Protective effects of L-pGlu-(2-propyl)-L-His-L-ProNH2, a newer thyrotropin releasing hormone analog in in vitro and in vivo models of cerebral ischemia

In the present study, the newly synthesized TRH analog (l-pGlu-(2-propyl)-l-His-l-ProNH₂; NP-647) was evaluated for its effects in in vitro (oxygen glucose deprivation (OGD)-, glutamate- and H₂O₂-induced injury in PC-12 cells) and in vivo (transient global ischemia) models of cerebral ischemic injury. PC-12 cells were subjected to oxygen and glucose deprivation for 6 h. Exposure of NP-647 was given before and during OGD. In glutamate and H₂O₂ induced injury, exposure of NP-647 was given 1, 6 and 24 h prior to exposure of glutamate and H₂O₂ exposure. NP-647, per se found to be non-toxic in 1-100 μM concentrations. NP-647 showed protection against OGD at the 1 and 10 μM. The concentration-dependent protection was observed in H₂O₂- and glutamate-induced cellular injury. In in vivo studies, NP-647 treatment showed protection of hippocampal (CA1) neuronal damage in transient global ischemia in mice and subsequent improvement in memory retention was observed using passive avoidance retention test. Moreover, administration of NP-647 resulted in decrease in inflammatory cytokines TNF-α and IL-6 as well as lipid peroxidation. These results suggest potential of NP-647 in the treatment of cerebral ischemia and its neuroprotective effect may be attributed to reduction of excitotoxicity, oxidative stress and inflammation.     

Superoxide flashes: early mitochondrial signals for oxidative stress-induced apoptosis

Irreversible mitochondrial permeability transition and the resultant cytochrome c release signify the commitment of a cell to apoptotic death. However, the role of transient MPT (tMPT) because of flickering opening of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore remains elusive. Here we show that tMPT and the associated superoxide flashes (i.e. tMPT/superoxide flashes) constitute early mitochondrial signals during oxidative stress-induced apoptosis. Selenite (a ROS-dependent insult) but not staurosporine (a ROS-independent insult) stimulated an early and persistent increase in tMPT/superoxide flash activity prior to mitochondrial fragmentation and a global ROS rise, independently of Bax translocation and cytochrome c release. Selectively targeting tMPT/superoxide flash activity by manipulating cyclophilin D expression or scavenging mitochondrial ROS markedly impacted the progression of selenite-induced apoptosis while exerting little effect on the global ROS response. Furthermore, the tMPT/superoxide flash served as a convergence point for pro- and anti-apoptotic regulation mediated by cyclophilin D and Bcl-2 proteins. These results indicate that tMPT/superoxide flashes act as early mitochondrial signals mediating the apoptotic response during oxidative stress, and provide the first demonstration of highly efficacious local mitochondrial ROS signaling in deciding cell fate.     

阿托伐他汀钙联合阿司匹林治疗短暂性脑缺血发作的疗效及对颈动脉粥样硬化斑块和血脂水平的影响研究

目的:探讨阿托伐他汀钙联合阿司匹林对短暂性脑缺血发作的治疗疗效及其对颈动脉粥样硬化斑块和血脂水平的影响。方法:选择我院80例短暂性脑缺血发作患者,按入院顺序随机平均分为两组,研究组40例患者给予阿托伐他汀钙联合阿司匹林治疗,对照组40例患者仅使用阿司匹林治疗。比较两组患者治疗后的治疗有效率,6个月后分别对两组患者颈动脉粥样硬化斑块及血脂水平进行检测。结果:研究组患者治疗总有效率为92.5%,明显高于对照组75%,比较差异具有统计学意义(P0.05);治疗6个月后研究组患者IMT及斑块面积较治疗前明显降低,且降低程度明显高于对照组,比较差异具有统计学意义(P0.05);研究组血清中LDL、TC、TG水平较治疗前显著下降,且下降程度明显高于对照组,同时HDL水平显著上升,而上升程度也明显高于对照组,比较差异具有统计学意义(P0.05)。结论:阿托伐他汀钙联合阿司匹林对短暂性脑缺血发作的治疗疗效显著,可明显减轻或消除颈动脉粥样硬化斑块并明显降低血脂水平,值得推广应用。     

Detecting temporal protein complexes from dynamic protein-protein interaction networks

Background

Proteins dynamically interact with each other to perform their biological functions. The dynamic operations of protein interaction networks (PPI) are also reflected in the dynamic formations of protein complexes. Existing protein complex detection algorithms usually overlook the inherent temporal nature of protein interactions within PPI networks. Systematically analyzing the temporal protein complexes can not only improve the accuracy of protein complex detection, but also strengthen our biological knowledge on the dynamic protein assembly processes for cellular organization.

