Multiple signaling routes involved in the regulation of adenylyl cyclase and extracellular regulated kinase by dopamine D(2) and D(3) receptors.

Most G protein coupled receptors (GPCR) regulate multiple cellular processes by coupling to more than one kind of G protein. Furthermore, recent studies have reported G protein-independent/ß-arrestin-dependent signaling pathway for some GPCRs. Dopamine D(2) and D(3) receptors (D(2)R, D(3)R), the major targets of currently used antipsychotic drugs, are co-expressed in some of the same dopaminergic neurons and regulate the same overlapping effectors. However, the specific subunits of G proteins that regulate each signaling pathway are not clearly identified. In addition, the existence of ß-arrestin-dependent/G protein-independent signaling is not clear for these receptors. In this study, we determined the G protein subtypes and ß-arrestin dependency involved in the signaling of D(2)R and D(3)R, which was measured by inhibition of adenylyl cyclase and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) activation. For the inhibition of cAMP production in HEK-293 cells, D(2)R used the Gαo subunit but D(3)R used the ßγ subunit of Gi family proteins. For the regulation of ERK activation, D(2)R used the α subunits of Gi/o proteins both in HEK-293 cells and COS-7 cells, but D(3)R used Gαo and Gßγ in HEK-293 cells and COS-7 cells, respectively. ß-Arrestin-dependent/G protein-independent ERK activation was not observed for both D(2)R and D(3)R. Agonist-induced ß-arrestin translocation was observed with D(2)R but not with D(3)R, and ß-arrestins exerted inhibitory influences on G protein-dependent ERK activation by D(2)R, but not D(3)R. These results show that the D(2)R and D(3)R, which have overlapping cellular expressions and functional roles, employ distinct G protein subunits depending on the cell types and the effectors they control.

Culprit lesion plaque characteristics and angiopoietin like 4 in acute coronary syndrome: A virtual histology-intravascular ultrasound analysis.

BACKGROUND: Thin-cap fibroatheroma is a rupture-prone vulnerable plaque that leads to acute coronary syndrome (ACS). However, its underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. Several studies have investigated the clinical association between angiopoietin-like protein 4 (ANGPTL4) and coronary artery disease. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the correlation of plasma ANGPTL4 in culprit lesion of ACS patients using intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) and virtual-histology IVUS (VH-IVUS). METHODS: Fifty patients newly diagnosed with ACS between March to September 2021 were selected. Blood samples for baseline laboratory tests, including ANGPTL4, were collected before percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), and all pre- and post-PCI IVUS examinations were performed of the culprit lesions. RESULTS: Linear regression analysis between plasma ANGPTL4 and grayscale IVUS/VH-IVUS parameters revealed that plasma ANGPTL4 was strongly correlated with the necrotic core (NC) of the minimal lumen site (r = -0.666, p = 0.003) and largest NC site (r = -0.687, p < 0.001), and patients with lower plasma ANGPTL4 levels showed a significantly higher proportion of TFCA. CONCLUSION: The present study further demonstrated the protective role of ANGPTL4 in the spectrum of atherosclerotic development in patients with ACS by culprit lesion morphology analysis using IVUS and VH-IVUS.

ANGPTL4 stabilizes atherosclerotic plaques and modulates the phenotypic transition of vascular smooth muscle cells through KLF4 downregulation.

