Transcriptional Regulation of Glutamate Transporters: From Extracellular Signals to Transcription Factors.

Glutamate is the predominant excitatory neurotransmitter in the mammalian CNS. It mediates essentially all rapid excitatory signaling. Dysfunction of glutamatergic signaling contributes to developmental, neurologic, and psychiatric diseases. Extracellular glutamate is cleared by a family of five Na(+)-dependent glutamate transporters. Two of these transporters (GLAST and GLT-1) are relatively selectively expressed in astrocytes. Other of these transporters (EAAC1) is expressed by neurons throughout the nervous system. Expression of the last two members of this family (EAAT4 and EAAT5) is almost exclusively restricted to specific populations of neurons in cerebellum and retina, respectively. In this review, we will discuss our current understanding of the mechanisms that control transcriptional regulation of the different members of this family. Over the last two decades, our understanding of the mechanisms that regulate expression of GLT-1 and GLAST has advanced considerably; several specific transcription factors, cis-elements, and epigenetic mechanisms have been identified. For the other members of the family, little or nothing is known about the mechanisms that control their transcription. It is assumed that by defining the mechanisms involved, we will advance our understanding of the events that result in cell-specific expression of these transporters and perhaps begin to define the mechanisms by which neurologic diseases are changing the biology of the cells that express these transporters. This approach might provide a pathway for developing new therapies for a wide range of essentially untreatable and devastating diseases that kill neurons by an excitotoxic mechanism.

Acute regulation of sodium-dependent glutamate transporters: a focus on constitutive and regulated trafficking.

The acidic amino acid glutamate activates a family of ligand-gated ion channels to mediate depolarization that can be as short-lived as a few milliseconds and activates a family of G protein-coupled receptors that couple to both ion channels and other second messenger pathways. Glutamate is the predominant excitatory neurotransmitter in the mammalian central nervous system and is required for essentially all motor, sensory, and cognitive functions. In addition, glutamate-mediated signaling is required for development and the synaptic plasticity thought to underlie memory formation and retrieval. The levels of glutamate in brain approach 10 mmol/kg and most cells in the CNS express at least one of the receptor subtypes. Unlike acetylcholine that mediates "rapid" excitatory neurotransmission at the neuromuscular junction, there is no evidence for extracellular inactivation of glutamate. Instead, glutamate is cleared by a family of Na(+)-dependent transport systems that are found on glial processes that sheath the synapse and found on the pre- and postsynaptic elements of neurons. These transporters ensure crisp excitatory transmission by maintaining synaptic concentrations below those required for tonic activation of glutamate receptors under baseline conditions (approximately 1 microM) and serve to limit activation of glutamate receptors after release. During the past few years, it has become clear that like many of the other neurotransmitter transporters discussed in this volume of Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology, the activity of these transporters can be rapidly regulated by a variety of effectors. In this chapter, a broad overview of excitatory signaling will be followed by a brief introduction to the family of Na(+)-dependent glutamate transporters and a detailed discussion of our current understanding of the mechanisms that control transporter activity. The focus will be on our current understanding of the mechanisms that could regulate transporter activity within minutes, implying that this regulation is independent of transcriptional or translational control mechanisms. The glutamate transporters found in forebrain are regulated by redistributing the proteins to or from the plasma membrane; the signals involved and the net effects on transporter activity are being defined. In addition, there is evidence to suggest that the intrinsic activity of these transporters is also regulated by mechanisms that are independent of transporter redistribution; less is known about these events. As this field progresses, it should be possible to determine how this regulation affects physiologic and pathologic events in the CNS.

