Circadian and Acamprosate Modulation of Elevated Ethanol Drinking in mPer2 Clock Gene Mutant Mice

The PER2 clock gene modulates ethanol consumption, such that mutant mice not expressing functional mPer2 have altered circadian behavior that promotes higher ethanol intake and preference. Experiments were undertaken to characterize circadian-related behavioral effects of mPer2 deletion on ethanol intake and to explore how acamprosate (used to reduce alcohol dependence) alters diurnal patterns of ethanol intake. Male mPer2 mutant and WT (wild-type) mice were entrained to a 12:12?h light-dark (12L:12D) photocycle, and their locomotor and drinking activities were recorded. Circadian locomotor measurements confirmed that mPer2 mutants had an advanced onset of nocturnal activity of about 2?h relative to WTs, and an increased duration of nocturnal activity (p < .01). Also, mPer2 mutants preferred and consumed more ethanol and had more daily ethanol drinking episodes vs. WTs. Measurements of systemic ethanol using subcutaneous microdialysis confirmed the advanced rise in ethanol intake in the mPer2 mutants, with 24-h averages being ～60 vs. ～25?mM for WTs (p < .01). A 6-day regimen of single intraperitoneal (i.p.) acamprosate injections (300?mg/kg) at zeitgeber time (ZT) 10 did not alter the earlier onset of nocturnal ethanol drinking in the mPer2 mutants, but reduced the overall amplitude of drinking and preference (both p < .01). Acamprosate also reduced these parameters in WTs. These results suggest that elevated ethanol intake in mPer2 mutants may be a partial consequence of an earlier nighttime activity onset and increase in nocturnal drinking activity. The suppressive action of acamprosate on ethanol intake is not due to an altered diurnal pattern of drinking, but rather a decrease in the number of daily drinking bouts and amount of drinking per bout. (Author correspondence: jglass@kent.edu)     

IL‐1β and TNF‐α induce neurotoxicity through glutamate production: a potential role for neuronal glutaminase

Glutaminase 1 is the main enzyme responsible for glutamate production in mammalian cells. The roles of macrophage and microglia glutaminases in brain injury, infection, and inflammation are well documented. However, little is known about the regulation of neuronal glutaminase, despite neurons being a predominant cell type of glutaminase expression. Using primary rat and human neuronal cultures, we confirmed that interleukin‐1β (IL‐1β) and tumor necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α), two pro‐inflammatory cytokines that are typically elevated in neurodegenerative disease states, induced neuronal death and apoptosis in vitro. Furthermore, both intracellular and extracellular glutamate levels were significantly elevated following IL‐1β and/or TNF‐α treatment. Pre‐treatment with N‐Methyl‐d ‐aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist MK‐801 blocked cytokine‐induced glutamate production and alleviated the neurotoxicity, indicating that IL‐1β and/or TNF‐α induce neurotoxicity through glutamate. To determine the potential source of excess glutamate production in the culture during inflammation, we investigated the neuronal glutaminase and found that treatment with IL‐1β or TNF‐α significantly upregulated the kidney‐type glutaminase (KGA), a glutaminase 1 isoform, in primary human neurons. The up‐regulation of neuronal glutaminase was also demonstrated in situ in a murine model of HIV‐1 encephalitis. In addition, IL‐1β or TNF‐α treatment increased the levels of KGA in cytosol and TNF‐α specifically increased KGA levels in the extracellular fluid, away from its main residence in mitochondria. Together, these findings support neuronal glutaminase as a potential component of neurotoxicity during inflammation and that modulation of glutaminase may provide therapeutic avenues for neurodegenerative diseases.     

Angiotensin (1-7) contributes to nitric oxide tonic inhibition of vasopressin release during hemorrhagic shock in acute ethanol intoxicated rodents

Aims

Acute ethanol intoxication (AEI) attenuates the arginine vasopressin (AVP) response to hemorrhage leading to impaired hemodynamic counter-regulation and accentuated hemodynamic stability. Previously we identified that the ethanol-induced impairment of circulating AVP concentrations in response to hemorrhage was the result of augmented central nitric oxide (NO) inhibition. The aim of the current study was to examine the mechanisms underlying ethanol-induced up-regulation of paraventricular nucleus (PVN) NO concentration. Angiotensin (ANG) (1-7) is an important mediator of NO production through activation of the Mas receptor. We hypothesized that Mas receptor inhibition would decrease central NO concentration and thus restore the rise in circulating AVP levels during hemorrhagic shock in AEI rats.

Main methods

Conscious male Sprague–Dawley rats (300–325 g) received a 15 h intra-gastric infusion of ethanol (2.5 g/kg + 300 mg/kg/h) or dextrose prior to a fixed-pressure (~ 40 mm Hg) 60 min hemorrhage. The Mas receptor antagonist A-779 was injected through an intracerebroventricular (ICV) cannula 15 min prior to hemorrhage.

