Chronic hyperammonemia alters protein phosphorylation and glutamate receptor-associated signal transduction in brain

There is substantial evidence that hyperammonemia is one of the main factors contributing to the neurological alterations found in hepatic encephalopathy. The mechanisms by which chronic moderate hyperammonemia affects brain function involves alterations in neurotransmission at different steps. This article reviews the effects of hyperammonemia on phosphorylation of key brain proteins involved in neurotransmission (the microtubule-associated protein (MAP-2), Na+/K+-ATPase and NMDA receptors). The physiological function of these proteins is modulated by phosphorylation and its altered phosphorylation in hyperammonemia may contribute to impairment of neurotransmission. The effects of chronic hyperammonemia on signal transduction pathways associated to glutamate receptors, such as the glutamate-nitric oxide (NO)-cGMP pathway, are also reviewed. The possible contribution of the impairment of this pathway in brain in vivo to the neurological alterations present in patients with hepatic encephalopathy is discussed.     

Modulation of NMDA receptors by AKT kinase

The aim of the present work was to assess whether Akt modulates NMDA receptor function in cerebellar neurons in culture. Forskolin increases cAMP and activates Akt and NMDA receptors. In neurons treated with forskolin, intracellular calcium increased to 296 +/- 38% and this was completely prevented by inhibition of Akt. This indicates that, in these neurons, cAMP modulates NMDA receptors via Epac and Akt. Brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) increases phosphorylation (and activity) of Akt to 350 +/- 60% of basal and also potentiates the increase of calcium and in cGMP induced by NMDA. BDNF-induced potentiation of NMDA receptor function is completely prevented by inhibition of PI3 kinase or of Akt. This indicates that BDNF modulates NMDA receptor function via PI3 kinase and Akt. Activation of NMDA receptors also leads to phosphorylation and activation of Akt which, in turn, potentiates NMDA receptor activation. The results reported indicate that when Akt activity increases the activation of NMDA receptors by its agonists also increases. Akt may play important roles in the modulation of NMDA receptor responses by other neurotransmitters and modulators and in the adaptation of NMDA receptor function to the physiological environmental conditions.     

Chronic hyperammonemia alters in opposite ways membrane expression of GluA1 and GluA2 AMPA receptor subunits in cerebellum. Molecular mechanisms involved

Hyperammonemia contributes to altered neurotransmission and cognition in patients with hepatic encephalopathy. Hyperammonemia in rats affects differently high- and low-affinity AMPA receptors (AMPARs) in cerebellum. We hypothesized that hyperammonemia would alter differently membrane expression of AMPARs GluA1 and GluA2 subunits by altering its phosphorylation. This work aims were: 1) assess if hyperammonemia alters GluA1 and GluA2 subunits membrane expression in cerebellum and 2) analyze the underlying mechanisms.Hyperammonemia reduces membrane expression of GluA2 and enhances membrane expression of GluA1 in vivo. We show that changes in GluA2 and GluA1 membrane expression in hyperammonemia would be due to enhanced NMDA receptors activation which reduces cGMP levels and phosphodiesterase 2 (PDE2) activity, resulting in increased cAMP levels. This leads to increased protein kinase A (PKA) activity which activates phospholipase C (PLC) and protein kinase C (PKC) thus increasing phosphorylation of GluA2 in Ser880, which reduces GluA2 membrane expression, and phosphorylation of GluA1 in Ser831, which increases GluA1 membrane expression. Blocking NMDA receptors or inhibiting PKA, PLC or PKC normalizes GluA2 and GluA1 phosphorylation and membrane expression in hyperammonemic rats.Altered GluA2 and GluA1 membrane expression would alter signal transduction which may contribute to cognitive and motor alterations in hyperammonemia and hepatic encephalopathy.     

Glutamine synthetase activity and glutamine content in brain: modulation by NMDA receptors and nitric oxide

Acute intoxication with large doses of ammonia leads to rapid death. The main mechanism for ammonia elimination in brain is its reaction with glutamate to form glutamine. This reaction is catalyzed by glutamine synthetase and consumes ATP. In the course of studies on the molecular mechanism of acute ammonia toxicity, we have found that glutamine synthetase activity and glutamine content in brain are modulated by NMDA receptors and nitric oxide. The main findings can be summarized as follows.Blocking NMDA receptors prevents ammonia-induced depletion of brain ATP and death of rats but not the increase in brain glutamine, indicating that ammonia toxicity is not due to increased activity of glutamine synthetase or formation of glutamine but to excessive activation of NMDA receptors.Blocking NMDA receptors in vivo increases glutamine synthetase activity and glutamine content in brain, indicating that tonic activation of NMDA receptors maintains a tonic inhibition of glutamine synthetase.Blocking NMDA receptors in vivo increases the activity of glutamine synthetase assayed in vitro, indicating that increased activity is due to a covalent modification of the enzyme. Nitric oxide inhibits glutamine synthetase, indicating that the covalent modification that inhibits glutamine synthetase is a nitrosylation or a nitration.Inhibition of nitric oxide synthase increases the activity of glutamine synthetase, indicating that the covalent modification is reversible and it must be an enzyme that denitrosylate or denitrate glutamine synthetase.NMDA mediated activation of nitric oxide synthase is responsible only for part of the tonic inhibition of glutamine synthetase. Other sources of nitric oxide are also contributing to this tonic inhibition.Glutamine synthetase is not working at maximum rate in brain and its activity may be increased pharmacologically by manipulating NMDA receptors or nitric oxide content. This may be useful, for example, to increase ammonia detoxification in brain in hyperammonemic situations.     

