The Highwire Ubiquitin Ligase Promotes Axonal Degeneration by Tuning Levels of Nmnat Protein

Axonal degeneration is a hallmark of many neuropathies, neurodegenerative diseases, and injuries. Here, using a Drosophila injury model, we have identified a highly conserved E3 ubiquitin ligase, Highwire (Hiw), as an important regulator of axonal and synaptic degeneration. Mutations in hiw strongly inhibit Wallerian degeneration in multiple neuron types and developmental stages. This new phenotype is mediated by a new downstream target of Hiw: the NAD+ biosynthetic enzyme nicotinamide mononucleotide adenyltransferase (Nmnat), which acts in parallel to a previously known target of Hiw, the Wallenda dileucine zipper kinase (Wnd/DLK) MAPKKK. Hiw promotes a rapid disappearance of Nmnat protein in the distal stump after injury. An increased level of Nmnat protein in hiw mutants is both required and sufficient to inhibit degeneration. Ectopically expressed mouse Nmnat2 is also subject to regulation by Hiw in distal axons and synapses. These findings implicate an important role for endogenous Nmnat and its regulation, via a conserved mechanism, in the initiation of axonal degeneration. Through independent regulation of Wnd/DLK, whose function is required for proximal axons to regenerate, Hiw plays a central role in coordinating both regenerative and degenerative responses to axonal injury.     

Endothelial cell barrier protection by simvastatin: GTPase regulation and NADPH oxidase inhibition

The statins, hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase inhibitors that lower serum cholesterol, exhibit myriad clinical benefits, including enhanced vascular integrity. One potential mechanism underlying increased endothelial cell (EC) barrier function is inhibition of geranylgeranylation, a covalent modification enabling translocation of the small GTPases Rho and Rac to the cell membrane. While RhoA inhibition attenuates actin stress fiber formation and promotes EC barrier function, Rac1 inhibition at the cell membrane potentially prevents activation of NADPH oxidase and subsequent generation of superoxides known to induce barrier disruption. We examined the relative regulatory effects of simvastatin on RhoA, Rac1, and NADPH oxidase activities in the context of human pulmonary artery EC barrier protection. Confluent EC treated with simvastatin demonstrated significantly decreased thrombin-induced FITC-dextran permeability, a reflection of vascular integrity, which was linked temporally to simvastatin-mediated actin cytoskeletal rearrangement. Compared with Rho inhibition alone (Y-27632), simvastatin afforded additional protection against thrombin-mediated barrier dysfunction and attenuated LPS-induced EC permeability and superoxide generation. Statin-mediated inhibition of both Rac translocation to the cell membrane and superoxide production were attenuated by geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate (GGPP), indicating that these effects are due to geranylgeranylation inhibition. Finally, thrombin-induced EC permeability was modestly attenuated by reduced Rac1 expression (small interfering RNA), whereas these effects were made more pronounced by simvastatin pretreatment. Together, these data suggest EC barrier protection by simvastatin is due to dual inhibitory effects on RhoA and Rac1 as well as the attenuation of superoxide generation by EC NADPH oxidase and contribute to the molecular mechanistic understanding of the modulation of EC barrier properties by simvastatin.     

Endogenous purine metabolism in the conidia of wild type and certain adenine mutants of neurospora crassa I. The nature of the reserve pools and pool utilization during adenine starvation

Conidia of four adenine auxotrophs (ad 9, ad 3B, ad 8 and ad 4 of Neurospora crassa differ in their ability to germinate on adenine-deficient medium. A large percentage of the ad 9 and ad 3B mutant conidia germinate while those of ad 8 and ad 4 mutant do not. No correlation was found between the size of the conidial purine reserves and the conidial ability to germinate. In all the strains the major fraction of the conidial purine reserved pools was inosine. The ad 8 and ad 4 mutants are blocked after IMP formation in the adenine biosynthetic pathway and therefore cannot use the stored inosine for germination. Pool-utilization studies indicated that in all strains investigated some of the purine reserved were lost from the conidia during incubation. In the most readily germinating strain, ad 9, only small amounts of the purine pool were lost from the conidia and a large portion of the reserve pool was used for nucleic acid synthesis. The nature of the purine reserves present in the conidia, and the ability of the strains to prevent loss of the stored purines from the conidia appear to be among the factors influencing the conidial germination of the adenine mutants of N. crassa.     

Nature of 6-methylpurine inhibition and characterization of two 6-methylpurine-resistant mutants of Neurospora crassa.

6-Methylpurine, an analog of adenine, inhibits the growth of Neurospora crassa. From kinetic studies it was found that 6-methylpurine is converted to its nucleotide form by adenine phosphoribosyltransferase (EC 2.4.2.7), and inhibits the de novo purine biosynthesis. Adenine relieves the growth inhibition caused by 6-methylpurine, whereas hypoxanthine is not very effective. Studies dealing with hypoxanthine utilization in the presence of 6-methylpurine indicated a severely reduced uptake of hypoxanthine and a general slowdown in its further metabolism. Two mutants (Mepr-3 and Mepr-10) which are resistant to 6-methylpurine were characterized. Studies of purine base uptake and the in vivo and in vitro conversion to nucleotides indicated that Mepr-10 may be an adenine phosphoribosyltransferase-defective mutant, whereas Mepr-3 may be a mutant with altered feedback response to 6-methylpurine. Both mutants showed a severely lowered hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase activity, but because 6-methylpurine did not have any effect on the conversion of hypoxanthine to IMP in the wild type, it was concluded that 6-methylpurine resistance in these mutants cannot be due to lowered hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase activity, but rather that the lowering of enzyme activity may be a secondary effect.     

Purine base transport in nit-2 mutants of Neurospora crassa.

The nit-2 mutants possess general purine transport activity. Reduced hypoxanthine uptake in germinated conidia of these mutants may be a consequence of their defective purine metabolism.     

Permeability changes in membranes of Neurospora crassa after freezing and thawing.

Conidia of Neurospora crassa which are in different physiological states show different rates of survival after freezing and thawing. [¹⁴C]adenine uptake by frozen and thawed conidia in different physiological states show a correlation with their survival. The uptake method was extended to study the survival of mycelium in log phase and stationary phase. From the uptake data it appears that log phase mycelium is extremely sensitive to all rates of freezing and thawing studied, while the stationary phase mycelium showed slight tolerance to freezing, if freezing was done at a slow rate. A study of the efflux of labeled compounds from the conidia in various physiological states or from the mycelia after freezing and thawing showed that, although efflux followed the same general trend as survival in conidia, it did not relate to the survival in mycelium, suggesting that the death of conidia or mycelium in the freeze-thaw treatments is not due to efflux of compounds.     

Diurnal variations in intervertebral disc height affect spine flexibility,intradiscal pressure and contact compressive forces in the facet joints

Diurnal changes of intervertebral disc height are caused by high compressive loading during the day, which expulses fluid from the disc, and by osmotic pressure, which imbibes fluid into the disc at low loading. The aim of the present study was to determine the magnitude of diurnal changes in spine flexibility, intradiscal pressures and contact forces in the facet joints. A validated osseoligamentous finite element model of the lumbar spine was used to determine these quantities for morning and evening situations. Disc height varied by 10% for these two situations. Spine flexibility and facet joint forces were markedly higher in the evening than in the morning. Intradiscal pressures were higher in the morning than in the evening. The different spine flexibilities in the morning and evening should be taken into account during kinematical measurements. Predicted facet joint forces may be used for the designing and pre-clinical testing of artificial facet joint replacements.