Key findings

PVN NOS activity and NO were significantly higher in AEI compared to DEX-treated controls at the completion of hemorrhage. ICV A-779 administration decreased NOS activity and NO concentration, partially restoring the rise in circulating AVP level at completion of hemorrhage in AEI rats.

Significance

These results suggest that Mas receptor activation contributes to the NO-mediated inhibitory tone of AVP release in the ethanol-intoxicated hemorrhaged host.     

Evaluation of pretreatment methods for lignocellulosic ethanol production from energy cane variety L 79-1002

Approximately half of the 80 billion tons of crop produced annually around the world remains as residue that could serve as a renewable resource to produce valuable products such as ethanol and butanol. Ethanol produced from lignocellulosic biomass is a promising renewable alternative to diminishing oil and gas liquid fuels. Sugarcane is an important industry in Louisiana. The recently released variety of “energy cane” has great potential to sustain a competitive sugarcane industry. It has been demonstrated that fuel-grade ethanol can be produced from post harvest sugarcane residue in the past, but optimized ethanol production was not achieved. Optimization of the fermentation process requires efficient pretreatment to release cellulose and hemicellulose from lignocellulosic complex of plant fiber. Determining optimal pretreatment techniques for fermentation is essential for the success of lignocellulosic ethanol production process. The purpose of this study was to evaluate three pretreatment methods for the energy cane variety L 79-1002 for maximum lignocellulosic ethanol production. The pretreatments include alkaline pretreatment, dilute acid hydrolysis, and solid-state fungal pretreatment process using brown rot and white rot fungi. Pretreated biomass was enzymatically saccharified and subjected to fermentation using a recombinant Escherichia coli FBR5. The results revealed that all pretreatment processes produced ethanol. However, the best result was observed in dilute acid hydrolysis followed by alkaline pretreatment and solid-state fungal pretreatment.     

Isolation and characterization of ethanol tolerant yeast strains

Yeast strains are commonly associated with sugar rich environments. Various fruit samples were selected as source for isolating yeast cells. The isolated cultures were identified at Genus level by colony morphology, biochemical characteristics and cell morphological characters. An attempt has been made to check the viability of yeast cells under different concentrations of ethanol. Ethanol tolerance of each strain was studied by allowing the yeast to grow in liquid YEPD (Yeast Extract Peptone Dextrose) medium having different concentrations of ethanol. A total of fifteen yeast strains isolated from different samples were used for the study. Seven strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae obtained from different fruit sources were screened for ethanol tolerance. The results obtained in this study show a range of tolerance levels between 7%-12% in all the stains. Further, the cluster analysis based on 22 RAPD (Random Amplified polymorphic DNA) bands revealed polymorphisms in these seven Saccharomyces strains.     

Expression of Arabidopsis thaliana xylose isomerase gene and its effect on ethanol production in Flammulina velutipes

To improve the pentose fermentation rate in Flammulina velutipes, the putative xylose isomerase (XI) gene from Arabidopsis thaliana was cloned and introduced into F. velutipes and the gene expression was evaluated in transformants. mRNA expression of the putative XI gene and XI activity were observed in two transformants, indicating that the putative gene from A. thaliana was successfully expressed in F. velutipes as a xylose isomerase. In addition, ethanol production from xylose was increased in the recombinant strains. This is the first report demonstrating the possibility of using plant genes as candidates for improving the characteristics of F. velutipes.     

Ethanol and value‐added byproducts from rice straw by dimorphic fungus Mucor hiemalis

Different morphologies of Mucor hiemalis were induced and used for the production of ethanol and biomass from rice straw through a separate hydrolysis and fermentation process. The yield of enzymatic hydrolysis was improved from 40.4% for the untreated straw to 80–93% by employing sodium hydroxide and concentrated phosphoric acid pretreatments with or without ultrasonication. The best hydrolysis performance was achieved after pretreatment by sodium hydroxide assisted with ultrasonication. The ethanol yields from the hydrolysates were 0.39–0.44 g/g depending on the pretreatment method and the fungus morphology. The yeast‐like form of the fungus showed faster glucose assimilation and slightly higher ethanol yield compared to the other morphologies. The biomass yield of mostly yeast‐like cells was more than the other morphologies (0.202–0.282 g/g glucose). Moreover, the biomass of the yeast‐like cells had more protein content (46.7–52.4 %) compared to filamentous cells (37.7–46.3 %). The cell wall, alkali‐insoluble material (AIM) of the biomass, represented 16.3–20.1% of the biomass. On average, total chitin‐chitosan content of AIM of the biomass of purely filamentous, mostly filamentous, mostly yeast‐like, and purely yeast‐like forms of the fungus was 0.460, 0.373, 0.330, and 0.336 g/g AIM of the biomass, respectively.     