Sequential activation of soluble guanylate cyclase, protein kinase G and cGMP-degrading phosphodiesterase is necessary for proper induction of long-term potentiation in CA1 of hippocampus. Alterations in hyperammonemia

Long-term potentiation (LTP) is a long-lasting enhancement of synaptic transmission efficacy and is considered the base for some forms of learning and memory. Nitric oxide (NO)-induced formation of cGMP is involved in hippocampal LTP. We have studied in hippocampal slices the effects of application of a tetanus to induce LTP on cGMP metabolism and the mechanisms by which cGMP modulates LTP. Tetanus application induced a transient rise in cGMP, reaching a maximum at 10s and decreasing below basal levels 5 min after the tetanus, remaining below basal levels after 60 min. Soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) activity increased 5 min after tetanus and returned to basal levels at 60 min. The decrease in cGMP was due to sustained tetanus-induced increase in cGMP-degrading phosphodiesterase activity, which remained activated 60 min after tetanus. Tetanus-induced activation of PDE and decrease of cGMP were prevented by inhibiting protein kinase G (PKG). This indicates that the initial increase in cGMP activates PKG that phosphorylates (and activates) cGMP-degrading PDE, which, in turn, degrades cGMP. Inhibition of sGC, of PKG or of cGMP-degrading phosphodiesterase impairs LTP, indicating that proper induction of LTP involves transient activation of sGC and increase in cGMP, followed by activation of cGMP-dependent protein kinase, which, in turn, activates cGMP-degrading phosphodiesterase, resulting in long-lasting reduction of cGMP content. Hyperammonemia is the main responsible for the neurological alterations found in liver disease and hepatic encephalopathy, including impaired intellectual function. Hyperammonemia impairs LTP in hippocampus by altering the modulation of this sGC-PKG-cGMP-degrading PDE pathway. Exposure of hippocampal slices to 1 mM ammonia completely prevents tetanus-induced decrease of cGMP by impairing PKG-mediated activation of cGMP-degrading phosphodiesterase. This impairment is responsible for the loss of the maintenance of LTP in hyperammonemia, and may be also involved in the cognitive impairment in patients with hyperammonemia and hepatic encephalopathy.     

Sildenafil Treatment Eliminates Pruritogenesis and Thermal Hyperalgesia in Rats with Portacaval Shunts

Pruritus is a common symptom in chronic liver diseases, which may also alter thermal sensitivity. The underlying mechanisms remain unclear and treatments are not satisfactory. Portal-systemic shunting has been proposed to alter thermal sensitivity in cirrhotics. Inflammation-induced enhanced activity of the Transient Receptor Potential Vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) may contribute to pruritus and thermal hyperalgesia. Sildenafil reduces neuroinflammation in portacaval shunt (PCS) rats. The aims were to assess whether: (1) PCS rats show enhanced scratching or thermal sensitivity; (2) TRPV1 activity is enhanced in PCS rats; (3) treatment with sildenafil reduces TRPV1 activation, scratching and thermal hyperalgesia. Rats were treated with sildenafil beginning 3 weeks after surgery. The number of scratches performed were counted. Thermal hyperalgesia was analyzed using the Hargreaves’ Plantar Test. TRPV1 activation by measuring the increase in Ca²⁺ induced by capsaicin in dorsal root ganglia neurons. PCS rats show enhanced scratching behavior, reaching 66?±?5 scratches/h (p?<?0.01) at 21 days after surgery, while controls show 37?±?2 scratches/h. PCS rats show thermal hyperalgesia. Paw withdrawal latency was reduced (p?<?0.05) to 10?±?1 s compared to controls (21?±?2 s). Capsaicin-induced calcium increase was higher in dorsal root ganglia cultures from PCS rats, indicating TRPV1functional increase. PCS rats show enhanced scratching behavior and thermal sensitivity and are a good model to study these alterations in chronic liver diseases. Enhanced sensitivity and activity of TRPV1 channel underlies these alterations. Treatment with sildenafil reduces TRPV1 channel sensitivity and activity and normalizes scratching behavior and thermal sensitivity.     