Results

In this study, we propose a novel computational method to predict temporal protein complexes. Particularly, we first construct a series of dynamic PPI networks by joint analysis of time-course gene expression data and protein interaction data. Then a Time Smooth Overlapping Complex Detection model (TS-OCD) has been proposed to detect temporal protein complexes from these dynamic PPI networks. TS-OCD can naturally capture the smoothness of networks between consecutive time points and detect overlapping protein complexes at each time point. Finally, a nonnegative matrix factorization based algorithm is introduced to merge those very similar temporal complexes across different time points.

Conclusions

Extensive experimental results demonstrate the proposed method is very effective in detecting temporal protein complexes than the state-of-the-art complex detection techniques.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1471-2105-15-335) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

β1-Adrenergic Receptor Signaling Activates the Epithelial Calcium Channel,Transient Receptor Potential Vanilloid Type 5 (TRPV5), via the Protein Kinase A Pathway

Epinephrine and norepinephrine are present in the pro-urine. β-Adrenergic receptor (β-AR) blockers administered to counteract sympathetic overstimulation in patients with congestive heart failure have a negative inotropic effect, resulting in reduced cardiac contractility. Positive inotropes, β1-AR agonists, are used to improve cardiac functions. Active Ca²⁺ reabsorption in the late distal convoluted and connecting tubules (DCT2/CNT) is initiated by Ca²⁺ influx through the transient receptor potential vanilloid type 5 (TRPV5) Ca²⁺ channel. Although it was reported that β-ARs are present in the DCT2/CNT region, their role in active Ca²⁺ reabsorption remains elusive. Here we revealed that β1-AR, but not β2-AR, is localized with TRPV5 in DCT2/CNT. Subsequently, treatment of TRPV5-expressing mouse DCT2/CNT primary cell cultures with the β1-AR agonist dobutamine showed enhanced apical-to-basolateral transepithelial Ca²⁺ transport. In human embryonic kidney (HEK293) cells, dobutamine was shown to stimulate cAMP production, signifying functional β1-AR expression. Fura-2 experiments demonstrated increased activity of TRPV5 in response to dobutamine, which could be prevented by the PKA inhibitor H89. Moreover, nonphosphorylable T709A-TRPV5 and phosphorylation-mimicking T709D-TRPV5 mutants were unresponsive to dobutamine. Surface biotinylation showed that dobutamine did not affect plasma membrane abundance of TRPV5. In conclusion, activation of β1-AR stimulates active Ca²⁺ reabsorption in DCT2/CNT; an increase in TRPV5 activity via PKA phosphorylation of residue Thr-709 possibly plays an important role. These data explicate a calciotropic role in addition to the inotropic property of β1-AR.     

Oligomeric State of Purified Transient Receptor Potential Melastatin-1 (TRPM1), a Protein Essential for Dim Light Vision

Transient receptor potential melastatin-1 (TRPM1) is essential for the light-induced depolarization of retinal ON bipolar cells. TRPM1 likely forms a multimeric channel complex, although almost nothing is known about the structure or subunit composition of channels formed by TRPM1 or any of its close relatives. Recombinant TRPM1 was robustly expressed in insect cells, but only a small fraction was localized to the plasma membrane. Similar intracellular localization was observed when TRPM1 was heterologously expressed in mammalian cells. TRPM1 was affinity-purified from Sf9 cells and complexed with amphipol, followed by detergent removal. In blue native gels and size exclusion chromatography, TRPM1 migrated with a mobility consistent with detergent- or amphipol-bound dimers. Cross-linking experiments were also consistent with a dimeric subunit stoichiometry, and cryoelectron microscopy and single particle analysis without symmetry imposition yielded a model with approximate 2-fold symmetrical features. Finally, electron microscopy of TRPM1-antibody complexes revealed a large particle that can accommodate TRPM1 and two antibody molecules. Taken together, these data indicate that purified TRPM1 is mostly dimeric. The three-dimensional structure of TRPM1 dimers is characterized by a small putative transmembrane domain and a larger domain with a hollow cavity. Blue native gels of solubilized mouse retina indicate that TRPM1 is present in two distinct complexes: one similar in size to the recombinant protein and one much larger. Because dimers are likely not functional ion channels, these results suggest that additional partner subunits participate in forming the transduction channel required for dim light vision and the ON pathway.     

Molecular Basis Determining Inhibition/Activation of Nociceptive Receptor TRPA1 Protein: A SINGLE AMINO ACID DICTATES SPECIES-SPECIFIC ACTIONS OF THE MOST POTENT MAMMALIAN TRPA1 ANTAGONIST*

The transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 (TRPA1) is a Ca²⁺-permeable, nonselective cation channel mainly expressed in a subset of nociceptive neurons. TRPA1 functions as a cellular sensor detecting mechanical, chemical, and thermal stimuli. Because TRPA1 is considered to be a key player in nociception and inflammatory pain, TRPA1 antagonists have been developed as analgesic agents. Recently, by utilizing species differences, we identified the molecular basis of the antagonistic action of A967079, one of the most potent mammalian TRPA1 antagonists. Here, we show a unique effect of A967079 on TRPA1 from diverse vertebrate species, i.e. it acts as an agonist but not as an antagonist for chicken and frog TRPA1s. By characterizing chimeric channels of human and chicken TRPA1s, as well as point mutants, we found that a single specific amino acid residue located within the putative fifth transmembrane domain was involved in not only the stimulatory but also the inhibitory actions of A967079. AP18, structurally related to A967079, exerted similar pharmacological properties to A967079. Our findings and previous reports on species differences in the sensitivity to TRPA1 antagonists supply useful information in the search for novel analgesic medicines targeting TRPA1.     