The British Cardiac Society Working Group definition of myocardial infarction: implications for practice.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the impact on observed mortality of the British Cardiac Society (BCS) definition of myocardial infarction (MI) in 11 UK hospitals. DESIGN: Prospective observational registry. SETTING: 11 adjacent hospitals in the West Yorkshire region. PATIENTS: 2484 patients with the acute coronary syndrome (ACS) were identified during a six month period (28 April to 28 October 2003). Demographic, clinical, and treatment variables were collected on all patients. Deaths were monitored through the Office of National Statistics. Patients were categorised into three groups according to the BCS definition of MI: ACS with unstable angina (UA), ACS with myocyte necrosis, and ACS with clinical MI. RESULTS: 30 day mortality was 4.5%, 10.4%, and 12.9% (p < 0.001) in the ACS with UA, ACS with myocyte necrosis, and ACS with clinical MI groups, respectively. At six months the mortality for patients in the groups ACS with clinical MI and ACS with myocyte necrosis was similar (19.2% v 18.7%), being higher than for ACS with UA (8.6%). Same admission percutaneous coronary intervention was similar in groups with clinical MI and myocyte necrosis (11.1% v 10.7%, respectively) as was coronary artery bypass grafting (2.6% v 2.7%, respectively). However, these two groups differed significantly in the prescribing of secondary prevention (aspirin, 79% v 69%; statins, 80% v 68%; beta blockers, 66% v 53%; and angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors, 65% v 53%; p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: At 30 days the new BCS categories for MI predict three distinct outcomes. However, within a contemporary UK population this was no longer apparent at six months, as mortality for patients with ACS with myocyte necrosis had risen to the same level as those for patients with ACS with clinical MI. One possible explanation for this is the apparent under use of drugs known to improve prognosis after traditionally defined MI.

External validation, extension and recalibration of Braunwald's simple risk index in a community-based cohort of patients with both STEMI and NSTEMI.

BACKGROUND: Using the simple risk index (SRI) that is based on age, heart rate and systolic blood pressure, we sought to evaluate the ability to predict outcome in AMI patients in a community-based population. METHODS AND RESULTS: We identified and evaluated 3684 consecutive patients with an admission diagnosis of possible AMI, who attended between 1st September and 30th November 1995. Two thousand one hundred fifty three patients had confirmed evidence of WHO definition AMI, of whom 1656 survived to hospital discharge. We evaluated the ability of the SRI to predict mortality over 30 days using the score generated by the equation (heart ratex[age/10]2)/systolic blood pressure. The SRI was a strong (c-statistic = 0.77 CI 0.74-0.79) predictor of 30-day mortality in both STEMI and all consecutive cases of WHO definition AMI. However, the model showed poor calibration when used on a community-based population with 30-day mortality being underestimated across all risk quintiles. Consequently we sought to recalibrate the quantitative aspects of the model for the total AMI population in the following way (Risk Index; 30-day mortality) (< or = 29.2; 9.2%), (29.3-37.8; 23.9%), (37.9-47.3; 34.6%), (47.4-61.5; 40.3%), (> or = 61.6; 65.5%). CONCLUSION: We have externally validated the SRI in an unselected cohort of consecutive WHO definition AMI patients. However, the original model consistently underestimated the likelihood of death at 30 days regardless of the calculated risk score. We have therefore suggested corrections to the risk estimates, to allow its application in an unselected community cohort.

An evaluation of the relationship between specialist training in cardiology and implementation of evidence-based care of patients following acute myocardial infarction.

AIMS: Large clinical trials have provided evidence of prognostically beneficial treatment strategies for patients with acute myocardial infarction. However, the implementation of this evidence into routine clinical practice is suboptimal. We hypothesised that the speciality of the attending physician (cardiologist or not) would affect the use of evidence-based strategies. METHODS: Over a 3-month period (1st September to 30th November 1995), 3684 consecutive potential cases of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in 20 adjacent hospitals in the Yorkshire Region were identified from coronary care registers, clinical coding and biochemistry records of cardiac enzyme assay requests. There were 2153 consecutive cases of AMI identified, of which 1643 patients were alive at discharge. We compared the admission use of aspirin and thrombolysis, and the use of aspirin, beta-blockers, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and statins at discharge between cardiologists and other physicians. RESULTS: AMI patients under the care of cardiologists are more likely to receive aspirin and thrombolysis on the day of their event and to be prescribed aspirin, beta-blockers and statins on discharge. After correction for contraindications to their use, the above findings were broadly confirmed. DISCUSSION: Cardiologists are more likely than general physicians to use evidence-based treatment strategies recognised to improve AMI patient outcome. It is likely that this will translate into a reduction of mortality or other hard endpoints in patient outcomes.

First x-ray scattering studies on electrostatically levitated metallic liquids: demonstrated influence of local icosahedral order on the nucleation barrier.

To explain the unusual stability of undercooled liquids against crystallization, Frank hypothesized that the local structures of undercooled liquids contain a significant degree of icosahedral short-range order, which is incompatible with long-range periodicity. We present here the first direct experimental demonstration of Frank's complete hypothesis, showing a correlation between the nucleation barrier and a growing icosahedral short-range order with decreasing temperature in a Ti39.5Zr39.5Ni21 liquid. A new experimental facility, BESL (Beamline Electrostatic Levitation), was developed to enable the synchrotron x-ray structural studies on deeply undercooled, reactive liquids.