Atherosclerosis, the leading cause of death, is a vascular disease of chronic inflammation. We recently showed that angiopoietin-like 4 (ANGPTL4) promotes cardiac repair by suppressing pathological inflammation. Given the fundamental contribution of inflammation to atherosclerosis, we assessed the role of ANGPTL4 in the development of atherosclerosis and determined whether ANGPTL4 regulates atherosclerotic plaque stability. We injected ANGPTL4 protein twice a week into atherosclerotic Apoe-/- mice and analyzed the atherosclerotic lesion size, inflammation, and plaque stability. In atherosclerotic mice, ANGPTL4 reduced atherosclerotic plaque size and vascular inflammation. In the atherosclerotic lesions and fibrous caps, the number of α-SMA(+), SM22α(+), and SM-MHC(+) cells was higher, while the number of CD68(+) and Mac2(+) cells was lower in the ANGPTL4 group. Most importantly, the fibrous cap was significantly thicker in the ANGPTL4 group than in the control group. Smooth muscle cells (SMCs) isolated from atherosclerotic aortas showed significantly increased expression of CD68 and Krüppel-like factor 4 (KLF4), a modulator of the vascular SMC phenotype, along with downregulation of α-SMA, and these changes were attenuated by ANGPTL4 treatment. Furthermore, ANGPTL4 reduced TNFα-induced NADPH oxidase 1 (NOX1), a major source of reactive oxygen species, resulting in the attenuation of KLF4-mediated SMC phenotypic changes. We showed that acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients with higher levels of ANGPTL4 had fewer vascular events than AMI patients with lower levels of ANGPTL4 (p < 0.05). Our results reveal that ANGPTL4 treatment inhibits atherogenesis and suggest that targeting vascular stability and inflammation may serve as a novel therapeutic strategy to prevent and treat atherosclerosis. Even more importantly, ANGPTL4 treatment inhibited the phenotypic changes of SMCs into macrophage-like cells by downregulating NOX1 activation of KLF4, leading to the formation of more stable plaques.

Identification of cis-acting elements and signaling components of high affinity IgE receptor that regulate the expression of cyclooxygenase-2.

Allergic and inflammatory responses are functionally linked through a cascade of signaling events that connect the aggregation of the high affinity IgE receptor (FcεRI) on mast cells and the initiation of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression. In this study, we identified the cis-acting elements in the cox-2 promoter that control the expression of COX-2 in RBL-2H3 mast cells. We also investigated how the inflammatory reaction is controlled by the allergic reaction by determining the signaling components employed by FcεRI in the transcriptional regulation of cox-2. Among cis-acting components present in the cox-2 promoter, the CREB binding site, as well as the AP-1 and proximal NF-IL6 binding sites to a lesser extent, were required for the transcriptional regulation of the cox-2 promoter. However, NF-κB and Ets-1 binding sites exerted negative effects on the cox-2 promoter activity. Among the signaling components of FcεRI, Fyn, PI 3-kinase, Akt, and p38 MAPK positively mediated the COX-2 expression. Conventional PKCs and atypical PKCs exerted opposite regulatory effects on the cox-2 promoter activity. Blockade of MEK/ERK pathway inhibited the cox-2 promoter activity and the COX-2 expression. These results reveal intricate functional interactions among different cis-acting elements in the transcriptional regulation of cox-2. Fyn-->PI 3-kinase-->Akt pathway directly stimulate. On the other hand, Lyn-->Syk pathway exerts auxiliary or compensatory influences on COX-2 expression via PKC and MEK/ERK.

RGS4 exerts inhibitory activities on the signaling of dopamine D2 receptor and D3 receptor through the N-terminal region.

Dopamine D(2) receptor and D(3) receptor (D(2)R and D(3)R) are the major targets for current antipsychotic drugs, and their proper regulation has pathological and pharmacological significance. This study was conducted to understand the functional roles and molecular mechanisms of RGS proteins (RGS2, RGS4, and RGS9-2) on the signaling of D(2)R and D(3)R. RGS proteins were co-expressed with D(2)R and D(3)R in HEK-293 cells. The protein interactions between RGS proteins and D(2)R/D(3)R, and effects of RGS proteins on the internalization, signaling, and desensitization of D(2)R/D(3)R were determined. In addition, the RGS4 proteins were subdivided into N-terminal region, RGS domain, and the C-terminal region, and the specific subdomain of RGS4 protein involved in the regulation of the signaling of D(2)R/D(3)R was determined. All of RGS proteins we tested interacted with D(2)R/D(3)R. RGS4 exerted potent inhibitory activities on the signaling of D(2)R/D(3)R. RGS9-2 exerted selective but moderate inhibitory activity on D(3)R and the internalization of D(2)R. RGS2 had no effect. The N-terminal domain of RGS4 was involved in its interaction with D(2)R and D(3)R and was required for the inhibitory activity of the RGS domain. The study for the first time showed that RGS4 is the major RGS protein which interacts through the N-terminal region and exerts potent inhibitory activities on the signaling of D(2)R and D(3)R.

