Wnt signaling regulates homeostasis of the periodontal ligament.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: In health, the periodontal ligament maintains a constant width throughout an organism's lifetime. The molecular signals responsible for maintaining homeostatic control over the periodontal ligament are unknown. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of Wnt signaling in this process by removing an essential chaperone protein, Wntless (Wls), from odontoblasts and cementoblasts, and observing the effects of Wnt depletion on cells of the periodontal complex. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The Wnt responsive status of the periodontal complex was assessed using two strains of Wnt reporter mice: Axin2(LacZ/+) and Lgr5(LacZ/+) . The function of this endogenous Wnt signal was evaluated by conditionally eliminating the Wntless (Wls) gene using an osteocalcin Cre driver. The resulting OCN-Cre;Wls (fl/fl) mice were examined using micro-computed tomography and histology, immunohistochemical analyses for osteopontin, Runx2 and fibromodulin, in-situ hybridization for osterix and alkaline phosphatase activity. RESULTS: The adult periodontal ligament is Wnt responsive. Elimination of Wnt signaling in the periodontal complex of OCN-Cre;Wls(fl/fl) mice resulted in a wider periodontal ligament space. This pathologically increased periodontal width is caused by a reduction in the expression of osteogenic genes and proteins, which results in thinner alveolar bone. A concomitant increase in fibrous tissue occupying the periodontal space was observed, along with a disruption in the orientation of the periodontal ligament. CONCLUSION: The periodontal ligament is a Wnt-dependent tissue. Cells in the periodontal complex are Wnt responsive, and eliminating an essential component of the Wnt signaling network leads to a pathological widening of the periodontal ligament space. Osteogenic stimuli are reduced, and a disorganized fibrillary matrix results from the depletion of Wnt signaling. Collectively, these data underscore the importance of Wnt signaling in homeostasis of the periodontal ligament.

Magnetic resonance imaging-verified temporomandibular joint disk displacement in relation to sagittal and vertical jaw deformities.

This retrospective study was designed to analyze the relationships between temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disk displacement and skeletal deformities in orthodontic patients. Subjects consisted of 460 adult patients. Before treatment, lateral cephalograms and TMJ magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were recorded. Subjects were divided into six groups based on TMJ MRI according to increasing severity of TMJ disk displacement, in the following order: bilateral normal TMJs, unilateral disk displacement with reduction (DDR) and contralateral normal, bilateral DDR, unilateral disk displacement without reduction (DDNR) and contralateral normal, unilateral DDR and contralateral DDNR, and bilateral DDNR. Subjects were subdivided sagittally into skeletal Class I, II, and III deformities based on the ANB (point A, nasion, point B) angle and subdivided vertically into hypodivergent, normodivergent, and hyperdivergent deformities based on the facial height ratio. Linear trends between severity of TMJ disk displacement and sagittal or vertical deformities were analyzed by Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel test. The severity of TMJ disk displacement increased as the sagittal skeletal classification changed from skeletal Class III to skeletal Class II and the vertical skeletal classification changed from hypodivergent to hyperdivergent. There were no significant differences in the linear trend of TMJ disk displacement severity between the sexes according to the skeletal deformities. This study suggests that subjects with skeletal Class II and/or hyperdivergent deformities have a high possibility of severe TMJ disk displacement, regardless of sex.

Ethanol alters calcium signaling in axonal growth cones.

Calcium (Ca2+) channels are sensitive to ethanol and Ca2+ signaling is a critical regulator of axonal growth and guidance. Effects of acute and chronic exposure to ethanol (22, 43, or 87 mM) on voltage-gated Ca2+ channels (VGCCs) in whole cells, and KCl-induced Ca2+ transients in axonal growth cones, were examined using dissociated hippocampal cultures. Whole-cell patch-clamp analysis in neurons with newly-formed axons (Stage 3) revealed that rapidly inactivating, low-voltage activated (LVA) and non-inactivating, high-voltage activated (HVA) currents were both inhibited in a dose-dependent manner by acute ethanol, with relatively greater inhibition of HVA currents. When assessed by Fluo-4-AM imaging, baseline fluorescence and Ca2+ response to ethanol in Stage 3 neurons was similar compared to neurons without axons, but peak Ca2+ transient amplitudes in response to bath-applied KCl were greater in Stage 3 neurons and were decreased by acute ethanol. The amplitude of Ca2+ transients elicited specifically in axonal growth cones by focal application of KCl was also inhibited by acute exposure to moderate-to-high concentrations of ethanol (43 or 87 mM), whereas a lower concentration (22 mM) had no effect. When 43 or 87 mM ethanol was present continuously in the medium, KCl-evoked Ca2+ transient amplitudes were also reduced in growth cones. In contrast, Ca2+ transients were increased by continuous exposure to 22 mM ethanol. Visualization using a fluorescent dihydropyridine analog revealed that neurons continuously exposed to ethanol expressed increased amounts of L-type Ca2+ channels, with greater increases in axonal growth cones than cell bodies. Thus, acute ethanol reduces Ca2+ current and KCl-induced Ca2+ responses in whole cells and axonal growth cones, respectively, and chronic exposure is also generally inhibitory despite apparent up-regulation of L-type channel expression. These results are consistent with a role for altered growth cone Ca2+ signaling in abnormal neuromorphogenesis associated with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.