Identifying acute myocardial infarction: effects on treatment and mortality, and implications for National Service Framework audit.

BACKGROUND: The National Service Framework (NSF) for Coronary Heart Disease requires annual clinical audit of the care of patients with myocardial infarction, with little guidance on how to achieve these standards and monitor practice. AIM: To assess which method of identification of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) cases is most suitable for NSF audit, and to determine the effect of the definition of AMI on the assessment of quality of care. DESIGN: Observational study. METHODS: Over a 3-month period, 2153 consecutive patients from 20 hospitals across the Yorkshire region, with confirmed AMI, were identified from coronary care registers, biochemistry records and hospital coding systems. The sensitivity and positive predictive value of AMI patient identification using clinical coding, biochemistry and coronary care registers were compared to a 'gold standard' (the combination of all three methods). RESULTS: Of 3685 possible cases of AMI singled out by one or more methods, 2153 patients were identified as having a final diagnosis of AMI. Hospital coding revealed 1668 (77.5%) cases, with a demographic profile similar to that of the total cohort. Secondary preventative measures required for inclusion in NSF were also of broadly similar distribution. The sensitivities and positive predictive values for patient identification were substantially less in the cohorts identified through biochemistry and coronary care unit register. Patients fulfilling WHO criteria (n=1391) had a 30-day mortality of 15.9%, vs. 24.2% for the total cohort. DISCUSSION: Hospital coding misses a substantial proportion (22.5%) of AMI cases, but without any apparent systematic bias, and thus provides a suitably representative and robust basis for NSF-related audit. Better still would be the routine use of multiple methods of case identification.

Poor prognosis of patients presenting with symptomatic myocardial infarction but without chest pain.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the clinical features, prognosis, and treatment of patients presenting with atypical forms of acute myocardial infarction. DESIGN: Consecutive cases of possible acute myocardial infarction were sought from coronary care registers, biochemistry records, and hospital management systems. Case notes were reviewed and predefined epidemiological and clinical variables were abstracted. SETTING: 20 adjacent hospitals in the former Yorkshire region. PATIENTS: 3684 consecutive cases of possible acute myocardial infarction admitted in a three month period were identified, of whom 2096 had a first episode of confirmed acute myocardial infarction. RESULTS: 20.2% of all patients admitted with an eventual diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction presented with symptoms other than chest pain. Compared with the group presenting with chest pain, these patients were older (76.6 v 69.1 years, p < 0.001), were more often women (54.6% v 35.3%, p < 0.001), and were more likely to have a history of heart failure (18.6% v 6.9%, p < 0.001). They had a higher 30 and 365 day mortality (49.2% and 61.0%, respectively) compared with patients presenting with chest pain (17.9% and 26.2%). In a Cox regression analysis the hazard ratio for presentation without chest pain was 1.60 (95% confidence interval 1.30 to 1.97) (p < 0.001) adjusted for age, heart rate, blood pressure, left ventricular impairment, and infarction with ST segment elevation as covariates. Importantly, they were also less likely to receive treatments with a proven ability to improve prognosis. CONCLUSIONS: Atypical presentation of myocardial infarction without chest pain is common and associated with increased mortality. This may result in part from a failure to use beneficial treatment strategies.

Use of cumulative mortality data in patients with acute myocardial infarction for early detection of variation in clinical practice: observational study.

OBJECTIVES: Use of cumulative mortality adjusted for case mix in patients with acute myocardial infarction for early detection of variation in clinical practice. DESIGN: Observational study. SETTING: 20 hospitals across the former Yorkshire region. PARTICIPANTS: All 2153 consecutive patients with confirmed acute myocardial infarction identified during three months. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Variable life-adjusted displays showing cumulative differences between observed and expected mortality of patients; expected mortality calculated from risk model based on admission characteristics of age, heart rate, and systolic blood pressure. RESULTS: The performance of two individual hospitals over three months was examined as an example. One, the smallest district hospital in the region, had a series of 30 consecutive patients but had five more deaths than predicted. The variable life-adjusted display showed minimal variation from that predicted for the first 15 patients followed by a run of unexpectedly high mortality. The second example was the main tertiary referral centre for the region, which admitted 188 consecutive patients. The display showed a period of apparently poor performance followed by substantial improvement, where the plot rose steadily from a cumulative net lives saved of -4 to 7. These variations in patient outcome are unlikely to have been revealed during conventional audit practice. CONCLUSIONS: Variable life-adjusted display has been integrated into surgical care as a graphical display of risk-adjusted survival for individual surgeons or centres. In combination with a simple risk model, it may have a role in monitoring performance and outcome in patients with acute myocardial infarction.