PSME4 Degrades Acetylated YAP1 in the Nucleus of Mesenchymal Stem Cells.

Intensive research has focused on minimizing the infarct area and stimulating endogenous regeneration after myocardial infarction. Our group previously elucidated that apicidin, a histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor, robustly accelerates the cardiac commitment of naïve mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) through acute loss of YAP1. Here, we propose the novel regulation of YAP1 in MSCs. We found that acute loss of YAP1 after apicidin treatment resulted in the mixed effects of transcriptional arrest and proteasomal degradation. Subcellular fractionation revealed that YAP1 was primarily localized in the cytoplasm. YAP1 was acutely relocalized into the nucleus and underwent proteasomal degradation. Interestingly, phosphor-S127 YAP1 was shuttled into the nucleus, suggesting that a mechanism other than phosphorylation governed the subcellular localization of YAP1. Apicidin successfully induced acetylation and subsequent dissociation of YAP1 from 14-3-3, an essential molecule for cytoplasmic restriction. HDAC6 regulated both acetylation and subcellular localization of YAP1. An acetylation-dead mutant of YAP1 retarded nuclear redistribution upon apicidin treatment. We failed to acquire convincing evidence for polyubiquitination-dependent degradation of YAP1, suggesting that a polyubiquitination-independent regulator determined YAP1 fate. Nuclear PSME4, a subunit of the 26 S proteasome, recognized and degraded acetyl YAP1 in the nucleus. MSCs from PSME4-null mice were injected into infarcted heart, and aberrant sudden death was observed. Injection of immortalized human MSCs after knocking down PSME4 failed to improve either cardiac function or the fibrotic scar area. Our data suggest that acetylation-dependent proteasome subunit PSME4 clears acetyl-YAP1 in response to apicidin treatment in the nucleus of MSCs.

Novel regulatory mechanism of canonical Wnt signaling by dopamine D2 receptor through direct interaction with beta-catenin.

Classical G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and canonical Wnt pathways were believed to use distinct signaling pathways. However, recent studies have shown that these two pathways interact each other by sharing several intermediate signaling components. Recent in vivo studies showed that antipsychotic drugs, which block dopamine D2-like receptors, increase the cellular levels of downstream signaling components of canonical Wnt pathways, such as dishevelled (Dvl), glycogen synthase kinase 3ß (GSK3ß), and ß-catenin. These results suggest that some functional interactions might exist between Wnt pathway and D2-like receptors. In this study, we show that among five different dopamine receptor subtypes, D(2) receptor (D(2)R) selectively inhibited the Wnt signaling, which was measured by lymphoid enhancing factor-1 (LEF-1)-dependent transcriptional activities. D(2)R-mediated inhibition of Wnt signaling was agonist- and G protein-independent and did not require receptor phosphorylation or endocytosis. D(2)R inhibited the LEF-1-dependent transcriptional activities, and this inhibitory activity was not affected by the inhibition of GSK-3ß, suggesting that D(2)R inhibited the Wnt signaling by acting on the downstream of GSK3ß. D(2)R directly interacted with ß-catenin through the second and third loops, leading to a reduction of ß-catenin distribution in the nucleus, resulting in an inhibition of LEF-1-dependent transcription. This is a novel mechanism for the regulation of canonical Wnt signaling by GPCRs, in which receptor proteins recruit ß-catenin from cytosol to the plasma membrane, resulting in the decrement of the ß-catenin/LEF-1-dependent transcription in the nucleus.

The adipokine Retnla deficiency increases responsiveness to cardiac repair through adiponectin-rich bone marrow cells.