环氧合酶-2/5-脂氧合酶抑制剂对酒精相关性口腔癌的抑制作用

目的:分析和比较选择性环氧合酶-2 (Cox-2)抑制剂塞来昔布、5-脂氧合酶(5-Lox)抑制剂齐留通及Cox/5-Lox双酶抑制剂利克飞龙对酒精相关性口腔癌的抑制作用。方法:选择66只C57BL/6小鼠,分为阴性对照组、模型组(4NQO组)、阳性对照组、齐留通干预组、塞来昔布干预组和利克飞龙干预组。阴性对照组不做任何处理,其余各组饮用50μg/m L四硝基喹啉-1-氧化物(4NQO)溶液16周后,阳性对照组及各干预组以8%酒精溶液代替饮用水喂养8周,同时开始分别用三蒸水和同等药量的齐留通、塞来昔布、利克飞龙(100 mg·kg-1·d-1)灌胃8周;于24周处死动物,取舌行组织病理学观察、BrdU免疫组化染色、蛋白质印迹法(Western-blot)检测舌组织中5-Lox、Cox-2蛋白的表达。结果:饮用酒精后,口腔癌发生率从16.7%增加到58.3%,5-Lox、Cox-2蛋白表达显著增加癌组织中BrdU阳性率显著升高。齐留通干预后,口腔癌发生率(41.7%)显著降低,5-Lox表达显著减少,Cox-2表达显著增加,Brd U阳性率显著降低;塞来昔布干预后,口腔癌发生率(50.0%)显著降低,Cox-2表达显著减少,5-Lox表达显著增加,BrdU阳性率显著降低;利克飞龙干预后,口腔癌发生率(25%),Brd U阳性率与阳性对照组、齐留通干预组和塞来昔布干预组相比均显著降低,5-Lox、Cox-2蛋白表达比阳性对照组显著减少(P0.05)。结论:酒精促进口腔癌变的过程可能与5-Lox和Cox-2的表达上调关系密切;齐留通和塞来昔布可以分别抑制5-Lox和Cox-2活性,使口腔癌的发生率显著降低;利克飞龙对口腔癌的抑制作用优于齐留通和塞来昔布。     

Delineation of critical amino acids in activation function 1 of progesterone receptor for recruitment of transcription coregulators

The activation functions AF1 and AF2 of nuclear receptors mediate the recruitment of coregulators in gene regulation. AF1 is mapped to the highly variable and intrinsically unstructured N terminal domain and AF2 lies in the conserved ligand binding domain. The unstructured nature of AF1 offers structural plasticity and hence functional versatility in gene regulation. However, little is known about the key functional residues of AF1 that mediates its interaction with coregulators. This study focuses on the progesterone receptor (PR) and reports the identification of K464, K481 and R492 (KKR) as the key functional residues of PR AF1. The KKR are monomethylated and function cooperatively. The combined mutations of KKR to QQQ render PR isoform B (PRB) hyperactive, whereas KKR to FFF mutations abolishes as much as 80% of PR activity. Furthermore, the hyperactive QQQ mutation rescues the loss of PR activity due to E911A mutation in AF2. The study also finds that the magnitudes of the mutational effect differ in different cell types as a result of differential effects on the functional interaction with coregulators. Furthermore, KKR provides the interface for AF1 to physically interact with p300 and SRC-1, and with AF2 at E911. Intriguingly, the inactive FFF mutant interacts strikingly stronger with both SRC-1 and AF2 than wt PRB. We propose a tripartite model to describe the dynamic interactions between AF1, AF2 and SRC-1 with KKR of AF1 and E911 of AF2 as the interface. An overly stable interaction would hamper the dynamics of disassembly of the receptor complex.     

蜂胶乙醇提取物(EEP)对豚鼠胸主动脉的舒张作用

目的:探讨蜂胶水提物(WEP)和乙醇提物(EEP)的血管舒张作用。方法:以离体豚鼠胸主动脉环为材料,采用离体实验方法记录血管收缩张力。结果:对于PE(PE,1μM)和KC1(60mM)预收缩的主动脉环,EEP可以剂量依赖地使其舒张。去除内皮后舒张作用减弱,所以这种作用是内皮依赖性的;使用NO合酶抑制剂N-硝基-L-精氨酸(L-NNA,10μM)、鸟苷酸环化酶抑制剂(methylene blue,10μM)或者前列腺素合成酶抑制剂(indomethacin,10μM)预处理,血管舒张作用也减弱。这提示EEP的作用可能与血管内皮释放的一氧化氮和前列腺素有关;K~ 通道通用抑制剂TEA(tetraethylammonium chloride,1 mM)的处理对EEP的舒血管作用没有影响,显示EEP对豚鼠动脉环的舒张作用与K~ 通道无关;另外,EEP能使CaCl_2的量效曲线下移,说明EEP可以抑制细胞外Ca~(2 )的内流,同时EEP还可以抑制细胞内Ca~(2 )的释放。结论:蜂胶乙醇提取物EEP能剂量依赖地引起离体豚鼠动脉环舒张。这种舒张作用与K~ 通道无关,但受内皮NO-鸟苷酸环化酶途径和前列腺素调控,最终通过降低细胞内Ca~(2 )的浓度舒张血管。