Dibutyryl-cAMP (dbcAMP) up-regulates astrocytic chloride-dependent L-[3H]glutamate transport and expression of both system xc(-) subunits.

Recent studies have shown that N(6),2'-O-dibutyryladenosine 3':5' cyclic monophosphate (dbcAMP) increases the expression of specific subtypes of Na(+)-dependent glutamate transporters in cultured astrocytes. Our group also found that treatment of astrocytes with dbcAMP for several days increases the Na(+)-independent accumulation of L-[3H]glutamate. In this study, the properties of this Na(+)-independent accumulation were characterized, and the mechanism by which dbcAMP up-regulates this process was investigated. This accumulation was markedly reduced in the absence of Cl(-) and was also inhibited by several anion-exchange inhibitors, including 4,4'-diisothiocyanatostilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid, 4,4'-dinitrostilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid and 4-acetamido-4'-isothiocyanatostilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid, suggesting that this activity is mediated by a Cl(-)-dependent transporter. In addition, this activity was inhibited by micromolar concentrations of several inhibitors of another Cl(-)-dependent (Na(+)-independent) transport activity frequently referred to as system xc(-) (L-cystine, L-alpha-aminoadipate, L-homocysteate, quisqualate, beta-N-oxalyl-l-alpha,beta-diaminopropionate, ibotenate). This activity was competitively inhibited by several phenylglycine derivatives previously characterized as inhibitors of metabotropic glutamate receptor activation. The concentration-dependence for Na(+)-independent, Cl(-)-dependent L-[3H]glutamate uptake activity was compared for dbcAMP-treated and untreated astrocytes. Treatment with dbcAMP increased the V(max) of this Cl(-)-dependent transport activity by sixfold but had no effect on the K(m) value. System xc(-) requires two subunits, xCT and 4F2hc/CD98, to reconstitute functional activity. We found that dbcAMP caused a twofold increase in the levels of xCT mRNA and a sevenfold increase in the levels of 4F2hc/CD98 protein. This study indicates that dbcAMP up-regulates Cl(-)-dependent L-[3H]glutamate transport activity in astrocytes and suggests that this effect is related to increased expression of both subunits of system xc(-). Because this activity is thought to be important for the synthesis of glutathione and protection from oxidant injury, understanding the regulation of system xc(-) may provide alternate approaches to limit this form of injury.

A simple benchmark for evaluating quality of care of patients following acute myocardial infarction.

OBJECTIVE: To develop a simple risk model as a basis for evaluating care of patients admitted with acute myocardial infarction. METHODS: From coronary care registers, biochemistry records and hospital management systems, 2153 consecutive patients with confirmed acute myocardial infarction were identified. With 30 day all cause mortality as the end point, a multivariable logistic regression model of risk was constructed and validated in independent patient cohorts. The areas under receiver operating characteristic curves were calculated as an assessment of sensitivity and specificity. The model was reapplied to a number of commonly studied subgroups for further assessment of robustness. RESULTS: A three variable model was developed based on age, heart rate, and systolic blood pressure on admission. This produced an individual probability of death by 30 days (P(30)) where P(30) = 1/(1 + exp(-L(30))) and L(30) = -5.624 + (0.085 x age) + (0.014 x heart rate) - (0.022 x systolic blood pressure). The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves for the reference and test cohorts were 0.79 (95% CI 0.76 to 0.82) and 0.76 (95% CI 0.72 to 0.79), respectively. To aid application of the model to routine clinical audit, a normogram relating observed mortality and sample size to the likelihood of a significant deviation from the expected 30 day mortality rate was constructed. CONCLUSIONS: This risk model is simple, reproducible, and permits quality of care of acute myocardial infarction patients to be reliably evaluated both within and between centres.

Differences in the human and mouse amino-terminal leader peptides of ornithine transcarbamylase affect mitochondrial import and efficacy of adenoviral vectors.