Resistin-like alpha (Retnla) is a member of the resistin family and known to modulate fibrosis and inflammation. Here, we investigated the role of Retnla in the cardiac injury model. Myocardial infarction (MI) was induced in wild type (WT), Retnla knockout (KO), and Retnla transgenic (TG) mice. Cardiac function was assessed by echocardiography and was significantly preserved in the KO mice, while worsened in the TG group. Angiogenesis was substantially increased in the KO mice, and cardiomyocyte apoptosis was markedly suppressed in the KO mice. By Retnla treatment, the expression of p21 and the ratio of Bax to Bcl2 were increased in cardiomyocytes, while decreased in cardiac fibroblasts. Interestingly, the numbers of cardiac macrophages and unsorted bone marrow cells (UBCs) were higher in the KO mice than in the WT mice. Besides, phosphorylated histone H3(+) cells were more frequent in bone marrow of KO mice. Moreover, adiponectin in UBCs was notably higher in the KO mice compared with WT mice. In an adoptive transfer study, UBCs were isolated from KO mice to transplant to the WT infarcted heart. Cardiac function was better in the KO-UBCs transplanted group in the WT-UBCs transplanted group. Taken together, proliferative and adiponectin-rich bone marrow niche was associated with substantial cardiac recovery by suppression of cardiac apoptosis and proliferation of cardiac fibroblast.

Antiinflammatory activity of ANGPTL4 facilitates macrophage polarization to induce cardiac repair.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can suppress pathological inflammation. However, the mechanisms underlying the association between MSCs and inflammation remain unclear. Under coculture conditions with macrophages, MSCs highly expressed angiopoietin-like 4 (ANGPTL4) to blunt the polarization of macrophages toward the proinflammatory phenotype. ANGPTL4-deficient MSCs failed to inhibit the inflammatory macrophage phenotype. In inflammation-related animal models, the injection of coculture medium or ANGPTL4 protein increased the antiinflammatory macrophages in both peritonitis and myocardial infarction. In particular, cardiac function and pathology were markedly improved by ANGPTL4 treatment. We found that retinoic acid-related orphan receptor α (RORα) was increased by inflammatory mediators, such as IL-1ß, and bound to ANGPTL4 promoter in MSCs. Collectively, RORα-mediated ANGPTL4 induction was shown to contribute to the antiinflammatory activity of MSCs against macrophages under pathological conditions. This study suggests that the capability of ANGPTL4 to induce tissue repair is a promising opportunity for safe stem cell-free regeneration therapy from a translational perspective.

Roles of protein kinase C and actin-binding protein 280 in the regulation of intracellular trafficking of dopamine D3 receptor.

D(3) dopamine receptor (D(3)R) is expressed mainly in parts of the brain that control the emotional behaviors. It is believed that the improper regulation of D(3)R is involved in the etiology of schizophrenia. Desensitization of D(3)R is weakly associated with G protein-coupled receptor kinase (GRK)/beta-arrestin-directed internalization. This suggests that there might be an alternative pathway that regulates D(3)R signaling. This report shows that D(3)R undergoes robust protein kinase C (PKC)-dependent sequestration that is accompanied by receptor phosphorylation and the desensitization of signaling. PKC-dependent D(3)R sequestration, which was enhanced by PKC-beta or -delta, was dynamin dependent but independent of GRK, beta-arrestin, or caveolin 1. Site-directed mutagenesis of all possible phosphorylation sites within the intracellular loops of D(3)R identified serine residues at positions 229 and 257 as the critical amino acids responsible for phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA)-induced D(3)R phosphorylation, sequestration, and desensitization. In addition, the LxxY endocytosis motif, which is located between residues 252 and 255, was found to play accommodating roles for PMA-induced D(3)R sequestration. A continuous interaction with the actin-binding protein 280 (filamin A), which was previously known to interact with D(3)R, is required for PMA-induced D(3)R sequestration. In conclusion, the PKC-dependent but GRK-/beta-arrestin-independent phosphorylation of D(3)R is the main pathway responsible for the sequestration and desensitization of D(3)R. Filamin A is essential for both the efficient signaling and sequestration of D(3)R.

Adjuvant role of macrophages in stem cell-induced cardiac repair in rats.

Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMMSCs) are used extensively for cardiac repair and interact with immune cells in the damaged heart. Macrophages are known to be modulated by stem cells, and we hypothesized that priming macrophages with BMMSCs would enhance their therapeutic efficacy. Rat bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) were stimulated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) with or without coculture with rat BMCs. In the LPS-stimulated BMDMs, induction of the inflammatory marker iNOS was attenuated, and the anti-inflammatory marker Arg1 was markedly upregulated by coculture with BMMSCs. Myocardial infarction (MI) was induced in rats. One group was injected with BMMSCs, and a second group was injected with MIX (a mixture of BMMSCs and BMDMs after coculture). The reduction in cardiac fibrosis was greater in the MIX group than in the BMC group. Cardiac function was improved in the BMMSC group and was substantially improved in the MIX group. Angiogenesis was better in the MIX group, and anti-inflammatory macrophages were more abundant in the MIX group than in the BMMSC group. In the BMMSCs, interferon regulatory factor 5 (IRF5) was exclusively induced by coculture with macrophages. IRF5 knockdown in BMMSCs failed to suppress inflammatory marker induction in the macrophages. In this study, we demonstrated the successful application of BMDMs primed with BMMSCs as an adjuvant to cell therapy for cardiac repair.