Functional nicotinic acetylcholine receptor expression on stem and progenitor cells of the early embryonic nervous system.

Although the adult brain contains nicotinic acetylcholine (ACh) receptors vital to cortical function, little is known about the assembly of embryonic receptor subunits into functional receptors or their role in fetal brain development. We now report the first evidence of functional nicotinic ACh receptors on stem and progenitor cells of fetal mouse cerebral cortex as early as embryonic day 10.

Calcium transport proteins in active secretory zones: Na-Ca exchange isoforms and exchanger kinetic properties in chromaffin granules and plasma membranes.

We have found that Na-Ca exchange influences Ca(2+) efflux, signal decay, and the rate of secretion in chromaffin cells. We now report the presence of two distinct splicing variant isoforms of Na-Ca exchange proteins in bovine chromaffin cells and their transport properties in chromaffin granules and plasma membrane vesicles.

Functional nicotinic acetylcholine receptor expression in stem and progenitor cells of the early embryonic mouse cerebral cortex.

The adult cerebral cortex contains nicotinic acetylcholine (ACh) receptors vital to cortical function. However, little is known about the assembly of embryonic nicotinic receptor subunits into functional receptors or whether they play an active role in cortical development. We now report evidence of functional nicotinic acetylcholine receptor channels in fetal mouse cerebral cortex as early as embryonic day 10 (E10), when the cortex consists of dividing stem and progenitor cells. Patch-clamp electrophysiological measurements indicate that nicotine and ACh evoke sizable inward currents characteristic of nicotinic receptors, that are strongly rectifying with a reversal potential near 0 mV. Three different nicotinic agonists, ACh, nicotine, and dimethylphenylpiperazinium, evoked cytosolic Ca(2+) signals. Agonist-evoked Ca(2+) signals and electrophysiological responses were found in greater than 70% of all E10-E11 cells tested and were blocked by nicotinic receptor antagonists. The Ca(2+) response to nicotinic agonists was markedly prolonged in cells from early embryonic stages relative to later stages of development. alpha3, alpha4, and alpha7 receptor subunit proteins were detected immunocytochemically in cortical cells from E10 to birth. The incidence of each subunit declined with embryonic age, suggesting a role in early development. We discuss the possible function of nicotinic receptors in early cortical development and their role as a target for nicotine in the developmental pathologies associated with the fetal tobacco syndrome.

Ibogaine acts at the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor to inhibit catecholamine release.

In an effort to determine mechanisms of action of the putative anti-addictive agent ibogaine, we have measured its effects on catecholamine release in a model neuronal system, cultured bovine chromaffin cells. Various modes of stimulating catecholamine release were used including nicotinic ACh receptor activation, membrane depolarization with elevated K+ and Na+ channel activation with veratridine. In addition, because ibogaine has been reported to interact with kappa opioid receptors, we tested whether kappa receptor antagonists could reverse ibogaine's effects on catecholamine release. Ibogaine, at low concentration (<10 microM) was found to selectively inhibit nicotinic receptor-mediated catecholamine release, while having no significant effect on release evoked by either veratridine or membrane depolarization with elevated K+. The inhibitory actions of ibogaine and the kappa agonists were not reversed by preincubation with the opioid antagonists nor-binaltorphimine or naltrexone, suggesting that these inhibitory effects are not mediated by the kappa opioid receptor. The effects of low dose (10 microM) ibogaine were rapidly reversible, while the inhibitory effects of higher ibogaine doses persisted for at least 19 h following ibogaine washout. The results provide evidence for a mechanism of action ibogaine at the nicotinic ACh receptor. The results are consistent with a model in which the initial high transient brain concentrations (100 microM) of ibogaine act at multiple cellular sites and then have a selective action at the nicotinic ACh receptor cation channel following its metabolism to lower brain concentrations. The present findings are relevant to potential anti-addictive actions of ibogaine and to the development of drugs to combat nicotine addiction.

Ibogaine selectively inhibits nicotinic receptor-mediated catecholamine release.