Mouse models of ornithine transcarbamylase (OTC) deficiency are being used to test the efficacy of viral vectors as possible vehicles for gene therapy. However, it has been demonstrated that virus containing the human OTC cDNA failed to express functional OTC enzyme in the recipient animals. Because functional OTC is assembled as a homotrimer in the mitochondria, there are at least two possible explanations for these results. Either endogenous mutant protein coassembles with the human OTC and has a "dominant-negative effect," or the human version of the protein is not appropriately imported or processed in the mouse mitochondria. To test the importance of processing, which in rodents is thought to depend on the leader peptide, adenoviral vectors containing chimeric OTC cDNAs were prepared. These vectors were evaluated in the OTC-deficient sparse fur mouse models. Although comparable levels of transgene expression were observed in all groups of mice, the only mice that had high levels of OTC activity and mitochondrial OTC immunoreactivity were those mice injected with the vectors containing the mouse leader peptide (mouse OTC and a mouse-human chimera of OTC). To address possible dominant-negative effects, adenoviruses containing mutant human or mouse OTC cDNAs were prepared and evaluated in cell lines or normal C3H mice, respectively. No inhibition of normal OTC activity was observed in either model system. Together, these studies provide no evidence of a dominant-negative effect and suggest that the human and rodent enzymes responsible for transporting of OTC and possibly other mitochondrial proteins have different specificity.

Sex differences in risk factors, treatment and mortality after acute myocardial infarction: an observational study.

BACKGROUND: Coronary heart disease is the major cause of death of postmenopausal women in industrialised countries. Although acute myocardial infarction (AMI) affects men in greater numbers, the short-term outcomes for women are worse. In the longer term, studies suggest that mortality risk for women is lower or similar to that of men. However, length of follow up and adjustment for confounding factors have varied and more importantly, the association between treatment and outcomes has not been examined. STUDY OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association between sex differences in risk factors and hospital treatment and mortality after AMI. DESIGN: A prospective observational study collecting demographic and clinical data on cases of AMI admitted to hospitals in Yorkshire. The main outcome measures were mortality status at discharge from hospital and two years later. SETTING: All district and university hospitals accepting emergency admissions in the former Yorkshire National Health Service (NHS) region of northern England. PARTICIPANTS: 3684 consecutive patients with a possible diagnosis of AMI admitted to hospitals in Yorkshire between 1 September and 30 November 1995. MAIN RESULTS: AMI was confirmed by the attending consultant for 2196 admissions (2153 people, 850 women and 1303 men). Women were older and less likely than men to be smokers or have a history of ischaemic heart disease. Crude inhospital mortality was higher for women (30% versus 19% for men, crude odds ratio of death before discharge for women 1.78, 95% confidence intervals 1.46, 2.18, p=0.00). This difference persisted after adjustment for age, risk factors and comorbidities (adjusted OR 1.29, 95% CI 1.04, 1.63, p=0.02), but was not significant when treatment was taken into account. Women were less likely to be given thrombolysis (37% versus 46%, p<0.01) and aspirin (83% versus 90%, p<0.01), discharged with beta blockers (33% versus 47%, p<0.01) and aspirin (82% versus 88% p<0.01) or be scheduled for angiography, exercise testing or revascularisation. Adjustment for age removed much of the disparity in treatment. Crude mortality rate at two years was higher for women (OR 1.81, 95%CI 1.41, 2.31, p=0.00). Age, existing risk factors and acute treatment accounted for most of this difference, with treatment on discharge having little additional influence. CONCLUSIONS: Patients admitted to hospital with AMI should be offered optimal treatment irrespective of age or sex. Women have a worse prognosis after AMI and under-treatment of older people with aspirin and thrombolysis may be contributing to this.

Degradation of glial glutamate transporter mRNAs is selectively blocked by inhibition of cellular transcription.