The optimization of cell therapy by combinational application with apicidin-treated mesenchymal stem cells after myocardial infarction.

Although mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) have been shown to be safe in preclinical studies of cardiovascular disease, multiple meta-analyses have debated whether functional improvement is significant or not. The cardiac differentiation from MSC is achievable using cardiogenic factors, however, the high cost and long culture period may limit the applications. Here, we developed a novel method to optimize the therapeutic outcome for myocardial infarction (MI). Treatment of MSC with apicidin, a histone deacetylase inhibitor, dramatically increased the expressions of cardiac markers such as GATA4, Nkx2.5, and cardiac troponin I (cTnI). In AC/MSC, stemness-related genes and yes-associated protein (YAP), a potent oncogene that drives cell proliferation, were significantly suppressed. Furthermore apicidin treatment or YAP knockdown downregulated miR-130a expression followed by induction of cardiac markers in MSC. In the comparison study, we found that both cardiac gene induction and angiogenesis were most prominent in the mixture of non-treated MSC and AC/MSC (Mix). Using mouse MI model, we show that application of Mix was strongly associated with cardiac differentiation of injected MSC and improved cardiac performance. Our results suggest that suppression of YAP/miR-130a shifts MSC cell fate toward cardiac lineage and identify apicidin as a potential pharmacological target for therapeutic development.

Effects of resveratrol-related hydroxystilbenes on the nitric oxide production in macrophage cells: structural requirements and mechanism of action.

NF-kappaB that plays an important role in iNOS expression is one of the targets of various potential anti-inflammatory agents including resveratrol. Resveratrol contains a structural similarity with estrogen, and there has been speculation about resveratrol as estrogen agonist. In this study, the mechanism and structural requirements of resveratrol and related hydroxystilbenes for the inhibition of LPS-induced nitric oxide production were studied in macrophage cells (RAW 264.7 and J774) by comparing its effect on LPS-induced NF-kappaB translocation and nitric oxide production, and by considering the possibility of involvement of an estrogen receptor. LPS-induced nitric oxide production was inhibited only when cells were treated with resveratrol prior to stimulation with LPS, suggesting that resveratrol does not affect the enzyme itself. A higher concentration of resveratrol than needed for the inhibition of nitric oxide production was required for the inhibition of NF-kappaB mobilization or iNOS expression. Estrogen and diethylstilbesterol, an estrogen agonist, caused only weak inhibition of nitric oxide production, and the effects of resveratrol were not noticeably blocked by ICI-182780, an estrogen antagonist. Structure-activity analysis of resveratrol and nine hydroxystilbenes suggests that the structural balance between oxygen functional groups on the benzene rings is important for their activity. Our results suggest that resveratrol might act on other cellular targets as well as NF-kappaB at the initial stage of gene expression. Unique structural features of hydroxystilbenes are needed for suppression of nitric oxide production and it is unlikely that estrogen receptor is involved in it.

Direct and biochemical interaction between dopamine D3 receptor and elongation factor-1Bbetagamma.