EGF Stimulates Growth by Enhancing Capacitative Calcium Entry in Corneal Epithelial Cells

In rabbit corneal epithelial cells (RCEC), we determined whether capacitative calcium entry (CCE) mediates the mitogenic response to epidermal growth factor, EGF. [Ca²⁺]_i was measured with single-cell fluorescence imaging of fura2-loaded RCEC. EGF (5 ng/ml) maximally increased [Ca²⁺]_i 4.4-fold. Following intracellular store (ICS) calcium depletion in calcium-free medium with 10 µM cyclopiazonic acid (CPA) (endoplasmic reticulum calcium ATPase inhibitor), calcium addback elicited plasma membrane Ca²⁺ influx as a result of activation of plasma membrane store operated channel (SOC) activity. Based on Mn²⁺ quench measurements of fura2 fluorescence, 5 ng/ml EGF enhanced such influx 2.3-fold, whereas with Rp-cAMPS (protein kinase A inhibitor) plus EGF it increased by 5.3-fold. In contrast, SOC activation was blocked with 100 µM 2-aminoethyldiphenylborate (2-APB, store-operated channel inhibitor). During exposure to either 50 µM UO126 (MEK-1/2 inhibitor) or 10 µM forskolin (adenylate cyclase activator), 5 ng/ml EGF failed to affect [Ca²⁺]_i. RT-PCR detected gene expression of: 1) transient receptor potential (TRP) protein isoforms 1, 3, 4, 6 and 7; 2) IP₃R isoforms 1–3. Immunocytochemistry, in conjunction with confocal and immunogold electron microscopy, detected plasma membrane localization of TRP4 expression. Inhibition of CCE with 2-APB and/or CPA, eliminated the 2.5-fold increase in intracellular [³H]-thymidine incorporation induced by EGF. Taken together, CCE in RCEC mediates the mitogenic response to EGF. EGF induces CCE through its stimulation of Erk1/2 activity, whereas PKA stimulation suppresses these effects of EGF. TRP4 may be a component of plasma membrane SOC activity, which is stimulated by ICS calcium depletion.     

不同时间频率光栅刺激引起的视觉诱发电位(VEP)方位效应的差异

以人视觉诱发电位(VEP)反应为指标,在不同的时间频率下测定了 VEP 对方波光栅刺激的反应幅度与光栅方位的关系。当光栅方位固定时,光栅闪烁的时间频率不同,VEP 反应的波形、潜伏期和反应频率差别很大,但其反应幅度均呈现方位选择性。当光栅的时间频率为9.1Hz时,光栅为垂直和水平方位时引起的 VEP 反应幅度比倾斜方位时都大,对任何光栅方位,VEP反应幅度与光栅对比度的对数呈线性关系;与此相反,当光栅时间频率为0.4Hz 时,光栅为倾斜方位时引起的 VEP 反应幅度比垂直和水平方位时更大。     

人乳头瘤病毒L1基因与丹毒丝菌SpaA-N优势抗原表位序列的嵌合重组质粒构建及活性鉴定

为确定丹毒丝菌表面保护性抗原A的N-末端(SpaA-N)优势抗原表位,研发新型表位DNA嵌合疫苗,利用生物信息学软件对丹毒丝菌SpaA-N的优势B细胞抗原表位进行预测,以重叠PCR将优势表位插入人乳头瘤病毒16型的主要衣壳蛋白( HPV-16 LI) HI环结构的编码序列中,构建获得重组嵌合质粒pcDNA3-HPV-LI -△spaA.该重组质粒经体内、外瞬时特染后,RT-PCR均扩增获得了1 500 bp左右的目的片段.免疫印迹试验显示,体外转染嵌合质粒的细胞总蛋白能够与GST-SpaA-N重组蛋白免疫血清在56 kD处产生特异性结合.ELISA分析显示嵌合质粒可在小鼠体内产生差异显著的特异性抗体(P＜0.01),抗体滴度为1:1 000.此外,pcDNA3-HPV-L1-△spaA制备的抗血清至少可在1∶10稀释度条件下,介导外源补体对半数以上的菌体进行杀伤.该研究表明,获得的SpaA-N表位DNA嵌合疫苗具有免疫活性,为研发安全有效的丹毒丝菌新型DNA疫苗提供了一个新思路.