Recent studies have demonstrated that the expression of the glial glutamate transporters GLT-1 (glutamate transporter 1) and GLAST (glutamate aspartate transporter) is regulated both in vivo and in vitro. For example, co-culturing with neurons, treatment with N:(6), 2'-O:-dibutyryladenosine 3':5'-cyclic monophosphate (dbcAMP), and treatment with epidermal growth factor all increase the steady-state levels of GLT-1 and GLAST protein in astrocyte cultures. These changes in protein expression are correlated with increased mRNA levels. In the present study, the degradation of GLT-1 and GLAST mRNAs was examined in control and dbcAMP-treated astrocyte cultures after inhibiting transcription with actinomycin D. Although one would predict that inhibition of transcription would cause a decrease in GLT-1 and GLAST mRNAs and that this decrease would depend on the rate of mRNA degradation, the levels of GLT-1 and GLAST mRNAs did not decrease even after 24 h of treatment with actinomycin D. Withdrawal of dbcAMP caused the levels of GLT-1 and GLAST mRNAs to fall to basal levels within 24 h, but this degradation was blocked if actinomycin D was added at the time of dbcAMP withdrawal. Importantly, actinomycin D did not block the degradation of c-fos mRNA also induced by dbcAMP in these cultures. Inhibition of translation with cycloheximide did not stabilize GLT-1 but partially attenuated the degradation of GLAST mRNA. Although the mechanism of this effect remains to be defined, these studies suggest that GLT-1 and GLAST mRNAs belong to a select class of inducible mRNAs stabilized by inhibitors of transcription. The possible relevance of these data to astrocyte differentiation is briefly discussed.

Transient depletion of CD4 lymphocyte improves efficacy of repeated administration of recombinant adenovirus in the ornithine transcarbamylase deficient sparse fur mouse.

One of the current limitations of adenoviral gene therapy is a vector-induced humoral immune response that blocks effective re-administration of the vector. In an animal model of the inborn error of urea synthesis ornithine transcarbamylase (OTC) deficiency, the sparse fur (spf/y) mouse, we tested a strategy to transiently block the CD4 mediated immune response at the time of virus administration using an anti-CD4 monoclonal antibody (GK1.5). The co-administration of GK1.5 resulted in a significantly diminished production of neutralizing antibody to the adenovirus vector, but minimally prolonged metabolic correction. A second infusion of the same virus in GK1.5 treated spf/y mice led to a complete normalization of liver OTC activity at day 3 after infection and a significant metabolic correction of urinary orotate and plasma glutamine. In contrast, there was no evidence of enhanced OTC expression or metabolic correction (measured by normalization of plasma glutamine and urinary orotate) after the second infusion of virus in spf/y mice not treated with GK1.5. Furthermore, when co-administered with two consecutive doses of adenovirus, the anti-CD4 treatment allowed improved transgene expression upon a third administration of virus and a partial normalization of the metabolic abnormalities, compared with mice that did not receive anti-CD4 treatment. The level of OTC expression from the third viral infusion, however, was lower than that from the second viral infusion. Passive transfer experiments suggest that low levels of neutralizing antibodies developing over repeated viral administration was the likely cause of the reduced transgene expression. Together, these findings demonstrated that the host immune system can be modulated to permit effective transgene expression at therapeutic levels by re-administered adenoviral vectors.

Depression of retinal glutamate transporter function leads to elevated intravitreal glutamate levels and ganglion cell death.

PURPOSE: Elevated levels of extracellular glutamate have been implicated in the pathophysiology of neuronal loss in both central nervous system and ophthalmic disorders, including glaucoma. This increase in glutamate may result from a failure of glutamate transporters (molecules that ordinarily regulate extracellular glutamate; E:xcitatory A:mino A:cid T:ransporter; EAAT). Elevated glutamate levels can also lead to alterations in glutamate receptor expression. It was hypothesized that selective blockade of glutamate transporters would be toxic to retinal ganglion cells. METHODS: Glutamate transporters were blocked either pharmacologically or with subtype-specific antisense oligonucleotides against EAAT1. Glutamate levels, transporter levels and ganglion cell survival were assayed. RESULTS: Pharmacological inhibition of glutamate transporters with either an EAAT2 specific inhibitor or a nonspecific inhibitor of all the subtypes of transporters was toxic to ganglion cells. Treatment with oligonucleotides against the glutamate transporter EAAT1 decreased the levels of expression of the transporter, increased vitreal glutamate, and was toxic to ganglion cells. CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrate that normal function of EAAT1 and EAAT2 is necessary for retinal ganglion cell survival and plays an important role in retinal excitotoxicity. Manipulation of retinal glutamate transporter expression may become a useful tool in understanding retinal neuronal loss.

Statistical methods in epidemiology. IV. Confounding and the matched pairs odds ratio.

PURPOSE: This paper introduces readers to the problem of confounding in epidemiology, how it differs from effect modification and how to deal with it statistically. There are several options for dealing with confounding. These include techniques based on matching, on stratification and on regression. This paper reviews the first method, matching and the matched pairs odds ratio. METHOD: For 1:1 pair matching (1 case and 1 matched control), the matched pairs odds ratio is introduced as the ratio of discordant pairs. A method for calculating confidence intervals based on the normal approximation is described. RESULTS: Some properties of the matched pair design are illustrated by taking examples from the authors' own teaching experiences. CONCLUSION: Matching remains a difficult design option in epidemiology. Its 'best' use is for special types of studies such as for those on twin pairs.