Novel signaling components of dopamine D3 receptor (D3R) were searched using yeast two-hybrid system, and the gamma subunit of elongation Factor-1B (eEF1Bgamma) was found to interact with D3R. This interaction was observed specifically between eEF1Bgamma and D3R but not with D2R or D4R. Immunocytochemical studies showed that D3R and eEF1Bgamma form clusters on the plasma membrane and their co-localization was evident in these clusters. The beta subunit of eEF1B (eEF1Bbeta), which forms a tight complex with eEF1Bgamma, was phosphorylated on serine residues in response to the stimulation of D3R. Phosphorylation of eEF1Bbeta was insensitive to pertussis toxin or wortmannin, however, stimulation of cellular protein kinase C (PKC) directly phosphorylated eEF1Bbeta and depletion of PKC abolished D3R-mediated phosphorylation of eEF1Bbeta. These results suggest the involvement of PKC, but not Gi/o proteins or phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, in D3R-mediated phosphorylation of eEF1Bbeta. Stimulation of D3R did not activate PKC, but the activation of PKC resulted in the phosphorylation of D3R. These results show that PKC has a permissive role for the D3R-mediated phosphorylation of eEF1Bbeta, and suggest that PKC could modulate the mutual interaction between two protein by phosphorylating both D3R and eEF1Bbeta. Therefore, the cellular PKC level would be important for the D3R-mediated modulation of eEF1B, and for their cellular regulations such as protein synthesis or cellular proliferation.

Molecular mechanisms of inhibitory activities of tanshinones on lipopolysaccharide-induced nitric oxide generation in RAW 264.7 cells.

The effects of four tanshinones isolated from Tanshen (the root of Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge, Labiatae) were tested for their inhibition of nitric oxide production in macrophage cells, and the underlying molecular mechanisms studied. Of the four tanshinones used, 15, 16-dihydrotanshinone-I, tanshinone-IIA and cryptotanshinone, but not tanshinone I, demonstrated significant inhibition of the LPS-induced nitric oxide production in RAW 264.7 cells, with calculated IC50 values of 5, 8, and 1.5 microM, respectively. Tanshinones exerted inhibitory activities on the LPS-induced nitric oxide production only when applied concurrently with LPS, and tanshinone-IIA and cryptotanshinone were found to inhibit LPS-induced NF-kappaB mobilization and extracellular-regulated kinase (ERK) activation, respectively. These results suggest that tanshinones inhibit LPS-induced nitric oxide generation by interfering with the initial stage of LPS-induced expression of certain genes. NF-kappaB and ERK could be the molecular targets for tanshinones for the inhibition of LPS-induced nitric oxide production in macrophage cells.

Dual regulation of mast cell degranulation through IgE receptor-mediated modulation of M2-type pyruvate kinase.

It was reported that mast cell degranulation is inversely related to the enzymatic activity of M2-type pyruvate kinase (M2PK). This study shows that activation of high-affinity IgE receptor (FcεRI) evokes a sequential dual regulation of M2PK, i.e., an immediate decrement followed by slow phase increment of enzymatic activities. Changes in the activities of M2PK and mast cell degranulation showed similar time course after antigenic stimulation of FcεRI. The immediate inhibition of M2PK involved tyrosine phosphorylation, and subsequently led to a cellular accumulation of glycolytic intermediates, including fructose 1,6-biphosphate (FBP), a feedforward activator of M2PK. As the cellular levels of FBP were increased, both the enzymatic acitivity of M2PK and mast cell degranulation slowly returned to near basal levels. A-Raf, when exogenously introduced into RBL-2H3 cells, phosphorylated M2PK on the serine residues, elevated enzyme activities of M2PK, and resulted in the inhibition of degranulation. These results suggest that dual regulation of M2PK which involves the phosphorylation of M2PK and accumulation of a feedforward activator of M2PK plays important roles in the control of mast cell degranulation.

Mesenchymal stem cells reciprocally regulate the M1/M2 balance in mouse bone marrow-derived macrophages.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been widely studied for their applications in stem cell-based regeneration. During myocardial infarction (MI), infiltrated macrophages have pivotal roles in inflammation, angiogenesis and cardiac remodeling. We hypothesized that MSCs may modulate the immunologic environment to accelerate regeneration. This study was designed to assess the functional relationship between the macrophage phenotype and MSCs. MSCs isolated from bone marrow and bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) underwent differentiation induced by macrophage colony-stimulating factor. To determine the macrophage phenotype, classical M1 markers and alternative M2 markers were analyzed with or without co-culturing with MSCs in a transwell system. For animal studies, MI was induced by the ligation of the rat coronary artery. MSCs were injected within the infarct myocardium, and we analyzed the phenotype of the infiltrated macrophages by immunostaining. In the MSC-injected myocardium, the macrophages adjacent to the MSCs showed strong expression of arginase-1 (Arg1), an M2 marker. In BMDMs co-cultured with MSCs, the M1 markers such as interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-1ß, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) were significantly reduced. In contrast, the M2 markers such as IL-10, IL-4, CD206 and Arg1 were markedly increased by co-culturing with MSCs. Specifically, the ratio of iNOS to Arg1 in BMDMs was notably downregulated by co-culturing with MSCs. These results suggest that the preferential shift of the macrophage phenotype from M1 to M2 may be related to the immune-modulating characteristics of MSCs that contribute to cardiac repair.