The effects of ibogaine, a putative anti-addictive drug, on stimulated catecholamine release were examined in cultured chromaffin cells to clarify its mechanism(s) of action. Low concentrations of ibogaine (1-10 microM) had a selective inhibitory action on nicotinic receptor-mediated catecholamine release, while higher concentrations (100 microM) inhibited additional modes of stimulated catecholamine release. These results suggest a selective inhibitory action of ibogaine at the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, possibly at the receptor ion channel site.

Association of solubilized angiotensin II receptors with phospholipase C-alpha in murine neuroblastoma NIE-115 cells.

The peptide angiotensin II (AngII) has been reported to stimulate phosphoinositide-specific phospholipase C (PLC) activity in the murine neuroblastoma cell line N1E-115. In the present study, polyclonal antibodies raised against a PLC isoenzyme, PLC-alpha, reacted with a 60-kDa protein present in both membrane and cytosolic fractions of differentiated N1E-115 cells. In order to examine the possible association of PLC-alpha with cell surface AngII receptors (AngII-Rs), membranes from differentiated N1E-115 cells were solubilized, using the zwitterionic detergent 3-[(3-cholamidopropyl)dimethylammonio]-1-propanesulfonate (CHAPS). CHAPS (1%) solubilized AngII-Rs, from N1E-115 cells, that maintained their high affinity for agonists. Gel filtration analysis of the solubilized membranes revealed that the majority of the specific binding of 125I-AngII eluted as a large protein complex with a molecular mass of 380 kDa and that agonist binding was partially reduced by guanosine-5'-O-(3-thio)triphosphate (GTP gamma S), within this complex. CHAPS also effectively solubilized immunoreactive PLC-alpha, from N1E-115 cell membranes, that was similarly present within the 380-kDa AngII-binding complex. Anti-PLC-alpha antisera immunoprecipitated approximately 16% of the total phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate-specific PLC activity in the 1% CHAPS extract and 40% of cytosolic PLC activity. Moreover, a 60-kDa 35S-Trans S-labeled protein, comigrating with immunoreactive PLC-alpha, was immunoprecipitated from the 1% CHAPS extract by the antisera. In addition, anti-PLC-alpha antisera immunoprecipitated approximately 20% of solubilized AngII-Rs prebound with 125I-AngII but failed to precipitate receptors prebound with the antagonist 125I-Sarc1,Ile8-AngII. The anti-PLC-alpha antisera also immunoprecipitated AngII-Rs when intact membranes were labeled with 125I-AngII before solubilization in 1% CHAPS, suggesting that the AngII-R interaction with PLC-alpha was not the result of detergent-promoted protein-protein interaction. On the other hand, monoclonal antibodies against another PLC isozyme, PLC-gamma, did not precipitate AngII-Rs in solubilized N1E-115 membranes. Finally, the formation of the immunoprecipitated AngII-R-PLC-alpha complex was disrupted by the nonhydrolyzable guanine nucleotide analog GTP gamma S, suggesting that the interaction between AngII-Rs and PLC-alpha is likely to involve a heterotrimeric guanine nucleotide-binding protein in neuron-like cells.

Biochemical analysis of solubilized angiotensin II receptors from murine neuroblastoma N1E-115 cells by covalent cross-linking and affinity purification.

Angiotensin II (Ang-II) receptors were solubilized from differentiated N1E-115 neuroblastoma cell membranes with the zwitterionic detergent 3-[(3-cholamidopropyl)dimethylammonio]-1-propanesulfonate (CHAPS), whereas other detergents, such as digitonin, sodium cholate, and Triton X-100, were much less effective. Binding of 125I-Ang-II or the antagonist 125I-Sar1,Ile8-Ang-II to 1% CHAPS-solubilized membranes was saturable and of high affinity. Moreover, these solubilized receptors retained the pharmacological specificity characteristic of particulate receptors. Covalent cross-linking of 125I-Ang-II to either particulate or solubilized membrane fractions, with the homobifunctional cross-linker disuccinimidyl suberate, followed by size exclusion chromatography or sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis, resulted in the identification of the same two distinct 125I-Ang-II binding entities, with approximate molecular masses of 111 kDa and 68 kDa. The estimated molecular weights of the Ang-II binding sites in differentiated N1E-115 cells are in good agreement with the molecular weights obtained previously from solubilized rat brain membranes, suggesting that the N1E-115 Ang-II receptors are similar to those present in the brain. Finally, solubilized N1E-115 membranes could be purified by Ang-II affinity chromatography, resulting in only a single protein (66 kDa), which retained its ability to specifically bind 125I-Ang-II.