinone and thiazoline derivatives

3-Aryl-4-formylsydnone 4'-phenylthiosemicarbazones (3a-d) and 3-aryl-4-formylsydnone thiosemicarbazones (3e-h), which are precursors of 3-aryl-4-heterocyclic sydnones, are prepared by the condensation of 3-aryl-4-formylsydnones (1a-d) with 4'-phenylthiosemicarbazide (2a) and thiosemicarbazide (2b), respectively. The thiosemicarbazones 3 reacted with cyclic reagents such as ethyl chloroacetate (4a), ethyl 2-chloroacetoacetate (4b) and 2-bromoacetophenone (4c) to produce heterocyclic substituted sydnone derivatives 5-7 that possess 4-oxo-thiazolidine and thiazoline groups. The antioxidant activity of synthesized compounds 5a-7h was evaluated. Among these compounds, 4-methyl-2-[(3-arylsydnon-4-yl-methylene)hydrazono]-2,3-dihydro-thiazole-5-carboxylic acid ethyl ester (6e-h) and 4-phenyl-2-[(3-arylsydnon-4-yl-methylene)hydrazono]-2,3-dihydro-thiazoles (7e-h) exhibit the potent DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging activity, comparable to that of vitamin E.     

Mutations at KFRDI and VGK domains of enterovirus 71 3C protease affect its RNA binding and proteolytic activities

The 3C proteases (3C^pro) of enterovirus 71 (EV71) is a good molecular target for drug discovery. Notably, this protease was found to possess RNA-binding activity. The regions responsible for RNA binding were classified as KFRDI (positions 82–86) and VGK (positions 154–156) in 3C^pro by mutagenesis study. Although the RNA-binding regions are structurally distinct from the catalytic site of EV71 3C^pro, mutations in the RNA-binding regions influenced 3C^pro proteolytic activity. In contrast, mutations at the catalytic site had almost no influence on RNA binding ability. We identified certain mutations within 3C^pro which abrogated both the RNA-binding activity of the expressed, recombinant, protease and the ability to rescue virus from an infectious full-length clone of EV71 (pEV71). Interestingly, mutation at position 84 from Arg(R) to Lys(K) was found to retain good RNA binding and proteolytic activity for the recombinant 3C^pro; however, no virus could be rescued when pEV71 with the R84K mutation was introduced into the infectious copy. Together, these results may provide useful information for using 3C^pro as the molecular target to develop anti-EV71 agents.The second and the third authors contributed equally to this work.     

The inhibitory effect of trilinolein on norepinephrine-induced β-myosin heavy chain promoter activity,reactive oxygen species generation,and extracellular signal-regulated kinase phosphorylation in neonatal rat cardiomyocytes

The myocardial protective effects of trilinolein, isolated from the traditional Chinese herbSanchi (Panax notoginseng), are thought to be related to its antioxidant activity. However, the intracellular mechanism underlying the protective effect of trilinolein in the heart remains unclear. In the present study, we investigated the effect of trilinolein on norepinephrine (NE)-induced protein synthesis in cardiomyocytes. Cultured neonatal rat cardiomyocytes were stimulated with NE, then protein content, [³H]-leucine incorporation, and -myosin heavy chain (-MyHC) promoter activity were examined. The effect of trilinolein on NE-induced intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation was measured with a redoxsensitive fluorescent dye (2,7-dichlorofluorescin diacetate) and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) phosphorylation by Western blotting. Trilinolein inhibited NE-increased protein synthesis, -MyHC promoter activity, and intracellular ROS. Both trilinolein and the antioxidant, N-acetyl-cysteine, decreased NE- and H₂O₂-induced protein synthesis, -MyHC promoter activity, and ERK phosphorylation. These data indicate that trilinolein inhibits NE-induced protein synthesis via attenuation of ROS generation in cardiomyocytes.     

Gene expression profiling identifies a unique androgen-mediated inflammatory/immune signature and a PTEN (phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10)-mediated apoptotic response specific to the rat ventral prostate

Understanding androgen regulation of gene expression is critical for deciphering mechanisms responsible for the transition from androgen-responsive (AR) to androgen-independent (AI) prostate cancer (PCa). To identify genes differentially regulated by androgens in each prostate lobe, the rat castration model was used. Microarray analysis was performed to compare dorsolateral (DLP) and ventral prostate (VP) samples from sham-castrated, castrated, and testosterone-replenished castrated rats. Our data demonstrate that, after castration, the VP and the DLP differed in the number of genes with altered expression (1496 in VP vs. 256 in DLP) and the nature of pathways modulated. Gene signatures related to apoptosis and immune response specific to the ventral prostate were identified. Microarray and RT-PCR analyses demonstrated the androgen repression of IGF binding protein-3 and -5, CCAAT-enhancer binding protein-delta, and phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10 (PTEN) genes, previously implicated in apoptosis. We show that PTEN protein was increased only in the luminal epithelial cells of the VP, suggesting that it may be a key mediator of VP apoptosis in the absence of androgens. The castration-induced immune/inflammatory gene cluster observed specifically in the VP included IL-15 and IL-18. Immunostaining of the VP, but not the DLP, showed an influx of T cells, macrophages, and mast cells, suggesting that these cells may be the source of the immune signature genes. Interestingly, IL-18 was localized mainly to the basal epithelial cells and the infiltrating macrophages in the regressing VP, whereas IL-15 was induced in the luminal epithelium. The VP castration model exhibits immune cell infiltration and loss of PTEN that is often observed in progressive PCa, thereby making this model useful for further delineation of androgen-regulated gene expression with relevance to PCa.     

Adipose tissue growth and regression are regulated by angiopoietin-1

Adipose tissue is unique in its plasticity, capacity for vascular remodeling, and susceptibility to angiogenesis inhibitors. We hypothesize that these characteristics are enabled by maintaining relatively immature adipose vessels to facilitate vascular/tissue remodeling. We examined the vascular maturation regulators, angiopoietin-1, angiopoietin-2, and tie2 receptor, under different weight-modifying conditions. Adipocytes expressed angiopoietin-1, while adipose endothelial cells expressed angiopoietin-2 and tie2. Adipose tissue growth/regression were associated with decreased angiopoietin-1 mRNA and protein, and tie2 phosphorylation. Angiopoietin-2 and tie2 mRNA levels were stable. Angiopoietin-1 mRNA levels inversely correlated with the rates of change in body weight, independent of the direction (weight gain, loss) or etiology (TNP-470, leptin, and diet restriction) of the weight shift. Obese mice injected with ang1/pcDNA had reduced rates of weight gain and fat pad weights, regardless of the route of plasmid administration (subcutaneous, intramuscular, and intravenous). Thus, angiopoietin-1 may regulate adipose tissue growth, suggesting that vascular maturation alters tissue plasticity.