ß-arrestin2 plays permissive roles in the inhibitory activities of RGS9-2 on G protein-coupled receptors by maintaining RGS9-2 in the open conformation.

Together with G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) kinases (GRKs) and ß-arrestins, RGS proteins are the major family of molecules that control the signaling of GPCRs. The expression pattern of one of these RGS family members, RGS9-2, coincides with that of the dopamine D(3) receptor (D(3)R) in the brain, and in vivo studies have shown that RGS9-2 regulates the signaling of D2-like receptors. In this study, ß-arrestin2 was found to be required for scaffolding of the intricate interactions among the dishevelled-EGL10-pleckstrin (DEP) domain of RGS9-2, Gß5, R7-binding protein (R7BP), and D(3)R. The DEP domain of RGS9-2, under the permission of ß-arrestin2, inhibited the signaling of D(3)R in collaboration with Gß5. ß-Arrestin2 competed with R7BP and Gß5 so that RGS9-2 is placed in the cytosolic region in an open conformation which is able to inhibit the signaling of GPCRs. The affinity of the receptor protein for ß-arrestin2 was a critical factor that determined the selectivity of RGS9-2 for the receptor it regulates. These results show that ß-arrestins function not only as mediators of receptor-G protein uncoupling and initiators of receptor endocytosis but also as scaffolding proteins that control and coordinate the inhibitory effects of RGS proteins on the signaling of certain GPCRs.

Current perspectives on the selective regulation of dopamine D2 and D3 receptors.

Among the characterized dopamine receptor subtypes, D2 receptor (D2R) and D3 receptor (D3R) are the main targets of neuroleptics that are currently in use. In particular, D3R is closely related to the etiology of schizophrenia and drug addiction. The spatial expression patterns of D2R and D3R are distinct in certain areas of the brain. D2R are heavily expressed in the regions responsible for motor functions, whereas D3R are more selectively expressed in the limbic regions, which are associated with cognitive and emotional functions. Therefore, disturbances in the motor and endocrine functions, which are the most serious problems caused by the current neuroleptics, are likely to result from the non-selective blockade of D2R. Selective regulation of D3R is needed to separate the desired therapeutic activities from unwanted side effects that result from promiscuous blockade of other receptors. D2R and D3R possess high sequence homology and employ similar signaling pathways, and it is difficult to selectively regulate them. In this review, we discuss the signaling mechanisms, intracellular trafficking, and desensitization properties of D2R and D3R. In addition, the proteins interacting with D2R or D3R are discussed in relation to their roles in the regulation of receptor functions, followed by the current status of the development of selective D3R ligands.

AtNEK6 interacts with ARIA and is involved in ABA response during seed germination.

ARIA is an ARM repeat protein that is a positive regulator of ABA response. To identify ARIA-interacting proteins, we conducted yeast two-hybrid screening. One of the positive clones obtained from the screen encoded a protein kinase, AtNEK6, which belongs to the NIMA (Never In Mitosis, gene A)-related kinase family. We analyzed AtNEK6 over-expression (OX) and knockout (KO) lines to investigate its in vivo function. The AtNEK6 OX lines grew slowly, whereas the KO line germinated and grew faster than wild type plants. AtNEK6 also affected ABA and stress responses. During seed germination, AtNEK6 OX lines were hypersensitive to ABA and high osmolarity, whereas its KO line was partially insensitive to ABA and high osmolarity. Previously, AtNEK6 was shown to be involved in epidermal cell morphogenesis. Our results indicate that AtNEK6 is also involved in plant growth regulation and responses to ABA and high osmolarity during the seed germination stage.