Presence of diadenosine polyphosphates in microdialysis samples from rat cerebellum in vivo: effect of mild hyperammonemia on their receptors

Diadenosine triphosphate (Ap₃A), diadenosine tetraphosphate (Ap₄A), and diadenosine pentaphosphate (Ap₅A) have been identified in microdialysis samples from the cerebellum of conscious freely moving rats, under basal conditions, by means of a high-performance liquid chromatography method. The occurrence of Ap₃A in the cerebellar microdyalisates is noteworthy, as the presence of this compound in the interstitial medium in neural tissues has not been previously described. The concentrations measured for the diadenosine polyphosphates in the cerebellar dialysate were (in nanomolar) 10.5 ± 2.9, 5.4 ± 1.2, and 5.8 ± 1.3 for Ap₃A, Ap₄A, and Ap₅A, respectively. These concentrations are in the range that allows the activation of the presynaptic dinucleotide receptor in nerve terminals. However, a possible interaction of these dinucleotides with other purinergic receptors cannot be ruled out, as rat cerebellum expresses a variety of P2X or P2Y receptors susceptible to be activated by diadenosine polyphosphates, such as the P2X1-4, P2Y₁, P2Y₂, P2Y₄, and P2Y₁₂ receptors, as demonstrated by quantitative real-time PCR. Also, the ecto-nucleotide pyrophosphatases/phosphodiesterases NPP1 and NPP3, able to hydrolyze the diadenosine polyphosphates and terminate their extracellular actions, are expressed in the rat cerebellum. All these evidences contribute to reinforce the role of diadenosine polyphosphates as signaling molecules in the central nervous system. Finally, we have analyzed the possible differences in the concentration of diadenosine polyphosphates in the cerebellar extracellular medium and changes in the expression levels of their receptors and hydrolyzing enzymes in an animal model of moderate hyperammonemia.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s11302-013-9382-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 modulates the nitric oxide-cGMP pathway in cerebellum in vivo through activation of AMPA receptors

Metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) modulate important processes in cerebellum including long-term depression, which also requires formation of nitric oxide (NO) and cGMP. Some reports suggest that mGluRs could modulate the NO-cGMP pathway in cerebellum. However this modulation has not been studied in detail. The aim of this work was to assess by microdialysis in freely moving rats whether activation of mGluR5 modulates the NO-cGMP pathway in cerebellum in vivo and to analyze the underlying mechanisms. We show that mGluR5 activation increases extracellular glutamate, citrulline and cGMP in cerebellum. Blocking NMDA receptors with MK-801 does not prevent any of these effects, indicating that NMDA receptors activation is not required. However in the presence of MK-801 the effects are more transient, returning faster to basal levels. Blocking AMPA receptors prevents the increase in citrulline and cGMP induced by mGluR5 activation, but not the increase in glutamate. The release of glutamate is prevented by tetrodotoxin but not by fluoroacetate, indicating that glutamate is released from neurons and not from astrocytes. Activation of AMPA receptors increases citrulline and cGMP. These data indicate that activation of mGluR5 induces an increase of extracellular glutamate which activates AMPA receptors, leading to activation of nitric oxide synthase and increased NO, which activates guanylate cyclase, increasing cGMP. The response mediated by AMPA receptors desensitize rapidly. Activation of AMPA receptors also induces a mild depolarization, allowing activation of NMDA receptors which prolongs the duration of the effect initiated by activation of AMPA receptors. These data support that the three types of glutamate receptors: mGluR5, AMPA and NMDA cooperate in the modulation of the grade and duration of activation of the NO-cGMP pathway in cerebellum in vivo. This pathway would modulate cerebellar processes such as long-term depression.     

Differential effects of chronic hyperammonemia on modulation of the glutamate-nitric oxide-cGMP pathway by metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 and low and high affinity AMPA receptors in cerebellum in vivo

Previous studies show that chronic hyperammonemia impairs learning ability of rats by impairing the glutamate-nitric oxide (NO)-cyclic guanosine mono-phosphate (cGMP) pathway in cerebellum. Three types of glutamate receptors cooperate in modulating the NO-cGMP pathway: metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGluR5), (RS)-α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) and N-methyl-d-aspartic acid (NMDA) receptors. The aim of this work was to assess whether hyperammonemia alters the modulation of this pathway by mGluR5 and AMPA receptors in cerebellum in vivo. The results support that in control rats: (1) low AMPA concentrations (0.1mM) activate nearly completely Ca(2+)-permeable (glutamate receptor subunit 2 (GluR2)-lacking) AMPA receptors and the NO-cGMP pathway; (2) higher AMPA concentrations (0.3 mM) also activate Ca(2+)-impermeable (GluR2-containing) AMPA receptors, leading to activation of NMDA receptors and of NO-cGMP pathway. Moreover, the data support that chronic hyperammonemia: (1) reduces glutamate release and activation of the glutamate-NO-cGMP pathway by activation of mGluR5; (2) strongly reduces the direct activation by AMPA receptors of the NO-cGMP pathway, likely due to reduced entry of Ca(2+) through GluR2-lacking, high affinity AMPA receptors; (3) strongly increases the indirect activation of the NO-cGMP pathway by high affinity AMPA receptors, likely due to increased entry of Na(+) through GluR2-lacking AMPA receptors and NMDA receptors activation; (4) reduces the indirect activation of the NO-cGMP pathway by low affinity AMPA receptors, likely due to reduced activation of NMDA receptors.