Substrate-induced up-regulation of Na(+)-dependent glutamate transport activity.

Sodium-dependent transporters regulate extracellular glutamate in the CNS. Recent studies suggest that the activity of several different neurotransmitter transporters can be rapidly regulated by a variety of mechanisms. In the present study, we report that pre-incubation of primary 'astrocyte-poor' neuronal cultures with glutamate (100 microM) for 30 min nearly doubled the V(max) for Na(+)-dependent accumulation of L-[(3)H]-glutamate, but had no effect on Na(+)-dependent [(3)H]-glycine transport. Pre-incubation with glutamate also increased the net uptake of non-radioactive glutamate, providing evidence that the increase in accumulation of L-[(3)H]-glutamate was not related to an increase in intracellular glutamate and a subsequent increase in exchange of intracellular non-radioactive glutamate for extracellular radioactive glutamate. The glutamate receptor agonists, alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionate, quisqualate, and (1 S, 3R)-1-aminocyclopentane-1,3-dicarboxylic acid did not mimic the effect of pre-incubation with glutamate and the glutamate-induced increase was not blocked by receptor antagonists. However, compounds known to interact with the transporters, including L-aspartate, D-aspartate, L-(-)-threo-3-hydroxyaspartate (L-THA) and L-trans-pyrrolidine-2,4-dicarboxylate (L-trans-PDC), caused variable increases in transport activity and attenuated the increase induced by glutamate, suggesting that the increase is related to the interaction of glutamate with the transporters. Several studies were attempted to define the mechanism of this regulation. We found no evidence for increases in transporter synthesis or cell surface expression. Inhibitors of signaling molecules known to regulate other neurotransmitter transporters had no effect on this stimulation. Using a variety of cultures, evidence is provided to suggest that this substrate-induced up-regulation of glutamate transport is specific for the GLT-1 and GLAST subtypes and does not influence transport mediated by EAAC1. These studies suggest that the interaction of glutamate with some of the subtypes of glutamate transporters causes an increase in transport activity. Conceivably, this phenomenon provides an endogenous mechanism to increase the clearance of glutamate during periods of prolonged elevations in extracellular glutamate.

Epidermal growth factor receptor agonists increase expression of glutamate transporter GLT-1 in astrocytes through pathways dependent on phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase and transcription factor NF-kappaB.

The glial glutamate transporter GLT-1 may be the predominant Na(+)-dependent glutamate transporter in forebrain. Expression of GLT-1 correlates with astrocyte maturation in vivo and increases during synaptogenesis. In astrocyte cultures, GLT-1 expression parallels differentiation induced by cAMP analogs or by coculturing with neurons. Molecule(s) secreted by neuronal cultures contribute to this induction of GLT-1, but little is known about the signaling pathways mediating this regulation. In the present study, we determined whether growth factors previously implicated in astrocyte differentiation regulate GLT-1 expression. Of the six growth factors tested, two [epidermal growth factor (EGF) and transforming growth factor-alpha] induced expression of GLT-1 protein in cultured astrocytes. Induction of GLT-1 protein was accompanied by an increase in mRNA and in the V(max) for Na(+)-dependent glutamate transport activity. The effects of dibutyryl-cAMP and EGF were additive but were independently blocked by inhibitors of protein kinase A or protein tyrosine kinases, respectively. The induction of GLT-1 in both EGF- and dibutyryl-cAMP-treated astrocytes was blocked by inhibitors targeting phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) or the nuclear transcription factor-kappaB. Furthermore, transient transfection of astrocyte cultures with a constitutively active PI3K construct was sufficient to induce expression of GLT-1. These data suggest that independent but converging pathways mediate expression of GLT-1. Although an EGF receptor-specific antagonist did not block the effects of neuron-conditioned medium, the induction of GLT-1 by neuron-conditioned medium was completely abolished by inhibition of PI3K or nuclear factor-kappaB. EGF also increased expression of GLT-1 in spinal cord organotypic cultures. Together, these data suggest that activation of specific signaling pathways with EGF-like molecules may provide a novel approach for limiting excitotoxic brain injury.